Ever After

  “I do, actually.” He sounded surprised.

  She stood up and looked down at him. He’d said that he was truly beginning to like her and she felt the same way about him. She’d never before felt so comfortable with a man. Sometimes they even seemed to have the same thoughts at the same time.

  With the few boyfriends she’d had in the past, she usually couldn’t wait to get away from them. Growing up, her neighbor Mrs. Westbrook, Braden’s mother, had been a best friend to her. She used to say that Hallie’s problem was that she chose men like the people she knew. Hallie asked what she meant. “Larry was slow and easy like your grandfather, and Kyle was never available, just like your father. And Craig sat in a chair and let you wait on him. He was a male Shelly.” At the time, she’d laughed at the very accurate description of her past relationships, but she knew she didn’t want to repeat herself.

  Of course there was one man they hadn’t spoken of: Braden. They both wanted the same thing, for her and Braden to get together, but that didn’t look like it was going to happen.

  As Hallie looked at Jamie Taggert, still lying on the floor, she wondered if it was possible that they could have a future together.

  Slowly, Jamie opened his eyes and looked up at her. Some of what she was thinking must have been showing because his expression changed from sleepy to an invitation. He held up his hand for her to join him on the floor—and Hallie knew where that would lead. A quickie with him in his big sweatsuit. It would probably be wonderful, but in the morning she’d be angry at herself for mixing business with pleasure.

  She had to turn away or she’d let the pleasure side win. “Can you get up by yourself?” Her back was to him.

  “Sure,” he said, his voice flat. He sounded like a man who’d just been rejected—which, in a way, he was.

  She heard him as he held on to the bedpost and got up. When he was standing, she looked back at him and gave a smile as though nothing had happened. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “All right,” Jamie said, his voice cool and distant. But then his head came up. “How do you work out?”

  “The usual way,” she said. The truth was that between taking care of Shelly, multiple jobs, going to school, and, well, taking care of Shelly, gym time had been left out. She’d told herself that the practice sessions where she’d learned the proper form for rehabilitation had been enough.

  The wary expression left Jamie’s handsome face and the tension between them was gone. “Tomorrow morning you’re going to work out with me.”

  “No, I’m not,” Hallie said quickly. She’d seen him in the gym. He’d probably hand her fifty-pound dumbbells and say, “Now, let’s see what you can do with them.”

  “I’ll see you at six A.M. Goodnight.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  With an almost menacing look, he came toward her on one crutch and Hallie backed up. She didn’t realize she was in the hall until he closed the door in her face.

  She started to open the door and protest, but she didn’t. Instead, yawning, she went into her own room and got into bed. She’d deal with that in the morning.

  Hours later, when the groans woke Hallie, she came alert instantly, and in seconds she was in Jamie’s bedroom. It was very dark, with no nightlight, and she had to use her memory to get to the bed. He was thrashing about, rolling from one side to the other, and when Hallie touched his shoulder he grabbed her to him. Her feet were still on the floor and she was so twisted that she was close to breaking.

  She threw a leg up onto the bed. He’d tossed the covers off so her body was next to his. She wore only a big T-shirt and underpants, but even at night he was covered by sweatpants and a long-sleeved cotton shirt.

  He pulled her to him, snuggling them so her legs were held between his. As soon as her hips were pressed to his she knew he was ready for her.

  “Jamie?” she whispered, but there was no answer.

  His hand slowly moved over her body, down to her nearly bare backside, caressing her flesh all the way down.

  Hallie’s eyes closed. He was such a beautiful man and his hard body against hers was making her heart beat quickly. “I can’t—We can’t—” she began, but he bent his head and kissed her.

  It wasn’t like the other two kisses. This one was full of passion and desire. When his tongue touched hers, Hallie forgot about the forbidden aspect and kissed him back. She’d wanted him from the moment she’d first seen him and days of being near him had intensified that desire.

