He smiled back at her and nodded. “Thanks.”
“I am sorry,” my mother said and I could tell, she actually was sorry.
“That’s okay,” Nate said, obviously trying to put everyone at ease. “It was a long time ago. I’ve thought about going to college. But, it just doesn’t interest me. It’s almost like I’ve got to finish something my dad started before I can get on with the rest of my life. I know sort of dumb. But …”
He shrugged his wide shoulders and my insides melted. So stoic in the face of so much pain. Without thinking, I put my hand on his arm and tried to silently let him know how much I cared.
“Well, I’ve thought about the army,” Jimmy said as a way to break the tension. Of course, he missed the mark by about a thousand miles.
Mom gasped. “Not in this lifetime,” she said with a shake of her head.
Jimmy smiled. “I don’t know, if I don’t get to Stanford next year. Maybe I’ll enlist in the army when I turn eighteen.”
My mom’s eyes grew as big as bowling balls as she looked at her suddenly rebellious son.
Nate shook his head. “If you go in the army, I will track you down and kick your butt into next Sunday. No way are you wasting that brain of yours.”
He was deadly serious, I realized. Jimmy looked back at him for a moment then backed down and shrugged his shoulders. “I just said I was thinking about it.”
Mom looked back and forth between the two of them. Her mind turning over a dozen different thoughts at the same time.
Nate nodded and continued eating. I, on the other hand, frantically tried to think of something to change the subject. But of course, my mind refused to cooperate. How had I gotten into this situation?
“So Nana,” Nate said giving me a quick glance. “Elle was telling me how you used to flirt with half the bigwigs of Silicon Valley before they became bigwigs.”
Nana laughed, and I relaxed. Nate didn’t hate us. He was purposely changing the subject and for some reason, I was pretty sure he was doing it for me. I mean, the guy had to see what kind of pain I was in. And his solution was to slightly embarrass me by bringing up my grandmother’s famous past.
Nana laughed and started talking about her adventures in the tech world.
I sighed internally. Crisis avoided. Nate hadn’t stormed out. Mother hadn’t thrown him out. Nana was making us laugh. Yes, life could go on.
The rest of the meal was pleasant. Not great, but not terrible. By some unspoken agreement, everyone had decided to avoid controversial topics like colleges, the military, who voted for whom or what they thought about the desert salamander. They kept it to simple things, Nana’s stories and Jimmy’s work with Helium-4 which bored me to tears but at least it was drama free.
When dinner was over and we were getting up to clear our places. Nate grabbed his empty plate and started for the kitchen.
“No, no,” Nana said as she took the plate from him. “You and Elle go out back, get some fresh air. Ruth and I will take care of the dishes.”
My mouth dropped open. Jimmy and I had been doing dishes since forever. I couldn’t remember the last time Mom had done them.
“Okay,” Nate said as he smiled at Nana. “It was really good.”
Nana beamed back at him, I swear if she was fifty years younger she’d have pushed me aside to get to him.
Nate looked at me, raising an eyebrow in question. It took me a second to get my thoughts back in line. Oh yeah, outside. He probably expected me to lead the way.
My heart began to flutter as I thought of the soft California evening. A cool breeze blowing in from the ocean with a hint of salt in the air. The soft rustle of palm leaves. A dark, starry night. Very romantic.
“Hey, I’ll join you guys,” Jimmy said as he pushed his way between us and out onto the deck.
The curse returns, I thought. Nate shot me a quick glance that could have meant a dozen different things. Either he was thinking that Jimmy was ruining things. Or he was thinking, thank god, Jimmy was ruining things. I couldn’t tell which. And that fact tore at my stomach. I’d never know what was fake and what was real.
The three of us stood there on the patio in silence looking up at the stars. Nate shooting me quick glances, the butterflies in my stomach jumping around like they were kids on a trampoline and Jimmy showing off his knowledge of the various star systems. Quoting how far away they were and what type of stars. I swear the punk had them all cataloged.
My mind frantically tried to find something to say. Some way to break this evil tension.
“Jimmy,” Nana called from inside. “Come empty the trash.”
Jimmy’s brow creased in confusion. “I just emptied it before dinner,” he said.
“You heard the woman, you better hurry,” I said as my heart jumped. I really loved my Nana, she was just the best.
As Jimmy stepped inside, shaking his head from side to side like a confused hamster, I turned to look up at Nate. Finally, alone.
“I should probably be going,” he said with a doubtful tilt of his head. Like he didn’t want to upset me or something.
My heart fell. Going, so soon? But then, who could blame him. He had probably been looking for an honorable exit all night.
“Um … Sure, … okay,” I managed to get out.
“Let me go tell everyone goodbye.”
All I could do was nod my head. I mean, of course, I didn’t agree with him. But what was I going to say? No, you can’t go, we’re kidnapping you?
Nate thanked my Mom and Nana again and explained that he needed to get home. Mom looked almost relieved. Nana shot me a quick look that let me know she thought I’d failed at something important. What did she want me to do? Hit him over the head and drag him back to my room?
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Jimmy,” he added when we walked to the front door. “Don’t let that MIT guy push you around.”
