Chapter Eighteen
Bryn stared into her armoire, trying to find a balance between the person she was now and the person she was before she’d come to the Institute for Excellence. Her grandmother loved shopping and had succeeded in replacing most of Bryn’s casual clothes with nicer high-end clothing. Not that Bryn minded. Her grandmother had been very generous, but sometimes the clothes made her feel like an imposter.
She grabbed her favorite jeans. Should she wear them? Would her mom wear jeans to a lunch this important? Then again, who knew what her mother had to wear. It’s not like she could have brought much with her when she’d been running for her life.
Should she call her mom and ask if she needed to borrow something? Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner? Nothing to be done about it now. She checked the alarm clock on her dresser. Her grandmother would arrive to pick her up in twenty minutes. Time to stop worrying about things beyond her control. She picked a simple navy dress and boots. That should appease her grandmother and not look too uppity to her mom.
How would her mom be traveling to Suzette’s? That was another question Bryn hadn’t thought to ask. The students who traveled from Sanctuary came by SUV, so hopefully transportation would be provided. Why was she focusing on these things? Probably because she was worried about how her mom and grandmother would deal with being in the same room after all this time.
Half an hour later, Bryn was hugging her mom in the nice back room of the restaurant while her grandmother acknowledged Sara with a nod.
“Mother,” Sara said. “It’s nice to see you.”
Marie Sinclair gave a tight smile. “Nice to see you, too, Sara.”
The waitress delivered a round of ice water and left them to read the menu. From behind the piece of laminated plastic, Bryn said, “I don’t suppose there’s a way to skip over the awkward part and just be happy that we’re taking a step in the right direction?”
Her mom and her grandmother both snorted in the exact same manner. Bryn laughed. “That must be genetic.”
“Perhaps,” her grandmother said.
Sara set her menu down. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done for Bryn. I know it couldn’t have been easy when you first met.”
“We had a bumpy start,” Marie Sinclair said, “but eventually we found our footing.”
“I’ve corrupted her a bit,” Bryn whispered in a conspiratorial tone. “She says things like ‘That sucks’ now.”
Sara laughed. “I can’t imagine those words coming out of your mouth.”
“We’ve all changed,” Marie said. “And no matter how at odds you and I may be, I commend you on raising such a strong-willed, loyal daughter.”
“She is pretty great,” Sara said.
Their food arrived. As they ate and made small talk, Bryn ignored the other patrons of the restaurant who seemed to be watching and waiting to see what would happen.
“Should I just stand up and announce that there isn’t going to be a battle so everyone can go back to minding their own business?” Bryn asked.
“No,” her mother and grandmother said in tandem. Again they sounded exactly the same, which made Bryn laugh. “I never noticed the similarities in your mannerisms and some of the things you say,” Bryn said.
“How are things out at Sanctuary?” Marie asked.
“We’re comfortable,” Sara said. “And everyone there seems to be genuinely happy that they no longer have to hide who they are.”
Marie opened her mouth like she planned to say something and then she paused. “There are so many things that I want to say. Questions I want to ask about the path you chose, but this is not the place.”
Uh-oh. It was only natural that her grandmother would be hurt by what her mom had done…running away in the middle of the night…rejecting everything she’d ever been taught about loyalty to the Clan.
“I’m sorry for the pain I caused you,” Sara said. “But if I hadn’t done what I did, Bryn wouldn’t exist.”
“Think of me as a sarcastic consolation prize,” Bryn said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Her grandmother didn’t smile or respond in any manner. Damn. Damn. Damn.
What could she say to appease her grandmother? “Maybe fate is trying to heal this rift by having Jaxon and I marry. The Sinclairs and the Westgates are coming together in a different way than originally intended, but it’s still happening. Does that help?” Bryn asked, hoping she hadn’t laid it on too thick.
“A bit,” her grandmother said. “I suggest we stick to less inflammatory topics for the remainder of this meal.”
Now what? Bryn racked her brain for an interesting topic. “Jaxon likes to read,” she said. “So we’re having reading dates. He brings cookies and milk and we each enjoy our books without talking to one another.”
“A Westgate brings you cookies and milk?” Her mom laughed.
“I’m glad to see you’re finding a way to make the situation work,” her grandmother said.
Was that a slap at her mom?
Her mom didn’t seem to notice, so Bryn decided to ignore it, too.
The rest of lunch was tense, but civil.
After they finished dessert, her grandmother said, “Bryn, why don’t you come back to the house with me? I want to talk to you about the Christmas Ball.”
And that was a pretty clear signal that her mom and dad wouldn’t be invited, which is what her mom had expected and probably preferred. “Sure.”
They exited the restaurant together. All three of them headed over to the corner lot where SUVs waited to drive passengers where they needed to go.
“It was nice seeing you, Mother,” Sara said.
“It was. Over time I think it will become easier,” Marie reached over and touched her daughter on the cheek. Then she dropped her hand and backed up a step. “But I’ll never truly be able to forgive you.”
Wham! Bryn sucked in a breath. It felt like someone had punched her in the gut. From the look on her mom’s face, she felt the same way.
“I understand,” Sara said in a tight voice. “I regret that my actions hurt you, but I don’t, for one second, regret the path I chose.” She put her hand on Bryn’s shoulder. “Hopefully, we’ll come to an understanding that will benefit Bryn.”
“I believe we will. Bryn, I’ll wait by the car while you say goodbye to your mother.” Marie walked over to the black SUV where her regular driver sat waiting for them.