  She kissed him back as though she were desperate, needed him past desire. With her knee nudging his maleness, when her foot touched the mattress, she dug in so that he turned onto his back. A groan came from him. It wasn’t his usual nighttime sound of fear, but raw, unbridled passion.

  Hallie straddled him, feeling his hard desire between her legs. The room was so dark she couldn’t see his face, but when she kissed his eyes they were closed.

  Sitting back, she flung her T-shirt to the floor and leaned over him, her naked breasts in his face. There was another sound from him, this one almost of pain. There was deep yearning in his voice.

  In one quick, strong movement, he flipped her onto her back. She felt him pulling the drawstring on his pants and lowering them. Her arms were around him, feeling the muscles in his body, the deep curves of them, the ridges and valleys. Naked, he must be a sight to behold, she thought.

  She still had on her underpants, so when he started to enter her, there was a barrier. “Wait,” she whispered as she reached down to remove them.

  “I will wait for you forever, Valery,” he said, his lips on her ear.

  Hallie froze beneath him. In an instant her mind went from being blind with lust to crystal clear. She was about to have sex with a man who was in a drug-induced sleep! Was she crazy?! Not only would he not remember it in the morning but he’d think he’d dreamed of making love with another woman.

  For a moment, the feel of his magnificent body, his breath on her cheek, and his sheer masculinity made her think, Who cares?

  But she had more pride than that. It wasn’t easy, but she rolled out from under him and stood up. Her heart was still pounding, her breath coming fast and loud, and it took minutes to get herself under control.

  The darkness of the room had annoyed her, but now she was glad for it because she was nearly nude.

  When she heard Jamie moving his arms, she knew he was searching for her.

  She felt her way around to the far side of the bed, found her T-shirt, and put it on. The noise he was making had stopped and for a moment she thought maybe he’d awakened, but she heard the soft sound of his breathing and she knew he was still asleep.

  She made her way to the door and through to her own bed. As she lay there—alone—part of her regretted her decision to leave him. Sex with a sleeping man. When you thought about it, it wasn’t such a bad idea.

  But Hallie knew herself well enough to realize that it wouldn’t have stopped there—not for her, anyway. She wasn’t the type of person who could sue her stepsister when she tried to steal from her, and she wasn’t one to have sex without feelings attached. Like Jamie had said, she was growing to like him more every day. Would they have easy, pleasant companionship during the day and sex at night? Sex that he didn’t remember?

  “So what happens when Valery shows up?” she whispered aloud. Would Hallie just step aside and think it was fun while it lasted? Smile at the two of them as they walked around the garden and kissed and snuggled?

  No, she knew she wouldn’t be able to do that. Before she finally went back to sleep, she renewed her vow to keep the relationship between them professional.

  “Hartley!” came a voice like a drill sergeant.

  Hallie, on her stomach under the covers, moved farther down.

  Jamie tossed back the coverlet, exposing her T-shirt-clad upper half. “It’s time to go to the gym.”

  “Who is Valery?” she asked.

  She didn’t see the
shock on his face that was followed by anger. But he got his emotions under control. “She’s the love of my life. Jealous?”

  “Does she put up with your moans and groans and calling her name at night?” Hallie still hadn’t turned over, and she was berating herself for having asked about the woman. But it was better than not knowing.

  “I’m lovable as I am,” Jamie answered. “Now get up and let’s go to the gym. I’m going to toughen you up.”

  “Oh?” she said and turned over in the bed to look up at him. Her braless upper half was barely hidden under the thin T-shirt. “You don’t like the softness of women?”

  She had the pleasure of seeing his eyes widen. Putting his crutches aside, he sat down on the side of the bed.

  “If you want to…” He trailed off and when his hand reached for her, she flung back the cover on the opposite side of the bed, rolled out, and walked around toward him. Her T-shirt hung only to her hips so her bare legs were exposed.

  She had the great satisfaction of seeing Jamie’s face turn nearly white. “Holy crap, Hallie! I’m only human.”

