<< Go Back

Don't Tell My Heart It Can Heal

By Annilee Nelson

Order Now!

Chapter 1

Trish Thompson moved her gold clutch from the chair next to her to the table so that Brandon Bennett could sit down.

This was the only empty table in a corner that she could find. She had had her fill of pleasant, though mundane, conversations, during which she was constantly on edge that she would say or do something wrong. That was the problem with church events – even weddings – they were often attended by church people, and church people were some of the cruelest in her experience. They ranked just below family on her list of people not to trust.

However, she was discovering that there were at least a few at the Hatfield Falls church who might just prove to be the sorts of Christians she had been taught about in Sunday School as a child. Brandon Bennett was one of those, as were the rest of his family, including the newest Bennett – as of an hour ago – who just happened to also be her friend and co-worker, Lacey.

Brandon focussed the lens of his camera on her. “You should wear that colour, whatever it’s called, more often.”

“Blue?” Trish pasted on what she hoped was a pretty smile and waited for the click. She and Brandon had become good friends quite easily after meeting at an apple orchard at Thanksgiving two and a half months ago.

“I know it’s blue,” he retorted. “I just don’t know what particular shade of blue it is.”

“I would say the shade is dark.”

Brandon lowered his camera. “You know you could just say, ‘I don’t want my picture taken.’ You don’t have to become sarcastic.”

“It’s not the pictures.” Trish leaned back in the chair and nursed her third goblet of cranberry punch. “It’s weddings. Not just this one. All of them. I’m pretty sure Hollywood will be making a movie about me soon with the number of bridesmaid dresses I seem to be collecting.” Although it had been over two years since she had worn that last one, which also happened to be the last time any of her former friends had spoken to her.

“You can’t possibly have twenty-seven of them yet.” Brandon removed his camera from around his neck and placed it on the table next to Trish’s clutch.

“I think this one makes ten. Well, technically, they’re not all bridesmaid dresses. Several of them are flower girl frocks.”

“How do you get asked to be in so many weddings?”

“Why? Are you looking to collect bowties and tuxedos?”

“The tux is rented, and no. I’d like to know what not to do.” He pulled at the piece of fabric tied in a barrel knot around his neck. “I’m glad Will didn’t opt for a bowtie. Those things look dorky. This thing is less dorky.”

Trish laughed. She had to agree. Bowties weren’t her preference. “That thing is called a cravat.”

She thought he and his brothers all looked quite dapper in a cravat and tailcoat. Cravats also perfectly fit the Regency flare that Lacey, who loved all things Jane Austen, had going on with her wedding.

“I call it a nuisance.” His fumbling with that piece of dark blue silk was not producing the result Trish knew he was after.

“There’s a pin, Brandon. Here, let me help you undress.” She glanced around and said that last part softly. They were, after all, in the fellowship hall of the church. Not everyone would find her humour funny or appropriate.

Brandon, however, simply smiled and leaned forward. “If you insist, but just the neck thing.”

“Cravat,” she said with a giggle. “And I had no plans to take this any further.” She shuddered.

“Hey!” he said. “I’m not hideous or something, am I?”

Trish placed the tie pin on the table next to his camera. “You’re a Bennett. Of course, you’re not hideous.”

His lips tipped up at a crooked angle as they often did when he was pleased with something.

“And you might be the prettiest of the lot,” she added with a smirk. Pretty was a rather misplaced descriptor when it came to Brandon. He was ruggedly handsome with a constant shadow of a beard. Having to be trapped in formal wear was a challenge for him, but he had borne it well for his older brother’s sake.

“I am not pretty,” he grumbled.

“I should say you’re not.” Henry Bennett pulled out a chair, turned it around, and, straddling it, sat down.

“I’m prettier than you,” Brandon shot back.

Trish shook her head. The Bennett brothers were handsome and true gentlemen when under the watchful eye of their mother, grandmother, father, or some other adult who expected them to be mature human beings. However, when they got together with just themselves and a few good friends, they often devolved into junior high boys. Jostling for supremacy in something or other was not an unusual pastime for them – even if that something was being the prettiest Bennett.

