Forbidden Bad Boys (Small Town Forbidden Romance Box Set)

by Holly Jaymes

  “He’s not the boss of me, mom.” I stepped inside the condo. Maybe now was the time to tell them about the hospitality Mason had extended to them by letting them stay there. Then again, I couldn’t trust them not to do something truly nutty like claim it was rat-infested or something. Omg, how was it that I was born from these people?

  My father came in from the back deck. “You here to apologize to us?”

  I held my head up high. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Why are you here?” my mother said, going to stand with my father.

  “What are you doing?” I looked at both of them like they were possessed or something. That was the only way to explain how they could be so cruel and not see the destructiveness of their petty feud.

  “What do you mean?” My father shrugged like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

  “Mason was let go from the volunteer fire department.”

  “Good.” My father quipped.

  “He risked his life. First, as a Navy SEAL to protect this country and then as a volunteer. That means he was unpaid, by the way, to protect this community. What’s wrong with you?”

  My mother flinched. “He’s turned her against us.”

  “He let our house burn.” My father’s eyes were dark.

  “No, he didn’t. You’re going to lose any lawsuit. You’re going to waste that two million or whatever you’re getting from the house by going after him. Never mind the people who will be injured or killed because your lawsuit depletes firehouse funds that now won’t be there to save them. Are you ready to let people die because you hate a McLean?”

  My mother looked stricken as she glanced at my father. Good. She needed to know actions had consequences.

  “We’ll see about that.” My dad picked up the paper and went to the couch. It was clear that he didn’t care.

  “It would be worth it, wouldn’t it?” I asked, following him to the living area. “You’d be happy to go broke and let others suffer if it meant hurting a McLean.”

  My father didn’t answer.

  “I hope you’re not planning to return to Eden Lake because if you do this, you’ll be ostracized. Don’t underestimate the respect people here have for the fire department or Mason, for that matter.” I looked at my mother. “You do this, and Harrison and Marissa Haynesville will go down in Eden Lake history as villains.”

  My mother opened her mouth to say something, but my father beat her to it.

  “I can’t return, he burnt down my house.” He looked at me over the newspaper. “But I’ll tell you what. You dump him, and I’ll give up the lawsuit.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. You stop seeing him, go live your life back east, and your mother and I’ll leave town and let it go.”

  “You don’t care about my feelings?”

  My father put his paper down. “He seduced you because you’re a Hayneville. If you think he loves you, you’re deluded. He plans to use you and ruin the Haynesville family's reputation. I’m trying to save you, Willa. You walk away from him, and we’ll let go of the lawsuit.”

  It seemed too easy and yet, at the same time, the hardest thing ever. Then again, it wasn’t like I was planning to stay. Neither of us had said the l-word. We did not commit to each other.

  .

  Last night, when he touched me, I wanted to believe he was in love with me. His touch had been so tender, the emotion in his eyes so intense. If he’d said the words, I’d have said them back. If he’d asked me to stay, I’d have said yes before he finished the question because I loved him. But, I’d do as my father asked. “I just need to get my stuff from there.”

  “No.” My father shook his head, sternly. “Get someone else to do it. Have them bring it here.”

  My heart sank. I wouldn’t have the chance to explain it to him. I could call him, but I wasn’t sure he’d understand. I needed to be in the room with him so he could see how hard this was for me, so I could see his reaction and do whatever I could to make him understand.

  “All contact with him stops now. If you can do that, we won’t sue the fire department.”

  I wasn’t sure I could trust my father, but I didn’t have much choice. “Okay.”

  “Oh, thank goodness, Willa.” My mother threw her arms around me. “Are you hungry? I have some eggs and bacon.”

  “No.” I sank into a chair at the dining table, trying to decide who to call. I could call Tara, but she had a family. I didn’t know that Allie person very well. All that was left was Wyatt.

  I called the sheriff’s department as I didn’t have his cell number and left a message for him to call. Then I simply sat and waited for him to contact me.

