“Mom, please be reasonable. Shelly is so hot she stops traffic.”
“Hallie is a very pretty girl, but more than that, she has a heart. She cares about people.”
“Yes, she does.” He gave a little smile. “I just wish I could put Hallie’s heart in Shelly’s body.”
His mother did not return his smile. “I’ll tell you what you’re going to do—and I’m not asking for this. You are going to get up, shower and shave, then you’re going to negotiate, mediate, take it to the courtroom, whatever you have to do, to solve this for Hallie.”
Braden opened his mouth to protest, but his mother kept talking.
“And furthermore, you’re not going to charge her a penny for any of it.”
He was looking at his mother’s face. It was the one she wore after she had repeatedly told him to pick up his toys and he still hadn’t done it. He didn’t know what would happen if he defied that look because he’d never dared to do it. “Yes” was all he managed to say.
She gave a curt nod and got up. “I got your father’s brand of shampoo. Don’t use that fancy stuff of yours. It’s going to take work to get you clean.” She went into the kitchen.
Rolling his eyes, Braden got off the couch and headed upstairs to the bathroom, all the while muttering, “Damn it, Hallie!” He dreaded the way she looked at him, with adoring eyes that begged him to say even one kind word to her. And his mother’s insinuation that he didn’t look out for Hallie was totally unfair! For all Hallie’s life, he’d looked after her.
As he turned on the water, he couldn’t help smiling at the image of Shelly in her bikini. Yesterday half the neighborhood had turned out to see her bending over the flowers. Braden wasn’t sure what had happened this time between the stepsisters but he had no doubt that it was Shelly’s fault. She’d always been a conniving little brat, always planning something devious, usually with poor Hallie on the receiving end.
The day he’d arrived home after Zara had—as his mother so inelegantly put it—“dumped” him, he’d guessed that Shelly was up to no good. She’d been in the kitchen with his mother, sweettalking her into lending Shelly a tea set and asking where she could buy some bakery items. It seemed that she had an important guest coming.
At the time, Braden had been too miserable to show himself, but even through his deep unhappiness, he’d realized that something was amiss. For one thing, Shelly seemed to think men were put on the earth to do things for her, not the other way around. So why was she going to so much trouble for this one? When she told his mother the man’s name, only Braden had heard of the famous architect. Why in the world was that man visiting Shelly? he wondered.
The last thing Braden wanted to do was get involved in whatever Shelly was up to, but he did think that Hallie should know what was going on. On the day the man was supposed to show up, Braden was rolling the garbage can to the curb when he saw Hallie rushing in and out of the house and putting things in the open trunk of her car. Maybe he shouldn’t have interfered, but he did. He walked across the road, meaning to warn her but dreading it. Instead, on impulse, he pulled an important-looking envelope out of her tote bag and slipped it behind the storm door. When Hallie got to where she was going and found it missing, maybe she’d have to return to get it. And maybe she’d find out what Shelly was up to.
When Braden got out of the shower, he thought that, first, he should go over and visit Shelly. He’d hear her side of whatever it was that happened—but he dreaded all the drama. If Shelly didn’t look the way she did, no one would put up with her. On the other hand, he couldn’t help thinking of what Zara would say if he showed up at the office with a girl who looked like Shelly. When she was in heels, wouldn’t she be about six feet? Nice heels, and a suit. Maybe something in Chanel.
The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. If whatever Shelly had done this time could possibly get her put in jail, she’d owe Braden for keeping her out.
Two birds with one stone, he thought as he began to shave. Or was this I scratch your back, you scratch mine? Whatever it was, he looked forward to Zara’s face when she saw Shelly on his arm.
When Hallie awoke, she looked at the clock. It was five minutes before two A.M. Time for Jamie’s nightly demon wrestling. As she got out of bed, she thought that when she had children she’d be prepared for sleepless nights.
