Loving the Right Brother

by Marie Ferrarella

  Thickened eyebrows drew together as Ursula took in what was being said. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

  Because he knew that Irena hated to take credit for good deeds, Brody answered for her. “She’s going to make a car dealer tear up a contract he’d written in bad faith and get him to give a man his money back.”

  The sound of Ursula’s throaty laugh echoed through the front room. She stopped when she saw the expression on Irena’s face. “You’re serious?”

  Irena nodded. “Very.”

  Her response drew a very pleased smile from Ursula. The older woman patted her on the arm. “Yuri never mentioned that you were a scrapper. You go, girl,” she urged. Then, glancing at her watch, she announced, “Well, I’d better woman my post.” Ursula, apparently, resented the idea of having to “man” her post, Irena thought, amused.

  Almost an hour later, she and Brody finally arrived at the air terminal. As they crossed the field and approached the tiny office, Irena saw Kevin emerge. He met them halfway.

  “Got your plane all gassed up and ready to go,” he called out to her. “And I’ll only charge you just what it costs me for the gas, seeing as how you’re championing one of our own.”

  Caught off guard, Irena stared at Kevin. “How did you—”

  Grinning, he answered her question with a single word. “Ursula.”

  Irena shook her head. The woman had been in her company less than an hour ago. How did she manage to spread the word so quickly? “She’s better than a newspaper.”

  “Much better,” Kevin assured her. They had all learned to have a healthy respect for the older woman’s ability to retrieve and disseminate information. “You have to read a newspaper. By the end of the day—if not before—everyone in Hades will have heard the story of how you took on a used car salesman and got one of the tribal elders his money back for him.”

  If she managed to accomplish that. She was fairly certain of her method, but nothing was guaranteed. Irena blew out a breath.

  “No pressure here,” she murmured quietly to herself—or thought she did.

  “No more than you put on yourself,” Brody interjected.

  She turned to Brody. The man had a knack of reading her mind. She’d forgotten about that. “Let’s go, Sancho.”

  “You don’t have a beard and mustache, not to mention that you’re definitely the wrong gender and age to be Don Quixote.”

  “Picky, picky, picky,” she chided with a laugh as she fell into step behind Kevin as he escorted them back across the field to his plane.

  Phil’s last name turned out to be Daily. His warm greeting and two-hundred-watt smile faded instantly when he realized that the young couple on his lot had no intention of buying any of his “pre-owned” vehicles and had, instead, come about one of his recent sales.

  He obviously had a sharp mind given to retaining an endless amount of details. He seemed to recall the transaction in question the moment he was shown the sales receipt. He shook his head, as if suppressing his annoyance over Irena’s polite request for reimbursement.

  “Currently, the truck is at a garage in Hades where it was towed. To get it up and running would cost more than the truck is worth.” She’d checked with June about that before she’d taken off. “I can give you the address and you can make arrangements to bring it back to your lot—if you want to go through that trouble.”

  “Why would I take a truck that’s not mine?” Phil asked innocently. And then his manner grew slightly more belligerent. “That sale was final.” He glanced down at the receipt. “Mr. Fox knew what he was getting.”

  Irena took exception. She hated people who took advantage of others with a passion. “I doubt very much if Mr. Fox knew he was getting a truck whose engine was on its way out and whose starter had only a few more ‘starts’ left in it before it stopped living up to its name.”

  Daily shrugged indifferently, dismissing the truck’s shortcomings. “Not my problem.”

  The salesman started to leave his small office. Brody rose from his seat and silently placed his hand on the other man’s chest, his meaning clear. Daily wasn’t going anywhere until this was resolved to Irena’s satisfaction. Anger colored the salesman’s face, but he remained where he was, no doubt recognizing his folly.

  “Oh, but I think it is your problem,” Irena informed him in a quiet, firm voice. Having Brody with her made this a great deal easier, she thought. Otherwise, she had a feeling she would have had to follow Daily around the lot as she made her point.

  Daily scowled at her, grudgingly returning to his desk. He sat down, but he was still very defiant. “And just how do you figure that?” he demanded. “The law’s on my side.”

  “The law might be,” she allowed in the same easy cadence, noting with satisfaction that it was getting under the salesman’s skin, “but it’ll do you precious little good if the customers aren’t.”

  Daily glared at her, ignoring Brody’s presence. “And how do you propose to do that? You going to picket the lot?” he sneered.

  “Only as a last resort. I don’t imagine people are liable to do business with a dealership that preys on old, unsophisticated, trusting people, taking their money and leaving them literally stranded. Mr. Fox could have froze to death if we hadn’t happened along when we did.”

  Okay, it was an exaggeration, she silently admitted, but it made her point and she wasn’t above embellishing if it meant a victory for the old man.

  Irena moved forward on her chair, her body tensing as she made her point.

  “I intend to begin a letter-writing campaign, sending letters to every single periodical in this state as well as a few in Canada. In it I’ll detail exactly how long Ed worked to scrape his money together in order to buy the lemon you sold him and how quickly the truck died once he had it off the lot.”

  Daily drew himself up. “I’ll get a lawyer and sue you and that old man for libel,” he shouted.

