Title: I Know How He Feels
Category: TV Shows » Days Of Our Lives
Author: And The Moment's Gone
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Chapters: 1, Words: 8,411
Warnings/Spoilers: AU after Chloe's return to Salem after faking her death.
Summary: I know how he feels, how strong his touch can be, when he believes it's real. I've been there. And I know how he feels
Official Disclaimer: All Days of Our Lives characters and plots belong to Corday and the NBC. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Chloe Lane, Brady Black, and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title, summary, and lyrics come from the Reba McEntire song I Know How He Feels and I don't own that either.
"You what?"
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Chloe was fuming and, once again, it was Shawn's fault.
They had been sitting at patio table at an Italian restaurant, sipping cool beers and lemonade while waiting for their check when Mimi had reminded everyone about the fundraiser that Kate had been planning for almost a full month. It was on Saturday, the last day of the week and, coincidently, the month.
Then Phillip had brought up the ever-present topic of who was riding with whom and how many people were going to be out of town. Chloe kindly offered to pick Belle up when the blonde mentioned that Phillip was leaving for Europe Tuesday morning. And Shawn had blurted out that they had arranged for Chloe to have an escort of her own.
"It's not a date." Mimi frowned, trying to take some of the anger off of Shawn and ease Chloe away from the tantrum she was about to display. "We just thought – "
"You just thought what?" Chloe set her lemonade down on the table and turned to glare down Mimi. "That poor Chloe couldn't handle going to a Halloween party on her own?" Everyone at the table shifted nervously and she honestly didn't know what she was supposed to think. "Did you call a service?" She snapped, her hand going through her hair and Belle flinched at the roughness that Chloe used when tugging at the ends.
When Chloe's rage had died down, Mimi's voice seemed to gain strength. "My brother," she started out quietly, not too sure if the younger woman was planning on trying to murder her before or after the party. "He's back in town, and he doesn't have a date either."
Another resigned breath, and Chloe turned to Shawn, somehow coming to the conclusion that no matter what was happening, it was his fault that they had decided to play matchmaker.
"Can we grow up?" Shawn snapped back at her. "Seriously Chlo, it's a date, a dinner date at a work fundraiser." The younger girl looked away from her best friend and took another sip of her drink. "You don't even have to change your plans, Patrick will meet you there if that's really what you want, but we're tired of you standing to the sidelines at these things."
"And there are worse dates in the world than Patrick Lockhart." Jan said from her place beside Shawn.
And it was true.
After they had taken down Tony DiMera, Patrick had officially joined up with ISA, moving to New York and marrying his work. He visited Salem as often as he could, for special occasions and holidays and the occasional stop just to say play with his brother for an afternoon or have dinner with his mother and sister. He had done well for himself in the last five years.
"Fine," she resigned. "Have him pick me up at seven." And when the triumphant smile appeared on Shawn's face, Chloe had to resist the urge to slap him. "But I'm not going to dinner with him before, and we're not taking a midnight stroll through the park after. She sighed, pushing her plate away from her and Chloe smiled weakly. "I've got to get going." She told them slowly, throwing enough money on the table to cover her meal and pulling her purse onto her shoulder. "I told Hope that I would take the kids to the soccer game."
Everyone seemed to nod, and Chloe skipped the informal hug session before fishing her keys out of her purse and walking away.
"The good news is everyone's still alive." Phillip picked Chloe's money off of the table and added his own to it before handing it to Rex so they could all chip in.
His wife nodded. "The bad news is that not only have we offended her, somehow we've made the night harder for her."
"It was hard enough." Shawn turned to his ex-girlfriend, and patted her hand. "They met on Halloween or something." He reminded Belle gently. "And once upon a time it was a very special holiday."
"She'll be fine." Phillip reassured the group, watching his wife pick apart the paper napkin in front of her and his sister-in-law staring at the seat in front of her that Chloe had vacated. "She'll be fine." He said again.
