House Divided

by Peel, Jennifer

  “I was just placed on Luanne Eaton’s accounts yesterday, could you look it up under her name by chance?”

  She shook her head warily, but complied. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I don’t see you as a signer on her account.”

  I tried to remain sweet and calm. This wasn’t her fault, and it wasn’t her fault that my aunt was such a pain in the you-know-what.

  “Is there, by chance, a manager here I can speak to?”

  She looked a little annoyed, but she went to get her manager.

  Unfortunately, it was an old-timer, and she recognized me. “Well, Ella Lu Eaton, I didn’t know you banked here.”

  I didn’t appreciate her undertones. “As of yesterday I do, when I signed all the necessary paperwork. Is there any way you could look that up for me so I can transact my business?”

  She sneered at me. “Who did you sign this so called paperwork with?”

  “Brady Jackson.”

  Her eyes widened.

  I hated this town.

  “Well, Mr. Jackson isn’t in on Saturdays, you will have to come back on Monday.”

  That’s it! The nice gloves were coming off. “I would appreciate it if you would call Mr. Jackson to clear this up. I have a lot to do today, and I will not be leaving here until this is settled.”

  Her face turned a few shades of red, and I could tell she had a rebuttal on the tip of her tongue, but my aunt was their biggest account holder, and I’m sure she knew better than to push it too far. She picked up the phone and dialed. “Mr. Jackson, I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but Ella Lu Eaton is here and she says she signed paperwork with you yesterday placing her on Luanne Eaton’s accounts, is that correct?”

  I saw her face turn a darker shade of red. I’m sure she thought I was lying. Why did I keep feeling like I was a child?

  “Yes, Mr. Jackson. Of course, Mr. Jackson.”

  She hung up, and I couldn’t help but smirk. Yes, that was childish.

  “I’m sorry for the confusion, Ms. Eaton.” She turned to the teller. “Please give Ms. Eaton anything she requires.”

  I told her what I needed: an account number and twenty hundred dollar bills, new.

  As the teller was taking care of me, I heard my name being called by the sweetest little voice, “Miss Ellie!”

  I turned to see Caroline walking, hand-in-hand, with her uncle toward me. Why Brady, why? I smiled at Caroline and I grimaced at Brady. He just winked. As they neared, Caroline let go of Brady and ran to me.

  I knelt down and hugged her briefly then looked up at her uncle. “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard someone was making trouble at my bank, so I came to see what I could do.”

  I rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn’t help but smile.

  The cranky bank manager came out in a tizzy. “Mr. Jackson, I didn’t mean for you to have to come down here.”

  “It’s alright, Margaret. It was my fault the paperwork wasn’t put in the system. I was in town anyway, and I just wanted to make sure Ms. Eaton was taken care of.” He looked down at me and smiled sweetly.

  I stood up, but Caroline kept a hold of my hand. It was adorable.

  Unfortunately, Margaret was looking at me unpleasantly. She would probably be reporting this whole situation to his daddy.

  The nice teller handed me my receipt and the envelope of cash. “Have a nice day, Ms. Eaton.”

  I thanked her kindly. I looked down at my little admirer. “Thank you for helping me last night, my Auburn tree has never looked so pretty.”

  She beamed up at me. “You’re welcome, Miss Ellie.”

  “So what are you doing today besides causing trouble?” Brady asked.

  “Well, according to my aunt, I’m Christmas shopping and dress shopping,” I answered not sure why he cared.

  He grinned broadly. “Well what a coincidence, Caroline was just telling me she wanted to go Christmas shopping and to see Santa.”

  “Uncle Brady no, I ...” Caroline began to say.

  Brady quickly scooped her up and whispered in her ear.

  She turned toward me while still in his arms. “Miss Ellie, will you please go shopping with us and to see Santa?”

  I looked at Brady with exasperation. He was not playing fair at all. I hesitated to answer.

  “Oh please, oh please,” Caroline begged.

  They both gave me puppy dog looks.

  “Ok.”

  “Yay!” they both said a little too loudly.

