Doing It Over (Most Likely To #1)(46)

“Suck it up.” She was less than gentle but managed to get the splinters out before placing a generous amount of medicated cream on his back, along with a bandage.

She moved to Wyatt.

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah, that’s why you’re bleeding.”

“It’s stopped.” He pulled the gauze away from the cut above his eye to prove it.

It looked like he could use a stitch or two.

“Needs to be cleaned,” she told him.

He hissed but didn’t pull away when she saturated the cut with hydrogen peroxide. Wyatt kept watch with his one good eye as she removed the clotted blood and cleaned him. “I think this needs a stitch.”

“I’m sure there’s a butterfly in there,” Wyatt said.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s fine, Mel.”

She dug again, found a fancy bandage to hold the edges of his eyebrow together. When she finished, she placed a large Band-Aid over the whole thing. “Anything else?” she asked, poking his shoulders and glancing at his back.

“If you want to take my shirt off, go ahead. But I think I’m good.” He was smiling at her.

“Brat.”

He managed a wink with his bad eye.

Jo strode into their room a few minutes later, words tumbling out of her mouth. “Next time take the fight outside. Did you see the damage to R&B’s?”

“They started it, Jo!” Luke took one look at Jo and added, “Sheriff.”

“Yeah, well, several people saw you fall into that jackass. Ty’s friends said you rushed him.”

“That’s crap—”

She waved off Wyatt’s comment. “Doesn’t matter. They’re screaming self-defense and you yourself said you tried to stop the fight, Wyatt. Putting your hands on someone first.”

“But—”

She stopped him with a hand in the air. “It’s all a ‘he said, he said’ game. Comes down to one thing . . . are you pressing charges?” Jo looked between them. “And before you answer, know that if you press charges, they will press charges, and Josie will have to go that route as well. Right now she’s willing to let it rest as long as you guys promise to repair the damage.”

“Even those yahoos out there?” Matt asked.

Jo shrugged her shoulders. “Everyone is booked, or no one is booked.”

Wyatt hedged his arm toward Luke, nodded at Matt. “We’ll make sure Josie’s taken care of.”

“Good choice,” Jo said before twisting around and marching out of the room.

It took ten minutes for Jo to clear out the bikers and return to them. Matt’s wife promptly stormed out of the station, her husband in tow.

When it was just the four of them in the room alone, Jo shook her finger at both of them. “Don’t ever make me f*cking arrest you. Damn, Luke . . . what were you thinking?”

“I’m blaming the liquor.”

“It’s not even midnight,” Jo pointed out.

“Yeah. It won’t happen again, Jo.”

Melanie saw a cloud pass over Luke’s eyes and she knew the reason behind the alcohol.

“And you,” Jo pointed at Wyatt.

Wyatt didn’t offer a liquor excuse. “Can’t watch a friend take a beating, Jo. If you need to cuff me, do it. I won’t hold it against you.”

Jo’s chest heaved with every breath she took. “Take them home, Mel.”

Then she was gone.

Melanie dropped Luke off first since he lived close, then drove Wyatt to R&B’s to retrieve his truck.

A sign on the door said the bar was closed until further notice.

Mel parked next to Wyatt’s truck. “Is it that bad in there?” she asked.

“It didn’t look good.”

Wyatt didn’t rush to leave Miss Gina’s van.

“Luke was torn up about Zoe, wasn’t he?”

Wyatt shrugged. “Man code.”

She grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Take it however you need to, darlin’.”

“I guess it’s probably good you were here then.”

“Tell my head that in the morning.”

“Is it bad?”

A mischievous smile spread over his face. “Might have a concussion.”

She regarded him with caution. “A concussion.”

“Yeah, the kind that needs someone to keep me awake all night.”

“Holy . . . you did not just say that.”

He laughed and opened the door. “C’mon, give me a hand with Luke’s bike.”

She followed him out in the cool night, let the headlights of Miss Gina’s van light the parking lot.

Wyatt removed a ladder from the side of his truck and used it as a ramp for Luke’s motorcycle.

Melanie helped with the straps to keep it in place before Wyatt closed the tailgate. “That should do it.”

She wiped the dust from her hands. “You’re okay from here?” she asked.

Wyatt leaned against his truck and crooked his finger his way. “C’mere.”

She took a step closer, felt the energy change between them. When she was close enough, he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for coming.”