Chapter 22
Wild Ones Tip #56
Chaos is not scary. It’s sexy.
LILAH
“You love him,” Aunt Penny says with no preamble.
She’s the only one I’ve told the truth to since Benson hurt me three days ago.
“I can’t love him. We’ve only been together for a little over two weeks,” I point out, even though it sounds like a lame attempt at a protest.
I finish setting up her website, and turn it around for her to look at. She gushes over it for a second, then I turn it back around to fix her screen so she can check her orders easily.
She’s officially selling her jams online.
“I was in love with Bill within a week of knowing him,” she sighs wistfully. “It took him longer, but not by much. You and Benson…you two have been falling in love for years. You just didn’t know it, because you never crossed that physical boundary until two weeks ago,” she says, moving over to put some of her jams on the new shelves my uncle built her.
“We were friends. Not in love,” I argue.
“How many days did you spend apart?” she muses.
I shrug, bristling a little.
“Not many.”
“You two couldn’t stop touching. Always leaning on each other, always laughing at your own inside jokes. And always, always seeking each other out first, no matter where you were.”
I swallow the knot in my throat as I dare to peek up at her. Her eyes water when she sees the unshed tears in my eyes.
“I realize you’ve always been the rock. Your brothers always leaned on you. You saw how much it hurt them when you left them so you could go get some schooling for this career you chose. But you’ve let that hold you back from ever considering settling down, because you thought that meant you’d have to leave them, even though you don’t. However, all along, Benson has been slowly taking over your heart. You just finally noticed it, kiddo. You’ve been in love for who knows how long. Having sex is just one small part of the relationship equation, and it has no effect on whether or not you’re in love.”
I try to shake my head again, but when that forces a tear to slip free, I freeze, worried I’ll sling more loose.
As I wipe it away, she sits down in front of me. “You haven’t been intimate with anyone in three years,” she says quietly.
“Not a whole lot of options,” I remind her.
She rolls her eyes. “I brought you all kinds of options from the lodge—very handsome men who were very interested. You never paid them any attention. Three years ago, something happened. You know what that is.”
I do, but saying it aloud is almost like confirming what she’s saying is true.
And if I’m in love with Benson, then my life is going to suck even more. Because it hurts to love someone you want to shoot a little.
And it’s not like he’s tried to get me back, other than sending his brother to me. Totally lame, by the way. And insulting. I’m a Vincent, and you send your brother to speak on your behalf?
“Say it,” she tells me, peering at me expectantly.
I groan. “Benson and I became real friends three years ago.”
Her smile spreads, even though it’s watery. “And what cemented that friendship?”
“I couldn’t get my boat to start, and he came over, tore it apart, spent the day working on it, even though it was cold. He finally just reassembled a new motor for me. After he was done, he went and threatened my brothers, told them to buy their own boat and never touch mine again, or they’d have to deal with him.”
She rolls her eyes. “Only a Vincent would find that a bonding experience,” she sighs. “And those wild brothers of yours respected him enough not to retaliate.”
I can’t help but smile, even as another tear trickles down my face.
“It was the first time someone else handled them, instead of cowering. I felt like I had some help to keep them in line. Also, I felt like I was no longer one-third. Killian and Hale have always been two-thirds together. Always together. Sometimes I think they share a brain.”
To this, my aunt laughs loudly, nodding like she agrees.
“And sometimes I feel like I’m right there with them. But most of the time, I felt like I was the odd man out, always cleaning up after them, and constantly left out because I didn’t always think like them. Then Benson…it’s like we shared something. He was on my level, or at least cool with my level. And he had my back even when it came to my brothers.”
I sigh, and she brushes a piece of hair behind my ear.
“That, my darling niece, is real love. It’s not always going to slap you in the face, though that kind is amazing too. I would know. But sometimes, it burns you so subtly, that you don’t realize you’re boiling until it’s too late. The water just took a while to heat up with you, kiddo.”
She takes a breath like she’s readying me for the grand finale.
“You’ve spent almost every day with him for three years. You’ve touched each other affectionately for three years. You’ve subconsciously sought each other out for three years. You’ve been in a steady burn for three long years. Now…the pot is boiling because you’re finally ready.”
“Except I’m not. He’s over there with his ex-fiancée, the girl he planned a future with nine years ago, and I’m—”
A loud boom rattles the air, and my aunt and I both exchange horrified looks before darting to the door to see what my brothers have blown up.
The second we’re outside, we freeze, staring as another boom rattles the air, and water sprays straight up. I cock my head, trying to figure out what’s going on. But the scene before me makes no sense at all.
My breath catches in my throat when the water sprays up again, and I see the two boats racing toward each other.
“Please tell me they’re not really throwing pipe bombs again,” my aunt says dryly.
