The Wright Brother

by K. A. Linde

  I unlocked the door and allowed the crew to come inside. Once they were all inside, I could go back to the office and dick around until someone else came to take over at lunch. We really didn’t have to stay the whole time, but some of the artifacts were pretty priceless, and no one liked to leave the place empty. Even if we’d hired the people.

  I lay back down on the couch in Betty’s office and took another sip of my water. Feeling slightly up to par, I found the number for Jensen’s office and pressed Call.

  “Mr. Wright’s office,” his receptionist said. “How can I help you?”

  “Hi. Um…this is Emery. I was wondering if Jensen was in.”

  “Unfortunately, Mr. Wright is out of the office today, but I would be happy to take a message.”

  I furrowed my brow. Jensen isn’t at work? That seems…wrong.

  “Do you know when he’s going to be back in?” I pressed.

  “Mr. Wright is away on business right now.”

  “Away on business?” I asked in confusion.

  “Yes. He had to go to New York at the last minute to take care of some business. I’m not sure when he will be back in the office, but I could get him a message if you like.”

  New York.

  My brain stalled on the word.

  What is in New York?

  The only thing I could think that was in New York was what he had told me. Vanessa had lived there. He and Vanessa had been together in New York. Did she still live there? Was he on his way to see her?

  No, that didn’t make any sense. He had said that he divorced her for cheating on him. That definitely could not be it.

  I was just trying to freak myself out.

  Or I was just freaking out, period.

  Why wasn’t he returning my calls?

  What kind of business could he possibly have in New York the week of Christmas right after he had gotten back from purchasing Tarman? And what kind of business would he have where he had to disappear so quickly without telling me…or responding to any of my messages?

  By the time lunch rolled around and I was off my shift, I felt like I was going insane. Jensen and I had had an awesome weekend. I’d left him alone with Landon to clear my head. Jensen had called and texted, and then when I’d responded, he’d gone radio silent.

  What the hell had Landon said to him?

  Before I could second-guess my train of thought, I canceled my standing lunch date with Heidi and swung by Jensen’s house. I rang the doorbell and impatiently tapped my toe.

  When no one answered, I rang the bell again and again.

  Finally, a bleach-blonde appeared at the door. Miranda’s gaze dropped to mine, and then she pursed her Barbie pink lips. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Fuck. I hadn’t counted for on seeing Miranda. I hadn’t even thought about her. I just wanted to talk to Landon about Jensen.

  “Um…hi,” I said. This is not going to be fun. “Is Jensen here?”

  “You can’t fool me,” Miranda said.

  She eased the door open more, and I could see she was in some kind of tennis getup. But I didn’t know if she had been playing or what because her hair and makeup were still perfect.

  “I know why you’re really here, and if you get near my husband, I’ll file a restraining order.”

  I held my hands up. “No interest in your husband. Just trying to find Jensen.”

  Right then, Landon’s face appeared. He looked green when he saw that I was talking to Miranda. “Emery? What are you doing here?”

  “Came looking for Jensen. I haven’t seen him since last night. He’s not answering my messages, and his receptionist said that he was away on business.”

  “Landon!” Miranda cried. “Why the fuck are you talking to her right now? I thought we discussed this before we left Tampa. I would come if you didn’t go anywhere near her!”

  “Hello? Standing right here,” I muttered. “I’m not interested in Landon. I’m dating Jensen.”

  “I’m not an idiot.”

  Beg to differ, was what I wanted to throw back at her. But, instead, I just turned back to Landon. “Help? Thoughts? Anything?”

  “Landon!” Miranda whined.

  “Just give me a minute, honey, okay?” He kissed her forehead as he crossed the threshold. “Just one minute.”

  “I cannot believe this. You are so going to owe me for this.”

  “Just one minute. Don’t you have a tennis lesson?” he asked.

  “Don’t you dare try to get rid of me.”

  “I’ll be right back,” he said. I could hear the exasperation in his voice as he shut the door in her face. But he looked livid when he turned around. “What the fuck are you doing here, Emery? Miranda is going to murder me in my sleep.”

  “Jensen is gone and not returning my messages. What did you say to him last night?”

  “I don’t know. I was pissed last night. Said some dumb things.”

  “What dumb things?” I demanded.

  “It was just me overreacting. I was going to talk to him this morning to try to clear the air, but when I woke up, he was gone.”

  “What did you say?” I said, my voice low and deadly.

  “I might have said you were too good for him.”

  “Ugh!” I groaned. “Great. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he’s gone. He went to New York. Why would he be in New York?”

  Landon’s face dropped, and he was utterly silent. When he glanced away, that was when I knew it was bad.

  “What? Tell me!” I said, pushing him.

  “Nothing.”

  “Landon! Is it Vanessa?”

  “I know Vanessa has a place in New York, but that doesn’t mean he went to see her. He’s probably working. That’s all he normally does anyway.”

  “Landon, why would he go see his ex-wife? Why would he do that?” I didn’t really want him to answer. I didn’t want to consider why Jensen would go see Vanessa in New York after being upset last night. He’d promised he’d never cheat on me, and I had to believe that. I had to latch on to that with everything I was, or I might fall apart entirely.

