Falling for the Babysitter

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.”

Jaxon laughs. “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.” Buck laughs, lifting his coffee to his mouth. “We just feel bad for you. Never getting laid, all by your lonesome up there in your tiny cabin.”

I laugh, “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 play nice with us.”

“You’re telling me not to get laid when I’m in Seattle?” I shake my head, knowing I’d never tell Rosie this, but the prospect of getting laid 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.”

to you like that, too?” I ask Buck. He just grins like

she’s just giving you a

Jaxon says. “And selfishly

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

I know,” I tell them, before I take another drink of

maybe I need to get off this

need to go

2

my sister can’t just support me. That’s what I need. That’s all I’ve wanted. My

her mimosa before answering. “It’s

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.

you’ll make more money updating the

frown. “Buying furniture for mansions is

reality show is a bad idea. Those shows always make someone out to be the villain. What