Wicked Gentleman Read online

  My cell vibrated against the tabletop this time it was a call from Archie. “What do you have for me?”

  “Miss Brockman’s plane arrived safely in Kennesaw. I am forwarding you the latest updates regarding Martin Brockman and your father.”

  “Thanks, Archie,” I said, pulling up my email. “Now, enjoy the holidays with your family.”

  “Yes, sir. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  I scanned the report for anything out of the ordinary, nothing caught my eye. My father’s daily activity was pretty uneventful aside from his trip to a clinic in Boca Raton. Martin had traveled from Kennesaw to his car wash locations in Marietta, Roswell, and Acworth. At this point, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for anyway. My phone buzzed as I took a drink. Liquid heat ran through my veins when I saw Stevie’s name on the screen.

  Landed. On my way to baggage claim. She’d texted.

  Me: Glad you made it safely.

  Stevie: Let’s hope I make it through these next days with my family.

  Me: You will. If your dad gives you any trouble, just leave. I’ll change your return ticket if you need me too.

  Stevie: Thank you. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

  Me: Here’s to drama free holidays with the family.

  “WHAT CAN I GET YOU?” My uncle Larry called from behind the bar. It was Christmas Eve and the house was filled with laughter as Bing Crosby’s voice boomed from the sound system. I breathed deep getting my fill of cinnamon and pine. Being here was surreal. Janessa was settled into a corner reading a story to the younger kids while my aunt Kathy served hot chocolate. My uncle Robert and cousin, Austin, sat in front of the fire playing checkers, checking the Broncos score in between moves. This was my mom’s side of the family and I was grateful to be here, although I wished Stevie was here too. I know that if she had come with me that she would have been interrogated by my sister. Janessa would want a complete history and timeline of our relationship and I wasn’t about to subject Stevie to that kind of torture.

  “As I recall you had a specialty cocktail last time that I was here. A whiskey concoction.”

  He drummed his fingers against the wood top. “Ah, you want the old Montana.”

  “Sounds familiar.”

  “How are things in Florida?” he asked, grabbing the bottle of whiskey.

  “I have no complaints. I’m on track to have one of the best fourth quarters in years.”

  Cocking a brow, he continued pouring liquids into the stainless steel shaker. “Wonderful to hear. Beth and I are planning a trip to Park City real soon. We’re planning on staying at your hotel out there.”

  “Let me know when you go,” I replied, watching him pour the amber liquid into two glasses. “I can make sure you get the best room in the place.”

  “Perks of knowing the owner.” He smiled and handed me the glass.

  “Exactly.” I tipped back my glass taking a large swallow. “That’s the stuff.”

  I walked towards the window wondering how Stevie’s yuletide festivities were going. This morning she texted me saying that so far she’s managed to steer clear of her father.

  Janessa shoved a plate of food in front of me. “Here, you gotta try this cheese.”

  “Vermont cheddar, thanks. What’s new in legal aid?”

  “I have jury selection for a case next week—ex-attorney who traded legal-aid services for sex with clients.” She tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. “These women, their stories are gut-wrenching.”

  I took a sip of my drink. “Scumbag.”

  “Yeah, the bastard actually made video recordings of the sexual encounters.” Janessa moved, leaning her back against the window. “What’s up with you? I can tell when something’s weighing on you.”

  Something was bothering me. I had yet to tell her about my run in with our father. Did I want to? Was it worth it?

  I expelled a deep breath. “I saw Dad.”

  “What?” she stage whispered, confusion painted all over her face.

  “Yeah, he showed up at a speech I gave at FIU a week ago.”

  She nodded prying the glass from my hand. “Well,” she paused, before taking a long drink. “That’s the last thing I expected you to say.”

  I sighed. “I know, apparently he’s been keeping tabs on all of us. He says that he’s dying.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  I glanced sideways at her. “Part of me wants to believe him, and the other part wants to take him to the best doctor in Florida for a series of confirmation tests.”

