House Divided (12 page)

“You always were a smart girl.”

I wanted to reply, “Not smart enough to
follow the rules,” but I refrained. “So …”

His eyes gleamed as he picked up my hand
again. He really needed to quit doing that, but I was still in selfish mode,
and I let him keep it.

“Not too long after my leg broke, things
were getting pretty bleak for the bank, and your aunt’s decision was going to
be the final nail in the coffin. Benjamin had consulted with our daddy, and he
was hell bent against trying to work out an arrangement with your aunt, even if
it meant losing the bank. Benjamin discussed it with me as well, even though I
was still in school.”

He paused and looked directly at me, with
those sweet blue eyes. “Actually, Benjamin and I had been talking a lot about
our two families.”

“Yes, Benjamin had mentioned that too,
well kind of. Kendra had to help him out before we had words.”

Brady laughed. “I would’ve liked to have
seen that.”

“Well, I’m happy it didn’t come to that. I
think I embarrassed myself enough over there last night.”

Brady looked at me funny. “What are you
talking about? Both Benjamin and Kendra said they really enjoyed having you
over.”

I wasn’t going to tell Brady about my
crying episode, especially because it involved him. I just gave him a
half-hearted smile, and thankfully he took it as his cue to finish answering my
questions.

“In light of our conversations, and with
Kendra’s encouragement, he decided he needed to approach your aunt.”

“What did your daddy do?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “We figured it
was better to ask forgiveness than permission. And we knew it was a long shot,
but Benjamin had the genius idea to invite your aunt to dinner. He brought
Kendra along, and thankfully for us, Kendra and your aunt hit it off. Don’t get
me wrong, it still took a lot of convincing, but at least the door had opened,
or more like a window. Your aunt is a shrewd business woman, and she obviously
had some very strong feelings toward my family, especially where you were
concerned. My name was brought into the conversation a lot; well, she just
called me the Jackson boy.”

I started to laugh.

Brady smiled. “She still calls me that.”

I stopped laughing. “Do you talk to her?”

“Not until recently. She was against my
appointment at the bank, but she was overridden by the rest of the board.”

“Wait … Is my aunt on your bank’s board of
directors?”

“Yes, that was part of the deal for her to
keep her money with us. I can’t believe you didn’t know any of this, Ellie.”

I nervously began to twirl my hair. “Yeah,
well … I wanted to ... I wanted to forget Kaysville ever existed.”

He reached up and grabbed my hand that was
twirling my hair, “And now what do you think?”

“I think …”
What do I think? I think
I’m confused.
But I couldn’t tell him that
.

He looked at me so intensely and
hopefully. He was killing me.

“I think I want you to finish your story.”

I disappointed him again. I could see it
in his eyes, but I didn’t know what else to do. As much as I wanted him, I knew
we could never be together.

“Ok, Ellie. I’ve worked at the bank for
four years now, and it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that your aunt would
even acknowledge my existence. During board meetings, I couldn’t direct any
questions or comments toward her, everything went through Benjamin. If she
needed something at the bank and Benjamin was unavailable, she would refuse to
see me—she would either wait or come back. But a couple of months ago, she
marched herself right into my office and shut the door. I’ll admit, she kind of
scared me.”

I could picture it, and I smiled. Brady
smiled back appreciatively.

“What did she want?”

“She wanted to talk about you.”

“With you?”

Brady chuckled. “Yeah, it surprised me
too.”

“So what did she say?”

“She said she had recently come across
some information about the two of us and she wanted to know the whole story.”

“What information?”

“She wouldn’t say.”

“What did she mean by the whole story?”

He laughed again. “She meant the whole
story. She wanted me to start from when I first noticed you, to when I started
liking you.”

I was about to ask why, but he brought his
hand up and rested his palm against my cheek and caressed it with his thumb.
His look was almost my undoing, but his next phrase pushed me to the edge.

“To when I fell in love with you.” His
eyes were alight.

I couldn’t help but stare straight into
those beautiful baby blues. He leaned in closer, and I held my breath and
closed my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. I knew he was going to kiss me there
in the middle of the waiting room, which didn’t bother me. What bothered me was
that I didn’t want to stop him.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to. “Ms. Eaton,”
a nurse called.

I jumped up quickly and tried to gain my
composure. I had almost made a grave error in judgment. I’m not sure I would
have stopped him. Brady stood up as well and took my hand as we walked toward
the nurse calling my name. “The surgery went well,” she informed us.

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“You can go up to the ICU in thirty
minutes as soon as she’s out of recovery.”

My eyes widened at the mention of the ICU.
The nurse explained all bypass recipients stay in the ICU for a couple of days
as a precaution. Ok, that made sense and made me feel better.

When she left, I instinctively turned to
Brady and hugged him. I was so happy. He pulled me as close as he could and he
kissed the top of my head. I was instantly warm. It felt like summertime, but
then I remembered I was an Eaton and he was a Jackson, and our relationship
would have to remain in the throes of winter.

I pulled back. “Thank you for being here
for me today. I’m sure you need to get back to the bank.” It was already late
in the afternoon.