  Everyone in the bank was looking at us now. He set Caroline down, and she took my hand again. As we all walked out together, I felt the stares.

  Brady directed me to his truck. It looked fairly new. It was a charcoal gray Tundra, dual cab, four wheel drive. It was nice, and it fit him. He opened the passenger side door for me and helped me in. When our hands touched, I felt instantly warm and like all was right with the world. This was a mistake, but before I could say anything, he shut the door and helped Caroline in and buckled her into her booster seat behind me. Brady got in the driver’s side and looked toward me. He seemed so happy.

  He pulled out his phone. “Just let me make a quick phone call.”

  While he dialed, I contemplated just getting out, but then I looked at that cute carrot top in the back.

  “Benjamin, change of plans,” I heard Brady say. “I’m going to take Caroline with me to Birmingham.”

  I glared at him as soon as he said goodbye. “You know where liars go, Brady Jackson.”

  He reached over and tugged on my hair. “I’ll repent later.” He looked between me and Caroline. “Shopping and Santa await ladies.”

  Why did he have to be so dang sweet?

  Chapter Five

  Little Miss Caroline was a chatterbox all the way to Birmingham. She recited all the things she was going to ask Santa for, but number one on her list was a new baby brother or sister, but if Santa couldn’t bring her a sibling, she would take a puppy.

  “Is your mommy pregnant?” I asked her.

  Her little head drooped. “No,” she said sadly, but then she perked right back up. “But I sure want her to be!”

  Brady and I both laughed at her.

  To round off her Christmas wish list, she wanted the new Aunt Calliope and Jane dolls. I was certain she would get those. I made a mental note to call my office on Monday.

  When we arrived in Birmingham, Caroline was starving, and I had to admit I was hungry too. I missed having Doris at the house this morning. We ate at one of my favorite bakeries at the Summit. After lunch, we were off to see Santa. We didn’t know how long the line would be, so we thought it best to start there. As we walked toward Santa, Caroline walked between us, holding both our hands, and we swung her back and forth. Several times Brady looked at me and smiled that country boy smile. He looked so good. He had a strong jaw line and a five o’clock shadow going that made him look masculine, and his blue eyes and long eyelashes did me in. In high school he was cute, now he was beautiful. He also looked like he had grown taller. I would say he was about 6’3”, and he had an athletic build that made his jeans look oh so good. Not like I was looking. I also noticed he had a small limp. I’m sure it was from his injury.

  Caroline squealed with delight each time we swung her up, and she oft repeated, “Again, again!” We were happy to oblige, but I think my arm would be sore the next day. Thankfully, the line to Santa wasn’t too long. While in line, I had a surprise when the family ahead of me recognized me; they had just purchased my new book.

  The mom turned and smiled nervously. “Are you Elle Eaton?” she asked.

  I smiled happily. “Yes.”

  “She likes to be called Miss Ellie,” Caroline informed her.

  I looked at both her and Brady. Brady gave me a wicked grin and Caroline just smiled her toothless grin. How could I disagree with that?

  “Yes, sugar.”

  The two little girls that belonged to the young mother were visibly excited at the news. “Will you sign our book, Mis
s Ellie?” they asked.

  I eagerly agreed.

  Both little girls asked me all sorts of questions. Caroline told them about how she got to slide in her socks in my foyer. Brady beamed at me. That didn’t happen often, but I loved it when it did. Unfortunately, sharing the moment with Brady seemed to make it all the better.

  Caroline finally made it to the front of the line. She bounded up to Santa; Brady and I stood nearby and watched her.

  “Is your brother really ok with his daughter being with me?” I had to ask.

  “I told you things have changed, Ellie.”

  “No they haven’t. You should have seen the way your bank manager treated me today. And did you notice the stares we got as we left together?”

  He looked upset. “I’ll talk to her.”

  “Brady, I don’t want you to talk to her. I’ll be gone soon anyway.”

