Chapter 4 Bennett
BENNETT
Forrester Sibling Group Chat
Bennett
Is it just me, or is a black-tie event at your house insufferably pretentious?
Jules
You’re just uncultured.
Rosie
How else are they supposed to prove how rich they are?
Haydn
Lia and I go to black-tie events at people’s houses all the time.
Rosie
Thank you for making my point, Haydn.
Jules
Mine too.
Bennett
It makes zero sense to me. We’re eating. Wearing a suit or sparkly dress does not elevate a basic biological activity.
Jules
Sure it does.
Rosie
One of my favorite things to do is wear a sparkly dress to elevate a basic biological activity.
Jules
For the love.
Bennett
Banned.
Haydn
My eyes!
Rosie
Since I’m a married woman now, I suppose it falls on me to have a special talk with each of you.
Jules
If we ignore her, she will stop.
Haydn
I’m deleting this chat.
Bennett
NOT YET. I’M STILL COMPLAINING.
Rosie
About being invited by a wealthy family to a fancy dinner up in the mountains? Just a sec. I’m going to go grab my tiny violin.
Bennett
I know you’re being sarcastic, but I accept your fake sympathy. Garrison Miller is RELENTLESS.
Jules
There’s a lot of all-caps in this conversation.
Bennett
I DARE YOU TO COME TAKE MY PLACE.
Jules
Can’t. Working.
Haydn
We’re in the Netherlands this week.
Rosie
I’m making out with my hot husband.
Jules
ROSIE HOPE FORRESTER. I will make a reel for social media right now listing all the reasons Pride and Prejudice is the worst book ever written if you don’t stop.
Rosie
Your jealousy is showing…
Bennett
Ahem. Back to me. Why am I going to this dinner again?
Rosie
Because Charlie.
I’m worried about her, Ben.
Bennett
Yeah. Me too.
Okay, how do I look? *picture*
Jules
Like a circus bear.
Bennett
Exactly the look I was going for.
I tugged at the collar of my shirt. How in the world did people wear suits for hours at a time? One dinner, and I was ready to take my steak knife to the tie nearly strangling me.
I could be out of here, suit coat off, top button undone, feeling the wind blow through my hair in about five seconds flat.
If not for Charlie.
Every single insufferable person in Winterhaven was at the couple’s shower.
It was like the Millers kept a list of people who put off gatekeeper energy and invited them all to this dinner.
I might be offended to be on such a list, if not for the fact that I knew I was invited for one reason, and one reason only.
Ten years ago, my brothers and I pulled together our inheritance money and savings and then took out a substantial loan to buy one of the many tiny islands in southeast Alaska. Timing and luck meant that we’d gotten a great deal from someone who’d needed to offload it quickly.
Well, timing, luck, and a huge dose of heaven smiling down on four grieving siblings.
That island had saved each of us more than once.
And we all agreed that no amount of money would entice us to sell it.
That didn’t stop Garrison from trying. He’d offered us nearly double the island’s value.
He’d soft-threatened to take us to court for a vague, unspecified infraction.
Now, he was attempting to bring me into his world and make me his friend.
And so far, I’d said no to every single invitation.
Until now.
Charlie and Greg’s schmoozy wedding shower.
I would have said no to this, too, if not for my baby sister, Rosie. Rosie and Charlie were best friends, and since Rosie had moved to Montana with her new husband, Charlie had been more withdrawn. I’m worried about her, Ben.
I stopped tugging at the collar of my shirt and took another bite of my salmon.
Charlie’s seat next to Greg was still empty.
I wanted to text her and see where she was, but Garrison hadn’t stopped talking long enough for me to pull my phone out and shoot her a quick message to make sure everything was okay.
Other than an announcement that Charlie was running late but on her way, no one was acknowledging that she wasn’t even here for her own party.
Garrison’s wife stood and left the room, followed a moment later by Greg.
I was tempted to fake a need to use the restroom and sneak out the front door when no one was looking.
“How much retirement can a fisherman count on?” Garrison asked, his voice deceptively casual.
He was so transparent.
“None at all,” I said with a grin he probably couldn’t see through my beard. My sister complained that it was long past time for me to trim it, but I liked that it kept most of my emotions and reactions hidden from people.
He coughed in surprise before launching into his pitch on how I could invest my portion of the money he paid me for the island, and I’d be set up for a really cushy retirement.
Retirement was a long time away. What I really needed the money for was saving Forrester Excursions from falling down around me—literally.
My building was coming apart at the seams, and I’d be lucky to get one more season out of it.
Not that anything would compel me to sell our island. Especially to Garrison.
I’d have to come into a windfall of cash some other way. Or go back to square one and build from the ground up. It wouldn’t be the first time, but the thought sank me faster than a dead anchor in deep waters.
I zoned out while Garrison droned on. He loved hearing his own voice so much, he didn’t need me to actually listen.
