He grabbed her wrist before she could retreat, his grip implacable but his thumb gentle on her pulse point.
“Morning.” An unspoken question hung between them.
The same uncertainty she felt reflected in his eyes. She relaxed and turned her hand enough to give his forearm an answering touch. “Good morning.”
The tension withered with the flash of his smile.
“Did you sleep well, Bennett?” Her mom set down two more plates of pancakes, the tease in her voice not in any way tempered.
Harper gave her ankle a nudge under the table.
“Best night of sleep I’ve had in a long time, actually.” He took a big bite of pancake, his gaze never wavering from Harper’s.
Underlying his claim were darker hints of things to come. A blush raised her body temperature to near boiling. She backed toward the door. “I’ll go wake Ben.”
She jogged up the stairs and peeked in at Ben. His cheeks were full and reddened and his mouth soft. She perched on the edge of his bed and ran her hand over his hair. If only someone could bottle the innocence of a child at sleep.
Except not all children got to enjoy an innocent childhood. Her thoughts drifted to Bennett and the little he’d told her of his life in foster care and before. She resisted the urge to grab Ben close and hug him tight. He would probably accuse her of trying to give him cooties.
Instead, she brushed her finger over his cheek until his eyes fluttered open with a yawn.
“Yaya has pancakes ready.” It was their Saturday morning routine.
“Yay!” He scooted around her. “Is Big Ben still here?”
“He’s downstairs.”
She caught the back of Ben’s shirt on the start of his streak downstairs. “Bathroom first.”
Ben trudged by her to the bathroom. She waited for him and they made their way downstairs side by side until Bennett came into view. Ben launched himself at Bennett for a hug, her son chattering about books and school and whatever crossed his mind. Harper stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her eyes dry but her heart clawing to break free.
Her mom had turned away to flip pancakes but wiped at her eyes. She and her mom had done their best to fill any void left by Noah’s death, but their best hadn’t been enough. The realization hurt.
Harper put her hand on Ben’s shoulder and guided him toward his seat. “Your breakfast is getting cold, pumpkin.”
Ben took his seat but continued to talk even as he ate. “After breakfast, can we go play outside?” He was looking at Bennett and not her.
Bennett’s gaze flicked toward her, and she jumped in to save him. “We won’t have time, sweetie. Bennett and I have to drive down to Fort Bragg to see about leasing a space for the coffee shop.”
The disappointment on Ben’s face twisted a knife into her chest.
“If it’s okay with your mom, when we get back tomorrow afternoon you can show me your favorite games.” Bennett shot a questioning glance in her direction.
She hoped Bennett meant it and wasn’t trying to put Ben off only to disappoint him later. Even with her worries, she nodded, the smile on Ben’s face too much to deny. “Fine with me.”
Bennett excused himself to put their overnight bags in his truck, both Jack London and Ben on his heels. He had managed to inspire devotion in both boy and beast.
“Ben is taken with him,” her mom said softly, loading the dishwasher. “I hope it wasn’t a mistake to introduce them so early on in your relationship.”
Relationship? The word set her heart racing. “I didn’t mean for anything to happen.”
“It’s not a bad thing, Harper. In fact, no matter how things turn out, this has all been good for you. But I don’t want to see Ben disappointed. He’s taken to Bennett like a duckling imprinting on its mama.”
“I didn’t realize how much Ben has missed out on by not having a father until I saw them together.” Harper grabbed the counter, the edge biting into her palm. “I know I have nothing to feel guilty about, but I do.”
“Can’t change the past. You can only move forward. Preferably happily.” Her mom’s sigh signaled she was done allowing Harper to wallow. She dried her hands on a dish towel and leaned against the counter, her voice brisk. “Are you going to come home with a signed lease?”
“This is a big step from looking at black-and-white numbers on a page.” She had spent countless hours working up a business plan. “Signing a contract scares the bejeezus out of me. And I’ll have to get Allison and a couple of the other ladies on board. Even though I’m putting up the money, I want them to feel a sense of ownership.”
“I know it’s scary, but a coffee business sounds like a fabulous idea. Bennett must think so, too, or he wouldn’t be investing his time. And money, in a roundabout way.”
Harper checked the time. “We need to hit the road.”
“Go on.” Her mom walked with her to the front door and jabbed an elbow in her side. “And, while you’re in the middle of doing business, try to have some fun.”
“Mom.” Why did the situation make her feel like a teenager again? “We’re staying with Allison and Darren and their kids. No chance for that kind of fun.”
She grabbed her purse and stepped out the front door. Still in his dinosaur pajamas, Ben stood in the driveway and kicked rocks. Bennett was crouched down at his level, whatever he was saying lost in the distance.
With a fluid grace, he rose. “How about I ask your mom?”
“Okay,” Ben muttered. Another rock skittered off his foot and into the grass.
“What do you think about Jack hanging out here for the weekend? He’d be bored with us, anyway.”
Harper tilted her head and tried to get a read on him. “Are you sure?”
“We’ll be so busy, it’ll make things easier.”
Ben sprang to life to hang on her arm. “Can he stay, Mommy? Please?”
“It’s up to Yaya.”
Her mom had a shoulder propped against the column at the top of the stairs. Ben linked his hands under his chin and repeated his plea. “Please, Yaya. Can he stay?”
“Only because he’s such a gentleman.” Her mom winked at Ben, who did a spastic dance of joy before throwing his arms around Jack’s neck.
“I’ll take really good care of him. I promise.”
“I know you will.” Bennett hauled the dog food and water dish out of the bed of the truck to the top of the porch steps. On his way back, he ruffled Ben’s hair. “If it’s sunny out tomorrow, we’ll throw a ball around as soon as we get back. Sound good?”
Ben’s grin was contagious, and Harper wasn’t even upset that she had to remind him to give her a hug. Ben, Jack, and her mom disappeared inside the house.
Without Jack, the cab of the truck felt cavernous. Bennett’s hands were tight on the steering wheel.
She tiptoed into the silence. “Are you sure—”
“Not a big deal.” His voice was clipped and uninviting.
Except it was. Jack London was part therapy dog, part best friend. She’d noticed the way Bennett reached for him during uncertainty or stress. “Have you ever spent the night away from him?”
“I don’t need a security blanket. I’m not a wuss.” A military-tinged edge was in his voice.
She shoved his shoulder—hard—and broke his stranglehold on the steering wheel. The truck jerked toward the center line.
“What the hell, Harper?”
“Don’t fire evasions in my directions, Caldwell. Not appreciated.” She sat back and crossed her arms and legs. “You’re as bad as Darren. Not admitting a single weakness. Are you SEALs born that way or do they brainwash you in training?”
“A little of both, I suppose. Meek, helpless bastards need not apply.”
“Is that what they put on the recruitment posters?”
The rumble coming from his chest was his particular brand of laughter. Humor interwoven with a dry sarcasm. His hands moved lower on the steering wheel and his body sank into the seat.
“It’s weird not to have Jack’s doggy breath on my neck.”