“You are both very pretty,” Trish assured them. “I dare say it would be hard for anyone to choose the prettiest, unless, of course, you are Lacey. Then, you’re both losers.”

“But who would you pick?” Henry asked.

Trish chuckled. “Not Will. And that is the only decision I am going to make on the subject of best-looking Bennett.” Especially since answering honestly would mean saying she thought Henry was the most attractive, even if she did not want him to be.

“Chicken,” Brandon taunted.

“No, smart cookie,” Trish returned.

“What are you so smart about today?” Edmund, with his twin, Frederick, joined them at the table. Edmund was the Bennett who Trish had known the longest since they worked at the library together.

“She’s not willing to pick a prettiest Bennett,” Brandon answered.

“That’s easy,” Fred said. “It’s Emma.”

Trish smiled at him. “I like the way you think, Freddie my boy.”

“You’re not the first lady to have said so.”

Frederick Bennett had swagger in spades. Trish liked that about him. He knew his worth and was not afraid to claim it – even if he sometimes did it with a touch of arrogance.

“Speaking of ladies,” Edmund said. “How many has Mom tried to push at you today?”

Mrs. Bennett was eager to see all her boys married. Too eager.

“I lost count,” Henry replied.

“None,” Brandon said. “I had a date.” He patted his camera.

“Wish I had had one,” Fred said. “Mom had me cornered with Mrs. Morin for fifteen minutes as the woman grilled me about my prospects for the future and what elements of the wedding I had liked most.”

“Did you tell her that your favourite part of the wedding would be when it was over?” Brandon asked.

“Nah, I said it was when the door to the sanctuary opened for Lacey, and I heard Will suck in a breath.” He smiled as if just remembering that moment made him happy.

“That’s so sweet,” Trish said.

“Mrs. Morin thought so, too, and Mom had to excuse herself to get a tissue. And that’s when I escaped.”

“But did you mean it?” Trish asked. “Or were you just trying to get away?”

Fred shrugged. “I meant it. Will’s lucky. I bet he and Lacey are going to be just as happy as Dad and Mom are.”

“Yeah,” the three other brothers said in unison.

“You guys are lucky, you know.”

Four handsome faces turned towards Trish.

“I don’t think my dad and mom are ever really happy, or it never seems like they are.”

“Yeah?” Henry prompted. In addition to being the brother she found most attractive in a way that did not scream brother, he was also the most inquisitive Bennett, and the one she tried to steer clear of the most often. There was something about him that told her he was dangerous for her and her secrets.

Trish nodded. “They’re still together, but I sometimes wonder why. There’s nothing violent about my parent’s relationship like there was with Lacey’s dad. Don’t get me wrong. They’re decent enough people.” Unless you were their daughter who had shamed their name. “With Mom and Dad, it’s more just two people stuck with each other and not overly pleased to be stuck.”

“Perhaps they respect the vows they took.”

Of course, Henry would hit the nail on the head with the first swing. It was that perception thing that made her a trifle nervous around him. “Yeah, I know that’s it.”

“And they might just love each other in a way that is less exuberant that some.” He closed his eyes and covered them with his hand as his face scrunched in a pained expression.

“What’s wrong with you?” Fred asked.

“Mom and Dad are being exuberant,” Henry said.

Across the room, Pastor Bennett had Mrs. Bennett wrapped in his arms.

“Aw, I think it’s sweet.”

“You would,” Brandon said. “You’re a girl.”

“Well, I’m not a girl, and I agree with Trish,” Fred said.

“That settles it,” Trish said. “I think I am going to change my mind. I pick Fred for today’s favourite Bennett brother because he’s pretty on the outside and sweet on the inside.”

“What is he? A piece of candy?” Brandon teased.

“Hey, don’t knock it,” Fred said with a wolfish grin. “Girls like candy.”

