Benjamin (The Burkes #3)

CHAPTER ONE

From his window seat, Benjamin Burke watched as the helicopter skimmed over the treetops as it descended toward the estate's helipad. Early summer had painted the forest below in a thousand different shades of green, from the pale of new growth to the deep emerald of established pines.

The large estate had become more of a family compound lately, with two of his three siblings having settled there in homes that their dad had built for them.

His sister, Annie, also had a house there, but when she and her husband had their first child, they’d moved to a nearby property, where they’d built a place of their own.

Their dad had offered to build a bigger home for them on the estate, but Cole and Annie had decided they wanted a space of their own. So now they lived close, but too close.

His dad kept telling Ben to meet with his architect to design a home for himself on the estate, even if Ben wasn’t ready to build it yet.

However, Ben was afraid that if he did that, it would open the door for his parents to pester him about moving back to Serenity.

He wasn’t ready to make that move yet, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be.

It wasn’t that he hated the estate or Serenity Point. Maybe if he’d never left, he wouldn’t feel the way he did. But now, coming back there felt a bit like wearing ill-fitting basketball shoes. They weren’t the wrong size, but they just didn’t feel right.

While he’d been back for visits over the years—usually for a holiday or special occasion—he’d never stayed for longer than three days. Much to his family’s chagrin. This time, however, he’d be there for several weeks. Maybe even a couple of months.

Looking out the window as the pilot settled the helicopter on the helipad, Ben spotted several people gathered nearby. His parents were both there, along with a couple of security team members. A smaller figure caught his attention, and he thought perhaps it was his ten-year-old nephew, TJ.

The boy was the oldest of the grandchildren, and the first child of Ben’s older brother, Julian, and his wife, Kiara. For whatever reason, over the past year, once a week, Ben would get a call from either Kiara's or Julian’s phone, and it would be TJ wanting to video chat.

Though normally reserved, TJ seemed to have no problem talking to Ben and telling him about everything that had gone on that week.

Sometimes it involved a book he’d read, or a Lego set he’d put together.

Ben enjoyed the calls and had taken to sending TJ Lego sets that he came across in his travels.

So it wasn’t a huge surprise that the boy had come to meet him.

Once the rotors on the helicopter had slowed to a stop, the doors opened, and Ben followed his bodyguard, Luca Wellstone, out of the aircraft.

Warmth and sunshine greeted him, and the rich scent of nature was heavy in the air. It was the sights and smells he’d grown up with, and they resonated deep within him.

“Benjamin!” His dad walked toward him, his movements slower than they used to be. However, there was nothing weak about the man. His voice and presence still commanded attention. “It’s so good to have you home, son.”

Ben gave his dad a hug, then turned to greet his mom. After giving her a kiss on her cheek, he smiled at his nephew.

“TJ! My man! How’s it going?” Ben held out his hand for the boy to smack.

“It’s going great!” The boy had a bright smile as he gave Ben a high-five. “It’s so cool you’re here. Dad said you’ll be here for a while this time.”

“Yep. You’re going to see a lot of me.”

“Yay!”

The only children Ben interacted with were his nieces and nephews, and even that wasn’t very often. It was one of the things he was looking forward to on this visit.

TJ stuck close to him as Ben’s and Luca’s luggage was loaded into the waiting UTV. There was an SUV there as well, and they climbed into that for the short drive to the house.

On each previous visit, Ben had stayed in the room that had been his growing up, though his mom had changed the decor from what had appealed to him as a teen. It now had a dark blue theme with accents of gray and silver.

TJ hopped up to sit on the edge of the bed as Ben looked over his bags before choosing one to put on the bag rack.

It was packed full of gifts for TJ and the other kids.

Before coming, he’d asked his sisters and Kiara to send him one idea for each child and then, with the help of his assistant, had purchased something for each of them.

Though it wasn’t Christmas or anyone’s birthday, he hadn’t wanted to show up empty-handed.

“Here you go, buddy,” Ben said, holding out a large box to TJ.

The boy’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the picture on the front of the box. It was one of the newest sets that Lego had released, and it tied into one of the video games that TJ enjoyed playing.

Despite the wealth of their family, Ben knew that the kids didn’t get everything they asked for. Their moms had actually told him to stop spoiling them, but he hadn’t really listened. As an uncle, he thought it was his prerogative to do a little spoiling.

