Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) (57 page)

“Yes. I meddled. So shoot me. What in blazes did you think I was going to do while he moped around here, dragging his feet and making a complete mess out of the best thing that’s happened to him in years. It’s a mama’s right to interfere. And I’m damn glad I did.”

What the fuck? Was he hearing right? Bolting from his room like his ass was on fire Jax cleared the steps in one leap and landed at the bottom with a mighty thud. “What the hell’s going on?” he thundered when both parents startled at his noisy entrance. “What did you do, Mom?”

With a cocky wink and a sly smile she answered with a saccharine sweetness that hit Jax square between the eyes.

“While you were wringing your hands and behaving like a damn fool, I paid Brynn a visit.”

“Oh my God, Mom. Why would you do that?”

“I believe we’ve already covered the
why
son. You treated that poor girl like an afterthought. I’m still astonished that you imagined for even a minute that not including her in what was happening here was a smart move. How exactly did you expect to build a life with her going forward while your damn head was up your butt?”

Oh fuck. Mom logic. There wasn’t any arguing with that. And she was right of course. He’d been a dick. What was happening to him involved Brynn. He should have kept her in the loop instead of going all macho-man and trying to take care of things on his own.

Immediately backtracking, Jax became soft-spoken and turned worried eyes on his mom. “Is she all right?”

Kate Merrill smiled, her eyes full of love and understanding. He noticed the delicate crinkles that gave lie to a face he thought was ageless and thanked his lucky stars for a mother who, even when she interfered, was one in a million.

Moving to him, she pushed his hair away from his face and laid her palm against his cheek. “My sweet boy, you just made my heart burst with hope.”

“Why?” he asked.

She sighed and turned to look at her husband, nodded and then went to stand by his side, her arm wrapped through his.

“Because you and your lady are of the same mind. You want to know if she’s all right? Well…that was her first question as well. Even after all you’ve put her through—Brynn’s only thought was of you. Says a lot don’t you think?”

A hundred images flashed in his mind. Brynn on that first day when he’d put his foot in his mouth and the way her eyes shot sparks at him. Her laughing as they tried to out burp each other. The way she bit her lip when she was concentrating. How beautiful she looked by candlelight. The expression of heart-melting lust she gave him when he pushed her to her knees in a parking lot. He
had
been a fool for keeping her at arm’s length while he figured out how to deal with his issues. It was her right to be by his side—even if from a distance. She was the woman he intended to marry as soon as he’d convinced her that there really was a chance for a happily ever after. God. He had a lot of ground to make up.

“You haven’t answered, Mom.
Is
she all right?”

His mother’s pause made anxiety tingle along his nerves. Something was up. He could sense it. Oh shit. Had his leaving pushed Brynn too far? Jonas hadn’t indicated anything was amiss, but he only saw her briefly each morning when he got the key to the house. He realized belatedly that she’d never give anything away to him. She was too private for that.

“Mom?” Jax swallowed hard as his heart began thumping.

“Jackson. I love you, but you are an ass. That girl adores you, and no she didn’t say so, but it was written all over her face. Since I don’t know Brynn and have nothing to compare to, I’ll only say that she’s fine from a stranger’s viewpoint. That doesn’t mean that I found a happy, vibrant woman. You need to get back there darlin’ and soon.”

“I am, Mom. Actually, I was starting to pack when I heard you and Dad arguing.”

“Well, good. I don’t care how strong and independent a woman seems, mostly that’s window dressing.”

His dad snorted in amused agreement and nudged his wife with a sly smile.

“A woman in love needs constant reassurance Jax and you, well…you sort of dropped the ball on that, wouldn’t you agree?”

He hung his head and shifted on his feet. Dropped the ball? Fuck. He’d done more than just drop it.

“She asked me to give you a message.”

Jax’s head shot up. Piercing his mother’s artless gaze with a fierce look he probed, “What message?”

“I’m to tell you that she hates the tile in the en suite. Something about it being too busy. A restaurant bathroom I believe was the expression she used.”