  “You’re the one who told me to get up.”

  “And now we both are.”

  She didn’t know what he meant, but a quick glance downward explained it. While trying to suppress a giggle, she hurried to the bathroom and closed the door.

  Over two hours later they left the gym and walked back to the house. Hallie was sure that every muscle in her body was going to be sore. Jamie had put her on a program on the treadmill that went back and forth from easy to fast and difficult. Then he’d had her sit on a bench while he guided her arms as she did variations of flys and curls.

  In return, she got him off the weights and into exercises that were part Pilates, part yoga, with a lot of meditation added. Her goal was to get the tension out of his giant muscles.

  For all that the long, hard workout nearly killed her, Hallie had enjoyed it. They’d laughed and talked throughout the time. Jamie told her stories of his family, a lot of them about his brother Todd, who Jamie seemed to think was the best guy on the earth. “He does undercover work with the police and sometimes I don’t hear from him for months.” Jamie sounded as though when he and his brother were separated, they missed each other to the point of pain.

  His talk of his family was so happy that Hallie wanted to respond in kind, so she told him more about living with her grandparents. She described the big garden they had and how her school friends loved to come to sleepovers and pick berries. “My grandfather would set up a screen in the garden and we’d watch movies outside. It sounds tame now, but to a bunch of nine-year-olds it was wildly exciting.”

  “But later your grandparents moved out?”

  “Yes,” Hallie said and her voice changed. “When Dad showed up with his new wife and her cute little blonde daughter, my grandparents ran to Florida.”

  “So the only relative you have left is Shelly?”

  “Yes,” Hallie said and she could feel her back teeth clenching.

  Jamie saw in her eyes what he guessed was years of repressed anger. He could give her sympathy, but he knew from experience that was often what a person needed least. “You want some? Relatives, I mean. I have what feels like millions of them. Just last year a whole new branch of them found us. Jared Montgomery Kingsley showed up and we found out we’re related to half of Nantucket. So tell me what kind of relatives you want. You could go by age, sex, personality, profession, or location. Just tell me and I can find whatever you want.”

  By the time he finished, Hallie was laughing. “I’ll take a tall, dark, and handsome male.”

  “Here I am.”

  She laughed harder. “You and your ego! Get down on the floor and start breathing.”

  “Is this the one where you use both hands to search for my belly button? Just so you know, last night it moved six inches lower.”

  “Get on the floor!” She was shaking her head at him and still laughing.

  When they finally quit working out and got back to the house, they were pleased to see that the kitchen table was loaded with food.

  “Looks like Edith has been here,” Jamie said.

  “And she’s trying to win us over to her side.”

  Jamie picked up a little triangle of crisp strudel, broke it in half, and gave the larger piece to Hallie. “Let’s see. Angry woman who slams gates versus Edith who brings us food. Hard to decide, huh?”

  “Edith has won me. This is delicious. Apricots?”

  “I think so. What’s your favorite berry?” He picked up a square cookie with a design of a rabbit on it.

  “Lingonberry. They grow on little bushes. When I was little, Grams made a killer jam from them. Is that tea hot?”

  Jamie touched the pot. “Scalding.”

  By the next minute they were seated at the table and helping themselves. Before they finished, Jamie’s phone rang. He looked at the ID. “A cousin. What a surprise.” He touched “answer.” “Jared, good to hear from you. I just came up from the basement, where I have Hallie chained to a wall. She—”

  “Give me that!” Hallie said as she took the phone from him. “Hi, Jared. Everything here is okay. What about you?”

  “Fine,” he said. “Alix and I are in Texas right now, but I wanted you to know that I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m going to get a lawyer on this case against your stepsister.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said. “I’m sure you made your point clear enough that Shelly won’t do anything like that again.”

  “Hallie,” Jared said with patience, “we left your stepsister alone in a house that you own. For all we know, by now she’s put it up for sale.”

