Chapter 34


    Rosie smirks. “I don’t know, Buck. Right now I think Harper and I are mostly worried about our boy


    Dean Wilder, here,” she says, pointing to me. “About finding him a good, solid wife. And I don’t see how


    that’s going to happen in Seattle.”


    Jaxonughs. “Yeah, you don’t want some woman who can’t hack it in the woods.”


    Rosie furrows her brow. “Buck tells me you weren’t always a mountain man yourself, Jaxon. Careful


    now.”


    Jaxon runs his hand over his beard, shaking his head at us. “Yeah, but you and Harper have the right


    disposition for this life. Not every woman does, is all.”


    “I’m right here, you know,” I tell them, raising an eyebrow at this crew who thinks they know what I


    need.


    “We know, Wilder, we know.” Buckughs, lifting his coffee to his mouth. “We just feel bad for you.


    Never gettingid, all by your lonesome up there in your tiny cabin.”


    Iugh, “You guys are a bunch of fuckers, you know that?”


    Rosie clucks her tongue. “Regardless, we know that you need a woman, but not some city-slicker girl


    who won’t y nice with us.”


    “You’re telling me not to getid when I’m in Seattle?” I shake my head, knowing I’d never tell Rosie


    this, but the prospect of gettingid tonight is half the reason I said I’d go.


    “You can sleep with whomever, Wilder. I’m just saying, don’t knock anybody up that we haven’t


    approved.”


    “She talks to you like that, too?” I ask Buck. He just grins like a lovesick puppy. Rosie winks at her


    husband before going back to the kitchen.


    “You know she’s just giving you a hard time, right?” Buck says.


    “The girls just want you to be happy,” Jaxon says. “And selfishly they want another friend. It’s lonely up


    here for them, too.”


    Living in the mountains is great. I set my own hours, am my own boss, and work with the greatest guys


    I’ve ever known. But damn, Jaxon, my oldest friend, hit the nail on the goddamn head.


    “I know, I know,” I tell them, before I take another drink of my coffee, knowing just how lonely it can be


    up here.


    Damn, maybe I need to get off this mountain more than I thought.


    I need to go getid. And badly.


    2


    what?” I furrow my brows not understanding why my sister can’t just support me. That’s what I need.


    That’s all I’ve wanted. My family to have my back.


    She takes a sip of her mimosa before answering. “It’s so tacky.”


    We’re having brunch in a swanky Seattle bistro, something French and something expensive and she


    doesn’t seem to understand that we all aren’t married to stockbrokers living in posh waterfront homes.


    Some of us are just trying to pay rent and a reality TV show seems like the best offer I’ve seentely.


    “You are such a talented interior designer, and you’ll make more money updating the homes of my


    friends. That house you did for na was gorgeous.”? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    I frown. “Buying furniture for mansions is redundant. I want something more exciting.”


    “Well, this reality show is a bad idea. Those shows always make someone out to be the viin. What if


    that person is you? Your entire career could be ruined.”


    I take a deep breath; frustrated that she doesn’t understand me. “This show could pay my bills for the


    entire year.”


    “Or you could just move into our spare bedroom and help watch Nicolette.”


    My mouth is in a tight line. “You know I love helping with my niece, but I don’t want any handouts. I


    want to make it on my own.”


    Anna spears a piece of pineapple, eyes narrowed. “Mom and Dad think it’s embarrassing. The idea of


    you unting around on television.”


    “Mom and Dad could call and talk to me about it. If they had their way I’d already be married to a guy


    like Brent. And that’s not going to happen. Ever.”


    My sister’s husband is thest sort of guy I want to be with. I want a man who cares about more than


    his bank ount.


    Anna purses her lips. “You may think being married to Brent sounds like your worst nightmare, but he is


    able to support me and Nicolette. That counts for an awful lot.”


    Anna married for money, not love. Just like our mother. And we may be family, but our priorities have


    always been different.


    “It’s out of the question.” I fold my napkin and set it on the table. “I want my freedom, and I need some


    money in order to do that. So I’m going to try and get this gig.”


    Anna shakes her head, confused. “Don’t you want a family? A husband? A baby?”


    I shrug; because of course, I want those things. But I also want them on my terms. In my own time.