Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Ben gripped the steering wheel of the rental car, his knuckles whitening with each silent mile that passed.
Kelly sat beside him, turned toward the passenger window, her profile etched in stark relief against the passing streetlights.
The twenty-minute drive from the restaurant back to the condo stretched into an eternity of awkward silence.
He had tried small talk about the food, the wine, even the weather, but each attempt had been met with single-word responses or, worse, nothing at all. Something had happened at the rehearsal dinner, but he was damned if he knew what it was.
All he knew was that the tension radiating from her was loud and clear. Her shoulders were tense, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Gone was the woman who had laughed with him last night, and in her place was this closed-off stranger who seemed to vibrate with barely contained emotion.
What had happened in the short time they'd been separated? She'd gone to the restroom, and when she returned, she'd been different. Distant. Cold.
"Almost there," he said, breaking the silence as they turned onto the street where the condo was located.
Kelly nodded but said nothing. The slight movement was the only indication she'd heard him at all.
The evening had started well enough. Despite Kelly's anxiety about the event, they'd arrived on time, and Ben had done his best to act as a buffer between her and her more critical family members.
He'd thought he was doing a good job until she disappeared after talking with her father.
When she returned, something fundamental had changed.
What on earth had her father said?
Ben pulled into a parking space near the condo entrance. Kelly was out of the car almost before he'd turned off the engine, grabbing her small clutch and striding toward the building without waiting for him. He watched her go, confusion and concern battling for dominance in his mind.
By the time he caught up, she was already unlocking the condo door. He followed her inside, keeping a careful distance as she tossed her purse onto the counter with enough force to send it sliding across the smooth surface and into the wall.
"Kelly," he said, his voice soft but firm. "What's wrong? You've hardly said two words since we left the restaurant."
She stood with her back to him for a long moment, her shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. When she turned, her eyes flashed with anger.
"What's wrong? You want to know what's wrong?" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "My father pulled me aside tonight to tell me he'd been investigating you."
Now Ben was genuinely confused. He lived a pretty damn boring life.
"Investigating me? Why would he do that?"
Although it wouldn’t be unheard of for a parent to investigate the person in their child’s life. It sounded like something his Uncle Dare would do when it came to his two daughters.
"To protect me, apparently." Her laugh was brittle, humorless. "He told me all about your father, the famous sheriff who caught Wade Bryson and later helped capture his son. About the danger that follows your family."
The pieces clicked together in Ben's mind. His father's cases, his reputation, and the media attention that had followed their family for years. It had ramped up again a few years ago when Hollywood had tried to make a movie.
Then another killer had sprung up, one of Wade Bryson’s many disciples. The movie production had ended with a whimper, and not too many people were looking to bring it back to life.
But he’d never thought that “danger followed his family” at all. He couldn’t argue that his Uncle Logan might be a target, but Ben himself?
He didn’t lose any sleep over it.
"Kelly, I never hid who my father is from you. I told you he was Sheriff Seth Reilly from Montana."
"You never mentioned that he put away two serial killers. That people tried to kill him for revenge. That your family had to live with that kind of danger.”
Her voice rose with each accusation, and Ben felt a surge of frustration. He'd never intentionally kept any of this from her. It simply hadn't come up in their whirlwind of murder investigation and unexpected attraction.
Why was she so pissed off about this?
"Your dad probably didn’t have to do too much investigating because I’m not keeping any secrets," he said, genuinely perplexed by her reaction. “I'm Ben Reilly, and I've never lied to you. I told you that I'd tell you more about my family, but we got diverted last night.”
"Oh, so this is my fault?"
Was she just looking for a fight? Because while he was trying to keep calm for both of them, he wasn’t going to let her make him the asshole in this situation either.
"There is no one at fault," Ben replied, working to keep his voice level. "I'm saying there was no deliberate deception. My father is who he is. I'm not ashamed of him or his work."
"That's not the point.” Kelly paced across the living room, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. "The point is that you kept this from me while knowing exactly what I do for a living. You knew I'd recognize the Bryson cases. You knew, and you chose not to tell me."
“It's not like I was hiding some deep, dark secret. My father's cases are public record. Anyone with Google could find the information in five minutes."
"Then why didn't you mention it? When I told you about my podcast, when we started working on Lori's case together, why keep quiet about your own connection to famous murder cases?"
The accusation stung. Ben's hands opened and closed at his sides, a physical manifestation of his growing frustration. He didn't like being cornered, didn't like being made to defend himself against charges that felt unfair.
"I didn't think it was relevant," he said finally. "My father's cases have nothing to do with what happened to Lori."
"Nothing to do with it?" Kelly's voice was sharp, incredulous. "You have firsthand experience with violent crime investigations through your family, and you didn't think that was relevant to mention?"
"I wasn't trying to hide anything," Ben insisted, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he fought to remain calm.
"And as far as firsthand experience, I have none.
I was a kid when my dad helped bring in Wade Bryson, and a teenager when he helped bring in the son.
I have never, personally, worked on a murder investigation.
And frankly, it just didn't come up because while I might have heard about more murders than your average person, I’ve solved exactly zero cases.
Besides, we were focused on your friend, on your investigation.
My family history didn't seem important at the time. "
"Not important," Kelly repeated flatly. "You didn't think your father, being a legendary sheriff who solved multiple murder cases, was important information to share with someone investigating an unsolved murder?"
Put that way, it did sound like an obvious omission. Ben took a deep breath, trying to see the situation from her perspective. But the implication that he'd deliberately deceived her still rankled.
"Look," he said, "I can see how it might look from your side. But I promise you, there was no hidden agenda. It's just a fact about my family that hasn't come up yet. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on my dad’s accomplishments, especially now that he’s retired. I don’t think of him as a legendary lawman; he’s just my dad. "
"You kept it from me," Kelly shot back. "My father somehow knew before I did."
And there it was. The real source of her anger wasn't just that he hadn't shared this information, but that her father had discovered it first, using it to catch her off guard, to make her feel foolish.
Ben's frustration softened slightly at this realization, but he still wasn’t going to take all of the blame.
"I'm sorry your father ambushed you with this," he said quietly. "That wasn't fair to you. But please don't turn this into something it isn't. I wasn't keeping secrets from you."
"No?" Her eyes were bright with unshed tears now. "Then what would you call it?"
Shit, he hated it when women cried.
"I'd call it two people who met less than a month ago still learning about each other," Ben replied, his voice growing firmer with conviction. "I'd call it normal. Not everything has to be revealed in the first few days of knowing someone."
"You know that's not what this is about."
"Then tell me what it is about," Ben challenged, his patience beginning to fray at the edges. "Because from where I'm standing, you're making a huge deal out of something that shouldn't matter at all. I am not my father. Are you upset that he’s not here helping us?"
"And what about the things you keep to yourself?" Ben asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "Are you being completely honest about everything? Or are there parts of your life you haven't shared yet?"
He saw Kelly's expression shift, her eyes widening slightly. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but frustration pushed him forward.
"Like Lori? She kept secrets, too, didn't she? Is that what this is about? You’re pissed at Lori and taking it out on me."
The comparison hung in the air between them, sharp and dangerous. Kelly's face flushed with indignation.
"No, this isn't like Lori," she fired back, her voice rising. "I thought you were different, but you're just like everyone else. Twisting things around, making it my fault somehow."
Ben stepped back, physically creating space between them. He needed to take a deep breath before this all boiled over.
"I'm not twisting anything," he insisted. "I'm pointing out that everyone has things they don't immediately share. It doesn't make them liars."