House Divided Read Online Free Page B

followed the rules. Even though I
moved away, I’d never been able to forget. I wanted to move further than Atlanta, but my agent and my publisher were both there and the thought of being too far
away from Aunt Lu didn’t sit well with me. At least Atlanta was better than Auburn.
    Oh well, it didn’t matter, the only thing
that mattered now was getting to the hospital. I pushed that particular Jackson out of my mind. I only needed to think of the one person that loved me. I turned
up the radio as a distraction, in hopes of keeping my mind where it needed to
be. It worked well for a while until I passed a sign directing travelers to Auburn.
    I would have gone to another school if
Aunt Lu hadn’t had her heart set on me attending her Alma Mater, because when
you attend a school that is the rival of the school where your ex-boyfriend is
the star football player, you can’t help but know what’s going on with him. His
name was everywhere, whether in the school paper, the news, or even just in
everyday conversations I was privy to. What made it worse was that his
girlfriend, Amber Capshaw, was just as popular.
    I looked down; I was going way too fast. I
shouldn’t be thinking about the Jacksons and the Capshaws while I drove, or
ever, especially now under the circumstances. It was a dangerous combination,
but that’s what being in Alabama did to me. As soon as I eased off the pedal, I
passed the sign directing travelers to Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama.
I didn’t need this. Why couldn’t I get Brady Jackson out of my head, and even
more important, out of my heart? I was twenty-seven years old, for crying out
loud. I was a successful author and I had toured the world and country. I had
even dated some very handsome and successful men along the way, but no one, and
I mean no one, made me feel like Brady had. It seemed so wrong that the only
time I had fallen in love was when I was sixteen years old. What do sixteen-year-olds
even know about love? I obviously didn’t know enough or at least I didn’t know
better.
    I felt like the highway was mocking me.
How many stupid billboards did the University of Alabama need? Seriously! I
needed to stay focused on my aunt, but my mind kept drifting back to the past.
It kept going back to my senior year in college. That was the worst year.
Brady’s name was everywhere. Alabama was having an incredible year. They were
undefeated and Brady had broken all kinds of records, and unfortunately Auburn
was having a very off season. Everyone thought Brady would, hands-down, be the
next Heisman Trophy Winner, and he would be the number one draft pick for the
NFL the following year.
    His girlfriend, Miss Alabama, was making headlines
too. I honestly took a little, or maybe a lot, of joy from the reason why. I
always knew Amber wasn’t all that bright, but I figured since Brady’s momma had
been grooming her for years, she would have been better prepared for the Miss
America pageant that fall. She wasn’t even asked a difficult question; she was
asked, “Why are you proud to be an American?” Her response, “I don’t know if
I’m proud to be an American, because you know it’s kind of a sin to be proud.
But I’m super happy that I’m American, because if not, I wouldn’t get to be in
this pageant, which is like the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
And I just love the colors red, white, and blue.”
    They practically crucified the girl in the
news for days. Needless to say, she didn’t win Miss America; she wasn’t even a
finalist. But Brady came to her rescue. He was constantly asked about it in
interviews, and he would always politely and kindly say things like, “She was
under pressure,” and, “Of course she loves America.” He would always ask for
respect for her and to give her a break. His reaction didn’t surprise me
because he was the nicest guy I had ever known, but it hurt me because he had
chosen her over me. It wasn’t too long after that it