Page 35 of Drive Me Wilde

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Jameson

It wasn't easy, but I got Rio to finish her report. Her friend, Bella, texted, inviting her to spend the night, right as Rio put the finishing touches on it. I couldn't say no, and I didn't want to. Nate's band is playing at the Gold Rush. They've mostly outgrown the hole-in-the-wall bar, but Nate is doing it as a favor for Harry. Harry has been the owner of the place since we were old enough to drink and even before that. And since we all spent a lot of our twenties sitting on his wobbly stools, chugging down his beer and even occasionally asking his advice on life, he's like family.

The bar is in walking distance, and the strange, unexpected start to the weekend has me in the mood to get drunk, so I leave my truck at home. The moon is half full and thin clouds dance around it. My phone beeps. It's Rio. I stop to read the text. She's been known to get homesick when she's at a friend's house for the night. Having her get homesick, for my home, makes me stupidly happy. This time it's not a plea for me to pick her up and come up with a good excuse why she has to leave.

Bella got a new kitten.

She sends a selfie of her squeezing a fuzzy gray kitten against the side of her face. The kitten looks less pleased about the whole thing.

They said the lady has two more kittens. Please, please, please.

She doesn't even bother with the formality of asking the question.

I'll think about it. Love you. And get some sleep tonight.

Fat chance.

She sends another picture of her dropping a long piece of licorice into her baby-bird style open mouth.

I'm in candy and kitten heaven. Don't want to waste a minute of it sleeping.

"Great," I mutter as I push the phone in my pocket. The good news is I won't be getting a late-night call to pick her up early, so I can get drunk. The bad news is I will be dealing with a sleep-deprived kid in the morning, and that's never a good thing.

I can hear the band tuning up, and people are piling into the place. The front of the Gold Rush is your typical bar with a small dance floor, slightly raised stage, a counter with plenty of stools. A second room in the back is where patrons can play pool. On a night like tonight, both rooms will be crowded. Harry has been fined before, so he's strict about fire codes. He keeps a close count on the patrons. Tonight especially. Nate's band is a localfavorite because everyone is convinced Sarkasm will become huge and then we can all say they got their start in Rockhurst. I'm not entirely sure which way it'll go, but I think they have a good shot.

Ronan and Colin have a table near the dance floor. Most people stand around the barroom at the counter-height tables that surround the room. The stage is small, and the lighting and sound system are poor, but Nate and his band brought their own. Nate is on the dance floor, and there's a long line of people, mostly women, waiting to take selfies with him.

Harry looks rounder and grayer than the last time I saw him, and that was only a month ago. "Guess Dad got a night off." He chuckles and motions me past the door. I reach the table. The twins have already finished off a pitcher of beer, and a second one is being delivered.

Marcy, the server, smiles at me and pulls an empty glass off her tray. "Is the big guy coming too?" she asks, referring to Zander.

Colin shakes his head. "Not too sure about that, but leave a glass anyway."

I top off my glass, and my brothers wait for me to take the first swig. I wipe off the foam mustache and sigh with satisfaction.

"Ro, I think our brother, James, is in need of a few pitchers of beer." Colin turns to me. "I see you found someone to pawn squirt off on tonight." Colin and Ronan turned 29 this year. They were born on the same day just five minutes apart, but they are as different as any two brothers. Colin is a champion snowboarder and skateboarder. He makes money through sponsorships and cash prizes, and his whole life has been about sports and competition. He's thin and muscular with dark blond hair, a mustache and a goatee. Ronan was never disciplinedenough to excel at a sport even though he's just as athletic as Colin. He's got black hair and green eyes like his mom.

"Rio is spending the night at a friend's house, and I'm going to take full advantage of that by drinking a lot of beer. Where's Zander tonight?"

Ronan nearly spits out the beer he just gulped. "Our big, yeti-sized brother got popped off that new colt so often, I told him it was as if he had a spring jutting out of his ass. I think he took one fall too many. He was leaning over and holding his back as he walked the horse to the barn." Ronan looks pointedly at me. "I told him that's what happens to you old people when your bones get rattled."

"Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't thrown out of the saddle today."

"No but I'll bet you're still going to be rattled," Colin says over the rim of his glass. He's looking toward the door. Ronan and I turn back to see what's caught his interest. Indi is walking in with Kinsley.

Ronan whistles low under his breath. "Just remembered why they called her the school jewel. Those legs—" He turns around. "You still have it bad for her, don't ya? Zander told us that?—"

I pick up the glass. "Zander should stop clucking like a busybody hen in the farmyard."

The twins laugh. "Oh, I'm totally going to tell him you said that," Ronan says. He pulls out his phone. "Sending that text right now."

"Whatever." I'm too focused on the beautiful woman talking to Harry. Harry is smiling ear to ear, and his Santa-style belly laugh rolls through the crowded room. Indi's wearing shorts and a light green tank top that hugs every curve. Long, smooth legs stretch between the hem of the shorts and the tops of her ankle boots.

Kinsley takes her hand and pulls her along through the crowded room. Indi's gaze sweeps our direction and lands directly on me. We stare at each other through the chaos. For a second, it feels like we're the only people in the room, the only people on earth. Her lips curl into a sweet smile. She pulls her gaze free of mine and follows Kinsley to the bar.

"Yep, he's a goner." Somewhere next to me, Ronan and Colin are continuing the conversation, but I'm still reeling from the few seconds caught in Indi's gaze.

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