And yet no one seemed to believe him.
"Is this seat taken?"
Chloe's head shot up at the voice and her portfolio slipped from her lap to land onto the seat below her on the bleachers. The person attached to the voice stooped to collect the folio and the papers attached to it and Chloe almost snatched them out of his hand.
"What are you doing here?" The sounds of the game were around them, and since her sister was sitting on the bench for this round, Chloe dropped her voice. "And dare I ask where your other half is tonight."
"Nicole is meeting my sister and Jan to look at place settings." Brady answered easily, sliding onto the bleachers beside Chloe and throwing a small wave at Joy. "And I remembered Joy's game on your calendar and decided to watch and say hi."
She sighed, and busied herself with reorganizing everything in her hand that had dropped. Chloe would have mentioned that this was the second time this month that Brady had taken the liberty of looking over her calendar, if she had been better prepared for the argument that would have ensued. "Joy is going to be happy you came." Her voice was forced, and she frowned when the couple across from her smiled reassuringly. She knew how they looked, one woman dressed to the soccer mom nines in jeans and an expensive angora sweater over a cropped matching tank top, sitting rigidly next to a man in an expensive suit who looked to be trying his hardest to remain civil as an adorable seven year old girl looked on from the bench.
They looked like the typical American couple.
The typical divorced American couple.
With a wry smile, Chloe decided that the couple couldn't have been more right.
"I have some notes for your meeting with the board at Stone Records." She shook her and turned to the safest possible conversation: work. She thumbed through the papers until she came up with the right one and handed it to him. "They're not revised, but you're not leaving until Monday, so I'll have time to fine tune them." When Brady just stared at the paper in his hand, Chloe sighed. "I can't be there to run interference, so I thought this might help."
Brady smiled, "always appreciated," he answered as he studied her neat script outlining the individual members of the Stone Records board. It was the same outline that she sent with him any time that she wasn't able to go on a business trip with him, detailing who would respond to what jokes, and which person had the most influence over the decisions. Despite the fact that it came with a detachment that both confused and annoyed, Brady was glad to have her input. "Dad said that Vincent Cassman and his wife have accepted Kate's invitation to the fundraiser." He informed her casually, his eyes never leaving the spot of dark red hair as Joy bounced up to relieve a teammate on the artificial turf. "I think I'll actually have to buy a new costume." He said off handedly.
"Wear a tux." Chloe suggested helpfully, "Go as James Bond."
"Nicole could be my Bond Girl." He said aloud, almost slapping himself for the look that crossed Chloe's features briefly. "Cheap shot." Brady admitted.
Once again, Chloe frowned at where their banter was heading. "Cheap woman." She agreed, almost to herself. The game wrapped up in front of her, and Chloe stood, throwing her portfolio into her laptop bag and pulling out the bottles of grape Gatorade she had tucked into it when she had stopped for gas. "See you at the office."
And then she was gone, and Brady was still sitting, this time by himself. He finally noticed the elderly couple sitting fifteen feet to where Chloe's right had been, and when he flashed them a brief smile, they returned it, somewhat apologetically, and he shrugged. Finally, he followed her down the bleachers, pulling Joy up into a hug and ruffling Zack's hair with his free hand.
Yes, he too was very aware of how they looked.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by, Chloe managed to finish up the laundry while she baked the treats for Joy's class, while Joy and the boys played video games in the living room so she could keep an eye on them. Jennifer had called earlier that morning, and almost unanimously everyone decided it would be best if Jack stayed with Chloe and Joy for a few days, at least until the tension in the Deveraux house died down. Zack had been upset that Hope had not agreed with his idea that he should stay with Joy and Jack, but in the end he was headed home shortly before Chloe took the other two to dinner at Rex's.
The living room had been put back together after the children's slumber party, and Chloe smiled wryly about the fact that once again, she had woken up beside a married man. Slowly she thought that maybe her friends were right, maybe she needed a man in her that wasn't already taken.
