Ever After (15 page)

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 plane 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.