Loving the Right Brother

by Marie Ferrarella

  Irena slipped her hand into his, making sure her handshake was just as firm as Matthew’s. “Irena Yovich,” she responded.

  Brody watched Matthew take more comprehensive measure of Irena. “Irena thinks she can get Ed’s money back for him,” he interjected.

  “Really?” Matthew seemed impressed and laughed shortly. “You do that, the old man’s going to adopt you.”

  Brody chuckled. “As if the man didn’t already have enough trouble.”

  More people from the reservation were arriving to help out with the work. He felt heartened. When he’d first made his proposal to begin renovations three years ago, he’d been met with apathy. That was a thing of the past.

  “C’mon,” he urged Matthew, “daylight’s burning and we’ve got a lot to tackle before it gets dark.”

  Matthew paused to look at Irena. “What’re you going to do?”

  “Anything that needs doing,” she answered before Brody had a chance to respond for her. “Let’s go.”

  Matthew glanced back at Brody for confirmation. “You heard the lady. Let’s go.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” Matthew said, picking up his box of tools.

  The temperature never really became warmer than what it had been at sunrise. When she’d first arrived, Irena thought that it was chilly, but a few hours into the construction, she had worked up a good sweat. They all had, working pretty much for the duration of the day with only a few breaks, one of which was for lunch.

  By the end of the day, she was certain she’d never worked so hard in her life. Or felt so good about it. At least emotionally.

  Physically was another story entirely.

  There was a considerable ache in her shoulders as well as her arms, the by-product of a combination of the different tasks she’d undertaken. She’d spent a good deal of her time swinging a hammer in one capacity or another. She’d also been one of the many who’d joined forces in order to raise the four skeletal-like sides of the house.

  By the time the house was adequately framed, she was the closest she’d ever been to bone-melting exhaustion. It was a good tired, a fulfilled tired, even if her arms felt as if they each weighed a ton.

  Finished for the day, Brody sought her out.

  “You know, you could have quit at any time,” he told her, dropping down beside her. About to take a drink, he paused and offered her the half filled bottle of water first.

  She accepted it gratefully. Lifting her arm up was a challenge, but she managed, taking two long swigs before handing the bottle back to him.

  “I don’t quit,” she answered with finality in a voice that was fairly hoarse from shouting. The nonstop din all around her had made regular conversation all but impossible—unless the other person was standing on top of her. She nodded at the bottle. “Didn’t take you for the water bottle type.”

  “Water’s from the spring,” he told her. “I just filled it up.”

  “No wonder it tastes so good,” she murmured.

  Putting the bottle into the backpack he’d brought with him, Brody allowed himself a moment to study her. “You look bushed,” he commented.

  Irena wasn’t about to have him tell her she’d gotten soft. “I’m ready to go,” she protested, rising to her feet.

  He remained sitting. “We’re done for the day,” he told her.

  “Oh, thank God.” With a sigh that went straight down to her toes, Irena literally collapsed back down on the makeshift bench.

  She was just as scrappy, just as determined as ever, he thought. It was one of her traits that he’d always found endearing. Hell, everything about her was endearing.

  “You know,” he said in a conspiratorial voice, “it’s okay to admit when you get tired.”

  Irena looked around at all the people, all the men, women and in some cases, children, who had spent the better part of the day, if not all of it, working, framing a house for one of their own. They were going back to their own homes now after taking the time to help someone else.

  “None of them stopped,” she said, nodding toward the dissipating group of people.

  “They’re used to physical labor,” he pointed out. “You’re not.”

  She raised her chin, only partially pretending to take offense. “I held my own.”

  “And then some,” he agreed, a smile playing on his lips. He glanced down at her hands. “Too bad the same thing can’t be said about your nails.”

  Irena looked down herself. She’d been too busy to notice their condition. She’d chipped almost all of them. “They’ll grow back.” Somewhat self-conscious, she curled her fingers into her palms. “I was going to file them down anyway.”

  “To the quick?” he teased.

  Irena shrugged indifferently. “I hadn’t decided yet.”

  She was adorable, he thought, then silently chided himself. He had to stop thinking like that. That way laid only frustration. He changed the subject. “You really think you can get Ed his money back?”

  “Pretty sure.” She’d learned that it wasn’t wise to write anything in stone. Even sure things had a way of blowing up on you. But that didn’t stop her from stubbornly trying to deliver. She smiled up at Brody. “If I can’t, you can always go and threaten to beat salesman Phil up.”

  “Small problem with that,” he informed her. “I don’t believe in violence.”

  “You never got in a fight?” she asked, curious.

  He didn’t answer immediately, debating how much he wanted to share. “Just once,” he finally said.

  Despite what Hades was like, she fully expected him to confirm that he’d never exchanged blows with anyone. That he had caught her off guard. She couldn’t imagine him angry enough to lose control.

  “Oh? With who?” she asked. “Must have been pretty serious.”

  He looked at the setting sun, watching the rays retreat from the sky. “Seemed so at the time.”

  There was something in his voice that told her to go slowly.

  “Tell me,” she urged quietly.

