Walk on the Wilder Side by Serena Bell
Epilogue
A Year Later—Rachel
Brody’s big boat is bursting at the seams.
We’re celebrating his official adoption of Justin, and the boat is full of Perezes and Wilders, a few friends from Rush Creek, Zoë and Zoë’s mom, Rena, because family is family even when it’s complicated.
I’m pretty sure it was the happiest moment of Brody’s life when he put that pen to paper and signed his name, making it official, although when I suggested that, he frowned. He said it was tied with when I stepped back from the door of my apartment in Boston and showed him the suitcases sitting there. “That was when I knew you were mine. And now I know Justin’s mine, too,” he said.
On the day Brody signed the papers, we got to take Justin home with us, where we fed him cake and ice cream and danced him around the apartment and let him fall asleep in the bed between us before we lowered him gently into the real, actual crib that we’d set up in the brand new nursery.
Now Justin’s running around the boat, talking up a storm to whomever will listen (everyone) about the boat and the birds and the elk and the pika and the cake—he’s all about the cake—and his cousins, who are already his biggest heroes.
After a while he runs out of steam and wants Zoë, and she takes him and sits with him while we bring him gifts.
Justin’s grandmothers—Barb and Zoë’s mom—and his honorary abuela and bisabuelita—my mom and grandmother—are clustered around him with their gifts like the magi. Ever since Brody and I came home, the four of them have been competing for most-favored grandma status, and it’s a fight to the finish, with each of them desperately trying to one-up the others—gifts, activities, food, sweets. Brody and Zoë and I do everything we can to hold back the flood of excess so Justin won’t become totally spoiled.
But it’s a lost cause.
Like now, for example, Caridad has a giant pink stuffed pig for him and Barb has given him a bright-colored plastic garbage truck, and Rena found shoes that squeak and light up when he walks, and my mom gave him one of those handheld kiddie computers.
Brody is watching the cluster of hovering women with amusement, and when I drift to his side, he puts his arm around me and squeezes me close.
“Happy?” I ask him.
“Yeah.”
As if it’s not totally obvious from the fact that I haven’t seen him scowl in weeks. I know some women would miss the bad-boy scowl… but I don’t. Seeing Brody happy melts me inside. And there’s just enough bad boy left to Brody—motorcycle included—to meet my needs.
(Plus I know exactly how to get him to scowl. It involves putting on teeny tiny black lace panties and bra while he watches, then layering on a thick sweater and jeans. “Wait!” he says. “You’re wrapping all that up?” “Yup.” “Can’t I lick it first?” “Busy, later!” Lots of scowls. And then, when I get my fill of grumpy Brody, I give in. Because, the licking.)
He ducks his head and nuzzles my neck, as if he can read my thoughts. “Are you exhausted?” he asks.
I was up late last night, studying for an exam. I’m getting my MSW—master of social work—degree online, as well as a certificate to be a licensed sex educator. It’s basically taking the work I did helping my mom to the next level, so I can offer women even more support. And as part of that, I’m also starting my own business, selling sex toys—but not through another reseller. No, I’ll be my own business, curating and choosing only the best.
When Brody heard that we’d need to do a whole bunch of testing and experimenting to find only the best, he was not at all bummed out.
It’s been tons of fun, and the perfect counterpoint to way too much time spent hitting the books.
Amanda scoots close to me on my other side and drapes an arm. “Need a third wheel?”
“Doesn’t everyone?” I ask fondly. She and Lucy and I—and Hanna, when we follow the rules—have become thick as thieves and spend loads of time together. Lucy’s not here today, though, because she hates boats, and she hates them extra much now that she’s pregnant and has morning (read: all-day) sickness. We found out about the pregnancy a couple of days ago—at the same time we learned that she and Gabe are engaged. Needless to say, we’re all over-the-moon excited.
“Did you hear the big news?” Amanda asks.
“Wait, there’s more besides Lucy being pregnant and engaged?”
She nods, eyes gleeful, and lowers her voice. “Clark has a girlfriend.”
Brody’s shaking his head. “No way.”
“He does. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Brody’s eyebrows are drawn together so tight they form a monobrow. I’m with him—even though Clark no longer seems quite as stricken as he did when I first came back to Rush Creek, he’s said on more than one occasion that there’s no way he’s ready to get back in the saddle. His brothers are super respectful of that, and I’ve never seen any of them try to fix him up. Amanda and his mom, not so much.
As Amanda moves along, possibly to share her gossip even further, Brody’s puzzled expression smooths out a bit. “Do you think…?” he begins, then stops. “No. He wouldn’t.”
“What?” I demand.
“He wouldn’t.”
“Brody, you know that’s not fair! You have to tell me.”
“Well, I just—I’m just remembering this one time we talked about it and he said something…” But then he shakes his head again, and returns his attention to watching his son scoot the garbage truck along the bottom of the boat. Needless to say, Barb is preening like a peacock about the fact that her gift has “won.” Until Justin grabs the shoes and shakes them and demands to have them put on his feet.
“I just have a feel for what little kids love,” Rena tells her competitors proudly.
It’s going to be a long sixteen-and-a-half years with this crew, and I’m going to love every minute of it.
Once I finish extracting intel from Brody.
I punch him in the arm. “Tell me what Clark said. Right this second.” He’s still a man of few words, and sometimes I have to pry every one out of him.
“He said…” Brody lowers his voice. “If I thought it would shut Mom up? I’d get a fake girlfriend. Let me know if you find anyone who’s in the market for a pretend relationship.”
“He was just kidding,” I say. “Right?”
Brody and I look at each other. “He had to be. It was a long time ago, anyway. It doesn’t mean anything.”
But he still doesn’t look sure.
It’s going to be an interesting next few weeks in the Wilder family.
Not that there’s ever a dull moment.
But wait, there’s more! Want more Brody and Rachel? Download a bonus scene!
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Can’t wait to find out what happens when Clark follows through on a threat to start a fake relationship? Keep turning pages for an excerpt from Clark and Jessa’s book, Wilder With You.
Pre-order WILDER WITH YOU nowand it’ll drop onto your e-reader as soon as it’s available!
Did you miss Gabe and Lucy’s enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water story? Catch up on their Wilder Adventure!
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