“Brady,” I sighed. “What are you doing here?”
He looked me over in my old jeans and shirt, he probably recognized them. Then I realized he had the cutest little ginger-haired girl with him.
“Well, I was telling my niece that her favorite author was in town, and she insisted that we come over and meet her.”
I looked down at her sweet little expectant face. I was being blackmailed again, this time by what I would guess to be a five year old and her uncle.
I smiled at her. “What’s your name, sugar?”
She grinned widely and revealed a missing front tooth. She was darling. “I’m Caroline Jackson.”
Oh, so she wasn’t from his wife’s side, but that meant one of Brady’s brothers had had an oops. Brady was the baby by a long shot. Did that mean that Brady wasn’t really married? Not that it mattered, we couldn’t be together regardless. There were rules after all, and he had proven Jackson men couldn’t be trusted.
“Well, Caroline Jackson, would you like to come in?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I loved her manners. “You can call me Miss Elle.”
“But Uncle Brady said you liked to be called Miss Ellie.”
I gave him the evil eye; he in return gave me that country boy smile. I sweetly looked at her. “Did he now?”
She shook her head yes. I led them into the drawing room.
She sat down with her uncle on the velvet covered couch and I took the chaise.
Brady looked way too happy sitting there. He just kept staring at me.
“So, Caroline, what else has your uncle told you about me?”
Excitement broke out across her sweet face. “He told me that you are the nicest and prettiest person he’s ever met and that you like Auburn just like me and my mommy.”
“Sugar, did you just say Auburn?”
Confused, I looked at Brady. Surely I heard her wrong, no Jackson liked Auburn.
“Yes, Miss Ellie. War Eagle!” she replied to my ever living surprise.
Brady looked down lovingly at Caroline, and then he looked at me with that same sweet gaze. I had to remind myself I hated him.
“Ellie, Caroline’s daddy is Benjamin, and he and her momma were married just over six years ago. Her momma’s name is Kendra, and she’s an Auburn graduate.”
Whoa, that was a lot to take in. I wondered what had happened to Miss Teen USA, the one Benjamin had been married to. And why in the world was he married to an Auburn woman?
“Do your parents know?” I tried to keep the edge out of my voice when I asked.
Brady laughed. “Of course they know. I told you things have changed.”
I doubt they had changed that much. She was probably like Miss Universe or something, so they made an exception, and I guarantee her last name hadn’t been Eaton.
I turned my attention back to my little admirer. “How old are you, Caroline?”
“I’m five and I’m in kindergarten and Uncle Brady says I go to the same school you went to.”
“You live in Kaysville?”
She shook her head yes. I looked at Brady again.
“Benjamin is the President of the bank now.”
Maybe I should have talked to my aunt more about Kaysville.
My stomach then picked the inopportune moment and growled loudly. How embarrassing. “Excuse me. I was just about to get something to eat when you came over.”
“You can cook now?” Brady teased.
I’m sure he remembered my disastrous attempts at trying to make him cookies a time or two. Of course he was sweet enough to eat them and pretend he loved them.
“No … I was hoping Doris left something for me.”
Brady looked at me sweetly. “I was going to take Caroline for pizza after we left here. Come with us.”
Caroline’s face lit up as she jumped up. “Please, please, please!”
I looked at her sweet face and then at her uncle’s and then I remembered Eatons and Jacksons don’t mix. “I wish I could, but I have three trees to decorate tonight.”
“Aww,” Caroline sighed.
Brady’s handsome face mischievously grinned. “Caroline, I think we should order pizza and help Miss Ellie decorate her trees. What do you think?” he asked her.
No, no, no. Brady Jackson was not going to be helping me do anything.
She ran over to me. “Could we?” she asked so sweetly and innocently.
I looked at Brady, who was still grinning mischievously, and then I looked back at that sweet, toothless grin. I will not let them stay, I don’t care how cute she is. I will not succumb. “Of course, sugar.”
She wrapped her tiny little arms around me, and I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Brady winked at me as I smirked at him. I still hated him.
Chapter Four
Brady whipped out his mobile phone, dialed the local pizzeria and placed an order. He ordered my favorites, ham and pineapple pizza and their homemade cinnamon sticks. Why did he have to be so sweet? I felt his gaze on me the whole time.
“Please deliver it to the Eaton’s place,” I heard him say, and then he paused. “Yes, I said the Eaton’s place.”
I cringed. I knew things hadn’t changed. They were probably calling his momma and daddy right now, and they would probably be calling him soon to tell him to leave and to get their granddaughter as far away from me as he could. I looked over to him, and he just smiled like everything was ok. But it wasn’t ok. There was no turning back now, what’s done is done. The whole town would know by tomorrow I was in town and was already fraternizing with the enemy.
I took Caroline to the foyer and showed her all the blue and orange ornaments, boy was she excited. She looked around and grinned. “Is this the floor in your books that Aunt Calliope and Jane slide on?”
I shook my head yes. “Uh huh.” I smiled at her. “Do you want to try?”
She quickly took off her shoes. I held her tiny hand and then we ran and slid, just like Aunt Lu and I had done when I was her age.
