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.”
If the plan to get Jessie up-to-speed and ready for Austin didn’t pan out, Phoenix expected his eldest brother would lea
ve 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 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.”