Chapter 69

Nettie gasped. She read the magazines that came through the bookshop. A bottle - even a single ounce one like this - of Chanel perfume cost more than her monthly grocery budget. "It's too much," she choked.
"Nonsense." Diana took the bottle and leaned over to kiss Nettie on the cheek. "I haven't had so much fun in years. Wait until I take you to the hairdresser. Fancy a bob?"
"You will not convince Nettie to cut her hair." Eli stood in the doorway left open by the housekeeper when she'd left with the damp towels and Nettie's old nightgown. "Not every woman is a modern like you, brat." He tugged a lock of his sister's hair. "Nettie's hair is lovely the way it is."
Lovely? He thought her hair - anything about her was lovely? Nettie blinked up at him in wonder.
He winked and grinned. "Although the lipstick is a nice touch - as long as you stay with a soft color. No crimson for you. You look a hundred percent better than yesterday, my dear."
Nettie shook her head. "The bruises look even worse. They've spread out and turned all sorts of greens and yellows..."
"All signs of healing, which you know as well as I do." He took a seat in the vacant chair, and studied her face. "You're overdue for some aspirin, aren't you? And a nap?"
Before Nettie could answer, Diana nodded. "She is. That was next on the agenda, after making her feel clean again." She handed her brother the bottle. "Ta-ta. I'm off for a catnap myself. Have fun you two." She left through the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
With a chuckle, Eli handed over two aspirin and then the glass of water from Nettie's night table. "Don't let her push you into anything. She can be a real whirlwind when she gets going."
"I know. That's what I always liked about her." Nettie took the medicine, and then leaned back against the pillows. "She shouldn't have spent so much money, though. It will take me years to pay her back for all the clothes, the creams and perfumes and so on."
Eli took her good hand and rubbed it between his fingers. "Soft - whatever she put on your hands feels nice. But no matter how much she spent, it isn't even a fraction of her pin money. And taking care of you is making her happy. Don't worry about repayment. Do a good turn for someone else when you have the chance. That will delight her more than anything."
"All right." She turned her hand in his to shake it. "We have a deal, Mr. Lawson."
"I'd think that since you're living in my house, and my sister's friend, you could call me Eli, don't you?" He raised one tawny eyebrow - the one that had almost completely grown back.
"Eli," she said softly. "You never go by Elias?"
"No, that's strictly my grandfather. Father was usually Junior or later, Andrew, our middle name. What about you? I've only heard you called Nettie. Do you prefer Annette, then?"
Nettie shuddered. "No. Only my father ever used that. And only when he's angry. I much prefer Nettie, thank you."
"I'm sorry. Nettie it is. It suits you anyway. Gentle and sweet."
Nettie grinned. "I'm not all that Mr. - Eli. Did your sister ever tell you about the frog incident?"
He nodded. "Last night. Why? I assume she roped you into one of her pranks."
"Everyone did." Nettie laughed. "Poor Diana. No one would ever believe her. I was the one who talked her into catching the frog. I may look like a mouse on the outside, and I may have let a deathbed promise keep me in a horrible situation, but I'm not always sweet. You might want to remember that."
Eli laughed. "I will." He leaned over to kiss her, this time on the lips, not the forehead. It was quick, but still sent a quiver all the way through Nettie's bones. "Sleep now. You can be wicked later."
She sighed as he walked to the door, and then giggled when he turned to look at her one last time.
"What?" His brow wrinkled.
"You might want to wash your face. Tea rose is definitely not your color."
Eli was losing his mind. Nettie had been staying at his home for nearly a week now. Between her presence and the fact that a rash of fires had been sweeping their little town, he'd gotten almost no sleep. He'd nearly dozed off during a client meeting that morning.
He was going to have to do something about Nettie. She couldn't live with him forever, and he swore he'd seen her father lingering outside the house - as if waiting to catch a glimpse of her. She was mending rapidly - her concussion and ankle all but healed and she'd begun to get restless. She kept insisting that come next Monday, she was going back to work at the bookshop. Eli didn't much care for the idea of her being anywhere that Al could get to her. He hadn't been able to come up with a plan to keep her safe.
The door to his office opened without a knock and Diana sailed in. She dropped a handful of shopping bags on one chair then slid into the other. "You've got a problem, big brother."
"Now what?" He ran his hand across his hair, which he kept in a military cut, since that was safest around a fire. "Nettie's all right?"
"Nettie's the cat's pajamas - and I really like her. That's not your problem." She tapped her dark red fingernails on Eli's desk. "Somebody talked. I doubt it was Doc, and I know it wasn't either of us, but maybe one of the VanCleves? Anyway, word is out around town - and I mean all over town, that Nettie is living here with you. I've made a point of insisting that she's really staying with me, but somehow that little nugget isn't circulating as fast. Furthermore, her old man hasn't been seen much, but when he does show up, usually for his 'medicine', he's been cursing your name and hers, up one side and down the other."