Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) Read online

  “Oh, Mrs. Wilde, thank you so much. I’d love to bring my little Belle down to the city. And to have tea with you? Swoon, for real!”

  As Brynn approached, she saw that Amy had wisely moved a small table between the two chairs and even set up a coffee service. There would be no trudging back and forth from the coffee station with a big old mug. Nope, for Nana Wilde, only china cups and a beautiful vintage hand painted coffee pot would do.

  “Brynn!” Amy chirped, excitedly. “Your grandmother has offered to show Belle and me the sights next time we venture into Philly. And not only that, she says we can go to the Mary Cassatt Tea Room. Won’t that be awesome? Belle will be thrilled.”

  Brynn gave her grandmother a radiant smile. The woman knew how to work even an audience of one. “Every five-year-old’s dream,” she quipped. “Putting on a pretty dress and having high tea with Philadelphia society.”

  “Well,” Amy deadpanned. “I’d rather that than a kiddie meal, a plastic toy, and a soda.”

  “Hear, hear!” Nana chuckled. “Best to nourish an eager mind with wonder than dumb it down with pop culture.”

  Having been exposed to Nana’s Auntie Mame-style philosophy all her life Brynn couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh when the older woman winked mischievously.

  “Amy, my dear. It’s been good to see you again. And thank you ever so much for helping Brynn as you do. She’s taken on so much. I fear it doesn’t leave time for other things.”

  Brynn wanted to scream when Nana sat back with a self-satisfied lift to her lips. Was she actually baiting her in front of someone? That hardly seemed fair until she remembered that Nana Wilde wasn’t exactly playing from the top of the deck these days. She didn’t need a mirror to know her face had grown sullen. Especially when Amy looked at her quizzically. Was there an undercurrent suddenly pulsing in the air? Probably.

  “Well then, you’ll be pleased to learn, Mrs. Wilde that we’ve added some helpers. Just today in fact. Brynn is mentoring two wonderful people from the local college. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to learn under someone as dedicated and savvy as Brynn. And of course,” Amy smirked, “there have been some other changes as well.”

  Holy crap. This was not the way she wanted the conversation to go. Throwing her assistant a withering glare, she snapped, “I think there’s some activity at the counter, Amy. Why don’t you go take care of that end of things and let me find out what my grandmother is doing here.” It had taken a great deal of grit not to mutter, what’s she’s up to.

  “You can be quite the wretch, can’t you?” Nana drawled as Amy scurried away. “You should be nicer my dear, after all, without Amy you’d be paddling upstream all the harder.”

  Brynn sighed. Whatever. She wasn’t up for a lecture. And she wasn’t feeling all that pleasant at the moment. Remembering that Jax had told her Seth made a cameo while she was off in New York only set her nerves on edge. Time to find out why Nana had come all this way just to stir the damn pot.

  “What’s this all about, Nana? You don’t normally show up here without warning. It’s not like we live around the corner from each other. Philadelphia might be close by, but it’s still a good ninety minutes out of your way.” There. Direct. To the point. No more beating around the bush.

  Brynn watched tight-lipped and rigid with tension as her grandmother helped herself to the chocolate cake with an unreadable expression on her face. Waiting for a response to her challenge was a little bit like waiting for Dad to get home after having pissed off her mother. Shit. She was going about this all wrong but her mouth as usual had gotten out ahead of her common sense and now she’d just have to deal with it. Somehow she doubted where the conversation went would be enjoyable.

  After she’d taken a couple of measured, and painfully slow bites, Nana dropped the fork with a clatter onto the china plate and heaved a dramatic sigh. All Brynn could do was swallow the jittery feelings choking her throat and hope she survived whatever was coming at her. You’d think that she’d be in a calmer, happier frame of mind after the incredibly satisfying night and early morning just past. Being with Jax had a way of cutting through the bullshit that cluttered her mind. Shame she couldn’t access those feelings right now.

  “Alright Granddaughter,” Nana eventually stated in a scolding tone. “”I see you want to get all pithy with me so go ahead. Give it your best shot, my dear.”

