My Brother's Bodyguard (Hometown Heros #1)

by G. L. Snodgrass

  “Don’t worry, I won’t throw you any adoring looks,” I mumbled.

  Nate smiled and started in on his second burger. “So tell me, what’s the deal with your mother. Jimmy said she didn’t want him going to college.”

  I nodded, as I fought to get my heart back together. “Yes, high school is sort of a compromise. If she had her way, he’d stay at home forever. I think it’s a control thing. But she also realizes that this is a once in a life opportunity. For people like Jimmy, they do most of their great work real young.”

  Nate nodded. “I’ve got to say. Jimmy’s not as much of a dork as I would have figured for someone as smart as him.”

  I laughed. “You don’t know him. The boy has trouble remembering to put on socks. Let alone making sure they match.”

  “But I mean,” Nate continued, “he’s not as socially awkward as I would have expected.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Einstein had girlfriends, Bohr and Plank both lived normal lives.”

  “You really think he’s in their league?”

  “Maybe,” I said as I stirred my salad looking for a tomato. “We won’t know for a few years. But Stanford seems to think so. They’re like bending a dozen rules to get him in.”

  “And if he has any problems in high school. Socially I mean. Then your mom will use that as an excuse to keep him out of college and at home.”

  I swallowed hard as I thought about how that would absolutely ruin Jimmy’s life. I mean literally. He would never become the person he should become. Just think, the world might miss a great discovery because my mom was a control freak.

  Nate saw my frown and smiled gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  I looked up and saw that he got it. He knew how important this was.

  Okay then, I thought to myself. We were a team. A team dedicated to seeing that Jimmy made it through high school. A team dedicated to getting him off into the world. We weren’t a couple, I reminded myself. Not really. And I was going to have to remind myself of that fact.

  A team, not a couple. Believe me, there is a difference.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nate

  This had to be one of the stupidest things I’d ever agreed to, I thought as I tucked in my shirt. Dinner with Elle’s family was not a smart move. I mean, I’d only known her a few weeks.

  Grabbing my keys off the dresser, I headed out. As I passed through the living room, Uncle Jake looked up from his RING magazine and shook his head.

  “Family dinner? You must really like this girl.”

  I laughed, “Either that, or I’m tired of hot pockets eaten over the sink.”

  He laughed back, “Yeah, well, you be careful. She’s not like most girls. A broken heart lasts a long time.”

  “I’m not going to break her heart, I promise.”

  Jake cocked an eyebrow. “Who said I was talking about hers?”

  I faltered for just a moment and looked back at him. He was being serious, I realized, and my guts tightened up just a little. There was a lot of hidden meaning in that statement from a man who had lost the only woman he had ever loved. The sadness behind his eyes pulled at me.

  “I won’t be late,” I said as I left. No way was I delving into the deep waters of the pain we both felt over the loss of my Aunt Mary.

  Driving to Elle’s house I had the strong urge to turn around, this was just so not smart. But, I reminded myself. It was an opportunity to hang with Elle, always a good thing. Before I got there though, I made a quick stop and picked up some flowers. I was too young to bring wine, and it probably would have sent the wrong message if I had. So flowers it would be.

  I know, flowers sounded sort of lame. But all I had to think of was what would my mom want me to do and it usually turned out to be the right answer. So flowers it was.

  When I got to her front door I hesitated a moment. Shirt tucked in, boots clean, hair combed. Jesus, it was like I was going for a job interview or something. Taking a deep breath I rang the bell.

  Elle answered the door. She was as adorable as ever in a breezy yellow dress. She smiled, but I could tell she was nervous. Her eyes seemed to dance and she kept looking over her shoulder as if she was afraid someone was behind her.

  “You came?” she said with a hint of surprise.

  “I couldn’t come up with a good reason to back out,” I said, surprised that the truth came out before I could stop it.

  She laughed though. That was one of the things I liked about her. She knew when I was sort of kidding, even when it was true. It was like we were on the same level. Saw the world the same way.

