“Darling.”
Charlie looked up. “What do you need Nana?”
Scooting to one side she patted the bed next to her and said, “Come lay with granny.”
The request wasn’t as odd as it would seem. Her whole life she’d been curling up in her Nana’s arms. Kicking off her shoes, she hiked up her skirt and maneuvered onto the big hospital bed.
They settled in. She loved laying like this—with her head upon her beloved grandmother’s shoulder and their legs touching. She inhaled. Even in the hospital, Bryanna Wilde smelled sweet and spicy like a Moroccan bazaar.
“Have you spoken to Rhiann? They won’t let me talk to her. Not yet. Damn doctors.”
Ah. She was worried about Rhi. They all were. Learning how close they came to almost losing her hit the family really hard.
“The men closed ranks,” she explained. “Daddy is in constant touch with Liam and some guy named Roman. I think he’s Liam’s bodyguard. Anyway, they let me say hi and hear her voice. See that she’s really all right. But that’s it. Brynn knows more than I do. Jax was involved because of the house.”
“I liked that man from the moment I met him. Good people, the Merrill’s. Jackson saved your sister’s life you know. Brynn was well on her way to being as dull and dusty as one of her bags of flour before he came along.”
“I like him too. He’s got that man’s man thing going on. He’ll take good care of her I think.”
“And how did you find his brother? Caleb, right? He struck me as being quite a capable young man.”
Charlie didn’t say anything right away, so her grandmother kept on talking.
“Your grandfather was quite a bit older than me when we met.” She laughed and hugged Charlie tighter. “At first he was enchanted by my bohemian actress shtick. He dropped everything to court me—even suffering through the endless rounds of cocktail parties and theater events. I thought he might be the one.”
Nothing new so far in this story. Charlie heard it countless times.
“Then one day he changed his tune. Started telling me what I could and couldn’t do. No smoking. Too much drinking. Far too many male friends even though half of them were gay.”
The sound of her grandmother’s outrage, even all these years later, was charming and sweet.
“Oh, he made me so mad! We had a terrible row. I was Bryanna Charles and nobody bossed me around. My Anthony, well, he did not agree.”
“So you left him, right?”
“That’s right, baby. I was in love with a man who had the power to control me, if I allowed it. I was young. Your age more or less. Thought I knew what was best for me. So yes. I left. Left the country just to prove the point.”
Oh. Suddenly she got it. “Argentina?”
Charlie lifted her head and sought Nana’s gaze. When violet-hued eyes smiled into hers and said, “Yes,” she felt like a bolt of lightning hit her.
“I ran away because my white knight had a temper.”
There was something awfully familiar about this story. Why did Charlie feel like she was living it?
“Is that what you did, darling? Run away?”
“What?”
“Did you run away from Caleb Merrill?”
“Nana,” she started.
“Give it a rest Charlize. Even though Brynn’s clueless—that Jackson, he really is protective—Amy isn’t. She and her daughter came to the city right after the new year. We had a lovely visit.”
“Oh.” Well she hadn’t seen this coming.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Charlize. When I met that young man I knew right away he was just like his brother. Good men like that are hard to come by these days. Brought up the right way, those two boys.”
Charlie raised up and leaned on her arm so she could see her grandmother’s face.
“He stepped right up when I made it clear you were my treasure, baby girl. Told him if anything happened to you, I’d be very unhappy. I hoped you two would hit it off. Did things happen too quickly for you? Tell me what happened.”
“Oh, Nana. You’re right. It was way too quick but not the way you think. I knew Caleb in Italy. We had an affair. He was the first,” she quickly assured her grandmother. “And then something happened and, well I picked up and left.”
Bryanna Wilde’s striking violet eyes studied Charlize. She didn’t shrink under the pressure and kept on with her explanation.
“And then obviously we met again. But he didn’t acknowledge me and I figured, well to tell you the truth I don’t know what I figured. After Brynn and Jax left we were alone together and I guess that more or less forced us to deal with some stuff. So we did and it was great. For a little while. But, you know. Shit happens.”
