My Name is Nell

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Lord, now Brady would think she’d been talking about him to her family. “Yes. We met here about a week ago.” Nell’s voice box didn’t seem to be working properly. “This is my sister, Lily Roberts.”

Brady nodded acknowledgment.

“The way you were talking, so seriously and all, I figured you weren’t just another library patron.” Lily indulged in a tinkling laugh that to Nell’s ears was replete with sisterly innuendo.

Brady took command. “I am that, too. I’m trying to learn about the Fayetteville area and Nell’s been kind enough to assist me.”

Lily cocked her head. “In the children’s section?”

Nell prayed the floor would swallow her. She knew her sister. Beyond that flirtatious facade, Lily was determined to pump Brady for information.

Brady gestured toward the library table where he’d been sitting. “It seems I strayed a bit. I volunteered to help Nell.”

“How kind,” Lily said, ignoring the pleading look Nell was telegraphing her. “I understand you’ve only been in town a short time.”

“That’s right.”

Lily laid a hand on his arm. “Then you need to get better acquainted, and I have the perfect solution. Evan and I are hosting a barbecue Saturday night for family and some close friends. I dropped by the library to invite Nell, but this is even better. Of course you’ll come, too. All our guests will look forward to meeting Nell’s new friend.”

Nell couldn’t be sure, but it sounded as if Lily had put special emphasis on the word friend. She couldn’t stand by while her sister organized her life. “Lily, Brady may have other plans—”

She didn’t get out any more words before she heard Brady say, “Thank you, Lily. I’d like to come.”

Lily smiled triumphantly at Nell. “Well, that’s settled, then. Six o’clock.” Turning to Brady, she sprang her trap. “Since you’ll be coming with Nell, she can show you where we live.”

“Sounds great.” Brady handed Nell his page of the book list. “Guess I’d better get back to my research.” Smiling at Lily, he added, “Nice to have met you.”

He’d gone only a few steps when Lily grabbed Nell’s arm and purred sexily, “Do many of your customers look like that?”

Nell gritted her teeth. “Do I kill you now or later, sister dear?”

“Kill me? Unless I’m mistaken, which I’m not, I just did you a big favor.”

“I’ll tell you what I’ve already told Mother and Abby. Brady and I are just friends.”

Lily shot her an incredulous look. “Right.”

“It’s not like that.”

“But it certainly could be.” Lily faced her with that trust-me expression that set Nell’s nerves on edge. “So you’re just friends? Okay. I’ll buy that for now.”

“Good. He’s a grieving widower, Lily. I doubt he’s ready for what you have in mind.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. But still, what’s the harm in bringing him to the barbecue?”

Trapped. “Nothing, I guess.” She swallowed her trepidations.

Eyeing her up and down, Lily said, “I’ll be calling you to set a time to go shopping for your new outfit. You’ll want to dazzle him.”

Lily quickly back-pedaled toward the door, giving her a ta-ta wave of the fingers. Nell was too angry to move. Hadn’t her sister understood a word she’d said?

A new outfit?

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d dazzled a man.

And she wasn’t about to start now.

WHEN BRADY RETURNED to his condo, the message light on his answering machine was blinking. He kicked off his shoes, padded to the refrigerator for a cold soda, then settled in the overstuffed chair staring at the offending light. It had to be Carl. Some crisis.

He swigged from the can, then rested his head against the back of the chair. He wished he could care. But he didn’t. What used to be as important to him as the air he breathed, now affected him not in the least. He’d always heard you weren’t supposed to make any major decisions within a year following a spouse’s death. But it had been months. Shouldn’t he be feeling something about his company? But pride, status, power—none of it meant a thing.

Hell, he’d worked up more energy about the idea slowly forming in his head to develop an upscale conference and resort center on Beaver Lake than he had about any of Carl’s importunings. It wasn’t about money, although he wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t want his money to work for him. It was about intangible rewards, permanence. Only with Brooke had he found that.

He closed his eyes and tried to bring her into focus—her long silky hair, her tanned shoulders, but the image kept shifting in his memory. Instead, he pictured the willowy body of Nell Porter topped by her heart-shaped face and big, knowing eyes, her arms cradling books protectively against her breasts.