  Oh, why the hell not, Brynn thought. Might as well throw down, put her cards on the table, and see what happened.

  “That idiot Seth came sniffing around here yesterday. I assume because he’s salivating at the idea of tossing me out on my ass. When the time comes of course. You’re being mean Nana and manipulative. Why would you put that insane marriage clause in your will,” Brynn whined. “It’s not fair. I’ve always been the dutiful, good one of all my siblings and cousins. I don’t understand why you’d want to hurt me this way.”

  The other woman’s eyes took her in from head to toe in a spine-prickling inspection that made Brynn gulp.

  “Why you think that forcing you to look at the totality of your life and not just the dutiful part is mean or manipulative mystifies me. I understand there’s a new man in your life, darling. And judging by the glow on your face, I’d say that’s a damn good thing.”

  Yep. In the chronicle of things she least expected to hear, that statement pretty much slid into spot number one evidenced by the hissing gasp that shot from her mouth. It didn’t get any better when Nana’s broadside continued.

  “Frankly my dear, you looked like a worn-out paper bag the last time I saw you and yet here you are today, with a hop and a skip in your step and a rosy blush that suggests you’ve finally remembered you’re a woman and not just a business model. Explain to me exactly how that’s a bad thing.”

  Brynn’s analytical mind took over. It was a knee jerk reflex, an act of self-preservation in a situation she didn’t know how to handle. Barking out a series of questions, she sat forward in her chair and did very little to dial back the volume of her response or the vehemence with which she spoke.

  “Who told you that? And what does a man who may or may not exist have to do with anything, anyway? I resent being told I look like shit but suddenly, because you imagine some guy has appeared, all of a sudden I’m acceptable. That’s bullshit Nana, and you know it.”

  “You’re not denying there’s a man, Brynn. Is my information correct? Are you involved with someone? Seems like a simple yes or no will do.”

  “Oh my God!” Brynn screeched as outrage with a heavy overlay of aggravation knocked her sideways. “Who told you this?” Nana looked mighty pleased with herself as Brynn completely lost her shit. Oh please God, this can’t be happening, she silently groaned. Was nothing private?

  Smoothing invisible wrinkles on her draped skirt, Nana deadpanned an expression that made Brynn’s blood boil. “Seth might have mentioned he ran into someone when he came by for a visit with you. I believe the way he described him was, an unpleasant sort with more muscles than manners. Frankly, I was delighted to hear it. Explains the rosy glow in your cheeks.”

  It most certainly did not help that the last part of what Nana said was accompanied by a smug little smile.

  “Enough,” Brynn barked with a menacing growl her hands clenching into fists. Someone needed to be smacked and if she ever laid eyes on her cousin again, he’d be wearing her handprint on his meddling face. It was all too damn much. She hated the idea that people, even her family, were talking about her. It took her back to a time when an entire town thought it was okay to pick over every detail, no matter how personal, of her life and pass judgment after judgment. Nothing was worth going back to that time and dealing with one tidal wave of negative emotion after another. She couldn’t, wouldn’t live her life that way.

  “You know what? I’ve had enough of this. In one fell swoop you tell me I’ve gone from looking like shit to being a giggly twit all because you imagine I’m getting laid. Frankly Nana, that’s outr
ageous and insulting. You want to force me into a marriage because of some crazy old school mindset that says the little woman needs a big bad man to be in charge? Well, screw that. Been there. Done that. Never again. I’m fine and I do not need a man to make me whole. And for your information,” she declared while pulling her cell phone from the pocket of her apron, “see this?”

  Brynn swiped her finger across the screen until she brought up the memo she’d written and shoved it in her grandmother’s face.

  “See what it says?” She was almost yelling now. “It says Beards, and you know why? Because there’s no goddamn way I’m going to be pushed into something I’m not ready or looking for.” Shaking her head in disgust she turned on Nana Wilde with a vengeance. “I was ready to find some poor dumb shmuck, preferably one with at least one foot and a couple of toes in the closet to satisfy your ridiculous demand. Do you see that Nana? In order to hang onto something I’ve poured my heart and soul into, I was willing to hire a goddamn husband. I’m better than that, and I’m sorry you can’t see me that way.”

