Chadwick's Rare Find (An Intriguing Romance Novel) (8 page)

They had truly loved their father and his death had brought them deep sorrow.   It had also thrown their family into destitution.  It was at this point they had begun to experience real poverty.  Their mother had had to take on extra work.  By day she was one of many secretaries for a huge aluminum coil making company.  At night she sat with a rich old lady who had become infirm.  Working this way she had eked out a tolerable existence for them, but they no longer had new clothes every year for school.  Dining out became nonexistent.  Trips to the parlor turned into trips into the kitchen where Wendy would experiment with their hair.  They had learned how to do one another's hair and were pretty self-sufficient in that arena. 

Their mother had been gentle and reserved, but never weak.   Wendy had stretched her money and budgeted down to a penny all so that she could save the little house that she and her husband had gone through so much trouble to buy.  She was never late or short on the mortgage.  The house always came first and then food.  Mention of anything else and her eyes would glaze over and she would seem deaf.  

As Brittany stood in their only bathroom, she reminisced about her loving and insightful mother. Wendy Bradfield was her daughters’ inspiration and voice of wisdom.  Each one of them remembered her with great love. As adults, they still cherished her lessons in life.  

Wendy had died of breast cancer.  It had ravaged her quickly.  Wendy’s daughters had rallied around her like miniature soldiers.  Wendy had tried to teach them everything she knew before she died.  Her most valuable gift was the knowledge of God.  The girl’s responses were heartfelt.  Brittany and Amber made a solemn promise to Wendy on her deathbed that they would not be immoral.  They would be virginal brides. 

Wendy was dead within eight months of the diagnosis.  Brittany had been seventeen.  They were devastated.   Amber at eighteen had been old enough and smart enough to hold back the ensuing chaos.  She had held them together by sheer will.  

On Wendy’s death the mortgage was paid in full.  She had left the little house as an inheritance to them.   They had a place to live and the rest had been up to them.  In the beginning Amber had tried to work in her mother’s place sitting with the wealthy old woman, but that had been a huge and unforgettable disaster.  The woman’s fifty-year-old son had sexually propositioned Amber and when she told him no, he had sent her away without paying her for two weeks of work.  He heaped injury onto the insult by bragging that he had paid Wendy less than minimum wage, because she would not cooperate either.  This had enraged and hurt Amber to the point that she was inconsolable.  Amber had been so angry that she had gone to several legal professionals to see if anything could be done and all of them encouraged her to leave it alone because of, “Mr. Rutledge’s status.”

This incident spearheaded many heated discussions amongst the Bradfield girls regarding the purely evil nature of rich people.  They fed and fostered these feelings until they were convinced that the majority, if not all, wealthy people were soulless. They had sought out and exploited every seemingly unjust thing the affluent did.    In hindsight, Brittany could see that their youthful vehemence should have been tempered by age.  It was clear that throwing all affluent people in the same category was immature and unfair.  She could never see Chadwick doing anything unprincipled as soliciting a young girl for sex and he would never brag about an ill deed done to a deceased woman.  Mr. Rutledge was despicable and he had better be in a class of his own, because Brittany was not sure how she would react if she ran into his type again. 

Brittany showered and put on a gown. She was heading back to her room when she heard the television on in the living room.  She walked to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner to see which sister was still up.  It was Christy.  Relieved, Brittany scuttled over to the couch and plopped down on Christy’s feet. 

“Hey, girl, get off my feet.”  Christy said, as she pulled them from under Brittany’s rump.  Christy was snuggled in a baby blue blanket with a blue silk scarf wrapped around her head.  Brittany stared at her and wondered how it was that Christy managed to be so stylish and pretty all the time.  She actually had a matching head scarf to her blanket.  

“What are you watching this time of night, little girl?” Brittany loved lording it over Christy, because she knew she hated it.  Brittany and Amber had been like mother hens to Christy for the past five years.  Secretly, Brittany felt that sometimes Christy got tired of them.  Amber especially could be overbearing. But Christy was only nineteen; she was definitely still in need of guidance.  

Christy sat up on the couch and looked at Brittany.  “So, what were you crying about?”

