Honeysuckle Bride

by Tara Randel

  “These girls are special. They lost their mother and are still grieving.”

  “You’re stubborn, so I know you’re going to argue this point to the grave, but Wyatt, you weren’t responsible for Jamie’s death. It was an accident.”

  “It doesn’t feel like that to me. What if I’m with those girls and something bad happens to them?”

  “Wyatt, anything can happen in this life. You can’t look for danger behind every door.”

  “Maybe if I had, Jamie would still be alive.” His jagged voice was the only clue to the storm waging inside him.

  Josh stepped back and long seconds passed. At last he said in a calm tone, “And maybe the accident was out of your hands. Are you going to turn away from every relationship, women or kids, because you can’t protect them every second of every day? Unrealistic, bro.”

  “Maybe, but that’s how I feel.”

  “Then you have a choice. Close yourself off to all relationships and have no life or just stay friends with Jenna and her kids, but please, do something.”

  Just friends. Why didn’t the thought appeal to him? Because he wanted a deeper kind of relationship but wouldn’t put his heart on the line. Something about Jenna drew him, no denying it. Question was, could he be with her and not get emotionally involved? He’d already warned her he didn’t want to go there, but what if he took a chance? There was only one way to find out, and it was something he hadn’t been willing to do since Jamie died and Marcie left him.

  “Are you bringing a date?”

  Josh frowned.

  “Cuz at lunch the other day Mom mentioned something about you and a woman.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  Wyatt chuckled. “Isn’t it always?”

  Josh slapped him on the back. “Yeah. Which means I will be bringing a date.”

  Wyatt smiled as he watched his brother walk away. It felt weird, like his facial muscles hadn’t been used for a long time and were only now coming to life. Truthfully, he found himself smiling more and more lately, without the usual accompanying guilt. Jenna’s influence? The twins? He’d give credit where credit was due, because he did like being in their company. Maybe more than was wise under the circumstances.

  But Josh’s words still rang in his ears. Please do something.

  His brother might have a good point.

  CHAPTER TEN

  TUCKERED OUT AFTER a long day of cleaning, Jenna and the girls showered and enjoyed a light meal at home. Jenna’s lower back ached, but in a good way because of all she’d accomplished today.

  With everyone’s help, the catering kitchen and dining room were spotless. The used restaurant tables and chairs were gone thanks to her ad online. With the dining space now empty, Dane would send his construction team to build walls separating the office and meeting room for clients as well as the food tasting area. The painters Jenna had hired to give the place a fresh coat of paint would come in and finish the job. She’d chosen a shade of sunny yellow for the walls to complement the new, dark wood furniture she’d ordered.

  The girls had gone to their room to play with their princess dolls, leaving Jenna to tidy up the kitchen. On the hutch in the corner, the twins had piled their schoolbooks and homework. As she walked by, her hip bumped the corner of a book. Before she could stop it, the entire pile tumbled to the floor. She crouched down to gather up the mess, and an envelope, with her name on it, fluttered from the pile.

  Curious, Jenna replaced the books on the hutch then slid her fingernail under the flap to open the envelope. She removed a letter from Bridget’s teacher, informing Jenna that Bridget’s test scores were low, her attention in class was spotty and she’d been disrespectful to school authorities.

  Shocked, Jenna dropped into a seat at the table to reread the letter. That’s when she noted the date. One week ago. The teacher had listed her concerns before finally asking for a meeting. At the bottom of the letter was an area for Jenna to sign and send back her response.

  Bridget had kept the letter from her for a week. What was going on? And why hadn’t she noticed that Bridget was really struggling?

  Because you’ve been too caught up in your new business venture.

  Her cheeks burned with shame. Here she’d told anyone who would listen that she wanted to be a good mom but she was shirking her duties. The butterflies that had been at bay lately started flapping with a vengeance.

  Letter in hand, she walked down the hallway, intending to have a little sit-down with Bridget. Jenna found her under the blanket fort in the corner. Her heart squeezed, but she kept her voice firm when she said, “Abby, would you please take your dolls to my bedroom. You can turn on the TV if you want.”

  Abby glanced at Jenna, then Bridget. “Why?”

  “I need to talk to your sister.”

  “I don’t mind staying.”

  “Please. For a few minutes.”

  Abby’s face went pale, but she gathered her toys and shuffled from the room.

  Jenna took a seat on Bridget’s bed, patting the empty space beside her. “Come join me.”

  Bridget gently laid her princess doll on the floor and joined Jenna. She averted her eyes, as if she knew what was coming.

  Jenna held out the letter. “Care to explain why you didn’t deliver this to me?”

  “How did you find it?”

  “It fell from your schoolbook.”

  “You shouldn’t be in my stuff.”

  “You shouldn’t have kept this letter from me.”

  Bridget’s lips went taut.

  “Your teacher says you’re having problems in school. I remember you didn’t do well on that test, but I thought you had promised to do better?”