  Nana looked shocked and stunned by her outburst.

  “But you know what? Fuck it. And no, I’m not sorry for my language. You want to threaten me with my putz of a cousin? Fine. He can have the property. All of it. I’m done being manipulated by anyone. Even you. And since Seth is in cahoots with my ex, I’m sure some epic humiliation was being planned so thanks ever so much for that. When the lease for the bakery and the house comes due after the first of the year, I won’t be signing. That way your little game can play out while you’re still around to enjoy the outcome. I’m done. Finished. Over and out.”

  Brynn was standing and shouting by the end of the emotional tirade, her face mottled with outrage, tears shining in her eyes. How dare this woman, someone she thought loved and understood her, be so cold and calculating? She was a human being, a woman with feelings and emotions, not a pawn in some maniacal chess game. Maybe this was the universe’s way of telling her it was time for a change. Well, she thought, whatever it was, she certainly wasn’t the one calling the shots, and when it came to her own life, that simply was not acceptable.

  “Brynn,” Nana muttered. “Be reasonable.”

  “No! You made this situation unreasonable. So fine. Have it your way. I won’t be manipulated or made a fool of. I’d expect you of all people to know that.”

  There wasn’t anything to say after that so she simply ripped off her apron in dramatic fashion and tossed it on the floor. With her dignity in tatters, Brynn stomped on the symbol of the life she’d created as she fled the tearoom, flying past Amy who had an incredulous look on her face, and storming into the kitchen where her nerves finally shattered. Picking up a stack of metal pans she sent them crashing to the floor with a wounded yelp of frustration, then spun on her heel and exited through the back door.

  “YOU FELLAS DID EXCELLENT WORK,” Jax declared to the team of workers assembled who stood by with anxious expressions as he moved through the almost fully renovated bathroom. “Seriously. I’m impressed.” Stepping gingerly on the cardboard runner covering the beautiful tile work on the floor, he marveled at the perfection of the beadboard on the walls and the crown molding that gave the distinctive high ceiling an elegant look.

  “Jonas,” he said to the young veteran he’d put in charge, “you really stepped up. And Mike, Pauly, for real. I’m delighted with what you’ve done.” And he was. This all was working out so much better than he ever thought possible. “When the whole project is complete, we’re going to have a sit down and talk about the future. With this kind of result and attention to detail, you all have a serious future in renovation work.”

  The three men went from anxiously waiting for him to pass judgment on their efforts to grinning from ear to ear. And he wasn’t shitting them in the least. A thought had been running around in his head for a few days. Something that, if he could make happen, would certainly change the way he did business and open up new horizons in his future that hadn’t been there a week ago.

  A bang sounded in the front of the house that startled all four of them. Hanging out the bathroom door he saw Brynn had entered through the front with a loud slam, furiously stomping right past where they stood with a look of dark fury plastered on her face. She never slowed down, didn’t acknowledge their presence in any way, just blew right by and made her way to the stairs, which she attacked with anger evident in every step. Holy shit. What the fuck?

  Jax stood there momentarily stunned, marking her passage by sound, along the upstairs hallway followed by another loud bang as she slammed the door on the master bedroom with a thud so forceful, every man present felt it.

  Jonas reacted first muttering, “That sure as shit didn’t look good.”

  Mike and Pauly bobble-headed their agreement in unison with Pauly adding, “Women. Delicate flowers, full of mystery. Hope she doesn’t have any weapons.”

  The three snickered and grinned then bit back their responses with a couple of choked coughs and some foot shuffling.

  “Looks like you’re up, sir,” Jonas remarked with a cheeky grin as he slapped him on the back with a good-natured pat.

  Jax was momentarily stymied. He’d never seen Brynn like that although why he should be so surprised was a joke and a half. He’d only known her for a week and had barely scratched that controlled surface she kept wrapped so tight around her.