  “Those are beautiful,” she said, indicating the flowers while stepping aside and motioning me in.

  I tried not to blush. It seemed so silly. Making a big deal about a bunch of cut flowers.

  “They’re not for you,” I said and then mentally kicked myself for sounding so stupid.

  She gave me a fake pout then smiled. “Come on,” she said. “You can give them to Nana. She loves flowers. My mom will be down in a minute.”

  Swallowing hard, I followed her into the house. The smell of freshly made bread greeted me like a long-lost friend. Everything was immaculate but lived in. Pictures of Elle and Jimmy on the wall. A beautiful watercolor of a koi pond hung in the dining room. A long oak table, already set, waiting for dinner.

  “Nana,” Elle called out as she pulled me into the kitchen. “This is Nate Clark.”

  I could feel my palms begin to sweat. This was ridiculous, I told myself. I was just meeting Elle’s family, not going into the boxing ring against Mohamad Ali.

  A slim, petite woman in a long, flowing dress turned around from stirring a pot. She had crazy salt and pepper hair that definitely was heavy on the salt. A brown sparrow feather hung from one earlobe and a huge white pearl was in the other. A dozen golden bracelets jangled on her wrist as she moved.

  She looked at me, her eyes twinkling with joy as she slowly examined me. I swear, I’ve had doctors in my corner that didn’t pay this much attention.

  She nodded once and cocked an eyebrow at Elle, sending her a secret message. Elle, blushed for a moment as she turned to look away.

  “Um, I couldn’t bring wine, So I hope …”

  “They are lovely,” she said as she relieved me of the flowers, never taking her eyes off of mine. “You must call me Nana,” she said. She continued to look at me then turned to Elle. “It is remarkable,” she said to her granddaughter. “So blue.”

  Elle turned about three shades redder.

  “Your aura, my dear,” the woman said to me. “So blue. Pure and strong, like Elle’s forest green, but a unique blue.”

  Elle made a small sound in the back of her throat that told me how much she didn’t want to be there right then. I looked over at her, she was shooting me looks of apology.

  I smiled at her, then said to her Nana, “My aunt Mary always called it cobalt blue.”

  Elle’s jaw dropped, Nana smiled, “Yes, that is the color, cobalt blue.”

  Reaching out, Nana took me by the arm and pulled me to the stove. “I am told that you eat chicken.”

  “I eat just about anything ma’am,”

  She laughed, “Well, we’re having my special chicken cacciatore,”

  “It smells wonderful,” I said as I drank in the rich aromas. There was something about the way a home cooked meal smelled. Different, unique, caring smells. My stomach rumbled and Nana laughed.

  “It will be ready soon,” Nana said as she patted my shoulder. “Now out of here. Let an old woman finish her job. You two go.”

  Elle took my hand to pull me away from her Nana. She shot me a look that begged me to come with her.

  I gave Nana a quick smile and let Elle lead me out of the kitchen.

  She was taking me back through the dining room and then into the living room. Her hand resting in mine like it belonged there.

  “She’s different,” Elle said.

  “Ye
s, but …”

  “Elle,” a voice said as her mother came around the corner. Ms. Watson froze for a second, her look instantly going to our clasped hands.

  I’ve got to give Elle credit, she didn’t immediately drop my hand. She continued to hold it for a second, just to make sure her mother realized that she couldn’t intimidate her. Then she dropped it and waved it towards her mother.

  “Nate, you’ve already met my mom.”

  “Yes,” I said, “It is nice to see you again Ms. Watson. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

  She studied me for a long moment. My gut tightened up like it was going to get punched. I stood there while she continued to give me the once-over.

  “Yes,” she said. “Well, I’ve heard so much about you, from both Jimmy and Elle. I thought it was time we got to know each other.”

  Wow, I thought. So much for small talk. I swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say. But every statement I could come up with could be a possible landmine. So I kept my mouth shut and gave her a weak smile.