  Bridget crossed her arms over her chest.

  “If you were still having difficulty, Bridget, you could have come to me and we’d get you extra help.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  “She thinks otherwise.” Jenna read from the paper in her hand. “She says you’re failing math.”

  “Math is stupid.”

  “Math is necessary, as are good grades. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Like you’d care.”

  “What? Of course I care, Bridget.”

  “You said when we moved here things would be different. You weren’t going to work so much, but you’ve already been away on business trips and now you’re at the building all the time.”

  “I did say that and I meant it, but honey, I still have to work. To provide for us.”

  “Mom didn’t work all the time.”

  Jenna tried not to let Bridget’s reminder tug at her guilt. Carrie had been an assistant manager in a bookstore the hours the girls were in school, making sure she had plenty of time to spend with them when they were home. They didn’t have much, but had been happy.

  “You know I want to provide for you the very best I can.”

  “Then work but leave me alone.”

  “You can drop the tone.” Jenna straightened her shoulders. “I won’t leave you alone. We need to deal with this problem.”

  “I don’t want to go to school.”

  “Not an option.”

  Bridget grabbed the letter from Jenna’s hand, crumpled it up and threw it on the floor. “Problem solved.”

  This was not going well. If Jenna didn’t know better, she’d think Bridget was failing on purpose, just to get attention. “I’ll call your teacher on Monday and set up an appointment for the three of us to sit down and talk.”

  Bridget stayed silent.

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but it’s going to stop.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mother.”

  Ever since she got custody of the girls she was afraid one of the
m might throw those words at her someday. And as much as she thought she’d be prepared, the reality was nothing like she’d imagined. And she’d imagined the worst.

  She stood. “No TV until we talk to your teacher.”

  Bridget jumped off the bed and disappeared under the blanket tent, closing the flap. Leaving Jenna on the outside.

  Blinking back hot tears, Jenna went to her bedroom to find Abby seated on the center of her bed.

  “Have you been keeping your sister’s secret from me? We’re a family, Abby. We’ve got to figure this out.”

  Abby crawled across the bed, tears running down her face. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

  Jenna pulled her into her embrace, kissing the top of Abby’s head. “I know.”

  They sat together for a long while before Jenna let go. She gathered up Abby’s toys, placing them in the girl’s outstretched arms.

  “Go get ready for bed. I’ll be in shortly to check on you guys.”

  Abby nodded.

  Jenna went to her bathroom, closed the door, turned on the tap and sat on the lid of the toilet. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands, releasing the jagged sobs. Her worst nightmare was her reality. What did she do now?

  She cried until she ran out of energy, then got up to wash her face. Looking in the mirror, she cringed. Pale skin, covered with blotches. Mascara clumped around her eyes, her hair a tangled mess.

  “Pull it together. You’re the adult here.”

  Five minutes later she exited the bathroom, unsteady and unsure, but more in love with the girls than ever. Tough love wasn’t as easy as it sounded. She had to hold her ground, no matter the emotional cost.

  She’d just rounded the bed when Abby came rushing into the room, eyes wide, hysterical. “I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and when I came back, I couldn’t find Bridget.”

  “What do you mean you couldn’t find her?”

  “I checked everywhere. Bridget is gone.”

  * * *

  WYATT HAD JUST dried the last dinner dish and placed it on the shelf when he heard a soft rapping on the porch screen door. Surprise jolted him when he saw the small figure standing outside.

  “Bridget?” He looked over her shoulder , expecting Jenna to appear. “Are you alone?”

  “Yes,” she sniffled. “I hate Jenna.”

  Wyatt opened the door and motioned her inside. “Pretty strong words there, kiddo.”

  “It’s true.”

  The screen slammed behind them.

  He led her into the living room and she took a seat on the couch, an adoring Cruiser sniffing his guest. Wyatt stood in the doorway, waiting for her to meet his gaze. “You can tell me what the problem is, but first I have to call Jenna. Let her know you’re here.”

  Bridget’s shoulders slumped. “Okay,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  Wyatt strode to the coffee table and picked up his cell phone. Jenna answered on the second ring, her tone breathless.

  “It’s Wyatt. Bridget is here with me.”

  “Is she okay?” Jenna said, her voice catching.

  “She’s fine.”

  “I’ll be right over to pick her up.”

  “Why don’t you let me bring her home? A little space might not be too bad right now.”

  “But I—”

  “Trust me.”

  He could well imagine her indecision. Understand her worry.

  “You really think it’s best?”

  “I do.”

  He heard Abby in the background before Jenna answered.

  “Yes, all right. We’ll be waiting.”

  He hit the end button and faced Bridget. “Want to share some Oreos with me?”

  Her head popped up. “With milk?”

  “Of course with milk. Is there any other way to eat them?” He went into the kitchen to fetch the cookies from the cabinet. He tucked the package under his arm as he removed the milk carton from the refrigerator, grabbed two glasses and carried his stash back to the living room. After placing everything on the table, he poured the milk.