She’d put his nightlight in the bathroom so at least she could see him. Right on time, he began to thrash. She put her hands on his shoulders, but she wasn’t strong enough to hold him in place. Thinking of what they’d been told about the ghosts, maybe the name of his True Love would calm him down. Maybe his nightmares were because he missed her. But when she said the name “Valery,” Jamie’s rolling got worse. He began moaning, then threw his hands up as though to shield his face.
“It’s me, Hallie,” she said loudly. “Remember? Hallie and Nantucket and working on your leg. And Todd. Don’t forget him.”
Her words seemed to calm him, as he stopped thrashing, but he was still tense. Leaning over him, she smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “You’re safe now,” she whispered. “Go back to sleep.”
When he’d settled, she started to step away, but his hand grabbed her bare leg. “Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, but then smiled. It looked like he wasn’t going to release her without his goodnight kiss.
She took his face in her hands and kissed him. When it started to deepen and he began pulling her into bed with him, she stepped back and looked at him. With every minute of every day she liked him more—and she knew it wouldn’t take much for her to fall in love with him. But then what? When his leg healed would he go jetting off with a girl who looked like Shelly? Tall, gorgeous rich boys who spent their lives going from one pleasure to another didn’t commit to short, pudgy physical therapists. They had flings, then left.
No, Hallie thought. She’d already given her heart to a man who couldn’t seem to see her as anything other than the kid across the street.
Jamie was sleeping, so she could go back to her own bed. As she walked through the dark house, she considered the idea that the ghosts hadn’t appeared to her because she’d already met her True Love. She thought of Braden, of being around him as she was growing up. He was six years older than she and she’d adored him from afar. He’d always been…well, spectacular. A star athlete, top grades, king of the high school prom. He got into Harvard on a partial scholarship, made great grades, and was hired by a top law firm. A true Golden Boy.
As Hallie got into bed, she thought of Braden as the man she most wanted—a sentiment encouraged by his mother. But she knew he had never seen her as anything but the kid who was always hanging around his house.
Hallie saw him as smart and kind. Sometimes he’d come home from sports practice and she’d be in the kitchen with his mother, eating cookies, her eyes red from crying. “So what’d she do to you this time?” he’d ask as he grabbed a handful of cookies to take to his room. He knew that Shelly was always the cause of Hallie’s unhappiness.
“Crashed my computer,” Hallie would say. Or, “Spent the money I was saving.” Or the most common one, “I can’t go so and so place because I have to help Shelly with something.” Braden—who had always known he wanted to be a lawyer—would say something like, “You want me to draw up a contract and send her off to work for the Snow Queen?”
His questions and his funny “punishments” always drew her out of her misery. Over the years they’d worked to come up with things they could do to Shelly.
“I’ll have her put into the body of an avatar,” he said once.
“She’d never get used to being that short,” Hallie shot back.
Braden had laughed, as avatars were over eleven feet tall.
If Hallie had possibly already met her True Love, she was sure that had to be Braden.
The next morning, her cell phone ringing woke Hallie. Sleepily, she answered it to hear Jared’s voice. “I’m sorry for calling so early, but I’m catching a p
lane out of the country.” Quickly, he told her that her friend Braden was going to handle the case.
“Braden agreed?” Hallie asked, then she sat up, listened, and asked a few more questions.
Jamie came clumping into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.
“Sure,” Hallie said. “I’ll be here. You don’t have a car I could borrow, do you? I need to run some errands, and where do I buy cleaning supplies?” She listened in silence for several minutes. “Okay. Thank you very much! And I hope you have a great flight.” She clicked off and looked at Jamie.
“My friend Braden is going to handle everything with my stepsister. He wants to draw up some papers so it’s made clear to Shelly who owns what. And Braden is going to fix it so she never again hassles me for money.” Hallie let out her breath. “For me, it’s going to be a sort of Declaration of Independence.”
Jamie sat down on the side of the bed. “And this Braden guy gets to be the hero. So how does he look in that big, flowing cape?”
