Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides)

by Heather Tullis

  “I always felt... I don’t know, separate, I guess, because my mom didn’t like that I didn’t always fall into line with her plans for me. Her husband never even tried to be a real dad. He was there in public and I was expected to play the doting daughter, but it wasn’t real.” She paused, as if considering her response carefully, weighing her words. “And then there was Dad, not admitting I was his kid, keeping me the dirty secret. When he told everyone about us after he was dead, well, it was really frustrating, to put it mildly. Now that he wasn’t going to have to face it himself, he would admit that I was his kid, but not before. He didn’t give us a choice about whether we wanted the world to know, and I didn’t want the attention.

  “Then there were all of these sisters, and I didn’t have a place that was mine, not really. I was mad that he strong-armed us into coming here. Mad that he wanted us to make a pretty little family for him now. Just mad, I guess. And keeping myself apart from them felt like I was getting some of my own back. Controlling something about my life.” She tipped her forehead onto his chest for a moment, shaking it slightly. “Man, why didn’t I see that before? He could dictate where I live and what I do, but he couldn’t make me be their friend.”

  “And Rosemary in particular?” His fingers feathered down her temple.

  Delphi chuckled a little and lifted her head to look at him again. “Oh, we would have argued even if we’d be brought up as sisters. We can’t seem to help ourselves. Too much alike, I guess, and too different all at once. It’s not that I dislike her.” She thought for a second. “I don’t, really. But I don’t give her her due outside the kitchen either. It’s hard to know what to think with her, or where I stand.”

  “It sounds like you can pretty much decide that yourself. She worries about you and wants you to be happy. Maybe it’s a good place to start forming a friendship.” He wanted her happy, and he had the feeling that at least coming to terms with her sisters was going to be a big part of her achieving that happiness.

  Her lips curved. “Rosemary and me, friends? I don’t know if it’s possible. But I’ll think about it.”

  “Good, you wanna come back to my place?” He rubbed little circles into her waist with his fingertips.

  “I really do, but I should hang out here instead. I’m going in extra early in the morning so I can cut out for our date. Tomorrow night, though. If you play your cards right.” She nuzzled along his cheek.

  “I’ll hold you to it, and while you’re in your quiet room, all alone tonight, I’ll give you something more to think about.” He leaned forward and kissed her, reminding her, if he could, of the heat that had practically melted the walls when they’d been together the previous night. He couldn’t wait to get her back in his place again, would like to have her there every night after that, heating up frozen food and ordering in Chinese and pizza—definitely not cooking since that was apparently not her thing. In that moment, he couldn’t imagine anything better than coming home to her every night.

  The thought scared him and he pulled back just as someone came out the front door.

  He looked up to see Gage approaching. “I guess I should let you go,” Jeremy said to Delphi.

  “I guess so. I can go out anytime after one tomorrow. Send me a text about what to plan on.”

  “I will. Take care of yourself. Joel said he’s being extra vigilant with the video surveillance, but I don’t want you taking any chances.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m safety girl.” She pressed a final kiss on his mouth and headed inside, greeting Gage as she walked past.

  “Hey, sorry to interrupt.” Gage joined Jeremy.

  “No problem. She was about to go inside anyway.” She had to before his head exploded. “They’re quite a bunch, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah. Amazing women, in their various ways, and the guys who adore them.” Gage stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. “How does it feel to be part of that group?”

  Jeremy wondered if Gage was feeling on the outside, considering that he wasn’t hooked up with one of the girls, or if he’d been fine, since he was already one of the guys. “A little intimidating sometimes, to be honest. Delphi can be a little intimidating if she wants to be, so I’m getting used to it.”

  “You got that right. She’s a force. And I’ve still never seen her in anything but that perfectly pressed office wear.”

  “Those suits are her shield, kinda like your attitude with Jonquil.” Jeremy shot his friend a look. “So what’s up with you? Catching your breath between ski and mountain bike seasons?”