  Brody stepped forward, but she put up her hand to stop him. Her gesture as well as her manner was filled with confidence. She could handle this.

  “Libel implies that I’m lying. You and I both know I’m not.” Opening her purse, she took out a card and placed it on the desk in front of the salesman. “And in case you’re wondering, I am a lawyer.” She sat back again, as relaxed as if she had already won this battle. “Trust me, Mr. Daily, you do not want to go up against me. I haven’t lost a case in the last six years.”

  She rose to her feet, standing beside Brody. The latter continued to hold his peace, content just to observe her in action.

  “It’s all up to you,” she informed Daily in a friendly tone that belied how she really felt about the man. “I’ve already drafted the letter on my computer. All I have to do is press Send and all the editorial sections of the major newspapers will have the story of how Ed Fox was cheated by a slick salesman. Even in this modern day and age, people still like rooting for the little guy.” She deliberately held up the receipt in front of him. “In case you’re unclear on the concept, that wouldn’t be you.”

  Daily’s face turned a deeper shade of red as he struggled with his anger. Rather than say anything, he snatched the receipt out of her hand, glanced down at the amount. Throwing it on his desk, he picked up the phone.

  “Tina, I need you to cut a check for five thousand dollars. Just do it,” he snapped in response to the question the woman on the other end of the line asked.

  “And three hundred,” Irena added.

  “What?” Daily demanded hotly.

  “Five thousand three hundred,” Irena told him calmly. “Mr. Fox has to pay the mechanic who towed his vehicle to the shop.”

  “And three hundred,” Daily told the cashier, then slammed down the receiver. He exhaled an angry breath. “Satisfied?”

  Daily’s glare could have fried eggs, she noted, refusing to look away. “When I have the check and Mr. Fox successfully cashes it at his bank, yes, I’ll be satisfied.”

  Just then, there was a quic
k knock on the door to Daily’s office. The next moment, it opened and a young woman in tight jeans and a midriff-baring pullover entered. She held an envelope presumably containing a freshly cut check. Her small brown eyes shifted from Daily to Brody and then back again. Tina raised her eyebrows quizzically.

  “Give it to her,” Daily snapped, pointing at Irena.

  Irena smiled as she graciously accepted the check. Opening the envelope, she glanced at the amount to make sure it was correct. It was. She slipped it back into the envelope. Only then did she say, “Nice doing business with you, Phil.”

  She was fairly certain that Phil mumbled his retort rather than shouted it as she and Brody left the office only because of Brody’s presence.

  They made a good team, she couldn’t help thinking, as they walked out of the dealer’s showroom.

  Chapter Ten

  “That was a nice bit of work,” Brody commented as he held the passenger door of the rental car.

  Irena smiled at him as she got in. “Thank you.” She waited for Brody to get in on his side before adding, “I really hate people who think nothing of taking advantage of other people.”

  For a moment, he said nothing as he started up the vehicle. He couldn’t help wondering if, consciously or unconsciously, she was including him in that group because, God help him, he knew he’d taken advantage of her last night. Advantage of the situation and the fact that she was so obviously vulnerable and willing. Had he been truly honorable, he would have found a way to keep them both under control. Would have found something to talk about until she fell asleep. Given how exhausted she’d been, that wouldn’t have taken long.

  But the minute she’d kissed him, he’d been a goner. There was no other way to say it. A weak goner who gave in to his own longings.

  He shouldn’t have. He was supposed to be stronger than that. He was stronger than that.

  But now was not the time to ask if, deep down, she included him in that group of users, and it certainly wasn’t the right time to apologize.

  Brody merely nodded and stuck closely to the subject at hand. “Ed’s going to be very happy to see that money back, not to mention the bonus.”

  Irena looked at him in confusion. She wasn’t following him. “Bonus?”

  “Bonus,” he repeated, then elaborated, “The extra three hundred.”

  Maybe he hadn’t been paying attention in the office just now. “No, that’s for June and Kevin. They did have the truck towed to their garage, and June did do some diagnostic work on the vehicle. I know she’ll probably argue about taking it, but I figured they should be reimbursed for their work.”

  “So do I,” Brody agreed. “That’s why I already took care of the bill before we left this morning.” He realized he was pressing down too hard on the accelerator and eased his foot back. It felt strange not driving his car. “I gave June the money.”

  “Then the extra three hundred’s yours, not Ed’s,” she concluded.

  The slight move of his shoulders showed his in difference to the amount. “Ed can use that three hundred a lot more than I can.”

  As far as she could discern, Brody didn’t have any sort of a regular job. Yesterday showed off his life’s work helping others, organizing drives to bring food, medicine and clothing to those who needed a hand. Unless he was a great deal richer than she thought, his was not an endless source of money. He needed to think about himself once in a while.

  “You can’t just keep giving money away, Brody.”

  He spared her a glance as he wove through the city traffic. “Why not?”

  “Because then you’ll have nothing to live on yourself.”

  Brody laughed. “I’m a long way from that. Besides, I don’t need much and right now, I’ve got everything I need.”

  Everything he needed, she thought. Which meant that there was no place for her in his life.

