The Wade Dynasty

‘We are,’ she confirmed tersely. ‘Carolyn lived in foster-homes from the time she was six days old until she reached sixteen and got a job—that's also how she became so adept at weaving children's stories, by telling them to all her little “brothers and sisters”,’ she bit out. ‘Even her name isn't her own, not really,’ she gave a pained frown. ‘There was a note pinned on her saying her mother's name was Carolyn and her father's name was Frank, and as they were both only fifteen they couldn't care for her properly. The young mother also begged for the baby not to be adopted, promised she would come back for her one day.'

‘But she never did,’ Nathan rasped flatly.

‘No,’ she said abruptly.

‘And ever since Carolyn has done everything she can to make people like her, as a salve to her mother's desertion,’ he guessed huskily. ‘I had no idea.'

‘How could you?’ Brenna couldn't forgive his contempt and condescension so easily, she had been at the receiving end of it herself for too long to do that. ‘You just looked at her and saw a flirtatious butterfly, you didn't stop to ask why she's like that—–'

‘For God's sake, Brenna,’ he snapped abruptly, ‘I only met the woman for a matter of minutes!'

‘Long enough to have passed judgment on her, obviously!'

‘I've said I was sorry,’ he sighed. ‘What more can I do?'

‘Stop standing up as judge and jury on me and the people I call friends,’ she said in exasperation.

‘You were my sister for nine years, Brenna, and I thought I was going to marry you for three months; I can't shut off my protectiveness towards you just because you order it!’ His voice rose angrily.

‘I never asked for it in the first place,’ she dismissed contemptuously.

‘That's like saying you didn't ask the sun to set,’ he sneered. ‘It was just as inevitable.'

‘I don't see why, you virtually ignored me until I was sixteen!'

‘I'm not going to even bother to answer that accusation, I think it speaks for itself,’ he drawled mockingly.

‘Isn't that just typical!’ she scorned. ‘I wasn't worth noticing until I started to look like a woman.'

‘Oh, for God's sake, Brenna,’ Nathan stood up forcibly. ‘Next you'll be coming out with that hackneyed male chauvinist pig line.’ He thrust his hands into the pockets of his trousers, pulling the material taut. ‘You were a damned little pest until you were sixteen, and it had nothing to do with being a woman. You arrived in Canada resenting everyone and everything connected with your mother's remarriage. Never mind that she was happy, you weren't, and you had no intention of being so in the near future either. Most young girls would have felt some excitement mixed in with their trepidation at moving to a new and vast country, of having two older brothers to suddenly grant their every wish—–'

‘Sitting me on top of a ten-foot horse wasn't my wish!’ Brenna still shuddered at the memory of her first experience on a horse's back. Grant had swung her up on top of the horse her second day in Canada, finding it incredible when she had protested she had never ridden before. He had finally taken pity on her and lifted her down, but it had taken months for her to get up on one again.

‘Grant was only trying to treat you like his baby sister,’ Nathan scowled. ‘How was he to know you had lived in a town all your life and hardly knew what a horse looked like, let alone ridden one!'

‘He could have asked! Besides, we might not have been told of your existence before we arrived there, but I would have thought your father would have told you about Lesli and me.'

‘Until my father announced his intention of marrying your mother and bringing her back to Canada with him we had no idea of either her existence or yours,’ he dismissed. ‘Why should we?'

Why indeed? Why should the arrogant Wade brothers care that their equally arrogant father had walked into a family unit and smashed it to pieces? Without Patrick Wade's interference her parents might have smoothed out their problems and made a success of their marriage. But not once Patrick Wade had decided otherwise.

Not that she had disliked her stepfather, not then anyway. She had just found the grand way that he lived, his wealth and power, very intimidating. No, the dislike had come later, much later.

‘Don't you think we should telephone Grant now?’ she suggested waspishly. ‘After all, he just might be worried.'

