House Divided (23 page)

The next two days were pretty much the
same. Then Friday came, and we left very early to make it to Brady’s ten
o’clock interview. Atlanta is on Eastern Time and Alabama on Central, so that
made it extra early. I didn’t really mind, any time with Brady was time well
spent, and I was looking forward to spending a whole day with Brady on my turf.
I was going to get to show him my place and see what he thought.

Brady looked extremely handsome in his
dark gray suit and blue tie. He gave up the cowboy boots for some classy black
leather dress shoes. I wore my black Calvin Klein suit. It was the same one I
had worn that first day at the bank. I could tell Brady liked it very much.

Doris
was an angel and came
early to make sure my aunt wouldn’t be alone during the day. I was still so
nervous about her health, even though she would probably outlive us all,
through sheer will power. Doris wished Brady luck and told us to enjoy our day.
We looked at each other, and we knew that wasn’t going to be an issue.

The drive over, sitting right next to
Brady, was great—until we hit Atlanta morning rush hour traffic. I disliked the
traffic, Brady abhorred it. For an easy going guy, he was pretty uptight. I think
he almost swore, and he rarely swears. In a way, it was almost comical, but he
was so tense by the time we made it to the bank.

I rubbed his neck before he had to leave.
“Just relax.”

He tried, but I think it was more than
just the traffic that was bothering him.

“Brady, you don’t know what it means to me
that you’re willing to move here. I love you.”

He took my face in his strong hands.
“Ellie, I would do anything if it means we can be together.”

“I know.”

He kissed me quickly, and I wished him
luck. As we departed, he walked toward the bank and I walked toward the
Starbucks across the street. I was meeting my agent, Olivia, there. As soon as
I walked in, she greeted me with a hug. I had missed her. She was more friend
than agent, but she did her job more than well.

“Elle, you look fabulous.”

“Thanks, Olivia, you look great too.”

We ordered and then found a table. She was
eager to hear about my time in Alabama and more than eager to hear about, and
meet, Brady. “Elle, you really look great,” she kept saying.  “I think Alabama,
or should I say Brady, looks good on you.”

I just smiled and agreed. Brady was the
perfect accessory. We talked about everything from the sales of my new book to
my new ideas for the next book, and we talked about her husband, Darren, which
reminded me that I had brought her Christmas gift and bonus. I reached into my
purse and handed her a sealed green envelope.

She grinned while she took it. “I thought
you had forgotten, my dear Elle.” She hastily opened it like I knew she would.
There was a large bonus and two tickets to Hawaii. She jumped up and hugged me.

“Merry Christmas, Olivia.”

“You’re the best. Thank you, thank you!”

I winked. “You’re worth every penny.”

After an hour and a half, my very handsome
country boy joined us. I could tell Olivia was very impressed. Who wouldn’t be?
I thought I was going to have to tip her chin up and maybe wipe up her drool.
It was a good thing I knew she loved her husband.

Brady was pleasant, but I could tell
something was bothering him. I didn’t want to ask in front of Olivia.
Thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long, Olivia had another appointment. When
we made it back to his truck, I immediately asked him what was wrong.

He kissed my forehead. “Not a thing,
Ellie, the interview went very well.”

I gave him a scrutinizing glance.

“Ellie, I’m serious, they said they would
let me know after Christmas, but they practically offered me the job.”

“Well that’s great!”

He smiled, but it didn’t touch his eyes.
He wasn’t acting liking himself at all. He was even quiet on the drive over to
my townhome, which wasn’t very far from the bank. I lived in a new posh section
of the city in a three story brick townhome.

Brady pulled up my drive and parked. He
looked out the window. “So this is home, huh?”

“You don’t like it.”

He looked over at me and smiled. “It’s
nice.”

I raised my eyebrow at him.

“Are you going to be here when I come home
from work?”

I touched his cheek. “That’s the plan.”

He reached up and took my hand and kissed
the inside of it. “Then I love it.”

I knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
I believed he would love being together, but it was becoming apparent living in
Atlanta wasn’t going to be easy for him. He may look city, but in his heart,
he was all country. I was beginning to feel very guilty.

The main area in my townhome was on the
second floor.

This was weird to Brady. “It’s not very
child friendly,” he commented.

