Ever After (29 page)

“A
re you okay?” Jamie called.

“Yes,” she answered and picked up the box. She sniffed a bit and put on a smile. She wasn't going to let Jamie see how much he'd upset her.

As she rounded the corner, Jamie was coming toward her on his crutches. But before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. “Fun's over,” he mumbled. When he nodded at the box, she shoved it way back on a shelf of the dresser, and Jamie opened the door.

It was Ian. “I have been given instructions to equip this room with a properly set table for dinner tonight. Dr. Huntley and his wife had dishes and silver sent over from Kingsley House. You two need to get dressed.” Ian stepped inside. “It's a sauna in here! Did you have a fire going?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “With the storm, it was cold in here.”

“Storm?” Ian said. “We've been on the beach today and it was so sunny we nearly fried. We went through a dozen tubes of sunscreen.”

“Maybe it was a localized storm,” Jamie said.

Ian unhooked the double doors and threw them both open. Outside the grass was dry; there wasn't a drop of moisture on the paving stones.

Hallie was just behind Jamie and staring in disbelief. “Interesting.”

“Whatever you two have been drinking, you should share it,” Ian said. He looked out at the garden. Raine and Adam were coming toward them carrying big boxes, and behind them was an older woman.

“Is that Aunt Tildy?” Jamie asked.

“None other.”

Jamie turned to Hallie. “We have to get out of here as fast as we can run.”

“But I want to meet her,” Hallie said even as Jamie got behind her and began pushing.

“Unless you want to tell every secret you've ever had, especially about your stepsister and the passport, you'll get out of here before Aunt Tildy arrives.”

Hallie took time to blink twice, then began running toward the stairs.

“Dinner in an hour,” Ian called after them. “And we set up the TV in the living room while you two were braving the big bad storm. Did the thunder keep you from hearing us?”

Hallie stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at Jamie. “We're either both crazy or…”

“Or the ladies played some game on us,” Jamie answered.

“I don't know about you, but I prefer crazy,” Hallie said.

“I agree. So what was in the box?”

“I didn't have time to look. I need to get dressed. If your cousins are bringing over china, is this thing formal?”

“Put on the black dress you wore to dinner. But you should know that if Uncle Kit's involved, he may show up in a tux. And Aunt Jilly might—”

“Why didn't you warn me about this? I should have started getting ready two hours ago. Damn!” She ran to her bedroom to get in the shower.

Minutes later, as she was frantically trying to get the curling iron to work on her hair, Jamie knocked on her bedroom door.

“Are you dressed?” he asked.

“Enough.” She had on her underwear and a bathrobe.

Jamie came in, wearing the clothes he'd worn when they went out to dinner. “You don't need to do that to your hair. You look great with it pulled back flat.”

“Nice to hear but not really true,” she answered. “Oh, no!” Her cell phone was ringing.

Jamie took it off her nightstand and looked at the ID but said nothing.

“Who is it?”

Silently, he handed her the phone. In big letters it said B
RADEN
. “It's probably his mom.” She put down the iron, took the phone, and stepped into the sitting room. “Hello?” she said tentatively.

“Hallie?”

“Braden! How are you? And how is your mother?”

“Everyone is fine. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course. My time is yours.”

Jamie was standing in the doorway. “We need to go down and greet our guests,” he said rather loudly.

“You're not alone,” Braden said. “And you have guests? Is that someone I know?”

“No, you've not met him,” Hallie said while frowning at Jamie and motioning for him to go away.

But he sat down in a chair, his hands on his lap, looking as though he meant to stay there.

Hallie turned her back on him. “I was told that you're coming here to visit.”

“Yes,” Braden said, “I am. Hallie, I have to tell you something and I hope it won't upset you. I wanted to hear both sides of what went on between you and Shelly so I spent some time with her. I even took her to the office with me.”

“Oh,” Hallie said and sat down heavily on the window seat. “Let me guess. You think she went about it the wrong way, but she has a valid reason for what she did.”

Braden gave a laugh. “No, I haven't changed.”