Another half an hour and the kitchen had been cleaned, the goodies packed in Tupperware to be taken to school in the morning, and lunches had been packed and their boxes were stacked neatly on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Zack had been dropped back at his house, and Chloe was now helping the kids out of her Dodge Durango.
Mimi met them at the door, apologizing again for everyone setting her up with Patrick and promising to make it up to her, as the kids raced through the house to the back yard where the rest of the family was. Rex manned the grill, Phillip next to him to remind him how Belle liked her steak while she lounged comfortably next to Nicole on the grass by the pool talking about honeymoons and travel arrangements. Brady was standing to side of the back porch, laughing at something his father had said while Kate sat quietly on a patio chair behind them. Chloe had forgotten that Brady and Nicole had also been invited.
"Cassman's coming to the fundraiser?" Chloe started simply, ignoring the men in front of her and sitting herself down next to Kate. "I thought he and his wife were leaving for London on Tuesday?"
Kate jumped slightly and took a sip of her water to calm herself. "Margaret heard of the Children's fundraiser and changed their plans." She smiled carefully at the woman next to her and leaned back to her original position. Regardless of blood or birth, marriage or break-ups, in the last five years Kate had begun to see Chloe as a daughter, she and John's daughter, and despite the constant talk of work and money, she was glad that Chloe had become part of her family. "I'm glad you came." She commented, almost off handedly.
"I learned a long time ago that you don't ignore an invitation from John and Kate Black." Chloe joked, turning her head slightly and shouting for Jack and Joy to climb down from the oversized oak tree in Rex and Mimi's backyard. "Besides I like not having to cook on Sundays." Both women laughed, and John turned, finally noticing Chloe's arrival.
"You made it." His face brightened as he leaned over and kissed Chloe's cheek. "Good, we need a third opinion."
The look Chloe read off Brady's face just screamed that she didn't want to get involved in whatever conversation it was that the eldest Black was in the middle of with his father, but curiosity had gotten the best of her and Chloe perked slightly. "Third opinion?" She echoed, watching Brady bite his lip as a prelude to an 'I told you so.'
"Best honeymoon location." John said loudly, clapping Brady on the back and seeming to ignore the look his wife was shooting his way. "I think a deserted beach somewhere, but my son here says London."
"Italy." The word was out of her mouth before she could think to extradite herself from the conversation, and off John's look she shrugged. "Best of both worlds I guess." She covered. "You get the romance and elegance of Europe and white beaches and crystal water."
John seemed to accept it, and then he stopped, beer poised halfway to his mouth. "You and Nicole should think of that when you're over there for the Stone Records board meeting." He offered to Brady, cursing himself when Chloe paled and excused herself.
She couldn't let it get to her. Chloe forced herself to watch her sister play on the swing set on the other side of the pool and smiled bitterly. So what if John was forcing Brady and Nicole's marriage down her throat every time they were in the same room. Who really cared if she was treating what was supposed to be the happiest day of Brady's life like a funeral? She dropped herself onto the steps and crossed her arms underneath her chest. She was Chloe Lane Wesley, CEO and president of studio operations at the Black Label. Successful single mother of one, Chloe didn't need a man to define her life, nor did she really want one. Shawn was always around to fix pipes and help to move furniture, and Chloe had learned a long time ago that a person could live without sex. What did it matter that the only man she had ever loved, ever made love to, was marrying the one woman that Chloe had contemplated murdering?
A beer appeared in front of Chloe's eyes, and she took it, following the arm back up to chest and then face of the man who offered it to her. "You looked like you needed one." Phillip told her softly, moving to sit next to her.
"Got any vodka?" She laughed bitterly, taking a swig and holding it against her knees. "I'm fine, really." If she were looking to reassure her ex-boyfriend, she wasn't doing a very good job at it. "Just tense; I have a ton of paperwork that I have to finish before tomorrow and Jack's going to be staying the week with us..." Her voice dropped out and Chloe realized that she was out of excuses. "I'm fine."