Huh?
“Excuse me?” he asked incredulously.

“You heard me,” she answered sweetly. “The tile sucks.”

“The tile sucks,” he repeated, shaking his head. Had he heard her correctly? Judging by the shit-eating grin on his mom’s face, he had.

“So,” she drawled. “When will you be leaving?”

“Brynn Marie Baron-Wilde! What in the hell is this?”

Brynn looked up and pressed pause on the game controller, a look of confusion and surprise on her face. It wasn’t like Rhi to spit out her full name like a stern and forbidding parent who’d just discovered a crumpled pack of cigarettes stashed in the sock drawer.

“Whaaaaat?” she asked. And then she saw what Rhiann had in her hands. Oh boy. Shit was about to get interesting.

“I found these stuffed in a velvet pouch in the downstairs bath while I was cleaning up. Holy fuck Brynn. Are these real?”

Dangling from her sister’s finger was the sapphire and diamond necklace while in her upturned palm the dazzling matching earrings twinkled in the light. She sighed. That night when she’d worn them seemed like a lifetime ago. So did the following morning when her world fell apart.

“Yeah, real.” She shrugged. “They’re pretty aren’t they?”

“Pretty?” Rhi mocked. “They’re more than pretty, sis. These must have cost a fortune.”

“Mmmmm.”

Rhiann placed the beautiful jewelry back in the pouch and sat next to her on the sofa. “You have some ‘splaining to do Brynnie. Suddenly I’m not so sure having Jax’s ass stuffed and mounted is quite in order. Bling like that doesn’t happen for no reason.”

Brynn slumped back against the sofa and turned her head toward her sister. Now that she was feeling better, thanks to Rhi’s overactive nurturing routine, she was thinking straighter. The visit from Mrs. Merrill had helped too. She’d never lost faith in Jax—not for a second. She had, though, doubted herself in a million ways. Having it confirmed that she was pregnant gave her some breathing room and enabled her to see that hormones were probably responsible for much of her fears. Her life wasn’t a fairy tale. Nobody’s was. Problems, conflicts, uncertainty—those were things in every couple’s landscape. It was time to put on her grown-up knickers and get real.

“He wants to marry me,” she whispered in a small voice.

Rhiann quirked a half smile and snickered. “Uh, you conveniently left that part out. So….Mrs. Butt Whacker, hmmm?”

Brynn smiled. “It was me who was doing the foot dragging, Rhi. He was pissed about Nana’s interference ‘cause he felt it made me question his feelings. He was right, of course. If we’d met months ago, things would probably be different, but I was so wrapped up in everyone thinking they knew better than me …”

“Nana’s a piece of work, I’ll grant you that. She makes me so mad sometimes, but she really did mean well. At least I think she did. Um,” she quipped with a sardonic lilt, “I have news on that front by the way.”

“Oh God, what?” Brynn choked out. “Please. I can’t take any more nonsense right now.” She pressed her hand onto her tummy. “Have enough to deal with, y’know?”

“You’ll like this,” Rhi chuckled. “I have it on good authority,”
Mom
she coughed, “that Seth and a certain ex-husband got their asses handed to them in right royal fashion. Seems Nana burst their bubble in a Tony award winning performance. Apparently, Roger sold out the family business to one of those big time home improvement centers. He and Seth are ‘
partners
’ now. They have some crazy plans to flip houses and buy up struggling companies and sell them for a profit.”

“Jesus. What assholes,” Brynn murmured. “I knew it was something like that when they turned up here together.”

“Yeah, well—Nana invoked dire threats of retribution if they tried any fuckery where Wilde House was concerned. Told Seth if he knew what was good for him to stay the hell away from you too. Mom thinks she may even have had that horrendous clause struck from her estate but until Nana confirms that, we don’t know for sure. Apparently, our grandmother was quite taken with your Butt Whacker.”

“Rhi….you didn’t tell Mom about the baby, did you?”

“Of course not! Good Lord, sis. I’m not insane. There’s been enough family interference. What you decide to do is only the most important decision of your life and until ten minutes ago when I stumbled upon those sapphires, I was hoping you’d kick Mr. Sexy Ass to the curb for being such a pussy.”