“Shit happens? That’s an explanation?”
“It’s the only one I have Nana.”
“Do you love this man Charlize? Is he the one?”
A very wise teacher once told a group of students that to gauge somebody’s true feelings about something all you had to do was create a choice. Like heads or tails. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Although the outcome is random, a person’s reaction is not. She was staring at a choice and knew only disappointment would result if she wasn’t honest.
“Yes.”
“Then what are you doing here? Why haven’t you told him this?”
“Nana,” she said cautiously. “What if the white knight of your dreams isn’t the right man, in the long run?”
“Oh for heavens’ sake Charlize. Must this be the one thing you overthink? What’s your gut tell you? Seems obvious to me young lady. Do you really think Caleb showing up here—as Jax’s brother—was a random occurrence? That universe you always talk about is trying awfully hard to tell you something.”
“I ran away, Nana. Again. He must think I’m a brat. Every damn time we hit a speed bump, I bail like a leaky boat in a rain storm.”
“Charlize. You have to tell this man how you feel, baby. If you don’t, you’ll never know and not knowing will grow into a regret you’ll carry through your whole life. Is that what you want? A life full of regret and second best?”
Charlie went back to cuddling and thought about what her grandmother was trying to tell her. She too had run away when her man behaved like a butt. Maybe, how she reacted wasn’t childish or unforgiveable. Maybe, running away was what she needed to see what was at stake. A life with Caleb Tyler Merrill or a life pinned with regret.
“Tell you what. They’re going to let me go home day after tomorrow. I’ll invite the three of them for dinner. Brynn’s chomping at the bit to check up on me, I’ll tell Jackson I’m thinking about doing some modifications at the house, and I want his opinion. We can have a civilized meal and you and Caleb will have a chance to talk.”
“I’m not very good at this stuff,” she admitted.
Nana laughed. “Oh, baby girl. I guarantee you that Caleb is ten times more messed up than you are. Poor dear. He’s probably wondering what hit him.”
“SIT THE HELL DOWN AND stop fidgeting, Cal. You’re giving me a headache.”
He stopped pacing and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Sorry.” Dropping into a desk chair, Cal fingered his growing beard, scratched his cheeks and tried to focus on the plans spread out in front of him.
He’d never seen an honest-to-God adobe building before and this one was intriguing as fuck. “So what’s the plan? How much of the structure is savable?”
Jax snapped a cap onto the pen he was holding and used it as a pointer. “This whole section is shit. And the front part all along this one section has to be completely restored. If you look at the drawing on the iPad, we can build from here to here and then add a wing off to the side. Plenty of space and the original footprint remains the same.”
“It’s going to be a chapel? That’s way cool. Some rich asshole out in the desert or what?”
“No. It’s a long story but the six degrees version goes like this. Brynn’s sister Rhiann and her man Liam have a business associate, guy
named Roman Bishop. Ashforth’s bodyguard. He has a connection with a bunch of ex military guys running a security company. They call themselves Justice. Anyway, the bodyguard asked Justice for help when Rhiann got kidnapped. You already know how that turned out. One thing leads to another and Roman hears that this Justice guy is looking for a restoration specialist to handle the adobe conversion. That’s where we come in. Keeping it all in the family.”
“I like that Ashforth fella. He’s smart as fuck.”
“I know, right? To run that many companies I guess he’d have to be.”
Cal added, “The dude was all over the tiny house idea. He wants to see something in writing. A proposal.”
“Soon as the baby comes we can get serious about it.”
“Back to the adobe house. Where does this conversion stand now? How soon are they looking to get started?”
Jax dropped the pen and crossed his arms. “Leaving my wife is a no at the moment so I hoped you’d go check things out. Meet these Justice guys and see if we even wanna be involved. From what Roman told me, the cost doesn’t seem to be a factor. For a restoration like that it’d be awesome not to cut corners and do it right.”
“Is this your way of kicking me out? Sending me to Arizona?”
