Fierce-Jade (Fierce Family Book 6)

by Natalie Ann

  “My mother is in the pool house. Here she comes now,” he said when the glass door opened. “Mom, this is Jade Fierce. Jade, my mother Jody James.”

  “So nice to meet you,” she said, shaking hands with Brock’s mother, who was in tan pants and a sweater with brown leather pumps. Jade wasn’t sure what she was expecting but not the shorter woman without a hair out of place. Although, Jade could appreciate that as she took a lot of care with her own appearance every day of the week.

  Brock barely owned enough clothes to get him over a week without doing laundry. Even his father was in jeans and a cotton shirt, but Jody James was more formal. Even on a Sunday afternoon after spending hours in the car for the drive here. Brock surely didn’t take after his mother.

  “You too,” Jody said. She had a small smile on her face, not one reaching her eyes.

  Jade knew Brock’s parents were worried about him and that he talked to them at least once a week, but he never told her much about them. Nothing more than his father’s rank and that his mother had never worked.

  Jade was starting to guess that Jody was used to entertaining and being the model wife of a high-ranking officer at all times. Even in her husband’s retirement.

  The Fierce parents weren’t formal people by any definition of the word. This might be more uncomfortable than she thought.

  “I brought wine,” she said. “Brock told me you were cooking. That’s very sweet of you after driving here.”

  “Brock likes his home-cooked meals and I fear he doesn’t do much but get takeout here.”

  “Mom,” Brock said. “Jade cooks for me all the time. I want to go out and she doesn’t.”

  “I like going out as much as the next person, but I’m not sure my waistline can handle it daily. I enjoy cooking though.”

  “You’re just a skinny thing,” Jody said. “You could probably stand to put a few pounds on.”

  She wasn’t sure what to say to what was clearly not a compliment.

  “Jade is a great cook,” Brock said. “She knows what I like.”

  “Brock said you’re an engineer,” Jody said. “You met working on his project.” So much for Jody liking that Brock said something nice about her or a hint at their relationship. She’d never had to work hard for a guy’s parents’ approval before and this was new for her.

  “Well, we met last year when he was the best man at my cousin Ella’s wedding and I was the maid of honor.”

  “I told you that, Mom,” Brock said. She was trying to figure out what was going on between the two of them.

  “That’s right. It must have slipped my mind.”

  “Is there anything I can help you with?” Jade asked.

  “No, thank you. I know what my son likes,” Jody said and went into the kitchen leaving her there. Great. So much for a good impression. Jade was at a loss for what to do.

  She turned to Michael. “Brock said you live on the water in Annapolis.”

  “We do,” Michael said. “It’s a beautiful city. A great place to retire. Not that I wanted to, but I promised Jody that by the time I was sixty-five we could stop traveling so much. Or at least traveling for work. Now it’s just pleasure.”

  “That’s nice,” she said. “My parents go on a few trips a year themselves, but they both work a lot.”

  “You’re father owns the firm you work for?” Michael asked. “And your mother?”

  “My mother is a middle school English teacher. My father owns the firm with his twin brother. I’ve got a twin myself, and twin older brothers.”

  “Guess your mother liked to reproduce,” Jody said from the kitchen.

  She opened her mouth and shut it, not sure what to reply to that. “Two pregnancies is hardly that. But we have big families. We are all very close.”

  The rest of the dinner didn’t go much better than that and Jade was actually thrilled to leave. Brock walked her out. “I don’t think your mother likes me too much.”

  So much for his prediction they’d get along. He was way off base there. And if it wasn’t for the fact it was his mother she might have gone up one side of the woman and down the other with Jody’s “liked to reproduce” comment. Brock would see her tongue could be sharper than a chef’s knife then. But she kept her lips sealed. It wasn’t his fault his mother was acting that way and she wouldn’t take it out on him.

  “She’s just reserved,” Brock said. “I’m going to talk to her.”

  “You know her well. I’m sorry if I said or did something to make her be that way toward me.”

  “You didn’t do anything. I’m not sure why she is acting that way, but I’ll find out.”

  “So it’s not normal?” she asked, this making her feel even worse. Her nose started to itch with the telltale signs of tears, but she refused to let anyone see how upset this was causing her to be.

  “To be honest, I’m not sure. I haven’t had a girlfriend since before the service. Not someone they’d met.”

  “Oh. I’m not sure how to take that.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said, giving her a kiss. “I’m a big boy and don’t always have to listen to what my parents say.”

  “But you seem close to them,” she argued.

  “I am, but that doesn’t mean I let my parents pick out my girlfriends.”

  She started to laugh. “Unlike my family tries to do.”

  “Your family has good taste though,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later when they go back to the pool house.”

  “If you want. If not, I won’t hold you to it.”

  “I’ll call you, I promise.”

  Brock walked back to the family room where his mother was standing up and trying to get his father to get up too. “Brock, we’re just getting ready to retire in our space.”

  “Have a seat first,” he said, “and explain to me what that was about with Jade.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” but she did sit back down. He hadn’t thought his voice was that firm, but it must have been.