Maybe that’s why it took the sound of someone pushing their chair back from the table and screaming before I heard the bark.
It was low and growly, and I immediately stood and looked for the source.
There was no way in this world the Millers owned a dog.
Especially not a filthy one with a bloody leg.
Its hackles were raised, and it looked one wrong move away from attacking anyone who came too close.
“Where did that thing come from?” Garrison exclaimed. All common sense—if the man had any to begin with—must have fled, because he stomped toward the dog like he was going to grab it by the scruff.
I didn’t like the man, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him get bit.
Not too much, anyway.
I rounded the table and grabbed him by the back of the suit coat. “Stop,” I said, my voice low and demanding. It was the same warning tone I used when someone was about to do something that might injure or kill them when we were out on a fishing excursion.
“Don’t hurt her!” a desperate female voice called out.
Charlie raced into the room, wearing a tight white dress-thing and no shoes.
Her hair was wild around her face as she weaved through the crowd until she stood beside me and Garrison.
She had one hand on my arm, pushing as if holding me back, and the other hand on Garrison. “She’s hurting and scared.”
“Charlie!” Greg growled. “What is going on?” He stormed into the room, a pair of tall white heels dangling from his clenched fist.
“Molly,” she said softly to the dog. She got on her knees, and my heart jumped into my throat when the dog’s growling stare turned from Garrison to Charlie. One wrong move, and that dog was going to lunge. “It’s okay, sweetie,” she said.
The dog trembled against the wall.
“Can everyone back up slowly?” She tucked her long hair behind her ear with a shaky hand. “You’re making her feel boxed in and trapped.”
I shuffled backward, sticking close to Garrison. His hands were balled into fists. I didn’t trust him for a second. He was the kind of man who needed to be in control, and he wouldn’t care who got hurt to ensure he had it.
Charlie was magic with animals. I’d seen her calm down much more aggressive dogs than this, and she’d do it again. If one of the Millers didn’t ruin everything.
The problem was that the Millers had a tendency to ruin everything.
Charlie stretched her hand out, her fingers hanging limply down. “Hey, Molly. You’re okay. That’s a good girl. Bennett, find me something to wrap her in. Everyone else, leave the room.”
I spotted a plush blanket resting on the back of the couch. Mrs. Miller must have seen it at the same time as me, because we met at the back of the couch, each taking an end.
“This is a four-thousand-dollar chenille blanket,” she hissed, tugging harder.
I swore under my breath and dropped it like it bit me. Rich people were wild. I’d bet this blanket had never been used other than for decoration.
The dog growled, and Charlie’s voice trembled when she said, “Bennett?”
Forget it; stuff could be replaced. Even four-thousand-dollar stuff. I tugged the blanket from Mrs. Miller’s grip as she gasped, and I walked it carefully toward Charlie.
“Garrison, stop this,” Mrs. Miller hissed indignantly, but he was smart enough to stay in the doorway with Greg, their arms folded like fancy, overly paid bodyguards.
I handed the soft-as-anything-I’d-ever-touched blanket to Charlie with gentle movements. I’d been with Charlie on enough impromptu dog-rescue adventures over the years to know that steady and predictable movements were key to de-escalating a situation.
“Hey, sweet girl.” She scooted closer to Molly, who watched her carefully.
Garrison scoffed, and Molly twitched.
“Shhh,” I said, no louder than a breath.
Charlie inched closer.
“This is ridiculous!” Greg muttered, but it sounded explosive in the quiet room.
Molly’s upper lip rose in a snarl, and Charlie stilled.
“It’s fine. We’ll give it a second,” Charlie said with the kind of voice someone would use to read a bedtime story. She didn’t change her tone or look away from the dog when she continued, “Greg, you and your dad are making her nervous.”
Greg widened his stance as if he were planning on staying a while. He’d always been like this—tell him to do something, and he was compelled to do the opposite. It drove me nuts when we were on the softball field—and it had lost us more than one game, despite his wanting to blame everyone else.
Here, it was dangerous. “We need to trust Charlie.” Punching Greg, though satisfying, would be the opposite of de-escalation and might put Charlie at risk of getting hurt. The thought was enough for me to unclench my fists. I generally wasn’t a fighter, but Greg had a way of bringing it out in me.
“Bennett,” she said. “I’m going to wrap Molly up. She’s too big for me to carry, so you need to grab her after I’m done.”
“My poor blanket,” Mrs. Miller whispered. “It’s from a small village in France.”
“Being wrapped will help calm her nervous system.”
Greg huffed. “You have to grab it by the scruff. Dogs respond to an alpha.” He took three purposeful steps forward.
“Wait!” I said at the same time Charlie sharply commanded, “Stop!”
He reached down to grab Molly, who lunged forward, hackles raised, and plunged her teeth into Greg’s arm.