a digital copy of it to the draft e-mail she was working on to update her boss about her investigation.
88
Chloe Lang
An hour later, all she had were three sentences:
Still working on the investigation at Wilde Mine. Attached is one piece of evidence that is pretty damaging for the management. I’ll keep looking for clues that will shed more light on the accidents.
It just didn’t make sense to her. Or was she just trying to fool
herself? Could she be afraid of what would happen once the other
Wilde brothers found out that her investigation was pointing to Austin as being responsible for the accidents at the mine? Things would
never be the same. Still, something seemed fishy about this whole
affair, and the eldest Wilde brother did seem capable of pretty
dangerous actions.
“I’ve got three weeks to find out the real truth.” She detached the copy of the memo. I’ll send that another time. She deleted one sentence from her draft message to her boss. The e-mail now read:
Still working on the investigation at Wilde Mine. I’ll keep looking for clues that will shed more light on the accidents.
She took a deep breath, and then pressed the enter key .
* * * *
Phoenix watched his mom whirl around the massive kitchen from
counter to counter like a well-trained dancer.
Mary Wilde loved to cook, and this room was her favorite domain
in the family’s mansion. Even still, she wasn’t a woman who only
doted on her husbands. She had a mind of her own with modern
sensibilities he’d seen time and again. She had a way with his dads that was dazzling to behold.
Her blue eyes sparkled. “I’m so glad to have at least one of my
sons in this old house.”
Wilde Fire
89
“I’m glad I came.” He’d lived at the mansion until he turned
eighteen and moved into his own home. So many wonderful
childhood memories.
His mom placed some fresh chocolate chip cookies and a glass of
milk on the table in front of him. He took a bite, relishing the sweet taste of his mother’s baking.
“Tell your other brothers to pay a visit on me, will you?”
He took a sip of the cold milk. “I promise I will.”
She patted him on the back and smiled. She’d turned fifty-seven
on her last birthday, but she could’ve passed for forty. There wasn’t one gray strand in her long dark hair. He’d gotten his hazel colored eyes from her.
She sat down beside him at the kitchen table. “So, tell me all
about her?”
“Who?”
“Don’t be coy with me. I recognize a man in love when I see
one.”
Was it that obvious? “You don’t know her.”
“I didn’t think so. Sis told me about Ms. Greene.”
“Maude Strong can’t keep a secret to save her life.”
“Don’t talk about your aunt that way, young man. She sent me a
message on Facebook.”
“I hope she didn’t post it to your wall. Nobody can keep anything
private in this town.”
“Well, at least not from your old mom and Aunt Maude. Don’t
worry. It was a direct message. So, how are your brothers taking to Jessie?”
“We have to keep a bridle on Jackson, or he would put a ring on
her finger today. I can tell that Dallas is slowly falling for her, too.
Denver needs to spend more time with her.”
“And Austin?”
“You know him, Mom. He’s made it pretty clear that he won’t
likely follow the family’s norm.”
90
Chloe Lang
If the plan to get Jessie up-to-speed and ready for Austin didn’t
pan out, Phoenix expected his eldest brother would leave Wilde
forever.
“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
88
Chloe Lang
An hour later, all she had were three sentences:
Still working on the investigation at Wilde Mine. Attached is one piece of evidence that is pretty damaging for the management. I’ll keep looking for clues that will shed more light on the accidents.
It just didn’t make sense to her. Or was she just trying to fool
herself? Could she be afraid of what would happen once the other
Wilde brothers found out that her investigation was pointing to Austin as being responsible for the accidents at the mine? Things would
never be the same. Still, something seemed fishy about this whole
affair, and the eldest Wilde brother did seem capable of pretty
dangerous actions.
“I’ve got three weeks to find out the real truth.” She detached the copy of the memo. I’ll send that another time. She deleted one sentence from her draft message to her boss. The e-mail now read:
Still working on the investigation at Wilde Mine. I’ll keep looking for clues that will shed more light on the accidents.
She took a deep breath, and then pressed the enter key .
* * * *
Phoenix watched his mom whirl around the massive kitchen from
counter to counter like a well-trained dancer.
Mary Wilde loved to cook, and this room was her favorite domain
in the family’s mansion. Even still, she wasn’t a woman who only
doted on her husbands. She had a mind of her own with modern
sensibilities he’d seen time and again. She had a way with his dads that was dazzling to behold.
Her blue eyes sparkled. “I’m so glad to have at least one of my
sons in this old house.”
Wilde Fire
89
“I’m glad I came.” He’d lived at the mansion until he turned
eighteen and moved into his own home. So many wonderful
childhood memories.
His mom placed some fresh chocolate chip cookies and a glass of
milk on the table in front of him. He took a bite, relishing the sweet taste of his mother’s baking.
“Tell your other brothers to pay a visit on me, will you?”
He took a sip of the cold milk. “I promise I will.”
She patted him on the back and smiled. She’d turned fifty-seven
on her last birthday, but she could’ve passed for forty. There wasn’t one gray strand in her long dark hair. He’d gotten his hazel colored eyes from her.
She sat down beside him at the kitchen table. “So, tell me all
about her?”
“Who?”
“Don’t be coy with me. I recognize a man in love when I see
one.”
Was it that obvious? “You don’t know her.”
“I didn’t think so. Sis told me about Ms. Greene.”
“Maude Strong can’t keep a secret to save her life.”
“Don’t talk about your aunt that way, young man. She sent me a
message on Facebook.”
“I hope she didn’t post it to your wall. Nobody can keep anything
private in this town.”
“Well, at least not from your old mom and Aunt Maude. Don’t
worry. It was a direct message. So, how are your brothers taking to Jessie?”
“We have to keep a bridle on Jackson, or he would put a ring on
her finger today. I can tell that Dallas is slowly falling for her, too.
Denver needs to spend more time with her.”
“And Austin?”
“You know him, Mom. He’s made it pretty clear that he won’t
likely follow the family’s norm.”
90
Chloe Lang
If the plan to get Jessie up-to-speed and ready for Austin didn’t
pan out, Phoenix expected his eldest brother would leave Wilde
forever.
“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
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