“Indeed, we do,” Trish agreed. She could see Henry studying her out of the corner of her eye. She often found him observing her carefully. She shifted uneasily.

“Trish is needed,” Cari Welsh, the sister of the bride, said as she and Emma Bennett approached the table. “So is Brandon and his camera.”

“I don’t have to put this back on do I?” He picked up the corner of his cravat.

“No, we only need you to take a picture of the bouquet toss,” Cari said. “And then, Will and Lacey will be leaving, so you’ll be needed for that, too.”

“Take Brandon. You don’t need me for any of that.” Trish did not need to catch a bouquet that would make her the target of teasing about when she was going to get married.

“I’m afraid we do,” Emma said. “Lacey said to tell you that she will not throw her bouquet until she sees you front and center even if she has to get Will and the rest of my brothers to carry you to your spot.”

Edmund laughed. “Looks like she’s got you.”

Trish wrinkled her nose. Lacey would know that Trish would try to hide from any sort of romantic tradition. She sighed. “I should have never told her that I don’t plan to ever marry,” she grumbled.

“You don’t plan to marry?” Emma’s eyes were wide, but she merely looked surprised and not judgemental.

“Don’t let my mom hear you say that,” Edmund cautioned.

“What is she going to do to me if she does?”

“Try to change your mind,” Brandon said as he stood and offered her his hand. “Come on, kid. We’ve got duties to perform.”

“And Mom would start by trying to pair you two off,” Edmund said as he trailed behind Trish and Brandon. “She already thinks there’s hope for that based on how much you hang out together.”

“I hang out with all of you, not just Brandon.”

“So, you’re not denying the potential, just the exclusivity of who you hang out with?” Edmund’s tone was teasing.

“Trish and I are just friends,” Brandon answered. “And that’s all we will ever be. I’m not the right guy for her.”

“There is no right guy for me.”

Brandon shook his head. “I’m pretty sure there is, but it’s not me. And before you ask it,” he leveled a glare at Henry, “yes, part of it is likely because I haven’t been able to move on from Zoe yet. The other part is, well, Trish and I are friends. Just friends.”

Trish smiled up at Brandon. “He’s right. Even if I was looking for a guy to hang onto for more than friendship, it’s not Brandon.” She shrugged. “And don’t worry; it’s not any of the rest of you either. Your mom can put away her poisonous Cupid darts.”

“I don’t think Cupid’s arrows are poisonous,” Edmund corrected.

“They are if they hit you at the wrong time,” Brandon muttered.

“Precisely,” Trish agreed softly.

“I’d agree with that, too,” Cari said. “But then, there are Lacey and Will, and it gives me hope that occasionally the fellow gets it right.”

“God gets it right,” Brandon inserted. “Always.” He shook his head. “Can’t say I find that easy to believe, however.”

Boy, did Trish agree with that! In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about God and if she wanted to continue to believe in him.

“Where do we deposit Trish?” Brandon asked Emma.

“Right here. With us.” Emma Bennett had one of the sweetest smiles of anyone Trish had ever met. She tapped Lacey’s arm.

“Trish!” Lacey cried when she turned around, and then, she pulled her into a hug. “I thought you had snuck out before I could say goodbye.”

“You’ll only be gone a for a week because you’re required to be back for Christmas. I’ve heard Barb say it to you every day for the last month.”

“Gran is excessively excited about a new member of the family joining us this year,” Emma agreed.

Lacey held Trish by the shoulders. “Do not duck when I toss my bouquet. Let it fall where it needs to fall, even if it is in your hands.”

“You don’t believe the superstition about it picking the next to marry, do you?”

“Amy and I might have prayed over it for a week,” she admitted sheepishly. “Corny, right?”

“Very.” But it was also sweet how close Lacey and her new mother-in-law were.

“But seriously, if it comes your way, don’t let it hit the floor. I’d rather these roses get to decorate someone’s home for a while than be crushed by stubbornness.”

“If it drops into my hands, I will tend to it well.”