  Elle couldn’t take the rising tension. I could see her bouncing on her feet like she wanted to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.

  “What’s Jimmy up to?” I asked. That seemed like it might be safe.

  “My son is …”

  “I’ll take you up to his room,” Elle interrupted as she pulled me out of the room and away from her mother. It was like the girl was on a mission. Anything to avoid drama.

  “Um … Nice to see you again, Ms. Watson,” I sputtered out as Elle pulled towards the stairs.

  Elle’s mother didn’t smile back at me. Man, the woman was pure lioness. I could see it in her eyes. Someone might be threatening her young. And therefore that someone deserved to die.

  As I followed Elle up the stairs I made a point of not staring at her butt. A hard task, I will admit, but her mother was watching me and I am not a complete idiot.

  When we got out of earshot I hissed at Elle, “You know, we’re going to have to be in the same room together eventually. Unless you guys eat in separate rooms or something.”

  Elle shot me a dagger stare. “Nana will be there,” she said as if that was all she needed to say.

  I laughed. It was cute that Elle was nervous. But it wasn’t like this was real. But then, if it wasn’t real? Why was I so worried about what her mother thought?

  My mind was juggling that thought when Elle barged into her brother’s room without even knocking.

  Jimmy was bent over a computer, writing on a notepad then returning to furiously type on the computer.

  His room reminded me of a typical boy’s room. Star Wars posters on the wall. A hamper in the corner overflowing with dirty clothes. Some strangely shaped sculptures on a shelf. All curved and twisted in on themselves.

  It was also different. No trophies, not comics. Instead, he had math textbooks the size of cinder blocks.

  Jimmy waved a hand over his shoulder as he continued to type.

  Elle looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Give him a second. It goes faster if I don’t interrupt his chain of thought.”

  “It goes faster if you don’t come in here at all,” Jimmy said as he continued to type.

  “What are you working on?” she asked, “some work-around cheat for World of Warcraft?” she said dismissively.

  Jimmy shook his head as he finished typing, then pushed back from the computer. “No, actually, I was discussing Superfluid Helium-4 with a guy at MIT. He thinks he can get it to a solid state and I was showing him why he couldn’t. He doesn’t believe me, but he will when he fails. What are you guys up to?”

  I laughed at the look on Elle’s face.

  “We were avoiding your mother,” I said.

  Jimmy chuckled and gave a fake shudder. “You win.”

  I smiled, “Cool room,” I said as I looked around, “What are those?” I asked as I pointed at the weird sculptures on the shelf.

  Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. “My attempts to create Nth dimensional figures of non-conforming shapes. But I failed. I couldn’t make them, but then I was eight, maybe in a few years.”

  I had to stop myself from scratching my head. The guy was about twenty levels above me and climbing fast. “Yeah, well, they’re pretty cool looking.”

  Jimmy smiled. “That’s why I kept them. They’re useless, but I like them.”

  Elle shook her head. “You are just so weird,” she said to her brother with a smile. I saw it then, the love she had for him. I had always known it was there. But when she looked at him like that. A mixture of awe, respect, and bewilderment. I saw how much she cared for him.

  Suddenly, I had an almost overwhelming desire to have her look at me that same way.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Elle’s mom yelled from downstairs.

  “Our torture awaits,” Elle said to me with a sadness and fear to her eyes that surprised me.

  “Hey, don’t worry. You’re tough, you can take it.”

  She smiled. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Elle

  Of course, I told Nate that he was the one that needed to worry. But, he shook it off like he did everything. Nothing ever seemed to bother him. But in truth, deep down, I knew I was the one in trouble.

  Mom indicated that Nate should sit next to her, across from Nana. I quickly grabbed the seat next to him. If I stayed close, maybe I could head off the worst attacks.

  Jimmy took his chair and smiled at Nana, “Ohhhh, Cacciatore, this is special.”

  Nana smiled back at him like he was precious or something. I wanted to reach over and slap him for some reason. Please, I begged any and every deity I could think of. Make this go smooth tonight. Do not let Nate hate us.