“I wouldn’t have to kick you anywhere bro if you’d pull your head out yo’ butt and go get her. This is getting old, man. You stomping around here looking for something to throw. Don’t you think this shit has gone on long enough?”
“She’s the one that left Jax. What do you want me to do? Go stand with my boombox outside her window?”
His brother gave him a lop-sided grin. “Well, yeah. If that’s what it’ll take to get you two morons back together. Bro,” he drawled. “Did you think being in love was easy?”
Ugh. Whatever. “Hey, I asked her not to go and you see how well that turned out.”
“I told you to call her.”
“What the hell good would that do? She doesn’t even turn the damn thing on.”
“Okay, I get that but Jesus, Cal. Moping around here isn’t helping. Don’t you at least have a plan?”
“She left,” he muttered with a dismissive shrug.
Jax shook his head. “And what? It never occurred to you that she wanted you to go after her?”
“Oh my God, Jax. Come on. We tried. It didn’t work. She made her decision and left. Fucking twice, man. It’s not her problem that I’m so in love that I can’t eat. Or think. Or sleep.”
“Brynn thinks we should kidnap both of you and lock you guys in a room until you figure it out.”
Oh jeez. Really? He winced.
“What?”
Cal looked at Jax and blew out a breath. “My plan was to do nothing. Wait till your kid is born. Then when she comes by to visit, I was gonna kidnap her and well, the plan fell apart after that but you see where I was going, right?”
“Man, you are a mess,” Jax chuckled. “Well fuck Cal. It’s your lucky day. Nana Wilde invited us to dinner. The invitation includes you.”
“What? When? Will Charlize be there? Are you sure?”
“Whoa, slow down there, pal. All those questions are gonna give you whiplash. Yes, I’m sure. Talked to her myself. She’s out of the hospital and wants to see Brynn. Yes to Charlie being there.”
Oh my God. Oh my God. His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.
Jax clapped his hands three times just an inch from Cal’s face, making him jump from surprise. “Dude! Snap out of it! Are you daft or something? Don’t you see what’s happening here?”
He did. Everyone was involved now that their dirty little secret was out. And by involved, he meant doing whatever it took to get them back together. Thank God he had back up because he’d seriously fucked this thing up so bad it’s a wonder any life support worked at all.
“And she knows I’m invited, too?”
“Yep. And Nana Wilde let it slip that she got little Charlize to admit she’d messed up by running away. That’s a start, man. And from where I’m sitting, let me tell you from experience. Take whatever crumbs she throws your way. Grovel. Beg. Promise her anything. Whatever it takes, Caleb. If she’s the one, you owe it to yourself—and to her—to move heaven and earth to make this right.”
“Who else knows? Mom? Dad?”
Jax laughed right in his face. “Everybody knows ya’ jackass. My phone blows up at least once a day with text messages. Mom asking if you’re all right. Dad wanting to know if you need your head examined. Shit. I’ve even got my father-in-law offering suggestions. Some crap about dragonflies and sapphires. I dunno. You’ll have to ask him.”
Everything was moving way too fast. His heart was pounding. Cal clutched the button placket on his shirt. Wait a fucking minute. Moving too fast? Shit. They’d wasted enough time as it was. Now that he thought about it, there was no such thing as moving too fast. It was high time they got their damn shit together. He wasn’t getting any younger. And she was way too beautiful and wonderful and special to be out there on her own. Sooner or later some shithead was going to make a move on her and then he’d have to murder a man. What did his mom like to say? Fish or cut bait? Poop or surrender the can? Yeah. That.
“Baby, Jax says he’s a certifiable mess. Some days he wants to smack him. It’s a wonder they’ve made any headway with the business at all. And Jonas? Shit. He avoids Caleb like the plague. I’m telling you, it’s like middle school around here. Bunch of snarling guys, flipping each other off and acting like a bunch of horny teenagers.”
Charlie sat back on the sofa and put her feet up on the coffee table so she could prop the iPad on her knees. She could still see Brynn and the camera picked up most of her face if she didn’t slump down any further.
