Wilde Blue (Wilde Brothers Book 4) Read Free Page B

Meg. Mommy says little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, ’cept when I’m naughty. Then she says I’m full of backtalk and sass and need a swat to my—”
    “And that’s enough of that, young lady,” Dani interjected before the girl could finish. “Have you been behaving yourself with Mr. Wilde?”
    Carla nodded. “I did! Only I don’t have to call him Mr. Wilde, remember? Because there are five of them and if I called them all Mr. Wilde then you wouldn’t know which one I was talking about.”
    Dave nodded in agreement. “She’s right. There are too many Mr. Wildes around. See, Mom? I told you that you should have stopped after one son.”
    His mother wagged a finger at him before retreating from the room. “I’m going to go have a word with Jared. Since you’re here instead of at home, I’m assuming you haven’t eaten yet and there’s no food in your house. Eat something, David, and say hello to your father before you slip away again. We’ve missed you.”
    “Yes, Mom,” Dave answered automatically, and Carla giggled.
    “You sound like me,” she said.
    “It’s a mom superpower. No matter how old you get, your mom can always make you feel like you’re a kid again.” He glanced at Dani and caught her laughing behind her hand. “Isn’t that right, Dani?”
    “Oh yeah. My mom can make me feel like I’m six years old with a few well-chosen words.”
    Carla sighed and the light went out of her eyes for a moment. “I miss Grandma. When can I talk to her? It’s been ages.”
    “I know, bug. But it’s not easy, you know that. Maybe next week, okay? I have to talk to Grandma, too, and I bet she’s missing both of us.”
    Dave had spent half his life learning to read people, and he knew right away something was off. Dani was being deliberately vague for some reason, and she didn’t seem to be the type of parent to deny a child anything, especially not time with her grandparents.
    Dani glanced up at him again and caught him staring. Damn, the woman was getting to him and she hadn’t so much as batted an eyelash. Maybe his brothers were right. He’d been living like a monk for too long.
    “If you haven’t eaten, there are some more samples of the dishes I whipped up for Jared. Would you like a pulled pork sandwich and maybe a slice of deep dish apple and raisin pie?” she offered, and Dave’s stomach rumbled at the mere mention of food.
    “That sounds incredible, thanks. The last time I had anything to eat I was in a different time zone.”
    Dani chuckled softly. “So, your mom was right. You did come here to score a meal.”
    “Guilty as charged. I’ve been out of town for almost a week. There’s nothing edible in my fridge but condiments and half a jar of pickles.” He shrugged. “It used to be at least one of my brothers was here every night, foraging for food. Now that three of them are domesticated, it doesn’t happen as often.”
    “You mean they used to be here more than they are now? My parents run a restaurant, too, and not even free food could lure my brothers in more than once or twice a month. I’ve only been here two weeks and I’ve already seen all your siblings at least twice.”
    “And Chase! Chase loves cheeseburgers. Ben sneaks them to him when Kelly isn’t looking,” Carla announced with glee.
    “One day Kelly is going to catch him doing that, and Benji is going to spend a week in the doghouse while Chase gets his side of the bed.”
    Carla giggled. “Ben wouldn’t fit in a doghouse. He’s too big!”
    “We’re heading home in about ten minutes, kiddo. Why don’t you start cleaning up while I go get Dave his dinner?” Dani moved around the desk to kiss her daughter’s cheek, smoothing back the tumble of curls from her eyes. “If you’re quick, we’ll have time for pie when we get home. But only if you’re ready to go when I get back. Deal?”
    “Deal,” Carla agreed and immediately started gathering up her drawings. She picked