She made a face. “That’s not what men are looking for.”
“What are men looking for?” He enjoyed her discomfort as she knit her brows together as if that question was too difficult to answer. It surprised him to find he wasn’t the only one with self-doubts, even if Caitlyn had nothing to be self-conscious of.
“Something fun… and temporary.”
Ben’s amusement faded. “Maybe Lottie’s dad was looking for those things, but that doesn’t mean all men are like that.”
“Right. I’ll bet you’re looking for forever with a single mom.” Caitlyn flushed again then held up her hands to stop him from answering. “Forget it. You don’t need to answer that. I’m not interested in forever with you, either.” She picked Lottie up and stalked off.
Ben watched her speak to Mia and then stride quickly to the parking lot, dismayed to find that forever with a single mom sounded all too good to him. Especially if that single mom was someone like Caitlyn.
Too bad Caitlyn didn’t feel the same way.
“THIS ISN’T A good idea,” Caitlyn said as Mia parked her car. She looked up at the three-story white mansion in front them. Crescent Hall sat proudly on a rise of ground where it overlooked the rest of the ranch. With its wraparound porch and single tower it was the epitome of gothic architecture. Caitlyn had seen it plenty of times as a child but she’d never been inside.
It wasn’t the house that intimidated her, though. Nor was it the four Hall brothers or their wives. She was nervous to the point of feeling sick about seeing Ben again. There’d be no way to avoid him tonight. If she’d realized Mia’s friends were the same group of people Ben had come to visit, she would have never taken Mia up on her invitation. She’d assumed they would go to the festival with the other Mathesons, but Mia had made a date with Storm to get ready for the dance together. They had come to the Hall early, which meant more opportunities for Caitlyn to bump into Ben. She hoped the time would pass swiftly until they all proceeded to the dance.
If she disliked Ben it would be easy to simply ignore him, but she didn’t dislike him.
She craved him.
Everything about the man made her hungry to touch him. His proud features, his upright stance, his vulnerability around his injury all worked equally to make her want to get close to Ben. She couldn’t do that. He didn’t want a single mother—he didn’t even know how long he meant to stay in town. He was no better than Caitlyn’s father—a man temporarily available when what she wanted was a permanent partner.
“It’s a terrific idea,” Mia said. “You need to have fun once in a while. We can take our time getting ready and have a good chat with Storm before we head into town. She said she hopes you’re going to wear that dress she sold you, by the way.” She looked at her watch. “Luke won’t even be here to join us for nearly an hour.”
Caitlyn dutifully lifted her garment bag from the hook where she’d hung it and exited Mia’s car, but as she approached the front stairs to the house, her anxiety got the best of her. “I barely have anything to do to get ready. I’m going to take a walk first. You go ahead.”
Mia took the garment bag. “A walk?”
“I need to clear my head.” She thought she saw sympathy in Mia’s eyes.
“All right.” Mia smiled suddenly. “Have you ever seen the Hall’s obstacle course?”
“No.” She’d heard about it, though. When the Hall men were boys their father had built it for them to give them something to do. He’d made two sets of obstacles side by side so they could race each other. The course was legendary among the young people of Chance Creek, or at least it had been when she was a child.
“It’s that way. You can’t miss it.” Mia pointed toward a fringe of forest and Caitlyn nodded.
“I’ll go check it out. Be back soon.”
Mia waved and headed up the steps to the front door. Caitlyn set out across the lawn in the direction Mia had indicated. The crisp fall air and clear blue sky calmed her nerves as she walked and she was glad she’d had the idea, even if she’d have less time to prepare for the dance later.
When she found the obstacle course, she forgot everything else. She could see why every boy in their school had craved an invitation to the Hall house. This was no plaything for little children. The course was massive, and its obstacles looked impossible.
At least some of them did. The first one looked downright easy.