Wilde Fire (12 page)
“You better not give up on him.” Her eyes welled up. “You hear
me?”
“Yes, ma’am. I won’t give up on him.” He prayed that Jessie
might reach through Austin’s hard shell as she’d done with him. With her, anything seemed possible. “Mom, please don’t cry.”
She dotted her eyes with a tissue. “Tell me about her, son. What
does she know about our family?”
“Not much. She knows we own the mine, but that’s about it.”
“Things can’t stay that way. She needs to know about our practice
of plural marriages.”
“You didn’t. Not at first.” He finished the last cookie and drained the milk from the glass.
She laughed. “That’s true. Your dads kept me in the dark for more
than a month. I guess you’ll know when the time is right. But don’t wait too long to tell her. She’s got a right to the truth.”
“We’ll tell her. Don’t worry about that.”
“Good.” His mom stood up and took his plate and glass back into
the kitchen.
“Mom, I don’t need any more.”
“Nonsense. I know you, kiddo. You want more.” She filled his
glass with more milk and came back to the table with it and another plate of cookies. “Do you love her, Phoenix?”
“I think so.”
“What do you like about her?”
“Everything. She’s like no one I’ve ever met before. When I’m
not with her, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Sounds like love to me. Do you think she’ll be open to marrying
you boys? It’s a lot to take in for an outsider, I know. It was for me.”
“I’m not sure what Jessie will think when she finds out the truth,
Mom. But if she won’t have the rest but will have me, I’m going to
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marry her.”
She grabbed his hand. “You’d let go of your share in the mine?”
“Yes.”
Phoenix felt his mother squeeze his hand. “Son, you don’t need to
think about what it is you feel for Ms. Greene any longer. Listen to your mom. You’re a man in love from the top of your head to the
bottom of your feet.”
“You’re right. I am.”
* * * *
“Jessica, thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me.”
Malcolm Winters, Wilde’s local bank president, smiled at Jessie. He was very handsome, but out of place in rural Nevada. Mr. Winters
was way too put together and stylish for the town. He could’ve been a male cover model. Most men here were rough around the edges and
wore boots, jeans, and cowboy hats. That didn’t fit Mr. Winters at all.
She’d hesitated to join him but had relented when he said that he
had information about the mine she might find useful.
“Thank you for the invitation. This is a nice place.” She looked
around the Chinese restaurant with its many statues of dragons and
large fish tank by the cash register. Only four tables had customers sitting at them, and that included theirs. “One question.”
“Yes?”
“Why are we eating in Elko and not Wilde?”
“Wilde doesn’t have Asian food, which I’m a big fan of. And I
want to be away from prying eyes and eavesdropping ears.”
“You said you have some information for me.”
“Yes, I did. But before I turn it over, will you tell me what you’ve found so far in your investigation.”
“Nothing I can share with you, Mr. Winters.”
“Please. Call me Malcolm.” He sat down his chopsticks and
motioned a waiter to come over.
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“Fine. Malcolm, my investigation is confidential. Once I report
back to the agency, it may or may not be available for the public to review.”
The waiter stepped up.
Malcolm turned to the man. “More hot tea, please.”
“Yes, sir. Very good.” The waiter bowed then walked through a
swinging door into the restaurant’s kitchen.
“I’m so much more than John Q. Public in Wilde, Jessica.”
“That may be true, but I’m not at liberty to share anything with
you.”
“I see.”
“So, will you be sharing something with me or not?”
“Of course. I only ask because I’m very interested in the mine’s
state. It is an integral part of the community.”
“I agree. That’s why I take my job very seriously.”
“I believe that. And I’m sure the time that you’re spending with
the Wilde brothers is strictly professional. But unfortunately, there are others who aren’t as discerning as I.”
Jessie’s gut clenched. He knew about Phoenix and the other
brothers. This was going from bad to worse at one hundred miles an
hour. “I don’t have time to consider small-town gossip, Mr. Winters.”