Jimmy laughed. “When it comes to this stuff, I do the pushing.”
Nate chuckled and gently punched him in the arm. Jimmy smiled like he’d just been awarded the Nobel prize in physics.
A wave of melancholy washed over me. He was leaving. Boy, was Jeanna right, I did have it bad.
“I’ll walk you to your truck,” I spurted out as I realized I was searching for anything to prolong our evening together.
He smiled and nodded, setting my fear to rest. I hadn’t overstepped.
When we got to his truck he leaned his back against the fender and stared into my eyes. The boy was just so confident. So in the moment. Nothing ever bothered him.
“I’m sorry,” I said because I was. I should never have put him through this night.
His brow narrowed, “For what?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “My Mom, making you go through this. Everything.”
He continued to frown for a moment then pulled me into his arms.
Yes! I thought as I melted into him. Drinking in his energy and strength as his hand rubbed my back. Yes, this was where I belonged and yes, he didn’t hate me.
As I lay my head on his chest, he leaned down to whisper into my ear. “Jimmy’s watching us from his window.”
My heart stopped and my stomach fell to the ground. Would it always be this way? Me getting my hopes up. He being nice and tender towards me just to fool my brother.
I continued to hold on for just a moment longer before I pushed back slightly and smiled up at him. No way was I letting him see the truth. “Thank you for coming tonight, it meant a lot to me and believe me, it will make my life easier.”
Nate laughed as he continued to hold onto me, his hand continuing to gently caress my back in the most delicious back rub in the history of back rubs.
“Good,” he said as his hand gently pulled my head back onto his chest. Almost as if he wanted it there.
I closed my eyes and soaked it up while I could. Slowly, the night continued on. The breeze blew. The stars moved across the sky, and the two of us stood there holding each other.
�
��I wish I was more like you,” I said for absolutely no smart reason. The words just sort of tumbled out before I could stop them.
“What? Why?” he asked and I could tell his brow was wrinkled with confusion without having to look.
“Tough,” I said, “nothing ever seems to bother you.”
He laughed and said, “Elle, you are one of the toughest people I know.”
I pulled back to look up into his eyes to see if he was teasing or not.
“I mean it,” he continued,
“How,” I asked, desperately clinging to his compliment.
He laughed again. “Well, let's see. You live in a house with three very strong personalities and yet you continue to be you. You take on half the school to protect your little brother and oh yeah. That first day, when Jimmy got thrown against the locker and you thought I did it. You tried to push me away without even thinking about the fact I’m about four times bigger than you. I swear you’d have torn me in two if I had hurt your brother.”
I laid my head back on his chest as I smiled to myself. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.
“You take after your mom, you know,” he added.
“Oh, now you’re just being mean.”
“No I’m not, and you know it. She will do anything to protect the ones she loves. I think you’re the same type of person.”
My heart fluttered as I thought about what he said. We might disagree about me taking after my mother. But I could live on his words for a lifetime.
We continued to stand there for a moment then a door from our neighbors slammed and a car drove by, pulling us both back to the here and now.
“I better get going. And Jimmy’s no longer peeking through his window,” Nate said.
My stomach clenched up as I pulled back and nodded my head. “Okay, I understand,” I said. My voice didn’t falter and I didn’t pout, but it was hard not to.
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead then turned to get into his truck. I stood there with a thousand things running through my brain and I couldn’t think of anything to say.
He stopped as he opened the door and smiled back at me with those silvery blue eyes of his and said, “Thank you, Elle. I had a great time. Especially the last few minutes.”
My stomach turned over as I tried to figure out if he was teasing or did he really mean it.
Unfortunately, he was halfway home before I figured out what I should have said. I should have said, don’t go, not yet.
Chapter Thirteen
Nate
Monday morning, my mind was groggy from tossing and turning all night. I couldn’t get the picture of Elle in that yellow dress out of my brain. Then, when I finally fell asleep, I’d dreamt of Elle and me. The kind of dreams that leave a guy frustrated and mad at the world.
She’s not your type of girl, I reminded myself for the thousandth time. More accurately, I wasn’t her type of guy. She deserved to be with someone going somewhere. Somewhere important. Not a messed up boxer with no real plan and a dismal future.
Besides, the only reason she even talked to a guy like me was because of her brother. If Jimmy hadn’t been there she wouldn’t have wasted two minutes on me.
Sighing heavily, I leaned up against the lockers, my arms folded across my chest and waited outside our English lit class. Kids were streaming past both ways. Some of them shooting me strange looks. I gave each of them a cold stare. What? I wondered. They’d never seen a guy waiting for someone.
Finally, I caught a glimpse of Elle and Jimmy weaving their way through the crowd. I smiled to myself, she was as beautiful as ever. A deep blue top and those perfect jeans of hers. My smile dropped when I saw the angry scowl she shot me. Crap, what had I done now?
“You jerk,” she said as she pushed my chest with both of her hands. “How dare you? I told you, no fighting.”
I looked over at Jimmy for some kind of clue.
“I didn’t tell her,” he said defensively.
“What?” she continued, pushing again. “You thought I wouldn’t hear about you beating up two guys in the boy’s bathroom. Like you thought you could keep that a secret.”