  He looked down at me with his beautiful eyes. They looked so full of passion. I’d seen that look before. It was right before the last time he ever kissed me. I held my breath as he leaned down. He didn’t kiss me, but he whispered in my ear, “Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

  His warm breath on my skin sent shivers through my body. Once I recovered from my reaction to him I was going to tell him I wouldn’t be changing my mind, but Caroline came bouncing back toward us excited to tell us about her experience on Santa’s lap. Brady stood up straight and tugged on my hair before he picked Caroline up and swung her around. He looked toward me. “Where to, Ellie?”

  I pulled out the long list my Aunt Lu had written me.

  Brady laughed.

  “You didn’t know what you were getting into when you lied to get me to come with you this afternoon.”

  He winked. “I only bent the truth.”

  He hoisted Caroline on his shoulders. I looked up to her. “Well, Miss Caroline, I need help picking out a dress for church tomorrow, do you think you could help me?”

  She shook her head yes vigorously.

  I looked at Brady. “Follow me.”

  “With pleasure,” he replied.

  I walked toward one of my favorite stores. I felt a little weird buying clothing with Brady, but I didn’t need my aunt having a fit over me not attending church the next day. I was worried about her repeated delays, and I didn’t want to do anything to upset her. Brady let Caroline down, and she helped me peruse the racks of dresses. Her taste was interesting; she loved polka dots, bright colors and bows. It was quite a bit different from my taste. I liked simple and sleek and subdued tones, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I took the dresses she picked out to the dressing room with me, along with a few of my own choices. Brady took a seat with Caroline and all the other men waiting for their wives or girlfriends. It kind of made me wish I fit the bill.

  I tried on Caroline’s picks first, and I came out and modeled for both her and Brady. Of course Caroline loved them, but I think Brady’s tastes ran more along my lines. As Caroline oohed and aahed, Brady, above her, would silently shake his head no and smile. After several of her picks, I came back out in a mint sheath dress that hit me right at the knee, it was long sleeved and it clung in all the right places without being too clingy. I loved it, and by the look on Brady’s face, he was quite fond of it too. Thankfully, Caroline loved it. I really didn’t want a pink polka dotted dress.

  Outside the store, Brady leaned down toward me as we walked to our next destination. “I’ll be looking forward to church tomorrow.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. His country boy charm was not going to work on me. At least that’s what I kept trying to tell myself.

  I pulled out my long list and mapped out where we needed to go. I had no idea my aunt bought gifts for so many people. She had everyone from the gardener and mailman to her hair stylist. This was the first time that I really looked at the list, and I was shocked when I got to the bottom of it. Brady and Benjamin Jackson were on the list too. I almost asked Brady if he knew what that was all about. I couldn’t believe my aunt would want to buy gifts for those two. Maybe it was her idea of a joke, but she never joked about the Jacksons. Maybe she had the early stages of dementia. My face must have registered my shock.

  “Are you ok, Ellie?” Brady asked.

  “Yes, I’m just not sure what to get a couple of people on the list.”

  “What about puppies?’ Caroline suggested. She was a funny girl, but I wondered if Brady would want a puppy.

  “So, Brady, what are you asking Santa for this year?” I asked offhandedly as we walked to the first store on my list.

  “I hope it’s a puppy!” Caroline yelled out.

  Somebody apparently needed to get this girl a baby or a puppy.

  He smiled over at her. “It’s not a puppy, darlin’.”

  “Aww,” she said.

  “So?” I asked.

  He winked. “That’s between me and Santa.”

  Well that didn’t help me at all. I guess I would just ask my aunt later what she thought and if she truly meant to have them on her list. We visited a myriad of stores, including Pottery Barn, the Apple Store and several department stores. Caroline was a trooper, and so was Brady, since he carried her a lot of the time, either piggy back or on his shoulders. He also managed to carry a lot of my bags. After about the seventh store, I asked him if he was sorry about lying yet. I’m sure he had no idea what he was in store for.

  He tugged on my hair. “It was well worth it.”

  I nudged him with my shoulder. He was too charming for my own good.

