Breaking Jacob (2nd in Breaking Series)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Ellie pulled on the simple, floral patterned, yellow cotton dress and smiled. It was short sleeved and ankle length. It was tight up top and flared at the waist. It was just like the dresses her mama had always worn. She looked in the mirror and sighed. Would it hurt to be Ellie Thompson for the next few days that she was here? Sure she would still have to say her name was Alice Bradshaw but the temptation to be able to act like herself was too strong.

Would Jacob like the real Ellie? Or was he another man that was only impressed with the prim and proper, fancy dress and corset wearing lady? She pulled the bun from her hair and used her fingers to comb out the tangles. Her hair hung nearly to her hips when it was let down. She used a couple of pins, just to hold it away from her face.

She felt foolish for passing out the way she had. She should have realized those dresses would be too hot for walking around in this heat but all she'd been thinking about was the image she wanted to portray. She walked back out into the sitting room to find Jacob sitting in an armchair with his face in his hands and Brody leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Has the doctor said anything about her?" she asked. Brody shook his head and his eyes burned holes through the still closed door. Jacob jumped to his feet at the sound of her voice and he found that he had forgotten how to speak.

Perfect. She was perfect. Gone was the fancy dress and the ridiculous bun in her hair. The soft cotton of her dress hugged her upper body and revealed the curves of her breasts. Her hair was black as night and hanging to her waist, shining like silk when the sunlight struck it through the windows.

He chose to forget about the glasses in his pocket. He would worry about that later. Right now he was worried and scared to death for his sister and just wanted Alice's comfort, "Not yet," Jacob said, his voice full of the worry that was showing in his eyes.

Ellie stepped closer to him and laid her hand on his bare forearm. She felt the hard muscles of his forearm tense beneath her fingers, "Is there anything I can do?" she asked gently.

Brody's eyes narrowed. She was speaking differently then she had just yesterday. She sounded less sickly sweet, nails on a chalkboard and more like a normal woman. Maybe Jacob was right and she had been putting on an act to impress all of them. If that was the case then Brody was damn glad she finally decided to drop it.

"Just seeing you makes all the difference, Miss Bradshaw." Jacob replied as he covered her hand with his.

Brody rolled his eyes, grumbled something under his breath and walked outside, "Call me..... Alice," Ellie said and she bit her lip and looked away from him and the way his green eyes were burning into hers. Why was lying to him so hard? She had never found it hard to lie to anyone before.

She pulled her hand away from his arm and Jacob looked down to see if her hand had left a visible mark on his skin since it felt as if she had branded him with her touch, "Then you call me Jacob." he replied, clearing his throat when he realized how gruff his voice sounded. He cursed his nerves as his palms again began to sweat.

He would be willing to bet that Brody had never once been nervous around any woman. As a matter of fact Brody had probably just grabbed Liz and taken what he had wanted without worrying for a single second about what she would think.

"Do you want me to go in and check on your sister, Jacob?" Ellie asked. "I might be able to help the doctor."

Before Jacob could reply they heard yelling coming from outside, "Damn you, woman! How many times have I told you it ain't safe to be coming into town by yourself?!" Brody's angry voice demanded.