Born to Be Wild: Welcome to Paradise, Book 3 (9 page)

When Jake jumped off his stool and shot her a wolfish, let’s-go-to-bed look, Bree was grateful for the wake-up call. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking, trying to connect with him over sandwiches and OJ. She and Jake had only ever been good at two things—sex, and saying goodbye.

And they’d be doing both by the time this week was over.

Chapter Six

Jake was having a smoke on the porch the next day when Austin drove up. Taking one last drag, he approached the wooden railing and extinguished the cigarette in the soda can he’d dubbed an ashtray. His mom was already inside, having tea with Bree in the kitchen, and Jake mentally praised himself for having the foresight to pick his mom up and drive her here. The way Austin warily glanced at the driveway told Jake that his brother had anticipated a trap. Fortunately, only Jake’s truck and Bree’s Lexus sat on the dusty drive, and Austin relaxed slightly as he approached the porch.

“So you and Bree Lockhart,” Austin said, his expression containing a touch of confusion.

“Yep.” He leaned in to give his brother a quick side hug. “Thanks for coming by.”

Austin actually cracked a smile. “Isn’t every day my big brother wants my opinion about a woman.”

Jake swallowed down a lump of guilt. Yep, he’d totally lied when he’d invited his brother over for lunch. Told him he was dating Bree and wanted an outsider’s view on the relationship, an honest opinion about Bree. He didn’t usually resort to sneak tactics, but with the way Austin had been acting lately, sneaky had been necessary.

“Bree’s inside,” Jake said as he headed for the door.

Austin trailed after him, and their boots thudded against the hardwood floor on their way to the kitchen.

The second they entered the room, Austin froze.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jake heard his brother mutter.

At the table, Della shot to her feet, a combination of surprise and delight filling her brown eyes. “Austin! I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Ditto,” her youngest son mumbled. When he looked at Jake, there was no mistaking the fury in his dark green eyes.

“Hey, Austin.” Some of the anger dimmed when Bree spoke up, but the tension in the room continued to hang in the air like a dense fog.

“Bree,” he said in a clipped voice.

Jake let out a breath. “Come on, man, just have a seat. Bree went to a lot of trouble to prepare lunch.”

Austin’s gaze moved to the kitchen table. Thick roast beef sandwiches cluttered the table top, along with a bowl of homemade potato salad, coleslaw and a plate piled with cheese and apple slices.

Jake felt a burst of warmth as he stared at the food. Damn. Bree really shouldn’t have done all that, but it didn’t surprise him that she had. She was one of the sweetest, kindest women he’d ever met. Normally he brushed that off, choosing to focus on the red-hot passion they shared, but at the moment, he couldn’t fight the tug of joy and gratitude. Not to mention appreciation.

Next to him, his brother looked as though he’d rather have his legs waxed than sit at that table, but despite his palpable reluctance, Della had succeeded in teaching him his manners. With a polite nod, Austin glanced at Bree and said, “Lunch looks great.” Then, with his spine ramrod-straight, he walked over to the table.

Della instantly flopped back into her chair, her loose blue dress fluttering around her ankles. She’d tied her hair back in a bun, but several dirty-blonde strands fell onto her forehead and into her eyes. Eyes that were now lined with unease as she stared at her son.

“It’s good to see you, honey.”

Austin grunted.

Jake’s jaw tightened. He marched over to the counter and picked up two plates, cutlery and drinking glasses, then placed them on the table. “Bree and I will be in the living room,” he announced. “Enjoy lunch, you two.”

The scowl Austin gave him didn’t stop Jake from taking Bree’s arm and leading her to the doorway.

They left the duo in the kitchen to their own devices, but Jake didn’t get his hopes up as he and Bree stepped into Nate’s enormous, chalet-style living room. “This isn’t going to work,” he murmured, sinking onto one of the leather couches. “Did you see his face?”

Bree sighed. “Yeah, I did. But don’t go all Negative Nancy just yet. Let’s give them some time.”

She joined him on the couch, lifting her knees up and getting comfortable.

Jake watched her from the corner of his eye, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms. He wanted to hold her, maybe plant a kiss on her forehead and thank her for helping him set this up. Which was pretty damn disconcerting. He didn’t do the whole intimacy thing, holding and petting and whispering sweet nothings in a woman’s ear, but Bree had always triggered some nurturing instinct he didn’t know he possessed. That’s why he’d tried so hard back then to keep things strictly physical between them.

He could never be the kind of man Bree Lockhart deserved. Nobody in this town took him seriously, especially not her family, and he’d given up on trying to change people’s minds. If they wanted to compare him to his father, let them. If they wanted to think of him as a bad boy going nowhere fast, let them. He didn’t give a shit what the people in this town thought about him.

As muffled voices drifted from the hall, Jake tapped his foot absently, straining to hear what was being said.

“How do you think it’s going in there?” he demanded.

Bree shot him a gentle smile. “Well, they’re talking, so that’s something.”

He was too on edge to reply, but he didn’t have to, because the phone on the coffee table rang. Jake leaned forward to snatch it up, frowning when he saw the unknown number on the caller ID.

He answered with a brisk hello, and his shoulders stiffened when he heard the familiar voice. “Captain, it’s Colonel Grainger.”

“Colonel. Hey.” Jake cleared his throat. “What can I do for you?”

“Give me a definitive answer, for one.”

Feeling Bree’s eyes on him, Jake battled a pang of discomfort. He stood up, covered the mouthpiece, and said, “I’ll be right back.”

After he’d ducked into the hall, he uncovered the phone and said, “I haven’t made a decision yet, sir. I was under the impression I had until the end of the week.”