Feeling shell-shocked, Bryn just looked at her mom. “I don’t know what to say.”
Her mom pulled her into a hug. “There’s nothing to say. I knew how this would end before we sat down to lunch, but she still caught me off guard. For now, this is the best happily-ever-after you can expect.”
Bryn released her mom and backed up a step. “We’ll plan a pre-Christmas or a post-Christmas celebration at your cabin.”
“That will work,” her mom said.
Bryn schooled her features into a non-judgmental smile as she joined her grandmother in their car. Her best defense against becoming overly emotional would be to focus on something else. Something her grandmother would be excited about. “So what do you have planned for the Christmas Ball?”
“This year I thought we’d have silver and gold trees rather than the traditional green.”
“Sounds pretty.” Would the trees be made of real silver and gold? “What color ornaments would you use?”
“I’m of two minds. My first thought was to decorate with blue, but then I thought about decorating the gold trees with silver and vice versa.”
“If you go with gold and silver, maybe the stars on top could be blue or have blue in them?”
“That might work. We’ll draw up some samples and see which is more eye-catching.”
Once they were back at the Sinclair Estate, in the atrium, Bryn watched as her grandmother sketched trees decorated with different color combinations. They had avoided any mention of the lunch or her mother and that’s how Bryn wanted to keep it.
“Can we put a tree near Ferrin’s table with a bunch of S’s on it?” Bryn asked.
Her grandmother laughed. “I’m not sure he’d find that amusing, but that does remind me of something. Lillith has asked several times if you and Jaxon planned to move in with them while your estate was being built.”
“Wait.” Bryn held her hand out to signal her grandmother should stop speaking. “I hadn’t planned on thinking about this until I was legally old enough to drink.” Because the idea of living under the same roof as Ferrin was enough to drive anyone to drink.
“There’s something Lillith doesn’t know,” her grandmother said. “It’s something even Ephram doesn’t know.”
Now she was curious. “What?”
“I designed an estate for your mother. I meant to give it to her as a wedding gift.”
“So you drew up plans for their home?” Bryn asked.
“I did,” her grandmother said. “But there’s more to it than that. The estate is partially built. We stopped construction when…when I realized the house would no longer be needed. Right now it’s a shell with a few interior rooms. The plumbing and electricity haven’t been hooked up. There’s no flooring or paint on the walls, but the structure is there. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes.” For several reasons. Not having to live in a house with Ferrin would be the best present ever. Plus knowing that her grandmother had put so much effort and care into something that had sat idle all these years made Bryn’s heart hurt.
“Let’s go.” Her grandmother led her down to the hairpin drive where a car waited for them. She instructed the driver where to go. Five minutes of twists and turns through the forest and Bryn had no idea how far they’d traveled in a straight line when they came upon a house that looked like it belonged someplace sunny. The stone was the color of sand. There were columns along a massive front porch that led to a front door. The structure was at least three stories high and had wings that jutted out diagonally.
“It’s beautiful,” Bryn said. “And you designed it?”
“I did.”
“Can we go inside?”
Rather than answer, her grandmother exited the vehicle. Bryn followed her to the front door, which her grandmother opened with a key. Since there were no curtains on the windows enough natural light filtered in so that Bryn could see the amazing spiral design of the foyer floor. Unlike Sinclair Estate, everything in this house was made of light stone, mixed with off-white and light gray. Veins of silver ran through the floor and the walls.
“It’s amazing. It’s so light and happy.”
“I’d hoped it would help your mother acclimate to her new situation.”
Bryn looked at her grandmother. “You knew how disagreeable Ferrin was and you were trying to help by designing the most pleasant house possible.”
Her grandmother nodded.
The depth of what her grandmother did hit home. “I can’t imagine how hurt you were…and I’m so sorry. I hope I can make up for some of what she did.”
“You have, and I think you will,” her grandmother said. “It means a great deal to me that you understand and appreciate this house. I hope Jaxon agrees to move here.”
Bryn laughed. “This is where I’m going to live, so he better plan on joining me.”
“I considered giving this to you as your Christmas present this year as a surprise but Ephram would be furious if I didn’t tell him about it beforehand, and Ferrin might be insulted if he was caught unaware.”
“The part about insulting Ferrin sounds good,” Bryn said. Should she mention something about how her mom had made the right decision? Even though she felt her mom was in the right, because she wouldn’t exist if things hadn’t worked out this way, she didn’t want to offend her grandmother.
“Something you wanted to say?” her grandmother asked.
Crap. She needed to think of something else fast. “It’s just weird to be thinking about marriage and moving into a house. I’m in my last year of high school and I have at least four years of college in front of me to become a Medic.” A strange thought occurred. “No one has ever mentioned when I’m supposed to get married. I’m guessing after college.”
Her grandmother nodded. “Most dragons marry after they finish their degrees, though some marry before.”
“We’ll be going with the after plan,” Bryn said.
“That will give us plenty of time to finish your new home,” her grandmother said.
Bryn glanced around. “It’s lovely.”
“I’m so glad you like it.” Her grandmother blinked and looked away. “Your mother… she never noticed or recognized the things I tried to do to make her life easier.”
Damn. Damn. Damn. She needed to say something. “I’m sorry for the pain she caused you, but I wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t abandoned ship. And I do see all the nice things you’ve done to help me acclimate to my new life and to the idea of marrying Jaxon and I really do appreciate it.”
“Thank you,” her grandmother said. “Now why don’t we go home and look through some decorating magazines and I’ll take you back to the Institute after dinner.”
“I’d like that.”