This time he did swallow. Hard. Damn, she really was good. How the hell was he supposed to react to such an obviously leading statement? He didn’t get a chance to respond though because she was working off an agenda and had the benefit of having prepared in advance for this weird encounter.
“Let’s get right down to it, Mr. Merrill. Are you involved with my granddaughter? And by involved, I mean sleeping with, off course. I believe your generation refers to it as ‘hooking up’ but the phrase sounds like a TV repairman is on the scene, and I don’t much care for it.”
Boom. That sound was his head exploding. Fuuuuuuuck.
“I would never use such coarse terms where Brynn is concerned, ma’am, and I hope you don’t mind if I respectfully decline to answer that question. I highly doubt your granddaughter would appreciate us discussing her like that.”
“Touché, Mr. Merrill. Touché. May I call you Jackson?”
He acknowledged the polite request with a nod.
“And please, call me Mrs. Wilde. I don’t use my stage name anymore, and frankly, I’m surprised you even knew it.”
A little flattery didn’t seem like a bad idea so Jax quirked a grin and told her, “Actually, I wouldn’t if Amy hadn’t mentioned it but once she did I recognized the name immediately. My mother is something of a fan Mrs. Wilde. She’s quite an authority on the history of the American theater.” He relaxed a bit, set a work-booted foot on top of his knee, and smiled. “My brother and I have interesting memories of visiting New York to take in the Broadway shows.”
“Ah, yes. Your mother and father are friends of my son and his wife, yes? I seem to recall Robert saying something about you coming to Brynn’s aid with some work she wanted to do on Wilde House.”
Jesus. What a piece of work Bryanna Charles Baron-Wilde was proving to be. She seemed to recall? Jax didn’t doubt for a second that she was well aware of every single circumstance that led him to this sleepy town and to her granddaughter’s attention. A niggling suspicion that their respective parents and this powerful matriarch were manipulating them blossomed in his mind.
“Yes, they are. Friends I mean. From their college days. As for helping Brynn, I’m happy to do what I can.” Lest she imagined he was some wandering handyman, he quickly added, “I have a rather exclusive business that specializes in restoration and renovation.”
Jax realized two seconds too late, when he saw her smug smile of approval, that she probably knew everything there was to know about him down to his shoe size. His reflex defending of what he did for a living, while unnecessary, somehow pleased her immensely.
“Well, I’m glad you have the sort of expertise that old place needs. It’s a quirky home, to be sure, but it’s full of happy memories, and I know Brynn loves it.”
“That she does, ma’am.”
“So Jackson, tell me something. Since you won’t answer the previous question, perhaps you’d tell me this. Are you in love with my granddaughter?”
His heart thudded to a halt at her words as he was held firmly in the tractor-beam gaze of those violet eyes. After only a few moments in her presence he knew this woman did not suffer fools gladly so he made a snap decision. One he hoped he wouldn’t come to regret. She wanted an answer? Fine. Let’s see what she did with this. Since she asked a question about him, he’d answer. Truthfully. But he wouldn’t allow the discussion to venture off into territory where they’d be talking about Brynn. He knew damn well she wouldn’t like it, and it was his responsibility to protect her at all costs from wagging tongues. Even her grandmother’s.
“Yes, Mrs. Wilde. I am indeed in love with Brynn.”
She looked like the cat that swallowed the mouse whole. “And my granddaughter, is she in love with you?”
He swung his leg down and sat up straighter, crossing his arms across his chest knowing his body language all but screamed at her to back the fuck off.
“That’s a question for Brynn to answer, ma’am.”
Shrewd, assessing eyes watched him like a damn hawk and he had no idea what was coming next. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised that she changed course once again.
“They’re named after me. Did you know? All the girls. Darcy, their mother, honored me with that distinction, and I take my responsibility to them very seriously. Not just any men will do for my granddaughters, but I suspect you already know that.”