“Good.”

“But please do not aim for me.”

Lacey smiled. “I won’t. I plan to close my eyes, have Will turn me around three times, and then give the bouquet a toss over my head.” She squeezed Trish close. “Thank you, again, for being a bridesmaid. I know these events are not your favourite things.”

“But you’re one of my favourite people,” Trish replied.

“That goes both ways, and when I get back, we’ll watch some cheesy Christmas flicks together. ‘kay?”

“Can we torment the guys with them?”

Lacey chuckled. “If you can get them to agree to it.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Now, go make Will look complete. He looks like he’s missing half of himself.” And it was true. When Trish looked at Will and Lacey, they only looked complete together. It was not that they lacked anything in and of themselves. It was the way they loved the other. It just seemed right.

She blew out a breath as Lacey walked away. If only she could someday be part of a pair like that, but she wouldn’t be. She pasted on a smile and took her place. Girls like her didn’t deserve such happiness.


Chapter 2

Henry poked a finger at the bouquet of white roses and some sort of little blue flowers that was slowly dying on the kitchen island. It was pretty, even if it was soon going to wither and turn brown. He was surprised it had lasted until today without looking completely dead.

Lacey had been thoroughly turned around when she had tossed it over her head and straight into his hands yesterday. He guessed that’s what he got for standing so close to the group of hopeful ladies. Of course, one of those ladies was not hoping to catch this bouquet, and she was why he had been standing so near them.

He still didn’t know what it was about Trish that captivated him, but something did. And it was something beyond her brilliant smile that seemed too large for her face and her lithe figure that made him wonder if she ate as she should. She was tiny. Short. Delicate. Pretty. And fascinating.

He shook his head to clear thoughts of Trish from it.

“When can I safely get rid of this?” he called to whichever of his brothers he heard coming up the steps from the basement.

“Never.”

The brother who answered and came into the kitchen was Fred, who was looking for his second cup of coffee for the morning. Fred ran on high octane, as he liked to say, and little sleep.

“I looked it up online last night,” Fred continued. “There are several ways you can preserve it. I’ll send you the link.” He put his travel mug next to the coffee carafe in which he was brewing his fuel and took out his phone. “Some of them are stupid looking, but there were a couple that might work.” He scrolled his apps before tapping and then tapping again.

“Why do I want to preserve it?” Henry didn’t want a bunch of flowers sitting around his house forever!

Fred looked up from his phone and gave Henry a lopsided smile as if the answer should be obvious. “It’d be a great gift for Mom.”

Ah, that made sense. Too bad he hadn’t thought of it himself. Of course, sentimental gifts were not exactly his forte; that, for some odd reason, was more Fred’s realm.

“How do you even think of these things?” he asked. “Preserving wedding bouquets seems quite the departure from rebuilding engines and changing oil and tires.”

Fred chuckled. “I’m more than head gaskets and lug nuts. I do have other interests.”

“Flower preservation? Really?”

“No, flower preservation is not one of my other interests.” He slipped is phone back into his pocket as Henry’s buzzed on the countertop next to the bouquet. “I just watch lots of videos online about random stuff, and I like girls, so I figure it can’t hurt to learn what sorts of things they like.”

“You’re a mushy, old softy. You know that, right?” Henry pulled his pizza pocket from the microwave and took a seat two bar stools down from his younger brother. There were worse things that a fellow could be called, but being a softy was again a stark contrast to the guy who Henry had seen help wrestle an engine into a car.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why my first teddy bear is downstairs in my closet in a box with a bunch of other sappy stuff.” He shrugged. “It has to be mom’s genes. I’m sure we all have a touch of crazy in us thanks to her.”

The two brothers laughed at that.

The disparity between who Fred was at work and how he liked to hold onto memories and mementos didn’t seem to bother him one bit. Then, again, Fred had always been sure of himself and had possessed enough self-confidence to share some with his twin, Eddie. Where Eddie might have naturally hung back, Fred pushed forward, pulling Edmund right along with him. Eventually, some of that confidence had rubbed off on Edmund, too. Eddie was still somewhat reserved and a trifle uptight, but he was comfortable in his skin. And he had not been that as a young child.