The damn books. He’d been ill-prepared for the wave of nostalgia that had swept over him. Johnny Tremain. He’d suddenly remembered his mother’s animated voice reading to him. Remembered lying in bed listening, the words transforming him into a boy in Revolutionary War times. Then, after she closed the book, she tucked the covers around him and kissed him good-night. That was before…

He cursed under his breath. For years he’d pretty much been able to fend off such memories, feeding on his resentment and losing himself in work until forgetfulness became a habit.

What was Nell Porter doing to him anyway? Whatever it was felt way too much like pecking away at his armor. Yet he was drawn to her in ways that made no sense. All he knew was that he felt better when he was around her.

He sat up, drained the soda, punched the Play button on the machine and listened to Carl’s edgy voice fill him in on the latest emergency at L&S TechWare.

He should respond. Immediately. Regrettably, that wasn’t a priority.

NELL HAD GIVEN IN and gone shopping with Lily. Down deep, she valued her sister’s advice. Lily’s taste was impeccable. The floral print wraparound skirt and filmy lavender blouse were on sale and, as Lily insisted, were Nell’s “colors.” Nell had to admit she’d been flattered by the lift of Brady’s eyebrows when he picked her up Saturday evening.

Light from the fading sun filtered through the ancient oaks and dappled the manicured lawn as Nell led Brady to the back gate of Lily’s house. Stella, Evan’s mother and father, and several other couples were already there, clustered around the hors d’oeuvres table set up on the flagstone patio. In a far corner of the yard, Abby corralled Chase. Without consulting Nell, Lily had invited Abby to baby-sit with Chase and spend the night. The obviousness of her maneuver would be amusing if it wasn’t so darn uncomfortable. Nell disliked being the focus of Lily’s expectations.

“Here’s Nell.” Her mother broke away from the guests and came toward them, a fixed smile on her face. “And you must be Brady,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Nell’s mother, Stella Janes.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Brady said. “Nell has made me feel most welcome in Arkansas.”

“I’m glad to hear my daughter represents the best of Southern hospitality.”

“You taught me well,” Nell murmured.

Stella tucked her arm through Brady’s. “Come meet Lily’s husband and the others.”

Trailing the pair, Nell sought to unfist her hands, aware of the tension riddling her. This was no big deal, yet she knew her family. They would make something out of nothing. She glanced across the yard and her heart sank. Oblivious to Chase tugging on her shorts, Abby was watching Brady’s progress to the patio with narrowed eyes and thinned lips.

Somehow Nell made it through the introductions, ignoring the questioning looks some of the women angled at Brady and her. From the cooler Brady picked out a beer and a soda. “Which would you prefer, Nell?”

Before she could answer, Lily slipped in between them. “My sister doesn’t drink.”

Nell winced. Would Brady pick up on the pointedness of the remark or was she simply overreacting?

Brady handed Nell the soda, then smiled at the two women. “I don’t either, except for an occasional beer.”

After Lily excused herself, Brady looked down at Nell, his eyes soft. “I like your family. Nice people.”

Nell tore her gaze from him and glanced around. “Yes. They are.” Then she noticed Abby sitting in a swing, holding Chase in her lap. The girl’s eyes were fixed everywhere but on Nell. “Brady, I’d like you to meet my daughter.” She started walking toward Abby, confident Brady was following. “Abby, this is—” When she turned to include him in the introduction, he wasn’t right behind her as she’d expected. He had stopped several feet away and his face had gone pale. “—Brady Logan,” Nell finished lamely.

As if shaking off a trance, he ran a hand through his hair and approached the swing set. “Hello,” he said in a husky voice.

Abby gave him a brief glance, then continued swinging. “’Lo.”

Nell stepped forward, took hold of the ropes and brought the swing to a stop. “Brady recently moved here from California,” she said in a voice full of a mind-your-manners undertone.

“I know.” Abby’s stony face had softened not one iota. “Grandma told me.”

Nell could only wonder what other tidbits Stella had seen fit to divulge. She turned helplessly to Brady. “And this is Chase, Lily’s son,” she said running a hand over the toddler’s curly hair.

“Hi, Chase.”

The boy ducked his head into Abby’s shirt. Abby continued to stare at her mother in sullen defiance.

“What grade are you in, Abby?”

Slowly Abby turned to Brady. “Eighth.”

Brady’s voice sounded strangled. “Hope you enjoy the year.”

Nell was missing something. It was as if Brady, usually confident and assured in social situations, had become a tongue-tied adolescent himself.