Condemned (20 page)

“Maybe, maybe not. Jesse knew, remember? He checked her out
but everything was hidden beneath the surface and he had no real reason to dig
deeper. Did you suspect anything when we were here?”

“No,” Shane admitted.

“I knew you wouldn’t keep her around much longer but I
didn’t think she was devious in any way,” Jordan stated. “Get back to Andie.”

“Andie,” Brett sighed, a faraway look in his eyes. “Jesse
finally told me they were only dating to spend time with me and Tish. He
thought I would stop feeling threatened if she didn’t seem interested in me.
I’d finally take off my blinders and see what the rest of you already knew. That
part worked. Too bad I walked right into the trap that was being set for me at
the same time.

“When they left the restaurant, Holly convinced Andie she
should tell me what they’d overheard on her own. She said Andie should explain
what she could to me and then we’d both go to Jesse’s to see what he, Frank and
Wyatt dug up while they were waiting for us. Well, Jesse left and I was in a
foul mood. I was raging at how unfair my life was when Andie appeared. I tried
to shut the door on her but she came in anyway. She kept insisting she had
something important to tell me. I wouldn’t let her talk. I stalked away and
yelled at her to go find Jesse but she swore they were just friends. He’d said
the same thing earlier, by the way.

“One thing led to another and we made a deal. Andie would
ah, indulge me for the night and I would listen for five minutes when I was
done.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Shane couldn’t stop
himself.

“I wasn’t, obviously. All I knew was the woman I’d started
dreaming about and wanted more than anything in the world was with me and
agreeing to let me do whatever I wanted.”

“Christ, Brett.” Jordan was unable to hide his astonishment.
“That’s not you. You don’t take advantage of women. Ever. Even if they beg you
to.”

“Apparently Andie is the exception. I was more demanding
than I knew I could be. I was rough. I said and did things I can’t begin to
tell you about. The more I pushed to scare her away, the more she seemed to
want. It was the most incredible experience in my life. I wouldn’t let my mind
function and I refused to let her talk to me. And in the morning, when I woke
up, I told myself that I had raped her. I left a note that made everything
worse and came here to hide.”

“You really weren’t thinking,” Shane muttered. “What woman
has ever stopped talking when she thinks she has something to say? Brett, I
love you the same as Jordan but I still gotta say this. You are the biggest
idiot in the world.”

“That’s nicer than the things I’ve called myself. Anyway,
Andie went to Jesse’s and he came here. He showed up just as I finished
attacking Flynn. Shane, I said terrible things to him. Jesse force-fed me an
abbreviated version of Andie’s news before he took Flynn off and talked to him.
I don’t know what exactly he said but I’m grateful. He kept Flynn from
believing what I said to him. Andie showed up a little while later.”

“Oh.” Shane nodded. “Now I get it. She was demonstrating how
wrong your assumption was.”

“What?” Jordan didn’t know what he was referring to.

“Andie asked me follow her into the yard. She told me to
reach for her and had me face down, on the ground.”

“With a dislocated shoulder,” Shane supplied.

“With a dislocated shoulder, all before it registered that
she’d moved. Jesse confessed that most of their dates were spent with him
teaching her how to defend herself.”

“Did a good job,” Shane declared. “Andie had him pinned down
and was still pushing against his arm so hard I thought she might do real
damage when Bill Anderson pulled up.”

“The realtor?” Jordan interrupted. “You were just going to
plant the sign in the yard without telling me?”

Brett nodded miserably as Shane resumed. “He took out a sign
and some papers and had started toward them when Andie noticed him. He offered
to come back at a better time but she told him in no uncertain terms that
Brett’s house was no longer on the market. You know how persistent Bill is. He
didn’t leave until Andie threatened that he would be next. You should have seen
the look on his face.”

“Shane.” Jordan was speaking quietly. “Why didn’t you tell
me about this then?”

