His mother beams, and I realize insulting the body wash empire would be devastatingly disrespectful.
“I love the way he smells,” I say with a shrug. “But the other Wild Ones would never leave him be.”
She nods determinedly, still rolling with the punches. I really like her.
“What’s a Wild One?” Sadie asks, her eyes on me.
My lips curl into a dark grin. “We usually like blowing things up. Or hunting, because we’re the best shots on the lake. Or fighting, because that’s our favorite form of communication. Or we find something randomly dangerous to do when we’re bored. In short, we’re fucking crazy, sometimes dangerous, and worst…very unpredictable.”
I wink at her, and she swallows hard.
Benson’s arm slides around my waist, and he kisses the top of my head.
“I can’t believe I never knew this town had so much excitement,” Benson’s mother says, her eyes alight with interest. “Let’s go get changed for this fish fry,” she adds, clapping her hands together, then she purses her lips. “What’s a fish fry? And what does one wear to such a thing?”
I restrain a smile as Benson blows out a breath. He’s going to catch hell for having a mother who worries about what to wear to a fish fry.
“Let’s get in. I’ll break it down for you,” he tells her, still keeping me close.
“If it’s all the same to you,” Deacon starts, sidling up to Benson’s other side, “I think I’m going to come back in a few months and stay for a while. This town has piqued my interest.”
I look away, giving them the most privacy I can for this moment, since I’m pressed up against Benson’s side and he’s not letting me go.
I know the town isn’t the reason Deacon wants to stay, and I know on some level, Benson just remembered how much fun it is to have a brother. Considering they went against my brothers.
And won!
And they didn’t get blown up. Not that my brothers were actually trying to blow them up, but they were trying to blow enough water into the boat to rock their worlds.
They’re better aims than that, and if they wanted to blow something up, they would.
“Make sure you’re back before the end of fall,” Benson says with a shrug. “Once the snow sets in and the lake freezes, it’s hard to get out here. Impossible in that Mercedes you own. And if you’re going to be sticking around, lose the Mercedes. Trust me. You’ll never hear the end of it.”
I look back just as Deacon smiles and directs his attention to the ground. “Sounds like a good idea.”
His mother is watching them from the top when I look up, and she gives me a soft, somewhat appreciative smile that I don’t understand.
Deacon jogs up the steps ahead of us, kissing his mother on the top of her head, before he walks in.
She speaks just as we step in front of her.
“Care if I have a word with Lilah in private?” she asks Benson.
He looks to me for permission, and I shrug. I have no idea what she wants to say to me, but…I figure she may be worried for her son’s health. My brothers did just throw pipe bombs at him.
Somehow I don’t think telling her they weren’t actually trying to kill him will mean very much to her.
“I’ll go get out of my wet clothes,” Benson says, looking at me again. “Hurry up and join me.”
I flash a grin, then remember his mother probably isn’t used to such insinuations. I forget how normal people behave and all that.
She’s blushing when I look back at her, and Benson walks off, leaving us to speak.
“Fish fries are very casual. If you have jeans, I’d wear them. And a T-shirt. Boots are the best for any event around here. Bugs are vicious,” I say, babbling.
It occurs to me that I’ve never spoken to a guy’s mother. At least not a guy I was getting wild with.
Her gaze drops to my combat boots, and she smiles as she looks back up to me.
“Thank you.”
My eyebrows go up.
“No problem,” I say with a shrug. “Never dress up, and you’ll fit in around here anywhere you go.”
Her smile broadens. “I meant, thank you for what you did for my sons. Benson doesn’t even question your loyalty to him. He let his brother come see you. Alone. Because even though he’d hurt you, he knew without a doubt you’d never cross that line just to hurt him back. Because of you, my sons are speaking—actually speaking with smiles on their faces—for the first time in nine years.”
She takes a deep breath as I try to figure out what to say.
“So thank you,” she says again.
“Deacon was legit trying to mend things between them and never tried anything when he came to talk to me. And besides, Benson knows I’d have shot him if he had tried anything,” I say casually, then realize, once again, that’s not a response for a normal person.
She laughs under her breath.
“With a BB,” I amend, as though that makes it all better.
She sighs long and hard. “I complicated their lives by marrying John. I never had a clue it could go so wrong for them. And Sadie…” She lets the words trail off as she looks back at me. “It took one girl to tear them apart, and it took one woman to bring them back together.”
She touches my shoulder, gently clasping it.
“Now, do you have some boots I can borrow?” She eyes my waist, and I eye her very elegant trousers. “And some jeans?”
To this, I laugh.
“Let’s steal Benson’s boat. I have an entire wardrobe. Pants might be short, but the boots will cover that. But hurry. Because Benson hates it when I steal his boat.”
Her grin spreads so wide that it has to hurt.
“We’ll make one quick stop by the Malones. I owe them for the paintballs, and I really, really want to try out that water cannon,” I add.
Her laughter pours out as she quickly follows me down the steps.
I have to help her onto the boat, then I start willing the lift to work quicker as it slowly lowers us into the water.
Just as I get the boat pushed away from the dock and rev the motor, Benson comes running out, his eyes wide and horrified when he sees his mother in the boat with me.
I turn up the radio, blowing him a kiss, as the telling music plays.
I mean…the song couldn’t have better timing.
“I love you, Benson Nolans!” I shout, which only gives him one minute of pause where his smile breaks across his face.
“Gotta break it loose, gonna keep it movin’ wild, gonna keep it swinging, baby, I’m a real wild child.”
The smile fades quickly as reality sinks back in and the song playing finally registers. He starts yelling, panicking, as I laugh manically and gas it across the lake. My brothers hear the song playing and race toward the end of my aunt’s dock as I swing it sideways, getting just close enough. Absently I hear the squeal from Benson’s mom as we rock hard in the water from the harsh turn.
They’re just in their boxers, grinning hugely as they race toward us. “You boys want to shoot a water cannon?” I call out.
“Hell yeah!” they shout.
They leap into the boat, and poor Benson’s mother’s eyes widen when she sees how they’re dressed.