  “Just for a week or so,” Gage said. “The weather stays this nice, we’ll have bikers flooding the area before you know it. I was thinking about taking the hike up to the falls. I’m surprised you haven’t gone back up, considering what you found last time.”

  Jeremy shrugged. “I plan on it, we just haven’t had a chance to breathe since we realized it was actually gold. Maybe I’ll take her back up tomorrow. We can poke around and see if we find anything more.”

  “Maybe you should. You never know what you might find, as you now know. And there’s the cave. Did you guys check that out when you were there last? Remember playing pirates hiding their treasure chest? If nothing else, you’ll find privacy so you won’t have to worry about one of her many sisters walking in on you.” He gestured over his shoulder at the house.

  Jeremy smiled. “Or you. Seriously, you’ve always been a jerk who horns in on my face time with girls.”

  “It’s a gift.” Gage shrugged. “I better head. Catch you later.”

  “I will.” Jeremy climbed into his car and waited for Gage to pull out before following suit. Maybe Gage was right about going back to the falls.

  “Where are you and Jeremy going?” Jonquil asked as Delphi passed her in the hotel hallway the next afternoon. “You said you’re cutting out early.”

  Delphi enjoyed her job, but she couldn’t wait to get away to spend time with her man, either. “He said something about going for a ride and then hiking to the falls again to see what else we can find. It’s gorgeous, perfect for it.”

  “I’m so jealous. Tomorrow. Tomorrow after the morning meeting I’m going to take the rest of the day off and do some hiking of my own. It’s been too long.”

  The sisters tried to stagger their days off, which wasn’t hard since they all worked six-, sometimes seven-day weeks. But it meant they were seldom all off on the same day.

  She changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, grabbing her leather jacket and protective gear. It was still fairly cool outside and she would need it for the ride to wherever they were going to spend the rest of the day.

  When Jeremy pulled up, she was out checking on her bike and topping off the tank from the gas can she kept in the garage. His eyes slid over her T-shirt. “No spaghetti straps today?”

  She grinned. “Come on, I’m ready to go. Did you bring something to eat or are we going to be back for dinner?”

  “I’ve got food. Do you have everything you need?” He slid an arm around her waist as she stood, then kissed her.

  “Yeah. Let’s go. You lead off and I’ll follow.” There was a tiny pang of regret that she wouldn’t be riding behind him, holding tight, but the freedom of driving her new motorcycle was more than compensation.

  She already full of anticipation when they ended up back at the trailhead for the waterfall. “You know this is just my style, right? A trail a kindergartner can easily handle without complaint, and the chance, however unlikely, of finding glitters while we’re there.”

  He swung off his bike and came over to her. “Whatever makes you happy. Plus, I’d love to see if we can find another nugget big enough to pay off a house.”

  “How many years have you been going there and you never found one before?” she asked, but secretly she was excited. This had to be the way gamblers felt when they upped the stakes, just to see if they could win the pot.

  “I didn’t say it was likely, just that I�
��d like to look around. The gold didn’t drop out of the sky.”

  “Yeah, we definitely would have heard if there had been showers of gold nuggets.” She smiled as he retrieved a bag that must have held their lunch from his bike’s saddlebag and swung it over his shoulder.

  He held out a hand to her. “Ready?”

  “Absolutely.”

  They arrived at the waterfall about an hour later and Jeremy broke open the bag he brought.

  “We’re eating already?” she asked.

  “Yes, but it’s just a snack. We’ll have a real dinner later. I have plans.” He wiggled his brows at her and started setting the food packages out on a flat rock that was away from the waterfall’s over-spray.

  “Should I be nervous?” she asked as she sat beside him and twisted the cap off a bottled water.

  “Nope. Strictly boring meals. You don’t have a peanut allergy, do you?” He passed over a sandwich.