My brothers are in one boat. And two other brothers are in another—Benson and Deacon.
Benson cuts the wheel, and Deacon sprays water from a water cannon, blasting Hale as my brother readies to launch another pipe bomb. Hale is thrown from the boat when the water pummels him in the chest.
“Where’d he get a water cannon?” I ask on a breath.
“They’re going to kill each other,” Aunt Penny hisses, running down the stairs. “Our boys are supposed to be the damn Wild Ones. They’re going to start a fifth corner if this shit keeps up.”
Right. Right. A water cannon’s origin is not the most important part of this right now.
I race after her as my uncle walks out of his shop, wiping his hands on a rag that’s already stained with grease. His eyes widen when Killian gets blasted in the chest with the same water cannon.
Deacon howls with laughter when Killian finally falls off the side of the boat, killing the motor in the process. Deacon bumps fists with Benson as they circle my brothers like sharks.
“Where’d he get a water cannon?” Uncle Bill asks.
See? It’s not just me. A freaking water cannon demands attention.
“Does he realize he’s starting a war?” my aunt demands. “And what happens if they keep this up? The town will insist on a fifth corner. Who would move?”
The sound of cars pulling in behind us has me turning around, and I see people getting out of their vehicles, hurrying toward us. Tons of people too, not just a few.
“What the hell?” I ask on a long, confused breath.
“For once, I have no damn clue,” Aunt Penny groans, looking over the ridiculous amount of uninvited guests.
Delaney is practically beaming as she races toward the edge to watch the showdown.
“If you want out, you have to promise on the graves not to throw another one of those fucking bombs. Ever,” Benson tells them, moving over to take position behind the water cannon as Deacon takes over the boat’s helm.
“Fuck. You,” Hale seethes, starting to haul himself out.
Benson blasts him with the water cannon, and Hale flails backwards, slapping the water with a clap when he lands on his back.
“I must have heard you wrong,” Benson says, grinning as he holds his finger on that trigger.
Seriously! Where’d he get a water cannon?
“Don’t move to the wilderness, they said.” Liam’s voice has me jerking my head to the left to see him right beside me, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares out at the lake to see this bizarre turn of events.
“You’ll be bored to death, they said,” he goes on. “Peace and quiet gets old, they said.” He turns and gives me an eye roll. “Funny how this wasn’t in the town brochure.”
I’d laugh under normal circumstances, but these are most definitely not normal circumstances.
“Wait…Tomahawk has a brochure?” I ask, unable to help myself.
“Yield or freeze to death. Your choice,” Benson tells my brothers, reminding me there are far more important things going on than brochures.
“Damn it, they’re going to freeze to death,” I grumble.
“We’ll yield the pipe bombs, but you still aren’t getting near our sister,” Killian acquiesces.
As if he’s known exactly where I’ve been all along, Benson turns to face me, and he says something I can’t hear to Deacon, as both my brothers start scrambling to get on their boat.
Benson’s boat turns and shoots toward us, and he curses when Deacon doesn’t line up correctly, bumping the dock too hard when he tries to dock it.
“Sorry. I don’t drive a boat to the store in Seattle!” Deacon defends loudly.
Benson says something I can’t hear, and hoists himself onto the dock before jogging my way.
I look for somewhere to hide, but there’s really no way around this. Only problem is…I now notice half the town is here.
Benson doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of me, cupping the sides of my face.
My eyes stare into those dark brown ones, and he lets his gaze rake over me like he can’t bear not seeing everything at once.
“I’ve been in love with you for over a year, Lilah Vincent. You’re a different brand of crazy than I realized if you think I’m going to let you go now.”
I almost fall forward when he releases me suddenly and takes a step back, smirking at me as he goes to stand on top of the picnic table. My heart is still pounding as I try to process the fact he just told me he loved me.
“I’m on the challenge committee, so I have the right to instate a new beard challenge if I want to,” Benson says, drawing a few hushed whispers.
“There’s a challenge committee?” Liam asks.
“And I will,” Benson goes on, smirking over at me. “Unless Lilah Vincent tells me she’s still mine, and that she’s not ever going to leave me again.”
I narrow my eyes when Delaney comes over and grips my arm painfully.
“Don’t you dare let them grow back the beards,” she hisses.
“The challenge was voted against once. It’ll be voted against again,” I point out, even though it’s just a small act of defiance. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m already his. Never stopped being his.
And he won me over the second he took my brothers out with a freaking water cannon. Because I totally want to shoot them with it myself. I also really want to shoot the Malones. Maybe even the Nickels and Wilders too.
Aunt Penny is unfortunately right. I’ve loved the asshole for longer than I realized. And now I’m boiling.
Benson’s eyes glint with determination as he stares me down.