  “I think you do. You weren’t rude to her, but it was downright close. I thought it’d relieve your mind that I wasn’t alone here and that someone was almost taking care of me like you keep wanting to do.”

  “I’ve never been rude to anyone in my life,” Jody said. “She just seems uptight and high maintenance to me.”

  Things she’d always been judged on before. Now he understood it, but this time it was uncalled for. “Jade’s hardly uptight. She was open and friendly. She tried to carry on multiple conversations with both of you.”

  “I like her,” his father said. “She’s nice, she’s pretty, she might be high maintenance but not over the top I could see. She’s got a good job and sounds like she has a great work ethic. Your mother was rather gruff and Jade rolled with the punches. She’s got balls.”

  “They are very family oriented people. Almost overbearing at times,” he said, grinning. “So she’s used to rolling with the punches.”

  “And you hate things like that,” his mother said. “You don’t like overbearing people.”

  “No. I can handle myself. Her brothers are great people. Her whole family is. They care for their baby sister, but they aren’t asses about it.”

  “Time will tell. It’s early yet. Just a few months, if that, you said. You’re new to the area. You’re starting a new life here and the last thing you need is to settle down.”

  “Settle down?” he asked.

  “Did you hear her talking about all her cousins and the babies? She even made a joke about how many bedrooms are in the house for kids. That is a woman looking to get a man to give her a family. She probably wants to be set up to be taken care of.”

  He laughed. “Does she want kids? Sure, she does. We’ve had this conversation because we talk. She isn’t looking to pop one out now. Nor is she someone who would ever want to be taken care of and I’m not sure where you got that impression from unless you are thinking of yourself.”

  “I never needed someon
e to take care of me. I was on my own more times than not,” his mother argued.

  “Now, Jody,” his father said. “It was part of the job.”

  “I know it was,” his mother said. “And I love you and understood that. For years your job came first and I was fine with that. But now it’s our time.”

  He was glad to know his father was doing that for his mother. “It is and we do a lot of the things you love,” Michael said. “I know you sacrificed plenty for me and my career over the years. Endless nights of worrying on top of it. But Brock knows his mind. He’s not you and he’s not me.”

  “That doesn’t mean he has to get serious with the first woman to come his way. You’ve had a lot happen to you in the past year. You’re still healing and recovering. Maybe she is taking advantage of that.”

  “Do you hear yourself?” Brock asked, losing his patience. “I’m standing right here. I’m healthy. I’m happy. I like the life I have even though it’s taking some adjusting. But don’t put anything on Jade’s shoulders or make me sound so weak I’m being duped.”

  “So you’re falling for this girl?” his mother asked.

  “Yeah, I am. And I’m asking you to try to get along with her for me. She’s a great person and you’ll see that if you just let yourself.”

  “I’ll try,” his mother said, but she lifted her chin in the air and he wondered how hard she was going to try.

  She walked out before he could say anything else and he watched her make her way past his hot tub and into the pool house. His father looked at him. “Give her time.”

  “For what? What am I missing here?”

  “Are you really that naive?” his father asked.

  “I guess I am.”

  “She hasn’t been a part of your life for years. Not like she wanted to be. You’ve been gone and you come visit. We talk and send you packages and so on, but that is it. When you were hurt, she thought we were going to lose you and said she wanted to treasure her time with both of us going forward.”

  “She has a funny way of showing that with her treatment of Jade.”

  “Because now she fears she has to share you, Brock.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “Is it? I didn’t need to meet this woman to know how involved you are with her. First off, the connection between Travis and his wife and Jade was the first sign.”

  “What sign?”

  “You’d never get involved with someone unless you truly thought there was something there if you were concerned it’d cause problems with Travis.”

  “That’s true,” he said. It had crossed his mind in the beginning but then reminded himself they were all adults and could handle it if things didn’t work out.

  “Then her commitment with you on your project. That’s another thing. This house that she helped you find. We aren’t stupid. Matching towels in the bathrooms? That’s her, not you. Your mother sees the influence Jade has on your life even if you can’t see it. Just listening to you talk about her was enough for your mother.”

  “You’d think she’d be happy for me then,” he argued.

  “Deep down she is or will be. But she’s sad for herself. She’s lost you so many times in life. First to the Navy, then you almost died. Now she is going to lose you to a woman.”

  “Or she could look at it as if she is gaining a daughter,” he said before he could stop himself. He wasn’t sure where those words were even coming from.

  And yes, his mother was right. Jade talked about babies and her family a lot. The joke about kids upstairs. She wanted them. It was no secret. Yet, he hadn’t mentioned once that he might not be able to have children.

  His father just frowned after that statement. “You see that, and I see that. Your mother will need time.”

  “Well, she better get over it soon because Garrett and Carolyn Fierce invited you to Thanksgiving dinner in a few days and I accepted for us.”

  His father grimaced. “That might not have been smart.”