“He’s not a pussy Rhi. He’s got, uh…well that is to say, he’s dealing with some PTSD problems.”

“What?” Rhiann asked shocked.

“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you this? Jax is an Iraq War veteran. He served in the Army Medical Corps. Came back with more than medals—he’s had to learn how to live with all that horror, and I guess sometimes shit gets a bit too real. That’s why he’s not here right now. Something happened—I’m not gonna tell you what that was—and he needed some time to get his head together.”

“Wow,” Rhi groaned, shaking her head. “I feel like such a bitch for the unkind thoughts I had toward him.”

Brynn got misty eyed and smiled. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t care that he’s been knocked around. Sometimes the dented and dinged cans are the best deal, y’know?

All of a sudden the noise level coming from the second floor where Jonas and his team were working on her new dressing room got louder and louder.

“What the hell are they doing?” Rhi bitched with a scowl. “Sounds like the damn end of the world.”

Just then, Jonas came tripping quickly down the stairs with an apology at the ready. “Sorry about the noise ladies. I’m afraid it can’t be helped. Next hour is going to be a bit loud.”

Brynn was confused. Aside from using some power tools and hearing the occasional nail gun, she thought the closet install would be easy. What was going on now did not sound simple.

She tried to reassure Jonas with a smile, and asked, “What are you guys up to? That sounds like more than just a closet.”

He shuffled his feet with an awkward golly-gosh-gee-whiz expression on his face and looked back and forth between Brynn and a still scowling Rhiann.

“Um, actually Ms. Wilde. We’re tearing up the tile in the bathroom.”

Rhiann exploded with an exasperated, “And you had to do that
now
? While Brynn is supposed to be resting?”

Brynn shushed her with a quick wave of her hand and offered Jonas a shrug. “Don’t mind my sister, Jonas. She can be an awful pill at times.” Rising from the sofa she motioned to the upstairs with her head and asked for clarification. “The tile? I don’t understand.”

“I dunno, Ms. Wilde. Got a message from the Boss that said, rip out the tile. Something about it looking like a restaurant bathroom?”

Brynn bit back the laugh pressing against her lips.
So
. Mrs. Merrill had delivered her message. The heavy weight that had been sitting on her shoulders melted away. Jax didn’t need to send a message back. She heard his reply loud and clear as the men tore out the offensive tile. She thought of a new playlist she’d made that included “Happy” by Pharrell and started singing and clapping in her thoughts. The damn song was infectious to begin with but with each loud sound from the second floor, Brynn wanted to start dancing around the room to the tune.

Brynn giggled and threw her arms around Jonas, startling him as he staggered from the quick embrace. Rhi threw up her hands and looked at her like she was crazy. “What the hell are you grinning about?”

A red-faced Jonas kicked some invisible dust on the floor and handed Brynn a stack of cards that she saw had pictures of various tiles in a rainbow of colors and textures. “Um, Mr. Merrill said I was to give you these and tell you that he wanted to help you choose something else.”

Brynn’s face hurt from the wide, toothy grin lighting her up from the inside out. “Thanks Jonas. I’ll look these over. Guess I better decide on a couple if Jax wants the final say.”

The shy man nodded enthusiastically then turned and fled back up the stairs after giving Rhi a wide berth after flinching at the black look her sister clung to. Brynn was in the mood for hugs so she wrapped her sister in a big one and gushed, “Everything’s gonna be all right.”

Rhiann smirked and shook her head. “I’m guessing there was some sort of hidden message in all that, huh?”

“Yep, there was. Hey. I’m hungry. What’s to eat?”

Her sister started laughing like they did as kids and slung an arm around Brynn’s shoulders, quite literally shoving her in the direction of the kitchen. “Well Brynnie, I’ll take it any way I can get it if it means you finally eat something. C’mon little mama. Let’s feed you and junior. Looks like that dark cloud hanging over your head has moved on, thank God.”