"You realize that's the second time you've said that?" Phillip asked as he took another sip of his beer. Following her gaze, he realized that he was staring not at the children, but Belle and Nicole. "I can throw her into the pool if you'd like?" He offered nowhere near helpful.
"Really mature there, Phil."
He smiled and tipped his beer to her. "You want mature? I'll hire someone else to do it." When she giggled, he bumped his knee to hers. "You didn't rat me out to Belle yet."
"Saw no point to it really." Chloe admitted, shifting her gaze back to the children. Somewhere behind her, she could hear John and Brady start up a conversation about the Black Label. "If I told her about the bet, she wouldn't be surprised."
"She'd put money down."
Both of them laughed and Chloe nodded. "You're probably right." There was honesty in her voice that she didn't realize she had withheld from her friends. "I just don't know why this bothers me so much."
"Are you sure this is me you're supposed to be talking about this to?" Phillip looked around to try to locate Mimi. When Chloe hit his arm, his eyes met hers. "I don't think I fit the requirements for this conversation."
"Qualified is a point of view." She decided, taking another sip from the bottle in her hands and closing her eyes. "And you of all people know how I feel - "
Phillip cut her off. "Not really, I haven't had the pleasure of having sex with Brady."
She laughed again, and Phillip decided he liked the sound. "So not what I meant," she cut through her giggles. "I mean..." Another swig; at this rate Chloe was going to get drunk before she finished her thought. Maybe she didn't know what she meant. "Brady and I haven't been together in any sense of the word for a very long time." Chloe bit the inside of her lip and fought the urge to run inside and lock herself in the bathroom so she could call Shawn. But this was the first night that he had gotten to spend time with his wife in almost a week, and although she felt the overwhelming urge to talk to him, Chloe didn't want to ruin it for him. "I should be over all of this by now."
"You don't get to just be 'over' a love like that." He told her gently, and somehow both understood his meaning. "What you two had..." Phillip stopped and peered at his nephew over the mouth of his long neck bottle. "That was what the rest of use used to dream about. Your love truly conquered everything."
Chloe laughed bitterly, downing the rest of her bottle and holding it to her lips a second longer than necessary. "Not everything apparently," her hand trembled. "I'm starting to think that what we had was the dream." The bitter taste of imported beer danced across her tongue and as the truth slid from her lips. "No one gets to keep that kind of fairytale." Another moment and Chloe stilled to feel her heart beat. "I'm sorry."
"So am I." Off Chloe's look, Phillip sighed. "We are both far too sober for this conversation." His hand snaked around the banister and Phillip frowned. "And you're too depressed for this cookout." His hand curled around the object he was groping for and he took aim before squeezing the trigger.
Chloe was doused with water before she had time to draw breath for the scream that choked out. "Phillip Robert Kiriakis!" Her voice was one loud squeal as she took to her feet and almost tripped up the stairs. His hand readjusted on the nozzle, fitting the hose into his palm as he slowly pursued her, opening fire on his wife and ex-stepmother before advancing on Chloe. She was on the other side of the pool now, angora sweater drenched and giggling in sheer hysterics. "I cannot believe you! This is a two hundred dollar sweater!"
"You can afford it." His tone was casual as he let loose another fountain of water with a flick of his wrist. Chloe's eyes danced as she pulled the sopping sweater from her body, growling harshly when she realized that the tank top underneath it hadn't fared much better. She threw the useless fabric onto the cobblestone at her feet. "Besides, when was the last time a guy got you wet?"
It was his turn to gasp when she growled again, expertly diving into the pool, jeans and all, only to reemerge seconds later on his side. She was only inches from his face when she grabbed onto the edge and hoisted herself onto relatively dry land.