“True. I just wanted to make you aware of the perception of some
of the citizens of Wilde. I wouldn’t want anything to reflect on you badly, especially at the agency.”
Jessie stood up. “Thank you. I need to get back to Wilde. I’ve got
a big day tomorrow.”
“You didn’t finish your noodles.” He tilted his head to the side.
Asshole!
“I’d like to get to the hotel before dark.”
“Of course. I understand. Well, be safe.”
She walked deliberately out the restaurant to her rental car. Was it too late to fix the mess she’d made of everything and save her job?
She hoped so. But what she had to do to fix it she dreaded.
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Chapter Eleven
Phoenix pounded his fists on the table at Norma’s Cafe, causing
their breakfast plates to jump. “What the hell does that mean, Jessie?”
“Lower your voice, Mr. Wilde.” He watched her eyes scan the
empty diner once again. She was as cagey as a cornered she-wolf.
“We’re the only ones here, damn it. Stop looking around and talk
to me.”
“Fine. I can’t see you anymore.” Her voice shook, as did her
hands. “I shouldn’t have let things go so far. It just doesn’t look good.”
“Fuck that. I don’t give a damn what people think, and neither
should you.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong. I must. I have a job to do,
and us seeing each other outside of the mine isn’t good.”
“I think you’re right.”
Jessie frowned. “You do?”
“Yes. It isn’t good at all. It’s fucking great. I care about you,
angel. I think you feel the same for me.” Admitting it aloud to her felt good. But this wasn’t how he wanted to profess his love for her.
“Why would you throw all of that away when we’re just really getting to know each other? For a job? I’ll get you another job.”
“So you do want me to blow this investigation? Is that what this
whole thing is about?”
“Of course not. Stop being foolish.”
“So now I’m foolish.” Jessie stood up, her face dark with anger.
“Mr. Wilde, it has been eye-opening.”
Phoenix wrapped his hands around her wrists. He could feel her
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pulse under his fingertips. “Sit down. Please.”
“Fine.” She sat and folded her arms over her chest. “What else is
there to say?”
“A lot. What’s got you twisted up so much? We were doing fine.
No one knows we’re seeing each other.”
She tilted her head to the side slightly. “Not no one.”
“Who knows?”
“The bank president.”
“Buttoned-up Malley? How the hell would he know?”
“I have no idea, but Mr. Malcolm Winters does know quite a bit.”
“So what? We can worry about that some other time if we have
to.” Phoenix silently vowed to make sure the next time he saw
Malcolm the guy would get a piece of his mind and his fists.
“I have to worry about it now, Phoenix. My job is important to
me. You’ve got to understand that. Please, don’t make this harder on me than it already is.”
“My parents own the mine, not me. That’s got to account for
something.” He felt like he was grasping at straws with her. What he really wanted was to throw her over his shoulder, take her back to the tree they’d had the picnic at, chain her up, and then spank her sweet ass until she promised never to threaten to leave him again. That was exactly what he would do if she didn’t change her tune pretty fast.
“They’re your family, Phoenix. Think.”
“Most mines have stockholders, and many of them have children.
You’ve heard of six degrees of separation?”
“Yes, but this isn’t the same.”
“Of course it is, angel.”
“Stop calling me that. Please.” She stood up. “I’m going to the
mine now.”
“Let me take you.”
“Are you dense? I told you that I can’t do this anymore.”
“You mean too much to me.”
“If you really care about me, then please, leave me alone.” She
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bolted from the booth and out the door.
Phoenix followed her. He wasn’t giving up on the woman he
loved.
* * * *
Jessie cried as she drove past Carlotta’s. She’d never wanted to
hurt anyone. She couldn’t blame Phoenix or his brothers. This was all her fault. She could’ve said no that very first night. But she hadn’t.
Now, not only was her heart breaking, she’d seen the pain on
Phoenix’s face when she’d told him she couldn’t see him again.