  “It’s complicated.”

  I winced. “Then, make it uncomplicated.”

  “I can’t. You should just…talk to Jensen about this.”

  “I can’t!” I cried in frustration. “He won’t return my messages.”

  “I’m sorry, Emery. I can’t talk about it.”

  “Can’t talk about what?”

  “Nothing,” he said quickly. “Don’t jump to any conclusions. It’s not Vanessa. This is normal Jensen behavior. He’ll come back soon and then all will be back to normal.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I couldn’t believe what Landon was saying. Things were complicated? Things were always complicated.

  But Jensen running away from his problems was not solving anything. Whether this had anything to do with Vanessa or not…Jensen was purposely ignoring me. And that alone infuriated me.

  Twenty-Six

  Emery

  Jensen didn’t return a single message for five whole days.

  By then, I’d thought of every worst-case scenario—from him being with his ex-wife to his death. My imagination was ripe, but it had no reprieve. I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong. Not a damn thing. And, at this point, he was ignoring me on purpose. We definitely needed a good long talk, and maybe he needed a sharp kick in the ass.

  By Christmas Eve, I was even agreeing to go to church with my mother of all people just to see if he showed up. That way, we could get all of this out in the open.

  Kimber, Noah, and Lilyanne decided to stay in since Kimber was due soon, and the days had gotten harder. She wanted to conserve all of her energy for Christmas morning when she would get to see Lilyanne open her mound of presents from Santa.

  So, I drove myself over to my mother’s place to pick her up.

  “Look what the cat dragged in,” my mother said when she answered the door in a chic black dress.

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nbsp; “Ha, Mom. Never heard that one before.” It was our normal routine and slightly comforting, considering the week I’d had.

  “Well, I was going to let Gary Lupton drive me to church, but I suppose you’re a worthy substitute.”

  I cringed. “What about Harry Stevenson?”

  “A girl has to have options, Emery.”

  “Oh God, Mom!”

  She cackled and walked out to my Forester. “Don’t be such a prude. I know you’re seeing Jensen Wright. Everyone knows that he isn’t a prude.”

  I ground my teeth as I turned over the ignition. “I really, really don’t want to talk about my love life. Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “Why do you have to be like this? I thought we were bonding.”

  “I can’t bond with you over who you’re having sex with. It grosses me out,” I told her as I pulled out of her driveway.

  “Well, you refuse to come by and see me. You aren’t getting married. You aren’t getting your degree anymore. You hate shopping and pedicures and makeovers. What exactly am I supposed to bond with you over?”

  “Hey, I like pedicures!” I said. “But just because I’m not…Kimber doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own qualities or whatever.”

  “I only needle you because I love you. I just want to make sure you’re happy. I don’t want to see you waste your life away at the Buddy Holly Center again.”

  “You set me up to work there!” I accused.

  “Temporarily. I thought you’d be going back to school.”

  “Well, I’m not,” I said. My mind was still locked on Jensen, and here was my mother, trying to plan my career. As if I wanted to add to the list of things that I had to deal with right now.

  “You used to be so full of love for things. Things I hated but you loved them. Soccer and that horrendous skateboard and coaching and tutoring after school and honors society and—”

  “Yes, I get it. But, now, I’m adrift, and I need something of my own.”

  “Exactly.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll figure it out.”

  My mother put her hand on my arm and sighed. “Maybe you should consider working at the high school. You have the degrees. You’d need to be certified, but I know you could do it.”

  “High school students?” I shuddered.

  “You’d make a difference.”

  I brushed her hand off my arm.

  I didn’t want to admit that she was right. I probably could get a job teaching history at the local high school, and maybe I’d even get to help coach the soccer team. I’d played on the intramural team at Oklahoma and at an adult rec league for two years at UT. I just didn’t know if that was it.

  I’d loved teaching when I was in graduate school. That was the best part. The least stressful part honestly. It was the research and papers and endless criticism that had done me in. Some people were made for that and loved it but not me. I could take some critiques, but eventually, my head had exploded, and I’d felt like it was doing more harm than good.

  “Just think about it,” my mom said as we pulled into the church parking lot.

  “Okay,” I said, “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good, or else I’d have to start talking about Jensen Wright again.”

  I groaned and parked in a spot. “You kill me.”

  “I love you, too,” she said. Then, she hurried toward a cluster of her friends standing at the entrance.

  I scanned the parking lot for Jensen, but it was impossible. The church was huge, and I would never find him out here like that. I killed the ignition and then checked inside the church to see if the Wrights had arrived yet. No luck.

  Then, I planted myself at the front of the church with my arms crossed. I felt like I was staking the place out as I waited, but if Jensen was here, then I needed to talk to him. I needed to figure out what the fuck was happening…or end it. Because I was not going to be toyed with.

  Just when I had that thought, a bleach-blonde bob appeared before me.

  “Ugh! Are you literally following me everywhere?” Miranda asked.

