Finding Ellie (Complete)

Chapter 15

Brenna had to give it to her, the little American was good. She had also underestimated the feelings Aidan undoubtedly had for her. Whether Aidan was ready to admit them was yet to be seen and something Brenna was hell-bent on stopping.

            She knew that by leaving the céilí and slamming the door behind her after witnessing their heated kiss the other night, had not been in her best interest but she hadn’t been able to help it. What else could she have done? Every time she thought she was taking a step in the right direction, here came Ellie turning Aidan’s head away from her again and again. Brenna didn’t even know what he saw in her. She was short and rather plain; she didn’t wear much makeup and almost always had her hair up in a ridiculous messy-bun.

            So, when she looked out her window and saw Aidan walking around to the back of his cottage she put a quick plan into motion. Knowing his schedule had its advantages. Every morning he checked on his garden, this would usually only take a few minutes before he went back in. Now was her opportunity.

Outside was an old rose bush he had promised her, several weeks ago, to help pull out. She stood in front of it, examining and contemplated how to go about it. Seeing him come around the corner of the house, she grabbed the base of the plant without a second thought and yanked. Small thorns bit into her skin and ripped the flesh. She let go, inspecting the damage. It would do nicely.

“Oh God!” she yelled, dropping to her knees dramatically. Making a show of it, she leaned against the house trying to look as faint as possible. Aidan came running just as she knew he would.

            “What the hell are you doing?” Aidan eyes grew wide when he saw her. He dropped to his knees beside her. “What happened?”

            “Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.” Brenna smiled, faintly. “I wanted to remove the rose bush at the corner of the house”

            Aidan scowled when he took a good look at her hand. “I told you I would help you with that.”

            She rejoiced when he took her elbow to help her up and lead her to the steps of the house. “I know but that was weeks ago and I didn’t want to be a bother”

            Aidan raked his fingers through his hair. “Didn’t you think to wear gloves? Look at your hands!” He gestured to the bloody mess, opened his mouth then shut it again. Finally, he puffed out an infuriated breath. “Sit down, I’ll be right back.”

             “Come here you dumb dog.” Once Aidan was out of earshot Brenna held out a hand to Willo who had been sitting on the walkway watching everything unfold. She didn’t quite get the point of pets. You had to take care of them much like you had to take care of children and she had no interest in either. “Willa!”

“It’s Willo” Aidan was looking down at her. He had an expression she couldn’t quite read. “I have what you need.”

Brenna threw him a sickly sweet smile and stretched out a hand. “Would you mind? I don’t think I can stomach it.”

Aidan glanced up to the sky praying for this to end or some sort of divine intervention. He didn’t want to believe this hadn’t been an accident but she was crazy enough to do it. And she was acting a bit like she was enjoying it too much. It baffled him that she actually thought her foolery was working. In the past week she had shifted from in-your-face flirting to coy shyness. It was Fiona who had eluded him to the change.

“She’s trying to act like Ellie.” had been Fiona’s exact words. At first Aidan had laughed it off but seeing her now, the way she acted and even spoke was all Ellie. Or at least as much Ellie as Brenna could muster.

It terrified him that she knew he couldn’t say no to someone in need. He took her hand in his lap and dabbed at the scratches.

“There’s a few of them but none of them are deep,” he observed. “Now, let’s take care of that rose bush.”

Sweat broke out as Aidan pulled giving his well-toned arms quite the workout. By the time he was done he was covered in dirt. Brenna imagined those strapping arms wrapped around her in the shower and wondered how much convincing it would actually take to get him there. That fantasy bubble popped when she spied Ellie coming up the road. She had to make sure the American saw her and Aidan together. Standing up, she gracefully tripped over her own feet landing in Aidan’s arms just as Ellie was turning her head.

She couldn’t have timed it better herself.

“I had such a great time, I’m so happy you came over.” Brenna snaked her arms up and around his neck, casting her eyes sideways to ensure Ellie caught the whole thing.

“What are you going on about?” confused, Aidan reached up to remove her arms but she was holding on and was much stronger than she looked. To a passerby it would seem as though they were in a passionate embrace. It was a good thing no one was around to witness any of it.

“Aidan?”

He closed his eyes. This didn’t look good. He spun his head around, saw the look of confusion and hurt on Ellie’s face. Finally, he was able to push Brenna out of the way and stepped back quickly, leaving as much space between Brenna and himself as he could. Willo barked once then crossed the yard to sit at Ellie’s feet. He couldn’t have made a better choice himself. What a sight they made, Ellie, so small and delicate and Willo so big and an accident waiting to happen.