"You guys are making a mess!" Belle shouted from the safety of the deck where she and Nicole had taken refuge when the waterworks had begun. As much as she hated to admit it, she was enjoying the show her husband and best friend were putting on.
Phillip's concentration never wavered from Chloe's eyes. She challenged him to spray her again, almost uttering the dare aloud. And as he squeezed the trigger, Chloe's left leg hooked around his and she used his shoulders for leverage as she pushed herself into the water, taking Phillip with her.
They were acting like children, and everyone on the deck watched with astonishment as both adults surfaced. They sprung apart for only seconds, seeming to scramble for air on their own before resuming the fight. Phillip abandoned the water hose and he smiled as Chloe toed off her Keds.
Rex laughed, flipping the steaks over and almost having to brace himself on one of the grill handles. "Mimi, go grab a few towels." He barely managed to ask, losing his voice amid more chuckles. "Out of the pool you two!" He announced, as the bartender he had once been, like he was announcing last call. He used the hand holding the barbecue fork for emphasis. His brother didn't even acknowledge he had spoken as he roped one of his arms around Chloe's petite form to hold her up and placed the other hand firmly on her shoulder. "Come on guys", he warned. "The kids are better behaved than the both of you."
The kids were currently perched on the swing set, cheering on the two in the pool as Phillip expertly dunked Chloe for the second time. Not to be outdone, the eldest Wesley readjusted her legs, balancing herself on Phillip's hip with her left leg as her right kept treading water. In their current position, she knew exactly what would happen once Phillip decided to let go of her. And in a flawless move she had learned once upon a time from one of the men staring at them now, Chloe hooked a finger in Phillip's belt loop, opening the buckle and tugging the slightly too large pants at the same time she was relieving him of the belt.
Belle didn't know whether to be amazed or embarrassed when Chloe's hand emerged from the water, her husband's belt in hand. She certainly laughed when both of Phillip's hands released the younger woman in an attempt to keep his pants. Chloe dunked him immediately, with both of his hands under the water to rescue his pants.
"Apologize." Chloe was shouting as she pushed away from Phillip's chest, her leg still clasped around his waist.
"I don't think so." Phillip countered, slamming her into the water again.
As she emerged, Chloe sputtered, gasping for air. Her fingers deftly worked at the button of his Dockers, and when the zipper had been released, Phillip's eyes warned her that she didn't want to go further. "Apologize." She said again.
From his place by the side of the pool, Brady laughed. "Give up Uncle Phil." He advised, knowing from personal experience that Chloe's next move would leave him without pants. "She plays dirty." He didn't have to turn to know the glare he was receiving for egging them on was coming from his fiancée.
"Apologize." She said again, working her hand across Phillip's abs to the hip her thigh was not encircling. Had they been two different people, the position would be far beyond erotic.
Phillip caught his brother's eyes, knowing that either way this played out he wasn't going to live this down. Then his wife laughed and he frowned. "I'm sorry!" He shouted over the noise. "Just let me keep the pants."
Without so much as a nod, Chloe detached herself from Phillip's side, pushing off of him and gracefully sliding over to the ladder where Brady and Mimi stood with towels in hand. "Thank you." She said as she allowed Mimi to engulf her in a large beach towel.
Brady watched as Chloe attempted to dry off the best she could, her jeans and tank clinging to her like they had been painted on. When he heard Kate ask Phillip if he was all right, Brady shrugged. "You did promise dinner and a show." He smiled up at Rex, "although, Uncle Phil could have at least put up a fight."
"You think you could have done better?" Phillip questioned lightly, taking the towel from his nephew and smiling at Chloe, triumphant that he had gotten her to at least have a little fun.
"With both hands pinned behind me."
Unfortunately for him, Chloe's blood was still boiling and adrenaline pumped through her veins. Whether or not she had planned this kind of interaction, she was not backing away from 'Mr. God's Gift.' She stepped right up to her ex-lover, as if to size him up, before dropping the towel and shoving him backwards.
Once again she was in the pool.