“Nana thinks I should talk to him.”
“She’s absolutely right. This can’t continue Charlize. You’re both miserable and so damn stubborn and pigheaded that it makes me crazy. He’s a good man, sweetie. You two just got started wrong and too much stuff happened along the way.”
“I know. And you’re right.” Charlie scrunched up her face and groaned.
“Until you clear the air and admit how you both feel, this stupid shit will just keep happening. It’s the relationship merry-go-round. Sometimes you get dizzy and sometimes you get tired of the ride. But unless you communicate—with each other—you’ll be two unhappy people who almost had it all. Sorry, not sorry Charlie, but it’s the same for all of us. If you love him, you have to trust him. And yourself. And stop with the running. It’s so unlike you.”
“Actually Brynnie, it’s not. I was running when I went to Europe to begin with. Funny thing is, he was running too. I guess he just got to the finish line and took off his running shoes before I did.”
“How are you gonna handle Nana’s invitation to dinner? Is there anything you want us to do? My husband is all for you guys, ya’ know. He told me he’d never known his brother to give two shits about any of the women he dated and I believe he was using the term dated instead of fucking to spare my delicate sensibilities.”
They both cracked up laughing. Delicate sensibilities, indeed.
“You’ll recognize me,” Charlie snickered. “I’ll be the nervous twitchy one draped in crystals and healing stones. Hell, I might even wear a headpiece. Whatever it takes. Whatever mojo or magic or fall to my knees prayer will do the trick and I’m in.”
“Mind if I make a suggestion?” Brynn drawled with a wicked smirk.
“Go for it, sis. I can use all the help I can get.”
“Good. Now listen up. Get the girls a new dress, something real feminine and low cut. No use going to the game if you’re not going to field your best players.”
Best players. Oh my God. How much funnier could Brynn possibly be?
“So your best big sisterly advice for only the most important moment of my life is show my tits?”
“Hey,” Brynn laughed. “Shake ‘em if ya got ‘em, babe.”
“Oh. Well. Then. I have
nothing to worry about, have I?” She giggled. “Finally. A chance for the double D squad to have a real impact. Fantastic.”
“Mom. For real. Don’t sugar coat things. Have you got this or not?”
“Relax, son. Mama’s all over it.”
“Honest to God, I don’t think I can take any more excitement where my girls are concerned. First Brynn gets pregnant. A blessing but still. And then Rhiann. My God. Kidnapped. Assaulted. She could have been killed. Can’t at least one of my daughters just fall in love the normal way without a goddamn eighteen wheeler full of horse turds thrown in?”
She smiled at the distress in her son’s voice. Not because what he said was funny but because his upset was fueled by a tremendous love. A love she was proud to witness. Anthony would be so pleased with what a wonderful man their only son grew in to. Her Robert’s devotion to his wife Darcy and their three marvelous daughters was a thing of rare beauty. A beauty she would support and defend till her last breath.
“Little Charlize surprised us,” she reminded him. “How clever we all thought we were. Thinking the wedding was the perfect time to throw Caleb and Charlie together. But she showed us, now didn’t she?”
Robert chuckled gruffly. “Well, I’m her father after all and I don’t like the affair part of the narrative but it is proof that we were right. They’re perfect for each other.”
“True,” she murmured. “I only wish I’d known beforehand that they’d already been together. In retrospect, leaving them alone wasn’t our best move.”
“What’s done is done. Let’s just move things along and get those two sorted out. We have a baby to look forward to and Liam should be popping the question to Rhiann any day. I’m tired of this shit,” he laughed. “Raising three girls was hell!”
“But look what magnificent women your little snowflakes became. Alike, but oh so very different. Your father would be proud, Robert. All we ever wanted for you was happiness. Darcy was such a wonderful blessing to us all and your daughters? Oh my. Anthony was just tickled pink times three.”
Wilde Magic (Wilde Women Book 3) Page 41