Isabelle nodded and sat down on the love seat across from him instead of next to him on the couch. Bradley sighed and wondered if this woman would ever let him get close.
"Yes we do need to talk." she said matter-of-factly.
"You first." Bradley said. He had learned growing up with four sisters that it was usually best to let a woman have the first word and the last word. Just as long as he was able to get all of his words in somewhere in the middle.
"Bradley, you have been wonderful to me and to my daughter since we arrived in town. You have been there to help us every step of the way and you even saved my life….." Isabelle stopped and bit her lip.
"But…?" Bradley prompted. Isabelle locked her blue eyes with his green ones.
"But my daughter is getting very attached to you." she said. 'Too bad her mother isn't' Bradley thought to himself. "And I don't want to see her get hurt." she added. Bradley's eyes narrowed.
"What makes you think I would hurt her?" he asked.
"Well…" she started but he cut her off.
"And if you say that it's because I'm a man then I swear on all that is holy, Isabelle, I will lose it." he warned. Isabelle's mouth snapped shut because she was going to say something along those lines. Bradley shook his head.
"I care about your daughter and even though you don't want to hear this, I care about you too. I know that something has happened to you in the past. Something that is keeping you from letting me in but please Isabelle, let me in. I promise I won't hurt you." Isabelle sat there in shock for several long moments. His green eyes were gazing into hers with such intensity and longing that it took her breath away.
She was reminded of her favorite song. The song that she had listened to while crying into her pillow on countless long lonely nights. The song in which Brad Thompson had been begging his woman to let him in so he could heal her….. Now she had Brad Thompson himself in front of her begging her to let him in and she just wasn't sure if she could. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to depend on him and confide in him but what if she put all of her faith in him and he let her down like so many had before him? Her feelings for him were so intense that she did not know if she would survive it.
"Bradley, you don't understand. I have to build a life for my daughter and I." she said quietly. Bradley frowned.
"Is there any particular reason that you don't want me to be a part of that life?" he asked. Isabelle felt her jaw tremble and she took a deep breath to fight back her tears. The truth was she wanted him to be a big part of that life but she was scared to let him be.
"You don't understand. I've been hurt so many times and there are certain people out there that don't think I can take care of my daughter. I want to prove them wrong. Of course given the fact that I almost killed her in a car accident, ended up spending the night unconscious on a strange mans couch, burnt our house down and became homeless and penniless all within two weeks of leaving home, I am starting to think that maybe they were right." she said her words all coming out in one quick rush. Bradley leaned back on the couch, thankful that she was finally opening up.
"Anyone that says you are not a good mother to that little girl is wrong. You are a great mother." he said. A tear slid down her cheek and Bradley decided he was too far away. He moved from the couch and sat on the loveseat beside of her.
"Thank you for saying that." she said. Bradley shook his head.
"I wasn't just saying it. It's the truth." They sat there in silence for several long moments before Bradley spoke again.
"Natalie Warren, is she Sara's grandma?" he asked. He saw the fear in Isabelle's eyes when she looked over at him.
"How did you know?" she demanded.
"She was on the news begging people to call her if they knew where her granddaughter and daughter-in-law were because she was worried about them. She had a picture so I knew she was talking about you." Isabelle covered her face with her hands and sunk down into the loveseat. The devil would find her for sure now and Isabelle would again have to fight to keep her daughter.
"Yes, Natalie was Joe's mother." she decided there was no point keeping any of this from Bradley any longer. She needed a friend and she needed someone to lean on. After all he had done for her and her daughter she trusted him just enough to tell him about this.
"Joe died a little over six months ago. He was driving drunk and plowed himself into a tree. When I found out, I really was not that sad. I know that makes me sound like a monster but he was not a good husband and he was not a good father. I was upset that he was gone but mostly I was just thankful that he hadn't killed anyone else." Bradley was silent as he sat beside her. He was leaning forward with his arms folded on his legs as he looked down at the hardwood floor.
"After the funeral Natalie offered to take Sara for a few days to allow me to grieve but I said no. I wanted my daughter with me and, besides that, Natalie and Garth never liked me and they never approved of my marriage to Joe and I did not want my daughter to be alone with them. They weren't happy. They accused me of having an affair on Joe because I wasn't sad enough that he was gone. Then they accused me of having a nervous breakdown or something and had me admitted into a psychiatric hospital…"
"They what?" Bradley demanded. He hadn't meant to interrupt her but that last part was just too much for him to keep his mouth shut. Isabelle managed a humorless sad sounding laugh.
"They had me admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I was let out after the mandatory seventy-two hour period because the doctors couldn't find anything wrong." she said. "The next thing I know I had social services showing up on my doorstep several times because they were getting complaints that I was physically abusing my daughter."
"Ridiculous." Bradley said shaking his head as he looked at the floor. Isabelle nodded.
"I finally took all I could take. They started talking about taking me to court and using my psychiatric stay and all the social service visits to try to take Sara away from me and I panicked. I sold the house as quickly as I could and I packed a suitcase for Sara and I and we left. We traveled for four days before ending up here. I just wanted to start over somewhere where they wouldn't find me…. Now they'll find me for sure."
