Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) (56 page)

“Well, it’s your lucky day then,” the shop girl joked. “We’ve just put out some fresh muffins and between you and me, the shortbread cookies are to die for.”

After arranging for a dish of shortbread the two friends scurried into the tearoom and sat down to come up with a new course of action. Kate was disappointed Brynn hadn’t been behind the counter so it was time to break out plan B.

“Okay Gigi, you stay here and enjoy a coffee. Keep your phone handy in case I text you for help. I’m going to take the bull by the horns and see what happens. Wish me luck,” she added as she lifted her chin, put her shoulders back and headed back into the shop.

“Liking that shortbread?” the shop girl asked.

“Oh my, yes. It’s delicious.” She paused and took a deep breath then blurted out, “Um, I don’t suppose Ms. Wilde is available, is she?”

The shop girl went from happy and smiling to protective in an instant. “I’m sorry, but she’s not in today. Perhaps I can help you?”

“Oh, hmmmm,” Kate murmured. Now what? “Truth is, I was hoping to have a word with her. Privately.”

The other woman’s eyes narrowed as she considered the request. “Excuse me but you look vaguely familiar. Have we met before?”

Oh shoot. Sensing her cover was about to be blown anyway—she and her son had identical eyes after all—Kate Merrill gave a little shrug and made a face. “Perhaps you know my son, Jackson.”

“Wait a minute.
You
are Jax’s mother?” the shop girl drawled none too happily.

“Guilty,” Kate answered. “I really was hoping to speak with Brynn. Is there any way that would be possible?”

The shop girl stared her down. Not a surprise that Brynn would have staunch allies. Every woman did. Heck, she’d brought her own back-up even though Gigi had been gleefully giving her a hard time the whole drive here.

“Please?” She tried one of those southern belle smiles hoping to get around the other woman’s defensive posture, but she might as well have used a bazooka ‘cause she wasn’t budging. Seemed like her son had enraged quite a few females during his adventure in Bucks County. Why the hell not?

Something she said or did must have made a difference because in the next instant, the shop girl pulled out a phone and started texting like crazy. Every so often she would glare at Kate, then go back to the conversation. After what appeared to be several back and forth exchanges, the woman sighed and pocketed the phone.

“She’s up at the house and has agreed to see you, but I must warn you Mrs. Merrill. If you do or say anything to upset her, well…”

Kate smiled warmly and nodded. “Message received. And I promise you, I’m not here to upset Brynn.”

A long, tense moment of silence unfolded before the shop girl pointed at the door. “Take the path on the left, behind the shop. It will lead you through the trees out back. Wilde House is in the clearing. Not that you can miss it.”

“Thank you so much,” Kate assured her with another wide smile. “I’m going to leave my friend in the tearoom. She’ll eat anything you put in front of her so feel free to send over a million calories!”

It didn’t take but a minute to locate the path and step through the tree line. The charming old house that came into view was everything she’d expected. Scurrying quickly up the path she bounded onto the porch and hurried to the door. Knocking a couple of times she waited and prayed she was doing the right thing.

A cute brunette opened the door and motioned her in. Again, not Brynn, but she’d seen pictures of all the Wilde girls and realized this must be Rhiann, the middle sister.

“Mrs. Merrill?” the girl asked. She detected a slight tone of warning that Kate took as intended. My goodness. She hadn’t expected yet another gatekeeper. Brynn was totally surrounded by protectors. She wasn’t stupid. The poor girl must really be in a state. She was going to give it to her son when she got home.

“Why, you must be Rhiann,” she answered politely. “You look like your grandmother.” No handshake was offered so she didn’t try to force the issue.

“Mmmm hmmm.” Rhiann stomped away with a harsh gesture indicating she should follow. Ouch. Friendly and welcoming apparently wasn’t on the agenda.

At the entrance to the front parlor she stopped and motioned again. “She’s in there. Please don’t upset her Mrs. Merrill. She hasn’t uh…been well. Have I made myself clear?”