"We're going to need more towels," Rex laughed. He was going to have to call Shawn and up his bet.
Brady sputtered water as he broke the surface, unsure if he was shocked or amazed that Chloe had dared to pick this fight with him. After all, this was the same woman that treated speaking to him like pulling teeth. But there she was, in all of her glory treading water as if waiting for him to make the first move.
It had been a dance they had gone through the motions of many times, just as many years ago. Brady tuned everyone out as he lunged for her, knowing far too well that the beauty in front of him was about to fake to the left. He met her on her rebound from the wall, using strength alone to pull her out to the middle of the deep end, trying to keep either of them from getting hurt. As she raised her leg to fix the same hold on him she had held on his uncle, Brady shifted right, catching her legs between his own. "Is that all you've got?" He asked playfully, watching her struggle to get her legs back. With powerful strokes, he managed to keep them both afloat.
"Ass," she growled, treading water for herself as she contemplated her next move. Unlike Phillip, Brady held just as much power in his legs as he did his upper body, and Chloe knew that unless she could get him to release her legs she wasn't going to be able to pull the same move twice.
"I can't help it if you've used the same move since junior year." He told her, feeling her lower body struggle against his. "Give it up Diva."
At the sound of the old nickname, Chloe's body went limp, adjusting slightly to the tension of his legs against hers. She leaned against him, bringing their chests flush and using his shoulder for leverage to keep her head above water. "Don't call me Diva." She spat, bringing both her knees up, dangerously close to his pelvis and when he flinched, she wriggled her legs free and attached them to his waist, using her upper body to push him down under the water.
As he went down, Brady's hands clamped hard onto her thighs, and for the briefest of seconds they grinded against each other. Brady righted himself quickly and his hands shot back up to her waist. "That wasn't very nice."
"This isn't funny." Nicole shouted from the deck, her arms hugged around herself and the scowl a permanent fixture on her face. "Someone's going to get hurt."
"Been there," Brady grunted as he pried her thigh off of his waist.
Chloe countered by purposely grinding herself into him again. It was a cheap trick, but it shocked him just enough for her to readjust her grip and seesaw him back underneath the water. "Survived that," she finished, shoving him back again and settling once more with both legs crossed behind his back.
Once again, Brady tuned everyone out. He followed her lead, pulling her against him, and for the barest of seconds, he could have sworn he felt her chest heave and her nipples scrape his torso through his shirt. As one hand continued to keep him afloat, the other snaked up the side of her thigh, and dipped to the exposed skin of her abdomen. "You're not the only one who doesn't play fair," he reminded her. His hand pushed upwards, and for the first time since he had joined Chloe in the pool, he was glad that none of their family could see what they were doing under the water.
He was in enough trouble with Nicole as it was.
"You're down by two, Black." She told him harshly. "Just give up."
"I'm not losing to you." Brady chuckled back, throwing a look at Rex and then following his view to Belle.
Chloe leaned forward, completely crushing her breasts to his chest. She ground hard onto him and released the hold her legs had at the same moment she pushed downwards, completely submerging Brady underneath the water.
When Brady came up, spitting water and blowing air out of his nose, he sighed. "You already have." Chloe forced out, pushing down on him again and kicking her way back to the ladder.
"I was going to threaten to get the hose out, but that was what started this." Mimi commented wryly as she hauled Chloe into her overly large bathroom, shoving another towel at the younger girl. "Seriously Chloe, that was a little beyond water wrestling."
"Sorry." She answered automatically, pulling her tank over her head and dropping it into the bathtub. "Damn." She muttered just as softly. Even her bra was soaked.
Mimi threw a matching bra and pantie set at her friend, for once grateful that they were the same size. "That's what you get for attacking men in my pool." She admonished harshly, playing the part of the jilted mother ever so well. "You could have hurt yourself." She decided at last.