“Yes, but the sooner you give us a solid commitment, the better. You sounded unsure when we spoke last week, so I thought I’d ease any concerns you might have about the position. I don’t need to remind you that you’re our first choice, Bishop. With your record, you’re the perfect candidate for this job, and we’d really like to lock you down here.”

Lock you down
. If ever there was a phrase designed to send Jake Bishop running in the other direction, it was that one.

Unease coiled around his spine. “I know, sir. And I assure you, I’m seriously considering the offer. There’s some family stuff happening in my life at the moment, but I will have an answer for you soon.”

The line went quiet for a beat. “I know you’re still working through everything that happened with Daniels, but—”

“This has nothing to do with Daniels,” he cut in, his voice sharper than he intended. He took a calming breath. “I’ll let you know as soon as I decide, Colonel.”

Another pause. “Very well. I’ll be in touch.”

He hung up and leaned against the wall, exhaling slowly. This job offer in Colorado Springs was hanging over his head like a black cloud. He knew he had to make a decision, but he needed more time, damn it. Jake hadn’t stayed put in one place his entire adult life, and the mere notion of settling down and accepting that combat instructor job had the back of his neck breaking out in a cold sweat.

He would have to accept the job. He knew that. His only other option was going to work with Owen, but construction wasn’t his thing. At least the job on the base meant he’d be putting his skills to good use.

“What was that about?” Bree stepped out of the living room, concern etched into her delicate features.

He opened his mouth, prepared to deflect the question, when angry footsteps sounded from the hall.

A second later, Austin brushed past them, his green eyes flashing with unrestrained fury.

“Austin—” Jake started.

“Not now.” His brother marched out the front door, slamming it so hard the walls rattled.

Jake was two steps from the door when he heard the muffled sobs. He spun around and sprinted toward the kitchen instead, but Bree intercepted him in the doorway. Their gazes drifted to the table, where Jake’s mom still sat, her head buried in her hands as she cried.

His heart promptly cracked in two. “Mom—”

Bree touched his arm. “Let me talk to her,” she said softly. “Alone.”

As much as he wanted to comfort his mother, he realized Bree’s suggestion was the better option. From the quiet sobs racking his mother’s body, she clearly needed a thorough heart-to-heart, something he’d never been very good at.

Fearing he’d say the wrong thing, Jake took a step back, his body sagging with defeat. He watched as Bree approached his mother with timid steps, watched as she knelt on the tiled floor and wrapped her arms around Della. An arrow of pain pierced his heart, followed by a rush of anger. Austin was a real fucking asshole.

Setting his jaw, Jake left the two women in the kitchen and raced to the porch, only to encounter the cloud of dust left behind by Austin’s pickup hightailing it outta there.

Cursing, he snatched his smokes from the pocket of his button-down, lit up, and inhaled deeply. Shit, he didn’t need this family drama, not when his entire future was hanging in the balance.

He spent the next hour chain-smoking on the porch, wondering what the hell was going on in that kitchen. But he trusted Bree. He knew without a doubt she wouldn’t do anything to upset his mother, and when the two women emerged onto the porch a while later, he realized he’d done the right thing by letting Bree take the reins.

Della’s face was red and splotchy, but she was no longer crying. If anything, she looked utterly resigned, but she offered Jake a genuine smile when she saw him. “Well, you tried,” she said quietly.

“You okay?” His voice came out gruff, his touch somewhat awkward as he reached for his mother and hugged her tightly.

“I’m fine.” Her sigh warmed the crook of his neck. “Your brother needs more time.”

He stiffened. Christ, he was so damn tired of hearing that.

Della stepped out of the embrace and turned to Bree. “You really don’t mind giving me a ride home?”

“Of course,” Bree said warmly.

“I’ll take you,” Jake protested, already making a move to put out his hundredth smoke.

“It’s all right, honey.” His mom smoothed strands of hair from her forehead. “I’d like to spend some more time with Bree, if you don’t mind.”

Bree touched Della’s arm. “Why don’t you wait in the car? I’ll be there in a sec.”

Jake watched with unease as his mother descended the porch steps and headed for Bree’s Lexus. After she’d settled in the passenger seat, he tore his gaze away and focused on Bree. “What happened?”

“We talked.”

“And?”

Bree just shook her head.

Aggravation shot through him. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“It’s not my place,” she said simply.

Although her secrecy irritated the hell out of him, he had to respect her for it. And it warmed his fucking heart that she’d spent the last hour comforting his mother, a woman she hardly knew.

And whose fault is that
?

Guilt sliced into his gut as he realized how true that was. Although he and Bree had dated for three months in high school, he hadn’t bothered introducing her to his family. Hadn’t invited her over for dinner, hadn’t even told his parents about her. Partly because he was ashamed of his father and didn’t want Bree anywhere near him, but that wasn’t the only reason for keeping her at a distance.

Truth was, he’d always known their relationship wouldn’t last, and he hadn’t wanted to explain to his family why Bree had stopped coming around.

Now, he found himself regretting it. Bree had really helped him out today, preparing lunch, trying to arrange a reconciliation between Della and Austin, listening to Della cry for the last hour. That went above and beyond what a casual lover ought to do.

“Can I take you out to dinner tonight?” he blurted out.

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Dinner,” he said roughly. “Carlotta’s again, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

Her blue eyes heated at the mention of Carlotta’s.

“In the main room this time,” he qualified. “Surrounded by other people.” When she didn’t respond, he shifted awkwardly. “Like a real dinner, Bree.”

“Why?”

The question had his chest clenching with pain. “I thought it’d be…nice.” He swallowed. “Or if you want, you can come by later and we’ll put on a movie or something.”

Her expression displayed pure and utter disbelief. “Why?” she said again.

Fuck, he was totally blowing this. And really, what was he
doing
anyway? When he’d seen Bree at that auction, he’d wanted nothing more than to sleep with her again. Not date her, for fuck’s sake.