Chapter Five #2
“I don’t know about any of that,” Ben returned truthfully. “Mr. Hartcourt seems all right. Seems to care about his employees. There’s one guy whom he lets work an adjusted schedule so he can be there for his kid.”
“What are you going to tell him when he asks about your face tomorrow?”
Wally grinned, and Ben chuckled. “I’ll tell him the truth. I acted stupidly and got a broken nose for my trouble.”
Charlotte buried her face in her hands and groaned dramatically. Then she looked pleadingly at Mona. “On that note, I’ll think I’ll help you clean up and be on my way. I want to check in on Ms. Miller before I turn in for the night.”
“I’ll help too,” Ben offered. “It’s the least I can do to thank you for the delicious meal and the hospitality.”
Charlotte pinned him with a stare meant to tell him something — too bad he didn’t know her well enough to figure out what that something was.
She was quick to enlighten him. “It’s not necessary. There’s not many. I can take care of them.”
Mona stood. “There’s no way I’m going to turn down free help with the dishes. I love to cook, but I hate the clean-up. Ben, thank you for agreeing to help Charlotte out. Two pairs of hands can get the job done faster. Come on, Wally. Let’s go find a movie to watch while we wait for these two.”
Ben detected a matchmaker in their midst as Mona winked in his direction before she pulled Wally from the room.
He began collecting the dishes from the table before Charlotte protested further.
Taking them to the kitchen, he lightly scraped the bits of food sticking to the plates into the garbage can.
Charlotte came into the room and looked anywhere but at him.
She pointed to the dishwasher behind him.
“She has a dishwasher, but a couple of her serving pieces aren’t dishwasher safe. The plates and utensils should be though.”
He twisted to glance at her over his shoulder and was rewarded with a view of her rounded ass filling out her black slacks.
She had a petite frame, but certain parts of her body were nice and curvy, like her ass and her tits.
Both would be nice handfuls for him, and Ben felt his cock twitch behind the zipper of his jeans.
He cleared the sudden clog in his throat. “If you’ll just set them by the sink, I don’t mind washing while you dry and put away. You probably have a better idea of where things go than I do.”
“I have a general idea,” she admitted. “Wally and Mona have me over a lot. I think they feel sorry for me.”
“I don’t believe it for a second. I’ve spent the evening watching you with them. You act more like family.”
He was rewarded with a partial smile tweaking the corner of her pink lips.
“I think I’m starting to feel like they’re family. They’ve been good to me.”
Ben filled the sink with sudsy water, watching Charlotte out of the corner of his eye. “How long have you known them?”
He pretended not to notice her hesitation.
“I came to town over a year ago. I noticed an ad where Wally needed someone to clean rooms. I applied, and he took a chance on me. Then he helped me find the apartment at Ms. Miller’s. And the rest is history.”
“What made you decide to settle down in Ivy Springs?”
For a moment, Ben thought she stiffened next to him, but when he glanced at her, she appeared as relaxed as she had been all evening. But something was off. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, and he surprised himself at how much he wanted to figure it out.
“I needed a change, and it reminds me of the town I grew up in.”
An answer that wasn’t really an answer. He was all too familiar with the tactic.
Her explanation was vague while adding a personal touch to keep him from digging deeper.
Anyone else would find her response sufficient, but he’d use the evasive move enough in undercover work to recognize it for what it was.
Ben wondered what she was hiding and why she had needed a change.
“I like small towns too. The feeling that everyone knows everyone else. You’re never alone. There’s security in that,” he said.
Her flinch was hard to miss. Ben hit a nerve with his off-hand comment. His guess was the words alone and security hit a little too close to home. Considering how she reacted to him earlier, he didn’t think it was too much of a leap to guess she was worried for her safety.
The more they talked, the more curious about her he became. The idea of someone threatening or hurting her stirred his protective nature. His busted nose was proof she could handle herself, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to help.
She wiped a dishtowel over the last platter and placed it in the cabinet just above her head. “Well, that’s it. All finished. I’ve got to get going.”
Watching her leave was the last thing he wanted. He had too many questions and a strong urge to get to know her better.
“I’ll walk you out.”
She shook her head, her blond waves bouncing around her face. “No need. Stay. Visit with Wally and Mona some more. They enjoy the company.”
“I have to be going too. I have to be on the job bright and early in the morning.”
She studied his face in silence, and he wondered if she questioned the validity of his words.
He was a pro at hiding the truth from his expression.
He didn’t have to leave early, but he didn’t want to stay without Charlotte.
She wouldn’t know that, though. All she would see on his face was sincerity.
She finally nodded and led the way to the living room, where Wally and Mona were cuddling on the sofa. The couple expressed their displeasure at their guests leaving for the evening. Ben and Charlotte had to promise to return for another meal next week before the couple bid them goodbye.
Once outside, Ben fell into step beside Charlotte, careful to keep a respectable distance between them. A car drove by, the headlights sweeping over them. Their strides carried them to her car first, and she paused beside it, her keys in her hand.
“I am sorry. About before. You’ve been so nice since it happened. I feel bad. I know you have to be hurting, but you don’t act like it.”
Ben tucked his hands in his pockets to keep from pushing her hair back from her face. The urge to touch the strands, to find out for himself how soft they were, was tough to control, and he didn’t want to press his luck by making her uncomfortable with the move.
To distract himself, he tried to put her at ease about his injury.
“When I was fifteen, I was playing football with my brothers. Two of them were on the varsity team at our high school, and they were trying to show our other brother and me some of the team’s plays.
I went running across the yard to catch a pass and misjudged the distance.
The football slammed into my face, and I hit the ground.
I had to have surgery to repair it. Compared to that, this is minor.
I’ll be fine, and you have nothing to feel bad about. ”
Her voice was light, warming him from the inside. “Sounds like your brothers are rough.”
“Yep. Rough and tough, as our dad always said. They’re older and pains in my ass, but I wouldn’t take anything for them. They’re the best. Just don’t tell them I said so.”
She chuckled. “You must miss them.”
“I do sometimes, but we’re accustomed to spending time apart. What about you? Do you see your family a lot?”
She sighed, the forlorn sound making him want to wrap her in his arms. “It’s just me.”
Her car beeped as she used her key fob to disengage the locks. “Goodnight, Ben.”
He reached for the door handle before her and pulled it open. “Goodnight, Charlotte. Even with the broken nose, it’s been nice meeting you.”
He waited until she climbed inside before gently closing her door.
Once she was driving down the road, he walked to his truck.
He considered following her, but he managed to resist the impulse.
Turning his Tahoe toward the Skyline Motel, he tried to push thoughts of Charlotte away.
Though she was more pleasant to think of, he wouldn’t be distracted from the case.
A little boy’s welfare depended on him keeping his focus and doing his job to the best of his ability. Then when it was done, maybe he could turn his attention to the pretty blond housekeeper who was hiding a secret.