Chapter 5
J oel’s warm embrace made Trina wish for something she couldn’t have. Ben was already becoming too attached to Joel.
The same way she was.
Drawing a deep breath, she reluctantly eased away. Joel was only there to protect them. Nothing more. Thankfully, Ben was safe. And as she feared, his swimming skills were limited to the dog paddle.
Why on earth had Evie enrolled Ben in swimming lessons, then stopped them?
Had that been around the time of her divorce?
That made the most sense, although she made a mental note to ask Ben more about his life with her sister prior to her accident.
Maybe there was more to Evie and Brian’s split than her sister had let on.
“I’ll need to change.” Joel bent to put Ben down, eyeing his sopping-wet jeans with a grimace. “I think I have a pair of shorts in my duffel. My other clothing reeks of smoke and gasoline.”
“I’m sure they have a laundry here.” She felt guilty over his needing to jump in to save her nephew. “I can do a quick load for you.”
He waved a hand. “I’m capable of doing that myself.”
She grabbed the towel Ben had brought from their room and wrapped it around his shoulders.
“Royal needs a towel too.” Ben looked up at her. “He jumped in to save me.”
“I know. He’s an amazing dog, isn’t he?” She pulled Ben in for a quick hug. “We’ll grab another towel for Royal back in our room.”
“Can we swim again later?” Ben shrugged off the towel and ran ahead to open the door.
She was surprised Ben wanted to go back into the water. She glanced questioningly at Joel, who nodded in agreement. “Sure. But for now, we’ll see what there is to watch on television.”
“Okay.” Ben was still young enough to watch shows on the kids’ channel. She supposed that would change in a few years. Hard to believe he would start third grade in a few weeks. She felt woefully unprepared for raising Ben. Not that she had a choice.
When the adoption went through, she’d legally be Ben’s mother. Not that she expected he’d call her mom. She didn’t want to replace Evie in the boy’s life. Losing his father to divorce, then his mother to death was more than enough for any child to deal with.
She’d accept her role as Ben’s aunt.
Joel padded down the hallway in his bare feet, carrying his shirt, shoes, and phone in one hand. His wallet had been soaked, too, but he didn’t complain. Joel was being remarkably nice about everything.
Especially since she was the one in danger.
He’d taken over the role of their protector without asking for anything in return. She admired him more than she could say. For being there now and dedicating his life to search and rescue missions.
But admiring him from afar was all she could do. She needed to protect her foolish heart.
Once they were back in the suite, she grabbed another towel to use on Royal. The dog let her swipe the towel over him but then shook himself again. She tossed the towel aside, deciding to let him dry naturally.
Joel disappeared into his room, emerging a few minutes later wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt, his wet jeans stuffed in a plastic bag. He was so handsome she had to force herself to look away.
“Stay, Royal,” Joel commanded. The dog obediently stretched out on the floor. “Good boy. Wait here for me, Trina, and don’t open the door for anyone. I have my key.” He reached for the door handle. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” After he left the room, she turned toward Ben. “Where’s the remote control for the TV?”
“Here.” He held it up, then expertly turned it on and began flipping through channels.
Leaving him to it, she dropped into the closest chair feeling suddenly exhausted.
The emotional turmoil of the gunfire, arson, and Ben’s choking incident hit her like a brick.
She scrubbed her hands over her face, then had to smile when Royal stood, crossed to the door, and then lay back down again.
The K9 positioned himself so that his back was to the doorway, facing her and Ben.
Their protector, she thought with a wry smile. The black lab was truly amazing.
She wanted to quiz Ben on how things were between his mother and Peter Thomas, but his attention was riveted on the television. She didn’t like the idea of reminding him of his loss, but they needed something to go on.
Sooner rather than later.
A few minutes later, Joel returned. The minute he used his key card to electronically unlock the door, Royal jumped up and backed away, his tail wagging back and forth.
“All set. Good boy, Royal.” Joel bent to pet the dog, then opened his wallet to spread everything out on the table to dry.
He arched a brow when he found Ben glued to the television.
“Let me know when you and Ben are hungry for lunch. They have a decent room service menu.” He hesitated, then added, “I’d rather not go to the Hitching Post, even though it’s right across the street. ”
She nodded, feeling safer here in the hotel room than outside. She rose to join him at the table. “How long will it take you to hear back from your brother-in-law?”