  “Stop moping, Willa.” My father said, “You should have known better.”

  “Stop gloating, dad.”

  “Don’t pick at her,” my mother said. “She’s agreed. Eventually, we’ll all forget all about this.”

  I wouldn’t forget. I’d never forget. I finally understood why this feud festered year after year, generation after generation.

  “I’m going to lay down until Wyatt calls.”

  “Oh, Wyatt. I like him,” my mother said.

  I rolled my eyes. I considered telling them I’d never get married and have kids. I’d show them. My mother would die without grandchildren. Of course, they’d accuse me of being overly melodramatic. So, I didn’t say anything.

  I went into the guest room and lay down until my phone rang.

  “Hey, Willa, everything okay?” Wyatt asked.

  “Yes. I hate to bug you if you’re working, but I need your help with something.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  I gave him the condensed version of my situation and asked if he could pick up my stuff at Mason’s.

  “I can do that, but shouldn’t you call him?”

  “I should, but I told my parents I wouldn’t. It’s a mess, Wyatt.”

  “If you like Mason, why not tell his parents to shove it?”

  “I’m trying to get them to leave him alone. They’re threatening to sue the fire department. Besides, I was never planning to stay here, so it doesn’t make sense to fight this. If leaving now instead of two days from now, it will keep my parents off his back. Then I’ll do it.”

  “Willa, I hope you won’t be offended, but nobody likes your parents, never did. It’s probably why no one wanted to be your friend in school. Everyone was afraid of your family.”

  I rolled over on my side and curled into a ball. I’d never considered that. I’d always thought I didn’t have friends because I was homely and shy. It turns out that I had no friends because my parents were elitist and vindictive people. Only Mason, the one who had the most to lose for being friends with me, was brave enough to become my friend. It made my pain even worse.

  “If you could get my stuff, I can probably get them out of town, and then Eden Lake can go back to its peaceful tranquility without Haynesvilles around.”

  “We like you, Willa. You’re the best of the Haynesvilles. It’s a shame. You and Mason could have ended that stupid feud.”

  “We always thought we would.”

  I hung up the phone and cried into the pillow, not wanting my parents to hear. I considered calling Mason again, but I was afraid my parents would hear me. Texting just wasn’t good enough. Maybe simply breaking it off was better after all. It would be like tearing a Band-Aid off; quick, sharp pain, and then it’s done.

  The problem, of course, was when it came to the heart, I didn’t think there was any quick way to get over that pain. But if Mason could go on without my parents infringing on his life, it would be worth it. The fire department could take him back. Maybe he’d find a good woman to love. That Emma person at Paradise Java seemed sweet. That’s what he needed. A woman who could appreciate and celebrate the good man he was. I’d always be a Haynesville, and so I’d always be a source of potential problems for him.

  I opened my contact app and found Mason’s information, and
with a sob, I hit delete. I found his text messages and hit block. Mason would be out of my life. He’d never be out of my heart.

  Chapter 24: Betrayed Again

  Mason

  I knew something wasn’t right when I texted Willa, and I got a notification that my message had been blocked. In my mind, she’d been unsuccessful in her quest, and instead, her parents had turned her against me, again.

  That was confirmed when Wyatt Dalton showed up asking for her stuff. I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more; that she couldn’t come to tell me herself, or that she sent him of all people.

  I let him in and listened intently as he delivered a message from Willa, the upshot of which was that she’d leave, and her parents would drop the lawsuit.

  I was as livid as when I got the call that morning. The least she should have done is come and gather her belongings and given me the news. Maybe we could have discussed things, and she could stay. Or perhaps she’d still go. At least I’d be able to look her in the eye when she betrayed me again.

  I marched through the house, gathering her things and stuffing them in her bag. I found her laptop on the kitchen table.

  “Look, man, I’m sorry about this,” Wyatt said.