  She laughed, and shook her head. “I can’t say that I wouldn’t offer to drive.”

  For now, I decided to not share all the gory details with Janessa, leaving out all the parts of the drugs and his involvement with keeping me from an alleged revenge plot. With an important case coming up, I didn’t want our family drama invading her focus.

  “There’s something else going on with you . . . I can’t put my finger on it.” Janessa snapped her fingers, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. “You’re seeing someone.”

  I met her gaze. “There is someone.”

  Her dark brows rose. “You want to tell me about her?”

  “Nope,” I replied, and snatched my drink back. My uncle’s had moved the party to the deck and I decided to join them. The flames from the outdoor stone fireplace burned a blaze of orange and white.

  “Jackson,” Robert boomed out. “Join us for some holiday cheer and a cigar.” He raised the bottle of whiskey in my direction.

  “Don’t mind if I do.” I set my drink down to light the cigar and then planted myself in a chair.

  Larry breathed in the night air. “There’s snow on the way.”

  Robert tossed another log onto the fire. “The nose of the great north can tell you five days in advance when the snow’s coming.”

  I laughed. “Or what I like to call the five day forecast.”

  “But the weather forecast can be wrong, I’m never wrong.” He puffed on his cigar.

  “Never, huh?”

  “Nope. I got instincts and they rarely fail me.”

  Robert propped his feet onto the stone ledge. “You ever think about moving back here, Jackson?”

  The question cut me off guard. To be honest no, I never thought about moving. I loved my life in Florida. The company needed me. Who would oversee day to day operations if I weren’t there?

  “Honestly, until this moment no, I never thought about it. Is there a reason you’re asking?” I took a drink, feeling the chill of the winter air hit the back of my neck. I downed the rest to help stave off the cold.

  “Yeah,” he answered, inclining his head in my direction. “You know the governor’s position is up for election. It would be the perfect time for you to entertain that career in politics.”

  My uncles were lifelong politicians. Robert was a long-standing member of the Northern Plains Council for Resources. This organization was dedicated to the protection of Montana’s water quality, family farms and ranches. The Brooks family was instrumental in establishing the first Montana chapter of the Federation of Fly Fisherman.

  My grandfather opened a fly fishing outlet in 1953 and when he retired, Larry and Robert expanded and tripled the profits. My mother helped run the flagship store, but the riches came long after we’d moved to Florida.

  “I don’t have any political experience. Running for the Governor of Montana seems pretty lofty,” I pointed out.

  “In this race, it wouldn’t matter,” Larry said. “The left candidate is too far left. He has some good ideas on social issues, but he lacks a certain moral fiber. The conservative side is too conservative and stuck in the Dark Ages. Montana wants to move ahead not be stuck behind. Frank Barrister would be your only real competition.”

  “And he recently secured a million-dollar donation from the Collins Fellowship,” Robert added.

  I lifted the bottle of whiskey and poured a shot into my glass. It was a lot to
absorb. “When would I have to announce my candidacy?”

  Larry added another log to the fire. “You can announce anytime you like. In my opinion, it takes two years to run a successful campaign.”

  “What about residency? I haven’t lived here since I was a teenager.”

  “I think we have a solution for that,” Larry announced.

  “Before your mother passed away,” Robert began. “She came to me for a loan. Karen wanted to buy a piece of land. She died before we could complete the sale, so I bought the property.” He reached inside his jacket pocket and then pulled out an envelope. “This here land belongs to you and Janessa.” He slipped the envelope into my hand, and then took a long puff from his cigar.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  His hand dropped to my shoulder giving it a squeeze. “We’ll go to the courthouse day after Christmas and I can sign over the deed to you officially.”

  “You need to let me repay you.”

  “Nonsense, this is a gift. I knew your mother well, son, and she’d want you to have that land. You don’t owe me a thing.”

