Sidebarred: A Legal Briefs Novella (11 page)

So, they were poolside, in the shade of a cherry tree, on two huge cotton towels. Brent liked the pool better anyway—he could swim without his leg, without crawling through the rocky sand to retrieve it, or worrying that it’d be washed away and sink to the bottom of the Potomac River. That would suck.

But he wasn’t swimming now. And Kennedy knew he wasn’t listening either.

Because he was on his back, shirtless and tan, damp hair curving over his forehead, one arm bent behind his head, the other holding a comic book. He always had one with him—in his back pocket. And if they weren’t doing something that required movement, Brent was reading.

“I’m going to shave my head. What do you think about that?” Kennedy asked.

“Cool.”

“And then I’m going to steal a car. Get a tattoo. Change my name to Snowflake.”

“Uh huh.”

Her hair fell over the strap of her green bathing suit as she leaned towards him. “Then I’m going to sneak into your room, take everything you own and sell it at the flea market.”

“That’s nice.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. And pinched Brent’s bicep.

“Ow! What’d you do that for?”

She waited for him to look at her. Then she asked, “What’s with the comic books?”

Brent shrugged. “They’re cool.” Then he tried to go back to reading.

Tried
.

Kennedy snatched the comic from his hands and flipped through the pages. Brent turned on his side, bracing his head on his hand.

“Why are all the girls in bikinis?” She looked more closely and added, “Barely.”

Brent chuckled. “That’s just how they draw them.”

“Is that why you think they’re cool?”

“That’s not the only reason,” he hedged.

She adjusted her glasses, waiting for him to continue. Eventually, he did.

“Right after the accident, I couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t even get out of bed to take a wizz. It drove me nuts. So my father started bringing me stuff to read. Books were too long, I’d fall asleep from the medicine after a few pages. But comics were quick and it was easy to pick up where I’d left off when I woke up. Two weeks after the accident, he bought me Superman #1. Do you know what that is?”

“No.”

“It’s one of the rarest comic books in the world—worth like, a million dollars. It was wrapped in plastic because that keeps it valuable. My father showed it to me, then tore the plastic right off, because he said being able to watch me read it was worth more than a million dollars.”

“That’s awesome.” Kennedy said breathlessly. She couldn’t imagine her mother being content to watch her read anything—not without telling her she was doing it wrong. “So that’s why you read them all the time, because your father bought you your first one?”

Brent shook his head. “That’s why I started, but I keep reading them because . . . because all the heroes had something bad happen. Really bad. And it . . . changed them. But they weren’t just different afterwards, they were better. More than they ever could’ve been if the bad thing hadn’t happened, you know?”

Kennedy nodded.

“That’s how I want to be too.”

Kennedy handed him back his comic book and smiled. “I think you already are.”

After a quiet moment, she asked, “Is that what you want to do, for your career when you’re older? Collect rare comic books? My Uncle Edgar collects Egyptian artifacts for a living. He smells weird.”

“No, I don’t want to do that. Drawing comic books would be an awesome job, but I suck at drawing. What do you want to do when you get older?”

Kennedy thought about it. “Truth?” she asked him.

“Truth.”

She leaned closer. “I want to do . . . whatever my mother doesn’t want me to.”

****

Four Weeks Later

They were working on their ladder. Prosthetic leg or not, Brent couldn’t climb trees like he used to—and there were a lot of good climbing trees on the acres between their houses. So they’d decided to build a ladder. A good one. A tall one. One that would get him to the highest branch.

And if they had time, Kennedy wanted to build a hut, like the Ewoks in
Return of the Jedi
. They’d watched the movie in her home theater the other day during a thunderstorm.

Thinking of the movie made her think of where she’d had to go after the movie—to her final dress fitting. For the dress her mother commissioned for Claire’s party. The party that was one week away.

“Are you coming to Claire’s graduation party?” she asked.

Brent took the nail out of his mouth, lined it up, and pounded it into the wood in two quick strikes. “I don’t know. My parents are.”

“Of course your parents are coming. That’s not what I asked.”

He stopped and looked at her, his face serious. Kennedy didn’t like it—it made him look not like Brent. Because her Brent was never serious.

“I don’t think so.”

Kennedy put down the saw and moved closer to him. “Why not?”

Now there was sadness in those round blue eyes.

And it was all wrong.

“I think . . . I think they’re embarrassed of me, Kennedy.”

Anger sparked inside her, quick and hot. “Did they say that to you?”

Brent shook his head. “No, just a feeling, you know?”

The anger fizzled, but only a little. “Your parents love you, Brent.”

He nodded. “I know. But you can love something and still be ashamed of it, can’t you?”

And that was true. She couldn’t lie to him, because it was the story of her life. All she could do was let him know he wasn’t alone. “Then you should definitely come to the party. My mother’s ashamed of me all the time.”

The sadness in his eyes lightened, and he gave her a small smile. Then he put his hand over hers and squeezed.

****

The party was perfect—exactly as her mother planned. A full orchestra filled the night air with elegant music, pristine white tents covered tables with overflowing centerpieces, fine china and high backed chairs. White gloved waiters were everywhere, their trays laden with champagne flutes, caviar and oysters. There was a constant hum of conversation among the hundreds of guests—anyone who was anyone was in attendance. The flash of the photographers’ cameras burst like fireflies on a dark night. Recording these moments for posterity, making the guests feel like they were worthy of their very own paparazzi. And in the center of it all was Claire Randolph, her long blond hair shimmering, her pale yellow ball gown not fit for a princess—but for a queen.

Kennedy was bored out of her mind.