"It doesn't matter if they do, Isabelle. There is no way they could take Sara away from you. No judge in his right mind would even bother with a case like that." he said. Not to mention that Bradley would gladly end Natalie and Garth's lives before he let them take that little girl away from her mommy.
"I want to believe that, Bradley, but I didn't live a good life before I married Joe…. They know that and they'll use it against me."
"What do you mean you didn't live a good life?" Bradley asked. "If it happened before Sara then it doesn't matter."
"It does matter. I already told you I grew up in foster homes… Well let's just say that by the time I was sixteen I hated life and everyone living. I had been bounced around from family to family. I had been promised the moon and stars so many times only to have those promises ripped away. I started hanging with the wrong crowd. I started drinking and um…. Doing other things." Isabelle was embarrassed and ashamed to be telling Bradley this but she wanted him to understand the kinds of ammunition that her ex in-laws had against her.
"I was twenty when I met Joe. I was working in a bar, I had lied about my age to get the job and the owner didn't really seem to care. I should have recognized Joe for the horrible man he was but I was so desperate for a mans love. I was so desperate to be wanted that he didn't have to work too hard to convince me that he loved me.
"We dated a year before we got married. His drinking got worse the longer we were married and his parents blamed me of course. They said I made him miserable and he had no choice but to drink. He cheated constantly and I wanted to divorce him but I didn't know where I would go. I didn't have anyone other than him. Then I got pregnant with Sara and I thought it would change him but it didn't. I can't even remember a single time that he held her as a baby…" Isabelle stopped talking as she realized she had told him much more then what she had intended too. It just felt so nice to have someone to open up to. She looked at Bradley to gauge his reaction but he was still looking down at the floor.
"He was a complete idiot." Bradley said matter-of-factly. "Not his fault though. Sounds like he was raised by a couple of complete idiots." Isabelle surprised herself by laughing lightly. Bradley looked up at her and sat up straight. He was prouder than a rooster in a henhouse that he had been the one to make her laugh.
"They are definitely idiots." Isabelle said and then she started to cry. Bradley felt a moment of panic at her tears but instinct took over and he pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and cried for a long while. Bradley just rubbed her back comfortingly and without putting much thought into it he found himself singing gently to her. The lyrics to 'Let Me In' flowed from his mouth and for the first time since he'd written the song he really believed the words he was singing.
'Let me in
Let me catch all your tears
Let me fight off all your fears
I'll be your rock, standing steady and strong
I can promise you now that I'll never do you wrong
Baby just let me in'
Isabelle could hardly believe that this was really happening. She had dreamed of a man singing her that song for years and here he was… Bradley.. His strong smooth voice filling the silence in the room and the holes in her heart. He was like her every dream come true and she wanted so badly to believe it was real.. Could she trust her instincts this time or would she only end up hurt again?
She pulled away from him and dried her face with her hands. She looked at his tear stained shirt and bit her lip.
"Sorry about your shirt." she said. He looked down at it and shrugged.
"I can honestly say that is the first shirt I have ever let a woman cry on." he replied. Isabelle managed a weak smile.
"Why were you crying?" he asked gently.
"If there is a chance that they might find us then Sara and I have to leave but I don't want to do that to her…." Bradley looked confused.
"Why would you have to leave?" he asked.
"Because they'll take her from me." she replied. He shook his head.
"No they won't, Isabelle. I would never let that happen." Isabelle was shocked by the amount of conviction and certainty in his voice.
"You don't understand, Bradley. They have money and lawyers….." Bradley's laughter made her stop talking. "Why are you laughing at me?" she asked. Bradley rubbed his chin.
"I think you are forgetting who I am." he said matter-of-factly. "I am Brad Thompson. I can promise you right now I have one hundred times the money they do. And my law team…. Magical." he said with a grin and Isabelle couldn't help but stare at how handsome that grin made his face. "I will not let them take your daughter away from you, Isabelle. You can count on me."
"I've counted on men before, Bradley, and I've always been let down." she admitted feeling her stomach turn at the thought of being let down by him. Bradley reached out and wiped a leftover tear from her cheek with his thumb.
"I won't let you down, Isabelle." he said and there was so much confidence in his words that Isabelle found herself believing them. He laid his hand on her cheek and tilted her head up. He looked deep into her eyes as if asking permission and she nodded slightly before he lowered his mouth to hers.
Isabelle could not believe the power of his lips on hers. She saw fireworks, heard bells, saw angels flying and all other types of romantic cliché's. She was faintly aware of him burying his other hand in her hair. Isabelle moaned as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer to him.
Bradley had kissed a lot of women in his thirty years but never had a kiss ever felt like this. Never had a kiss had any effect on his heart and right now he could feel his heart filling with love and tenderness for this woman in his arms. He could tell by the way she was moaning his name and pressing herself into his arms that she was passionate and it made his body heat up with anticipation… If a simple kiss made the woman respond like this he could only imagine what it would be like to make love to her.