  “She doesn’t have to go if she doesn’t want to, but I’ll be there. Maybe if she met the whole family she’d feel better about things.”

  Or worse, but he wasn’t going to add that. His mother might feel like he was finding another family to call his own.

  29

  A Little Intense

  “Mom, I’m telling you. I can’t do anything right in this woman’s eyes.”

  “Jade,” her mother said, “I’ve never seen you so nervous before. What is this about?”

  “She doesn’t like me. I’m not that bad of a person. I don’t know what I could have done to make her be this way.”

  She’d never in all her years meeting a boyfriend’s parents walked away feeling like she wasn’t worthy. If she didn’t get along with someone she just pushed it aside and blew it off. But with Brock’s mother she was a little distraught and was fearful of even letting her own mother know that.

  “I’m sure you didn’t do anything at all. Brock is her only child and she probably fears losing him to a woman. No mother wants to let go of their child.”

  “You let go of the boys,” she said, laughing. “After you set them up with who you thought they’d do best with.”

  Her mother squinted her eyes at her. “I’m not falling for it, Jade. Don’t even think of that. I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you you are on a wild goose chase. And I didn’t let go of my boys. At least one of them is here once a week. But I know they have to live their own lives. On top of that, they are close by. Brock hasn’t seen much of his parents in years. Then after his accident...well, I couldn’t imagine going through that. Not as a mother.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she said.

  “I know I am. Now help me finish getting these vegetables washed. Diane will be here any minute and then the rest of the crew will show up within a few hours after that. And why are you here so early?”

  “Because Brock is with his parents and I was bored at home.”

  “And you needed your mother? Even at thirty-two you come back. Just remember that with handling Jody. She’s always going to be his mother and you don’t want him to have to choose between you two.”

  “I guess. So that’s why you’ve always opened the door wider when you liked someone that we dated. So we didn’t have to choose a side?”

  “What do you think?” her mother asked.

  What she thought hours later was that even if her mother was right, it didn’t mean Jody James was ever going to soften up toward her.

  The moment they walked in the door with Brock, her family opened their arms to them. Jody said very little, even when she offered to help in the kitchen. Her mother shooed everyone out saying she and Aunt Diane had it covered.

  Jade supposed having the two of them, herself, her three future sisters-in-law and two cousin’s wives, along with Jody would be like the zoo coming to town in her mom’s domain where she was the lion tamer with a whip that she hoped didn’t come out today.

  Instead, Jody sat out in the family room with everyone else that was spread into multiple spaces.

  Several times she’d engaged Jody in conversation. Her family did too, but there were more short curt answers than anything.

  Michael James, on the other hand, seemed to be fairly relaxed and enjoying the time with her father and uncle. That was something at least.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked Brock, bringing him another beer. “Our family holidays can get a little intense.”

  “I’ve been to a few of your family’s functions before. I think I’ve got a handle on things.”

  “And you are pretty tough,” she said, her eyes shifting to his mother sitting in a chair with her wine at the other end of the room, just watching what was going on.

  “I want to say she is out of her element,” he said. “But she is used to entertaining.”

  “Just not people like us?” Jade asked with a big grin.

  He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips, her eyes catching Jody’s
watching them. “There is nothing wrong with people like you.”

  “We aren’t military or dignified.”

  “Well, Wyatt hiding all the wine and beer bottle openers might have been interesting if we were here to witness it.”

  Typical Wyatt managed to sneak in and when no one was looking hid them all. After five minutes her father caught on, her mother walking over and pinching his arm to give them up.

  He’d opened up the fridge and pulled them out of the deli meat drawer.

  “He’s being mild today. I should actually thank him.” As far as she knew none of her brothers were aware of her ever being insecure about her relationships. Maybe they were just being on their best behavior with new people in the group.

  “Ryder came alone,” he said. “There is that too.”

  “Thank God,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine what your mother would think if she saw one of Ryder’s chicks. But he’d never bring anyone to a family holiday.”

  “Not one to stay in a relationship long, huh?”

  “Could you with the women he dates?”

  “No.”

  “Here you go, Dani,” Aunt Diane said, coming into the room and handing over a plate of snacks with one of Payton’s cookies on it. Sam went to grab a few and his mother slapped his hand away. “It’s for Dani, you get your own. She’s eating for two.”

  “Cookies aren’t good for babies,” Wyatt said. “I’m a doctor. I know. Right, Sam? You should grab that and split it with me for our medical advice.”

  Sam laughed. “You really think that is going to work? Wait until you’ve got a pregnant wife at home. I need my fingers and Dani is fast to break them if I take sweets from her.”

  “Ella said chocolate makes her ill,” Jade said. “Can you believe that?”

  Her cousin Ella was a chocolate fanatic. It had to be a bummer, but totally worth it for a baby in Jade’s eyes.

  “That’s like Jade not being able to walk into a department store if she was pregnant,” her father said.

  “Thanks, Dad. But I don’t see that happening.”

  Jody just pursed her lips and looked away. It was going to be a long day.