15. Chapter 15
Sienna carried the picnic basket into the house and took a deep breath.
Was it bad that she had basically told John he was stuck with her?
But there was something about that lonely male that called to her.
Those gray-blue eyes that teased so many hidden emotions.
Yes, he was frustrating, but he was also a kindred soul.
They had both lost their parents. She had her brother step in to raise her and he, his grandfather.
Responsibility for the curse weighed on his shoulders, much like the duty she felt daily as clan leader.
She set the basket on the kitchen counter, Marilyn turning from her spot at the sink. “Did he like the chicken and dumplings?”
“Very much. Thank you so much for making it.”
A few minutes later Sienna headed to the office. When she walked inside, she was greeted with not only Ryan typing on his computer, but Megan and Tessa working on the whiteboards.
“Did we have a meeting scheduled that I missed?” Sienna asked.
Tessa turned and plopped her hands on her hips, which normally was a preface for some sort of scolding. “I came to talk to you about Operation Befriend a Grump, and Ryan told me you were at the cabin with John already. I told you I had an idea to help.”
Heat bubbled in Sienna’s chest. “I’m not trying to trick John into friendship, Tessa. This isn’t about some sort of agenda about the curse,” she snapped.
Both Ryan and Megan gaped at her outburst.
Tessa’s eyes widened and she dropped her hands from her hips. “I never said it was. And I never suggested you become his friend to use him. I just know how stubborn he is about letting anyone close. I was only trying to help.”
Sienna took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know that.”
“I take it the meeting didn’t go well?” Megan asked.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Ryan shut his laptop. “So what would you say?”
Were they seriously ganging up on her? “It was an interesting conversation.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t just blurt out you wanted to be his friend, did you?”
“Not exactly.”
“The suspense is killing me. Come on, spit it out,” Tessa demanded.
“He declared that he was better off on his own. And…I told him that was bullshit and he better get used to having me around because I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Tessa clapped her hands together. “Oh, to be a fly on the wall during that conversation!”
Megan’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “How did John respond?”
“Did he glare, grunt, and growl?” Tessa asked.
“There was no glaring, grunting, or growling. He just sat there staring at me.”
Tessa blinked. “Maybe you broke him?”
“Or maybe you broke through to him,” Ryan added before exchanging looks with Tessa and Megan.
Sienna held up her hands. “There has been no breaking of any kind.”
Tessa pulled out something from her pocket. “Lily made these for you and Unka Gumpy.”
“Tessa,” Sienna groaned.
“You were the one who gave me the idea. It’s not to manipulate him. Lily’s been obsessed with friendship bracelets since we bought her that kit. I thought they could be icebreakers for you, but apparently the ice has been, dare I say it again…broken.”
Sienna shook her head. There was no sense arguing with her. Tessa was powerful on her own, but with Megan and Ryan backing her up, Sienna didn’t stand a chance.
The office phone rang, and Ryan answered it, his eyes widening. “Yes, John.” He started jotting down some things on a pad of paper. “Okay. Anything else? Right.”
“What was that about?” Tessa asked before Sienna could.
“That was John calling to give me a list of groceries he needed, because, and I quote, ‘I can make my own food,’ end quote.”
Sienna gritted her teeth. She’d left him less than fifteen minutes ago.
He was playing hardball. Well, two could play that game.
She was surrounded by a group of stubborn males, including her best friend.
If John thought she would back down, he was sadly mistaken.
She walked over to the phone intercom and clicked the button for the kitchen.
“Hello, Marilyn. I think more care packages are in order for our guest. Could you put a couple meals together for me to deliver tomorrow?”
“Of course. I’ll add some desserts too.”
“Thank you.” Sienna hung up. John must have thought she was bluffing earlier. He would find out soon that she never said something she didn’t mean.
The following afternoon, Sienna parked near the cabin and unfastened the seat belt from around the cooler in the seat beside her.
She hadn’t texted John to let him know she was coming like she did yesterday for fear he would tell her no.
Now that she was there, she was afraid surprising him was a mistake.
Considering the fact the last surprise visit John had, had resulted in him blowing up his own cabin, maybe she shouldn’t have been so impetuous.
Before she could text him, he opened the door and came outside, crossing his arms. He might as well be holding a sign that said go away.
Pointing at the cooler, she smiled. “When Marilyn found out how much you liked the chicken and dumplings, she boxed up a few more meals for you. There are some desserts in there too. And I also brought the groceries you requested.”
He glared for a moment, and she scrunched her eyebrows down and glared right back at him.
She hadn’t been afraid of him before, and his prickly exterior wasn’t going to scare her off now.
He sighed, dropped his arms, and crossed the small yard to grab the cooler.