  I shrugged. “It was bound to happen. She’s a Haynesville, after all.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  I stopped stuffing a cord into her laptop bag. “Fair?” Seriously, he was going to talk to me about fair.

  “She doesn’t want this. She was upset.”

  “And yet, she’s not here to tell me herself.” I shoved the cord in and zipped up the compartment.

  “Her parents said they’d drop the lawsuit if she left. She’s doing it for you and the fire department. Stop being such an asshole.”

  I laughed derisively. “Yes, yes, a Hayneville to the rescue of Eden Lake again. How have we survived without a Hayneville for so long?”

  “They’re jerks too, I know it. But not Willa.”

  “She could have talked to me and worked it out. You know I could take on that lawsuit and win.” I hated how upset I sounded. I didn’t need Wyatt Dalton knowing Willa broke my heart.

  “I know it. Does she?”

  I stopped and frowned at him, not sure what he was saying.

  “You live a modest life in a modest house…the house you grew up in,” he said.

  “She knows I have my own business, my fitness chain.”

  “Lots of people have their own business. Your dad had a business. Not everyone is a gazillionaire like you are. People certainly can’t know that by how you live. Unless you told her that, how would she know you have the resources to deal with asshats like her parents?”

  I stared at him with my hands on my hips, wondering if he was right.

  “Does she know you’re the one funding much of the housing for the fire victims?”

  I don’t think I said anything, but I couldn’t know for sure. Then I shook my head. “She made her choice.”

  “Jesus, what the fuck, man? Do you like her or not?”

  “It doesn’t matter. This isn’t the first time Willa has sided with her family against me. I can’t compete with them, and maybe I shouldn’t. Two people shouldn’t have to choose between a relationship and their parents. This feud is like a curse.”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes. “If Willa liked me, I wouldn’t give a shit about any of that.”

  “Well, that’s easy for you to say. Maybe when you take this bag to her, you can tell her that you like her. I know for a fact that there was a time she liked you too.” I tossed the clothes bag to him.

  Wyatt’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re an asshole, you know that.”

  “I’m a McLean. I think the words are synonymous.”

  He shook his head, and I hated the disgusted look on his face. “You’re making a mistake, McLean.”

  “It’s not the first. The first was becoming Willa’s friend in the first place.” I handed the laptop bag to him. “I have work to do.”

  “Whatever.” He snarled as he picked up the bags and walked out the door.

  I went directly to my liquor cabinet and poured a double shot of scotch. Anything to get the bad taste of what just happened out of my mouth. My brain was like a fire in the wind, sparks flying, flames rising, looking for oxygen, and burning a hole in my head. I couldn’t sort any of it out.

  Was I an asshole? Probably, but I was tired of getting fucked over by Haynevilles. And I was tired of trying to play nice just to spare Willa’s feelings. She didn’t give a shit about mine.

  “Fuck!” I threw my glass across the room, but it didn’t help. I grabbed another glass, pouring another double shot. My best bet was to get drunk. Maybe if I was in a drunken haze, I’d forget her sweet demeanor, her beautiful face, and how much I fucking loved her.

  She chose her parents, I reminded myself. She said she’d come back, but she wasn’t going to. She wanted me to think she was sacrificing herself to save my ass, but I didn’t need saving. In fact, now I wanted Harrison to come after me. I wanted to look him in the eye the moment he realized that I could well and truly ruin him. He was a bully that needed knocking down. I was more than happy to do it.

  But now, Willa had saved us all, I guess. I suppose I should be grateful, and to the outside world, I would be. Yay! The firehouse was saved by Willa’s sacrifice.

  Except it wasn’t really a sacrifice at all, was it? She had no intention of staying. She didn’t love me. Giving me up was easy. I suppose that was good as well, at least for her. She could feel good knowing she helped the fire department and didn’t have to risk anything to achieve it.