"With Phillip?" Chloe laughed as she turned away, pulling the soaking wet silk from her body and toweling off before sliding lace back into its place. "Never." And it was true. The two of them were just playing around. The second either one of them thought that the other could have gotten injured, they would have stopped.
The room cloaked with seriousness again, and Mimi shook her head. "With Brady." She amended. "You two were really going at it." She heard the words come out of her mouth, and instantly wished she could take them back.
"No one was going to get hurt." Chloe said, suddenly glad that it was Mimi she was in the bathroom with. Shawn and Belle would have put her to the firing squad for the stunt she pulled. "No matter what Brady and I think of one another, we wouldn't think of actually putting the other in danger."
"There's more to getting hurt than the physical Chloe." Mimi reminded her gently, handing her a hairbrush and a fresh pair of jeans.
Chloe peeled her jeans away from her tanned legs and towel dried the rest of her body, wrapping her hair up before changing into the rest of the clothes she had been brought. "Thank you for the reminder, Mom." Her tone was once again sarcastic, and Mimi had to pretend she didn't hear it. "But I am in no danger of getting hurt by Brady Black again."
The doorbell rang, the haunting noise seeming to contradict what Chloe had just said.
Mimi seemed completely unaware at how rattled Chloe was. "That's probably Patrick."
Snatching the halter out of Mimi's hands, Chloe shrugged it on readjusting it over her borrowed jeans. "Patrick?" She asked harshly, watching Mimi take her clothes out of the tub and wrap them in her not quite drenched towel before taking them out of the room.
When she appeared again, Mimi just smiled. "Yep it was my brother." She watched Chloe frown, taking in her drowned rat appearance in the mirror before turning back to her.
"Can I borrow you're hair dryer?"
The deck seemed too small.
Ten minutes after leaving Chloe, a hair dryer and her make-up kit alone in the master bathroom, Mimi was attempting to finish putting the picnic fixings on the table, weaving past her in-laws, and she had come to the conclusion that almost fifty square feet of deck was not enough room for this family.
"Let me help you with that." Patrick's hand caught the bowl of mashed potatoes that she almost dropped and for once Mimi was glad that her brother had startled her. "You're going to kill dinner." He commented as he dropped it onto the table, watching her scoot it closer to Rex's seat and double checking the drink arrangement.
"We're having steak." She said sweetly, moving around the kids sitting on the stoop and into her kitchen. "I hear murder is a prerequisite."
Patrick popped his sister on the rear with a dish towel and leaned against the counter as she scurried around again. Mimi had changed so much in the last five years; there were days when he wasn't sure if she was his baby sister anymore. Style aside, Miriam Brady had matured; content at first to just be a housewife while Rex got his art degree and joined forces with the music world's dream team as the head designer for the Black Label. Then one afternoon she had seemed to get an itch.
It was simple really; she was tired of staying home, shopping with Belle and making beds. She had gone to visit her mother at Alice's and as the family jokes, the rest is history. Mimi had started working as a manager just to help her mother out. But in less than a year her mother was out of business, being bought out by her one and only daughter. Not that Bonnie minded of course. It gave her more time to volunteer and throw herself into her husband's favorite charities.
Patrick came back to reality with a gentle shove from his sister. "Grab that tray." She ordered carefully, hoisting her own full of refills and heading back out the door.
All Patrick could do was follow.
"Could someone go check on Chloe?" Belle heard her best friend shout, watching as Mimi and Patrick worked to finish setting the large picnic table.
She looked around her, Phillip still towel drying his hair after reemerging from the guest bathroom upstairs. He and Brady had been shoved into the bathroom together with some towels and Rex's clothes and that had been that. Neither man had told anyone what they had talked about up there, only now they wouldn't even look at each other.
"I'll go." She mouthed when Mimi looked to her direction, and she excused herself from the table she sat with Kate and Nicole. Belle stood in the doorway for a moment, watching Chloe set the dryer down and brush through her chocolate colored hair.