“You guys act like I was wailing and screaming.  My head was underneath the cover and I was crying to myself.  You two are just some nosy wenches.”  Brittany could not believe they heard her.  Now that was the disadvantage of living in a small house with your sisters.  Brittany loved her home and she loved her sisters, but they really were all up on each other at times.  She yearned for privacy every now and then.

“Okay, we did hear you come in.  As a matter of fact we watched you and Chadwick when he dropped you off.  He was really skittish, girlie.  What did you do to him?  He acted like he was afraid of you.”  Of course, Christy never missed a thing.  She was expressing the very same impression Brittany had gotten. 

“I think he figured out that I am a virgin.  Evidently it unsettled him.  I don’t know.  Your guess is as good as mine, but it did hurt my feelings that he was in such a rush to get away from me.”

“You really like him, don’t you, Brittany?”  Christy was looking her directly in the eyes.  At this proximity Brittany could never get away with a lie, but she wasn’t inclined to lie about how she felt about Chadwick.  She wanted him desperately.  

“Yep, I really like him”, was all she said.  

“Good.  I like him too and I want him for a brother-in-law, you know with all his money and everything.  Oh, I’m kidding, but I really do like him.  I think you guys are going to end up getting married.  I just feel it.”   Christy’s eyes had taken on a dreamy expectant look. 

“Girl, stop that.  If we end how we’ve started, there won’t be any marriage, because after tonight it seems like we’re taking more steps backward than forward.”  

Brittany slapped Christy’s leg and stood up.  She decided to go on to bed.  Maybe tomorrow morning would literally shed more light on the events of this evening, because right now she was really confused and between Christy and Amber, she was getting more confused.  

#

Amber lay in her bed and wondered whether Brittany had calmed down.  She heard her go to the bathroom.  She decided to check on her. She opened her door to find all the lights off.   Christy and Brittany both must have gone to bed.   Crossing the hallway she peeked into Brittany’s room.  The soft light from the moon glowed across Brittany’s bed.  She was asleep.  Amber stared at her sleeping sister for a few more seconds before she gently closed the door.  She went back into her room in deep thought.  In her heart Amber knew that Chadwick was the man for Brittany.  It would not be long before she and Christy would be saying their goodbyes to Brittany.  Amber knew determination when she saw it and what she saw in Chadwick’s eyes was a steely resolve to have Brittany.  He would have to marry her first.  Amber would make sure of that.  She had promised her mom on her deathbed that she would watch over Brittany and Christy.  Slipping between her covers, Amber wondered what she could do to insure that Mr. Chadwick Jordan didn’t put the cart before the horse. It seemed improbable, but Chadwick Jordan would be marrying Ms. Brittany Bradfield before he would be putting one finger on her.  These thoughts followed Amber into a restless sleep.  

Brittany was a keeper.  She had disarmed James Jordan.  James had gone to bed that night and slept a deeply relaxing sleep.  He had awaken in the early morning hours and made love with his wife of forty-one years.  He had satisfied her and therefore, he was very satisfied.  As he lay with his wife in his arms, he wondered what more a man could want.  Then it dawned on him that a man could want a daughter-in-law who could give a massage that would make him sleep like a baby.  He nudged Mara awake.  

“Mara, wake up.  I need you to call that girl and invite her over for dinner.  I want to see her again.” He thought for a minute and added, “Invite her whole family.”  

“James, I don’t think Chadwick wants us interfering in his business too much.”  She turned over and laid her head on James chest.  She could feel the gentle thump of his heartbeat.  

“Well, he should have thought about that before he involved us in the first place. You know, I saw them together in the hallway right before he took her home.  It was something to see. I thought the boy was going to do something stupid like throw her to the floor and climb on top of her.  So, I interrupted them.”  James shook his head as he remembered the way Chadwick had stared at Brittany as if she was edible.  He had seen Chadwick with women before, but he had never seen him so out of control.  James wasn’t sure what might have happened if he had not spoken up, because it was clear that Chadwick had had only one thing on his mind.  James wondered whether Chadwick had been as well behaved as Brittany was expecting him to be on her ride home.

