Seventeen
The wind blew all night and was still whipping the branches and terrorizing the shrubs late the following morning. Turning away from the window above the kitchen sink that looked into Ben’s leafy backyard, Claire poured herself a cup of coffee from the dregs left in the pot. The kitchen was small but neat, with four of everything: place mats, plates, cups, glasses and silverware. Clearly Ben didn’t do much entertaining.
He seemed to be feeling much better. It was good news and scary news—Ben wanted her, he had made no bones about it. He intended to seduce her. The question was what did she want to do?
She mulled the question over as she added some half-and-half to her cup, took a sip and winced at the bitter taste. She was wildly attracted to Ben. Just looking at his amazing body made her hot and shivery all over, embarrassingly aroused. She knew how good he could make her feel, hadn’t forgotten those incredible multiple orgasms. But Ben was a loner and as soon as he found his son, he would be ready to move on.
Even now, it was hard to think of him with another woman. Getting in deeper would only make things worse.
Still, it was tempting.
Claire rolled the idea around in her head as a light knock sounded at the door. Setting her cup down on the white tile counter, she made her way across Ben’s man-cave living room to peer through the peephole, saw Sage Cantrell, Maggie Rawlins and Annie Mayberry, the little blonde woman in her sixties she had met along with his other friends the first day of their return to Houston.
Claire smiled and opened the door. “Hello. Come on in. It’s good to see you all.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” Sage hugged her as she stepped into the living room, followed by Annie and Maggie.
“I could use a little female company,” Claire said. “Ben’s getting better, which means he’s as crabby as a caged tiger.”
“So he’s back to his lovable old self,” Annie said.
Claire grinned. “Getting close, I guess. Would you like a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea?”
“Tea sounds great.” Sage was dressed in an expensive beige suit with dark brown embroidery on the lapels, and a pair of very high brown suede heels. Annie wore a dark green pantsuit and flats, making the difference in their heights dramatic.
“I’d love some tea,” Maggie said. “I think we all would.” In black jeans and a lightweight turquoise sweater, Maggie Rawlins had pulled her fiery red hair into a ponytail, a few soft wisps escaping around her pretty face. She was a well-known landscape photographer. One of her pictures, a seascape at sunset, hung on the wall in Ben’s living room.
“I brought this.” Annie handed Claire a foil-covered plate. “I know how much His Grumpiness likes brownies.”
Claire smiled. “I love them, too. Thank you, Annie.”
As she carried the brownies into the kitchen, Claire glanced at the clock and realized that the morning was almost over and it was nearly noon. She poured each of the women a glass from the pitcher of tea she kept in the fridge, and the women sat down at the round oak kitchen table.
Annie took a sip and frowned. “Where’s the sugar?”
“Sorry. I forgot this is the South.” Claire set out the sugar bowl and teaspoons. “Ben’s working in his study. Let me tell him you’re here. I know he’ll be glad to see you.”
“In a minute,” Annie said, stopping her. “Truth is, we came by to see you.”
“You did?”
“We figured you could use a little moral support,” Sage said. “Ben isn’t the easiest guy in the world.”
“The man needs a guard dog instead of a woman to take care of him,” Maggie said with a smile.
Claire tossed her stale coffee into the sink, poured herself a glass of tea, carried it over to the table and joined them.
“Ben’s really not so bad. He acts tough, but that’s just his way of protecting himself. Actually, he’s a very nice man.” As if to make the point, Hercules wandered over, jumped up in Claire’s lap and meowed. She stroked a hand over his soft gray fur. “See. He’s a cat lover. That proves it.”
Sage laughed. “I don’t think most women would think of Ben as nice.”
“Maybe he just wasn’t nice to them.”
Annie harrumphed. “You can say that again.”
Maggie took a sip of her tea. “Did you know you’re the only woman he’s ever let stay in his house? At least that’s what Trace says.”
“Ben’s always been a one-night-stand kinda guy,” Annie said bluntly.
Something Claire had known that very first morning she’d seen him climb out of his SUV in his wrinkled black tuxedo. It was also the moment she’d been hit with a fierce sexual attraction that had only grown stronger every day.
“I know the kind of man he is,” she said, tracing a finger through the condensation on the outside of her glass. “If you’re thinking we’re involved in a relationship, we aren’t. We...umm...we’re just working together to find his son.”
Annie frowned. “We’re talking about Ben Slocum here, right? Gorgeous blue eyes. Six-pack abs. Rock-hard body. You’re not a lesbian, are you?”
“Annie!” Sage’s eyes twinkled. Maggie took a drink of her tea to hide a grin.
