Wild Heart

by Tiffinie Helmer

  “Tell me you got down on your goddamn knee and told her how much you love her, how much you have always loved her,” Quinn said.

  He paled.

  “Damn it, boy, do you not know anything about women? Did you at least buy her a ring?” At Ash’s look, Quinn swore again.

  “What answer did she give you?” Jack asked. “The message she left me said you had news.”

  “Yes, she said yes. We came here to tell both of you that we were getting married.” How could she doubt that his motives weren’t sincere? But then the facts that Quinn pointed out rang loud in his head.

  He hadn’t professed his love, he hadn’t bought a ring, and he hadn’t gotten down on one knee. Granted he’d been inside her when she’d finally accepted his proposal.

  He’d really screwed this up. Sorene deserved so much more from him.

  Somehow, he had to make it right.

  Sorene didn’t know where to go. She couldn’t go home. She wanted to be alone, and privacy wouldn’t be found at the Wilde home with her siblings parading in and out all the time. Not to mention, Jack would look for her there. He’d try and smooth things over like he had at Quinn’s.

  She felt so betrayed, by her dad, by Quinn, and most off all, by Ash. Granted, he’d been played for a fool too.

  She couldn’t return to the lake house. There were too many memories there of Ash, their love making, plans for the future. A wave of grief washed over her and she had to pull over as tears blinded her. Darkness fell early like it did this time of year in the interior. There were no stars out tonight, no northern lights to help light her way. The gloomy landscape appeared ominous, coated in ice, reflecting how she felt.

  She couldn’t live at the lake house now. If she did, she’d be constantly tortured by what could have been.

  Where did that leave her?

  Heartbroken in Heartbreak, that’s where.

  Could Ash have wanted to make her fall in love with him again so he could leave her heartbroken, returning the favor?

  No, she couldn’t believe that of him. He’d been just as much of a patsy as she in Quinn’s and Jack’s scheme.

  Her cell rang and she glanced at the screen.

  Ash.

  He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She muted her phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat. Easing the truck back onto the lane, she took the next turn, leading her out of Heartbreak.

  Chapter 24

  Is she here?” Ash asked when Catronia opened the door before he’d had a chance to knock.

  “No, but everyone else is.” She held the door for him and Quinn. “We’re in the dining room.” She led the way to the large, beefy table that seated twelve.

  Jack stood at the head with Ryder on his left and Dare flanking his right. A large black-and-white husky sat at Dare’s heels, its ears perked forward. Zoe sat on a log chair, resting on her knees, leaning over the table studying the large map spread over the top of the town and surrounding areas.

  “Still no word?” Ash asked.

  “She must have turned off her phone,” Cat said. “The calls just go to voicemail.”

  “That’s my fault,” Ash said. “I kept calling her instead of giving her the space she asked for.”

  “Dang, stubborn girl doesn’t need space, she needs a good talking to,” Jack muttered. “I swear she’s grounded as soon as we find her.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “Dad, she’s twenty-eight. You can’t ground her.”

  “Watch me.” Jack pointed to the map. “Ryder, you and Cat take the south side of town. Check the spa, the Pump House, any of her haunts in that area.”

  “Sorene doesn’t have haunts,” Ryder said.

  “There’s got to be some place she goes for fun or to get away from you kids,” Jack pointed out.

  “I’ve never known her to do that,” Dare said. “She’s too responsible.”

  “She not being responsible now. She’s being downright insensitive.”

  “Now, Dad, give her a break.” Cat slid a sideways glance at Ash. “She’s had a hell of a day. I still can’t believe what you and Quinn pulled. You’re lucky you didn’t try anything like that with me. I’d have skinned you alive.”

  “What’s done is done,” Quinn piped up for the first time since arriving. “Laying blame won’t help us find Sorene.” He addressed Ash. “Where did the two of you go when you hung out in high school? Any places that were special?”

  Ash shook his head. They’d never had a special place. They’d taken advantage of being together, whenever, wherever was available. They’d never settled on one particular place. If one place could be labeled special, it would be the lake house, but he’d already checked there. The only thing that had greeted him was cold, condemning silence.

  “I still think everyone is overreacting,” Zoe said, sitting back on her heels. “Sorene never does anything crazy.”

  “Wild Card, she’s been gone for eight hours,” Jack stressed.

  Dare frowned, consulting the map. “This is completely out of character for her. Zoe, you and I will search from Heartbreak Ridge to the north end of town. Get your gear.”

  “That leaves me and Quinn to cover east. Ash, you take the west.”

  They moved at once, gathering coats, scarves, boots, gloves, and flashlights, crowding the entryway, when Sorene walked in.

  They stared at her and then started talking at once, demanding where she’d been, why she hadn’t called.

  “Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?” Jack thundered over everyone. He grabbed Sorene and pulled her into a bear hug, the air whooshing out of her. When he released her, he covertly wiped moisture from his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” Sorene asked when Jack released her. “Where are you going? Oh, no. Is Kennadee all right?”

  “Kennadee’s right here,” a voice said from behind Sorene. “Are we having a party?”

