25. Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Ben gripped the small leather book in his hands as he stood by the window. His bedroom had a wonderful view and he should be enjoying it, but the only thing that surfaced was frustration. Even though he knew his name and who his family was, he still didn’t know who he was. And he couldn’t shake the added fear that he had somehow brought all of this on himself, his family, and his clan.
Could this children’s story he held somehow be the reason this all began?
A knock at the door had him turning away from the scenery. “Come in.”
Sienna walked in with a quiet step and a cautious smile. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I was just checking on you. Our meeting earlier was a lot to take in.”
He nodded. “It was.” He hated how careful she was being with him. He didn’t know what their dynamic had been prior to his disappearance other than Tessa’s comment about him helping raise her. “Do you want to sit down for a bit?”
The happiness that filled her eyes at that simple question had him kicking himself for not initiating some time with her sooner. But hell, he’d only been here for a day. He had to remember to cut himself some slack. They sat on the couch.
“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”
“I am.” Should he share more with her? “I’m frustrated at not remembering, but I hope that won’t be for long.” Ben turned to face her. “How are you doing with all this?”
Her eyes widened. “Okay. I’m so happy you’re alive. It’s a miracle.”
He could tell she was holding back. “Except it wasn’t the reunion you would have hoped for since I don’t remember you.” She opened her mouth to protest, and he held up his hands. “You’re allowed to be frustrated, you know. The past fifteen months have been rough on you too.”
Sienna nodded. “You were missing and I held out hope that you were okay. But then when we found the remains in the cave…”
His heart hurt for her. “You thought I was dead and had to move on to help the clan.”
“Yes. As soon as it’s safe to let others know you’re alive, we can revert the clan leadership to you.”
He sat back. That was quick. “Do you not like running the clan?”
She gave him a puzzled look. “No. I…I like it, but it’s not mine to run.”
He shook his head. Had he run some sort of dictatorship? “Says who? I understand from talking with Eric and Marcus that you are doing a great job running the clan. Why would I take that from you?”
Now she was gaping at him. “When your memories are back, you’ll change your mind.”
He shrugged. That sounded a bit controlling. “Maybe or maybe not. We’ll have to see. Did I not have you helping me run the clan?”
She hesitated before responding. “No. You ran it on your own.”
He frowned. “And the company?”
“No. You oversaw that too.”
Hell. “Well that was shortsighted of me.”
And now she was gaping at him again.
“You stepped up and took over the clan when you thought I was dead. Didn’t miss a beat from what I understand. Shame on me for not having you be a part of things. Isn’t that the point of a clan, for us to work together?” Was his ego so big that he felt he had to do everything on his own?
Unlike her half smile from earlier, she beamed at him. “Yes. I always worried about how much weight you had on your shoulders after Father died. You had the clan and the business, and you took care of me.”
He smiled back at her. “Were you one of those teens from hell?”
She laughed. “Not too bad. You didn’t let me get away with too much.”
“Why do I have a feeling I was in over my head?” And how he wished he could remember.
“Maybe.” She held her pointer finger and thumb close together. “Just a little bit. But you were always there for me.”
At least he had done something right. He held out his arms, and she fell into them. He felt dampness on his shirt where her head rested, and he blinked back moisture from his own eyes. “You were here for the clan when I couldn’t be. I don’t know why I thought I had to do everything on my own in the past, but I won’t make the same mistake in the future.”
They sat for a while and talked about a variety of things, from the clan to stories of Sienna’s childhood and everything in between.
He was calmer than he’d been since he’d left Walter’s house. He hoped he would be able to remember who he was and then become a better version of himself for Sienna and the rest of the clan.
Sienna’s phone dinged and she glanced at it. “I’ve got a meeting in a few minutes.”
“Thank you for coming to see me. I needed it.” He hadn’t realized how much.
She beamed at him again. “So did I.” Sienna left and he leaned back on the couch and sighed.
A knock at his door had him sitting up. Had Sienna forgotten something?
Instead of Sienna, Tessa peeked into the room. “Hello. I was going to check on you earlier, but then I saw Sienna heading here. Did you have a good talk with her?”
“Yeah, it was great. She’s amazing.”
Tessa smiled. “She is. She has kicked ass-paragus as clan leader.”
“Asparagus?” He chuckled.
“Yeah. Sorry. I’ve tried to curb my truck-driver mouth with Bella and Lily around, and I can’t just turn it off and on depending on the audience.” She grinned. “Would I have hurt your tender ears if I’d said ‘ass’?”
Oh, the things he wanted to say. “No. I can take it.”
The grin on her face turned wicked, and his heart ticked up.
“Good to know,” she said.
“I thought you were coming to check on me, not give me a hard time,” he said.
She chuckled. “This is nowhere near a hard time.”
He laughed as well. Why did he feel like he could truly breathe when she was close?
“It’s good to see you smile,” she said.
He nodded. “Yeah. To say things have been overwhelming is an understatement.”
“I know. Try not to stress about your memories right now.”
That wasn’t going to work for him. “How can I not? I might have something in my head that could help us find Mia or maybe even break the curse.”
“Ben. This curse is over four hundred years old. This situation isn’t all on your shoulders. You need to learn to let your family help you.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“When I was talking to Sienna earlier, it sounded like I have a tendency to try to do everything myself,” he admitted.
“Yes. I’ve heard the same thing. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Maybe you forgetting who you are is giving you an opportunity to reinvent yourself. That’s not a bad thing.”
“I agree. I said something similar to Sienna.” Especially if he didn’t like himself once he could remember.
“Plus, even though Jonas is digging through things online, I was thinking that we should talk to Evelyn again. I know that Mia didn’t tell her where she was going, but Evelyn knows her better than anyone. Maybe something from her past could help. That’s how we found Evelyn to begin with, right?”
“Right.” This woman was so smart and kindhearted. And so damn sexy when she had a twinkle in her eye.
“You up for playing detective for a little while longer with me?”
“Yes.” Detective, doctor, anything you want, his inner voice said. But he wasn’t sure how she would respond to that suggestion. She’d already told him of her attempts to bludgeon Eric on more than one occasion when he was misbehaving.
“What’s that smile for?” Tessa asked.
“You. Your enthusiasm is contagious.”
She nodded. “You’re one of the few who have been able to keep up with me. Let’s go talk to Evelyn. Maybe she’ll know something to help us.”
At the end of the day, he didn’t know what his past would reveal, but he was beginning to want his future to include the determined firebrand standing in front of him.