“I’m not a lesbian,” Claire said, fighting a smile of her own. “Of course I’m attracted to Ben. What woman wouldn’t be? But as you said, he’s a one-night-stand kind of guy. I’m not that kind of woman.” Except for that one wild night in Phoenix she was supposed to have forgotten but never really would.
“Good for you,” Annie said.
“Ben used to be different,” Claire said. “I know I shouldn’t tell you. I’m sure he wouldn’t approve, but when he was younger, there was a woman he loved. When it didn’t work out, he changed.”
“Sam’s mother,” Sage guessed.
“That’s right. Laura. Before she died, we became close friends.”
“So you’re saying this Laura is the reason Ben doesn’t trust women,” Annie said.
“They were madly in love, but according to Laura love wasn’t enough. Ben found her in bed with another man three days after they got engaged.”
Sage leaned back in her chair. “I knew there was something. I never could quite put my finger on it.”
“Please don’t tell him I told you. He can’t handle another woman’s betrayal and that’s the way he’d see it.”
“We’re family,” Annie said firmly. “Family doesn’t hurt each other.”
Sage reached over the table and caught Claire’s hand. “Ben thinks a lot of you, Claire. When he was in the hospital, he asked Jake and me to look out for you. He said you were amazing in El Paso, that you saved his life. He said he’d never known a woman like you.”
A feeling of warmth slid through her. “He really said that?”
Sage nodded. “He couldn’t stop singing your praises.”
“Of course at the time, he was high as a kite on drugs,” Annie added.
Maggie just smiled. “I’ve only seen the two of you together once, but Ben was clearly protective of you. Considering he thinks women are made strictly to satisfy his appetites, you’re definitely special. Of course if you ask him, he’ll probably deny it.”
“What will I deny?” Ben asked, strolling into the kitchen, looking ridiculously sexy in an old drab green T-shirt and jeans.
“None of your business,” Annie said, and Ben grinned.
All three women just stared.
“What?” he said.
“You don’t grin,” Annie said. “You’re the Iceman.”
His grin turned into a scowl. “What are you doing here, anyway? You come by to torture Claire?”
Annie grunted. “I imagine you can handle that all by yourself.”
“We just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Sage put in diplomatically.
Ben ran a hand unconsciously over his side. “Better every day. I’m coming into the office tomorrow morning. I want to work with Sol, do some brainstorming, see if we can think of another way to pick up Bridger’s trail.”
Annie’s voice softened. “You’ll find your boy, Ben. I know you will.”
Ben just nodded.
“You got a picture?” Annie asked.
Claire was surprised when he pulled out his wallet and slid out a photo of Sam. “I found it in an album Claire had in her living room.” He turned in her direction. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“I don’t mind,” she said softly, feeling a stab of the old guilt for giving Bridger a reason to want revenge and not protecting the boy.
Ben held the photo out to the women.
“He looks just like you,” Annie said.
Sage studied the picture. “Same black hair and those Iceman eyes. Sam’s a very handsome boy.”
Maggie took the photo. “He’s smiling. He looks like a happy kid. You’ll find him, Ben, and bring him home.”
A muscle tightened in his jaw as he took the photo from Maggie’s hand and slid it back into his wallet. “I need to get back to work. Thanks for coming by.”
The women watched him disappear down the hall.
“He loves the kid already,” Annie said.
Claire’s throat tightened. “I know.” She shook her head. “It’s my fault Sam’s missing. I should have told him how much I cared about him. I tried to adopt him myself, but the judge wouldn’t have it. I should have convinced him to give me time to work things out and find him a loving home.”
Sage squeezed her hand. “You did your best, Claire.”
She swallowed. “I promised Laura I’d take care of him. She didn’t think Sam’s father would want him, but I should have gone to Ben sooner, found out for myself. I let all of them down.” Tears swam in her eyes.
Maggie leaned over and hugged her. “You’ll find him,” she said. “You’ll bring Sam home.”
She nodded, wiped away the wetness. “We just... We need a clue, something that will tell us where to look. I’m coming into the office with Ben tomorrow. He won’t like it, but I’m coming anyway.”
The women exchanged glances.
“You’re coming anyway,” Annie repeated, a glint in her shrewd brown eyes. “Even if Ben doesn’t want you to.”
“He can’t always have things his way.”
Annie grinned. Sage and Maggie smiled.
Was Ben really that hard a man? But Claire knew that he was.
The women finished their tea and headed back to work, leaving Claire alone in the kitchen. As she thought back over the visit, she started smiling. She felt as if she’d been battered by a whirlwind and yet she hadn’t missed their concern. She really liked Ben’s friends. And she was beginning to think they liked her. Life was just full of surprises.
If they found—when they found Sam, she corrected—she had a big surprise in store for Ben.