CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
“Well, she’s a girl and a friend, so I guess you could say she is,” Ben said as he backed away from the table. He turned his attention to Amelia again. “See you later.”
“Yep.”
Ben knew that Julian had been right. This was a time for being Amelia’s friend. And he was going to be the best friend to her that he could be.
Once the clinic was over for the day, Ben returned to the table. They were going to Cole’s for another barbecue later, but Ben had a feeling that Amelia wouldn’t be joining them.
Still, it couldn’t hurt to ask her if she planned to.
“I don’t think so,” she said with a rueful shake of her head.
“If you’d like, I could pick you up and drop you off so you wouldn’t have to drive.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I’d be very good company.”
“I understand, but if you change your mind, let me know.”
“I will.”
Leaving her there at the school wasn’t easy, but she still had to finish her workday. It wasn’t until he was almost home that he realized he’d forgotten to ask her when it might be convenient to go for the testing.
He’d have to call her later. After the barbecue.
It was once again a fun time at Cole and Annie’s. Good food and good fellowship. Now that he’d gotten to know the men who helped with the clinic better, he enjoyed socializing with them.
A couple of the men had brought their wives and kids that week, so there were lots of children running around. Ben wished that Amelia could have been there too, but he understood why it hadn’t been possible.
When he finally got to his room later that evening, Ben settled onto the loveseat with his phone. He tapped the screen to call Amelia, hoping she wouldn’t mind that he hadn’t texted first.
It rang three times before Amelia answered, her voice soft and sleepy sounding.
“Did I wake you up?” Ben asked. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I was just dozing.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“A little. How was the barbecue?”
“It was good. Just like last week.”
“Are Cole and Annie planning to host a barbecue each week?” Amelia asked.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Hopefully, you can make it next time.”
“I hope so, because then that would mean I was feeling better.”
“Speaking of feeling better, I spoke to Julian last night about the tests for you.”
“Oh? What did he say?”
“He was wondering if you’d want to take a day or two off work to fly to New York for the testing.”
“New York?” she asked. “They can’t do them here?”
“Julian said it would be better there so he can work with his staff on the tests.”
“I’m not sure about missing work.”
“I suspected as much. Julian said we could take the jet on Friday night, spend Saturday doing the tests, then either fly back that night or on Sunday.”
There was a long pause. “The jet?”
“We’d take our private jet out of Coeur d’Alene.”
“You’d come with me?”
“If you want me to, I will.”
“Would it be an inconvenience?”
“Not at all. I’d be happy to go with you.”
“I think I’d rather my family not know I’m going for the testing.”
Ben frowned. “Really? Why not?”
“It’s so hard to see their disappointment when I don’t get any answers.”
“It’s happened before?”
“Yes.”
He waited for her to give him more details, but she didn’t. “Okay. Well, if you’d rather keep it on the down-low, then flying out Friday and coming back Saturday or Sunday would work best. Will it be too much physically for you?”
“I think I’ll be okay. I’ll make sure I’m okay.”
“Well, I’ll do whatever I can to make it as easy on you as possible.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Amelia said.
“I know,” Ben replied. “But I want to be there for you. To help you.”
“Even though I turned you down for a date?” she asked.
“Especially because of that.”
“I’m confused.”
“I know that right now, you’ve got a lot going on,” Ben said. “I think you need a friend more than anything, and I’m going to be that friend.”
“Oh.” The line was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I… appreciate that.”
“So let me be a friend and help you out, okay?” Ben said. “We were friends before anything else. Let’s be friends again.”
“Okay. I guess if you’re that desperate for friends.”
Ben chuckled. “I’m not desperate for friends, though I can always use ones that I like and that I can trust.”
“Then I guess we’re friends.”
“Good. I’ll let Julian know to set it up for this next weekend. Would that work?”
“Yes. Will I have to make arrangements for a hotel or anything else?”
“Nope. We’ll take care of it all. You just need to pack yourself a bag and come to the estate on Friday after work. We’ll take the helicopter to Coeur d’Alene and then the jet from there.”
“It’s been a while since I last traveled,” Amelia said.
“Did you used to travel commercially?”
“Yes. There were no private jets in the budget for us.”
“It’s the best way to get somewhere in a hurry,” he said. “Which is why we’ll use the jet.”
“Riding in style,” Amelia said with a huff of laughter.
“It is that,” Ben agreed, then he heard her yawn audibly over the connection. “I should probably let you go so you can get back to sleep. We can talk more about this later. If you need details about the tests and such, maybe we can set up a time for you to talk more with Julian.”
“I might have more questions. I’m not sure. I mean, I’m going to do the tests regardless of what they are. He could probably just tell me about them on the plane. Or is he not going with us?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be with us, so you can ask him any questions you might have then.”
Ben really hoped that these tests gave her some answers. Answers would bring treatment, and treatment would hopefully bring relief from the pain. He wanted that so much for her.
Ben wanted to talk more, but recalling how tired she’d looked at the school earlier, and remembering she’d been dozing when he called, he knew he shouldn’t keep her up.
“Goodnight, Amelia,” Ben said. “I hope you have a restful night.”
“Thanks. You too.”
After the call ended, Ben set his phone on the end table and stared out the window at the darkness beyond.
When he’d returned to Serenity, he definitely hadn’t thought he’d find himself drawn so strongly to Amelia once again. Because he’d known, even before Amelia had reminded him, that Serenity was not his home.
But could it be?
He could work from anywhere, really. And there was an empty house on the property. Annie had moved out of her home to live with Cole after they’d gotten married, so it was just sitting empty.
His mom and dad would be thrilled if he decided to move back to the estate. But was he ready to commit to that yet?
He just wasn’t sure.