She giggled as we slid and then stopped. “Again,” she said loudly.
We did it again, but this time Brady came out in the foyer at the wrong moment. We slid right into him. I grabbed onto Caroline to save her from falling onto the hard marble floor, and Brady held onto me to save me from the same fate. I got a familiar, warm and fuzzy feeling.
He held me tight and pulled on my hair. “Ellie.”
I pulled away immediately, even though every part of me wanted nothing more than to stay in his arms. This was wrong. I wouldn’t break the rules again. I backed away and quickly agreed to Caroline’s request to do it again. Brady just stood motionless for a moment. I could feel his stares. I was grateful his niece was with us. It kept me from doing something I would regret, like falling right back into his arms on purpose.
We slid a couple of more times with Brady joining us, but I made sure to keep Caroline between us. The further I stayed away from him, the better. After our fun, we began decorating the Auburn tree. I smiled at the razzing Caroline gave her uncle about how much better Auburn was than Alabama this year. They had just recently creamed Alabama in the Iron Bowl. It was so weird to hear a Jackson say, “War Eagle” not just once, but several times over. Of course Brady had to throw in a few “Roll Tides” to which Caroline and I both rolled our eyes at. I wasn’t sure that particular phrase had ever been used in this house.
Soon the pizza arrived, and I let Brady answer the door; I wasn’t in the mood to see anyone from town anyway. I’m sure they were shocked to see a Jackson open the Eaton’s door. We ate picnic-style in front of the fireplace. Brady started a fire while we girls ate. During our picnic, Caroline told me all about herself. She liked to draw, play soccer, she loved my books of course, and she wanted to grow up to be a waitress at Sonic because then she could roller skate all day. And she loved her Uncle Brady because he was the best uncle ever. I had no doubt he was. I was surprised she didn’t talk about the pageants I’m sure she had already bee
n in. I bet her momma and grandma had already begun her schooling on how to be a beauty queen.
As we ate, I looked at the scene before me, and oddly this was the most fun I had had in a long time. I hadn’t laughed and smiled this much in forever. Brady had been more than my boyfriend, he had been the best friend I had ever had, and tonight I felt like I had that back, even if it was just for the evening. We finished dinner up and went right back to work on the Auburn tree. The white tree in the family room was next, because I saved my favorite for last.
Before we started on the drawing room tree, Caroline had conked out. It was awfully late. Thankfully, it was Friday night and not a school night.
I looked at the sleeping angel and wished for things I shouldn’t. “You should probably take her home. I can finish the last tree by myself,” I told Brady.
He insisted on staying, so I got Caroline a blanket and wrapped her up on the couch. He called his brother to tell him he would just keep her for the night. He didn’t mention where he was. That didn’t surprise me.
Brady helped me carefully unwrap the delicate ornaments, and he helped me string the lights. We kept touching each other’s hands in the process, and I was feeling plenty warm.
“So, what’ve you been doing these last ten years?” he asked.
What did I say to that? Unfortunately, I had spent too much of that time trying to get over him. “You know, graduating from college and traveling, and of course writing.”
He had just hung a handcrafted nutcracker that my aunt had purchased in Russia when he turned to look at me. “I’m so proud of you. When your first book came out two years ago, I wasn’t surprised at all. I remember all the short stories you used to write and read to me down by the river bank.”
Oh … I did too, but I couldn’t respond to that. It was too painful. “How did you end up at the bank?” I asked to try and divert the conversation. And I was actually curious. I don’t ever remember that being part of his plans.
“Well, after I broke my leg, the NFL was out of the question.” He looked at me as if to confirm that I knew about his injury. I think everyone in the state knew about that injury, but I’ll never forget seeing him hurt and how I ached.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get your dream of playing in the NFL.”
He shook his head slightly. “The NFL wasn’t my dream, just my favorite career choice.”
His tone and admission surprised me. He sounded like he had come to terms with it, but I could tell there was some regret there.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Benjamin convinced me to come work for him, so I ended up with a Master’s degree in finance.”
“Speaking of Benjamin … Is it ok if I ask how he ended up back here and married to an Auburn graduate?
The sparkle in Brady’s eyes returned. “Well, let’s just say Miss Teen USA emptied their bank account and ran off with the Miss Virginia organizer.”
Ouch.
“Benjamin moved back over seven years ago and took over my daddy’s position at the bank. His wife, Kendra, used to be my physical therapist.”
“You let an Auburn woman touch you?”
He peeked around the tree and looked at my jersey. “I’m actually partial to Auburn women.”
“And yet you chose one from Alabama?” I shouldn’t have said it, but part of me wanted him to know how much he hurt me.
“Ellie …”
The tree was done by then. “I’m sorry, Brady, it’s late.” I looked over at Caroline. “You should probably get her back to your momma and daddy’s”
“I have my own home, Ellie. You should come out some time and take a look, you would love it. It’s out by the lake, and I have a tire swing.”
I looked at him thoughtfully, the offer was so tempting. “I don’t think so, Brady. I’m only here until my aunt gets better. Thank you for tonight. I wish you the best.”