  Larry chuckled, smoke rings billowing from his mouth. “Well, except to think about moving back here and running for governor.”

  A career in politics, was I ready for that now? I took a drink, the heat burning a trail down my chest. My eyes trained on the paper, looking for answers. The crackling of wood and howling from the occasional wolf filled the quiet. Snow began to fall coating the stone on the patio. This was my mother’s way of telling me to accept the gift.

  I’D SPENT MOST OF CHRISTMAS Eve in my old room as my family went about their day without me. My mother had gone to the market for some last minute dinner supplies. I’d managed to avoid my father all morning, for which I was grateful.

  Mom ended up getting that job at the school, and she was eager to get back to working again. After she picked me up from the airport yesterday, we picked up some fresh flowers from the market and then we stopped at the coffee shop. Things didn’t change much around here.

  After my shower, I reorganized my bookshelves. My fingers grazed over the spines of my vintage YA collection that sat on the top shelf of the wooden book case. Maybe I should take them with me when I leave. I dusted off one of my Sweet Valley High books and curled up in my window seat.

  By one in the afternoon I was restless and bored. I thought about calling Tiffany to see if she wanted to grab a coffee, but then I realized she was probably at her grandparents’ house in Atlanta. When my stomach started growling I ventured downstairs to what I thought was an empty house.

  Hushed chatter carried through the kitchen and into the front hallway. I heard my father’s voice, hissing and snipping in sharp tones. Oh good, my childhood was rearing its ugly head. And I heard a woman’s voice, low and angry and it did not belong to my mother.

  “Keep your voice down,” my dad whispered. “Danielle could be back any moment.”

  “I told you where the money was, Martin. I knew you would fuck this up. Couldn’t you just be nice to that daughter of yours for five minutes?”

  “If you want the money so bad, Darlene, why don’t you just go to Salissa Island and get it from Stevie?”

  Aunt Darlene? What the hell was she doing talking to my father? She barely tolerated the man. And about the alleged money at Gran’s place.

  “What I want is for you and me to leave this town and start our life together. I love you.”

  He sighed. “I know I love you too. I wish that things could be easier.”

  “They’d be easier if we had that money.”

  Bile bubbled in my throat. Gross. My dad and Darlene were having an affair. I took a deep breath and started to walk down the steps. There were two ways this was going to go, either I was going to expose them and blow up the family Christmas. Or I could slip my headphones in and pretend I heard nothing.

  I was halfway down the staircase when I realized that my headphones weren’t in the pockets of my sweater coat.

  “It’s never going to get easier, sweetheart.”

  I fumbled with my phone bringing up the video app. When my feet hit the rug in the foyer I found the two of them locked in each other’s arms. Darlene’s eyes went wide with fear when she saw me standing in the entryway.

  “Oh hello, Stevie,” she drawled out casually as if the two of them hugging was completely fucking natural. “We didn’t think anyone was home. What a nice surprise.”

  “A nice surprise?” My gaze swung to my father’s. He stood rooted to his spot like he hadn’t had his hands all over a woman who was not his wife.

  Darlene’s gazed pinged between me and my father. “Your dad was just being nice and lending me and ear.” Her hands wrung together.

  “It looked like he was offering you more than his ear.”

  My father’s jaw tightened. “It isn’t what it looks like.”

  “Oh please, I heard everything.” I shot back, feeling more confidence than I had in a long time. “What’s funny is that I can’t believe you would do this to your sister, Darlene. But, Dad, I totally knew you were capable of betraying Mom. I tried to tell her you were nothing more than a snake.”

  My dad laughed. “If I were you, little girl, I wouldn’t breathe a word of this to your mother. Mark my words—you will live to regret it.”

  “I might keep my mouth shut, but first you’re going to tell me about this money you think that Gran has stashed away.” My words were flat and direct.

  Darlene and my father exchanged glances. “Well, Stevie dear, we think that your grandmother has a large sum of money hidden away. We found a journal when we were boxing up her house in Acworth and there are certain entries that suggest she might have had more money than originally stated in her will.”