She needed a friend right now, so she grabbed her cell. Michael
would listen. Whenever she’d needed him to cry with during the last months of her mother’s life, he’d been there, holding her and rocking her. He wasn’t her fiancé any longer, but he was still her friend, and she needed him now. She hit the speed dial, and the
No Service
Available
message popped up on the screen.
“Damn it!” She’d try again later.
She kept one hand on the steering wheel and got a tissue to dry
her eyes with the other. “I must look like a mess. I’ll have to fix this before I see Austin.” She looked in the rearview mirror and spotted Phoenix’s truck coming up from behind her. A shiver shot down her
spine. She just couldn’t face him now. In time, he’d realize she was right about cutting things off. She pressed harder on the accelerator, watching the odometer hit eighty and Phoenix’s truck fall back.
Good.
When she topped the first hill and started down the twisted
mountain road, she took her foot off the pedal and moved it to the
brake to slow her speed. Her foot went to the floor. She had no
brakes.
“Oh, no!” Her breath caught in her chest.
The needle hit ninety, ninety-five. This road was treacherous at
much slower speeds with all its S-curves and drop-offs. At this speed, it was deadly. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she held her breath.
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She pumped the brakes, praying they would engage. Nothing.
Holding the steering wheel with both hands with a death grip, she
took the first curve. Thankfully, there wasn’t any traffic coming the other way as she swerved into the opposite lane. The odometer now
read one hundred five.
This is how I die.
Another curve, and she heard the tires hit the gravel next to the
guardrail. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She didn’t look to her left or right, knowing that both directions were at least five hundred foot drops to rocks below. Then she remembered that just up ahead
the road dipped with its most drastic elevation change. Phoenix had called it Suicide Hill. All her blood went icy cold as dread took over.
She pumped on the brake pedal like a wild woman. Once the car
started down the hill, she was a goner. Her speed would move to an
uncontrollable level, not that this was much better.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw Phoenix’s truck pass her.
He then moved in front of her, slowing his speed. Their bumpers hit, and the steering wheel jerked in her hand, but she held it steady.
Another bump and the two vehicles were locked together. His brake
lights were high enough for her to see, and he held them steady,
reducing their runaway speed slowly. By the time they hit the bottom of the hill, her car had stopped.
“I made it. I’m not dead.” Jessie couldn’t unclench her hands from
the steering wheel. She let out a blast of air from her lungs, and then she inhaled deeply and slumped over the steering wheel, enjoying the tears of relief streaming from her eyes.
Phoenix opened her door and touched her leg. “A-Are you hurt,
Jessie?” The panic in his voice got her fingers to uncurl from around the steering wheel.
“I-I’m o-okay.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and
sobbed. “T-Thank you.”
Softly, he said, “Shh. Be still now, angel.” He unbuckled her seat
belt and hoisted her out of the car. He didn’t set her down on the
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ground but kept her in his arms. He squeezed her tight, kissing her entire face.
She leaned her head into his chest. “The b-brakes...no b-brakes.”
“It’s okay, Jessie. You’re okay, now.”
“You saved me. I’d be at the bottom of the drop if you hadn’t
followed me.”
“Don’t think about that. Together, we got your car stopped. You
used your head when I got in front of you and kept the car steady.
Because you’re as smart as you are, everything is okay.”
For how long Jessie kept shaking and he kept holding her, she
didn’t know. She only wanted him to not stop. Ever.
* * * *
Phoenix walked back into Jackson’s living room. His brothers—
Dallas and Denver—looked up at him. “Jessie is still asleep.”
Dallas raised his hand. “I’ll check on her next, bro.”
“Sure. Check on her in about fifteen minutes.”
The front door opened wide, and Jackson rushed in. “Where is
she?”
“In your bed, bro. She’s okay.” Phoenix was glad to see his lil’
brother. They all needed to figure things out fast. “Try not to wake her, but go see for yourself.”