Page 12 of Sensing Selma
I marched out of my father’s office and stomped my way to the front foyer. “Mr.Baker,” I said on seeing him. “Is it not within your capacity to give us word of your visit?”
He chuckled without answering. “Miss Susan.Always a pleasure seeing you.”
I grunted then noticed the younger man standing behind him by the window.
“Bradley,” Mr.Baker called out. “Come meet the elder Miss Selma.”
The elder? He was making me sound so much older than I was.
The younger man with wavy thick dark hair and the most brilliant blue eyes that were filled with kindness, came to us.My breath grew shallow as I became self-conscious suddenly.He looked so handsome and dashing like how I would picture Mr.Darcy or any of the gorgeous leading men in Jane Austen’s novels.
“This is my little brother, Brad,” Mr.Baker said.
I almost guffawed. I almost challenged him.
This good-looking, smart looking, genteel looking man could not possibly be related to the old, greasy and rude Jeremy Baker.
But my gaze shifted from one man to the other in an unmistakable display of disbelief.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Selma,” Brad said. His friendly smile instantly drew me in. He held his hand out to me.
“Nice to meet you.” I happily shook his hand and was surprised by its warmth as he held my hand a little longer than necessary.
“I do apologize for the unplanned visit.”
“Speaking of an unplanned visit,” Jeremy cut in. “I was here with Walker a few days ago, but we didn’t have time to check everything. I want to have a closer look at the kitchen. I’m certain we’ll find a few surprises...you know...old and antiquated wiring and such.” He marched off, talking to himself as he made his way.
“Please forgive my brother’s brash ways. I’ve suggested he take a bit more time with this project, but when he dives in, he dives in all the way. He’s always been that way.”
“I have no doubt.”
“To tell you the truth, I had no idea the place was currently occupied.”
“I’m not at all surprised to learn that he would omit that part. I would be more than happy to get out of his way, but we find ourselves in a very unfortunate circumstance and...well...”
He pressed a nervous smile, and I could see his discomfort. “Again, I must apologize for my brother. His ambitions often push him to be a little callous. Anything to reach his aims.”
“It’s commendable to be ambitious, but to throw a family out of their home is, well, as you say, callous.”I looked at him, his kind eyes and his genuine discomfort for my situation. “And yet you, his younger brother, seem a little more thoughtful.”
He laughed softly. “Yes. People do say that we’re complete opposites. Where he is loud and brash and crude, I’m a little more reserved, a little more careful, a little more....”
“Respectful,” I finished for him. Smiling, I added, “I know what it’s like to have a sibling who is so different. Should you meet my sister, you will find that she is nothing like me.”
“Brad!”Jeremy shouted from the kitchen. “Are you coming to check this out or are you just going to sip tea with the ladies?”
“I’m coming,” Brad called back. He looked at me. “Don’t judge him too harshly. He’s had it rough. Our parents died when he was only seventeen.”
“Oh,” I said, regretting my harsh condemnation of Jeremy. “I’m so sorry to hear that. And how old were you?”
“Six.”
“How awful. How tragic.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t easy for him to get on with his life all while taking care of a little kid.But that was twenty years ago.He’s had a lot of time to move on.”
“Looks like he did a decent job of raising you,” I said.“Even if it was twenty years ago.I still remembered how my life changed suddenly twenty years ago.”
“Oh?”Brad asked, his eyes twinkling.