“I removed the rose bush like you asked. Now if there’s nothing else I have other things to attend to,” Aidan said, loudly to ensure Ellie heard and understood every word.

Brenna gave Ellie an all-knowing smirk, proud of herself for a performance well-done. She was now quite positive the other woman would not be able to get the image of Aidan’s arms around her out of her head, even if they were there for no other reason than him being a gentleman.

Inside her house once again, Brenna stood at her front window furious that Ellie hadn’t stormed away in a rage. That’s what she would have done after giving him a piece of her mind. She had evidently miscalculated how utterly stupid Ellie really was. Innocent or not she should have been angry enough to question it, question his loyalty at the very least and then leave.

Brenna looked down at her hand, conceded that her choice of ways to get Aidan’s attention had been extreme even for her.

                                                                                                ***

He was worried. Ellie had remained unusually quiet during dinner. And now, as they were walking Willo, she wasn’t much better.

“I’ve told you, nothing happened,” he said, again for the fifth time that evening.

“Aidan, I know,” Ellie answered, bitingly.

“Then why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry,” she snapped. Aidan’s wince gentled her voice. “I’m sorry, I’m not angry, not really.”

“All right” He didn’t understand women. She was clearly angry so why was she saying she wasn’t? It was a test, it had to be.

“I’m a little upset.” She finally acknowledged. When he realized she had stopped walking, he paused, turned around and waited for her to continue. “I have no right to be but she’s such a conniving person and I would hate to see you caught up in her schemes.”

Aidan closed the space between them, lowered his head and placed his lips on hers in a soft kiss. He wanted more, he always wanted more when it came to her but, at this time, it was not what she needed. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on her head.

“Brenna O’Keefe prides herself on getting what she wants by using her looks and manipulation. At times, she does it simply because she can. For reasons I cannot fathom she has been trying her damn hardest to get in my bed or me in hers.”

When Ellie tried to jerk away he held firm. “I assure you nothing she has ever done, or will do, works on me.” Satisfied that he had placated Ellie they resumed their walk hand in hand.

                                                                                               ***

Ellie had known it wouldn’t end there. In the week following that encounter Brenna managed to scrap her and Aidan’s plans for dinner by getting Aidan to fix her bathroom sink. Somehow, a pair of underwear had “fallen” down the drain and overflowed the sink. Aidan had gone scarlet when he tugged the black pair of lacy underwear free. Then she had magically shown up at the B & B because she needed help to move her bed. It needed to face the door as her bedroom would flow better that way. Brenna’s latest plot had been just that evening when she conveniently ran out of gas half an hour from home forcing Aidan and Ellie to forgo their plans for a nice long drive along the coast.

“And the first person she thinks of calling is you?” Ellie wondered out loud knowing she sounded petty. The woman was really getting to her but what she hated the most was the way it made her feel.

Ellie kept feeling like a jealous girlfriend and that just wasn’t the type of person she was. She supposed she had Chad to thank for that. He was solely responsible for making her question every situation and, worse, making her question someone she really cared about. From now on, she decided, she would look at things objectively and not overreact. Aidan had told her, point blank, that Brenna had no effect on him. She would choose to believe him rather than let jealousy rear its ugly head.

Ellie would not give Brenna that satisfaction. The woman was crazy, there was no doubt about that but she was also smart and was playing the game rather well. She was perfectly egging Ellie on, hoping for a blow up which would result in Brenna looking like the innocent victim.

“You know how she is.” Aidan answered.

He parked on the side of the road when they reached Brenna’s car, the smug look on her face disappearing when she discovered that Aidan had once again brought Ellie along with him.

“It’s a good thing we weren’t gone yet when you called,” Ellie commented, a tight smile on her face.

Brenna turned on her heel, completely ignoring Ellie and started taking things out of her car.

“What are you doing?” Aidan inquired. She hadn’t noticed him taking a gasoline canister out of the box of his truck.

“I can’t leave my things in there.” Brenna’s eyes shifted to Ellie, narrowing when the stupid American was grinning sweetly in her direction.

“You don’t even need to worry about leaving your car here unattended,” Ellie stated, loving every second. Then, indicating the canister Aidan was holding. “We brought gas!”

                                                                                                   ***

Speeding down the road Brenna swore frustratingly loud. He had filled up her car and sent her on her way. There was nothing else she could have done about it. Ellie had won this round but she would get hers soon enough. At least she had kept it together long enough to sound grateful and not like the spoiled child she was known to be. She’d properly thank Aidan when she got back but, for now, she would swing by Donal Kelly’s place to see if he would be up for a night on the town. His wife had just given birth to their daughter. There was nothing for him at home.

This was a cause for celebration.