CHAPTER 22 KAYLEE
It’s luxurious here. I spent a few hours after our hike last night online doing things for Ellie, and Ben spent the morning working out while I worked.
I sat on the deck and felt extra productive as I checked everything off the list Ellie sent me.
Maybe it’s the cool mountain air, or maybe it’s the fact that the only distractions out here are the occasional deer running by in the distance or the birds singing their tunes.
I never want to leave.
Obviously, I’ll have to. We have Jack and Kate’s wedding coming up plus our heaven will be interrupted for a few weeks when my family comes out to stay a while.
Still, though. It’s literal perfection here, and I haven’t heard the name Billy Peters since we arrived. It’s like all my troubles were carried away on a breeze, and I feel so damn much lighter for it.
“Want to head into town for lunch?” he asks when he meets me on the deck after his workout. He’s sweaty and he’s not wearing a shirt and it’s the only sort of acceptable distraction.
I close my laptop lid. “Sure,” I say, not hiding the fact that I can’t stop staring at his body.
He chuckles. “Want to fuck first?”
I pretend to wipe some drool from my mouth. “Uh, okay.”
“Let me grab a quick shower, and then I’ll grant your wish.”
I laugh. “On the kitchen counter?”
His eyes light up. “Absolutely.”
And he doesn’t disappoint.
After he ravishes me, we get in the Scout and head toward Great Falls. I’m pretty sure my toes are still tingling from the mind-blowing orgasm he delivered when I hop down out of the SUV nearly ninety minutes later, and I’m starving.
We’re on what looks to be the main road through downtown, a row of retail with boutiques and restaurants at our disposal. He walks up to a place with Chevy’s Sports Bar in bright, neon lights on top and he holds the door open for me.
We walk in and the old man behind the counter immediately stops what he’s doing when he glances up. He steps around the counter and envelopes Ben in a big hug. He’s tall like Ben, but he’s more filled out, and he’s got a mustache that reminds me of Sam Elliott.
“Benny Boy!” he exclaims jovially. “And a lovely lady,” he says, his eyes falling to me.
“Uncle Chevy!” Ben exclaims, mirroring his uncle’s tone. “Uncle Chevy, this is Kaylee. Kaylee, Uncle Chev. He’s my dad’s much older brother.”
Uncle Chevy welcomes me into his place with a hug of my own. “Not that much older,” Chevy clarifies, clearly carrying on some inside joke between the family members.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I say, and he nods as he takes a step back.
“How’s Jeb?” Chevy asks.
“Living the dream,” Ben says. “I’m pretty sure he’s dating her mom.” He puts finger quotes around the word dating, making it clear what that word is code for. My stomach turns a little.
We take a seat at the bar. It’s mostly empty in here at lunchtime on a Thursday, but Ben assures me the crowd picks up around happy hour.
Chevy looks a lot like his brother, but his personality seems to be Jeb’s opposite in a lot of ways.
He’s boisterous and loud, which reminds me a lot of Ben…
but I still see a lot of Jeb in him, too.
He’s funny and kind, and he likes to rib Ben, who dishes it right back.
It’s clear there’s a lot of love between the family members.
“What can I get you two?” Chevy asks after they play catch up a while.
“Two house specials,” Ben says, ordering for me. He scans the beer on tap. “And I’ll take a Bud.” He glances at me. “You want anything to drink?”
“I’ll take a Bud, too,” I say with a wink. “Make mine light, though.”
Chevy chuckles, and he disappears back toward the kitchen to put in our orders.
“So how long has your uncle owned this place?” I ask.
“A little over six years,” he says.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You bought it for him, didn’t you?”
“Guilty as charged.” He taps the bar and looks down at it with his eyes on his hands. “I guess I always thought you should take care of the ones who took care of you.”
“How did he take care of you?”
Chevy comes out from the back and pours us each a beer from the taps we requested. He set them in front of us. “Are you staying until your mama’s wedding?”
“No,” Ben says. “We need to head back to Vegas for a few days, but then I’ll be back here after that for a few more weeks.”
“You met the guy she’s marrying yet?”
Ben shakes his head. “You?”