He looked consternated. “I’m not leaving.”

“Brady, my aunt’s going to be ok. Really,
go back to work, get something to eat. It’s ok.”

He tugged on my hair. “Ellie, I’m glad
your aunt is ok, but she’s not the reason I’m here. I’m staying.”

I pulled him to a more private area. “Why
do you have to be so stubborn, Brady Jackson?”

He looked about as serious as I had ever
seen him look. “I told you I wasn’t letting you go without a fight, Ellie, and
I meant it.”

I shook my head. “Brady, please just let
us go. It’s for the best.” I wanted to add in, “You’ve done it before, you can
do it again,” but he didn’t deserve that after all he had done for me today.

“Best for who, Ellie?” He almost sounded
angry, which wasn’t like him at all.

“For everyone,” I said quietly.

He stepped closer and ran his fingers
through my hair. “No, Ellie, it’s not best for me and from what your aunt says,
it’s not best for you either.”

I was stunned by that. “What did she say?”

“I think you should talk to her about
that.”

You bet I’m going to, as soon as she’s
well enough.

He quickly kissed my cheek. “Now go see
your aunt, I’ll be here waiting.”

I wanted to be childish and say, “You
can’t boss me around,” but he wasn’t being bossy, he was being sweet and
sincere like he always had been.

I walked away feeling like I had entered a
parallel universe. Brady and my aunt were talking. I was eating at a Jackson’s house, and I was sitting with Jacksons at church. My aunt was buying Christmas
presents for them. It was all well and good, but there were some things that
hadn’t changed, like his parents hated me and he had promised me forever once
before and then he left me. Sure, I could forgive him for breaking it off with
me for his family’s sake, but then he was going to marry Amber. I didn’t care
that Kendra said he didn’t love her. He had to have loved her. Brady wasn’t the
kind of person to marry someone he didn’t love. 

It didn’t matter, I shouldn’t even be
thinking about it. My aunt was why I was here. I wasn’t here to kindle an old
romance with the man I still loved. Brady would come to see it was really for
the best. Our families could never be united. It would never work.

I quietly entered her room to find her
resting amongst the sounds of monitors and machines. She looked so frail. I
hated seeing her like that. In my mind, she was always young and vibrant, just
like in my books. She was always ready to take on the world or have an
adventure. I knew the day would come when I would realize she wasn’t so young
anymore, but I still wasn’t ready for it. She was my mother, in every sense of
the word that mattered to me. I asked her once if she wanted me to call her
Momma, but she said, “No sugar, aunts are much more fun than mommas,” but I
never doubted that she loved me like a momma.

I gently held her hand from where I sat
next to her, and she began to stir. She was having a hard time opening her
eyes. I quietly told her just to keep them closed and rest.

“I’ll rest when I’m dead, Ella Lu,” she
responded in a weak, raspy voice.

That was when I knew she would be ok. I
began to cry, I was so relieved.

“Tears, Ella Lu?”

“I’m just so sad I’ll have to put that
yacht on hold now that you’ve made it.”

“Are you sassing me, young lady?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You know how I feel about you calling me
ma’am.”

I rose and kissed her forehead. “I know. I
love you, Aunt Lu. How do you feel?”

She tried to look at me, but she was still
having a hard time opening up her eyes and focusing. “I feel like someone cut
my chest open.”

“Oh good, that’s how you should feel since
someone did cut open your chest.”

“As soon as I can open my eyes, you’re
getting the evil one.”

I laughed lightly. “I’m looking forward to
it.”

She actually did open her eyes, I think
just so she could give me the evil one, but regardless, I was happy to see her
deep brown eyes. After she gave me a somewhat evil eye, she looked at me funny.
“You look different.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Well
I’ve been in a hospital waiting room all day.”

“You look beautiful, as always, Ella Lu.
But there’s something different about you.”

I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn’t think
what would be different about me.

“Did something happen today?”

“Yes, something happened, you were rushed
into emergency surgery.”

“Besides that, child.” She was irritated
with me.

I tried to think, and I couldn’t think of
anything. “No, I just spent the day talking to Brady Jackson in the waiting
room.”

“That Jackson boy was here?”

“Is here,” I corrected her.

I saw her crack a small smile, but she
quickly recovered from it. She wasn’t fooling me. Two could play her game. “I
heard what good friends you two are now. Do you want me to go get him so you
can see him?”

“That’s absurd, Ella Lu … You know, I can
barely keep my eyes open, I think it would be best if I just get some rest and
you go home. I’m sure it’s been a long day for you too.”

“How can I leave you like this?”

“Sugar, what can you do? Watch me sleep?’

“Yes.”

My stomach picked another inopportune
moment to growl loudly. It really needed to quit doing that.

“When is the last time you ate, young
lady?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Ella Lu, go home, get something to eat,
and rest. I’ll be more awake tomorrow.”

Then to prove her point, she closed her
eyes. I reluctantly rose. I kissed her cheek. “Don’t think for one second
you’re fooling me.”

She tried not to smile. “I love you more
than air, Ella Lu.”