“Jesse wouldn’t explain what was going on but he assured me
he had it covered.” Shane shrugged. “When Andie wasn’t looking, we had Flynn
hide in the back of Andie’s car to prevent her from driving too far in the
state she was in. He told her the truth about how he ended up with me and Lyss
when she said she was going home, with or without him. He also treated her to
breakfast and took her to his spot out by the creek. If he were older, Brett, I
think he would try to take Andie from you.”

“If he were older, I’d encourage him. Face it, he’s a better
man than I am.”

“Oh would you just shut up. I agree that you made a complete
mess of it with Andie. I even know how you feel when you think about life
without her. But stop saying such stupid shit and start thinking for a change.
If Andie is half the woman you claim she is, this isn’t over. Stop wallowing
and fight for her. You just told the whole town that you will love her forever.
I think that makes her worth some effort on your part. Tell me what you said in
your emails.”

Brett went over everything he could remember. “You really
think she could let herself forgive me enough to love me again?”

“I don’t think she ever really stopped,” Jordan stated.
“She’s hurting, Brett. But she must have loved you a hell of a lot to let you,
ah, indulge yourself. Oh, I should encourage you to stop drawing her face like
that.”

“Like what?” Shane wanted to know.

“Like she looks when she comes,” Jordan said flatly. “In the
middle of a meeting at the station where he missed every word. Fortunately, I
sent the others away before anyone else saw it.”

“Jeez, Brett, you know better!” Shane declared. “So, Jordan,
good?”

“Beautiful, just like Kiley and I assume Alyssa. And if that
drawing was accurate I’m sure that night was about more than sex for Andie.”

“I know.” Brett frowned. “I must have been hurting her every
time she saw me with someone else since she moved to Sadie’s.”

“Probably,” Jordan agreed. “But she came to save you and
spent the night anyway. I’d say that means she was willing close the door on
your past with other women.”

“I wouldn’t push it and go off with someone else after you
get together though.”

“God, Shane! I can’t believe you just said that. You don’t
really think I would ever cheat on her if she actually takes me back, do you?”

“He’s just testing you, Brett.” Jordan grinned. “You know
how he likes to push to see if you’re serious. Let’s go over and see if Kiley
is awake. I think we could use a woman’s point of view to help figure out how
you’re going to win back Andie’s heart.”

“Don’t forget how hard Lyssa fought against being in love
with me. Maybe she can explain what changed her mind,” Shane added.

“Hey, um, before we go,” Brett stammered. “I just wanted to
tell you both…”

Jordan wouldn’t let him continue. “Brett, we’ve been more
than friends since we were six. How can you even begin to think you need to say
what you were about to? Okay, I admit that it hurt yesterday morning when I
finally took a good look at you and saw how bad you were. I had no idea what
you were keeping to yourself but I could tell that it was big. I didn’t have a
clue as to why you stopped including me but while I was watching you sketch, I
realized that it has been months since we talked about much of anything other than
the station or Kiley. I don’t really understand what happened to make you think
I wouldn’t listen, but as of now, that ends. You are going to keep me in your
life and tell me what’s going on, even when it isn’t pretty. And I guarantee
I’ll be doing a lot of the same with you.

“I should warn you that I’m starting to panic about this
baby. Kiley is so confident and I am so afraid I’ll screw up somehow. Although
we talk about it constantly and she insists I have nothing to worry about, I
need you too. You can’t hide from me or I’ll fall apart and Kiley will be stuck
doing everything on her own. We always helped each other out when it was
necessary before and I expect us to get back to that. But if you think for one
minute that you need to apologize any more than you already have or that I’m
not going to stick this out with you then Shane was right and you are an idiot.
Christ, Brett. You of all people should know better.”

Brett was shaking. “I used to.”

“The same goes for me too.” Shane draped an arm over his shoulder.
“Let’s call it temporary insanity and forget it. Flynn is cool with you so I
have no reason not to be too. Just don’t do it again. Now that you’re really
here, I don’t think it would take the town that long to figure out who you’re
talking about if you keep calling Jordan and apologizing on the air. I can’t
believe you did that.”

