Page 22 of Wildflower and Whiskey
My throat worked around a lump. “That doesn’t sound promising.”
He hesitated, then pushed on. “Papa found a journal. It belonged to Mom.”
The words landed heavy, pressing down on my chest. “A journal?”
“Yeah.” He exhaled, watching me closely. “Helen convinced mom to continue her affair with Kyle Jansen.”
The room tilted. I blinked hard, shaking my head. “No. No, Mom wasn’t having an affair with him. They worked together; everyone knew that.”
“The journal suggests more,” Luc said carefully. “Since Dad found out, he hasn’t been the same.”
I dug my fingers through my hair, my skin prickling as if the floor had been ripped out from under me. “Wait. Are you saying…Braden?—?”
He nodded once, grim. “Riley’s dad is Kyle Jansen.”
My breath caught. Holy hell. Everything fell into place, the way Papa looked at Braden, the bitterness that had sharpened into something dangerous suddenly all made sense.
Luc’s voice softened, almost apologetic. “Papa doesn’t like having Kyle’s grandson in his home. It doesn’t excuse his behavior, but…it’s the truth.”
I pressed my palms to my eyes, my body trembling. “I knew Papa had a drinking problem back then. I knew he wasn’t kind to Mom. But this…” My voice cracked.
“Come sit down,” he said. We took a seat at the round kitchen table that had chairs for four people. I stared at the wildflowers but it was like I saw right through them.
Luc sat beside me, his hand finding my shoulder, grounding me. “It breaks my heart too. Mr. Thorne said Mom and Kyle’s deaths shook the whole town, and finding out they were together explains a lot. Maybe even why Helen ran.”
I lifted my head, meeting his steady gaze. “And now?”
“Now Papa’s spiraling. Pierre told me he burned the journal. The fire out back that got out of control? That was him.”
I swallowed hard, remembering the charred patch of earth I’d passed by, never questioning it.
Luc leaned in closer, his voice fierce but tender. “I want you to know this so you can understand what we’re dealing with. You and Braden aren’t safe in that house. That’s why you need to stay here. It’s why I was being pushy about it.”
Fresh flowers on the table, creamy cabinets glowing in the light, a king-size bed waiting in the next room, all of it suddenly felt fragile, like a bubble ready to burst.
“This is a lot to process,” I say.
“I know but we aren’t our parents, Elyna. We can make ourselves a different life,” my brother said sounding so naïve, young, and hopeful.
“You can make yourself a different life. You aren’t Papa, and I see how much you love Izzy and she loves you,” I said to him.
“You can make yourself a life too. You don’t have to be alone with Braden,” he said.
A small hysterical laugh escaped me. “You’re young, you don’t understand how the world works. No one is going to want an almost twenty-eight-old woman without a degree and a child to care for.”
Luc raised his brows and reached out to the wildflowers on the table and touched their soft petals. Then he looked me straight in the eyes. He didn’t have to say a word. The message was clear. He thought Phoenix Thorne wanted me. He didn’t understand Phoenix’s kindness was laced with pity, not lust.
Heat rose up my neck. I tore my gaze away, busying myself with folding the throw blanket over the arm of the futon. “Don’t look at me like that, Luc. You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” His voice was quiet, but steady. “I saw the way he looked at you in the brewery.”
“That was nothing.” My hands continued to fuss with the blanket, smoothing out wrinkles that didn’t exist. “Phoenix is polite to everyone.”
Luc gave a short laugh, not buying it for a second. “Polite doesn’t make fresh flowers appear out of nowhere. Polite doesn’t keep a woman in his line of sight like she’s the only person in the room.”
My chest tightened. I wanted to argue and shut him down before he could plant dangerous hope where there shouldn’t be any. But the image of Phoenix’s eyes on me hot and lingering, even when he pretended otherwise, rose unbidden in my mind. I hated that part of me wanted to believe Luc.
I pressed my lips together. “It doesn’t matter. Even if you’re right, it wouldn’t change anything. Phoenix is Phoenix. He isn’t for me.”
