Page 108 of The Rules We Broke
He handed me his card. “If you ever needanything, please call me.”
There was something in his tone—an implication I couldn’t quite place. Odd, but I didn’t think much of it. At least, not at the time.
Aunt Lu fussed all the way to the car. She wasn’t happy they wouldn’t let her walk down. I tried to keep my snickering to a minimum.
She visibly relaxed once we reached the car. As soon as she settled into the seat, she took a deep breath. A week and a half in the hospital had clearly been her limit. I saw the shift in her countenance almost instantly.
I reached over and squeezed her hand.
She squeezed back. “Hurry home,” she said—then added with a sly smile, “I think that doctor was very taken with you.”
“Really? I thought he was married.”
“No, divorced.” She glanced at me. “So . . . what did you think of the handsome doctor?”
“I think he’s not Brady.” I smirked.
“No, he’s not,” she said, like that was a good thing.
“Aunt Lu, if you didn’t want Brady and me together, why did you help make it happen?”
She paused. “It’s not so muchthatboy. It’s his family.”
“Believe me, we’re in agreement about his family. But Brady isn’t going anywhere. I love him. And I want you to love him, too.”
I felt her gaze settle on me.
“I’m serious. Just give him a chance. He’s a good guy. Actually, he’s agreatguy. And I think deep down, you know that. You wouldn’t have talked to him in the first place if you didn’t.”
She didn’t respond. But I knew she knew I was right.
When we got home, I got her settled in the family room, then went upstairs to change into something more comfortable. I also grabbed the new Christmas puzzle I’d bought her.
Growing up, we always did a puzzle during Christmas break. It had been years. But this felt like the right time to bring the tradition back.
When I came back down with the box in hand, she looked pleased. Which made me happy. For the first time in days, I felt like the holidays could finally begin.
I turned on some Christmas music using the ancient stereo—the one that only played CDs. I chose her favorite: Bing Crosby.
Then I set up the puzzle table in front of the couch.
We spent a lovely afternoon singing along to our favorite Christmas tunes and piecing together the puzzle. It felt like old times. It felt like peace.
As evening settled in, I lit the Christmas trees.
“Ella Lu,” Aunt Lu said pleased, “the trees look lovely this year.”
“Well, you can thank Brady and Caroline for that.”
She narrowed her beautiful brown eyes at me, clearly uneasy at the thought of Brady touching her beloved ornaments.
Before she could say anything, the doorbell rang.
I assumed it was someone from church bringing dinner. Brady wasn’t supposed to come until later.
I was half right.
Itwasdinner. But I couldn’t believe who brought it.