My insides relaxed a little. Okay, this I could deal with.
“Listen, Elle,” I began as I grabbed her hands to stop her pushing me again. “It’s not what you think. You’re overreacting.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jimmy wince and roll his eyes. He shot me a quick look that let me know I’d probably made a mistake.
“Overreacting?” she yelled. “Overreacting? You think me being upset because you get into a fight that might get my brother expelled is overreacting? You idiot, You jerk. You are the dumbest thing to ever walk this earth.”
I had to stop myself from laughing. She was just adorable when she got mad. Instead, I made it worse. “Okay, you’re not overreacting about something that happened eight days ago and no one knows about. Or at least they won't unless you yell it a little louder.”
She grunted while she pulled her hands-free from mine. “Listen, we had a deal. No fighting, remember?”
Oops, I could see she realized the wrong words were out before she could stop herself.
“What do you mean you had a deal?” Jimmy asked. His brow creased while he tried to work out what he had just heard.
“The deal was,” I said, “your sister agreed to go out with me. But only if I promised not to get into any fights.”
Elle’s eyes softened just a little. She hadn’t forgiven me, but she appreciated the fact that I had just saved us.
“Yes,” she said picking up where I left off. “And he goes and risks everything. Just when I was getting to like him. It seems I’m not worth it.”
Jimmy continued to frown but I could tell he bought the story.
“But, Elle, it wasn’t like that,” Jimmy said. “I tried to tell you, he was helping. If Nate hadn’t come in. they would have beat the crap out of me.”
“That’s why you were talking to Joe McCain that day,” she said to me. “That was why you had that scrape on your chin.” She looked at her brother. Her eyes took on that caring, maternal look they got sometimes. Then she looked back at me with her death stare. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” she demanded.
I shrugged my shoulders. To me, it was sort of obvious.
“He’s my brother,” she continued. “If someone tries to hurt him. I should know about it.”
Thankfully, at that moment. Mr. Anderson stuck his head out the door. “Watson, Clark. Vice Principal Bean wants to see you.”
Elle’s forehead furrowed as she stared at me, silently yelling at me that she had told me so.
“I’m going with you,” she said as she turned and started to march to the front office.
“Just your brother, Elle,” Mr. Anderson said after her.
She turned and gave him an evil look. “Try to stop me.”
Mr. Anderson and I exchanged a quick glance. I shrugged my shoulders to let him know that it was out of my control. Nothing in this universe was stopping Elle Watson at the moment. He hid a quick smile and shook his head as he pulled the door closed behind him.
“Come on,” she demanded. “The sooner we set this straight the sooner I can get on with my life.”
“No Elle,” Jimmy said as he hurried to catch up. “You’ll just make it worse.”
I reached out to pull him back and shook my head. It was no use. She was on a mission.
When we got there, the secretary made us wait outside his office in stiff green chairs.
God, how many times had I been in this situation? I wondered. How many offices had I sat outside of waiting to be punished?
The door to the office opened and my good friends, Frick and Frack, stepped out. Before they saw us, I caught Frick give Frack a quick smile. Like they’d gotten away from certain death. Then he saw me and the smile dropped from his face.
“Is that them?” Elle said as she started to spring from her chair.
“Whoa, hold on Tiger,” I said as I grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back down onto her chair. “Not here, not now.”
She shot me a frustrated look, but she remained seated.
The two idiots scooted by, keeping one eye on me, the other on the lioness sitting next to me. I honestly don’t know which scared them more.
“Watson, Clark,” a deep voice bellowed from inside the office. “Get in here.”
Vice Principal Bean fit every stereotype. It was like he’d been ordered from central casting. A big man going to fat. Black horn-rimmed glasses. A short-sleeved white shirt and a paisley tie. But it was the flat top haircut that sealed the deal. The guy just looked like a vice principal in charge of discipline.
He looked up and frowned when he saw us accompanied by Elle.
“I’m here as my brother’s representative,” she said. “To make sure his rights aren’t violated.”
Mr. Bean’s frown grew even deeper. “You’re in high school. You don’t have any rights. Remember that and things will go a lot smoother.”
“You are incorrect …” she began.
He sighed heavily. “Sit down Elle, you too,” he added pointing at me and Jimmy.
Pausing, he pushed his glasses up onto the top of his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. I could tell he was upset. School had barely started and he had to deal with stuff like this.
Pulling a manila folder and flipping it open, he read it for a minute then looked up at me. “I can see you are familiar with how this goes Mr. Clark,” he said.
I kept my mouth quiet. No use giving him ammunition.
“And you, Mr. Watson. I must say, I am surprised.”
Elle leaned forward as if she was going to give him a piece of her mind. I quickly reached out and grabbed her arm. She shot me a look like she wanted to cut it off at the elbow, but I stared her down. Just wait, I silently told her.
She took a deep breath and then settled back into the chair.
The VP hadn’t missed a thing. He looked back and forth between us then leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
“You may have heard,” he began. “There is a rumor going around school that two young men were savagely beaten in the west wing boy’s bathroom last week.”
My Brother's Bodyguard (Hometown Heros #1) Page 10
