Watermelon Wishes

Chapter 11

Brady suddenly felt the impact of total exhaustion from the ends of his hair to the tip of his toenails. He knew it was all on the inside. He hadn't even gotten a chance to go for his daily jog today and had sat down most of the day at the station so there was no chance of physical over-exertion. Internally, he struggled. One side of him reasoned that he was a free man and didn't belong to Becca. By not being straightforward with her, even more than he'd already been, he was only hurting her by prolonging her pain. She needed to get a clear message, however difficult it might be for her to hear, now. That side wrestled with another part of him. The part had dragged him out by the shallow but plucky and determined roots that had started to slowly seep into the cold New York City soil. It told him that he should feel ashamed for not being home when Grandma passed and that he owed Becca for being there for him.

After Evey had stormed off as best she could, Becca had tied up Brady's thoughts in her rushed talking, nudging him towards the caretaker's quarters with the vegetable casserole she had whipped up that he just had to try.

He sat now at the small dinette table in the tiny kitchen area that the quarters offered, with Becca fussing all around him.

He felt weak, helpless almost, depleted and so very, very confused. He hated feeling helpless the most. A part of him despised Evey for two reasons. One was for her very purpose for being in Watermelon Cove in the first place. Truthfully, he wouldn't have liked anyone who planned to be at the auction. But secondly, his anger at Evey stemmed from her damned determinedness. She was so brazen, so unabashed, so open and eager about ripping his family's home out from under him.

There was something else too. And this is what scared him the most. It was almost as if Evey held some sort of magical power over him, that made him able to open up to her. After Danica stomped on his heart and ran it through a Cuisinart, he promised himself that he would never open up again. He never wanted to be so vulnerable.

It was just another case of the two opposing sides of Brady. One said that opposing sides of Brady. One said that Evey was just an innocent party who found the farmhouse listed for auction and had no idea of the background, she also happened to be beautiful, funny, clever and had a way of looking right into his eyes that made him want to be a better man. However, the other side of him, the bitter, sad, grieving side said that Becca was right, that she had caused enough trouble and should just leave him alone.

But both sides of him came together when he saw the hurt in her eyes at Becca's unfounded accusation. He wanted to send Becca on her way, tell her it was over with a capital O between them and scoop Evey up in his arms again. He wanted to kiss her soft kissable pale pink lips, run his hands through her long dark chestnut straight hair, to breathe in her scent of lavender and warm vanilla. He was aware of a force stronger than he was, something that pulled him toward her. It was an undeniable feeling. He hated to admit it to himself but he loved talking with her. Learning about her and sharing about his life, even the parts that hurt. Because when he spoke about them with her, they somehow didn't hurt so much. Something about her gentle smile and warm demeanor told him that everything was going to be okay and made him feel comforted and collected. He wanted to talk with her every day and every...

"Brady? Hello?"

He looked up to see Becca standing before him waving her hand in his face.

"Did you hear anything that I just said?" she asked, wearing an annoyed expression with her hand on her hip.

"Becca, I'm sorry but -"

Becca sighed and held her hand out.

"You can not let this woman get to you," she said. "All we have to do is wait for the auction specialist that I told you about to call back and follow his advice. He did get back to you, right?"