  Delphi lifted one corner of the sandwich and saw it was a PB&J. “Nice, so a kindergartner can walk the trail, and you’ve given me a kindergartner snack. I’m feeling very grown up and adventurous today.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “I was going for easy and something that wouldn’t turn gross without refrigeration. I promise tonight’s dinner will be more grown up.”

  “Okay. And actually, I like peanut butter sandwiches, so we’re good. I was just giving you a hard time.” She took a bite and nearly sighed in appreciation. “Oh, yeah. My mom didn’t approve of peanut butter. She thinks it’s too fattening and complains that it makes your breath stink. No appreciation for good taste.”

  “The breath factor would be why I brought these.” He pulled out a container of Altoids.

  “Good call.”

  “My mom thought peanut butter was great, so she gave it to us all the time.” Jeremy pulled out a small package of cookies, fought to open it, then retrieved his pocket knife for the job.

  “Us? You mean you, Gage and Vince? How long have you guys been buddies, anyway?”

  “Since preschool, but no, I meant me and my brother, Loren.” He didn’t meet her gaze, staring at his sandwich as he unwrapped it.

  “Wait, you have a brother? I’ve never heard you mention him. I thought you were an only child.” How had this not come up before?

  He picked at the crust on his sandwich for a few seconds before responding. “I had a brother. Loren was six years younger than me, just four when he got caught in a gully during a rainstorm. There was a flash flood. They found his body about three miles downstream. It messed up the whole family. Nothing ever felt the same after that. We couldn’t go back to normal. What was normal without him? So I don’t talk about him.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that was. Your mom... just watching Rosemary dealing with the threats against her and Cleo this winter, I can see it would be devastating.” She touched his arm, offering comfort, but he didn’t look up, focusing instead on his food. She had a sudden moment of insight and gentled her voice when she continued. “You probably felt responsible, didn’t you? As the big brother. Even though you probably couldn’t have done anything about it.”

  “Yeah, for a long time I thought I should have done something differently. It wasn’t until years later when I realized my parents were blaming themselves too. And we were all wrong. I think that’s part of why Dad never recovered after losing Mom. He thought he was responsible for both of them. Still does. Like he was supposed to be able to fix it.”

  “I can see, in a twisted and confused way, blaming yourself for your kid being out during a flashflood, but how could he blame himself for cancer? I know what it’s like to watch someone die while you watch and pray and do everything humanly possible to save them, but cancer... it’s no one’s fault.”

  Suddenly she realized part of the reason she was so angry with her father. He’d had cancer. He’d known for months and hadn’t told any of them. He arranged for them to come visit—which should have been like flashing warning signs since he’d never had her visit him in Chicago before. And still his death had come as a surprise to all of them. Even Lana and Cami had been shocked when they learned the truth. He hadn’t seen fit to tell them he was dying. And then the heart attack took him first. She rubbed her chest, as if it could alleviate the ache.

  “What? What’s wrong?” He touched her shoulder.

  She shook her head. “I just realized something. Totally unrelated.” She would tell him later, when she’d had time to think about it. “Your dad blamed himself for your mom’s death?”

  “She’d been feeling off for a while, talking about being tired and not feeling well. He thinks he should have sent her to the doctor right away for tests, insisted on it. He didn’t. She didn’t. By the time they caught the cancer it was heading into stage four. Not much they could do about it then.”

  She slid her hand into his and leaned against his shoulder. “That’s a lot of pain and sadness. How old were you?”

  “Seventeen. Going into my senior year, big dreams for the future. It made senior year a lot less fun.” His lips twitched and fell like he was trying to smile, but didn’t quite make it.

  “I bet it did. You graduated, went to college, though, right?” She’d heard about that somewhere.

  “Yeah. Spent a year there, then came home to try to help Dad with his construction company. It was tanking; he wasn’t running things right, still in depression from losing mom. I couldn’t save it. He ended up taking a job for the Forest Service after that, where he only had to show up and put in the work. He does beautiful work with wooden cabinets, though you wouldn’t know it to look at his place now. I started taking pictures while I was working on his business. My photography business took off as his was going through the toilet. I don’t think that helped his ego much, but I think he didn’t have enough energy left to care as much as he would have otherwise.”