  Of course there wasn’t, Irena upbraided herself. Why should there be? She couldn’t expect to have everything change in Hades just because she’d decided to come waltzing through. Besides, she wasn’t staying. She had a life in Seattle and he had one here. She knew that last night when she’d all but thrown herself at him.

  All? she mocked herself. That had been a grand slam home run right over the fence.

  Last night was a one-time thing, not the start of a relationship, she argued with herself. She had to remember the rules of the game: No strings, no repeat performances and above all, no expectations.

  “That’s good to know,” she replied quietly.

  Something in her voice caught his attention. Brody tried to read between the lines, then told himself that he was better off just letting it go. There was no “between the lines,” no hidden meanings. Last night was what it was. An exquisite, isolated incident. They had no future and he knew that. Torturing himself was just that: self-inflected torture. Irena still loved Ryan, had made love with him because he looked so much like Ryan and because she was vulnerable. There was no point in making anything more of it because there was nothing more.

  Painful as it was, he had to remember that.

  “You did it,” Ed Fox murmured several hours later, staring at the check in his hands like a man in a trance. “You really did it.” He raised his eyes to look at her. “You really got my money back.” It was obvious from his tone that he hadn’t actually thought it possible, despite her promise.

  “I said I would,” Irena reminded the older man.

  They were inside the tribal elder’s modest dwelling. Built out of wood decades ago, the house was sparsely furnished and she was acutely aware of a draft coming through, even though the windows and door were closed. She wondered if this house was next on Brody’s project list. It was obvious that it needed major work. She couldn’t help wondering if the elder’s pride would interfere with that.

  Ed looked at the amount again and then frowned ever so slightly. “This is far more than I paid,” he protested, holding the check out to her. “I can’t accept it.”

  “Of course you can,” Irena countered, gently pushing his hand back. “And the reason it’s for more than you paid is because—”

  “It’s a bonus for pain and suffering,” Brody interjected quickly, cutting off her explanation.

  When she looked at him in surprise, the expression on Brody’s face warned her not to go into any detail about his covering the repairs. They both knew that the tribal elder was not about to accept any charity.

  “Pain and suffering?” Ed repeated slowly, as if examining each word separately to assess its meaning and worth.

  “Legal talk for making that car salesman pay a fine for trying to cheat you,” Irena told the man matter-of-factly, backing up Brody’s story without missing a beat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brody smile.

  An expression of awe slipped over the man’s lined face. “And you did this?”

  Irena inclined her head toward Brody. “Actually, we did this.”

  Brody felt she was giving him too much credit. “You did the talking.”

  But he was her backup and ultimately that made the job easier for her. “And you were my silent muscle. That guy wasn’t about to sit in his office and meekly listen to me. If it wasn’t for you, I would have had to chase after him and follow him all around the car lot. It might have taken hours to get him to pay up.”

  The end result would have still been the same. “You would have worn him down.” Brody had absolutely no doubt about that.

  “That’s beside the point,” she said dismissively. “Having you there to back me up made it that much easier. You saw the look on his face when he tried to leave and you put your hand on his chest to stop him. If I’d have done that, he would have run right over me.”

  The elder stepped in and terminated the back and forth discussion. “You are both very good people,” he declared. His dark eyes shifted from one to the other. “We are very fortunate to have you helping us.”

  “Well, you’re not going to have Irena for long,” Brody r
eplied, doing his damnedest not to sound as if her leaving wasn’t going to bother him. “She and her silver tongue are going to be going back to Seattle soon.”

  Irena noted how matter-of-fact he sounded about her departure. If she didn’t know better, she would have said he seemed eager for her to leave. Was he, at bottom, like Ryan after all?

  Or was it that he viewed what happened last night as a mistake he shouldn’t have made?

  Irena suppressed a troubled sigh. She didn’t know what to think. Didn’t, truthfully, know what side she was rooting for anymore. Did she want him to want her to stay, or make it easy for her to go by not caring?

  Why had life gotten so confusing?

  The tribal elder eyed her with clear disappointment. “Soon?” he echoed the fatal word. “How soon?”

  “Very soon,” she replied, not wanting to say anything about leaving the day after the funeral. That subject wasn’t one she wanted to open up for discussion. It was still far too personal.

  “We will be sorry to see you go,” Ed told her truthfully. “My son told me how hard you worked beside Brody yesterday. It is much appreciated,” he added with feeling.

  For a fleeting moment, her eyes met Brody’s even though she was addressing her words to the old man. “I had something to prove.” Then, she added whimsically, “I haven’t gotten soft in ‘the big city.’”

  “Oh, I don’t know, you felt pretty soft to me last night,” Brody whispered into her ear, slipping one arm around her waist for a second, as if to underscore his statement.

  If Ed Fox heard what Brody whispered, the man gave no indication. Instead, he asked her another question. “You will come back to the reservation before you leave?”

  Irena hesitated for a moment. “When is your next house raising?” she asked Brody.

  “Tomorrow. Friday,” he added in case she had lost track of the days. It was an easy thing to do out here. With each day shortening a little more than the day before, sometimes he forgot what day of the week it was himself.