Chloe turned slightly, catching another reflection in the mirror. "God Belle!" She shouted, dropping the brush. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Mimi was worried about you." She said simply, moving and perching herself on the long counter. There was a silent moment when Chloe fought with the wisps of her hair that she never could get to go anywhere. Belle laughed. "Scoot." She ordered holding her hand out for the brush. "Now what's wrong?"
It was a question that Belle had asked her a million and one times, and Chloe still didn't have an answer for her. "Nothing." She fibbed, looking past Belle and reaching for the foundation Mimi had set out for her. "Just life."
She seemed to accept this, playing with the line in Chloe's hair until it was a masterpiece, and she didn't think twice about grabbing the foundation away from the younger woman and pushing her back slightly with one foot. "Let me," she insisted. "Close your eyes."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Belle working diligently on Chloe's make-up and the latter trying not to chew her lip in frustration. She blinked twice, without realizing it, and before she opened her eyes, she heard Belle set the make-up on the counter next to her. "If you're not going to talk to me, you should at least talk to someone."
"Is that your way of telling me I need a shrink?" She snapped, her eyes immediately apologizing.
"That's my way of telling you that you're not hiding well." Belle frowned, reapplying the lipstick and handing Chloe a tissue. "Blot then apply gloss." She instructed, and that seemed to be that.
Brady was bored.
That was the only way to describe the feeling in him, as he was once again moved like a piece of lawn furniture. Nicole scooted him to the left and when he finally sat back down he was sat on. Maybe he was a piece of lawn furniture.
He had changed into a pair of jeans and a button down shirt, and after he and Phillip had come out of the bathroom, they had gone their separate ways. Phillip back to the grill and to follow every single instruction of his finicky wife, and Brady had reluctantly returned to Nicole. Patrick Lockhart had shown up shortly after seven, and Mimi immediately began fussing over him.
His sister had disappeared fifteen minutes ago. God only knew where.
There was a cough behind him, and Brady craned his neck to look up at the smiling face of his sister. "I need some help in the kitchen." She announced to the table, looking to Brady as if that was a cue.
"Sure Tink." Brady readjusted Nicole so she could sit by herself, and followed Belle. "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing," Belle decided, pulling the rolls out of the oven and laughing at her brother's bewildered glare. "The look on your face was just screaming 'save me.'" She told him, as if it were some secret. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Belle's eyebrow rose at her brother and when he almost dropped the beer he had just picked up, she frowned.
"Nothing," he responded carefully, "Just life."
It was the second time Belle had gotten that answer, and on any other occasion, she would have found it funny. "You people have to stop lying to me." She snapped at herself, momentarily forgetting her brother was in the room. "I'm pregnant not stupid." She dropped the rolls into the basket with a pair of tongs and then turned back to her brother.
Footsteps forced them both to look up, and when Belle saw Chloe's face, she smiled. "Dinner ready?" The younger woman asked, prompting a nod from the blond behind the counter.
Brady just stood there.
There were far too many times in the last five years when Brady head realized that his cousin had been right. He was a fool for giving Chloe up. And regardless who started what argument, and how many accidents there had been, no matter the cause, it didn't escape Brady's notice that Chloe could go to Hell and back and she would just smile and laugh and the world wouldn't even know it.
Sad to say, this was one of these times.
Chloe took a bottle of Evian from his sister and offered to carry the rolls and, when Belle declined, she was gone. There was no acknowledgment that he had even been standing there. She even expertly side stepped him when he tried to open the door for her.
Dumbly he followed her out, making sure to catch the door for his sister.
He slowly moved back to where Nicole sat in the corner with his stepmother, and he even allowed her to readjust him in the chair without a fuss. Brady watched as Chloe was reintroduced to Patrick, with a light smile and a quick laugh, both signs that Chloe was uncomfortable, but no one else would ever have had a clue.
No one but him, that was.
Somehow that wasn't as disturbing to him as it should have been.