Wilde Magic (Wilde Women Book 3) (41 page)

“Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not what happened.”

“Cal, I swear on all that’s holy, you have no idea how much I want to believe you. Believe
in
you ‘cause I’m serious, dude. If you’re fucking around with that girl, Imma’ have to kick your ass.”

“Did you tell Brynn about me and ‘tessa?”

“No,” Jax spat out. “Charlie’s not saying anything so I’m not going to rock the boat. Remember something Cal. Brynn’s not just my wife. That woman is carrying my baby. I don’t want her unhappy or upset in any way. Until she needs to know something, I’m not saying a thing. But I told you before, if Charlie gets hurt, I’m going to …”

Cal threw up his hands and griped, “Oh for Christ’s sake Jax. Don’t you get it yet? I’m the one who’s hurting. She’s,” he waved a hand dismissively and grunted. “She’s working out some revenge fantasy over what happened in Rome and won’t let me close enough to talk.”

“That wasn’t talking going on in the den.”

“No. You’re right. But if I were the prick you think I am, wouldn’t the sneaking around thing happen in reverse? She came to me, Jax. Not the other way around. And she had an agenda. Took me by surprise.”

“Pussy.”

“More than you know.”

“Oh shit,” his brother muttered. “Brace yourself. We’re about to be interrogated by none other than the grand dame herself.”

Cal looked up and followed Jax’s gaze. ‘tessa’s grandmother, the Broadway actress who ruled the Baron-Wilde’s with a velvet fist, was making a beeline straight for them. His antennae went up. Something in her expression gave him the willies—not least because she appeared focused on him and not Jax.

“Nana Wilde,” Jax said brightly. “Come to lure my brother into your sticky web?”

Cal groaned inwardly at the spider web comment. It wasn’t hard to imagine the universe cackling with glee at his discomfort hearing those words come out of his brother’s mouth.

Bryanna Charles sidled up to Jax and slid her arm through his, hugging her new grandson-in-law with a gentle tug. When she extended a bejeweled hand, showing enough bling and flair to bury Tiffany’s, Cal had the good sense to accept her attention with a polite nod and smile.

“Ms. Wilde, we met earlier before the ceremony,” he said politely.

“I’m old, not brain-dead young man,” she barked. He snapped to attention. The tone laced with sarcasm was one he’d heard before. ‘tessa was really, really good at it. It was her do as I say voice. Knowing where she learned it from made the trait twice as appealing.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he murmured with a tinge of laughter. “Jackson told me to speak up and do it slowly when talking to you. Blame him.”

The elegantly dressed older woman beamed at his brother like she’d grown him from a petri dish. “Is that right?” she teased.

Jax laughed and hugged his new grandmother. “Yep. Told him what a royal pain in the ass you are too,” he assured her with a pat of the fingers on his arm. “He didn’t believe me the dumb fuck. Said you looked like a nice old lady. Bah! Tried to warn him, I did.”

Cal was speechless as this amusing bit of theater played out. Bryanna Charles may be a fearsome old bird, but Jax had her wrapped around his little finger.

She studied Cal a moment then got ready to say something. He knew this because she swept her fingers against the side of her head as if even one hair on her head had dared to come loose from the immaculately styled do. And then she smiled so sweetly his teeth ached just watching. Feeling like he’d just let himself get pushed to the side of the track, he throttled back and waited to see what happened next.

“Your father tells me you’re going to stay on here and help Jackson establish a base of operations for his business.”

Cal stopped breathing. What was she up to?

“Actually,” she added with a brilliant smile, “it’d be both yours now, right? The business. My son tells me you’re a brilliant designer Caleb. Is all that true?”

The hair stood up on the back of his neck. There was an unusual current in the air around them. Clarity burst upon him. Chances were, whatever he said to ‘tessa’s granny was going to get repeated. It wasn’t a direct line of communication, but came damn close. He needed an advantage. Maybe she was it.

“Ma’am,” he drawled with a wink at Jax. “Not sure brilliant is a word I’d use but yes. I’ve got a degree in architecture and design. And as for the business, Jax and I always dreamed of giving it a go. As a team. And since he’s already done the hard work of establishing a reputation,” he snickered comically, “Now seemed like the easiest time to climb on board and see where the ride takes us.”

She nodded and stared holes right through him. Jesus—this one was formidable.

“Where will you stay, young man? Have you thought about that Jackson?” she asked. Only an idiot wouldn’t recognize her concern sounded more like meddling than actual caring.

“Got it covered Nana. When Brynn and I leave for the Outer Banks, Charlie is moving into our room while we’re gone. Cal can use the studio for now. By the time we get home, the nursery will be finished and that frees up the guest room once again. Win-win.”

“So you’ll be here with Charlize,” the elderly woman mused out loud. Without missing a beat, she said, “How delightful, Caleb. My mind is at ease knowing you’ll be here to keep an eye on my granddaughter. I know she likes to think she’s all that and then some and can handle anything thrown her way, but like most women, she needs a firm hand and a strong arm to keep her safe.”

What was the word for part smirk, part gotcha and part, who’s-yo-mama-now?

“Charlize is the baby, gentlemen,” she informed them with intentional solemnity. “She’s my heart, that one. Anything happens to her and I’ll be answered to.”

He gulped like a cartoon character. That’s all it took for Cal’s life to get back on track. He was staying. Here. He and Jax were going to make a go of the business they’d always dreamed of.

And not only that, but ‘tessa was also hanging around and unless he’d hallucinated the whole thing, her grandmother just put him in charge.

