Brynna (Stone Society) - Faith Gibson Page 0,13

was the one Brynna wore before his coronation, to their parents’ chagrin. It wasn’t the only one she’d kept over the years, but it was her favorite with its silver sparkles. The clothes were over a century old, but she’d managed to preserve them in tightly sealed bags, carrying them everywhere she went, contrary to what she’d told Banyan. They were just getting acquainted after so much time apart, and she didn’t know how he would feel about the life she’d lived on her own.

Fanning through her wardrobe, Brynna touched on various articles she held a fondness for. Other outfits, like the chaps she’d worn during her gun-toting days spent with Annie, hadn’t made the cut. While they had been appropriate for her time spent with the sharpshooter, they weren’t practical for anywhere else she lived afterward. The flapper dresses weren’t practical, either, but she adored them. Brynna was a sucker for a nice dress, no matter the style. She might be a Gargoyle princess who could wield a sword with the best of them, but she was deeply in touch with her feminine side, and it showed in the ways she dressed, wore her hair, and kept her nails painted. Some hair styles were reminiscent of a Viking shieldmaiden with lots of braids and beads. Others were fancy updos most women only wore to parties. Before she met Travis, Brynna had nothing but time on her hands to watch online tutorials and try her hand at whatever caught her fancy.

Now, she still had plenty of time for such things, but she chose to focus on how to make her mate happy. She spent her days watching cooking videos instead of hair instructions. She knew all his favorite foods and tried to replicate fancier versions so he never had to eat the same dish too often. Brynna was a quick study when she put her mind to something.

As fashion changed, Brynna tried to embrace the styles, but she hated most of the prim and proper long skirts. The fifties were the worst. Then the seventies happened. While a lot of women were into bell-bottom jeans, Brynna fell in love with the crazy prints of the short dresses with long, flowing sleeves. She even wore the matching scarves. White, patent-leather boots completed the look. She had bought a few shiny, silver pantsuits for when she went dancing because she didn’t want to show her ass. Literally. It was also during that decade when her love for motorcycles came about.

Brynna cringed thinking about the massive shoulder pads and high-waisted “mom” jeans of the eighties. Her life had been more than fashion, but clothes really did make for a good or bad attitude. There were none of those to be found in her closet. Now, her clothes were a mixture of practical items as well as all kinds of dresses which made her happy. Eyeing one of the retro minis reminiscent of the seventies, Brynna decided that was what she would wear the next day because why not?

Travis couldn’t get Brynna’s words out of his head. “I don’t want to hurt him.” What truth did Banyan think Travis needed to hear? Nothing he came up with was good, and he’d come up with so many scenarios it gave him a headache before he’d drifted off to sleep. When he woke the next morning, his mind picked right back up with trying to figure out what Brynna needed to admit. While he was in the shower, those thoughts kept his brain occupied where usually he would take care of his morning erection.

The shower should have at least helped clear his head, but he was still grumpy and unsure of how to act. Did he pretend he hadn’t overheard her comment? Or did he meet Brynna head on and demand to know the truth? If it was as bad as he feared, his trip to Norway could be cut short, and Travis wasn’t ready to go home. He had promised himself to use the trip to put Rachel’s memory behind him. He would always love her, but living in the past wouldn’t bring her back.

Maybe Brynna didn’t want him there after all. His best course of action was to get the plans for the new house together as quickly as possible, then head home. If he wasn’t around Brynna, she couldn’t hurt him. After getting dressed, Travis grabbed his laptop and decided working on the plans for Banyan and Uri’s house would hopefully take his