Dreaming With A Broken Heart (Hollywood Legends Book 1) (20 page)

“Now you’re insulting us both. When did we ever settle
for a few minutes?”

“That Christmas we were visiting your parents. Remember
the coat closet?”

“One time,” Callie laughed. “I can still see the
look on Aunt Wanda’s face when we stumbled out, her faux-fur stole wrapped
around your neck.”

“Best four minutes ever.”

Callie turned into her husband’s arms. This was home. When
the rest of the world seemed cold, unforgiving, and judgmental, Caleb grounded
her with his love. She sometimes marveled at how a small town girl from Iowa
found a rich, happy life so far away from rural wheat fields where she grew up.
Glittery movie premieres, star-studded award shows were wonderful. The gold
statues that lined her office shelves were gratifying strokes to her ego. Those
things meant nothing compared to her husband, their sons, and the life they
built together.

“Hey,” Caleb lifted her chin. Her eyes were
purple, full of love. The tears upset him. “What is this about?”

“I’m so lucky, Caleb.” Callie burrowed closer,
fitting her head under his chin. When she felt his strong arms tighten, she
sighed with contentment. “My life is full of love. The last few days that
I’ve spent with Jade have made realize how few people have what we do.”

“My love.” Caleb kissed the top of her head,
breathing in her unique scent.
His Callie
. “There isn’t a day that
goes by that I don’t thank heaven for you. What would have happened to me if
you hadn’t loved me back?”

“Am I a smart woman?” Callie asked, bringing his
hand up to her lips for a kiss.

“Brilliant.”

“Then why would I have been stupid enough not to love
you?”

That was how Garrett found them. He stood in the doorway not
wanting to interrupt an obviously intimate moment.

The love practically radiated off them. Caleb Landis, his
big, rock-solid father. Callie Flynn, his beautiful mother who looked like an
angel, but blessed with a devilish sense of humor. They raised their children
with love, warmth, compassion, and the occasional boot to the britches.

Garrett felt his churlishness fall away. For hours after he
got off the phone with Wyatt, he grumbled to himself thinking how annoyed he
was over this mandatory dinner. Didn’t he visit all the time? When he was out
of town, he called one of his parents at least every other day. It was
unreasonable to expect him to drop whatever plans he had because his mother
insisted.

Now that he was here, seeing them in each other’s arms, his
resentment seemed childish. If his mother wanted her sons together, then that
was what she would get. Garrett would gladly sit down with his family. Without
the put-upon attitude he carried when he entered the house.

“I’d say get a room, except when did the two of you
ever need one of those?”

“Garrett.”

Callie rushed to him, her smile bright and welcoming.
Garrett pulled her close.
Never take this for granted
, he told himself,
thinking of Jade. Not everyone had a loving mother. Or a supportive father.

“Good to see you, Dad.”

Garrett kissed Callie’s cheek before exchanging hugs with
his father.

“You look tired,” Callie said, looking him up and
down. “And skinny.”

“Good eye.” Garrett winked. “At least about
the tired part. You can’t get skinny eating fried food for every meal. I think
those union guys were attempting murder by grease.”

“Where was it written that you had to eat it?”
Callie demanded. She raised her children with healthy, nutritious food. She
expected them to follow that example whenever possible.

“I was trying to win them over, Mom.” Garrett
winked at his father. “It would have been rude to turn down that last
helping of onion rings.”

“I’m putting extra vegetables in the salad,”
Callie declared. “And no garlic bread for you.”

“Hey.” Garrett protested.

Callie didn’t listen, pulling a head of broccoli out of the
refrigerator.

“It’s your own fault,” Caleb laughed. He patted
his son on the shoulder. “Tease your mother, pay the price. You do look
beat. Sit. Do you want a beer?”

“I better not. Alcohol is likely to knock me on my ass.
Sorry, Mom.”

“Ass is acceptable under the circumstances,”
Callie assured him. “Caleb, the kettle is hot. Make him a cup of lemon
balm and lavender tea. It helps you sleep.”

“I don’t need help sleeping,” Garrett said.
“I need to stay awake.”

“Nonsense.” Callie bustled around, checking the
oven, grating cheese. “Some tea, a good, healthy meal, and the company of
your family are what you need. You’ll stay here tonight. I don’t want you
driving home in your condition. Especially at night on those winding roads.”