  “You know, I don’t share my Oreos with just anyone. You gotta be very special for me to part with my favorite treat.”

  “Thanks, but I’m not sure I deserve a treat.”

  Wyatt drew out the silence before saying, “So you must have a good reason for scaring Jenna so badly.”

  Bridget looked shocked. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”

  “How else did you think she’d react?”

  “I didn’t think about her.” She clasped her small hands in her lap. “I was upset and left.”

  “And of all places you decided to come here?”

  “You listen to me.”

  He picked up a cookie and nodded. “Yeah, I am good at listening.” He took a bite, giving her a moment to start talking.

  Bridget reached for her own cookie, but held it between her fingers. She glanced around the room, then at him. “Did anyone ever lie to you?”

  “Sure, at some point in my life.”

  “Did you get mad?”

  “Probably.”

  “Did you tell them off?”

  He tried to think of a situation to use as an object lesson before answering. “When we were kids, Josh and I built a tree fort in the backyard. We would have our friends over all the time and sleep out. We were supposed to have a bunch of kids over this one night, but Josh didn’t do his chores and lied about it. My dad knew he was lying, so he canceled the get-together. I was mad at my father. I didn’t lie, so why couldn’t I have the kids over? I didn’t talk to Josh or my dad for a few days afterward.”

  “So Josh got caught.”

  “Yep. Lied right to my parents, even though they knew the truth.”

  Bridget turned the cookie over in her hand. “Jenna lied to me.”

  “How so?”

  “She promised that when we moved to Florida we’d have this great new life and things would be better.”

  “They aren’t?”

  “Well, our house is pretty cool. Everyone here is nice.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “Jenna promised she’d always be there for us, but she’s been on trips without us and now she’s going to start catering. When will she have time for us?”

  “Is that what you’re worried about, that she won’t make time for you?”

  “Kinda. I mean, my mom is already gone.” Bridget sniffled and swiped her eyes, her voice barely audible. “I don’t want to lose Jenna too.”

  “I can honestly tell you that Jenna’s not going anywhere. She loves you and your sister.”

  “But she’s busy.”

  “She has to work. Look, if she has to go to California, it’s because she made promises to the people who hired her. If she didn’t show up, she’d be in trouble and her bosses wouldn’t trust her word. Keeping your word is important.”

  Bridget nodded.

  “But by working here in town, she’ll be able to plan her schedule around you and Abby. Be home every night. I bet she wants you to help her with the business too.”

  “Yeah. We were there today.”

  “See, she’s including you. She wants you to be a part of her plans.”

  “I guess.”

  “I’m pretty positive she’d do anything for you.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I’d feel the same way if you were my daughter.”

  Bridget gripped her cookie so hard, Wyatt waited for it to crumble in her hands.

  “I haven’t been completely honest,” she said.

  He hid a smile. “There’s more?”

  “My teacher gave me a note to give to Jenna. Abby kn
ew, but I made her swear she wouldn’t tell on me. Then I hid the note because I didn’t want Jenna to know about my bad grades. She found it anyway and wasn’t too happy.”

  “That’s serious, Bridget.”

  She nodded again. “I thought Jenna would get mad at me if she found out.”

  “Mad because you kept the note from her or mad because of what the teacher wrote?”

  “Both.” Bridget swiped at her eyes. “I haven’t been doing good in school. Math is the worst.”

  “Does Jenna know you’re having problems?”

  “She knows I’m having trouble in math, but not the other stuff.”

  “What other stuff?”

  “Abby has some friends, but I don’t.”

  “Can’t Abby include you?”

  “I guess, but I didn’t tell her what’s going on. I don’t want to make problems for her.” She ran her hand over Cruiser’s fur. “Some of the kids are mean to me.”

  Ah, now they were getting to the root of the problem. “How so?”

  “They pick on me. Someone found out that Jenna’s not my real mom and made jokes about Abby and me being orphans.”

  Wow. Pretty heavy stuff for a kid to deal with. “But you’re not orphans. Jenna is your family.”

  “I know, but I said some stuff back at them, so now I don’t have any friends.”

  “I know kids can be mean, but there must be one or two you can apologize to. Once they forgive you, realize that your feelings were hurt, they can convince the others to forgive you too.”

  “You think so?”

  “Sure, but you have to start by telling Jenna everything. She won’t be mad. If anything, she’ll want to help you.”

  “Things were easier when my mommy was here.”

  “I felt the same way about my son.”

  “I heard Jenna talking about him.” She paused a moment then looked at him with big, brown eyes. “Think he’s in heaven with my mommy?”

  Wyatt’s throat grew thick. “I think so.”

  Bridget reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Bet your son doesn’t have to worry about making friends there. I think everyone in heaven has friends.”

  The knot in Wyatt’s chest eased.

  “I should get you back to Jenna. She’s probably wondering why you aren’t home yet.”