“Not sure.” He frowned. “It’s possible none of these guys has a criminal background. And if that’s the case, their fingerprints or DNA are likely not in the system.”
She glanced at Ben. “I’d like to ask him some questions about his mother and her relationship with Peter Thomas, but I’m afraid of upsetting him.”
Joel lightly touched her arm. “You’ll have to take the risk, Trina.”
“Okay.” She steeled her resolve. “The show he’s watching is more than half over, so when that’s finished, we’ll talk over lunch.”
“Good plan.” Joel leaned forward and snagged the room service menu. “Choose something you and Ben would like. Room service can take up to an hour to be delivered.”
The menu wasn’t extensive, but there were two items she knew Ben would like. Yet she also knew from experience it was best to ask him. She took the menu to the sofa. “Ben, do you want chicken tenders with fries or a hot dog?”
“Tenders with fries,” he said without looking at her.
She ran her hand over his now mostly dry hair. “Sounds good.”
Joel used the hotel phone to place their order. After a half hour or so, he glanced at his watch and stood. “I need to check the laundry.”
Hearing the end of the movie on the television made her stand. “Turn it off now, Ben.” She gestured to the remote. “Lunch will be here soon.”
“Okay.” He did as she asked, then sat down on the floor beside Royal. “Aunt Trina, you won’t forget about our puppy, right?”
“I won’t forget.” She smiled. “We’ll ask Joel for help in picking one out.”
Ben nodded, stroking his hand over Royal’s now dry fur. “I want my puppy to be just like Royal.”
“Every dog has their own personality,” she said. “Just like people do.”
Ben frowned at that, then shrugged. “We’ll get a black dog just like Royal.”
She swallowed a sigh. What were the chances they’d find a black lab like Royal? Not good. Joel returned to the room five minutes before their lunch arrived.
When they were seated at the table, Joel glanced at her. “I’d like to say grace.”
“Of course.” She should have anticipated that after their breakfast. “Fold your hands together like this, Ben.” She showed him how.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food and for keeping us safe in Your care. Please guide the police so they may find and arrest the person responsible. Amen.”
“Amen,” she echoed.
Ben took a french fry. “Yum.”
She smiled, then remembering her promise to Joel, asked, “Ben, did you meet your mom’s boyfriend, Peter?”
Ben nodded. “Yep.”
“Did you like him?” She held the boy’s gaze, trying to assess whether the question upset him. “Was he nice to you?”
“Sort of.” Ben shrugged and picked up another fry. “I liked him better when he and Mom didn’t yell at each other.”
Yelling? She glanced at Joel for a moment, then asked, “What did they argue about?”
Another shrug. “Stuff. I always had to go to my room when they were fighting.”
That did not sound good. Evie hadn’t mentioned having issues with her boyfriend. Then again, Evie hadn’t said much about Peter at all. At the time, Trina had assumed they weren’t very serious. Now she wasn’t so sure. “Did they yell a lot?”
Ben scrunched up his face. “Not every day. Sometimes Mom would tell him to go home because she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.”
Now that sounded like Evie. Trina was secretly glad to know Peter hadn’t lived with Evie and Ben. At least her sister had kept her independence. A tough lesson Evie had learned the hard way after her divorce.
“I remember Mom told Peter he had to pay her back,” Ben said suddenly. “By the end of the month.”
Pay her back? She glanced at Joel who was listening to their conversation with keen interest. Had Evie loaned Peter money? If so, why?
“Do you know if Peter paid her back?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“I dunno.” Ben dipped a chicken tender into a blob of ketchup.
She took a bite of her turkey club, then pulled out her phone, scrolling to look at the calendar. Evie’s biking accident had been on May 24, and she’d passed away two days later on the 26 th .
She frowned, thinking back to those chaotic days and weeks after Evie’s passing.
Ben had been at school that day. When the hospital called to let Trina know, she’d rushed to Laramie to pick Ben up.
They’d gone together to visit Evie. Her sister had been badly injured, several broken bones including her back, her pelvis, and her legs.
But it had been Evie’s head injury that had concerned the medical team the most.
The doctor and nurses had been kind and supportive, but Trina had known from the beginning they’d expected Evie to die. That her wounds were simply too severe for her sister to recover.