  I rubbed my hand over my heart. It fucking hurt on my end, though. If things were reversed, I’d have told my dad to fuck off.

  Not everyone is a gazillionaire, Wyatt’s words came back to me. If she knew the extent of my financial resources, would she have told her folks to fuck off? I think if she actually knew that I was a billionaire, she would have realized I can handle this myself.

  I shrugged. In the end, it didn’t matter. Her bags were packed. She was already gone. It was time for me to move on.

  Chapter 25: Messed up, Again

  Willa

  It seemed like forever before Wyatt came with my stuff.

  “Wyatt, how are you?” my mother gushed. “Will you stay for lunch?”

  He looked at me, and I was surprised when he said, “Yes, Mrs. Haynesville, I’d enjoy that.”

  I stared at him in shock. He didn’t think he had a chance with me now, did he?

  He handed me the bags. “Mason sends his—”

  “Don’t mention that boy's name around me,” my father bellowed from where he sat doing his crossword puzzle.

  “Let me know if something is missing. I’ll go back,” Wyatt said.

  “How was he?” I asked in a low voice as I walked to the extra bedroom.

  “Not good. Pissed. Maybe hurt is a more accurate word.”

  I sank down on the edge of the bed. “I hate that. This is the second time I’ve hurt him. He’s better off without me.”

  Wyatt shook his head. “You two are idiots. You should have more faith in him. He should have more faith in you. If you two had that, all that bullshit out there wouldn’t matter.”

  “I’m trying to stop them from suing the station.”

  “They don’t need your help, Willa. That’s the point.”

  I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  “Willa, Wyatt. It’s time for lunch,” my mother called.

  “You don’t have to stay,” I said to him as we walked to the dining area.

  “Oh, I’m staying.”

  There was a gleam in his eyes that had me interested and yet worried.

  We sat at the table, and my mother served us a grilled chicken salad.

  “This looks delicious, Mrs. Haynesville,” Wyatt said, taking the plate from her.

  “Why, thank you, Wyatt. You have such lovely manners. Doesn’t he have nice manners, Willa
?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I can’t marry Wyatt mother. They’d ostracize him for marrying a traitor to the community.”

  Wyatt’s lips twitched up in amusement.

  “Don’t be disrespectful, Willa.” It was interesting how my father now treated me like a teenager. The sooner I got out of town and to the east coast, the better.

  “This is a nice condo.” Wyatt took a sip of the lemon water my mother had given him.

  “It’s not bad. It has a view of the lake.” My mother sat at the table with us.

  “It’s nice of the owner to let you continue to stay here.” Wyatt jabbed his fork in the salad.

  I shook my head, not wanting him to reveal that Mason was the owner. He lifted a single brow as if to say, what does it matter now?

  “Why wouldn’t he?” my father asked.

  Wyatt looked at my mother and father and then me, and back to my parents like he was shocked they didn’t know. “Because Mason McLean and his brother Tucker own it.”

  “What?” My mother’s hand pressed over her heart.

  “No. A Mr. Mason owns…” My father trailed off as he looked at me. “What’s going on, Willa?”

  “There was no place to stay, and when I mentioned it to Mason, he offered it.”

  My father threw his napkin down on his plate. “You mean to tell me you let that boy trick you—”

  “He offered a family in need a place to stay, no charge, dad. Maybe you could be thankful.”

  “Or maybe he owed me for burning my house down.”

  I was ready to go, and my bags were already packed. I could just go.

  “I don’t see how it’s his fault your home burned, Mr. Haynesville. If you want to blame anyone, you could blame the Cotton Valley fire department, since they didn’t stop it from coming over to our side of the hill. Or maybe mother nature. It was a lightning strike and wind that really caused the fire.”

  “They could have stopped it,” my father turned his angry eyes on Wyatt.

  Wyatt shrugged affably. “It’s a good thing you dropped your lawsuit anyway.”

  My father looked at me, clearly annoyed I’d told Wyatt too much.