Well, well, well. He wanted to kiss the old bird for giving him that little piece of the Baron-Wilde puzzle. Of course. Bryanna Charles…..Brynn—Rhiann—Charlize. Made perfect sense and helped him understand the sort of power the family matriarch wielded. She was challenging him with the reveal but also letting him know that at least for now, he’d passed whatever test she’d been playing out.
“Mrs. Wilde, perhaps you could tell me what upset Brynn so much.”
“I like a man who doesn’t beat around the bush. Good for you, Jackson. Never let them see you sweat?”
He rolled his eyes and bit back a grin. “Oh, don’t be fooled ma’am. You’re definitely making me sweat but four years in the Army getting shot at most of that time helps a man cut to the chase when need be. It would just help if I knew what was going on.”
She stared at him a moment then looked away and fiddled with the shawl draped around her shoulders. He waited while she obviously decided what she wanted to tell him. She must have concluded she could trust him because she sighed and a worried frown flashed on her otherwise guarded expression.
“I’ve done something that upset my granddaughter even though that wasn’t what I intended. She’s angry with me for trying to force her hand about something. In all honesty, Jackson, she is justified in that anger. I’m afraid I went too far and opened a rather unpleasant can of worms that got away from me before I knew what was happening.”
“Okay,” he muttered. “Could you be more specific? Does this have anything to do with her cousin and ex-husband showing up here unannounced?”
Whoa. Anger shot from her eyes and for a second the violet turned a deep purple. He pitied Sweater Man and Goatee Boy in that moment. Unless he was mistaken Bryanna Wilde was going to open a can of whoop-ass on those two that they’d probably never forget. If they survived, that was.
“Ugh,” she grimaced. “Those two. Bad pennies both of them and that’s saying a lot when you consider that Seth is my grandson. The apple most definitely didn’t fall anywhere near the tree where he’s concerned. My daughter didn’t do him any favors by raising him to be a privileged little snot. He fancies himself a freelance wine merchant. What the hell does that even mean?”
Jax arched a surprised brow at her use of a swear word, even a tame one. He suspected it gave a lot away as to her unhappy frame of mind where Seth Colton was concerned.
“JACKSON, MAY I LAY ALL my cards on the table?”
“Ma’am, if those cards pertain to Brynn, then please. By all means lay ‘em out.”
“Please keep in mind that I only had Brynn’s best interest in mind when all this started and as I’ve said, things got out of hand and now we’ve got a mess on our hands.”
He wondered for a moment if the ‘we’ included him as though they were conspirators after a fashion or if she was using the regal ‘we’. In either case, her admission that shit was off the hook sort of explained why Brynn caused a scene.
“Her parents and I, you see, have been worried. Especially this past year. After the bakery took off we thought she’d ease up just a smidge and remember that there’s much more to life than just working. But Brynn has always been such a serious, sensible sort.”
She leaned toward the coffee service next to her, but Jax jumped to his feet and grabbed the handle of the china pot before she did. His mother hadn’t raised a fool.
“Let me get that for you, Mrs. Wilde,” he murmured softly as he poured her a fresh cup of coffee and cleared away the cake plates. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she dumped sugar into the cup, just like Brynn did. The reminder that his lover hated the dark brew mad
e him smile. They were alike in so many ways, Brynn and her grandmother, except for the tea – coffee divide.
“Anyway, I had a little scare around the holidays. My health, you see,” she explained. “Nothing serious, mind you, but it did make me stop and think.”
She sipped at the coffee in the delicate china cup, her forehead puckering with what looked like real concern. Jax sat back down and paused, wondering if he’d ever be able to read her like he could Brynn. He wasn’t altogether sure who he was seeing at the moment. The grandmother or the actress.