“What time is Brandon dropping off his stuff?” Fred asked.

“Around ten. He has to sign the lease at noon.”

“I can’t believe he’s starting a business. He never struck me as the suit and tie sort. Like ever. How will he manage being indoors for most of his day?”

Henry chuckled. “I suspect he’ll find a way to be outside more often than not, but you know, as well as I do, that what Brandon determines to do, he will do.”

“Not without complaining,” Edmund said as he, too, joined his brothers for breakfast before heading over to the library.

He would be working extra shifts this week to help fill in for Lacey being on her honeymoon. However, the library had several holiday closure dates coming up, so neither Henry nor Fred felt sorry for him. They would be dealing with their own extras at work this week because there was only one week until Christmas.

“Meh, Brandon’s not too bad. Especially, if you compare him to Will,” Fred said.

That was true. Brandon would rumble quietly, become silent, and then disappear into the woods. Will would huff loudly and then start trying to order things in anyone’s life who would allow him to do so. Or he would have before he met Lacey. Lacey had a wonderfully calming effect on Will, and from what Lacey’s sister, Cari, said, the favour was returned since Lacey seemed less anxious since she had met Will.

“I suppose Brandon’s living here means we’ll be seeing Trish even more than we do now,” Eddie said.

“You okay with that?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, we get along well enough at work. I think we can handle seeing each other outside of the library as much as we see each other at the library.”

“It’s not like she hasn’t been here or at Mom and Dad’s a lot with either Brandon or Lacey before now,” Fred said. “Do you think Brandon is being honest about them only being friends? They do spend a lot of time together.”

And they had from their first meeting at the orchard. It truly was as if two kindred spirits had merged. Or more likely it was two injured spirits that found understanding in each other. At least, that was what Henry kept telling himself. He didn’t want it to be anything more than that.

“I don’t know why he’d lie about it.” Henry stuffed the rest of his pizza pocket in his mouth and started to clean up his section of the kitchen island. No one wanted to come home and clean up dirty dishes and trash after a long day of work, most especially him. His days were going to be longer than normal this week because the store was embarking on their extended holiday hours.

“Will lied about Lacey,” Edmund said.

“And we all know how that went.” Henry knew most intimately for he had been the one to be present while his older brother was crying over Lacey breaking up with him. “Brandon’s too smart to repeat that story.”

And Henry truly hoped that Brandon and Trish were just friends. It was awkward enough liking your brother’s friend. Liking his girlfriend would be several layers of creepiness worse.

“She’s actually a lot of fun,” Fred said.

“You’re not thinking of dating her, are you?” Edmund asked.

Fred shrugged and smirked tauntingly at Eddie. “I hadn’t really considered it. I’ll let you know when I have.” He slapped Eddie on the shoulder as he left the kitchen with his coffee mug in hand. But, then, he stopped at the door. “You don’t want to date her, do you? I mean, you know her best from work and all.”

“Me?” Edmund shook his head vigorously. “Not even a little. Like you say, she’s fun, but she’s just not my type.”

“Reads romances, does she?” Henry teased.

“Well, yeah, but it’s more than that and nothing bad. She’s just Trish. That’s all. She flirts with me, but then, she flirts with all of you, too.”

Not all of them. She didn’t flirt with Henry like she did his brothers. In fact, it seemed like she tried to avoid him as often as she could. He blew out a breath as he put his dishes in the dishwasher. He found her avoidance downright frustrating.

“Then, it’s settled. None of us are going to date Trish, right?” Fred leveled a look at Henry.

“Right.” At least, he wasn’t right now. Maybe never. Not that he didn’t want to date her. It was just that, thanks to her propensity to duck for cover around him, he didn’t really know her. In fact, he wasn’t sure that even Brandon or Lacey really knew her. She had walls. He could feel it. He just had no clue why she had them or what they were protecting her from.

