Wilde Bunch

by Barbara Boswell

  Reverend Will entered the dining room, his face wreathed in smiles. “I’m off the phone and the girls have finished in the kitchen. Are you lovely ladies ready to go to the sale and hunt for bargains?”

  “We certainly are.” Ginny rose and planted a wifely kiss on Will’s cheek. “I think you’ll enjoy yourself, Kara. Our annual clothesline and white elephant sale has become a fall tradition in Bear Creek. It isn’t just for church members, everybody in town comes, to buy or sell or just to socialize. And there are always some wonderful bargains to be found, too.”

  “And some unbelievably ugly junk.” This, from Tricia who had joined them. “Remember that hideous birdbath the Semmlers donated one year? We nearly died laughing when old Mr. Jamison actually bought it and put it in his front yard.”

  “Don’t be unkind, Tricia,” the reverend said mildly. “Remember, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

  * * *

  There seemed to be an abundance of junk at the white elephant sale with not much treasure to be found, Kara thought as she followed Will and Ginny through the maze of tables set up in the church basement. The couple stopped to talk to everyone and introduced Kara to some as “a family friend from back East” and to others as “Mac Wilde’s young lady friend.”

  Kara tried to fend off questions about Mac and wished that the Franklins would stick solely to the “friend from back East” identity for her. She met countless people and had trouble keeping all the names and faces straight. Ginny hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said everybody in town came to the fall sale. With all the interested stares and murmurs that surrounded her, Kara felt as if she were on display along with the white elephants, a curious piece of merchandise to be inspected by one and all.

  When Will and Kara were cornered by a garrulous elder man, Mr. Jamison—the proud owner of the hideous birdbath, Kara presumed—Ginny continued her rounds. The next time Kara spotted her, she was in earnest conversation with a striking redhead.

  Kara noticed that the redhead kept glancing over at her. Her glances were not at all friendly, and upon being motioned over by Ginny to join them, Kara wasn’t surprised to learn that the young woman, named Jill Finlay, had once been “quite close” to Mac.

  “It hurt to refuse Mac’s proposal, but I told him that the only children I intend to raise are my own,” Jill said bluntly. “If you think you can marry Mac and talk him into sending those kids away, you’re in for a nasty shock. He is absolutely committed to keeping them with him.”

  “I told Kara that. She is undecided about marrying him,” Ginny added.

  “Well, of course she is!” Jill thawed a bit. “What woman in her right mind would want to move in with those brats? When even Tonya turned him down—she is thirty-four, divorced and desperate—I think Mac realized how unrealistic it is to expect a woman to take on the thankless burden of those horrific kids.”

  Kara had heard enough. “Oh, I like the kids,” she said coolly. “I have no qualms at all about living with them. It’s the idea of living with Mac that’s holding me back.”

  She walked off, flashing a brilliant smile as the two women gaped at her.

  “Aunt Kara! Hi, Aunt Kara! We’re here!” Kara was leafing through a stack of old records, from ancient 78s to the currently defunct 45s, when Clay and Autumn came running up to her.

  She was so glad to see them, she almost hugged them. But they were bouncing around too much to catch for even a quick squeeze.

  “We ate at Pizza Ranch,” Autumn exclaimed. “Now I want to buy something. There’s a kit that has beads and strings and you can make bracelets and necklaces!”

  “Would you buy me that G.I. Joe torpedo launcher over at the toy table, Aunt Kara?” pleaded Clay. “It’s four dollars and it’s practically brand-new but I forgot my money.”

  “You haven’t played with your G.I. Joes since we came to Montana, stupid,” Autumn scorned. “You said you only like those weird Power Rangers now.”

  “Well, I like both! You don’t know everything, Aw-dumb!” Clay gave his sister a push, sending her backward into a table loaded with piles of magazines. At least fifty issues hit the floor.

  Autumn burst into noisy tears and rubbed her arm. “I think it’s broken!” she howled. “In three different places!”

  “You said I was stupid, you said Power Rangers were weird!” wailed Clay, building up a defense for himself.