“As a result of my episode, I decided to make a few changes to my estate. All of this property belonged to my husband’s family. The Baron-Wilde’s have lived on this land since the eighteen hundreds. It has always been my intention to leave it to Brynn. She’s the eldest and the one with the greatest emotional connection to our family heritage. Right now, we have an inter-family lease arrangement that gives Brynn sole responsibility for the land and buildings. All of them. During a moment of concern for my granddaughter’s future, I felt that perhaps all of this would become a burden. It worried me a great deal. Her parents too. Our fear was that she’d never find time for a personal life and only add to what was already on her plate.”
“I understand Mrs. Wilde. You were looking after her welfare down the road. Where’s the problem, then?”
“Well, I forgot that Brynn wasn’t the type to be bullied and foolishly had a clause added to my will that passed control of Wilde House to my grandson in the event that she wasn’t married and settled at the time the will took effect.”
“Excuse me?”
“She would retain control of the business of course but the thing was worded badly and the long and the short of it is that everyone over-reacted and got the impression I was going around Brynn and showing some kind of preference for Seth when that wasn’t at all what I intended.”
Jax had to count to ten to keep from letting his anger explode. She used the house as a bargaining chip against Brynn in the hope that she could force her to get married? Holy fuck. No wonder Brynn was furious and upset. Frankly, he was right there with her.
“Let me get this straight,” he snapped. “You tried to use your influence and control over this property, where Brynn has invested so much of herself and her time and energy to manipulate your granddaughter into getting married? Do I have this right?”
She threw him a fierce look and snapped right back. “That is not at all what I was trying to achieve but yes. That’s how it looks.”
“Wow. For a woman as smart as I believe you to be, Mrs. Wilde, that was an incredibly dumb move. What in the hell were you thinking?”
“Spare me the lecture Jackson. I’ve already explained what I was thinking and that the whole thing was handled badly and worded poorly. Unfortunately, Seth got it in his mind that he was in a position to needle Brynn—they never have liked one another, and Brynn took the whole thing as an insult, reacting as if she was being sold off in an arranged marriage when nothing could have been further from the truth. I don’t intend on dying any time soon and really did think we were talking about some distant time in the future. At no point did I expect my granddaughter to feel as though the clock was ticking or that she had to start interviewing strangers to play the part of a husband.”
“What the hell does that mean?” he barked.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Apparently, Brynn considered finding a beard. You know what that is I suppose?” She laughed and sighed. “It was a common practice back in my stage door days. Gay men and straight women have been playing house for business reasons since forever. I never dreamed she would consider such an option, but then again, she’d been burned so badly by that pervert she was married to. In all honesty, when I heard there was a new man on the scene, I was equal parts surprised and tickled pink.”
What the fucking fuck? Only Brynn would actually think that a husband by contract would be an answer to her problem. This explains so much. Her wistful responses whenever they talked about Wilde House. How she’d told him that first day she lived there for now. The way she resisted opening up to him emotionally even though she’d been more than generous with her body. It all made sense. Under different circumstances, without this unholy threat hanging over her head, she might have been open to a more traditional relationship with him if she wasn’t so distracted by something that he showed up in the middle of.
“To make matters worse,” she quipped on a sigh, it could get worse he thought? “She just threatened to terminate the lease agreement and I presume by that also close the business. Next thing I knew, she Lady MacBeth’d me and stormed out of here.”
My, my, my. That little tidbit of information was eye-opening. Jax looked at his watch and saw that it was almost five o’clock. He wondered what Bryanna Wilde’s plans were for the evening. He was anxious to get back to Brynn and see if she was all right. Now that he knew why she’d freaked out, he wanted to set her mind at ease.
“Seems to me you got what you deserved, ma’am,” he told her with a disparaging bite to his words. Best she understand from the start that Brynn was his priority and not her grandmother’s feelings.
“Yes, well. You may be right there.”
Jax thought for a moment then asked, “Mrs. Wilde, did you drive here by yourself? And where exactly did you come from?” It occurred to him that he had no fucking idea where this lady lived or whether she was in any condition at her age to be gallivanting around the countryside by herself in a car.