  She was in a skintight blue dress that barely hit her at mid thigh and had a low-cut neckline. She looked good in it, but it wouldn’t have been my first choice for a relatively conservative church service.

  “I go to church here,” I responded with a sigh.

  “Uh-huh. Oh, I’m sure.”

  “Miranda,” Landon said, hurrying to catch up, “let’s just go inside.”

  “You knew she was going to be here.”

  “We’ve gone to the same church since we were kids, Miranda. I can’t help that.”

  “And I get no warning?” she asked.

  “You don’t need a warning,” I said, “because there’s nothing going on here, and you’re worrying for nothing.”

  “Don’t tell me how I feel. Just stay away from us.”

  Then, she sauntered inside, as if she owned the place, and Landon gave me a sympathetic look before following her. I shook my head at her ridiculousness and then looked to see if the rest of the Wrights were following. I wasn’t disappointed.

  Little Sutton Wright and her new husband, Maverick, had finally come back from their honeymoon in Cabo. She was a deep olive tan, and his nose was a bit red, but they both looked happy. After them, I saw Morgan and Austin enter. She looked to be scolding him, pointing at his pocket. I narrowed my eyes to try to figure out what she was saying. Then, I noticed the top of a flask peeking out of his pocket.

  Oh, eesh!

  Then, I couldn’t be bothered. Because walking straight toward me was none other than Jensen Wright himself. He looked…unbelievable. I might be mad at him, but he was undeniably attractive. He was in a tailored charcoal suit that fit him like a glove. He had on a red patterned shirt and a dark tie. His cheekbones were sharp, and his eyes were even fiercer. But I could see underneath it. He looked like he’d lost weight…and definitely sleep. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he’d been living off of caffeine and power naps.

  He caught my eye, and I stopped breathing for a second. In that second, I just wanted to forget the last week. I wanted everything to be right. I wanted Wright to be right even though it felt so wrong.

  But then that moment passed, and I knew what I had to do.

  I marched straight over to Jensen and blocked his path before he could get inside. “Where the hell have you been?”

  “Language, Emery,” he said, his voice clipped.

  “Don’t do that,” I ground out. “Just answer the damn question.”

  “I’ve been in New York.”

  “Why haven’t you answered any of my calls or messages?”

  “I’ve been busy,” he said simply.

  I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the way of the entrance. “I’m missing something here. What the hell happened? Is it because I didn’t answer your calls that night? My phone died, and I didn’t see you’d called until I got home. I called you back as soon as I charged it,” I rambled on.

  “Not as soon as.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I asked, not following him.

  “I really don’t want to get into this with you, Emery.”

  He moved to brush past me, but I latched on to his arm. “Was it Vanessa?”

  Jensen turned back to face me with confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you still love her? Is that why you were in New York?” I knew I sounded desperate and jealous, but I cared very little at this point. If it was going to end, then I just wanted him to do it.

  “You ask me that after last week?”

  “Why shouldn’t I?” I demanded. He wasn’t making any sense.

  He took a step toward me, towering over me. “I saw you with Landon. I saw the way you were all over him that night. Landon is still in love with you, and it sure looked like you felt the same.”

  Landon was in love with me? Ha! That was a riot. And Jensen thought I was still in love with Landon? That was equally laughable.
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br />   “That is not what you saw!” I told him.

  “Save it, Emery.”

  Then, he turned and walked into the church, leaving me sputtering in shock. He thought I loved Landon. He thought that I had somehow chosen Landon over him. And I didn’t even know how he could think that.

  Where had he seen me with Landon? At Flips? I definitely had not been all over him then. I’d never even touched him, except when he’d helped me to the door so that I wouldn’t fall over.

  I stumbled back a step. Oh, shit.

  Kimber had said Jensen had come by. Maybe he’d seen Landon help me. Maybe he thought something had been there that wasn’t. Because nothing was there. And it was preposterous to presume something like that. It was even worse to assume it, not have a conversation about it, and then run.

  Twenty-Seven

  Jensen

  Emery’s gaze burned me like a brand throughout the service.

  Luckily, the Christmas Eve service was almost entirely comprised of singing, and there was never a point where she could talk to me.

  I’d been prepared for her to be here tonight. I’d figured, after the way I’d left things—or hadn’t left things—that she would want a confrontation. She was that kind of girl. But she’d made her choice that night, and then I’d made mine when I hopped on that plane and flew to New York.

  What I did regret was that things were still tense with Landon. I should have fixed things with him before leaving. He was my brother. He would always be in my life, and if I had to endure his love for Emery, then I should at least let him know that I would stand down. I knew he was married to Miranda. But I always thought that was a temporary thing and that he’d find someone better in the end.

  It had been impossible to get near him when I got back this morning. Miranda never left his side, and I couldn’t be in her vicinity for more than a few minutes before wanting my eardrums to burst.

  But I would fix it tonight.

  When the service ended, I reached down for my jacket, and when I stood back up, there was Emery, looking pissed as all hell. She was looking up at me with fire in her eyes, and it was impossible not to stare back. She was…stunning. Breathtaking. My chest tightened when I looked at her.