I sat back and drank more. I shouldn’t be flirting with Brady Jackson, especially in the hospital waiting room while my aunt was having her procedure. We made small talk after that. I tried to keep it light, even though Brady was making it difficult; he was persistent. I had a feeling if I would have let him, he would have pulled me on his lap and kissed me until I forgot I was an Eaton again. At least he made the hour pass quickly. It really was nice to have someone there with me.
The hour passed, and then it was an hour and a half, and still no one had come back to get me. I was getting worried. I decided to ask the nurse at the nurses’ station why it was taking so long; she was not helpful at all. “Someone will be with you in a moment,” she said lazily.
What did that mean? I went back to where Brady was sitting, but by now I was mildly panicking. I couldn’t sit back down. I began to pace. Brady got up and walked with me. He reached down and held my hand. My first instinct was to pull away, but it had a calming effect. He kept trying to be reassuring, but I had a bad feeling.
Finally a nurse came out and called my name. I walked toward her with Brady in tow. She led us into a private area. That was not a good sign. I squeezed Brady’s hand, and he responded by letting go and putting his arm around me and pulling me close. I looked up at him. I saw the concern in his eyes too. I started to shake a little. I wasn’t ready to lose her. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
She didn’t stand on ceremony once we entered the room. “Ms. Eaton, there was a complication with the second artery when we began to inflate it. We had to rush your aunt into emergency bypass surgery.”
“Is she ok?” my voice cracked.
She didn’t really answer. “The bypass surgery will take a few hours, someone will come out and notify you when she’s in recovery.” And just like that she turned to leave, but just as she opened the door, she turned back to us. “Feel free to take as much time in here as needed.”
The tears came as soon as she left. Brady looked down at me and he pulled me close and wrapped me up in his arms. I didn’t pull away, instead I held on for dear life. “Brady, I can’t lose her, she’s all I have,” I said through my sobbing.
“Ellie, don’t think like that. I don’t know your aunt that well, but from what I do know, she’ll come through fighting.” He pulled back a little and tipped my chin up. “And Ellie, you’re not alone.”
I didn’t argue, I just rested my head against his now tear-stained shirt and tie. Brady began to rub my neck and back. I knew this wasn’t an appropriate time to think about it, but I felt like I had come home, like this was right where I belonged. I cried more because I knew this was where I belonged. Every fiber of my being told me that, but I knew it could never happen. I held on for longer than I should have, but I needed him and, even more, I wanted him. I let go reluctantly. He held on even longer, and I just let him.
When he finally decided to let go, I stepped back. He reached up and wiped some of my tears away. The look on his face was almost my undoing. I had to remind myself I was in an emotional state and not to do anything that would have lasting repercussions, like falling right back into his arms and telling him how much I loved him. I had to look down; I had seen that look before in his eyes. While looking down, I noticed to my embarrassment that I left a make-up stain on his white shirt.
“Brady, I’m sorry, I stained your white shirt.” I reached into my bag to retrieve a wipe. I know it sounds weird that a single woman with no children carries baby wipes in her purse, but those things are little miracle stain removers.
Brady grabbed my hand gently and pulled it up toward his face. “Ellie, I don’t care about my shirt. Besides, I’ve missed your make-up stains on them.” He kissed my palm.
I really wished he would quit being so Brady. “Brady, I think maybe we should go back to the waiting room now.”
He winked. “Ok.” But he didn’t let go of my hand.
As soon as he led me out of the room, I excused myself quickly and walked to the ladies room. While in there, I took several deep breaths and said a silent prayer for my aunt. I begged God not to take her from me. I looked in the mirror; thankfully I didn’t have raccoon eyes. I touched up my make-up for Aunt Lu, and I had to smile to myself while doing it. I could hear her voice in my head telling me to pull myself together. I wondered what she would think of Brady being here with me. A week ago, I would have thought I knew the answer to that, but now I wasn’t sure at all.
I walked back into the waiting room, and Brady rose like the gentleman he always was. He smiled at me warmly, and I couldn’t help but smile back. As I sat down next to him, he immediately picked up my hand. Again, I knew I shouldn’t be allowing it. I knew I was giving him the wrong idea. I knew he wanted me back, and I wanted that too, but I knew it could never work out. I was being selfish today, though, because I needed him and his comfort.
“Brady, thank you.”
He looked at me slyly. “For what?”
“For letting me stain your shirt.”
He tugged on my hair and gave me that smile of his. “Anytime, Ellie.”
We didn’t say anything for a while. I just kept looking at the clock on the wall that seemed to be frozen. I tried reading magazines and responding to emails on my phone, but I couldn’t concentrate. I was sick with worry.
“Do you want me to get you something to eat?” Brady offered.
“I couldn’t eat anything right now, thank you though. But please, if you’re hungry go get something. I feel terrible you’re wasting your day here with me.”
“Are you kidding me? This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”
“You’re such a liar, Brady Jackson.”
He dropped my hand and ran his fingers through my hair and stroked my cheek. “I’m sorry your aunt isn’t well, but Ellie, spending a day with you all to myself, even if it’s in a hospital, is more than I could ask for.”
I didn’t know how to respond. I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him I loved him and that spending all my days with him was all I ever wanted, but I couldn’t because he was who he was and I was who I was.
“Brady …”
“Ellie …”
“Can I ask you a question?” I know that was a totally lame response. I could tell by the look in his eyes he thought so too, but he responded kindly which made me feel worse.
“You can ask me anything, Ellie.”
“Benjamin mentioned last night that my aunt was going to remove her accounts from your bank. Do you know what made her change her mind, and why does my aunt have yours and Benjamin’s names on her Christmas list?”
“That’s two questions Ellie,” he teased.
“Well, I have a feeling they’re related.”
“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 episo
de, 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.
Chapter Nine
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 be
gan 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?’
House Divided Page 10