  Kara noticed that all eyes were on them. And there were so very many pairs of eyes! Was the entire population of Bear Creek watching them? Mac, however, was nowhere to be seen. Ignoring the multitude of onlookers, Kara examined Autumn’s arm and pronounced it not broken and then began to pick up the magazines. She quietly suggested that the children help. Neither did. Both of them were crying.

  Brick arrived as she placed the last magazine on top of the table. “Shut up,” he greeted his sister and brother. “You look like geeks, crying like little babies.”

  “We do not!” Autumn said indignantly. Her tears, and Clay’s, instantly ceased.

  “Where are Lily and your uncle Mac?” Kara asked Brick. She noticed that although the stares were less overt, she and the Wilde kids were still the main attraction.

  “Lily said she still had a headache and wanted to stay home,” said Brick. “Uncle Mac thought she was faking it so she could sneak out while we weren’t around. But he fixed her good! He asked Webb to come up to the house and make sure she didn’t leave.”

  “Oh, he fixed her good, all right,” Kara said grimly. If her theory was correct—but oh, she hoped it wasn’t—Mac’s plan was akin to putting the fox in charge of guarding the chicken coop.

  “And Uncle Mac is still with her,” Brick addressed his sister and brother who both groaned in disgust. “They’re outside laughing it up.”

  Autumn and Clay groaned again.

  “Her?” Kara repeated. Her mouth was suddenly quite dry.

  “Marcy Tanner.” Brick supplied the name. “She sat with us at Pizza Ranch and tried to be all friendly with Uncle Mac. It was sick.” He scowled his disapproval.

  “She didn’t talk to us, she hates us,” Autumn added. “Tricia Franklin told Lily about all the women who wouldn’t go out with Uncle Mac anymore ‘cause we were here, and Marcy Tanner was one of ‘em.”

  “Aunt Kara, if I tell you a secret, a bad secret, will you still buy me that G.I. Joe torpedo launcher?” whispered Clay, tugging on Kara’s sleeve.

  Kara followed the sudden turning of both Autumn’s and Brick’s heads and saw Mac enter the church basement with a petite blonde clinging to his arm. She was all smiles and big blue eyes and dimples, and Mac was gazing down at her, smiling, too.

  Kara felt a searing stab of jealousy slice through her. It took every bit of her considerable restraint to keep from racing to Mac’s side and pulling the adorable blonde away from him, to perhaps bloody those enchanting dimples. And then she would start in on Mac....

  The violence of her emotions both stunned and alarmed her. Acting out primitive passion had never been her style. But then, until she’d met Mac Wilde she had never experienced passion in any form. Kara felt a sickening lump in her throat, which seemed to expand and move lower, to settle like lead in her belly.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be gone soon,” Autumn stood on tiptoe to whisper in Kara’s ear.

  Was she so very obvious? Kara cringed. She struggled to maintain an outward calm.

  “Yeah, we fixed it so we’d be rid of her.” Brick chuckled.

  Anxiety slowly penetrated the despair engulfing her. Kara looked at the children who appeared quite pleased with themselves. “What did you do?” she asked nervously.

  “Swiped her wallet!” Autumn exclaimed gleefully. “Brick took it out of her purse and I hid it in the ladies’ bathroom at the restaurant.”

  “As soon as she goes to buy something, she’ll see that it’s missing.” Brick laughed sharply. “Then she’ll have to go back to get it. We’ll be outta here by the time she finds it and
comes back.”

  Kara was aghast. “That was an awful thing to do. You both know stealing is wrong, and that’s what you did—you stole!” Her voice shook. It was getting harder to keep her cool. “What if someone else steals her wallet from the bathroom and she can’t get it back? You have to tell here where it is right now.”

  “Hey, there’s Courtney Egan!” Brick’s eyes lit up as a cute brunette waved to him across the room. “I’m going to go for a walk with her outside. See you guys later.”

  “Are you going to kiss her?” Autumn called after him.

  Brick flashed a startlingly wolfish grin and dashed off.

  “Will you buy it for me, Aunt Kara?” Clay tugged again on her arm.

  Kara felt her head start to spin. It was easy to lose focus with so much competition for her attention. Mac and Marcy. Lily and Webb. Brick and Courtney. Clay and Autumn’s fight, which had yet to be addressed. And, of course, the loss of the hapless Marcy’s wallet. The Wildes were not only formidable, they were relentless.

