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Then he appeared and Liz’s breath caught There was no way Brady could see her over the crowd of reporters, and he wasn’t expecting her to be backstage It was like witnessing a private moment
He was all business today He wore a stern expression, and his can mask was in place His black suit was crisp and tailored to his build She could tell that he orried about so even from the distance She didn’t kno Had she really been spending thatlike that? Or was shepast the sea of reporters and into the holding rooet to see more of his handsome face, but he had to work today She could understand that
A few minutes later, the elder Brady Maxas announced, and he walked onstage His speech was as custoh n He ran on family values He always had It won hearts very easily Add his personal charisuaranteed shoo-in each time he ran for election
He ended his speech, which had been light and generally en efforts They wouldn’t want to talk policy on a day like today, when everyone was having such a good tied the to the polls in August for the prieneral election The crowd cheered as he thanked thehed when she heard Heather announce Brady, and she watched froe Her eyes were glued to hih or that they were in public All she saas herwith that radiant energy that see so he cared about He easily wove in a story about a Fourth of July celebration at the lake house when he was a kid that had all of the fa Liz’s cheeks colored at the thought of the lake house, and she wondered if he had picked it on purpose, knowing that she would be in the audience
She listened as the story moved away from his childhood and on to a si to raise children in a world where they could access the Ahts He related his speech to the battle that the country faced fighting for independence, and how the nation as a people grew and rebuilt fro Fathers and urged the crowd to listen to their testa with hier he spoke What was he doing to her? She didn’t agree with hi he stood for There were points she approved of in his policies, but giving the tax incentives to donors instead of funding education had irked her Yet standing there on a historic holiday and listening to him pour out his heart to an audience moved her
Brady wanted the country to work, and not h to pursue that Not et the country back on the right track And he cared about that desperately He wanted to be there to fight for the people who couldn’t fight for themselves and help those who needed the most help She could feel his words that day as she never had felt theer donors or even to be in the spotlight He was doing it for Liz, for the people there today, and for every other person he could help He was speaking to her of his sincerity, and she heard hih the world had stopped all around her She couldn’t breathe She couldn’t think It felt as if it had all shifted When had she stopped seeing the world in black and white? Where had all the gray crept up froray in her world There were the facts and that was all that s that she had never seen before in the one person she had never thought she could accept gray from?
Liz’s heart beat harder in her chest at the realization, and she felt like crying She had never wanted this She had never wanted any of this But it see When they had been dancing, Brady had pleaded with her to just get to know hiot to know hi how he voted didn’t ot to know Brady, the less his voting record seemed to matter The more…he seemed to matter Just him All of him
She wanted to reach out to him then, and at the saht now? Sick She felt sick Her world was tilting off balance, and she was afraid that she would never be able to regain her footing again
"I, uh…suddenly don’t feel well," Liz said, touching Calleigh’s aro"
"All right Feel better," Calleigh said, barely glancing at Liz as she rushed away from the press box
Liz catapulted herself away froht now She needed a minute to herself She needed to breathe
She walked around the press area to the side of a s and breathed in and out as slowly as she coulddown on her all at once Despite his politics and despite his voting record, Brady was still a good person He ree with, but that didn’t reedy or selfish It just meant he did what he had to do, that he had coet what he wanted Now she saw hiates opened Brady Maxas giving her a panic attack
Liz hung her head forward, trying to block out the rest of the world that was going on around her It was loud and she could still hear Brady, though he wasaway fro around the corner
She glanced up at hiet medical assistance?" he asked His cheeks dimpled when he talked
"Fine Really Just a bit claustrophobic," she told him
"I’m the opposite Wide-open spaces kill me So, I can understand I usually just need to breathe and not think about it I can get you soht," she said, trying to do as he said She closed her eyes and tried to breathe The longer she stood there the easier it was to think about Brady
"Thanks for checking on me," Liz said
He took the hint, nodded, and left Liz felt better being alone and not having her panic attack in front of anyone The only person she wanted to see was Brady, and the only person she shouldn’t see when she was like this was Brady And yet she had to see him She needed hiarding his career In that et it out now…thenthe end of his speech, and knew that she was going to have only a short hich she could see Brady So she had to ht then and there
When the applause died down, Liz reet the politicians They appeared together, shaking hands and kissing babies, as per usual The press et a fewto wait that long She wanted to see him She needed to see him
He found her in the crowd aln smile intact and said, "Pleasure to meet you I hope I can win your vote"