Ever After (4 page)

The last picture was a full-length shot of Shelly in a bikini. All five feet eleven of her, not an ounce of fat anywhere, long blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, and looking like the all-American girl. Every man's dream.

Hallie leaned back in the chair, feeling like she'd just deflated.

In all the turmoil of what was turning into a very long day, it hadn't registered with her when Jared said that Shelly had exchanged emails with the prospective client. But then Hallie's mind had been reeling from the news that her stepsister had faked her passport and tried to steal a house.

Hallie held up the bikini shot. She'd never been able to understand how Shelly and her mother could live on a diet of greasy burgers, fries, and cola and never gain weight. After they'd come into her life, Hallie went from her grandparents' fresh vegetable diet to endless carry-out and she'd begun to pack on the pounds. In school, playing soccer had kept most of the weight off, but after her father and stepmother died, Hallie'd had the job of supporting Shelly. She didn't have time to cook. It had been work and nothing else. Coming home late at night and eating Big Macs and drinking big colas had left her with an extra twenty-five pounds. Add that to the fact that she was only five foot four and…

She didn't want to think of a physical comparison between her and Shelly. She'd lived with it for too many years. “
Both
of these girls are your daughters?” people would ask her father. Tall, willowy Shelly and short, childishly round Hallie the product of the same parents? Not possible!

One time Ruby had answered the question by saying, “But Hallie is
real
smart.”

Hallie knew Ruby had meant well, but it still hurt. In her
family, Hallie was the smart, responsible one who always did the sane, sensible thing, while Shelly was the pretty one who always screwed up and was always forgiven. “Hallie, you need to help Shelly” was something she'd heard on a daily basis.

Hallie stood up and carefully put the photos back inside the book. That's what she got for snooping!

She put the chair back under the desk and went into the kitchen—and the charm of it helped to clear her mind. How her grandparents would have loved the old-fashioned appearance of it! The sink was huge, as were the gas stove and the refrigerator. In the center was a square table that looked as old as the house, and it was in front of yet another fireplace.

Two of the doors leading out of the kitchen were locked, but a third one led to a pretty little glassed-in porch that was full of white wicker with pink and green cushions. There was a piece of white linen in an embroidery hoop and she picked it up. It had a design of two birds and half of it had been beautifully sewn. She wondered if the late Henry Bell had done it.

When she heard the click of a door, then two male voices, she froze in place. One was Jared's and the other was a deep, rich rumble that made Hallie's breath catch in her throat.

Damnation! she thought. This guy is expecting Shelly and he's going to be deeply disappointed. Have some sympathy for him.

“Hallie?” Jared called. “Are you here?”

With her shoulders back, she walked into the kitchen and saw him. Heaven help her, but he was even better looking close up. Worse, there seemed to be an energy around him that was like some powerful magnet pulling her to him. Part of her wanted to leap the distance between them and lose herself inside his big, strong arms.

But years of practice at hiding her true feelings kept Hallie glued in place, her expression pleasant but neutral.

“This is—” Jared began, but Jamie cut him off.

“
You're
Hallie?” Jamie asked, his eyes wide. “But you're not—” He broke off to look her up and down in a way that every woman hopes some gorgeous man will look at her. Not in that lecherous way that can make a woman feel exposed and vulnerable, but in a way that made her feel beautiful and so very, very desirable.

Jamie grasped the side of the sink, as though if he didn't support himself he'd fall down. “I thought someone else was coming, but you…You're…” He didn't seem able to say any more. When he leaned against the cabinet, his crutches fell backward, and Jared caught them.

Hallie straightened her shoulders. It looked like to him, one female was as good as another. If he couldn't have the divine Shelly, he'd take this one.

But Hallie'd had too many years of guys trying to get near
her
so they could be close to Shelly. All she knew for sure was that this had to stop
now
!

She took a step toward him and when he smiled broader, she frowned deeply. “Look, Mr. Taggert—at least I assume that's who you are—I don't know what you're thinking about me, but it's wrong. You're here in
my
house so I can help you recover and that's
all
. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said softly, his eyes widening even farther.

She took a step closer to him, her finger pointed at his chest. “If you
ever
make an advance toward me that is the least bit unprofessional, you're out of here. Do you understand?”

Jamie was blinking at her as he nodded.

“Professional!” She tapped her finger on his very hard chest. “Touch me and you leave. Got it?”

When he said “Yes,” Hallie could feel his breath on her face. He smelled of
man
. Abruptly, she took a step back, then walked all the way around the table, around both men, and paused at the back door. She glared at Jared. “Short, stocky kid, huh?” She went outside, closing the door firmly behind her.

Jared was the first to speak. “Now
I'm
going to be in the doghouse. What the hell were you thinking, coming on to her like that?” he half shouted. “This isn't going to work! If you knew what that girl has been through…” He glared at Jamie. “That sister of hers—with
my
help—tried to steal this house from her.”

Jamie hobbled over to a chair and sat down. “She's beautiful, isn't she?”