Salvo fired, ‘cause that’s what it felt like, Bryanna Charles returned her attention to Jax. “Jackson,” she murmured conspiratorially. “Everything is ready at the house. By the time you arrive, there will be groceries in the kitchen and fresh flowers everywhere. Oh, and I left you two a little surprise.”

By way of an explanation, Jax grinned and leaned closer so they could all share in the secret. “Not gonna be much of a surprise twenty-four hours from now so might as well let you in on what’s happening.”

“Jackson is giving Brynn a house along the Outer Banks for a wedding present!”

Wow. Talk about stealing someone else’s thunder. He had to hand it to the intriguing older woman. She certainly knew how to play to an audience.

Jax chuckled and patted the woman’s hand again. “Yes, well, she natters on and on about the place even though she’s never been there. It’s quite a house,” he assured Cal with a wide-eyed grin. “Reverse floor plan. Love that shit! And an elevator. Pool, hardwoods, the whole deal.”

“Little cold down by the ocean in December though, don’t you think?” Cal asked.

Bryanna Charles snickered loudly and smacked Jax on the arm. “That’s the way he wanted it,” she chortled. “Nothing to do but enjoy each other. Maybe get frisky in the hot tub. Best honeymoon a man could ask for.”

“Jax!”

They looked in unison to the grouping of wedding guests huddled near the archway to the tearoom. Brynn was calling and waving him over with her bouquet. “Picture time honey!”

Jax drawled crisply, “The ball and chain beckons.” He kissed Mrs. Wilde on the cheek and swatted Cal on the arm. “Stay out of the spinach dip till the picture taking is finished. Don’t wanna look back in twenty years and find a bunch of green stuff stuck in your teeth.”

Seeing this happy, relaxed side to his PTSD-plagued older brother gave Cal hope for his own dicey future. Once the wedding hoopla was over and it was just him and ‘tessa here by themselves, maybe just maybe they’d reconnect in a meaningful way. Either that or she’d be the death of him. Take your pick.

T
ICK. TICK. TICK. TICK.

The house was so quiet without the noise and commotion from the wedding. The faintest of sounds came from Grandpa Wilde’s antique boudoir clock. It was a garish thing, French Rococo style, with a swinging pendulum that, for some reason, her practical sister loved.

Charlie looked around at the beautifully decorated master suite and aside from the unusual clock, couldn’t find fault with Brynn’s fabulous sense of taste. She’d made a comfortable nest for her and Jax in the renovated room. A surprising palette of earth colors, some vibrant and others muted or decidedly vintage-looking, lent a warmth and homey comfort to the large but cozy space. The room reflected both people living in it. There was Brynn’s impeccable sense of order and balance. And Jax’s rugged outdoorsman vibe. Somehow, the two things worked.

Taking a beaded pouch out of her bag, something she’d rummaged in an antique market in Paris, Charlie went to the curved built-in bench seat beneath three tall windows and plunked down on the cushion. The view from the window was in the direction of the garage studio. Odd. She hadn’t really thought it through before but the enormous arched window in the studio’s loft looked right into the master suite.

Pulling the silk ties on the pouch, she opened it up and dumped out the contents. Three good-sized crystals tumbled out. A long cylinder of clear quartz that fit perfectly in the palm of Charlie’s hand called to her like an old friend. Picking it up, her fingers closed around the cool stone. A subtle energy vibrated as she held on. An energy that sparked a tickling sensation on her wrist.

She didn’t care what the naysayers said. Just because someone was too tight to pick up on the vibrational energy didn’t mean she was crazy because she felt it.

A large chunk of amethyst sparkled in the light streaming through the window. The purple beauty was her go to when she needed calm and balance. Plus, she naturally gravitated to all things purple in color, or blue and metallic green. Just like the dragonflies she chased as a girl.

Laying the two substantial chunks on the windowsill, she glanced skyward. This was just what they needed. A chance to air out and soak up the sun and moon light.

The third chunk was a beautiful pink quartz. Charlie frowned at the pretty stone. She’d kept a rose quartz nearby since she was a teenager. Brimming with soft, female energy, it was a heart stone and helped circulate love to and from.

Bah humbug twice and then half a dozen times on Sunday. Love? Yeah, right. Fat lot of good it’d done for her. Instead of leaving the pink beauty to absorb the same energy as the other stones, she made some disapproving sounds and shoved it back inside the bag—yanking the drawstring taught and tossing it aside.

A movement from the corner of her eye caught Charlie’s attention. A large, black SUV pulled up to the garage. It wasn’t Jonas—the guy Jax left in charge of the house renovation. He drove a classic Dodge Charger in the same obnoxious orange color as the General Lee of TV fame.

The General Lee. Ha! Her dad was a card-carrying Dukes of Hazard aficionado. He even had a Boss Hoggs T-shirt he wore to piss Mom off. Thanks to Dad’s influence, Charlie was an unabashed fan of Daisy Duke and could drive better than half the boys she grew up with. Until dropping her panties for a lothario in a racing suit, she’d never known anyone she couldn’t race—and win.

When the door of the SUV opened and a booted foot hit the ground, she groaned into the silence. Dammit. Had thinking about him conjured Ty up out of the air? This was getting ridiculous.

Several days had passed since the wedding and things were getting back to normal—or whatever normal looked like in Brynn’s world. Jax’s parents and her mom and dad took off for their respective homes, all of them happy as a troop of monkeys with a crate of bananas.

Rhi bolted back to the city—something about a big event on New Year’s Eve she had to manage. Charlie picked up the amethyst and closed her fingers around the big stone. She was worried about Rhiann. This thing with Liam Ashforth had disaster written in magic marker all over it. There was nothing she could do and that bothered her greatly. Getting any information out of her sister on the subject was worse than trying to herd ducks.