  Dinner smelled wonderful, but it did not mask the delicious scent of leather and sandalwood sitting next to me. My stomach fluttered as I closed my eyes for a second and drank it in. A girl could fall in love with that scent.

  Mother started passing the salad around. No grace, I realized. We’d never said grace in our house before a meal. Suddenly I wondered about Nate. He hadn’t when we went out to dinner. But maybe they did at home. Did his uncle? What would he think of us that we didn’t?

  Then he shot me a quick smile that silently told me to settle down. Some strange combination of a raised eyebrow and a small smirk that said everything would be alright.

  Oh, you poor fool, I thought.

  Once the food was dished up, Nate took a bite and then smiled at Nana. “This is delicious. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

  “I thought Elle invited you,” Jimmy said. I knew I should have slapped him earlier.

  Nana smiled back at Nate, basking in his praise. She likes him, I realized. And it was more than his cobalt blue aura. She really liked him. My heart softened just a little. If Nana liked him, that said a lot.

  “So Nate,” My mother began, making my stomach curl up on itself. “Elle told us that you have recently moved down here from Seattle.”

  He gave me a quick glance, silently asking if I’d been talking about him with my mother.

  “Yes Ma’am,” he said, “over the summer.”

  “I’ve always liked Seattle,” she said. “The Northwest is very beautiful. Of course, It does rain a lot.”

  Nate laughed. “We just tell people that to keep them away. Otherwise, we’d be overrun by you Californians.”

  My mom halted for a moment and my heart jumped to my throat. She wasn’t used to Nate’s teasing. Then she smiled and nodded her head. “Yes, well, I’ll remember that the next time I read about Seattle having forty days of rain and I’m sitting on the beach working on my tan.”

  Nate laughed and I relaxed just a little. Who knew my mother could banter. See, things weren’t so bad. Maybe this evening wouldn’t end in catastrophe.

  Of course, the universe doesn’t work that way. At least never for me.

  “So, tell me, Nate. Which colleges are you applying for?”


  Nate paused for a second. I held my breath while I waited for an answer. Suddenly I was desperately interested. Would they be any of the ones I might go to?

  “I’m not planning on going to college,” he said as he took another bite of food.

  It was like someone had dropped a quiet bomb in the middle of the room. You could have heard a cricket cross his legs. Every member of the Watson clan paused with their fork in mid-air. Staring at Nate as if he’d announced he was running away to join the circus.

  “Why not?” my mom asked as if the thought were both foreign and completely absurd.

  Yes, why not? I wondered as my own brow creased in confusion.

  “I’m going into the army. I’ll probably enlist right after graduation.”

  Okay, I thought it had been quiet before, but this. This was stone silence. I mean rock solid, never move silence. The kind that hurt. I tried to swallow so I could say something to break the tension. But I had nothing. I don’t know which was more of a shock. The fact that Nate was thinking about going into the Army. Or him telling my mother.

  My mom frowned and slowly shook her head. I could read her mind a mile away. The army? It was the last bastion of male domination. An organization designed to destroy.

  “What do your parents think of that? Surely they aren’t pleased. I mean, you’re obviously intelligent enough for college. Why waste yourself in the Army?”

  Oh crap, I gasped internally. I hadn’t told my mom about his parents.

  “My parents are dead,” Nate said as if he were talking about the wallpaper.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” My mother replied, shooting me a look of pure death. I’d hear about my lack of communication later.

  “In fact,” Nate continued. “My father was killed in Afghanistan, wasting himself in the army. My mother died nine months later from breast cancer. But I’m pretty sure it was mostly from a broken heart.”

  Please God, let me die right now, I silently prayed.

  My mother actually looked contrite for a moment. Nana looked at her daughter and slowly shook her head. Then she reached across the table and took Nate’s hand.

  “They left the world a better place when they gave us you,” Nana said as she squeezed his hand.