“I didn’t know how else to start. I couldn’t just show up
and blurt out how I’d been hiding the disaster I made of my life.”

“Yeah, you could have,” Jordan pointed out as they walked
toward Shane’s house. “I wish I’d seen Andie toss you. I bet it was great.”

“It was.” Shane chuckled. “She made me decide not to teach
Campini anything that she could use against me. And you actually thought you
forced her. I hate to sound like a broken record but I don’t think that little
girl could ever be made to do anything against her will. You’d better be more
careful with her in the future.”

“Shut up. Just shut up,” Brett groaned.

“I never would have pegged her for the wild type,” Jordan
uttered.

“You’re kidding, right?” Brett gasped. “After some of the
things you’ve hinted at with your own wife you should know not to assume
anything about any woman.”

“What things?” Shane perked up.

“Don’t say it, Brett,” Jordan warned, not at all serious
because he knew Brett never would.

“As if,” Brett stated, knowing they would be all right in
spite of how he’d behaved. “You both know I don’t tell tales about women. And I
expect what I said about Andie to remain between us too. I only told you so you
would have an idea how bad I thought it was.”

“Don’t worry,” Jordan said as Shane agreed. “I won’t tell
anyone that beneath your happy-go-lucky exterior lies a sexual beast.” They all
laughed together. “It should have told you something about your feelings for
Andie as soon as you started acting that way. I don’t think you ever mentioned
being interested in dominating before so she must bring it out of you.”

“Funny what the right woman can make you do,” Shane mused.

“Just what’s that supposed to mean, McKade?” Alyssa heard
his last comment as they walked in.

“Calm down, Pix,” Shane kissed her possessively. “We were
talking about Brett, not me.”

“Ha!” Brett snorted. “He was talking about all of us.
Unfortunately, I’m not as lucky as they are. Think you can help me fix this?”
Alyssa stared because of the tone of his voice as Kiley reached for him. “I
love her, Lyss. I don’t ever want anybody but her. I’m going to be a lonely,
miserable, extremely unhappy man if you guys can’t help me come up with a way
to get Andie to let me love her.”

Kiley was crying as she and Alyssa both hugged him. “Give us
a better idea of what you did and we’ll figure it out with you. Have you spoken
with Sadie? Maybe she could help if she told you what Andie’s doing now.”

Brett sat with his friends, discussing possible ways to find
his way back into Andie’s life. He realized how lucky he was that they hadn’t
turned their backs on him as he had on them. “Thanks,” he whispered during a
pause even though he knew it wasn’t necessary.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sadie stopped on the sidewalk. “Flynn, could you go wait by
the door please?” She waited for him to step away. “Listen very carefully.” She
glared from Andie to Brett. “I don’t care what happened between the two of you,
for the next few hours I expect you to behave more like the civilized adults I
know you to be. You’re both being childish and I will not go in there and
permit either of you to do anything to upset these poor people. Arguing over
who should sit where. Ridiculous! We were in the car all of what? Eight
minutes. I’m embarrassed that neither of you possesses enough sense to remember
that this is neither the time nor the place to sulk over your difficulties. I
suggest you speak privately for a moment and come to some sort of agreement before
you walk in there.”

When they both shifted uneasily in front of her, Sadie’s
scowl deepened. “I am very serious. If you cause even an inkling of a scene
today, I will make you both sorrier than you thought possible. It won’t make
any difference to me if one of you is completely innocent and the other
entirely at fault. If something unseemly happens, I will not discriminate in
venting my wrath. Go for a walk around the block. Go sit in the park. I don’t
care where you end up or how long it takes but you will not come in until you
are both able to appear cordial. I won’t have either of you scurrying away just
because you cross paths. You will speak of the weather if you aren’t capable of
any real conversation.