“Braden looks good in anything.” She threw back the covers and got out of bed. “And Jared said I could use the car of a man named Toby.” Hallie went to the bathroom and shut the door. When she came out, Jamie was stretched out on her bed, hands behind his head, and staring up at the ceiling.
“Toby is a girl and she’s going to marry my cousin Graydon,” he said.
“Are you invited to the wedding?” Hallie asked as she grabbed a pair of jeans.
“No, but Aunt Jilly is. It’s in another country, but my uncle Mike rigged up some TVs so the wedding can be streamed in live. I could get him to connect it here if you want to see it. I think it’s going to be a fairly big wedding.”
“That would be nice,” Hallie said. She stepped behind the bathroom door to put on underwear, the jeans, and a T-shirt, then went back into the bedroom. “You want to get up so I can make the bed?”
“No,” Jamie said, still looking up. “Tell me more about this guy Braden. Can you trust him?”
“Absolutely. He knows Shelly and the things she’s done over the years, so that’s an advantage to me. He won’t be falling for her like you and all the other men in the world do.”
“What?!” Jamie sat up on the bed. “How did I become the villain in this? I’ve never even met your stepsister.”
“No, but you keep her photos in your date book. Why? So you can drool over them?” Hallie said before she thought, then added quickly, “None of that matters. I need to get the car so I can go to a store called Marine Home. I have a lot of things to get.”
When Jamie got off the bed, he grabbed his crutches so fast he nearly fell, but he managed to head Hallie off before she reached the stairs. “You can’t accuse me of something, then walk out before I can defend myself.”
“You’d only need a defense if you were being attacked—which you’re not. All men make fools of themselves over Shelly.” Hallie stopped trying to get around him and glared. “Why aren’t you in the gym trying to put even more muscle on your body?”
“I slept well and late,” he said. “And now I’m being falsely accused of some crime I didn’t commit. Yes, I exchanged emails with your stepsister, but I thought she was you.”
“And you have some gorgeous photos of her. Great. Now please move so I can leave. I have a lot of work to do today.”
“On me? My leg is doing well, aches some, but I know you can fix that.” He gave her a suggestive little smile.
She glared at him. “For your information, there is more in my life than just you. In a few days, my friend Braden Westbrook is going to come here and I want this place to look good. I’m going to buy a lot of cleaning supplies, then return here and scrub the tea room. Braden isn’t the type of man to like anything as filthy as that place is. Now, are you satisfied, and can I go?”
Jamie didn’t move. “You’re going to do all this for him? By yourself?”
“Yes.” She looked at him hard—and could swear there was jealousy in his eyes. “I’d ask you to go with me, but you won’t leave the grounds, so I guess the entire project is mine alone.” She turned sideways to get past him and started down the stairs.
“I’ll go with you,” he said.
Hallie paused halfway down the stairs but didn’t look back. “You’ll drive?”
“Don’t push it,” he said.
Smiling, she continued down the stairs.
In the store, Hallie concentrated on what she needed to get the cleaning done, and did her best to ignore Jamie’s nervousness.
Before they left, she’d made a list. When she was ready to go, she fully expected Jamie to chicken out. In fact, he seemed to be sweating at the prospect of going. But she said, “Don’t let me forget to call Braden’s mother and get her recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. They’re his favorite.”
That comment seemed to strengthen Jamie’s resolve so much that he went with her across Kingsley Lane to Jared’s big house. He waited outside while she got the car keys, then they walked down the lane to a small house to get the car. On the drive, he grasped the armrest at the two roundabouts, but he did well.
By the time they got to the store, Hallie was thinking, James Michael Taggert, what in the world happened to you?!
The cleaning supplies were in a far corner and as soon as they were away from other people and the open space, Jamie calmed considerably and they filled the big cart to the brim. On the way to the register, they bought a vacuum cleaner and many dust bags for it.