Chevy nods. “He’s been in a few times. Don’t think he knows I am your mom’s ex brother-in-law, but it’s been so long now I’m not sure it really matters anymore.”
“Ask Jeb that same question and see if he thinks it still matters,” Ben says.
“Good point, kid.”
Chevy fills Ben in on the town gossip and catches him up on everything he’s missed in the months it’s been since the last time he was in town. It’s not long before Chevy excuses himself to the back to check on our food.
Ben glances at me. “To answer your question from earlier, when my parents were going through the roughest times, I’d stay the night at his house. He and my aunt were like a second mom and dad to me when I needed them.”
“He sounds like a good guy.”
“The best,” he muses.
“And your aunt?” I ask.
“Died seven years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, even though I know it’s not enough.
He shakes his head. “You can pay for the best care, but there are just certain things you can’t fight no matter how hard you try.
For her, she fought until the bitter end as hard as she could to stay with my uncle Chevy.
They never had kids even though they tried a long time, and in a lot of ways they took me on as theirs and I am forever grateful to them for it. ”
Chevy appears with plates and he sets them in front of us. Apparently the house special is a double bacon cheeseburger with a huge side of French fries.
A couple other customers walk in, pulling Chevy’s attention away from us for the time being. The new people who walk in spot Ben and issue hugs, and even though the population of this town is nearly sixty thousand, it has a small-town feel to it like everybody knows everybody.
We’re left in peace to eat, and Chevy swings by to check on us and to let us know our lunches are on the house. Ben leaves a few hundreds on the counter as a generous tip and we slip out while Chevy is taking care of some other customers.
I have a feeling we’ll be back to see Chevy again before we head back to Vegas, but it still feels an awful lot like Ben is no good at goodbyes.
That doesn’t bode well for the future.
“Are you ready to meet my mom?” he asks once we’re both buckled in.
I shrug. “Bring it.”
“I love how you are always up for adventure. No matter what I throw at you, you’re into it.” He fires up the engine.
“Growing up as the little sister of the Dalton brothers, I sort of had to be adaptable. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget the time I had to miss my Homecoming because Jack was in town to play the Lions.
” I shrug. “You just kind of get used to taking things as they come and giving up what you have to in order to make everyone else happy.”
“Which Homecoming was it?” he asks.
“My sophomore year of high school. I was fifteen and crushing hard on this one boy who asked me to be his date. I had already accepted, we had reservations at an Italian place, and I found the perfect hot pink dress with a strapless top and a big, puffy skirt…and then I found out we were having dinner with Jack. The look of disappointment on my dad’s face that I was going to miss our family dinner—even though Luke wasn’t going to be there—was enough for me to feel like I didn’t have any other choice but to cancel my plans.
I invited my date to skip Homecoming and come to dinner with me, but he wanted to go to the dance. ”
Ben turns toward me and tilts his head for a beat before his eyes move back to the road. “His loss.”
“The real irony is that he started dating the girl he ended up taking to the dance, and he knocked her up junior year. They both had to miss senior Homecoming since she was in the hospital giving birth.”
Ben chuckles. “Are they still together?”
I shake my head. “They broke up the summer after graduation. Gosh, that kid must be six by now. I haven’t thought about them in years.”
He turns down another street and nods out the window. “Speaking of high schools, there’s mine,” he says. He sighs as he stares out at the buildings that make up the school. “They retired my football number and my jersey hangs in the gym. We won state titles all four years I played.”
“They must be proud of their hometown hero,” I muse.
“They make a pretty big deal out of it. I usually swing by practice at some point if the coaches are around when I’m in town. My old coach is still the head coach here.”
I glance at his profile. “I bet the boys love it when you stop by.”
He shrugs. “It’s got its plusses and minuses.”
I wonder what the minuses could be, but before I can ask, he pulls into a driveway.
“Here’s Mom’s house,” he says. He cuts the engine and stares at the house a few beats. It’s a modest ranch, and I look at the cookie cutter houses on either side of it.
One of those belongs to his ex-girlfriend…the only other woman he ever loved. The woman who caused him so much damage that he still hasn’t fully recovered today.
I’m not just interested to meet his mom. I’m also interested to meet the ex.