“Don’t argue,” Caleb warned. “Your mother is
right. You’ll be much better off driving in the morning.”

“You won’t hear any objections from me,” Garrett
assured them. “My old bed plus one of Lorena’s famous breakfasts. Sounds
like heaven to me.”

Garrett took the steaming mug from his father, breathing in
the scent of lemon and lavender. In his experience, all herbal tea tasted the
same. Like steeped grass clippings. Taking a sip, he decided this one was no
exception. Seeing his mother’s satisfied smile, he kept his opinion to himself.

“Where is everyone else? I saw their rigs in the
driveway.”

“Wyatt is in my office closing a deal. Colt is getting
his dog settled out back. As usual we are sitting while he’s out of town.”

“You love Amos,” Callie reminded Caleb. “I
swear you can’t wait for Colt to have a location shoot out of the country so
you can play with him whenever you want.”

“Did I say I minded?” Caleb rolled his eyes,
making sure Callie didn’t see.

Chuckling, Garrett selected an olive from the antipasto tray
his mother set in front of him, popping it into his mouth.

“That takes care of two brothers. Where is Nate?”

“With our guest down in the workout room. Caleb,
sweetheart, will you get a bottle of Chianti from the wine vault.”

“We have a guest?”

“Mmm. I—”

“There isn’t any Chianti,” Caleb called out.

“Oh, honestly,” Callie sighed. “The man can
oversee multi-million dollar productions, but he can’t find a simple bottle of
wine.”

Garrett smiled, watching his mother leave the room. Curious
what Nate was up to, he walked down the hall to the left, taking the flight of
stairs that led to the basement.

The workout room was added when Caleb and Callie bought the
house. Over the years, they renovated the area, modernizing the equipment,
adding a meditation room, then a Pilates studio. The weight room was always in
a state of flux. Since it got the most use, they made sure the equipment was
always state of the art.

When they were boys, Garrett and his twin brother had an
ongoing friendly competition. They set goals to see who could lift the most
weight. Or who could climb the rope the fastest. Nate always won. After a
while, they gave up competing. Garrett graciously declared his brother the
brawnier physical specimen. The only activities Garrett could beat Nate at were
anything involving endurance. Nate might get there faster in a sprint. However,
given enough time and distance, Garrett always overtook him.

From the sound of it, Nate and his guest were in the room at
the far end of the hall. Most of the time it was lined with well-cushioned
mats. Caleb Landis was a black belt in several martial arts disciplines. When
he wanted to hone his skills, he flew in masters from all over the world. This
is where they would meet.

He heard Nate’s voice, instructing someone to lead with his
or her shoulder.

“You need to put your body into a punch. If you only
move your arm, you can’t get enough force.”

Good advice
, Garrett thought. Normally, Nate had the
patience of Job. He didn’t mind going over and over something until his student
caught on. It took a lot to frustrate his brother. However, when you crossed
that line, watch out. Nate did not suffer assholes quietly. From the sound of
things, Nate was in classic teacher mode.

Garrett looked through the open studio door. He planned on
getting a peek without disturbing the occupants. What he saw froze him in his
tracks. Standing in the middle of the room, Nate’s hands on her waist, was
Jade.

For the first time in over two years, Garrett saw Jade out
of the darkened motel room. His eyes drank in every detail. She was dressed in
skintight black yoga pants that showed off a nicely rounded butt and shapely
legs. The weight she had put on in the last six months looked good on her. Her
black t-shirt was loose, only giving a hint of the full breasts he knew were
underneath. She wore her blazing red hair pulled back in a long ponytail and
her feet were bare, her toes painted a deep magenta.

None of this was supposed to be for his eyes. Only a few
days ago, she told him to hit the road. It seemed the fork in that road led her
directly to Nate.

What the fuck
?

“What do you think?”

Garrett almost jumped out of his skin. He was so engrossed
in the unfathomable scene he hadn’t heard his mother’s approach.

“Well?” Callie asked; her voice lowered to a
whisper. She stood with him in the doorway, her arm slipping around him.

“Well, what?”

Garrett was only half listening. Jade? With Nate? What the
hell was going on?

“Garrett,” Callie said impatiently. “I asked
what you thought.”

“I think Nate has his hands all over Jade Marlow,”
Garrett grumbled.