  He shook his head, still avoiding her eyes. “Maybe some other time.”

  The reticence hurt more than she thought it would. Then again, she had no right to show up ten years later and expect to resume their friendship just the way she’d left it.

  “All right, I won’t pry—even though I’d like to,” she couldn’t help adding.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes as the sun all but extinguished itself. He supposed, after all this time, it didn’t matter if he said something. It was all behind him. And Ryan was gone.

  “I got into it with Ryan.”

  His answer surprised her. She’d known that Ryan had a temper, but he’d been fond of saying he was a lover, not a fighter. And she just couldn’t picture Brody exchanging blows with his brother.

  “Why?”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shouldn’t have said anything.

  “Sure it does if it was enough to get you to take a swing at your brother,” she insisted. “Or was it the other way around?”

  “No, I was the one who took the first swing,” he admitted.

  It was like pulling teeth, but Brody’d come this far; she wasn’t about to let him just drop the subject. “Because…?”

  He blew out a breath. “Because when you left, I told Ryan he was an idiot for letting you go. He didn’t like me criticizing him. His answer was that no woman was irreplaceable, not even you.” He saw the look that came into her eyes. He’d opened up wounds. “I knew he didn’t mean it—”

  “If he hadn’t meant it,” she said, her voice steely calm, “he would have gone after me.” The smile on her lips held no humor. “It wasn’t as if I dropped off the face of the earth.” Her eyes shifted to Brody’s face. “When Ryan said that, is that when you hit him?”

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “I lost my temper. It was a dumb thing to do.”

  She touched his face. “You were being my champion even when I wasn’t there.” She didn’t deserve his friendship.
“I’m sorry, Brody.”

  She dropped her hand from his face. Something inside his gut sank a little. “Sorry? About what?”

  “That I lost touch with you. Just because I was angry with Ryan is no excuse not to answer your letters.”

  He shrugged, absolving her. “You were busy starting a new life.”

  “And I wanted to sever ties with Hades,” she said honestly. “But if you’d have come out to visit me, I wouldn’t have slammed the door in your face.”

  He’d actually thought about it once or twice, each time coming to the same conclusion. That there was no point in torturing himself. That he needed to move on. Except that he really hadn’t.

  “I would have reminded you of Ryan,” he said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t want to cause you any more pain than you already felt.”

  “You’re one of a kind, Brody Hayes. And I have missed you,” she told him with feeling. “Missed you a great deal.”

  Not half as much as I’ve missed you. “So maybe this time, we’ll stay in touch,” he said lightly, although he had his doubts they would. Once she went back to Seattle, she’d forget all about her time here.

  “Maybe,” she agreed. “Speaking of touch, would you mind working the knots out of my shoulders?” She turned her back to him, taking his answer for granted. “If they get any stiffer, June and Kevin’s planes could land on them.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Positioning himself behind her, Brody began to knead her shoulders. “You weren’t kidding, were you? Your shoulders feel like rocks.”

  “Skip the flattery. Just massage,” she instructed.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She heard the smile in his voice, and it made her smile as well.

  Brody could always make her smile, she thought fondly.

  Chapter Eight

  “You were serious, then,” Brody remarked, glancing at her as she carefully folded the paper that Ed Fox had just given her.

  Dead tired as they left the reservation, she’d still reminded Brody that they needed to stop at the elder’s house before driving back to her grandfather’s. If she was to get Ed’s money back for him from the dealer, she needed to have the bill of sale for his defunct vehicle.

  It took her a second to process Brody’s statement. “About trying to get Ed’s money back? Yes, I was serious. I don’t lie to people just because it might be expedient. Lies,” she said softly, “have a way of ambushing you when you’re least prepared for them.” Like Ryan’s had finally ensnared him, she added silently. Irena frowned slightly. “I thought we already settled that.”

  “We did,” he answered, “but with all that you did today…” He’d actually thought that she’d forgotten all about her promise to the elder.

  “No more than you,” she pointed out.

  He continued as if she hadn’t said anything. “I thought that maybe you felt you’d given enough of your time.”

  Maybe she was just too tired, but she didn’t follow his reasoning. “One thing doesn’t have anything to do with the other, except maybe in the very broadest sense because they both involved people from the Kenaitze tribe.” Irena tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “Sorry, I think I really am bone tired.”

  He’d watched her today. Given the fact that she spent her time behind a desk and in court, he was really surprised at how hard she could work. Some of the others who had joined in on today’s effort had gone home long before she’d finally surrendered to fatigue and agreed to stop.

  “That makes two of us,” he told her. “If you want to know the truth, I’m having trouble just keeping my eyes open.”

  “Not exactly reassuring to hear, given that you’re the one who’s driving.” She took a breath, pulling herself together. “You want me to take the wheel?”

  Brody shook his head. She looked far too tired for him even to consider her offer. “Your eyes are drooping, too.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again. There was no point in arguing with him. She wasn’t any more wide awake than he was, possibly less. She was accustomed to burning the midnight oil, but there was never any heavy lifting involved.