  “I can relate. Except I got past it, or at least I went through the motions until I started to feel human again. I’ve made steady progress. It never completely goes away.” She brushed the honey golden hair away from his deep blue eyes. “I know Fallon would be happy that I’ve moved on, and that I’m doing something I enjoy with my life.” The guilt she used to feel so strongly was merely a twinge now. While that made her sad, it was also a relief to realize it was all going to be okay.

  “You don’t wish you could do something else, something bigger or more, I don’t know, important, I guess, to quote your mom?” He pulled a bag of grapes from his satchel and took a few before passing them her way.

  She thought about how to put it into words. “Bigger than making someone’s wedding day perfect? Better than that? I don’t think so.” She took a fat green grape and rolled it in her fingers, pleased that it was still cool. “I guess when it comes down to it, I’m a romantic. I like to believe in happy endings, and see the anniversary parties that prove that marriage and happiness can last for decades. There’s something satisfying in that.” She popped the grape in her mouth and bit down, reveling in the perfect sweetness as it burst onto her tongue. “Do I see myself doing that for the rest of my life? Who knows? It makes me happy now. I’ll worry about later, well, later.”

  “Seize the day. Is that your motto?”

  “Not entirely, or I’d have bought a new bike years ago and I’d be touring the US and Canada. Maybe Europe. Seeing the world instead of staying in a regular job.”

  His voice grew quiet as he picked over the grapes and selected another one. “You could do that when you year here is up. Is it something you want to do?”

  “Maybe short term,” she admitted. “For a few road trips, not for months on end. I can’t imagine doing it alone though. I like my space and my own air to breathe in but I’m not really a loner.” She studied his face, noting that he didn’t look happy. “Maybe we can do a road trip when the summer rush is over.”

  He grinned. “That sounds like fun. I think I’d like that.”

  She was relieved that
he didn’t seem anxious for their relationship to be over.

  “It must have driven you crazy, holding back from everyone here.”

  She fiddled with her hair, pushing it behind her ear. “It was stupid and mule headed and I can’t quite seem to let go of it, even though I know it’s not healthy, and certainly hasn’t made me happy.”

  He picked up her hand and ran his fingertip over her palm. “You’ve let go of your tight reins for me. Why not for the others? I saw improvements with them last night.”

  Because in some small way she still believed they wronged her by just existing. And wasn’t that the height of stupidity? “Just me being lame, I guess. I’ll think about it.” She ate a couple more grapes, then passed the bag back to him.

  “Good enough. You want to see something fun?” He pulled a big mag light from the bottom of the sack and stood up. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “There’s a cave behind the waterfall. Gage reminded me about it last night. You game?” He offered her a hand. “Maybe that’s where the gold came from.”

  “Okay, sounds good.” She stood and wiped at dirt from the back of her jeans, snagged her jacket, which she’d been carrying, and tied it around her waist in case the cave was cooler than she expected. “I’ve done a little spelunking in my time—strictly family-fare caves, of course. I even have a headlamp back in New York.” An old boyfriend had given her the lamp since he took her out a few times, but his sense of cave adventure was far more developed than hers and she hadn’t used it since.

  He stared at her. “No way. We’ll have to see if Gage knows about any good locations around here. He does a lot of backpacking, rock climbing and that kind of thing. More than me. His summer schedule is a little calmer for him than winter. A little.”

  “It’s a big job, running that place. Do his bosses put a lot of pressure on him to make a big margin?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “You girls, you really are good at keeping secrets, aren’t you?” When she just looked at him, puzzled, he explained, “Gage owns the ski resort. Vince and I have a small percentage of ownership in it, but we don’t tell many people about it. I thought Cami would’ve told you.”