  “Please, Aunt Kara!” Clay begged. “I’ll tell you the secret.”

  “Yes, all right. What secret? But Clay, no more pushing your sister,” Kara said distractedly. “Promise?”

  “I promise.” Clay beamed.

  “And no more calling Clay stupid or weird, Autumn. Now you have to tell Marcy Tanner that she doesn’t have her wallet,” Kara added.

  “Marcy Tanner is ugly.” Autumn scowled. “And she eats spit.”

  “Autumn, that’s revolting!” Kara shuddered at the imagery. Granted it was less revolting than Autumn’s cannibal tales, but not much.

  Clay laughed uproariously. “I spit in Marcy’s salad!” he boasted, grinning from ear to ear. “And she didn’t even notice. She ate the whole salad!”

  “Every last bite.” Autumn giggled. “It was so gross I almost threw up all over the table.”

  “That would’ve lent an appetizing touch to the meal,” Kara murmured. Her stomach was still roiling from Clay’s gleeful confession. It was definitely time to assert her adult authority.

  “You both treated Marcy Tanner terribly and you owe her an apology.” She squared her shoulders and gazed steadily at Clay and Autumn.

  “After I get my launcher,” said Clay.

  “After I get that kit with the beads,” said Autumn.

  “We aren’t doing anything or buying anything until you do the right thing,” Kara said quietly. “And the right thing is to tell Marcy Tanner about the wallet and apologize for...for being mean to her. You don’t have to go into detail,” she added. Though she did not feel particularly charitable toward the flirtatious blonde, Kara felt obliged to protect her from full disclosure.

  “I’ll wait here while you tell her.” One thing she was not going to do was trot over to Mac like some pathetically eager puppy, Kara vowed. Although Reverend Will claimed otherwise, she had not abandoned either her pride or her common sense.

  Autumn and Clay exchanged glances. Kara waited, half expecting them to pitch a tantrum of nuclear proportion. She had no idea what to do if they did. But she did not back down.

  “Okay, we’ll do it,” Autumn said at last. She grabbed Clay’s hand, whispering to him as they ran over to Mac and Marcy Tanner.

  Kara, along with everybody else, watched and listened as Marcy Tanner let out a scream and then lunged toward Clay and Autumn. But the children were too fast for her. They ran away, laughing, heading straight for Kara.

  Marcy took a swing at Mac but her aim was off, and he dodged the blow. With another shriek, the blonde stomped out of the building. The entire scene unfolded before the avid audience in less than a minute. Kara saw Mac’s expression change from incredulity to thunderous. He looked alarmingly bellicose as he strode toward his niece and nephew, now both clinging to Kara.

  As the drama shifted her way, Kara felt every eye on her. Her insides felt as if they’d been frappéd in a blender. Stage fright could never be this unnerving!

  “We did it, Aunt Kara,” Clay exclaimed. “I told her I was sorry I spit in her salad and she ate it.”

  “And I said I saw her wallet in the bathroom and I was sorry I didn’t tell her about it,” Autumn chimed in. “She’s a bad one, Aunt Kara! She tried to hit us! And she swore, too, right here in the church!” Her brows furrowed worriedly. “Do you think she’s going to sneak into our house and kill us?”

  “No,” Kara assured her. “I think she’ll try to stay as far away from you as possible.”

  “Good! Now let’s buy our stuff,” cried Clay, tugging on Kara’s hand.

  “We’re leaving right now!” Mac stood before them, looming tall and strong and very, very angry. “Nobody is buying anything.”

  “We are, too!” Clay faced his uncle, not intimidated by his size or his anger. “Aunt Kara promised.”

  “I don’t care what she said.” Mac was flushed with fury. “You kids have gone too far this time, way too far! You are not going to be rewarded for spitting in a lady’s salad and stealing her wallet.”

  “I said I saw her wallet, I didn’t say I stole it,” Autumn argued righteously.

  “That’s because Brick was probably the one to take it and you planted it in the rest room,” thundered Mac. “Don’t try to con me, Autumn.” He reached out and grabbed his niece by the arm. “We’re leaving and I don’t want any more back talk.” He started toward the door, pulling Autumn behind him, then cast a commanding glare over his shoulder. “Kara, bring Clay and come along. Now!”