Hallie's smile deepened. “Has she put my house up for sale?”

“No, and she's not going to!” Braden's voice was firm. “But she made a pass at my boss.”

“She didn't!”

“Oh, yes,” Braden said. “She most certainly did. Anyway, Hallie, I have some paperwork to clear up at the office, then I'll fly out to Nantucket and we can talk. But honestly, is it all right for Shelly to continue living in your house for another week or so? She got a job at a restaurant so she can feed herself, but she can't pay the mortgage. Once this is settled, I'll get her out.”

“Let her stay. I'll make the payments from here. Whenever you can come, let me know. I have a guest bedroom and—” She broke off as she looked at Jamie, who was glaring at her. “I'll be here,” she finished.

“Hallie, I so look forward to seeing you again. Maybe when I'm there it won't all be work. Maybe we can play some.”

“I'd like that,” she said. “I'd like that very much.”

They said goodbye and hung up. Hallie sat there for a few moments, holding the phone in her hands and thinking about what had just been said. Maybe they could
play
some?

She came back to the present when Jamie got up and started to leave—and she realized she'd just given his bedroom away. “I didn't mean to—”

“That's all right,” he said. “He's your friend and you want him to be more. You think I should wear a tie tonight?”

“No,” she said. “Jamie, I—”

When he turned to her, his face was cold, withdrawn. “Hallie, we all have pasts full of secrets. When your friend arrives, I'll get out and he can have the bedroom next to you. And oh, yeah, this morning when you and I…you know, don't think about it. It would have happened with anyone.” He went to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Hallie started to knock. They needed to talk! But she looked at her watch and realized she had only minutes before she had to be downstairs to greet their guests.

She had trouble reaching the long zipper of her dress, but she managed it. When it was on, she was shocked to see that the dress was downright big on her. She could grab a handful of silk at her waist.

Jamie was waiting for her at the landing and he was still wearing that cold look.

“Oh, for heaven's sake!” she said. “Are you in some jealous fit because I talked to another man?”

“Talk?! It's more like you oozed to him. ‘Oh, Braden,' ” he said in falsetto, “ ‘you're so strong and smart and I'm just a helpless little thing.' ”

Hallie tried not to laugh. “You
are
jealous. For your information, I have known Braden Westbrook my entire life. He gave me piggyback rides when I was a toddler.”

“And how old were you when you started planning your wedding to him?”

“Eight,” she said before she thought.

“My point exactly,” he said smugly.

Hallie's hands made fists at her sides. “I have a right to talk to anyone I want to in any
way
I want to and you have
no
right to—”

“I hate to interrupt here,” said a deep, smooth voice from
the bottom of the stairs, “but your guests are on their way.” Ian was looking up at them in curiosity. With a bit of a smile, he walked away.

“We can finish this later,” Jamie said as he motioned for her to go down ahead of him.

“There's nothing to finish,” Hallie said under her breath. “Braden is—” She stopped when she saw the tea room. The furniture had been rearranged so there was a round table for four in the center, draped with a snowy linen cloth. The dishes on it were Herend, winking in the light of the many candles that were set about the room. The air was fragrant with food, wine, and flowers. “This is truly exquisite,” she said and smiled at Adam, Ian, and Raine, who were beautifully dressed and standing to one side.

“We are here to serve you,” Adam said. His dark eyes were made for candlelight. If a Regency romance novel came to life, Adam Montgomery would be the hero.

“All of you will be here tomorrow to watch the wedding, won't you?” She took a step toward him.

“Out!” Jamie said. “We can serve the food ourselves.”

“If you need us…” Raine said as he walked toward the doors.

“Go!” Jamie said. “We don't need any of you.” He shut the doors behind them.

“What is
wrong
with you?!” Hallie said.

“Where do I begin? I was in a war and the vehicle blew up and—”

“Don't you even think of blaming your bad mood on a war! This has nothing to do with—”

“Am I interrupting?” Kit asked from the doorway. “I was told to come in.”