  Mike, who didn’t have a lot to say about much of anything chimed in with, “The price you pay for letting a female get under your skin.”

  Jonas immediately shot back, “Yeah, well it’s a damn sight better than sitting at home on a Friday night scratching your balls while you watch Sports Center and eat cold pizza. Alone.”

  Yeah. He liked Jonas. Kid had been seriously fucked up during a deployment. Two buddies were blown up by an IED right in front of him – he took on a crapload of shrapnel but survived. The dude had so much shit going on in his head, he made Jax’s issues look like a playground. He also had crazy leadership skills he didn’t even realize and was a natural organizer.

  Jonas turned to him and said, “Good luck. We’ll clean up and get out of here. Give you two some privacy.”

  Jax nodded and did a fast sprint after Brynn, taking the stairs two at a time as cold fear sank in his gut. Something wasn’t right. Even a blind man would have seen that. Fuck. Now what?

  He stopped outside the closed bedroom door and reviewed his options. He could barge in or knock and wait for an answer that might not come. Nah, neither of those two seemed right so he took a deep breath, tapped lightly at the same time that he slowly opened the door, saying, “Baby? You alright?”

  His eyes scanned every corner of the room before he found her standing ramrod straight in a shadowed corner next to the window. Her back was to him and besides the stiff spine he noted she had her arms wrapped protectively across her middle, her ass had that so tight you could hurt somebody with it look and there was a discernible quiver of tension racing along her body. It occurred to Jax that maybe Sweater Man and Goatee Boy had returned and messed with her. A red haze of anger started dancing inside him.

  Moving slowly and carefully into the room, Jax shut the door behind him and came to a dead stop less than a foot behind her. Everything about her demeanor reminded him of those confusing days after he’d come home when the slightest thing could set him off. He knew from experience not to try and invade her body space, but he needed some quick answers so he’d know how to handle whatever was going on.

  “Babe?”

  Brynn’s shoulders slumped, and she rested her forehead on the window jam but didn’t turn and look at him. He wanted so badly to gather her in his arms and absorb the anguish he felt radiating off her in waves.

  When she finally said something, her normally husky, vivacious voice sounded defeated and just a little scared. Every protective instinct in Jax’s body ramped up to high alert.

  “I caused a scene in the tearoom.”

  Was that a sob she ju
st choked back? Fuck. Somebody clearly upset her. The red haze deepened.

  “Um, will you…….I mean, would you mind going and checking on Amy? Make sure she’s okay. I can’t go back there today. Ask her to stay and close up, tell her to send everyone on their way and just lock the doors. I’ll deal with it all later.”

  Of course he’d do whatever she wanted, but first he needed her to look at him. “Brynn. Look at me. Please.”

  “I can’t Jax. Just give me some space right now, okay? I’m, um…fine.”

  No way was she fine, but he’d had enough therapy and talked out his problems in so many group sessions that he knew to respect the signals she was putting off. For now.

  “I’ll take care of Amy and anything else in the shop that needs handling, okay? The guys are cleaning up downstairs, but they’ll clear out soon.”

  She nodded and heaved a tremendous sigh. “I’ve made a mess of things,” she mumbled. He heard upset and something that came off sounding a lot like defeat in her voice. Not good.

  “Whatever it is, it can be fixed.” He tried to sound sure and positive even though neither of those feelings was in abundance at the moment.

  “No. Can’t be fixed. Not this time.”

  Hmmmm. The take-no-shit woman he was used to seemed to be pulling a disappearing act. This vulnerable, fragile side was a revelation.

  “Is anyone dead or dying?” he asked.

  She shook her head. Okay, that was a start.

  “Was there blood or a nine-one-one call?”

  “Only figuratively,” she answered.

  “Then everything’s going to be fine.”

  When she didn’t make another sound he gentled his tone and leaned in to her. “Do you trust me, babe?”

  Relief washed through him when she immediately answered, “Yes.” Thank fucking God. Whatever was the problem, it wasn’t him. Jax started to retreat but stopped and turned back when he reached the door.