“Max was a dear child and he deserves better treatment than
you seem ready to give him. Think about that instead of your own problems for a
moment. It’s not too much to ask that you set them aside for an afternoon and
show this family the respect they deserve for doing this. No matter how
prepared they thought they were or how they accepted this eventuality, they
must be devastated.” She gave them each another piercing stare. “Now go and do
not disappoint me.” She moved regally to the door and took Flynn’s arm, leaving
them alone.

Andie stared, frozen with shock long after the door closed
as if mortified by her aunt’s words.

Brett cleared his throat. “Shall we?” He gestured toward the
park. “Or would you prefer to walk?”

“I’d prefer to crawl under a rock and die,” Andie exclaimed
before she could stop herself. “I never heard her like that before.”

He thought he saw tears forming in her eyes but she spun
away, as if to hide them from him. He wondered now at the wisdom in enlisting
Sadie’s help. She was the only one in Andie’s family left to defend her and now
she’d made it seem as if she were upset with Andie.

When Andie crossed the street to the park, he followed and
watched as she perched on the very edge of a bench, staring at her feet.

“I’m sorry to put you through this. You know I wanted Jesse
to pick you up.”

“We’d still be in there together,” Andie’s voice quivered.
“I really thought I could handle it. For a few hours at least.”

Brett had stopped several feet from the bench. His heart
wrenched when she refused to meet his eyes. She was still on the verge of
tears. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to hold her but his brain made
him resist. Finally, he squatted in front of her, steadying himself by resting
his hands on either side of her legs.

“Andie.” He used one finger to lift her chin. “I know
nothing I say will make this any easier. We have to go inside eventually
though. Remember the day at Jordan’s when you were talking about teaching a
child who doesn’t want to be there and how you have to pretend he does so you
can do your best to teach the joys of music? Isn’t this sort of the same thing?
If you had three students in a row like that, you would be able to overlook
their reluctance for the entire time. Draw from that and ignore how much I hurt
you. For as long as we’re here, forget that you hate me and wish we had never
met. Think about Max and his family and how glad they are you came. I know you
can do it.

“Andie?” Brett could tell by her neck that her pulse was
racing. He watched the feelings run across her face. She had no idea how expressive
her features were. He could see the conflict she underwent and felt even more
awful for having caused it. If only he could reset time to before the auction.
He would have guaranteed she’d won and rewritten the rest of both their lives.
“You have to tell me if you can pretend for as long as we need to. We have to
do this.”

“No problem,” she said with more conviction than she
obviously felt. “Why should I care that you’re here too? As far as I’m
concerned, you are a stranger to me. You’re my aunt’s friend and it makes no
difference whether you’re around or not.”

Brett knew he deserved it but it hurt anyway. “Good.” He
could see she was still struggling. “In that case, my friend’s niece, shall we
go in?” He stood and offered his hand. When she tried to ignore it, he reached
out, capturing hers in his. “We’re playing nice now, remember? It’s an
emotional day and in any other circumstances you wouldn’t avoid simple comfort
from anyone.”

“Brett.” Andie was clearly fighting to remain indifferent.

“If I were Flynn, you would think nothing of this. I’ve
noticed how much you touch people. I’m sure Sadie has too.”

“Fine,” Andie hissed, tension radiating from her. “It
doesn’t matter anyway. You don’t matter. Not anymore.”

Brett knew she was saying it for her benefit as much as his
but had to force himself not to react. It was torture, knowing his carelessness
had caused the changes she was trying to make to herself. He could tell she was
working to tone down her open nature. She wouldn’t let herself trust enough to
reach out to anyone the way she used to.

As soon as they were inside, Andie immediately went to Sadie
and apologized. Sadie hated to see the effort it took Andie to keep her
emotions under control. For the moment, no one would question her distress,
given the nature of the gathering.

She would have find a way to give Andie subtle encouragement
and support without her realizing it. Poor child. She was so determined to deny
what she felt for the idiot boy. It was unforgivable that he’d hurt her
precious girl but he did understand the mistake he’d made. At last, he had
stopped fighting his feelings. He and Andie would have a good life together if
they managed to get past this.