  “Maybe we should have stayed at the reservation,” she told him, thinking out loud. “Somebody could have put us up for the night. Or, worse come to worst, we could have spent the night in the schoolhouse.”

  The suggestion was not without merit. And the idea of spending the night with her anywhere fired his imagination. With effort, Brody reined in his thoughts.

  “Not a bad idea,” he said, trying to sound detached. He kept his eyes on the road, which was illuminated by the car’s headlights. “I’d turn around, but we’re already past the halfway point.” And then, as he remembered something, he turned the wheel sharply to the left.

  Irena’s eyes flew open—when had she closed them? She had to brace her hands on the dashboard to keep from falling into Brody.

  “What?” she cried, confused and trying to look through the windshield beyond the high beams. “Did you just miss a deer?”

  The talk about taking shelter somewhere had reminded him of something. “No, I’m turning off for your parents’ house. It’s a lot closer than Yuri’s place, and I did get it ready for you. Might as well get some use out of it,” he told her.

  She hadn’t even thought of that. Irena shifted in her seat. Tired as she was, something stirred within her. Something very basic and almost primal. She did her best to ignore it. “You want to stay there tonight?”

  “Unless you have some objection.”

  Stopping the car, Brody turned on the overhead light and looked at her. Was it his imagination, or was there a wariness in her eyes? Or was that just a reflection of his own uneasiness? Uneasiness because he felt as if he were willingly crossing the threshold to uncharted territory.

  There was nothing to be uneasy about, he silently insisted. He was in complete control, the way he always was. That meant that his emotions wouldn’t get the upper hand.

  And neither would temptation.

  “If you’d rather not…” He began, intentionally letting his voice trail off. Waiting for her to either agree, or tell him she’d rather keep going until they reached Yuri’s house. Either way, he realized that he didn’t feel exhausted anymore.

  “No, of course not. Why shouldn’t I want to spend the night at the old house?” Since she was agreeing, he turned off the overhead light and began driving again. He noticed that she knotted her fingers together in her lap. “It’s a perfectly good idea,” she continued. Was she convincing herself or him, he wondered. Or was he just reading too much into it? “Neither one of us is liable to hit another car, but that still doesn’t mean we wouldn’t drive into a tree or some other obstacle that might be out here. Besides,” she concluded, turning toward him, the corners of her mouth curving, “why let all your hard work go to waste? I should spend at least one night in the old house.”

  She meant every word she had just said to him. So why was her blood surging so enthusiastically through her veins at the prospect of spending the night in close proximity to Brody?

  She had to be tired. And maybe just a little giddy.

  Abruptly, she realized that they’d arrived at their destination. Taking out her cell phone, Irena looked at its face in the light coming from the interior of the opened car. There was a signal, she noted, but it was fairly low. As she began to press numbers, she saw the quizzical look on Brody’s face.

  “I’m leaving a message for my grandfather so he doesn’t wonder where I am,” she explained.

  It felt odd, having to clock in after being on her own for so long. Odd, but at the same time, rather nice.

  Having someone care where she was made her feel warm inside.

  Instead of the answering machine picking up, the way she’d assumed, Irena heard heavy breathing and then Ursula’s voice.

  “Hello?”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask the older woman if she was all right, but at the same time, she knew Ursula wou
ld take offense. Ursula was extremely touchy when it came to questions regarding her health.

  So instead, she just said what she’d called to tell her grandfather. “Ursula, it’s Irena. Brody and I decided that we’re both too tired to drive all the way back to town. We’re staying at my parents’ old house. Tell Grandpa not to worry.”

  “He won’t.” A chuckle followed the somewhat labored assurance. “See you two in the morning. Or whenever,” Ursula cheerfully added, then terminated the call.

  Leaving Irena staring thoughtfully at her silent phone.

  Brody stopped short of the front door. “Something wrong?”

  “No.” She looked up as she tucked the phone away into the back pocket of her jeans. “I think I might have interrupted them.” She didn’t elaborate what she was thinking, but she doubted that she had to. “She sounded awfully breathless.”

  Brody laughed. “They are a pretty lusty pair,” he agreed. “Ike told me that he’d happened on them a few times when they were ‘indisposed,’” he said delicately.

  That didn’t make any sense. Why would Ike just walk in on her grandfather and Ursula like that? “In their house?”

  “No. Yuri’s truck. Other places.” He grinned. “They’re like a couple of teenagers who can’t get enough of each other.” And he knew that they were both aware of how lucky they were to have found one another. “More power to them.”

  It took her a second to reconcile herself to the idea of her grandfather and Ursula behaving like adolescents, but once she did, she smiled. She was glad for them. Life should be enjoyed whenever possible. Her grandfather had been alone for a very long time. He deserved whatever happiness he found.

  “Amen to that,” she murmured.

  Walking in, she felt around on the wall for a light switch and turned it on. Bathed in muted light, the house seemed cozier now than it had when she’d first arrived.

  As she looked slowly around, Irena felt far more wide awake. Wide awake with anticipation dancing through her, hard and fast. She was aware of every single nerve ending in her body.