“Unless the challenger assumes the punishment to instate the challenge on his own accord—don’t forget that little clause. I’ll swim to the other side of the lake. If I make it without being pulled out, the challenge is set. No one can refuse. It could be another nine years before it ends. What do you say, Lilah?”
He smirks, and I battle a grin.
“Really. I need some sort of rule book or something, and I want to be on this challenge committee,” I hear Liam saying, and my uncle is quickly at his side, paperwork in hand.
“Seriously?” I ask my uncle and Liam as they start discussing the committee right beside me.
“Lilah, you’re stalling,” Benson says, sounding amused.
Sighing heavily, I stare at him, weighing my options. Say no, let the beards grow, walk around miserably missing my best friend, while the rest of the town hates me for the bad beards. Or say yes, have Benson back, let him spend an obscene amount of time making all this up to me, and keep the bad beards away.
Tough choice.
“I’ll come back to you. On one condition,” I say, crossing my arms as I grin.
“What condition?” he asks, stepping off the picnic table, but hesitating to move toward me again.
“Tell everyone here how you make your money.” My lips curl in delight, and he glares over at his brother.
Deacon groans while dropping his head back, knowing I’ve Googled their name now and know their not-so-dirty secret. There’s a pun in there. You’ll figure it out later.
Everyone perks up, completely interested in hearing if he’s going to cave to this demand. It would be a long-time mystery finally solved. Only I have the answer right now. The rest are salivating for a morsel.
“I’ll just instate the challenge, and everyone here will be pissed off at you,” he argues, turning to go toward the lake instead of coming to me.
Yeah…that deflates my bubble. About thirty angry stares—men and women—swing my way as if cued.
“Lilah, so help me…” Delaney threatens, letting her voice trail off. “Not even the Vincent name will keep us all at bay.”
Cursing, I start chasing Benson, wondering if I should at least let him jump in the water or not, when he suddenly spins and grabs me like he knew I was close. He swallows my sound of surprise when his lips crush mine, and he pulls me to him as my eyes flutter shut.
It feels too good, too real, and too natural when his lips are on mine, as though this is how it should have been all along. My hands go up to the back of his neck, holding him in place, and cheers erupt when he lifts me off the ground, kissing me thoroughly.
“Does this mean we can play with the water cannon now?” I hear Hale asking.
Benson breaks the kiss to glare at him. “Hell no.”
I drag him back down to kiss me again, and catcalls follow it.
“The Wild One weddings are always the best,” Aunt Penny says too happily behind me.
“Why?” I hear Liam asking, though it’s just idle chitchat, because my attention is focused on the man who is walking me toward the dock.
“Because the Wild Ones can all come together for sanctioned events. When a Wild One gets married, it’s the day of no rules. All the Wild Ones can join together for one, incredibly wild day.”
More cheers erupt, and Benson grins against my lips. Aunt Penny isn’t going to stop until we’re married.
“Benson?” I say against his lips as he drops into the boat, pulling me onto his lap.
Deacon struggles with pushing away from the dock and starting the motor, but we let him figure it out. Learning experience and all.
“Yeah?” Benson answers, nibbling my bottom lip in a delicious way.
“You forgot to tell me you’re a twin.”
He breaks the kiss to pull back, studying me like he’s confused. “So?”
“So? We’re definitely never having kids. We’d end up with quintuplets or something.”
His grin reforms, and his lips are back on mine. “I’m fine with that,” he murmurs, stealing my sanity as the sound of boat motors rev in the background. “Because I want you all to myself for as long as I can have you.”
“What the hell are they doing?” Deacon asks. He still hasn’t gotten us started.
I look over to see my uncle and some of the other men on the boats, scooping out the fish that are floating to the top.
“They’re making sure the fish don’t go to waste,” Benson answers before I can.
“Fish just float to the top?” Poor Deacon. He’s so confused.
“Pipe bombs,” I remind him.
“How have you hidden all this crazy from us for nine years?” Deacon asks his brother.
I arch my eyebrow as Benson smirks. “This is barely anything. You’ve only seen one corner of crazy,” I point out. “We’re the smallest corner too.”
I can’t tell if he looks terrified or intrigued. Maybe both.
“Fish fry tonight!” my uncle calls out, as my brothers shiver next to the fire my aunt has made.
Their clothes are in heaps on the shore, and they’re wrapped in blankets. I wave at them, and they wave at me.
“See you tonight!” Hale calls out.
“Fish fry and we’re invited,” Killian adds.
My aunt just shakes her head like she’s annoyed, but she smiles when her back is to them.
Benson’s arms tighten around me as Deacon finally starts the boat. He’s been paddling us way away from the dock. Yes. Paddling us. In a bass boat.
It’s a good thing he doesn’t live here. The guys would mock him mercilessly.
Deacon manages to make it across the lake—what feels like an hour later.