Fool! Sadie noticed how Brett followed Andie as she
circulated with the other guests. She was never out of his sight even though he
kept his distance. Sadie knew Andie was aware of him too, though she pretended
not to be.

“Please say you’ll come soon?” Kiley pleaded to begin her
lessons. Andie was avoiding her because of Brett but she was determined not to
take no for an answer this time. “Come stay with us next weekend. You look a
little tired. I promise that nothing other than your patience at the piano will
be required the entire visit. I know Charlie is anxious too. She’ll tell you that
herself as soon as they get here. I’m sure Lyss would bring her to us if you’re
worried about going to their house. And don’t you worry about anything else
either. Jordan can be very protective.”

Andie appeared to want to refuse and run but knew the disappointment
it would cause. Kiley knew she would hate to discourage either one of them so
she wasn’t surprised when Andie accepted.

“I know it’s silly but I really would be grateful if you
could arrange for Charlie to join us. I don’t know what you were told but I
don’t think I want to get even that close yet.”

“You’re not at all silly.” Kiley hugged her impulsively.
“Did you listen to Jordan’s show Tuesday night?”

“Only the beginning. I’m afraid I fell asleep long before
the end,” Andie claimed.

“Oh.” Kiley frowned. “Well Brett was the last caller. He
acted like he and Jordan didn’t know each other and talked about some of the
trouble he was having in his life. Jordan explained later that Brett needed to
do that since he didn’t know how else to approach him or Shane.”

Andie paled and let Kiley steer her to the end of the hall
where they had slightly more privacy. “Brett said losing Max made him think
about what he was doing with his life. He spoke about all of us. At the end, he
said there was a woman he’d hurt terribly and how much he regretted it. He
never called you by name during the show but I knew it was you even before he
talked to us later.” Andie nodded as the tears slid down her face. “When Jordan
went to speak with him, I’m sure he heard more about what happened but he won’t
repeat private things he and Brett discuss, not even to me. I do believe Brett
loves you. You used to have feelings for him. Can’t you find a way to put
whatever he did behind you?”

“No.” Andie sobbed.

Kiley wrapped her arms around Andie and held her. She saw
Jordan and Brett in the doorway watching them. She wanted to spin Andie around
so she would see the emotion on Brett’s face but knew how much additional pain
it would cause at this point. When Brett took a step toward them, Kiley gave
her head a slight shake. Jordan put a hand on his arm to stop him. He spoke
quietly to Brett. Kiley was sure her husband was trying to console his friend
but suspected it wouldn’t do any good. She was relieved when Brett went back
into the other room and let Jordan approach them on his own.

Jordan wished he had a solution to the mess Brett had made.
He hated to see both of them torn apart like this, even though it was entirely
Brett’s doing. He stepped next to the women and held them both. Kiley was
crying too. When Andie tried to pull away, he wouldn’t release her.

“It’s better to cry,” he whispered. “If you hold it in,
you’ll make yourself sick.”

“I don’t want to cry anymore,” she stated.

“I know, honey, but don’t fight it,” Jordan urged in his
most soothing voice. He could see that it had the desired effect on his wife
but did little for Andie. “Andie, you can trust us. Kiley and I are your
friends so you don’t have to be tough for our sakes.” Kiley must have sensed
what he was trying to do and let Jordan speak for both of them. “Brett was
wrong about many things. He won’t hurt you ever again. I promise you that. The
part of Brett that treated you the way he did isn’t him at all. I won’t make
any excuses because there are none. But he’s not really like that. Brett is a
good, decent man.”

Andie wouldn’t let herself be lulled entirely by Jordan’s
tone. She accepted comfort from both of them but was openly denying their
assurances about Brett. “Thanks,” Andie said shyly when she was calmer.

“Any time,” Jordan responded, his heart aching as he saw
Brett watching them again.