  Straightening my shoulders, my eyes narrowed. “And if there is a large stash of money, what do you intend to do with it?”

  My father stepped towards me. “None of your goddamn business.”

  “Well, you can tell me or I’ll just tell Mom about this little afternoon delight situation.”

  Darlene’s face turned as red as Georgia clay. “You wouldn’t dare do that.”

  “I can and I will. I have nothing to lose. If Mom finds out my father figure is a lying cheating bastard, I win. What do I care about what happens to her relationship with you?”

  This was all very daytime soapy. The truth was I did care. I didn’t want my mother to be hurt by her husband and her sister.

  “I’m not going to be blackmailed by you,” my father hissed.

  I walked towards the refrigerator. “Well then, I guess you two should think about how you’re going to tell Mom. I won’t lie for either of you.”

  “So goddam righteous,” Darlene muttered. “You think that you’re better than all of us because you went to college.”

  I pulled open the door to the fridge. “Of course you think that,” I paused, grabbing the jelly. “That’s an ignorant thing to say.”

  My father turned to Darlene grasping her elbow. “Let’s just give her time to cool off. Stevie will come to her senses.”

  Darlene ripped her arm away. “She won’t. She loves every minute of this.”

  Brushing past my dad, I walked into the pantry to get the peanut butter and bread. “I wouldn’t say that I love any of this.”

  “I’m out of here,” Darlene announced as the door to the back porch slammed.

  When I emerged from the pantry my dad was sitting at the table with a cross look on his face. “You weren’t meant to see us together.”

  I tossed the bread onto the counter beside the jelly. “No, I suppose that I wasn’t.”

  “I’ll tell your mother, just not tonight or tomorrow. I won’t ruin Christmas for her.”

  “I’m surprised that you even care.” I twisted the lid off the jars and then slapped a piece of whole wheat bread onto a plate. “Yet, at the same time just ruin her life completely,” I huffed and busied myself with the task of making my sandwich. “Yo
u know, Mom loves you and I have no idea why. What I do know, is that you should divorce her because she will never leave you.”

  The chair screeched across the floor when he pushed back from the table. “I’m leaving, I have business. You would be wise not to mention this to your mother. We will get through the next thirty-six hours and then I want you out of here. Pack your shit and leave.”

  “With pleasure,” I called after him.

  The door to the garage slammed shut and I felt all the tension leave my body. I took a bite of my sandwich and then cleaned up the mess. The last place I wanted to be was here even if it was Christmas Eve. Swallowing another bite of my sandwich, I told myself that I could do this. It was thirty-six measly hours and then I would be back on a plane to Salissa Island. It wasn’t my business how these so-called adults worked out their issues. I would support my mom whatever the outcome.

  The garage door opened and closed shut. My mom appeared hauling in a few bags of groceries. “Oh good, you’re here. Would you mind grabbing the rest of the groceries from the car? I need to start making the pies for tonight.”

  “Sure thing, Mom.” I tossed my napkin into the garbage, slapped on a smile and pushed down all the earlier ugliness with Dad and Darlene and vowed to power through the rest of my time here.

  The ride to the airport was a quiet one. Christmas went off without a hitch and Darlene didn’t even bother to show up. She called Mom and told her that she wasn’t feeling so great. Dad was on his best behavior even helping Mom with the dishes afterward. All I had to do was make it through some light dinner conversation, opening presents, and watching “Scrooged.” I happened to love that movie so it made sitting in a room with my father more tolerable.

  “Well, Stevie, I’m really glad you came home for Christmas. Are you sure that you have to leave so soon.”

  I looked over at my mom from the passenger seat. “Yeah, Mom, I have to be back at work tomorrow morning.” I clutched my phone in my hand and stared at the text from Jax. He said he had some exciting news that he couldn’t wait to share with me. I wondered what it could be.