  Ash broke through the mass of Wilde’s and bent on his knee in front of Sorene. “I love you, Sorene. I should have told you that and so much more. Dad and Jack might have put things in motion, and I’m glad they did, just not the way they went about it. It forced me to come home, face you, face what has been missing in my life. And what’s missing has always been you.”

  “What’s going on?” Kennadee asked, only to be shushed by her family and Quinn.

  “I’ve always loved you,” Ash continued as though Kennadee hadn’t interrupted. “I never stopped. The worst day of my life was leaving you behind when I left Heartbreak. I never want to spend another day apart from you.” He fished a ring out of his pocket and opened the box to reveal a heart-shaped solitaire surrounded by gold nuggets. Marry me, Sorene. Spend your life with me, create a family with me, love me.”

  “I’m sorry, Ash,” Sorene whispered, clearly fighting back tears.

  A collective gasp sounded in the room.

  Sorene addressed them. “No, you don’t understand.” She looked at Ash, and knelt down on the wood floor, taking his face in her hands. “I realized some hard truths while I was driving around. I haven’t been fair to you. I never should have broken up with you when Mom died. It was your choice if you wanted to stay and help me or go, yet I pushed you out of my life, not wanting to burden you. I’m sorry for that, for the years we’ve already lost. I love you, Ashworth Bleu. I always have.” She repeated his words back to him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  A deafening cheer went up, even the husky howled.

  Ash grabbed Sorene, lifting her off the floor and twirling her in his arms before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

  “Wow, I was only away for a week,” Kennadee commented, “and I come home to Sorene getting engaged. I didn’t even know Ash was back in town.”

  Laughter followed her statement.

  “We need champagne!” Jack exclaimed, which was followed by hoots and hollers of agreement.

  The crowd dispersed to find glasses and uncork champagne, leaving Ash blessedly alone with Sorene,
at least for a fleeting moment before her large family would converge on them again.

  Ash set Sorene down on her feet. “How about you and I find a special place to be alone?”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” she whispered, her green eyes bright and so full of love for him that Ash thought his knees would buckle.

  Out of the corner of his eyes, they caught Jack and Quinn sharing a fist bump.

  “Don’t worry,” Sorene said with a wicked smile. “Those two will get what was coming to them, eventually. Turnabout is fair play, after all.”

  They shared a conspiring wink and, with no one paying them attention, snuck out of the house, stopping off at the Convenient Heart for supplies, before driving out to the lake house. Their special place, their future home.

  Ash built a fire in the fireplace and uncorked a bottle of champagne, pouring the bubbly into plastic cups. He handed one to Sorene and joined her on the sleeping bags they’d laid on the floor in front of the fire.

  “To you.” Ash held up his cup in a toast. “For being brave enough to marry me and take on Quinn, who is obviously certifiable.”

  Sorene clinked her plastic cup against his. “And to you, for being oblivious to what you are getting into by marrying into the Wilde clan.”

  They smiled and sipped. “You know our dads won’t be satisfied until we’re hitched and there is a bun in the oven.”

  “Well, we can’t do anything about getting hitched tonight, but the bun…We can get working on that.”

  “I do like how you think, Sorene Wilde soon to be Bleu.”

  “Then what do you think of living in the lake house while we finish it together?”

  “Construction camping? You are full of great ideas tonight.” Ash took her into his arms and laid her back on the down sleeping bags, feeling like they were finally both home, together.

  THE END

  Continue reading for a preview of Wild Cat the second book in the Alaska Wild Nights Series, featuring Catronia Wilde and the owner of the Pump House, Avery Dawson.

  Preview of Wild Cat (Alaska Wild Night Book 2)

  Prologue

  Jack Wilde looked up from the blue-print-covered desk, the size of a dining room table, when Colette knocked on his open door.

  “Hank Dawson would like a word if you have a minute.”

  “You bet. Show him in.” Jack tossed down the pencil he’d been jotting notes down with and rose from the desk. He met Hank with a firm handshake. “It’s good to see you. What’s it been?”

  “At least six months. How’s the family?”

  “Did you hear, Sorene and Ash Bleu are getting married.” Jack couldn’t help the grin that split his face from ear to ear.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Hank gestured to the double door left wide open. “Mind?”

  “Not at all.” Curious, he offered Hank a drink. “Want some coffee?”

  “I’d prefer something stronger for this conversation.”

  Hmm…Sounded serious. Without saying a word, Jack walked around to his office desk, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

  “Now you’re talkin’.” Hank hitched up his Dockers and took a seat across from the desk.

  Jack grabbed a pair of aluminum tumblers and poured them each two fingers.

  “Sorry to bother you at work, but I couldn’t meet you at the Pump House, not with Avery there all the time.”

  Jack swallowed down the whiskey. “How is your boy? Seems he’s established himself a world class brewery. Up for an award now with his new beer.”

  At his words, pride reflected on Hank’s lined and leather face, the result of weather and working most his life outdoors. Jack was impressed how Hank still held his own with the younger guys he hired to work the development side of Dawson Reality and Development, even though he worked more in the office these days.

  “Avery does have a way with hops. I have to tell you, I was mighty upset he refused to follow in my footsteps, but I have Ethan willing to take over if I ever agree to retire.”

