FOUR
How can I get out of this?
Brittany paced the length of her apartment, which wasn’t very big, anyway, but she’d hoped that walking would make her mind work properly. She needed a plan soon. It had been two days since her incident with Austin Reeder, and Kurt thought she should try to see the wealthy playboy tomorrow. Her partner had said she should make their meeting appear accidental.
She wrung her hands against her middle and clenched her teeth. She would rather have four root canals in one day than meet Austin Reederaccidentally—or meet him at all, for that matter. It was hard to think of this man as her assignment. Instead, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d kissed her. Never had she felt such passion, and that scared the livin’ bejeezus out of her.
The knock at her door, made her jump. She moved to the door and peered through the peephole at the tall man with graying brown hair.Dad?What was he doing here? When she opened the door, he stood in front of her, holding a large box.
“Hi,” she said, motioning her hand for him to enter. “Why are you coming over so late?”
He carried the cardboard box to her kitchen table, and set it on top. “Earlier today I was going through the house to make room for Patricia. I found several things I could finally get rid of.” Sighing, he raked his fingers through his hair and sat on one of the chairs. “I haven’t looked through the house like that since before your mother died.”
Nodding, Brittany sat next to him and grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “You should have asked for help. I would have done it for you.”
He shook his head. “No. This was something I had to do.” He sighed heavily. “Five years without your mother by my side has taken its toll on me. I’ve not wanted to look through the house for fear I’d feel that great loss I experienced that first year after cancer had taken her life.”
Brittany recalled that time, as well, and she knew exactly what her father had been feeling. She’d been very close to her mother, and to have her die like that nearly sent Brittany to the looney bin. If it wasn’t for her best friend, Dawn, Brittany wouldn’t have survived that first year.
“Well, I’m sure it needed to be done, and you’ll be able to begin your life with Patricia soon.”
“Yes.” He chuckled softly. “The wedding is getting closer.” His brown-eyed gaze moved off her and to the box on the table. He patted the side of the cardboard. “I found this in the attic. Your mother and I had packed some of your things in boxes and put them in the attic after you left for college. I thought you might want to go through it and see if there’s anything you want to keep.”
“Sure. I’ll look inside and see what memories are important to me.” She stood and leaned down to hug her father. “Thanks, Dad.”
He rose to his feet and kissed her forehead. “Don’t forget, we’re having a family dinner next week.” He touched his finger to her nose. “And I don’t want any excuses why you can’t come. Is that clear?”
She laughed. “Fine, then. I won’t give you an excuse if something happens to come up.”
He shook his head. “Don’t let anything come up at all. This dinner is important to me. You and your brothers haven’t really gotten to know Patricia. I want you all to like her…to accept her. I know bringing her in as your stepmother is going to be hard, but—”
“Dad,” she interrupted, “I’ll be there. I promise.” It was her fault she hadn’t gotten to know Patricia yet. Deep down inside, she didn’t want anyone to replace her mother.
Brittany walked him to the door and closed it behind him. She moved her attention back to the cardboard box. Some of her childhood memories were in there…some memories she wanted to stay hidden.
Junior high and high school had not been enjoyable. She’d never been the popular cheerleader type girl, and most of the kids made fun of her just because she had her nose in a book most of the time. Although her three brothers had been jocks, she was the one their friends came to when they needed help with their homework. Unfortunately, it didn’t make her any more popular. Not really. But she couldn’t help it. So she loved to learn. But she wouldn’t trade a minute for that time, now. She was in the job she’d wanted to have since she was a sophomore in high school.
Expelling a heavy breath, she moved back to the table to look inside the box and see what surprises it had instore for her. The items on top were pictures of her friends that she’d hung on a corkboard that had been nailed to her bedroom wall. That was where she’d pinned pictures of her friends and people she loved—or boys she wished would love her. As she looked through them, happy memories hit her, and she smiled. She hadn’t kept in touch as she should have. Seeing these photos again made her wonder what her friends were doing now, seven years after graduation.
She set those aside and rummaged through the box a little more. Concert tickets to Journey. She laughed aloud, recalling that she’d gone with her mother because Journey had been her mother’s favorite band, and of course, Brittany knew those songs, too.
She’d won some ribbons at the state fair for crocheting a baby’s blanket. Brittany chuckled. She’d picked up this hobby because she needed something to do when she went to her grandmother’s house every weekend to visit.
The next object her hand bumped into was her diary. A laugh sprang from her throat. Had she really kept a diary? What a nerd she was!
Out of curiosity, she opened it and skimmed through the pages. She laughed at some of the things that had been a drama in her world at the time…mainly boys. Of course, it all ended with them breaking her heart.
On one of the pages, she had used colored pencils and drew flowers around the edge of the page. She stopped skimming, and studied the checklist. When she realized what it was for, she snorted a laugh—a loud one, in fact. This list was qualities to look for in a man.
Kind heart— I want a man who is kind to others, as well as animals. A person can tell what kind of person a man is by his heart.
Friendly to everyone—I want to find a man who isn’t fake, who doesn’t acts as if he’s nice to everyone, but then gossips behind their backs.
Makes me laugh—I don’t want a man who is serious all the time. I want one who can be silly along with me, and we can find things to laugh at together.
Intelligent—men who are smart will challenge me. If I’m smarter than they are, they are bored with me quickly, just as I get bored with them.
Handsome—so, let’s face it, if I don’t think he’s good looking, then I have already lost interest.