“I didn’t buy this house with the thought
of having children,” I gently reminded him.

At least he liked the way it was
decorated. It had lots of deep browns and creams and accents of red. I watched
him walk around and try and take it all in, probably seeing if he could fit in
here. He walked through my office, which was off the great room, and looked at
the many pictures I had on the wall; lots of them were of Aunt Lu and me on
vacations around the world. I stood at the French doors and watched him look at
each picture. He was so quiet. I had never seen him like this.

I finally walked over to him and put my
arms around him. “Brady, what’s wrong?”

He embraced me tighter, but didn’t say
anything.

“Brady, we don’t have to live here. We can
buy a house outside the city. There are lots of nice family-friendly communities
with great school districts around.”

“I’m sorry, Ellie, I love your house. It’s
beautiful and I see you in it. I just pictured us at the lake with our kids
running around. I’m just trying to adjust.”

“Brady, I know you love your house, and
honestly I love it too. I just don’t know if I can live in Kaysville,
especially so close to your parents after everything that has happened. We
could keep the house and visit on some weekends, that way our kids could still
enjoy it.”

He began to rub my back. “Darlin’, I love
you. It really doesn’t matter where we live.” He grinned down at me. “You have
a bedroom right?”

I laughed lightly. “Yes, and it’s even
furnished.”

“Even better,” he replied.

“Brady, I want you to be happy.”

He took my face in his hands and stared
directly in my eyes as we stood there in my office. “Ella Lu Eaton, you have
made me happier these past few weeks than I’ve ever been.” He kissed me gently.
“The only thing that would make me happier would be for us to be married.”

I winked at him. “We’re getting there,
cowboy.”

He picked me up and swung me around. “Can
we please hurry that up?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you can’t seal the
deal with my aunt.”

He looked at his watch. “Well, if we leave
now, we can still spend the evening with her.”

Our rushing home didn’t produce our hoped
results, but she was more pleasant than she had been. Brady actually left
earlier than normal. He was exhausted, and I also think he was still trying to
come to terms with leaving Kaysville. I knew he was putting on a brave face and
that he meant what he said, but I was still worried he would end up regretting
it, and in turn he would eventually resent me.

My aunt questioned my thoughtful state as
we worked on our puzzle after Brady left. She, too, noticed he wasn’t his usual
happy self. I told her about our day and what Brady had said and about my
concerns.

She looked up from the puzzle. “Ella Lu,
do you love Atlanta?”

I thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t say I
love it. I like it and it’s convenient.”

“Ok, besides that, why do you live there?”

“Honestly, because it’s close to you.”

She gave me her look. “You know what’s
closer to me? Kaysville.”

I leaned back against the couch and
sighed. “Why would I want to live in a place where half the people despise me
because of my last name?”

“I think you forget, young lady, that
you’re planning on becoming a Jackson and that everybody you love lives in this
town. And that boy loves this town and he loves his job. Not only that, he’s
good at it. Ever since he was made Vice President, the bank has had its best
years ever.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well, you didn’t hear it from me,” she
said gruffly.

I sat up and smiled at her.

“Ella Lu, I understand your misgivings
about moving back here, but sugar, people are always going to talk. It doesn’t
mean you have to listen.”

“What about his parents?”

“What about them? Don’t let them get in
the way of your happiness. I did that for far too many years.”

My Aunt Lu’s words played over and over in
my head all night. So much so, I called Kendra the next morning and asked her
if she and Caroline had some time to spare, and if they did, would they come
and stay with my aunt for a few hours? I finally knew what to get Brady for
Christmas. Kendra willingly agreed, even though this was the Saturday before
Christmas and the brothers were arriving today.

They arrived a couple of hours later, and
everyone was curious about what I was up to, but I told them all I would
explain later. Brady deserved to know first, but I had a feeling my aunt knew
already by the look she gave me. I drove as fast as I could to Brady’s house
without breaking any major laws. I couldn’t wait to see him.

As I pulled up to his home and took in the
view and admired his handiwork, I knew I was making the right decision. I
excitedly knocked on his door. He answered fairly quickly, but it looked like I
had caught him shaving. He had a trace amount of shaving cream on his chin, and
boy did he look fine.

“Darlin’, what are you doing here?”