“I’m sorry, Ellie.” He reached out to tug on my hair, but I stepped back before he could.
Dejected, he turned and walked over to Caroline. He began to remove the blanket.
“Don’t worry about the blanket. I don’t want her to get cold.”
He picked her up, and I rested her shoes on top of the blanket.
“Please tell Caroline when she wakes up how much I enjoyed meeting her and I hope she has a Merry Christmas.”
“I will.”
“I hope you have a Merry Christmas too, Brady.”
He looked at me with downcast eyes. “Merry Christmas, Ellie.”
I watched him walk out the door, and I watched as he gently placed Caroline in his truck and buckled her in. She didn’t even stir. I remembered when we used to daydream together about all of the kids we would have. We even named them. It seems so silly now.
Brady turned and waved to me. I waved back and shut the door. I leaned against it and slid down and sat on the floor and cried. I needed to get out of Kaysville as soon as possible. Aunt Lu needed to have her angioplasty and recover soon. If not, I was in real danger of never being able to recover from Brady Jackson.
The next morning I dressed carefully once again. It was another reminder of why I needed to get out of this place. I loved my Aunt Lu, but I would have preferred sweat pants and a sweatshirt on a Saturday instead of a cashmere sweater, jeans, and heeled boots. I knew she wouldn’t like the jeans, but I was feeling a little rebellious, and she deserved it for not warning me about Brady.
When I entered her room, she was all propped up like the Queen of Sheba. She was something else. She smiled at me, but then looked at my jeans. “Jeans, Ella Lu?”
“Good morning to you too,” I said as I kissed her cheek.
“Did you get the Christmas trees decorated?”
“Yes, Aunt Lu and I signed all of the paperwork at the bank and they have the power of attorney. So, will you please schedule your procedure now?”
“What about the Christmas gifts and cards?”
I reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “Aunt Lu, I will get all of those things done, but you’re a ticking time bomb, you need to have that procedure scheduled. Please do this for me.”
She squeezed back. “All in good time, Ella Lu.”
What did that even mean? This was serious.
“How did it go at the bank yesterday?”
I didn’t like the way she just dismissed me and changed the subject, but I knew there was no sense in pushing her.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Brady Jackson was the Vice President there?”
Her eyes gleamed. “Did you see him?” She sounded almost excited about that prospect. That was very odd.
“Of course I saw him.”
“What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened? I signed the paperwork like you asked me to. What was supposed to happen?”
“Well, it’s been a long time since you’ve seen each other.”
I wondered if I should tell her about him coming over. I supposed I better, I’m sure it would get back to her anyway. I sighed heavily. “Honestly, he brought his niece over unexpectedly to the house last night and we had dinner together and they helped me decorate the trees.” I looked over to see her reaction, which was quite the opposite of what I expected, but I quickly threw in, “But don’t worry, I know the rules and we won’t be seeing each other again.”
She looked at me thoughtfully and didn’t say a word, but it was like I could see the gears in her mind working. She really was behaving oddly this morning.
“Did you know about Benjamin and his wife?”
She wickedly grinned. I took that as a yes.
“You know you should have warned me.”
“I remember someone once telling me she never wanted to talk about Kaysville,” she chided me.
I just shrugged my shoulders. I knew she was right.
“What are your plans for the day?” she asked.
“My plans are to stay at the hospital with you.” Why was that even a question?
“Nonsense,
child, it’s Christmas time and there are things to be done, and you sitting here isn’t going to help me one bit.”
That hurt a little. “You don’t want me here?”
“Ella Lu, I love you more than air, but there is shopping and preparations to be done. Oh, and I need you to go to the bank today and make a deposit for me.”
I looked at her, dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you give it to me yesterday?”
“It slipped my mind.”
She reached for her purse and handed me a fairly large check. Who carries that kind of money around in their purse?
“Aunt Lu!”
She just smiled. “You better hurry, the bank closes at one on Saturdays, and I also need you to get twenty brand new one hundred dollar bills for some of the cards I’m sending out.”
“Anything else?” I couldn’t keep the sass out of my voice.
“You’re going to church tomorrow, right?”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Ella Lu, the Good Lord expects you in church.”
“I didn’t bring church clothes.” Like that settled the matter.
“Well I guess you better pick some up while you shop today. But make sure you go to the bank first.”
“You do realize I’m an adult, right?”
She smiled at me patronizingly. I just took the dang check out of her hand and kissed her goodbye.
Have I mentioned how much I hated being in Alabama? Two days in a row at that dang bank! I walked in, and once again all eyes were on me. I walked up to the youngest teller; I was hoping she wouldn’t have clue who I was. I had already noticed some of the unkind glances of some of the older women. I wanted to yell again, “Don’t worry I’m not in here to touch your precious Brady!”
The teller was kind when she spoke to me, so I was right.
“I need to make a deposit,” I informed her, “but I don’t have the account number with me.”
“No problem,” she replied. “All I need is your ID to look it up.”
I gladly handed over my driver’s license.
She, at once, began to look it up, but after a moment she glanced up worriedly. “I’m sorry Ms. Eaton, I don’t have any record of you having an account here.”
House Divided Page 5