Benson gets up, depositing me to a seat in the back, and moves toward the front when Deacon gestures for him. Deacon still can’t dock a boat—in case you’ve forgotten.
Benson pulls into his lift instead of tying off, and he presses the button that slowly cranks us up.
I climb out the second I can, and Deacon follows. Benson is the last out, but his hands are on me the second he’s out, and his lips find mine.
I’m not sure how long we stand on that dock and kiss like we haven’t seen each other in years, but I know I’ve forgotten everything by the time he finally breaks the kiss.
“Come on,” he says on a sigh. “I want you to meet my family.”
When I tense, he grips me tighter, making sure I can’t run.
“I’m in love with you. I should have told you about Sadie being in our family, but I had no idea how to make that okay with our relationship so new.”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m literally a Wild One. I could have handled it if I had been prepared, Benson. That’s a fraction of the reason why I have to fly that damn flag in my yard when I’m home—because we can handle anything thrown at us. And to warn the neighbors I’m in—town rules and all that—but that’s not the point. The point is that I can handle complicated and crazy. I just need to know you won’t keep me in the dark when things are uncomfortable for you.”
I’m looking up at him as he frowns down at me.
“You’re right. And I’m sorry. But you kept on about not settling down for years, and then—”
I kiss him, dragging his head down to shut him up. He groans as he pulls me closer, and one of his hands goes to my hair, angling my face up even more. Finally, I smile against his lips.
“I didn’t know how much fun settling down could be,” I say against his lips, smiling.
He smiles back, and I start to tell him I love him…when I see his family is all on the deck and staring down at us. Sadie included.
I’d rather my first confession of love not be in front of his ex.
Benson looks over, and he takes a deep breath, his touch on me tensing.
His mother has tears in her eyes for some weird reason.
“So, do you guys want to go to a fish fry tonight?” I ask them.
Benson goes absolutely stiff, and Deacon grins at him.
“We’d love to!” his mother squeals. “Benson never lets us join him with townies.”
I let it slide that she just called us townies.
“No one tells our last name,” Benson says, pointing a finger at the little boy who looks over, confused.
“We’re now the Nolans family,” Deacon affirms.
“But why?” his dear, sweet mother asks so innocently.
“Because it’s Tomahawk,” I say with a smile, even as Benson’s eyes narrow on me. “And in Tomahawk, there are four corners of crazy to represent the Wild Ones. They’d never leave him alone if they found out Benson—our beloved, bearded, awesome, manly Benson—was secretly the heir to a body wash empire.”
A muscle jumps along Benson’s jaw, but his eyes are smiling at me.
“What’s wrong with body wash?” his stepfather asks.
I’ve always loved how Benson smells. And because I love him, I won’t let the other Wild Ones know his secret. At least not until he’s married to me and gains exemption that way.
“It’s Tomahawk,” Benson and I both say, only confusing everyone more.
“Unless your profession is as manly as they get, you keep your fucking mouth shut,” Benson grumbles. “And I’m not an heir. I’m a shareholder in the family business that our mother started and turned into an empire. We’re proud of her.”
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.
“Hi, Mrs. Benson’s Mom,” Hale and Killian both say, working their way around the boat as I gas it again.
Benson is still yelling at us from across the lake as I crank the volume up louder. My brothers howl into the air like wolves as we take the bend, moving faster up the lake.
I love this boat. It’s so much faster than mine.
I glance back, seeing his mother smiling now as she relaxes, and I return my attention ahead. The song starts over, and I smile bigger, realizing it really is fate. The town only plays this song on repeat when they think the Wild Ones have been too quiet.
The beaver flag is flying high in the distance, letting me know we’re about to get exactly what I want. Malones love their fishing days.
“Mount up, boys! Payback time!” I yell over the sound of the loud motor and whirring wind.
Hale and Killian both man the water cannon, sharing in this moment, as I round the last corner. The Malones are all out on their dock, predictably fishing, completely unaware of what’s coming, until suddenly they’re being blasted.
Kylie screeches, diving away from her fishing pole, laughing uncontrollably when she sees it’s me. She takes cover as her cousins and father start falling into the lake, and I loop around, coming back as more Malones start racing toward the dock, fully armed with their trusty paintball guns.
I’m laughing with my brothers as they swivel the cannon and make another pass, blasting them before those weak little things can make it to us.
I look back at Benson’s Mom, realizing not all the paintballs missed us as I drive like a hellion back toward our corner. There’s a yellow splatter on her shoulder, and her eyes are wide as she gawks at me, her hair whipping wildly in the wind.
She’s clutching her arm underneath where she took the hit. No doubt that’ll bruise. But battle wounds just mean you’ve seen the real town. And raised a little hell.
“Welcome to Tomahawk!” I shout, pausing for my brothers to howl again. “Home of the Wild Ones!”