“Oh, perfectly my dear but please don’t fret Rhiann. We women have to stick together, especially when the men in our lives behave like assholes.”

That seemed to calm the tense situation because Rhiann pursed her lips but nodded and said, “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Her first glimpse of Brynn Baron-Wilde in the flesh pretty much confirmed everything her besotted son had said about her. Blond and pretty, she was nothing like the pictures she’d seen. In person, the young woman was beyond beautiful with eyes that were made to drive some poor man to his knees. In this case, that poor man was her son.

“Ms. Wilde? I’m Kate Merrill. Thank you for seeing me.”

“Why are you here, Mrs. Merrill?” Kate was concerned by the flat tone in Brynn’s voice. Something wasn’t right.

“May I sit down?” she asked. When Brynn nodded she took the chair next to the sofa where the delicate blonde was huddled. Oh dear. This might be harder than she imagined. Upon closer inspection she could easily see that Brynn Wilde wasn’t exactly as robust as first thought. She had smudges under her eyes that suggested she wasn’t sleeping plus her lips looked like they were being constantly chewed. And then there were her hands. First of all, they were shaking and secondly, her nails, a lot like her lips, looked like they’d seen better days. Kate was busily adding up all the clues when the biggest one of all froze her to the spot. Brynn was protectively clutching a throw pillow that she’d hastily grabbed when Kate sat down and placed against her stomach. The two liter bottle of ginger ale and the half full glass next to her on the table had an invisible neon sign hanging over it that said ‘got it?’

Mothers were an intuitive lot. It came with the territory. Quickly doing some math in her head she had to control the furious firestorm raging inside her when once again, one and one equaled two. If her suspicions were correct, Jackson Merrill wasted no time, a thought that made her want to give her son a good old fashioned talking to.

“My dear,” she began gently. More than anything she wanted to give this poor girl a hug, but they were a long way from that happening. Just yet, anyway.

“I came because I needed to see that you were alright. You see, I’ve just become aware that my son may have had his head where the sun doesn’t shine when he left here. I realize he was in crisis but that doesn’t excuse his behavior. Men,” she shrugged with a sly smile. “Apparently my Jackson is an idiot. I may be his mama but I’m not blind to his faults.”

Brynn twitched and pulled on her lip. Yeah, her son was in for an ass-kicking, southern mama style. “Is he okay?” the blonde asked.

Kate was considering all the things she wanted to rail at her son when Brynn’s first instinct had been to ask about Jax. Here she was, clearly in dire straits and yet her concern was for her son.
She must love him very much
, she thought. Finding a way to bring the two back together, especially with what she suspected, was her only priority.

“As it happens dear, he’s had a rather rough time of it. At first he escaped whatever thunderbolt hit him by sleeping. And I mean, dead to the world sleeping. Must have done him some good though because once he came back he was ready to battle the demons. Mostly, he spends his day at a Veteran’s Outreach Program, group sessions with others dealing with similar problems. And an awful lot of in-depth work with his counselor. His father and I are so proud of how Jax faces each challenge sent his way. And you’d know that if he wasn’t trying so bloody hard to protect you from what he sees as his failings.” Kate softened her tone and smiled. “He loves you very much you see, but he’s been through the wringer. May I call you Brynn?” she asked.

The jerky nod she got tore at Kate’s heartstrings as she thought for the hundredth time,
oh this poor girl
.

“It took a long time after he came home from the war for Jax to find his way. Those were difficult days for everyone, him especially. I’m sure he’s told you all this Brynn but there are some things I wanted to share with you that I hope help you understand why my son acts the way he does.”

“I don’t blame him, Mrs. Merrill. Not at all. Actually, I even understand why he went away. Please don’t imagine for even a second that this is about me. I’m a big girl. I knew what I was doing when, well…when we got involved. I just need to know that he’s alright.”

