Chapter 34
Ben
In the end, the Thanksgiving guest list wasn’t quite as large as Ben had feared it might be. There was an actual chance his mother might forgive him sometime this century.
Eric Cassidy sat in the passenger seat beside him, shooting him the occasional glowering look, while Melody and Shawna Gower sat together in the back of his Lexus. John Richards, Alexei Volkov, and Brendan O’Rourke trailed behind them in Richie’s surprisingly spacious Maserati.
With the way Cassidy had been hovering over Melody like a protective watchdog since learning that Ben and Melody were seeing each other, it had come as no surprise that Cassidy had decided to come along, but Ben had no idea how the team’s PR manager wound up on the guest list. Not that he felt he could really retract her welcome when he’d unintentionally issued an open invitation to all his team members.
Shawna might not be a player, but she was part of the Challengers organization.
If that weren’t enough, she was a friend of Melody’s, which would have been more than sufficient to warrant a welcome.
So here Shawna sat, in his car, heading to his childhood home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family and a sizable portion of his new team.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone whose job it was to curate his public image getting such an up close and personal look at his private life, but it was too late to turn back now.
He’d simply hope she wasn’t one to overshare for the sake of generating public interest.
He had long ago accepted that being a professional athlete meant he would find himself the subject of the occasional news story, but he took exception to his family being dragged into the spotlight.
They weren’t the ones who had chosen a career in the public eye, after all.
Maybe he’d have to have a word with Shawna.
The radio played quietly in the background as the miles slunk away in his rearview mirror and he, Melody, Cassidy, and Shawna played car games. Their current game was “Would You Rather.”
“You’re in a crowded room,” Cassidy said, setting the scene. “Would you rather fart loudly and have everyone laugh at you, or be the only person to laugh obnoxiously when someone else farts?”
“This is a truly ridiculous game,” Shawna declared.
“Maybe,” Cassidy admitted, “but it’s a good way to pass the time and get to know people.”
“Is it, though?” Melody laughed. “And just what, pray tell, will you learn by having me answer this question?”
Cassidy turned around in his seat to better look at her. Ben felt his hackles rise at the tender look his teammate was directing toward Melody.
Ben gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, but forced himself to let it go and keep his eyes on the road.
“You should know this one,” Cassidy chastised without any real heat. “It tells me whether you’re the type of person who would rather be embarrassed or the type of person who would rather save face and embarrass someone else.”
“I would totally rather be the lone person laughing,” Shawna volunteered. Ben couldn’t tell if she was being serious or deliberately baiting his teammate.
“Of course you would, you shark,” Cassidy responded. “But I’m betting Melody would rather be the one to fart and be laughed at.”
“That’s true,” Melody affirmed.
“There you go. The game proves itself once again.” Cassidy’s tone held notes of self-satisfaction.
Ben glanced in his rearview mirror to see Melody twisting her lips in thought. “Maybe yes and maybe no,” she observed, “but what the heck did you gain by learning that I would rather fight one horse-sized duck than one hundred duck-sized horses?”
Ben drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, curious to hear Cassidy’s answer.
Ben might not love the borderline territorial interest Cassidy had been showing Melody lately, but he couldn’t deny that Cassidy was a cool guy.
Ben could well imagine them being friends—provided Cassidy could accept his relationship with Melody.
From the sounds of it, Cassidy had had over a year to make a play for Melody.
He’d had an opening, but that window had closed.
And it would remain closed if Ben had anything to say about it.
Hopefully, Cassidy would let go of the possessiveness he’s been directing toward Melody. For all their sakes.
“You mean, what did I gain aside from entertainment value?” Cassidy volleyed back in defense of his game.
Melody snorted.
Cassidy chuckled. “I learned that you’re a serious badass who I want to have by my side if I ever need to fight off a mutant duck.”
Ben couldn’t help but smile as he once more took a quick glance into his rearview mirror to see Melody rolling her eyes.
“Eric, have I told you lately that you’re a little bit nutty?” she joked.
“’Crazy’ and ‘deluded’ are good words, too,” Shawna contributed.
“Bite me,” Cassidy wisecracked.
“You wish,” Shawna sassed back.
Ben smiled to himself as Shawna and Cassidy continued to bicker. Shawna was winning the verbal battle, but he doubted Cassidy would agree with his assessment.
Ben was just glad Cassidy was no longer shooting amorous eyes Melody’s way.
Melody spoke into a lull in Shawna and Cassidy’s quest to out-cheek the other. “It seems like we’ve entered all-out farm country. Are we getting close?”
“We are,” Ben responded as they pulled past the limits of the town proper. A sense of contentment enveloped him as he drove the last few miles toward home.
“What was it like to grow up on a farm?” Melody asked with curiosity.
Ben felt a warm tug in his chest. Yet another thing he liked about Melody was her genuine interest in his life and the things that mattered to him.
“I had my share of farm chores to do over the years,” he explained, “but I think it’s fair to say that it was pretty idyllic.”
“Idyllic how?” Her voice was sweet and inquisitive.
Ben’s eyes briefly met hers when he glanced in the mirror. He liked the way she was watching him as they spoke. For safety’s sake, he had to keep his eyes on the road, but he enjoyed the intimacy the touch of her eyes lent to their conversation.
“Mount Carroll has a lot of small-town appeal,” Ben explained.
“It’s close enough to Chicago for a day trip, but it’s its own tight-knit community.
Mount Carroll has a lot of beautiful old buildings and historical allure, but it isn’t stuck in the past. I grew up learning about sustainable farming and artisan craftsmanship, going to Broadway-style productions put on by the local theater company, and enjoying a great music scene. ”
“Is your family’s farm organic?” Shawna asked. It was a logical question given what he’d just shared.
“It’s not certified organic, no,” he explained. “My parents seem to be moving in that direction, but they’re not fully there yet. It’s a lengthy process.”
“I imagine,” Melody commiserated.
“They’ve recently built some greenhouses to test out organic farming practices. It’s still in the early stages, but my parents are feeling out the possibilities.”
“Do you raise any cattle?” Cassidy asked.
“That’s right,” Ben thought out loud, “your family owns a farm, too.”
“A cattle ranch, yeah,” Cassidy said.
“My parents keep a small herd for personal consumption,” Ben explained, “but most of our cows are dairy.”
Given all of the dark looks Cassidy had been shooting his way, Ben was pleased to observe they could still enjoy pleasant discourse on neutral subjects. That definitely boded well for their weekend.
“If your parents own a cattle ranch, Eric,” Shawna mused, “why do I rarely see you eating red meat?”
“For one thing,” Eric scoffed, “I can’t cook worth a damn. For another, I’m picky because I know what good beef should taste like.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Shawna.
Cassidy turned his head to look at Ben before asking, “Did your parents flood part of the property so you could have your own personal skating rink during the winter months?”
Ben smiled nostalgically. “They did, actually.”
“I think I’m going to like your parents,” Cassidy said approvingly.
“I certainly hope so, but you’ll find out momentarily since this is us,” Ben said as he turned onto his parents’ driveway and drove toward the large two-story farmhouse he’d grown up in.