I walked in and wiped the shaving cream
off his face then kissed him fervently. He wrapped me up tight in response. It
was one of those “I forget my last name” kisses.

“On second thought, I don’t care why
you’re here, let’s just do this all day.”

I warmly smiled at him, still in his arms.
“Sounds perfect, but first I need you to come somewhere with me.”

He looked at me curiously. “Alright,
darlin’, let me finish getting ready.” He kissed my forehead before he walked
toward his room.

I waited by the door; I was anxious to get
going, but I looked around and again knew I was making the right decision. I
knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but when is making the right choice ever easy?

It didn’t take him long to finish up; he
joined me in a matter of a few minutes. I took his hand and led him out the
door to my car. He tried to steer me to his truck, but I told him I was
driving. He was still a gentleman and opened the driver side door for me

“Where are we going?” he asked as I pulled
out.

I winked. “You’ll see.”

I could tell I definitely had his interest
piqued, but he sat back and relaxed. “I’m all yours.”

“I like the sound of that.”

As we drove toward Birmingham and passed
the sign directing us to the airport, he became visibly excited. “Please tell
me we’re going to Vegas.”

I laughed and glanced his way. “This is
better than Vegas.”

“Ok, Atlantic City,” he said hopefully.

“Brady, do you really want to get married
in one of those places?

He touched my cheek. “I just want to get
married, I don’t care where.”

“Well I do, and believe me, my aunt cares
too. I want to get married in our church.”

He looked confounded. “What’s better than
getting married today?”

“Ok, maybe it’s not better than getting
married, but I promise, you’ll love it … Ok?”

“Ok.” He didn’t sound very sure.

Now I worried that I had just dashed his
hopes. I especially worried when we pulled into the crowded Summit parking lot
and his face registered disappointment.

“Darlin’, did you mean to come here? I
thought you finished your Christmas shopping.”

“Well, I thought I had, but I neglected
one person on my list and I need your help.”

He was really confused and disappointed
now. I just let him be that way. I got out of the car, but he just sat there. I
looked in. “Aren’t you coming?”

He looked at me like I had lost my mind,
but he got out. I met him on the passenger side and grabbed his hand. “Come
on.”

He reluctantly followed me. I didn’t say a
word; I was kind of enjoying this. We made our way through the packed sidewalks
of the shopping center. Shopping the Saturday before Christmas is usually not
the best idea, but it was worth it. We finally made it to my designated store.

Brady was now looking a little disgruntled.
“Ellie, Pottery Barn? Really, darlin’?”

“Yes, believe me, this is way better than
Vegas.”

He just shook his head at me like I had
really had lost it, but I forged ahead, walking in while dragging him with me.

We were greeted by a nice associate named Logan. “How can I help you today?” he asked politely.

“Could you please direct us to your
bedroom furniture?” I asked.

I watched Brady’s reaction. He was no
longer pouting; now there was a little spark of excitement.

Logan
walked us toward the
back of the store. “Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you.”

“Thank you, I think we’d like to look
around first.”

“What’s this all about?” Brady asked as
soon as Logan walked away.

“I finally figured out what to get you for
Christmas.”

“Bedroom furniture?”

“Well, we have to have something other
than a futon to sleep on.”

He looked at me with a tentative smile.
“What are you saying, Ellie?”

I reached up and touched his cheek. “I’m
saying I love you and I want us to live in Kaysville.”

He placed his hand on top of mine that
rested on his cheek. “Are you sure, Ellie?”

“I’ve never been surer about anything,” I
replied without reservation.

He pulled me to him and dipped me down and
kissed me quite nicely, to the amusement of our fellow shoppers. “I love you,
Ellie,” he said as he brought me back up slowly. 

“Merry Christmas, Brady.”

It was amazing how enthusiastic Brady was
about shopping now. The only thing he was disgruntled about was I insisted on
paying for the bedroom furniture. It was his Christmas present after all. We
decided on a beautiful farmhouse-style canopy bed, king size. We quite enjoyed
choosing a mattress. We also got matching dressers and night stands. To top it
off, we purchased some beautiful white ruched bedding. He wanted crimson, but I
nixed that. We also picked out a kitchen table and chairs that he paid for. At
least we would no longer have to eat on a card table.