“I mean,” Fred continued with a grin, “you did catch the bouquet, so we all know you’re next.”

Henry laughed. “I will toss it in the garbage bin on my way to my car if you want to follow that line of thinking.”

“And I’ll tell Mom.” Fred darted down the stairs to the basement of the split-level house Henry shared with his two youngest brothers and, after today, his next eldest.

“You’re such a tattletale!” Henry called after him.

“What are you going to do with the bouquet?” Eddie asked from his post at the stove. Eddie always started his day with proper cooked breakfast food – unlike either Fred or Henry.

“I’m not sure, but Fred sent me a link for ideas of how I can make it into a gift for Mom.” Henry picked up his phone and opened the link. “Let’s see. I can dry them or put them in resin…” he scrolled further. Fred wasn’t lying when he said some of these ideas were hideous. “Or, I could make them into a piece of art by decoratively sandwiching them between two pieces of glass.” That was probably going to be the best idea. Hanging things were more easily displayed than paperweights made of resin.

Edmund slid the bacon he had been cooking onto a paper towel and prepared to crack an egg into the pan just as the bread he had put in the toaster earlier popped up. “I’d check with Brandon if you’re thinking about making it artsy looking.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Flowers were nature, right? And Brandon liked all things nature. He also was exceptionally good at framing nature. That was why he had decided to start his own business, so he could do more than help people pick out frames and cameras like he did at his old job.

“I’ll talk to him when he gets here if he has time before I leave at eleven. Otherwise, I guess it can wait until I get off work tonight. I just don’t want those flowers to become unusable, if that is even possible.” Henry knew very little about creating art. It just wasn’t his thing.

“Then, you should probably put them in water or the fridge or something. That’s what Mom would do.”

“See ya in a few hours,” Fred called to Henry as he opened the front door.

“Don’t run the store into the ground until I get there,” Henry called back.

Fred was a mechanic at the department store where Henry was a manager. Henry’s area of expertise and management was in the housewares and hardware departments. Sports and automotive fell under another manager’s supervision, cashiers and customer service required still another manager, and there was a fourth seasonal and garden manager as well. It wasn’t a huge store like some other big box stores, but it wasn’t a mom-and-pop operation either.

“I’m going to go grab a shower and then do my Bible study stuff. If I don’t see you before you leave, have a great day, and if you can wrestle some of whatever you make for supper tonight away from Fred, could you leave a plate or bowl in the fridge?” Oh, the fridge! Henry plucked the bouquet off the table.

“Sure. I’m going easy tonight with a frozen lasagna and garlic bread.”

“Bag of salad?” Henry shoved a few bottles to the back of the top shelf and put the bouquet in the fridge.

“Yep, as always.”

“Sounds like just what I’d love to eat at midnight.” He laughed.

“I’ll put yours in the fridge before I tell Fred and Brandon the food is ready.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“Brandon’s room is all ready to just set up and live in. I vacuumed and dusted it last night.”

“You did?”

Eddie slid his plate of food onto the island and shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if he’d think to do it before setting up his bed.”

“I wouldn’t have thought of it,” Henry admitted.

Edmund had not only gotten their mom’s love of Jane Austen in his DNA but also her ability to think through what needed to be done to make things run smoothly in a home.

“Thanks for that. I’m sure Brandon will appreciate it as much as I do.”

“No problem,” Eddie said. “What are brothers for if they can’t look out for each other, right?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, right.”

That was something they had all learned from their father and mother. Family took care of family. Of course, there is family and then there is family. The Bennett family and God’s family, as his dad would say.

Henry opened a streaming app on his phone as he closed the door to the master bedroom and selected a sermon podcast. There was no reason why he couldn’t start his Bible study while he showered, since learning about God’s Word was, in Henry’s opinion, the best way to be ready to look out for both of the families he was part of.

Order Now!

<< Go Back