“If you mean the stepsister, no, I don't think she is. To tell you the truth, I didn't like her from the moment I saw her. She's too much like the girls I used to date.”

“Who is the stepsister?” Jamie's puzzlement showed on his face.

“The blonde,” Jared said, sounding like Jamie had no brain. “The photo on the passport, remember? The one who said
she
was Hallie.”

“Oh,” Jamie said. “Her. I like this one better. She's got beautiful eyes, and she is
built
, isn't she?”

Jared groaned. “Deliver me from the days of youth. What I want to know is if it's safe to leave you here with her. She's in this mess because of
me
and I plan to look out for her.”

There was no smile on Jamie's face. “Are you asking me if I'll take what she doesn't want to give?”

Jared was taller and older than Jamie, but the younger man had the muscles of a bull. Jared didn't back down. “Yeah, that's exactly what I'm asking.”

Jamie's face softened. “It looks like there will be two of us protecting her. I apologize to you now and I will apologize to her for my behavior. It's just that I wasn't expecting…her. Tall skinny blondes aren't appealing to me, but this one I like.”

Jared grimaced. “I'm going home to my wife. The next time I talk to Hallie she'd better tell me that you've treated her well or I'll call your dad to bring a cattle truck to haul you away.”

“Spoken like a true Montgomery,” Jamie said, his eyes laughing. “Did you
really
tell her I'm a kid?”

“You are to me.”

Jamie was still smiling. “Go on. You can leave. She's safe with me. She stands up for herself well, doesn't she?”

Jared had the idea that if he remained there he might have to listen to hours of whatever this young man was feeling, which he had no doubt was nothing but lust. “I'll be back in an hour and I'll ask Hallie whether or not you can stay here. If she even hints that you've come on to her, you're moving into my house.”

“Yes, sir,” Jamie said, his eyes sparkling.

A
s soon as Hallie was outside, she realized that her anger was more about what her stepsister had tried to do than about the young man who needed her help. And her anger had increased when she realized she was attracted to a man who had hidden away photos of Shelly.

Before her was a large grassy area crisscrossed by old brick pathways. There were high walls on each side and what looked to be beds for plants. The weeds had been cut, so someone was taking care of the garden, but it still had a barren look to it. There were a few scraggly bushes, but not much else.

She walked to the end of the wall and saw a long, narrow strip of land that ran perpendicular. It too was walled. At one end was a big red gate, but at the other end of the garden was a building with a vine-covered arbor attached to one side.

She went down the old brick path to the small building. The
door was open, and inside was a lot of shiny new gym equipment. When Shelly had asked about rehabilitating an injury such as Jamie had, Hallie had been flattered. She'd been pleased to make a list of necessary equipment. Inside the little building Hallie found everything she had put on the list. Machines and free weights were in the center, and the walls were hung with rubber tubes and yoga equipment. When she went out the side door to the arbor, she saw a seating area and a lean-to that housed the massage table she would need. Overhead, grape vines had pretty, pale leaves that were beginning to unfurl. Massages under the arbor would be perfect.

When she heard a cough to her left, she knew the man was letting her know of his approach.

He stopped just under the edge of the arbor and leaned heavily on his crutches. “I apologize for my behavior,” he said. “I'm very sorry.”

“And I for mine,” she answered. “It's been a tough day and I took my anger out on you. Why don't you take your clothes off and let's start over?”

Jamie lifted his eyebrows high.

Hallie's mind was so much on all that had happened that it took a moment to realize what she'd said. “I meant for a massage. To begin work on your knee.” She could feel her face turning red.

“Darn!” he said with such feeling that Hallie couldn't help but laugh, and he joined her.

But he didn't begin to disrobe. Instead, he made his way to a chair and sat down heavily. “That's better.” He smiled at her as she took the other seat. “I would like to start over. I'm James, generally called Jamie.” He held out his hand across the little table separating them.

“My name is Hyacinth, but thankfully I'm called Hallie.” When she shook his hand, his eyes seemed to be offering only friendship, and she was glad of it.

Leaning back in their chairs, they looked out at the garden.

“Isn't Hyacinth the name of one of the original owners of the house?” he asked.

“Yes. My father had only a small box of papers about his family. He didn't talk about them, but my mother found them in the attic of the house I grew up in. She saw the name Hyacinth and gave it to me.”

“And your mother's name was Ruby, right?”

“No. She was Shelly's mother,” Hallie said tightly.

“Sorry,” Jamie said. “I'm afraid I'm a bit confused about it all. I don't know if Jared told you, but I exchanged some emails with a woman I thought was you. She said her mother was named Ruby and that Ruby had died when Hallie—or Shelly, I guess—was four.”

“Part of that's correct. My mother died when I was four, but her name was Lauren.”

“My biological mother died when I was a baby,” Jamie said softly.

We have that in common, Hallie thought but didn't say, and for a few minutes the air was heavy between them. Shared tragedy did not make for happy conversation, she thought, and wanted to change the subject. “So where does that gate at the end lead?”