Sarcasm dripped from the caustically spoken words, and Nathan's eyes flashed like pinpoints of silver. ‘Why did I never notice before what a vicious little bitch you can be?’ he snapped.

Brenna blushed angrily at his contempt. ‘You noticed, Nathan,’ she ground out. ‘You even liked it on occasion,’ she reminded him coldly, that night in his arms, long hours of fiery, driven passion, forever imprinted in her mind and senses.

His mouth twisted. ‘I should have remembered I liked you better when you're purring like a kitten and not spitting like a cat.'

‘Could we get this call to Grant over?’ she snapped. ‘I'd like to start calling some of the less than major hotels to see if Lesli is staying at one of them. You did realise there were other hotels in London besides the Savoy, the Hilton, the Dorchester—–'

‘Cut the damned sarcasm, Brenna,’ he rasped. ‘It isn't achieving anything.'

It wasn't even giving her that much satisfaction; arguing with Nathan never had. Even when she was sure she had emerged the victor from one of their heated exchanges she always felt the loser!

She briskly put the call through to Grant, slightly disconcerted when the receiver was picked up the other end after only the second ring. ‘Grant?’ she began.

‘Lesli?’ he returned sharply. ‘God, Lesli, where are you?'

‘It's Brenna, Grant,’ she interrupted gently, her fears as to Grant's worry for his wife's safety firmly put to rest; he sounded like a desperately unhappy man.

‘Oh.’ He bit back his disappointment. ‘Sorry. Your voices have always sounded the same over the telephone.'

‘She hasn't come home?’ she prompted softly.

‘No,’ he rasped. ‘God, how I wish I hadn't let Nathan talk me into letting him be the one to go to London; I'm going insane just sitting here waiting for news,’ he groaned. ‘Is Nathan with you now?'

She glanced over to where Nathan sat stiffly forward in his chair. ‘Yes, he's here,’ she confirmed abruptly. ‘Grant, Lesli hasn't contacted me at all,’ she told him as gently as she could.

‘Where can she be?’ he groaned.

‘Grant, what did the two of you argue about to make her do something like this?'

‘I think that's between Lesli and me,’ he answered hardly.

‘I realise that. But—–'

‘Can I talk to Nathan?’ he cut in tersely.

She gave a frustrated sigh. ‘Of course,’ she snapped, holding out the receiver to Nathan. ‘He wants to talk to his big brother.’ She still felt stung by Grant's refusal to confide in her.

Nathan looked at her contemptuously. ‘Maybe instead of trying to make you feel welcome ten years ago we should have put you over our knees a few times,’ he bit out harshly. ‘Come to think of it, it's still not too late to do that.'

She knew the undue haste in which she handed him the receiver and moved to the other side of the room smacked of running away from him, but over the years Nathan had proved to be a man who carried out his threats.

Where could Lesli be? Nathan's taunt about her and Lesli sticking together was a true one. She and Lesli had always been close, even more so after they were uprooted and taken to Canada; she couldn't believe her sister wouldn't come to her or contact her soon.

‘—and I'm staying on here with Brenna until she hears from Lesli,’ she came back in on Nathan's telephone conversation to hear him assure his younger brother.

Earlier she had reluctantly agreed to let him stay here with her until they heard from Lesli, but now she wondered just how long that was going to be. Lesli had left the ranch three days ago, and she hadn't contacted any of them yet. And Nathan couldn't stay here at the flat with her indefinitely.

‘Keep in touch,’ Nathan added abruptly before ringing off, turning to Brenna with cold eyes. ‘Your sister seems as adept at disappearing as you are,’ he bit out.

Her mouth firmed as she realised he was referring to the way she had moved out of the flat she had shared a year ago, making it impossible for him to find her even if he had wanted to. She had never found out if he had wanted to.

She looked at Nathan with dislike. ‘I'm sure both of us had good reason for disappearing; I know I did,’ she bit out tautly.