  “You’re hurting my arm!” shrieked Autumn. “The one that almost got broken in three places!”

  “C’mon, Aunt Kara, let’s buy my torpedo launcher before he gets us, too,” urged Clay, trying to pull Kara in the opposite direction.

  Still holding on to the howling Autumn, Mac swung back to Kara and Clay. “If you don’t come right now, I swear I’ll—”

  Jill Finlay chose that inopportune moment to join them. “Mac, may I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “We were just on our way home,” Mac growled. But he was distracted enough to loosen his grip on Autumn, who immediately stopped yelling and escaped. She ran to safety behind Kara.

  “We’ll leave you two to your conversation,” Kara said jerkily. Images of Mac and Marcy Tanner, so merry and engrossed in each other, were indelibly etched on her mind. She wasn’t about to stand around and watch him with yet another former flame. Putting one arm around Clay and the other around Autumn, Kara led them off, leaving Mac facing Jill.

  “Well, Mac, as usual, your young charges put on quite a show,” Jill said trenchantly. “But from what we’ve all seen tonight, your new girlfriend has proven she can handle the little psychopaths. If she hadn’t been here, they undoubtedly would’ve taken the place apart by now.”

  Mac watched Kara and the two kids, both of whom were smiling and talking animatedly to her. “Is there a point to any of this, Jill?” he snapped.

  “I just wanted to offer you my congratulations. Ginny introduced me to the future Mrs. Wilde tonight. I think you’ve met your match, at last. But a word of warning, Mac. However much you’re paying her to go through with this marriage, I’m afraid you’re going to have to up the ante. She’s made it quite clear that she’s thinking about backing out, and after that atrocious little scene with Marcy Tanner, you’ll probably have to deed the ranch over to her to get her to stay.”

  “Is that so?” Mac’s hostility was so palpable that Jill took a few cautious steps backward and forced a smile.

  “I also wanted to let you know that there are no hard feelings on my part,” Jill continued, her smiled becoming more genuine. “I’m dating Tom Egan now. His divorce from Mary Jane was final last spring. We’re on the verge of becoming serious.”

  “Tom has two kids, Jill,” Mac couldn’t resist reminding her. “What about your vow to avoid all children but your own?”

  “I never said that!” Jill’s smile turned into a frown of displeasure. “I don’t want to avoid other people’s chi
ldren, I just don’t want to live with them. Courtney and Tommy Junior live with their mother, and they are very different from that brat pack you inherited. The Egan children are polite and well-behaved and easy to deal with.”

  “For now, maybe,” Mac said snidely. But not for long, not if Courtney Egan was hanging around Brick. He found an ironic justice in the prospect of judgmental Jill Finlay having to deal with a potential stepchild corrupted by his nephew.

  He walked away from his former girlfriend, blessing fate for taking her out of his life. He’d had similar thoughts about Marcy Tanner tonight. His eyes were riveted to Kara as he headed toward her and the kids at the toy table. In a very short time, she’d become an essential part of his life, and he didn’t doubt the rightness of that, even though he was currently furious with her.

  “However much you’re paying her to go through with this marriage, I’m afraid you’re going to have to up the ante.... She’s made it quite clear that she’s thinking about backing out.” Jill’s words echoed unpleasantly in his head. He couldn’t imagine Kara having a conversation like that with anyone. But what if she had?

  Clay and Autumn were clutching their prizes. “Thanks, Aunt Kara!” they chorused cheerfully.

  “I hope you know that’s not a reward for what you did to Marcy Tanner,” Kara said, misery and uncertainty plaguing her. Mac’s point had registered with her, but then Jill Finlay had slithered up to him, and she’d felt so jealous and confused that the kids’ point—that she’d promised them toys if they confessed to their crimes, which they had, seemed equally just.

  What did she know about raising children, anyway? Kara ruminated glumly. She’d been a flop as a child herself, shy and quiet and pitifully lacking in confidence and charm. Not that she’d changed much. Compared to Marcy and Jill, two bona fide beauties, she was lacking indeed, proving just how desperate Mac was to even consider marrying her.