When Jamie insisted on paying for it all, Hallie protested. “Let me win something over Braden the Magnificent,” he mumbled as he handed over his credit card.
By the time they left, Hallie was dizzy with hunger and she pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Downyflake. Jamie almost refused to go in, and when he did, he wouldn’t sit at a table near a window. He took one in a closed corner.
They had thick tuna melt sandwiches and Jamie ordered a dozen doughnuts to go. On the way to the car, he offered her one. “Braden doesn’t like fat women,” Hallie said.
“You’re not fat,” Jamie said, “and any man who doesn’t like the look of you doesn’t like women.”
“You’re sweet.” She was smiling, but then said, “Oh, no! How do I get out of here?” Two pickup trucks were on either side of the borrowed car, both parked at an angle. There was little space on the driver’s side for her to get in the door. “We’ll have to wait for one of them to move.”
“Give me the keys,” Jamie said as he handed her his crutches. He hopped his way between the car and a pickup, opened the door as wide as possible, and managed to wedge his big body inside.
Hallie stepped back as he deftly maneuvered the car out. She tossed his crutches in the back, then got in the passenger seat. “Do you remember the way home?”
“I do,” he said, but when he reached the road, he turned right instead of left.
“Where are you going?”
“Actually, it feels good to drive. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” she said and leaned back in the seat. There was a map of Nantucket in the glove box so she was able to tell him where to turn as they spent the morning exploring the island. Jamie had to drive using his left leg, but he did it with ease.
On the way back, they stopped at Bartlett’s Farm to load up on groceries. Jamie didn’t want to go in, but when Hallie said she couldn’t remember Braden’s favorite cheese, he went with her.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” he said.
“Oh, yeah. Next time we’re going there.” She nodded to the huge nursery full of plants.
“Let me guess, Braden loves flowers. Do they have any to match his superhero cape?”
“I was thinking more of matching his eyes.” She laughed at Jamie’s grimace. She’d never had a jealous boyfriend before and she was enjoying it. Not that Jamie was her boyfriend, of course, but whatever he was, she was liking this teasing.
When they got back to the house, the kitchen table was covered wit
h one of Edith’s glorious teas, this one all sweets. On the bottom plate of the tiered stack were little coconut tarts with tiny wild strawberries on top and three-inch apple pies with cheese oozing from the crust. On the top were squares of gingerbread with bits of apples and grapes sticking out.
“I bet she heard how her daughter-in-law has been bothering us and this is her apology,” Hallie said.
“Whatever the reason, I love the woman. I’m starving. Try this.” He held out a mini cupcake with bits of red, ripe cherries on top.
Hallie turned away. “I think I’ll just have a salad.”
Jamie groaned. “Not the caped crusader again! Did you know that you’ve lost weight since you got here?”
“That’s ridiculous. Edith’s pastries are nothing but calories.”
“So what’s this?” He stuck his finger into the waistband of her jeans and pinched a couple of inches of empty space.
The truth was that her clothes were a bit loose on her. She’d thought she wasn’t drinking enough water, but maybe that wasn’t it.
“Look, Hartley,” Jamie said, “between two workouts a day and all the energy you expend digging into me, you’re using more calories than you take in. And when you consider the work we’re going to do this afternoon—”
“I’m sold,” Hallie said as she took the chocolate cupcake and ate it in one bite. “Divine.” She sat down and began to pour the tea.
As always, they ate it all. After they washed the dishes, they made a little drama of beginning the project and went outside to the double doors that led into the old tea room.
“Maybe your ghosts cleaned it up during the night,” Jamie said, but it was exactly as they’d left it. In fact, the light was brighter so the place looked worse. Cobwebs, grime as thick as shoe leather, the air gloomy with floating dust.
“Okay,” Hallie said, “I think we should take everything washable outside and start hosing it down. What’s left inside, we’ll vacuum, then hand dust.”