Page 30 of Wild As Her

Jack apologizes to Walker, and he shrugs, "Never much liked those two anyway."

"Did you really put a skunk in his truck?" I whisper to Jack back at our table as Cash walks away after dropping off our food.

"Did you glitter bomb him?" Jack asks at the same time.

"Maybe," I carefully admit with a whisper as I take a sip of my drink.

Jack laughs. "I wish I'd have thought of that."

"Where’d you get a skunk?" I ask as I take a bite of the chicken pasta. I close my eyes and sigh. Damn it's so good. I look over and give Momma Mary, the cook, a thumbs up, and she waves from the big kitchen window that divides the kitchen and bar.

"Ask your brother," Jack shrugs as he drags his bread through the Alfredo sauce.

"Where the hell did Ollie get a skunk?” I wonder aloud, surprised.

“I have no clue,” he says. "You were surprisingly badass there, Wilder. I'm surprised you didn't shoot him like you tried to last time.”

"What? I would never shoot anyone," I say in mock horror. "I'm a delight, Jessop."

"You know what? You remind me of Christmas lights. Complicated and a mess. But once I figure you out, you're festive and actually quite pleasant," Jack jokes.

"Did you just compare me to Christmas lights?Andcall me pleasant?" I give him a look of disdain. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, they're eating together. No, yeah. Not killing each other at all," Walker says on the phone to someone.

We both shake our heads and look at him, and he mouths, "Violet," and points to the phone, grinning.

I turn back to Jack suspiciously. "Why are you being so nice to me? And why are you in such a good mood?"

Jack looks straight ahead, guiltily.

"What did you do?"

"I need a favor," he says, leaning forward earnestly.

I raise an eyebrow. "You need a favor fromme? I'm not giving you a kidney, Jessop," I say, returning to my pasta. “You’re going to have to just die.”

"Can I crash at your house for a while?" he blurts, his eyes darting around.

"No, absolutely not. And you're not staying in my barn, either," I quip.

"Cami, please. I really need to stay with you. The lodge is full of all this filming bullshit. I can't stay there. Please. Ollie still has his room there. Can't I just stay there? You won't even know I'm there," he pleads.

Yeah, right. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if Jack were inmy house. Much less down the hall from me at night. He’d probably put night crawlers in my bed like he did when we were kids. I shudder at the memory.

I can’t help but replay our conversations that linger like ghosts from our past.

I don’t love you, Cami. Get it through your head. You’re Ollie’s sister. I shouldn’t have kissed you. That was a mistake.

He told me that years ago. A lot has changed since then. Jack left immediately after high school and joined the military. He didn’t even show up for his high school graduation. He couldn’t get out of here fast enough, something he doesn’t talk about to this day. And a lot has changed for both of us since then. We’re both completely different people now. He might be able to come back and pretend that nothing happened, like he didn’t just break my teenage heart, but he did.

Back then, it was hard for both of us, growing up on neighboring ranches. After my grandparents passed away, my parents tried running the Wilder Ranch. Jack’s father hated my family; our fathers were both mean and didn’t make our lives easy at home. Jack’s mother died when he was around ten, so he didn’t even have a mom like Ollie and I did. At least we had her to act as a buffer with our dad. But then, later on, our mom’s excuses just got even bigger for our dad.

I don’t know if I can do it: let him live in the same house as me. I’m not a masochist.

I sigh when I look at him. "Not happening, Jessop. Plus, I'm not sure how much longer I'll have the ranch. Someone bought it. I have to find my own place to stay."

He stares at me for a beat, his mouth still. And damn if it's not a beautiful mouth.

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