Chapter Sixteen
Mazzy
I had a ton of schoolwork to do, but when Ben invited us back to his house for dinner, I couldn’t turn him down. It wasn’t possible—especially when Katty nearly backflipped with excitement at nosing around her Benny’s house.
She was going to crash soon. She’d begun drooping in the car on the way to his house, but every time she nodded off, she’d gasp, look out the window, and ask if we were almost there. Two hours of running around the rugby pitch would do that to a little girl.
She’d had the time of her life, though, and I’d loved every second of watching her. Plus, Nate was easy company and had introduced me to a few players and coaches.
The wildest part? All of them had known exactly who I was. Ben had apparently been chatty, not only about his daughter but me too. I didn’t know how to feel about it. But I was beginning to understand this was part of the whirlwind that was Ben, never knowing up from down and right from left.
I found a parking spot on the street, and Ben was there, opening my back door. He lifted Katty from her seat, and she clung to him like a little monkey, doing her best to look alert while melting against him.
He poked her tummy. “Are you tired, Katty?”
She shook her head. “I’m not tired. I’m never tired. Ever.”
He gawked. “Really? You must be some kind of magician. I get tired every single day. No fair.”
She narrowed her eyes, considering him. “Well, sometimes I’m tired. But not now. I’m awake, and I want to see your house.”
He propped her on his hip and draped his arm around my shoulders when I joined them on the sidewalk. “I’m just down the block. Come on, ladies.”
“She can walk, you know,” I murmured.
He huffed. “Why should she when I’m perfectly capable of carrying her?” Lower, just for me, he added, “I missed out on four years of this. Indulge me a little?”
My heart stuttered. I had no argument, so I smiled at him. “If she doesn’t mind, I don’t either.”
As we approached Ben’s house, he pointed across the street. “My best friends, Bea and Sal, live over there. I’d introduce you, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. Not yet.”
I huffed a laugh. “When’s the right time to overwhelm me?”
He dug his fingers into my shoulder. “When I’ve got you firmly in my clutches and you can’t escape.
” He pointed to a sweet little row home with a wide porch and postage-stamp-sized front yard enclosed behind a low picket fence.
“That’s mine. Roman and Shira live next door.
I’m not going to introduce you to them either. Roman’s still on punishment.”
“How long is that going to last?”
“Don’t know. I’ve got a lot of petty bones in my body, and he danced on every one of them. It could be a while.” His arm slipped from my shoulders to open his gate before he quickly placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me up the path to his porch.
Ben was a lot. There was a good chance I was already overwhelmed. He had this consuming way about him. I had so much to do at home, but I couldn’t seem to think about it with him around. I’d be up most of the night, but right now, I didn’t care.
I’d been so distracted by Ben, I hadn’t noticed in the short walk from my car to his house, Katty had knocked out. Her head was nestled on his shoulder, her fingers clutching his T-shirt.
“Whoa.” Ben bent his neck to look down at our daughter. “She was really tuckered, huh?”
“She was,” I agreed, glancing back at the door. “Maybe we should just go home—”
“No,” he whispered-shouted, clutching Katty closer, like I was going to snatch her from him. “I mean, I have an extra bed. She could nap here for a while. Then we can all eat dinner together. If that’s okay with you.”
He widened his eyes like a puppy, cradling her head in his wide palm. As I hedged, he tilted his nose down to nuzzle her crown, his eyelids lowering to half-mast as he inhaled her scent.
My stomach twisted and turned. How could I deny him when they looked so sweet together?
“It’s okay with me.”
I followed Ben up a narrow staircase, the old wood floors creaking with every step, down a hall, and into a sunny bedroom with a full-size bed, a thick cream rug, a small side table, and a lamp. I moved around Ben to pull back the covers, and he laid Katty on the mattress.
She squirmed and whimpered softly but stayed asleep. After I covered her, we stood over her, staring like a pair of creeps. I did this often, and it was nice to share it with someone else this time.
“Should I take her glasses off?” he whispered.
“Yeah. Otherwise, they might end up on the floor.”
So very carefully, he slid them off, like she was a bomb he was defusing, then placed them on the nightstand and stared at her a little more. Finally, he looked at me and grinned, but he didn’t seem like he had any plans of moving from that spot.
I tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. “Come on.”