I’m not sure if I had ever seen Brady
happier than when we walked out of that store. I had no doubt he would have
made the sacrifice and moved to Atlanta, but my Aunt Lu was right. All we truly
loved was in Kaysville, and making Brady happy made me happier than I could
imagine.

I let him drive us home. Happiness shown
in his eyes as we drove back to my aunt’s house. We called Benjamin and asked
him to meet us there. We wanted to tell them together that we were staying.
They were all ecstatic, but Benjamin looked visibly relieved. I guess I hadn’t
really thought about what it would have meant to Benjamin to have to replace
Brady. I was just beginning to see how close those two were. But, I was most
interested in my aunt’s reaction. She gave me her “I’m so proud of you” look.

If only she would call Brady by his God-given
name. I swear she was trying harder now not to say his name, like she had to
stop herself from saying it. I wondered what was holding her back. She
obviously seemed happy I was staying, and she knew why. Not that she wasn’t
worth staying, but only Brady made it possible for me to live here.

Brady was practically desperate for her to
say his name. As I lay in his arms that night after she had gone to bed, he
racked his brain on how to trick her into saying it, even though I told him
that kind of defeated the purpose. I teased him that we had time—the bedroom
furniture wouldn’t be delivered until sometime in January. That didn’t matter
to Brady, he was determined to be married as soon as possible, bed or no bed. I
also mentioned he was forgetting little details like he hadn’t really proposed
and I didn’t have a dress or any of the other elements my aunt would consider
essential for a proper wedding for her only child. He waived them all off as
minor details.

“Ellie, the only real question is where
you want to honeymoon.”

I shook my head at him. “Spoken like a
true man.”

“I’m serious. You’ve traveled all over,
where do you want to go?”

I thought about it for a moment.
“Somewhere warm and secluded sounds nice.”

He stroked my hair. “I can work with
that.”

“I look forward to seeing where you pick.”
I yawned loudly. I hadn’t slept well at all the night before; I was making
major life decisions.

“Sounds like I better go.”

“I suppose. Are you picking me up for
church?”

He hesitated, so I sat up and looked at
him. “No?”

He stroked my cheek lightly. “I know I’ve
asked so much of you lately, but can you do one more thing for me tomorrow?”

“Moving isn’t enough for you?” I teased.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead and
stayed there. “Ellie, will you sit on the left side tomorrow with my family?”

“Brady?”

“I know, I’m asking more than I should,
but this request is coming from my daddy. He asked that we both sit with my
family.”

I still didn’t answer. It was a lot to
process.

“Please, Ellie, he’s not doing well. I
think it would mean a lot to him.” He paused. “It would mean a lot to me.”

I released a huge breath. “Brady Jackson,
I must love you.”

He didn’t say anything, he just proceeded
to give me a long, sweet, slow kiss goodbye. The kind of kiss that said exactly
how he felt about me. I was indeed a lucky girl.

I went to bed that night wide awake. I had
been so tired, and I still was, but my mind was in overdrive. Remember what I
said about right choices not being easy choices? I knew what my moving back to
Kaysville would mean, but I didn’t think it would be so in-my-face this
quickly. I was planning on completely ignoring the fact Brady had additional
family in town for the holidays. I had no plans whatsoever of throwing myself
in the middle of them, especially on their side of the church. I really needed
to talk to the pastor about putting some pews in the middle. They would be like
Switzerland, and those that supported the Eaton-Jackson union would sit
there.

I also kept wondering why Mr. Jackson
wanted me to sit there as well. I knew Kendra had said he refused to tell Brady
to leave me or not to move. Maybe he was having a change of heart. Or maybe it
was a trap and they really did have poisoned apples. Either way, I didn’t sleep
well again, but I rose early to get ready for church. My Aunt Lu still couldn’t
go. She was supposed to avoid public places for a couple of weeks while she was
recuperating, especially during the cold and flu season. Doris was a dear and a
non-churchgoer, so she was coming to aunt-sit. I knew my aunt was getting tired
of being monitored, but I wasn’t budging on it.

Thankfully my aunt was sleeping a little
more these days, so I didn’t see her before I left with Brady. I knew she was
going to find out where I sat at church today, but I didn’t want to tell her
yet or why. I worried about how she would react if she knew Isaac had extended
the invite. I still couldn’t believe he had.