“This is amazing, Uncle Ben,” TJ said as he took the box and stared down at it. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, buddy,” he said. “I have gifts for your sisters and cousins, too. Where are they?”

“The older ones are at Aunt Angie’s, making cookies.”

Ben shifted his attention to his other suitcase. “You didn’t want to make cookies?”

“Not today. I wanted to see the helicopter.”

They continued to chat as Ben unpacked, then TJ followed him back downstairs. After a quick search, they found his parents in the solarium.

“Everyone will be here for dinner tonight,” his mom said as Ben sat down next to her.

TJ took his Lego box over to his grandpa to show him, and Ben had to smile at his dad’s excited response. He’d taken to being a grandfather like a duck to water.

“What are we having?” Ben asked.

Their former cook, Mrs. Stevens, had retired the previous year, leaving the cooking and running of the household to her daughters, with Connie being the head cook.

“I believe they’re preparing a prime rib dinner for us,” his mom said.

Ben relaxed back into his seat. “It will be nice to see everyone.”

“I’m happy to finally have all of you here,” his dad said. “It seems to be a hard task to get everyone in the same place at the same time these days.”

While Annie, Angie, Kiara, and Jude rarely traveled, Cole and Julian were gone sporadically, and of course, Ben was rarely around.

“Are you here for the whole summer?” his mom asked, hope in her voice.

“Most of it,” Ben told her. “But I might have to leave periodically.”

If he needed a break from life on the estate.

It wasn’t long before the house was filled with the sound of children’s laughter and adult conversation. They all greeted Ben enthusiastically, then they headed into the dining room for their first family dinner in quite awhile.

The large table was at its biggest setting, and even so, they were elbow to elbow in their seats. There were eight children joining the nine adults, which meant the meal was lively and loud. The formality at meals that had existed when he’d been growing up was pretty much a thing of the past.

Ben found that he enjoyed being surrounded by his family. It was interesting to see his siblings as parents, especially Julian.

“Are you dating anyone, Benji?” Annie asked as she wiped the face of her youngest, Carter, who hadn’t even turned one yet.

“Not at the moment.”

At one time, he’d tried to dodge his sisters’ questions about his dating life, but eventually he’d just given up. Beaten down by their persistence.

“What happened to your last girlfriend?” his dad asked. “I thought you were getting along well with her. She seemed very nice when we met her in New York last year.”

Ben hadn’t anticipated his dad getting in on the questioning. “We decided to go our separate ways.”

“Why, darling?” his mom asked.

“It just wasn’t working out. We wanted different things.”

“Like what?” Annie seemed determined to get to the bottom of that breakup, making Ben rethink how happy he was to be with his siblings.

“She envisioned a life that was different from what I wanted,” Ben said.

“She wanted to attend all the fashion shows and the movie premieres. To be in the spotlight. On the red carpet. And you know that’s not me.

Plus, she’d already decided she wanted to use a surrogate for any kids she had because it would be easier on her. ”

“I can see why you chose to move on,” his dad said.

“It kind of came to a head when she found out I’d been invited to an event and had declined. I didn’t know that she wanted to go, so I hadn’t refused the invitation intentionally, but she seemed to think I had. She accused me of not supporting what she wanted in life.”

“Perhaps if we’d raised you in New York, you’d be more interested in that type of life,” his mom said.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Ben told her. “I’m happy with how I’ve chosen to live my life. Mainly out of the spotlight.”

Word had eventually gotten out about him and the twins being Burkes, so they were invited to a lot of events that they might not have been otherwise.

“I have to say I’m happy as well,” Annie said. “I don’t mind dipping my toe into that life occasionally, but I’m happiest here in Serenity.”

Her sentiment was echoed by the others at the table. Even his mom and dad said they enjoyed the slower pace of the estate, though they occasionally went to New York for social events.

“If you want a slower-paced life, maybe you should move back here, Benji,” his mom suggested.

Ben grinned at his mom. “I can also enjoy a slower-paced life on an island in the Caribbean.”

She frowned at him. “It’s better to be around family.”

Ben couldn’t exactly disagree, but he wasn’t going to say that because then she’d ramp up her efforts to get him back in Serenity permanently.