“I have no idea if she’ll speak to you, Mr. O’Donnell. Furthermore, if she does and you hurt her, then you’ll be leaving this time for good,” Jake added.
“I understand that.”
“I’ll talk to her, but I’m not pushing her. The ultimate decision is Branna’s.”
“They’re bound to run into each other, Jake. Howling is a small town,” Patrick McBride said.
“I guess so, and Branna will have to deal with that if it arises.” But he wouldn’t let this man hurt her again; he didn’t care if he was her father. Jake didn’t want her hurting any more. As far as he was concerned, she’d already suffered more in her life than she should have.
After leaving his parents’ house, he went home and worked on a few cars, which was hell, because every time he looked at the bench where they’d made love this morning, Jake went hard, so he had to avoid that area.
He heard Ethan’s big bird overhead a few hours later, the loud whop, whop, whop of the Rota blades echoing around the barn. Minutes later, the Texan strolled in.
“You wanna throw a ball round down at the park? The domestic goddess heard me land and sent a text. Seems he wants to test his arm against the champ.”
“Who just happens to be me,” Jake said, starting to put his tools away. He could do with some physical exercise about now. Then he’d go talk with Branna, and hopefully she’d be rational when he brought up her father, but he didn’t hold out much hope.
Chapter16
Branna worked on the book and tried to push thoughts of her father aside. She wanted him gone, wanted him out of Howling, so she never saw his face again. The shock of him suddenly appearing before her had not lessoned in the day since it had happened. Their last conversation in Washington had been fueled by suppressed emotions and rage, and she’d told him then she never wanted to see him again.
Memories of how she’d spent the morning with Jake also filled her head—her naked and seated on his workbench while he kissed every inch of her body. There was nothing comfortable about what was happening between them, but she didn’t want to change that; she wanted to embrace it.
An e-mail popped into her inbox; the sender was Macy Reynolds-Delray. It was short and detailed, explaining exactly what she wanted Branna to do. None of it was overly difficult. It would take a bit of her time, but she would do it because she’d seen Macy hurting that day, and if there was one thing she understood, it was pain.
“Hello!”
Getting out of her office chair, Branna made her way to the front door to see who had called out and found Elizabeth Heath there. Just like the first day Branna had arrived in Howling, Mrs. Heath was dressed immaculately, although today’s cap was green.
“Here is the paperwork, dear. Read it through and the meeting is at my house on Thursday this week. All the details are in there for you, so go over them thoroughly, and any questions just contact me, my number is in there too.”
“This is for the Book Club?” Branna took the large envelope.
“Yes, we have a nomination process for members. Another cannot enter unless a member dies or moves from Howling. When you come to your first meeting, you bring a sealed envelope with the name of your successor in it. It’s placed in a locked box with the others.”
Was this woman serious, a locked box? Forms to read through and fill out, and all for a book club? Branna had never belonged to one, it had to be noted, but she was certain all that was required was a book and maybe a plate of food.
“I’m not sure I’ll have the time to join your club, Mrs. Heath.”
“It was Georgie’s wish, Branna, and while there are some who are displeased about the prospect of someone so young joining, others are excited about it. I think it important also for you to understand just how many people want to join this club, dear. It’s a highly sought after group. However, the laws about membership are governed strictly and have been in place from the first meeting by our forbearers many, many years ago.”
“I’ve never attended a book club before.” She had to try and get the woman to see reason, yet Branna knew even as the words left her mouth, she was going to fail.
“All you need to know is in there.” Elizabeth Heath flicked her wrist in a surprisingly elegant gesture toward the envelope. “And, of course, Georgie always brought her peach and cornmeal upside-down cake, and as I’m sure she left the recipe here, you’ll be able to carry on the tradition.”
“I—”
“Can’t stop, dear. We’re hiking in thirty minutes,” Elizabeth Heath stated, turning from Branna and stepping off her porch to stride back to her shiny silver sedan.
“Do you hike, Branna?” The woman opened her car door then turned to look at her.
“I’m sorry, no, I don’t.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to apologize, but she did all the same.
“That can be remedied,” Elizabeth Heath said, and then she was gone, her shiny car disappearing down Branna’s drive.
“What the hell just happened?” Branna said the words to Cat, who was weaving through her legs. Mrs. Heath had said the answers were in the envelope, so she made coffee and took it back to her office. Opening the envelope, she found some papers and a book. “You’re kidding me.” Whistling between her teeth, Branna read the title. It was gritty, raunchy, and several other words that evaded her right now. The Howling Book Club was reading this?
She’d imagined lots of literary books and poetry, not this. Placing it to one side, she looked at the papers. Headed on top of each were the words, “Please do not share these details with anyone,” written in capitals. Intrigued, Branna read the first page, which was just a form that needed her personal details. Then there was a hobbies sheet, which made her smile, as she had no real hobbies besides writing, which was her job. The third and last was a schedule, which included the homes the meetings would take place in. She noted it was every three weeks, and hers was there in blue in a month’s time.