“Come by myself? Oh, good heavens no! Driving makes me edgy. I simply do not understand why everyone thinks they own the road. My driver, Mr. Armstrong, dropped me off and then went into town. I expect he’ll return shortly. He knows the shop closes around this time and to answer your other question, I live in Philadelphia.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in thought.
“I don’t suppose my granddaughter will come and say good-bye to me,” she grumbled. “You’ll take care of her for me won’t you Jackson? I don’t want her to be upset.”
She was asking a lot. From his point of view Brynn had every reason to be upset. It occurred to him that at no point in the tale he’d been told had Mrs. Wilde indicated she was willing to change the will again and take out the odious clause that was making for so much drama. Maybe he could use that to his advantage even though the thought made him feel like a prick. Bottom line—he was in love with Brynn and with the way they’d been carrying on, she might even be pregnant as a result. He’d marry her tomorrow if she’d say yes, but he wasn’t an idiot and knew that wasn’t going to happen. But still…
Just then he heard a chime that sent her reaching into the oversized satchel at her feet that probably cost more than a regular guy’s monthly salary and pulled out a top-of-the-line phone. “Oh my, Mr. Armstrong will be here in five minutes.” She sighed dramatically and slumped against the high backed chair for effect. All she needed was a hand fan and a lace handkerchief to complete the perfect portrayal of a woman in distress. Unbelievable.
He walked her to the car when it arrived, not in the least bit surprised at the luxurious Mercedes that had her initials monogramed with a flourish on the doors. Meeting Bryanna Wilde and spending time with her had been quite a revelation from beginning to end. After he got her settled in the front seat and shaken hands with her Driving Miss Daisy companion, Jax was surprised when she turned and grabbed his hands for a squeeze, saying, “You’re everything I hoped you’d be Jackson Merrill. Now you go tend to my Brynn and let her know her crazy old grandmother loves her a million trillion butterscotch candies. She’ll know what that means.”
He shut the door and she rolled down the window for one last comment. “By the way, we do Thanksgiving at my house. Formal, of course. I’ll see you then.” And with that she pressed the button to raise the window as Jax stood there slack-jawed and watched as she drove away. All the scene needed was a flyover banner declaring Mission Accomplished to make it all complete.
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br /> Right then and there he was under no illusions whatsoever about his parents and Brynn’s being in some sort of meddling parental pact that they probably hoped would end in a happily ever after. His father was going to be getting a phone call at some point.
He found Brynn passed out cold on her bed when he finally got back to the house. She looked so small and fragile, curled on her side, clutching a big pillow with her hair all over the place and her feet tucked together like a napping child.
Satisfied that she was all right for the moment, he quietly backed from the room and left her sleeping while he made for the kitchen so he could pull together something decent for her to eat. It made him crazy that she didn’t stop for regular meals or be more proactive when it came to taking care of herself. Brynn was the type who gave more thought to others and the nuts and bolts of life than what was in her best interest.
In no time at all he’d managed to throw together a healthy salad, get a pot of spaghetti sauce bubbling, and make a big serving of pasta. He even whipped up some cheese bread that he wrapped and left to warm in the oven before returning to the bedroom to awaken Sleeping Beauty. He still didn’t know what to say or whether he should even admit to knowing all about her grandmother’s ridiculous machinations but he figured he’d play it by ear and see what happened.
“Higher Daddy. Wanna’ go higher and higher!”
“Okay sweetie. Daddy’s going to give a big, big push so you hold on tight, okay?”
“I will Daddy. I’m holding real tight. Push me, push me!”
Her feet left the ground as the swing pulled back and she lifted her eyes overhead where fluffy white clouds mixed with bright blue waited for her. She could feel the thump-thump-thump of her heart above her tummy as excitement and wonder made her giggle out loud.
With a tremendous whoosh, she began the climb to the sky when the swing was set free. Pumping her legs the way she’d been taught, she felt her daddy’s strong hands push against her butt on the return trip forcing the swing to go higher and higher with each shove.
Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) Page 29