She sat at a table, alone, a small smile plastered in place, because, as her mother had warned her—unsmiling young ladies looked sullen. Sullen equaled pouty. And pouting was never allowed.

At eleven, she was the youngest here—the only girl still considered a child—because none of the other guests would entertain bringing children to such an affair. She was too young to drink, too full to eat more, too uninteresting to engage in conversation for long.

But as she gazed through her glasses at the crowd, she saw him—standing beside his parents, looking as handsome as a prince in a sharp tuxedo. Brent had come—he would save her from the boredom monster. Kennedy darted out of her chair and walked straight to him.

“Hello, Kennedy.” His father greeted in his familiar rough, deep voice.

“Hello, Mr. Mason.”

Brent’s mother, always soft and sweet, smiled genuinely and Kennedy smiled back. Then her eyes fixed on her friend. His hands were folded behind his back, his eyes scanned the room—not nervous—but cautious. Careful not to do the wrong thing.

“Hey.”

His blue eyes warmed when they rested on her.

“Hey. You look nice.”

She shrugged. “Thanks.” Then she leaned closer, so only he could hear. “Do you want to dance? There’s nothing else to do.”

Brent knew a few ballroom dances—his mother had taught him, to help him become the refined gentleman they all expected him to be. But he hadn’t even thought to try them in public—not since the accident.

“I might trip.”

Kennedy reached out her hand. “Then I’ll catch you.”

“Yeah, right. I would squash you.” He snorted.

She shook her head. “I’m stronger than I look.”

He held her eyes for a few seconds. Then Brent took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

It was a basic waltz, a simple box step. And Brent didn’t trip.

They talked as they danced, and laughed.

Neither of them saw Brent’s mother’s eyes fill with tears or his father’s fill with pride. Because although a tragedy had befallen their dear son, they knew then that his life would not be tragic.

****

Kennedy and Brent were inseparable for the remainder of that summer. And even after school began again in the fall—with Kennedy back at her all girls day academy and Brent at home with his tutors—they saw each other at least once a week. When the next summer came around, they were inseparable again.

Brent thought of them as a dynamic duo—like Batman and Robin or Green Arrow and Speedy. Kennedy imagined they were more like Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold.

She thought they would be best friends forever.

But…she was wrong.

They’d become so much more.

OTHER BOOKS BY
EMMA CHASE

THE TANGLED SERIES

Tangled

In Emma Chase’s sizzling and hilarious debut novel, Drew Evans—gorgeous, arrogant, irreverent, and irresistibly charming—meets his match in new colleague Kate Brooks
.

Drew Evans is handsome and arrogant, he makes multi million dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He’ll tell you he has the flu. But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Tangled
is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women. . .just not as much as he thinks. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

PURCHASE:
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Twisted

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard. In this heart-pounding follow-up to Tangled, Kate reveals that there is trouble in paradise, when unexpected circumstances force her and Drew to “renegotiate” their relationship.

There are two kinds of people in the world. The ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I’ve always been more of a looker. Cautious. A planner. That changed after I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself—and of me.

But not all love stories end happily ever after. Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset? Join the club. Now I have to make a choice; the most important of my life. Drew already made his—in fact, he tried to decide for the both of us. But you know that’s just not my style. So I came back to Greenville, Ohio, alone. Well, sort of alone...

What I’ve come to realize is that old habits die hard, and sometimes you have to go back to where you began before you can move ahead.

PURCHASE:
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Tamed

Matthew Fisher—the best friend of Drew Evans from Tangled and Twisted—wants to settle down, but he’ll have to overcome the mistrust of the colorful and unique Dee Dee Warren.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: girl meets player, they fall in love, player changes his ways.

It’s a good story. But it’s not our story. Ours is a lot more colorful.

When I met Dee, I knew right away that she was special. When she met me, she thought I was anything
but
special—I was exactly like every other guy who’d screwed her over and let her down. It took some time to convince her otherwise, but it turns out I can make a convincing argument when sex is at stake.

You might know where this story’s headed. But the best part isn't where we ended up.

It’s how we got there.

PURCHASE:
http://amzn.to/1UC7Pul

Tied

In the fourth sexy romance in the Tangled Series, Drew and Kate can’t wait to tie the knot—if they can survive the pre-wedding festivities
.

For most of my life, I never imagined I’d get married. But Kate did the impossible: she changed me. I think we can all agree I was pretty frigging awesome before, but now I’m even better.

The road to this day wasn’t all rainbows and boners. There were mistakes and misunderstandings worthy of a Greek tragedy. But Kate and I made it through with our inexhaustible lust, boundless admiration, and everlasting love for one another intact.

That being said, there were some unexpected incidents in Vegas last weekend that could have been a problem. It was kind of. . .my final test.

I know what you’re thinking—
what the hell did you do this time
? Relax. Let’s not judge, or call for my castration, until you’ve heard the whole story.

And hold on tight, because you’re in for a wild ride. Did you expect anything less?

PURCHASE:
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“Holy Frigging Matrimony”

What does Drew Evans have to say next? Find out in this short story, filled with his sexy charm, unique advice and hilarious one-liners.

Marriage: the final frontier. Steven went first. He was kind of our test subject. Like those monkeys that NASA sent off into space in the fifties, all the while knowing they’d never make it back.

And now another poor rocket is ready to launch.

But this isn’t just any posh New York wedding. You’ve seen my friends, you’ve met our families, you know you’re in for a treat. Everyone wants their wedding to be memorable. This one’s going to be un-frigging-forgettable.

PURCHASE:
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“It’s a Wonderful Tangled Christmas Carol”