Sienna picked up the bag from behind her seat to bring in the items that didn’t need to be refrigerated.
She held the cabin door for him as he carried the cooler inside and set it on the table.
Sienna unloaded the loaf of bread, box of pasta, and container of oatmeal from the bag while John started to unload milk, eggs, and other items that he placed in the refrigerator.
Sienna reached into the cooler and pulled out the boxed meals.
“Marilyn sent you lasagna, pork chops and scalloped potatoes, and her famous chili and cornbread.”
She held them out to John, who stared at her for a moment before finally taking them from her and placing them in the refrigerator. “Didn’t Ryan tell you I said I don’t need meals?”
She shrugged. “He mentioned it.”
John frowned. “Marilyn didn’t have to make all of that for me.”
“Don’t feel too special. The lasagna is left over from last night’s house meal, and the pork chops were left from the guards’ dinner.”
“And the chili?”
“Today’s lunch.”
“Glad you didn’t let it go to my head.”
Sienna smiled. “That’s what I’m here for. I do have something that was made for you.” She held up her arm to show him the two beaded bracelets around her wrist. She pulled off the bigger bracelet and held it out to him.
He froze like she was handing him a snake.
“It won’t bite. It’s from Lily.”
He took the bracelet from her and examined it. There were beads with letters that spelled out his name and others with various designs. Hearts, swirls, and dots decorated the colorful beads. She held up her arm and twisted it back and forth. “I have one too. It’s a friendship bracelet.”
She watched his face closely. It softened for a moment, and then Grizzly John came back into play.
“You give these to your friends,” he said more as a statement than a question.
“Oh yeah. These are from a kit. She loves making them. And they get more elaborate as the kids get older. They can use different threads and weave them. It’s a whole thing.”
He wrapped his hand around the bracelet for a moment before putting it in his pocket. “Tell Lily thank you.”
“You could tell her yourself,” she said.
And resting grinch face had returned. “I would think Ryan could have delivered the groceries. I’m sure you have plenty to do.”
He was so prickly and for some reason that just made her all the more determined. “I’m busy, but Ryan is adamant about me taking a break. He actually builds it into my schedule. I would forget to eat if he didn’t pester me.”
John frowned. “Did you eat today?”
Was he actually worried about her? And why did that make her chest warm? “Yes. No one misses Marilyn’s chili.”
He nodded and then started walking to the door.
His not too subtle hint that it was time for her to go?
She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I wanted to show you this too.” She clicked on her gallery and brought up a picture of one of Megan’s whiteboards.
“Megan has been putting together a timeline of your notes. This is only one of three boards she is filling up.”
John took the phone from her and expanded the picture. “She has been busy. I would think she would be done with the journals soon.”
Her heart sped up. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I can be on my way.”
“I thought we’d come to an understanding?” Sienna’s stomach dropped. “You don’t have to leave here. We can figure this out together.”
“I agreed to stay and show you my journals and share what I know. I’ve done that. And now the Templars are back again, more than likely watching your compound because of me.”
She scrambled for words. “That just means we need to work faster to figure all of this out, right? I’m sure Megan is going to have more questions for you.”
“Has Adam had any response from Mia?”
What was it with him ignoring her questions by asking ones of his own? “No. He’s posted messages to her in the chat group they used previously with no luck.”
“Maybe the problem is that the wrong person is reaching out to her? If she doesn’t trust Adam any longer, maybe she would trust Megan. She was her student and she knew her from before. What if she posted some messages in the chat?”
“That’s a good idea.” She held up her hands. “If you can be patient and stay awhile longer, I’m sure we can figure this out.”
He scowled. “I don’t need a lecture about patience. It’s been a little over two years since you all realized the curse was real. I have been dealing with it for centuries.”
She took a deep breath. “Fair enough. But I would think you want this to be over with. Come to dinner at the main house tomorrow night. We’ll talk through everything we have after dinner, and you can see the boards.
And before you say no, it will only be me and the girls.
The designer Tessa works for has an up-and-coming artist who is singing tomorrow night at one of the big bars in downtown Nashville.
Tessa is going to make sure her outfit is good to go.
And Tessa being Tessa, decided to make a night of it and invited Adam, Megan, and Eric along for dinner and the show.
” The longer she babbled on, the more his frown deepened.
“The girls would love to see you. Call me or the office number and I’ll have someone come get you around five.
We’ll eat at five thirty. The girls will go to bed early, and then we can talk. Does that sound like a plan?”
“Don’t you need to get back to work?”
Another question instead of an answer. Her inner voice had a few choice answers for him, but she bit her tongue. She had pushed enough for one day.