Free Wilde Riders (Old Town Country Romance) by Savannah Young Page A

shared such intimate things with a guy before. Most guys have never cared enough to even ask.
    Cooper is looking at me like he’s studying my face. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
    “It’s not that,” I say. “I’m just surprised that you asked.”
    He frowns. “Why wouldn’t I?”
    I shrug. “Most guys don’t really care.”
    “I guess I’m not like most guys.”
    “There are very few ways in which you’re like most of the guys I know.”
    I can see him swallow, hard, and I wonder if I’ve offended him. “Maybe we’d better get cleaned up.”
    Just like that the conversation is over. I can’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

     

Seven
    Cooper
    I feel like I’m digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole the longer I let Riley believe that I’m not like every other Wall Street wannabe she knows when that’s exactly what I am—right down to the apartment in lower Manhattan and the car.
    But I’m also the simple guy from New Jersey that she thinks I am. At least I was. Maybe I still am deep down inside. Who the hel l knows? What’s that old saying? Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive . Well, I’m not just tangled. I’ve really gotten myself twisted into one big knot of lies. And I have no idea how I’m going to get myself untwisted.
    As I head toward the kitchen, I notice my brother, Tucker, alone in the darkened living room. Jake must have let him come home early. That’s not unusual. What is unusual is that he’s stretched out on the couch staring at the wall.
    “What’s on your mind, Tuck,” I ask as I plop down on the couch next to him.
    He doesn’t reply right away. Then he turns to me and says, “Take care of that girl, Man. Do whatever you have to do but don’t let her go.”
    I rake my fingers through my hair. “I’m just not sure it’s going to be anything more than a weekend thing.” As much as I may want it to be more, it’s not just my decision.
    Tuck shakes his head. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Like the sun rises and sets on your ass. I think you’re wrong, Man.”
    “There’s a lot more to it than that.”
    “You obviously like her. She likes you. What more is there?”
    “It’s complicated.”
    “I think you’re making it complicated.” He looks back at the wall. “If I had a girl like that, I’d do whatever it took to keep her. But you and I both know that’s never gonna happen.”
    “Why would you say that?”
    Tucker doesn’t respond right away. He continues starting at the wall.
    “Tucker?” I say softly. I feel like he’s disappeared even though he’s still sitting right next to me.
    When he looks back at me, his eyes are moist. It breaks my heart.
    “What girl’s ever gonna want me? My leg is totally messed up. I look like a freak. And I walk like some old dude who’s constipated.”
    I want to laugh at his description of his limp, which is slight at best but I can see he’s really struggling to come to terms with his injury.
    “I’m sure you’ll meet someone who won’t care about your leg. You were in a war. You served your country. That’s something to be proud of. You’re not a freak. And you definitely don’t walk like someone who’s constipated. Old, maybe, but not constipated. ”
    That earns me a slight smile. “Easy for you to say. You never even have a hair on your head out of place.”
    “My life isn’t as easy as you think it is, Tuck. I wish it was. I know I don’t have the problems you do but I do have my share of problems.”
    “I’d trade your problems for mine any day.”
    “I wish I could take your pain away. I really do. You’ve just got to work through it.”
    When Tucker heaves a sigh and stares at the wall again, I sense the conversation is closed for now.
    Just as I’m about to get up, I hear a scream from upstairs. 
    Tucker and I both jump up from the couch and hurry out of the living room. I take the stairs two at a time until I reach