  Hank swallowed the rest of his whiskey, and Jack held up the bottle, which he waved off. “Let me get to the point. I heard about the ruse you and Quinn pulled to get Sorene and Ash to finally get their heads out of their asses and realized they were meant for each other. I need your help with Avery and Catronia.”

  Jack leaned back in his chair. “Catronia? My Wild Cat? Now that’s a tall order. Have you met my daughter?”

  Hank choked out a laugh. “That I have and she’s a fine stubborn woman. One that Avery won’t be able to walk all over. Which is why I think they broke up in the first place. Avery realized that a relationship with Cat would require work. He wouldn’t be able to skate like he has with all the other women he’s dated. He doesn’t know it, but he needs the challenge.”

  “Cat is a challenge all right. She’s been serial dating since she went out with your boy. Are you sure they’re good for each other?” Since she ended dating Avery Dawson, she was running through men like a box of chocolate creams, taking a bite out of each one and putting them back in the box. Maybe she still cared for Avery? Another daughter married increased his chances of becoming a grandfather sooner rather than later. Lord knew, his offspring weren’t taking getting married and settling down seriously. And his and Quinn Bleu’s success with Sorene and Ash had him willing and eager to try match-making again. “I thought she only went out with him the few times.”

  “Enough times to have Avery running for the hills. I never thought one of my boys would turn coward with a woman. It’s downright not natural. Avery hasn’t been the same since they dated. But he’s apprehensive when it comes to serious relationships. Lord knows, I haven’t been the best of role models. He still holds it against me that I couldn’t make it work with his mother. I know you and Nicola were soul mates, and rightly so, but Janine and I were never meant for long term. We were great for kindling, but for a long-lasting burn, not so much.”

  “Are you sure he wants Cat?” Jack frowned. Then again, who wouldn’t want one his comely daughters?

  “You can’t even bring up her name in his presence. A few weeks ago, I was in the Pump House when Catronia was dancing with that man who owns Heart Springs Enteral Spa and Resort, and I thought Avery might explode. He couldn’t take his eyes off her and nearly bit my head off when I mentioned it.”

  “All right, I’m willing to look into this. I need to see them together first.” He wasn’t going to matchmake unless he knew Catronia had feelings for this boy. “If we decide to do this, I see a major problem. How are we going to get them together? They don’t run in the same circles.”

  It had been easy to throw Sorene and Ash together because they both worked in construction. Seeing them together, so happy and in love, made him want to see all his children that way. And if they needed some parental matchmaking so be it.

  “Catronia contacted me about finding a commercial spot for her new business venture,” Hank said.

  Jack nodded, pride puffing his chest out. “That girl is going to be a huge success.”

  “What if the only property available is right across the street from the Pump House and Avery?”

  Jack shared a crafty smile with Hank. “They’d see each other every day, and that property would be a good location for what Catronia has in store.”

  “It will drive Avery crazy to have her across the street. He won’t be able to ignore how he feels about her. Come out to the Pump House tonight. Catronia usually shows up there on Friday nights and you can see for yourself the sparks that flare between those two.”

  “It’s a date.”

  Hank reached out a hand and they shook on it.

  Chapter 1

  Catronia Wilde regarded Avery Dawson with a mix of longing and a need to bash his head in. The man drove her crazy, and not the fun kind of crazy. More like the kind of crazy that might get her arrested.

  How dare he judge her? He was the one, who after getting her mostly
naked, never called her again. He’d gone out of his way to pretend there was nothing between them when the heat had been nuclear.

  No man treated her like that.

  She was a damn goddess, for heaven’s sake. She was named after her great grandmother, and she’d been a hell of a woman. Great grandma and the man she chose for a mate had homesteaded twelve hundred acres of Alaskan wilderness back when Alaska had been a territory. She’d carved out an existence when women in the bush were scarce, and the men who mined and hunted here were more dangerous than the bears and wolves.

  Cat sighed. Why did she feel the need to parade her dates in front of Avery every chance she got? At some point her I-don’t-give-a-shit needed to kick in.

  Todd Ellis leaned over and suggested, “Are you sure I can’t talk you into going back to my place?” The words had been said low enough that Avery shouldn’t have heard from where he mixed drinks from the other side of the bar, but by the tightening of his shoulders, she knew he had.

  Did she agree to return to Todd’s place just to get back at Avery? But then who was she really getting back at? Besides, Todd was her boss, and sleeping with one’s boss was never a good idea, and it certainly wasn’t right to sleep with someone out of revenge.

  “I’m sorry, Todd, I need to make an early night of it. I have yoga class at five-thirty in the morning.”

  “You should talk to your boss about those ungodly hours he makes you work,” he teased.

  “Maybe I’ll do that,” she murmured. This was getting old. While she enjoyed Todd’s company, he wanted to move their relationship a lot faster than she did. To be honest, she wanted to end this relationship and planned to quit her job. She’d already made strides on the latter and knew she was dragging her feet on the former because she enjoyed needling Avery.

  How childish was that?

  “We need to talk,” she began, picking up her club soda and lime. “Looks like a booth just opened up.”