I walked out to the nurses’ station and
made sure they had my cell phone number. I told them to call me at any time. I
also got their number so I could call and check on her frequently.

As I walked back to the waiting room, I
still felt like I was in that parallel universe. Or maybe I was the one that
had surgery and I was in some bizarre dream in my sleep induced coma. I stopped
by the ladies room one more time and said a silent prayer of thanks. Then I
looked in the mirror and asked myself silently what I was going to do about the
man in the waiting room. This rodeo was becoming more challenging. I took
several deep breaths and then I reapplied my lipstick and saddled up. I walked
back out into the arena.

Brady sat there waiting for me. The way
his eyes lit up when he saw me wasn’t helping me stay securely in the saddle. I
forced myself not to smile. He stood up and walked straight to me, looking
determined to unseat me. But I was determined too.

“Is everything ok with your aunt?”

“Yes, other than she keeps dismissing me.”

“So, are you ready to go?”

“Yes, thanks again for everything today.
Maybe I’ll see you around.”

I turned to walk toward the elevator.
Brady wasn’t having it. I knew he wouldn’t, but I had to try.

He kept pace with me nicely and reached for
my hand. There were too many people around for me to pull away from him. I
wouldn’t embarrass him like that. He grinned at me. He knew me too well. On the
elevator, I refused to look at him, but I knew he was looking at me. I could
feel it. Before we reached the ground floor, he leaned over. “Ellie, you’re so
pretty when you try to ignore me.”

I was ready to turn and look up at him
with my icy glare, but he had the sweetest, sappiest smile on his face and I
just couldn’t. I couldn’t help but smile back at the fool, but I did shake my
head at him. As we walked off the elevator, he leaned in again. “You’re even
prettier when you smile at me.”

I lightly elbowed him.

He chuckled.

As soon as we made it to the parking lot
and were alone, I tried to let go, but he anticipated. He pulled me to him and
wrapped his arms around me.

“Let go of me, Brady Jackson.”

“Ellie Eaton, I have no intention of ever
letting you go again, and I’ll pick you up and throw you over my shoulder if I
have to.”

“You would do no such thing.”

“That sounds like a challenge, darlin’.”

“Don’t you dare, Brady! I’ll scream.”

“Even better,” he said as he scooped me up
without any effort and threw me over his shoulder. He apparently still worked
out like an athlete. I could feel his muscles, which kind of made me forget
that I was completely furious with him for taking such liberties with me.

“Brady Jackson, put me down! I’m not
seventeen anymore and I’m not your girlfriend!”

“No, you’re definitely not seventeen
anymore,” he responded salaciously. “The last ten years have done your body
good. You filled out quite nicely. And as far as you being my girlfriend,
that’s just a technicality I plan on fixing.”

“I can’t believe you just said that. Does
your momma know you talk like that?”

Thankfully, we had gotten to his truck by
this point. He opened the passenger side door and placed me inside. I sat
there, only because I didn’t want him to pick me up again, but I had no
intention of staying there.

He leaned into the truck to where our
faces were inches apart. I felt extremely warm all of a sudden, even though it
was quite nippy out. “By the way, maybe you noticed that I’m not seventeen
anymore either …”

Boy did I ever, especially this close up.

“And I don’t care if my momma knows that I
think you’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

I rolled my eyes. His country boy charm
and flattery were getting him nowhere.

He reached up and ran the back of his hand
along my cheek. I used to love it when he did that. Ok, I still did.

“Ellie, I mean it. You’re more than
beautiful.”

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” I
pushed him back. This was way too cozy, and I didn’t care what he said, this
wasn’t just a technicality.

He held my hand to his chest as I tried to
push him away. He gave me the ‘what am I going to do with you?’ look.

“Brady, I need to go.”

He didn’t budge. “I know you must be
starving, let’s go to dinner.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to give you the wrong
impression, and honestly, I need to get some more clothing. I hadn’t planned on
being here this long.”

He smirked. “I heard you were staying
through the holidays.”

“Kendra apparently has a big mouth.”

He took my hand that he was holding
against his chest, pulled it up and kissed my palm. I just shook my head at
him. He wasn’t making this easy on me.

“How about this, I’ll let you pretend as
much as you want that you don’t want me back while we eat dinner and shop
together,” he said sweetly.

I looked at him with sincerity. “Brady …”
I didn’t know what to say. Just because you wanted something, didn’t mean it
should happen. Yes, I wanted him, but I knew it would only bring a world of
trouble. And how could I ever fully trust him again?

He kissed my hand one more time. “Great,
now that that’s settled.” He quickly shut the door and ran around to the
driver’s side.

I just sat there, not sure what I should
do. There was a war going on inside my head and my heart. My inaction, and his
baby blues and warm lips were a lethal combination. As soon as he climbed in,
my brain started functioning somewhat. “Brady, I can’t just leave my car here.”

“Don’t worry, darlin’, we’ll come back for
it.”

Well I
was
worried. Not about the
car. I couldn’t care less about it at the moment, other than it was a means to
get away from Brady. I just sighed heavily and ran my fingers through my hair
and turned toward the window. I felt very out of control.