Mara already knew what James was thinking.  She had seen Brittany’s face after she had come from Chadwick’s bedroom.  Mara was sure Brittany had stumbled upon Chadwick.  Nothing else could have put that flush on Brittany’s skin or that quiver in her voice.  Mara new women.  She was a woman herself.  She also knew her son.  Chadwick had never been mediocre about anything.  He did everything with gusto and fervor.  She always knew he would love the same way.  She herself had been a passionate person.  Time had moderated some of her passion, but she would always recognize it when she saw it.  She knew Chadwick had found someone to be passionate about.  Mara hoped that even if Brittany could not match him, she would at least embrace him in his passion and accept him with all her heart.  But Brittany had a suspicion that Chadwick had met his match. 

“James don’t you think Chadwick can handle this by himself?  If he needs us to do anything he will let us know.  He knows that we are always here for him.”  Mara rolled away from James. Sitting up, she put her feet on the floor and fished around for her slippers.  She was hungry after her early morning activity. 

" I can’t wait to see Chadwick this morning to find out how things went last night.”  Mara had tied her robe and was brushing her hair as she walked into the connecting bathroom. James could hear her running a bath.  He decided he didn’t have time for all that.  He wanted to speak with Chadwick now.  He put on his robe and slippers and left the room. 

#

James went straight to Chadwick’s bedroom and knocked on the door.  There was no answer.  He turned the knob to enter the room thinking that maybe Chadwick was in the shower and couldn’t hear him.  Upon entering the room, he was shocked to find Chadwick still in bed.  James knew Chadwick was a light sleeper and it disturbed him that Chadwick had not heard his knock.  

He walked to the side of Chadwick’s bed to get a closer look at him. He noticed the bottle of sleeping pills on the side table.  He was sleeping deeply.   He was on his back with his right arm thrown above his head and his left arm holding a pillow across his chest. 

“Wake up, son.  I need to talk to you.” James bellowed. 

“Dad, please go away.” Chadwick murmured as he turned over and away from James.  

“I want Brittany here tonight for supper.  Her whole family should come.”  This brought Chadwick completely awake.  He turned back over and stared at his father.  

“She can’t come here tonight,” Chadwick said. 

“Why is that?  I thought you liked her.”  James crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Chadwick’s answer.  

“I did not say I didn’t want her here.  I just said she can’t come.  She has a prior engagement.”  Chadwick felt bad for lying to his father, but he knew after last night that he was not ready to share Brittany with his family.  There were too many unanswered questions.  He needed to know why she and her family hated rich people.  He wanted desperately to know why she was still a virgin.  At twenty-two with her looks and sexual attraction it was unbelievable that she was untouched.  The mysteries surrounding Brittany were driving him crazy.  He needed time and privacy to maintain his equilibrium. Any added pressure from his family right now would be ruinous.  He had to keep Brittany away from them until he figured things out.  

“Well, Mara is going to call her anyway.  She might decide to change her plans.”  Chadwick could not believe that his father was being so persistent.  What was going on here?

“Dad, why are you doing this?  I don’t need interference from you guys right now.  Just back off.  I know what I am doing.”   Chadwick’s teeth seemed to be clenching more and more whenever he found himself in his father’s presence.  He didn’t make a practice of being disrespectful to his father.  But his dad was pushing it this time.  Chadwick knew, though, that his dad could be as stubborn as he, when he wanted to be.  

“I don’t think you know what you’re doing.  First of all, that girl isn’t fast like those hussies you normally date.  She doesn’t want your money, Chadwick.  If you aren’t ready to settle down and get married, you need to leave this one alone.  She’s the real deal.”  

“Dad, how did you come to the conclusion that Brittany is any different from any other woman?”  Chadwick had gotten nervous as his father talked.  All this virgin business was making him edgy.   Surely his father had not gained that much insight into Brittany just by one visit. He wasn’t sure what his father would take it into his head to do, if he found out Brittany was literally a virgin. 

“How do you know whether water is clean or dirty?  You look at it.  All I had to do was look at her.  She is as pure as clean water.  You just make sure she stays that way.”  Chadwick could only open and close his mouth in surprise.