“Jade asked if I knew a good self-defense teacher.
Naturally, I thought of your brother. He was happy to show her the
basics.”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed when Nate’s hand got a little too
close to Jade’s ass.

“He seems to be enjoying himself.”

“I thought so, too,” Callie beamed. “I think
Nate would be good for Jade.”

“Mmm,” Garrett mumbled. “Wait. What? Nate and
Jade? As in…?”

“Don’t you think they make a good-looking couple?”
Callie smiled. “I know Jade is skittish about men. Who could blame her?
Nate is such a gentle soul. She needs to be treated with kid gloves. Your
brother is perfect.”

Garrett couldn’t believe his ears.
His mother wanted to
play matchmaker to Jade and Nate? Unbelievable.

“My first thought was Wyatt.”

“Wyatt.”
Christ, this just got stranger and
stranger
.

“It makes sense,” Callie reasoned. “Two
wounded hearts. They could heal each other.”

“I don’t think so,” Garrett protested. Wyatt could
get his own woman. Jade was not available.

“I agree,” Callie beamed, unaware of Garrett’s
turbulent thoughts. “Wyatt isn’t ready. I think Jade is.
If
it’s
with the right man.”

“A man like Nate.”

“Maybe. I’m still feeling out the situation. Hey, you
two,” Callie called out. “Dinner will be ready in twenty
minutes.”

“Sounds good,” Nate grinned. He winked at Jade.
“We’ve worked up quite an appetite.”

Laughing, Jade turned towards Callie. It looked like she was
about to say something. Then she saw Garrett. When she started to sway as if
she would faint, Garrett instinctively took a step toward her. Nate, being
closer, beat him to it.

“Hey, are you all right?” Nate gave her a
concerned look, his hand on her arm holding her steady. “Did I push you
too hard?”

“No,” Jade assured him. “I’ll be fine.”

“You need a hot meal in your stomach,” Callie said
firmly. “Before I came down, I filled the tub in my bathroom. By the time
you have a nice soak, dinner will be on the table.”

Jade took the towel Nate held out. She walked across the
room, wiping her face. Garrett kept his eyes locked on her, willing her to look
at him. Daring her.

Jade passed him without a glance.

“Thank you, Callie. I won’t be long.”

“Such a sweetie,” Callie said.

A few days ago, Garrett would have agreed. Now, he wasn’t
sure what Jade was. Cold-hearted bitch? No, that didn’t fit. Tease? Nope. There
was nothing sexual in the way she interacted with Nate. Something was going on
that went beyond a simple break-up. Whatever it was, Garrett planned to find
out.

“She started out timid.” Nate joined them on the
walk back upstairs. “That isn’t unusual. If you’ve never hit anyone, it
isn’t an easy thing to do.”

“I liked that part.”

Nate grinned. “You’re a natural, Mom. You also grew up on
a farm with three older brothers. By the time you got to Hollywood, you knew
how to give as well as you took.”

“After eighteen years putting my brothers in their
place, the male sharks in this town were a breeze.”

“Jade needs to build some upper body strength”
Nate explained. “She’s started working out again, something she stopped
doing after she got out of the hospital. I gave her a program of weight
training and conditioning. I’ll have her kicking ass in no time.”

“Watch out for flying rice.”

Nate’s turned from grabbing a bottle of juice from the
refrigerator. He was used to intense workouts. Unlike Jade, he hadn’t broken a
sweat.

“Rice?” Nate frowned. “What are you talking
about?”

“Didn’t Mom tell you?” Garrett tried to make his
words sound teasing. Keeping the edge off was difficult. “She thinks you
and Jade will make the perfect couple. Mind you, her original choice was
Wyatt.”

Nate barely saved himself from spitting the juice across the
room. “Wyatt and Jade? No offense, Mom, but they would be a mess. Too much
baggage on both sides.”

“I realized that,” Callie said. She gave Garrett a
warning look. “I know you boys hate the idea of my matchmaking. I wasn’t
going to push, Nate. I simply thought if you hit it off, it would be good for
both of you.”

“Sorry, Mom. Jade and I edged into the brother/sister
dynamic right away.” Nate scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Not that
she isn’t gorgeous. And sexy. I can’t say why there wasn’t any spark. Maybe
it’s the sadness I see in her eyes when she doesn’t think anyone is
looking.”