Kate shuffled to the sofa and sat next to Brynn, taking one of her hands and offering a reassuring squeeze. “Darlin’, he’s gonna be just fine.” Removing the pillow out of her lap, she tossed it aside and put her arm about Brynn’s shoulders. “His darkest days are behind him and while I don’t know the particulars about what triggered this latest crisis, I do know that he’s lucky to have the love of so fine a woman as you, my dear. He’s behaved like an ass and yet all you seem to care about is him. That tells a mother an awful lot. Something I think you’ll be finding out one day yourself.” Brynn shot surprised eyes her way.

“Jax was always so protective. He took care of his younger brother and even as a boy felt like he had some responsibility for making sure our whole family was happy and safe. I think that’s why he wanted to be a doctor. Taking care of people is just what he does. Is any of this making sense?”

Brynn nodded and she felt her shoulders relax a bit. Good. She was winning the girl’s trust.

“Going in the military speaks to the sort of man my son is. He sacrificed a lot to serve his country with honor and distinction, but that experience was a cruel wake-up call. It tortured him that he couldn’t save everybody. All those caring and protective impulses weren’t enough and a piece of his soul got crushed by the experience. Truthfully, I wasn’t even a tiny bit surprised when he decided the medical profession wasn’t in his future. There are some wake-up calls that are just too brutal and real. Whatever went on between you two is rooted in his defensive nature. Thank God he’s got a better handle on what set him off, and has good people he trusts helping him. Does what I’m telling you help any?”

“Yeah. It does, actually.”

“Brynn, darlin’—he doesn’t know I’m here. Actually,” she admitted with a chuckle, “even my husband is in the dark. They think I’m off in Philadelphia visiting a museum with my best friend. But I had to come. It’s a woman thing. Had to see that you were all right. You see, Jax speaks quite highly of you. He has no problem telling everyone who will listen that he loves you but he’s a man, and we both know what that means!”

Brynn laughed and a bit of shine finally appeared in her eyes. Kate was relieved. There was still hope this mess could be cleaned up. Considering what she imagined was going on with the girl’s health, the clock was ticking and time was a wasting. She desperately wanted to ask, wanted to know if the beautiful blonde and her shithead son were expecting a baby, but she knew Brynn wouldn’t answer. Clearly the sister knew, probably the shop girl as well. It was high time for Jackson to get his ass back here so they could work things out. She had no doubt Brynn Wilde adored her son. The next person she told about a baby had to be him.

“Well my dear, I’ve said my peace. Thank you for listening. We women have to stick together. Even my Adam, after thirty-six years of marriage, can be a butthead at times. It’s been a pleasure meeting you Brynn. You’re everything a mama hopes for when a son falls in love. You have every right to nail his hide to a tree, but I hope my coming here and trying to set your mind at ease has helped.”

“Mrs. Merrill, will you do something for me?”

“Of course my dear. Anything.”

Brynn paused and seemed to be considering something. “Will you tell Jax that I don’t like the tile in the master en suite? It looks like a restaurant bathroom. Too busy.”

Kate tossed back her head and laughed. “You want me to tell him the tile is ugly? Really? That’s the message you want me to pass along?”

Finally, the girl smiled. “Yep. The tile sucks.”

“Anything else?”

“Mmmm, nope. Think that about covers it.”

Kate stood up and beamed at the woman in whose hands her son’s entire future lay. She swiftly bent and pressed a motherly kiss to Brynn’s forehead. “I like you Wilde woman. Just like your grandmother. Jax better get his act together if he expects to keep up with you.”

J
AX WAS THROWING STUFF IN a suitcase when he heard a commotion brewing in the family room. It was highly unusual to hear his dad with a raised voice so he bolted for his bedroom door and peeked his head out to try and figure out what was going on.

“Are you out of your mind, woman?” he heard Adam Merrill shout followed quickly by his mother’s southern belle twang.

“Get a grip darlin’. He didn’t really leave me any choice. That poor girl was hanging by a thread and instead of growling like a bear you should be thanking me.”

“For what exactly? Meddling in your son’s personal life?”