With a sigh, he let me pull him out of the room, but once we were in the hall, I didn’t know what to do.
Ben frowned at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Um—” I rolled my lips over my teeth, unsure about revealing my helicopter mom tendencies. “Well, I’m a little worried about her waking up in a strange place while I’m all the way downstairs.”
“Oh.” His brow furrowed as he shoved his hand through the side of his hair. “That makes sense. Let’s hang out in my room. We’ll hear her when she wakes up.”
Ben’s bedroom was two doors down from Katty’s at the top of the stairs. Chances were, he was right; we’d hear her. And if she got out of bed and decided to wander, she’d have to pass by us before she reached the staircase.
He ushered me into his room, flipping on the lights. “Sit, get comfortable. I’m gonna run down and get some snacks and drinks. Be right back.”
He was gone before I could react, leaving me standing in the middle of his bedroom.
I made a small circle, taking it in. His room wasn’t huge, but in a historic house like this, I wouldn’t have expected it to be.
He’d managed to fit a king-size bed framed by imposing four-posters that nearly reached the ceiling.
There was a chunky dresser with a small television on top, two matching nightstands, and a few framed pieces of art on the walls.
I felt strange making myself at home, and with nowhere to sit except his bed, I was right where he’d left me when he came back a couple minutes later, arms laden with water bottles and a tray of snacks.
“What are you doing, silly?” He nudged me toward the bed. “Sit down. Get comfortable. I checked again, and our girl looked like she was still down for the count. I have a feeling we’ll be here a while.”
With a sigh, I kicked my shoes off and circled the massive bed, having to vault myself onto its raised height. It wasn’t cute, and of course Ben had been watching with a crooked grin.
I huffed. “This bed was made for a giant.”
He patted his chest. “Giant. And you’re right. I wasn’t picturing a shorty trying to climb into it when I picked it out. Good thing is, when I watch Bea’s dog, he can’t get his big butt up here. He’s cool and all, but I’m not about sharing a bed with a dog. Not my style.”
I stared at him, my mouth parted. Was this man for real? “How do you have time for all this? Nate said you regularly babysit your nephew. Now you’re telling me you dog-sit too…”
He shrugged. “I make time for things that are important. For me, my friends and family always come first. They all know they’ve moved to the back of the line now.
You and Katty are at the top of my list, and they’re cool with it.
Then again, I wouldn’t be close with them if they were the kind of people who would begrudge me time with my daughter. ”
While I was scrambling to keep up, he offered me a water bottle and set the tray between us, filled with muffins, sliced fruit, packaged protein bars, and veggies and hummus.
He dug in, ripping open a protein bar, while I remained stuck on how easy this seemed for him.
When I really thought about it, though, it made sense.
I had years of resentment I’d had to set aside in an instant, and as hard as I was trying, it was a slow process.
Especially now, witnessing firsthand what could have been.
The way Ben and his family would have been there for us in our toughest times.
He would have shared the sleepless nights with me instead of my father being the one to relieve me.
My father, who’d been sick far longer than any of us had realized.
Ben swallowed and looked over at me. “What’s going on in that mind of yours, Mazz?”
“A lot.” I smiled faintly. “Mostly, how much it sucks that you weren’t there from the beginning.”
“Yeah.” His eyes lowered to his hands. “Believe me, that’s been on my mind nonstop. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the pictures you gave me, wishing I could step into them. It’s going to be hard to let go of, but I’m trying.”
“I am too,” I agreed. “All those years are so tangled with the grief of losing my father; it’s more difficult to let go.”
His forehead crumpled with sympathy. “Was he sick?”
I nodded. “Yes. He was so focused on taking care of me and Katty, he put off going to the doctor for too long. When he finally did…well, it was too late. He went through the treatment, but it kept spreading, then there was nothing else to be done. My aunt offered us a place with her, so we moved here. She took care of him during his final months. Without her…I don’t know how I would have done it. ”
“I’m surprised she didn’t scare the cancer away.”
An unexpected laugh burst out of me. “If anyone could, it would be Aunt Barb.”
He reached across the bed and covered my hand with his. For a beat, I was back on the plane, my hand lost in the black hole of his. It was nice. The memories of those hours we spent together were no longer tainted, and I was pretty sure Ben Wells was exactly who I’d thought he was.
A goofy guy.
A generous person.
A good, good man.