The sound of the telephone ringing broke the two of them apart. Isabelle pulled away and smoothed out her hair while quickly looking away from Bradley. He couldn't help but smile when he saw that she was blushing… Passionate but shy.. This woman was a constant surprise. The phone rang again and he growled as he picked it up.
"Hello." he said and he winced when he heard the grouchiness in his tone, but dammit he had really been enjoying that kiss and whoever this was had interrupted that.
"Bad time?" Trisha's cheerful voice came over the line. Bradley looked at Isabelle and mouthed 'Trisha.' Isabelle nodded, stood up and left the room.
"You could say that." Bradley replied while hoping the bulge in the front of his blue jeans would ease up before Isabelle walked back out. Not only was it painful in his tight levis but as red faced as Isabelle had been after their kiss, he could only imagine how embarrassed she'd be if she saw it.
"Did I interrupt something?" Trisha asked and he could hear the happiness in her voice. "I mean I know that Mrs. Willis was taking Sara today at ten and Isabelle is not here yet which leads me to believe that you've been home alone together for the last thirty minutes…." Her voice trailed off and Bradley laughed at the excitement in her tone.
"Was there something in particular you wanted?" he asked. Trisha laughed.
"Hot dog! I did interrupt something! You guys can mention me in your wedding invitations since I'm the one who called this one." she said. Bradley smiled. His youngest sister was insane.
"I think it's a bit too soon to be talking about that." he said matter-of-factly.
"What is it with old people and taking their time?" she demanded. "Jump on in, old man, the water is fine!"
"That is the second time I've been called old this morning. I'm starting to get offended." Isabelle walked back into the living room with her purse on her shoulder and she was brushing her hair. Bradley couldn't help but stare at the way the brush brought out the silkiness of her auburn hair. He didn't even realize that Trisha had said something else until she said.
"Earth to Bradley Thompson! Come in Bradley Thompson!" He shook his head and cleared his throat forcing himself to look away from Isabelle.
"What the hell do you want?" he asked more harshly than he'd intended.
"Grumpy grumpy. Where is your woman at?" she asked. Bradley knew that he should tell her that Isabelle had not yet agreed to be his 'woman' but he liked the way it sounded so he didn't.
"She's standing here looking at me with her purse on her shoulder… Are you two going somewhere?"
"Shopping." Isabelle and Trisha said at the same time.
"Tell her I'm on my way." Isabelle said and she started for the door.
"Don't leave yet." Bradley said quickly as he jumped to his feet. He could hear Trisha laughing at him.
"She's coming." he said into the phone and then hung up with her laughter still coming over the line. He walked over to Isabelle who looked awkward standing next to the door waiting on him.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Isabelle nodded. "Are you sure?" he added.
"This just seems surreal." she replied. "Are you sure you want to get involved with me, Bradley? I have a lot of baggage and my scars run pretty deep."
"I have never been more sure of anything." he replied laying a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Now go and have fun. Do you have money?" Isabelle nodded.
"Yes I have money. I don't need your help buying my daughters clothes. I can take care of her alone." she said. Bradley held up his hands and took a small step back. Apparently this was one of those scars she'd been talking about rearing its ugly head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry. I know you can take care of Sara alone, Isabelle. You are a strong woman and a great mother. I just hope you know that just because you can do it alone that doesn't mean that you have to do it alone." Isabelle bit her lip and looked down at his chest to avoid looking in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I said that." she said. "I'm just so used to having everyone around me being out to get me. I guess I forgot that sometimes people can just be nice without having some kind of ulterior motive." Bradley smiled and hugged her tight.
"It's okay. I kind of like it when you get mad and tell me off. You get his spark in your eyes that is really sexy." he teased. Isabelle laughed. Never in her life had she been called sexy but hearing him call her sexy definitely made her feel sexy. This man was every woman's fantasy and for some reason he was crazy enough to be wanting a relationship with her!
"Are you going to Russell's tonight?" Bradley asked after he'd taken a step back and leaned against the kitchen counter with his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. Isabelle nodded.
"Yeah that's why Mrs. Willis is watching Sara." she replied.
"You wanna go together?"
"What like as a date or as friends?" Isabelle asked. She knew the minute she said the words how ridiculous they sounded but she was very out of practice at the whole relationship thing. Her marriage to Joe had never really been a real relationship. Bradley raised his eyebrow and got a mischievous grin on his face.
"I think I have made it very clear that I want to be more than just your friend." he replied. Isabelle blushed and pushed her hair behind her ear as she nodded.
"Yes you have." she replied. "It's a date then."
"Good." Bradley said trying to keep all of his excitement from showing in his voice. He didn't want her to know that this was the first real date he'd been on since high school. After all he was supposed to be a rough and rowdy country star with a string of broken hearted women behind him.
Isabelle gathered her courage and rose on her tip toes to lay a gentle quick kiss to his cheek before walking out the door. Bradley stood there watching the door she'd walked out of looking very much like a love sick puppy for several minutes before grabbing his keys and heading out himself.