  “I don’t think she’d do that. She—”

  Jamie took his phone back and put it on speaker. “I agree with you,” he said to Jared. “You have a lawyer? If not, I’m related to some.”

  “That’s why I’m calling. Alix wondered if Hallie knew an attorney who is aware of the family situation. It might save time explaining.”

  Jamie looked at her in question.

  “My neighbor’s son, Braden Westbrook, is a lawyer,” Hallie said. “But he’s with Hadley-Braithwaite in Boston. They’re a big-deal law firm and I’m sure this case would be too small for them.”

  “Does your friend know Shelly?” Jared asked.

  “Oh, yes. He’s known her since she was a child.”

  “Perfect. I’m going to call him.”

  “Do you want his phone numbers and addresses?” Hallie asked. “I know them by heart.”

  “Let me get a pen,” Jared said. “Okay. Shoot.”

  She recited Braden’s cell number, office number, the addresses of his law firm and his apartment in Boston. Then she gave the cell number and address of his mother, who lived across the road from Hallie’s house.

  “This is great,” Jared said. “Thanks, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I know anything.”

  “Ask about the tea room,” Jamie said.

  “Uh, Jared?” Hallie asked. “Uh, something happened. I don’t know how to say this exactly, but…Well, actually, nothing really happened, but—”

  Jamie picked up the phone. “Did you know this house is haunted by a couple of tea-serving ladies?”

  “Oh, Lord,” Jared said. “I forgot about them.” He let out a sigh. “Nantucket has…” He trailed off. “How scared are the two of you?”

  “Not scared at all,” Jamie said. “Well, Hallie is a bit, but she had me move upstairs to be near her and she’s okay now.”

  “Did she?” Jared said in a way that left no doubt that he thought the “moving upstairs” had nothing to do with a couple of ghosts.

  Jamie looked at Hallie, whose face was turning red. “Actually, we’re intrigued and would like to know more about the ladies, but that room is locked. We thought we’d call a locksmith and—”

  “No,” Jared said. “I know someone who can open the doors. I’ll call him and he can probably answer any quest
ions you both have. His official title is Dr. Caleb Huntley, director of the Nantucket Historical Society. Are you two going to be home today?”

  When Jamie looked at Hallie, she nodded. “We’ll be here.” As he hung up, he picked up another of the square cookies, this one with a rose on it.

  “It’ll be interesting to find out the history of the Tea Ladies, won’t it?” Hallie said.

  Jamie was staring at the food on the tiered tray. “What’s your stepsister’s cell number?”

  “I’ll look on my phone and give it to you.”

  “You don’t know the number off the top of your head?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “So you’re not one of those savants who can remember everybody’s numbers and addresses?”

  “Of course not. What gave you that idea? Oh. Braden. It’s just that I’ve known him a very long time and his mother and I are close. She helped me after my grandparents moved out, when I was left alone with Ruby and Shelly. And he—”

  “How old is this Braden?”

  When she realized what he was getting at, she couldn’t help a little smile. “Thirty-two. Jealous?” She was teasing, just as he’d done this morning, but there was no laughter on Jamie’s face.

  “Of an old lawyer? Not at all.” He got up from the table. “I have some emails to answer.” He left the room.

  In spite of his denial, his attitude made her smile.

  Jared called Caleb Huntley, his wife’s stepfather—though past that, the two of them had a very long history together. He didn’t bother with preliminaries. “You have to go to the Hartley-Bell house today and tell Jamie and Hallie about the ghosts. And be gentle. They don’t understand Nantucket.”

  “Ah,” Caleb said, his voice soft. “Those beautiful young ladies. I’d like to see them again.”

  “Forget that. I don’t want you talking to ghosts and scaring a couple of off-islanders to death. Go as Dr. Huntley, the director of the NHS, and tell them the facts.”

  Caleb chuckled. “You mean tell them how every male on the island under the age of seventy used to climb the walls to get to those women? Actually, old Arnie was seventy-two, so make that every man under eighty.”