  We finally finished around dinner time, which was good because Caroline was more than done. She even got a little whiny, but Uncle Brady fixed that with the promise of cheeseburgers and milkshakes on the way home. I knew where he would take us. There was a little place outside of Birmingham that we used to go to when we were dating. We got out of Kaysville whenever we could and went where no one knew he was a Jackson and I was an Eaton, or at least they didn’t care.

  When we parked in front of the restaurant, Brady looked at me innocently, but he was anything but innocent. I didn’t need a trip down memory lane with him; I cruised down that lane by myself, too frequently. I almost begged him to just take me home.

  Brady came around and got Caroline out. I hesitated. I kept looking at the blinking neon sign and remembering the many dates we had spent there sharing a booth and milkshakes and lots of kisses. We stayed until closing on more occasions than I could count. In my reverie, Brady opened my door and held out his hand to me. I wanted to take it, but I couldn’t. I slid out unassisted, but Brady being Brady, wasn’t deterred. As we walked toward the entrance, he locked pinky fingers with me like we used to. He smiled that country boy smile, but I shook my head no and put Caroline in between us. He may have tricked me into spending the day with him, but this wasn’t a date. I wouldn’t break the rules again.

  We walked in to find the place looked just as it had ten years ago with red vinyl booths and black and white checkered floors, and the jukebox still looked to be in working order. Brady asked for a booth, and we were seated. I sat on the same side as Caroline, not with Brady like we used to. He looked disappointed, but he still winked at me. The boy was killing me.

  Mrs. Kellen, the owner, came out to take our order, and wow was she excited. Before she even greeted us, she called to her husband Randy in the back. “Come out here and see who’s here!” She turned back to us. “Look at the two of you, all grown up. I just knew you would end up together, and now here you are with your little carrot-top.”

  I thought she might cry, and I thought I might too. “Mrs. Kellen …”

  Mr. Kellen arrived, and I didn’t get to finish my thought. “Look at this, Randy. I told you he would never marry that Miss Alabama girl.” She turned to Brady. “When I would see you and that girl on T.V., I could tell you never looked at her the way you looked at Miss Ellie.”

  Brady stared hard at me. I could feel my cheeks pink and my eyes water. I turned toward the Kellens. “Mrs. Kellen
, Brady and I aren’t married and Caroline is Brady’s niece.”

  “Oh …,” she directed a puzzled glance at Brady, “well, boy, what have you been waiting for?”

  I was so embarrassed.

  Brady looked at her and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Kellen, I think we would just like to order now,” he politely responded.

  She looked confused, but took our order: three cheeseburgers with fries and three chocolate milkshakes. Brady and I would not be sharing.

  “Uncle Brady, why did that lady think you and Miss Ellie were married?” Caroline asked as soon as Mrs. Kellen left.

  He looked at me thoughtfully before turning his attention back to Caroline. “Because darlin’, Miss Ellie used to be my girlfriend.”

  This excited her. She looked at me for confirmation.

  “That was a long time ago,” was all I could say.

  “It wasn’t that long ago,” Brady countered.

  I turned toward him, and his pleading eyes were squarely fixed on me. Pleading for what, I’m not sure. I couldn’t bear to keep looking at him. I turned to Caroline. “Sugar, do want to pick out song on the jukebox?”

  She happily agreed.

  Like a gentleman, Brady stood up as we left. When I exited the booth, he caught my arm. “I really am sorry, Ellie.”

  I just shrugged my shoulders and followed Caroline to the jukebox. I was sorry too. Sorry I came back and sorry I ever broke the rules.

  Like a true country girl, Caroline liked Luke Bryan, so she asked me to pick one of his songs. Thankfully, she could talk your ear off, so Brady and I didn’t have to talk to each other. While she chattered, I remembered sitting in this very booth making plans with Brady. By now we would have had a Caroline of our own, but she would have been named Avery and would have had her daddy’s eyes and bouncing dark curls. And we would have had a boy named after Brady. I was more than foolish to actually have believed that would happen. Thankfully it didn’t take long for our food to arrive. I had kind of lost my appetite, but I tried to eat as much as I could. I even introduced Caroline to the fine dining experience of dipping your fries in your milkshake. I think she even enjoyed it.