“Please do.” Hallie turned away from Jamie.

Kit stepped back to allow a woman to enter before him, and Hallie had her first sight of Jilly, the bride. She was a very pretty
woman, her face soft, ethereal even. She was thin and wearing a dress of gauzy fabric that suited her pale skin.

“If you'd rather, we can come back another time,” she said, her voice as soft as her face.

“No, it's fine,” Hallie said. “Jamie's just being a jerk.” Immediately, she put her hand over her mouth. “I'm sorry! He's your nephew and—” She wanted the floor to open and swallow her.

Jilly laughed. “He can be.” Smiling, she affectionately ruffled Jamie's hair. “Todd is worse.”

“Isn't he!” Hallie said, then rolled her eyes. “I
am
sorry. I'm really putting my foot in it tonight.”

Kit made formal introductions. He was dressed in a dark suit, no tie, and from the quick way he glanced about the room she thought he was casing it. She wasn't surprised when his eyes landed on the box she'd slipped onto a dresser shelf.

“Would you mind if I used your facilities?” Jilly asked. “And Hallie, maybe you'd show me the way.”

“Of course.” She led the way past the dark living room. She was startled to see the big flatscreen TV that had been set up at the end of the room, with chairs facing it. How in the world had she and Jamie not heard this being put in? But then the thunder of the storm—the one that didn't happen—must have covered the noise.

She waited for Jilly to finish in the bathroom, but then she heard what sounded like retching. She softly tapped on the door. “Are you all right?”

When Jilly opened the door, her face was without color.

Hallie took over. She sat Jilly on the side of the tub, got a washcloth, and soaked it in cold water. “How about we get you to the hospital?”

“No,” Jilly said. “It was like this the last time. I'll be fine in a few minutes. Just let me sit here.”

Hallie filled a glass with water and handed it to her. Did this woman have something physically wrong with her? An illness? Maybe she…Hallie stepped back to wring out the cloth.
It was like this the last time
, she'd said. “When are you due?” Hallie asked.

Jilly gave a sigh. “About seven months from now. No one knows, not even my soon-to-be husband, Ken.”

Hallie frowned at that.

“No, it's not like that. He's in Lanconia right now. He's known Graydon's bride since she was a baby. I was going to go too, but their wedding was moved forward because Toby is pregnant—and only family knows that.”

“Toby is the bride?”

“Yes,” Jilly said. “She finally drove Graydon to the limit of what he could resist and…” Jilly waved her hand. “It's a long story, but our wedding dates ended up very close together and I used that as my excuse not to go with Ken. If I'd told him that I was expecting, he wouldn't have gone.”

“And he would have missed the wedding.” Bending, Hallie put her hands on Jilly's neck and began massaging it.

“If even one person in my family suspects my condition, it will spread like a forest fire. And Ken will be hurt that he didn't hear first.”

“We'll just have to keep it a secret until he returns. It'll be between you and me. And tomorrow I'll put you on my massage table and get rid of the tension in your shoulders.” She looked Jilly in the eyes. “Everything will be all right. In fact, why don't you stay here tonight? If you're having morning sickness in the evening, it won't take much for anyone to guess what the problem is.” She could feel the tension in Jilly loosening. “We'd better go back or the men will worry.” She rinsed out the cloth.

“What were you and Jamie arguing about—if I may ask?”

“I was talking to an old friend on the phone and Jamie got quite unpleasant.” She looked at Jilly. “Do you think he was jealous?”

“Probably,” Jilly said, then caught Hallie's hand. “Thank you. Thank you for this and especially for making Jamie display a normal emotion. For years now he hasn't really been back with us. Does that make sense?”

“Perfect sense,” Hallie said, “but I'm still not going to put up with it.”

Jilly was frowning. “I don't think you know about Jamie's problems, about—”

“His seizures? His nightmares? His fears of ordinary daily occurrences? Oh, yes, I know all about that and I understand them. It's just that I have some problems of my own. I've spent too much of my life being controlled by other people and I'm
done
with it.”