Now Ashley had no question in her mind that Catherine and Ben had shared more than just that one kiss. She looked at Ben and saw the blush burning up his neck and cheeks. He was studiously avoiding her eye. She thought the blush was charming but how many women in this neighborhood were involved with him? With the kids at the table this wasn’t the time or place to ask that question… if she ever asked it.
“When you meet Gabriella she has an amazing story to tell- OH! and Rochelle has a white knight tale of her own now!” Catherine gushed with a wicked smile on her face her eyes practically twinkling with mischief as Ben scowled at her.
“Enough!” Ben growled and Catherine tried to suppress her smile but the teens and Ashley visibly twitched in fear. Ben immediately regretted his outburst. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be so loud! Please forgive me.” he said contritely.
Megan saw the fear in the eyes of Madison and Savannah slowly fading and she recalled a film they’d just watched in her social studies class on spouse and child abuse. She recognized the signs the girls and Ashley were displaying. She connected the dots to when she’d discussed the after school activities. The Dad must be the source of the trouble. She wasn’t sure if she should ask them about it. She’d speak to her Mom later.
Ben thought it might be a good time to bow out before he put his foot in his mouth again. “Thank you Catherine for a delightful meal. I think I’m going to head home. I’m beat! Ashley, I’ll be out running errands tomorrow so I don’t know if I’ll see you but I believe Gabriella would like to meet you. I expect to be away until the weekend but if you have any trouble please feel free to contract Tina, Catherine, or Gabriella and they can get in touch with me. Hopefully your husband will get here and resolve the services issue soon.” Ben winced and shook his head as a headache suddenly spiked behind his eyes. He rubbed his temples.
“You ok, Ben?” Megan asked.
“Yeah, just a headache.” he sighed.
“When did that start?” she asked.
“Just now. I should get going. Good night everyone!” He stood up and bowed to Madison, Savannah, and Ashley getting a smile from them. Out of character for the private man he pressed a kiss to Megan’s temple and kissed Catherine on the lips in front of the guests, surprising both Megan and Catherine who popped to her feet and followed him to the front door.
“Are you sure you’re ok, Ben?” she asked, concerned.
He looked back and rubbed his temple. “Yeah, it’s just a headache. Thank you so much for looking after them.” He looked again at her worried, loving eyes and he leaned down and caressed her lips with his and gently nibbled on her lush lower lip. Catherine sucked in a breath and gripped his jacket as tingles shot down her spine. A quick caress of her upper lip with the tip of his tongue fired more sparks and he pulled back with a gentle smile. “Goodnight!”
Catherine’s eyes flared with need. “I thought you said no more kisses like that before we go our separate ways!”
“Oh, right! Well, next time.” he grinned as he stepped outside.
He walked home and went inside. Tina was in the living room and she came to see him when he grimaced and rubbed his temple.
“You are home early. What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I just need a couple of pain killers. Got a headache.” he grumbled. Tina hustled down the hall to the master bathroom as he followed. He sighed as he could have gotten his own pain meds. The sink ran then she was before him with two tablets and a glass of water. He gratefully took them and swallowed the water. He pulled off his clothes and Tina collected them. Then he crawled under the covers.
He opened his eyes and Tina was standing beside the bed looking at him with a worried expression.
“Tina, please! It’s just a headache. I’m going to shut off the light and go to sleep. In the morning I will be fine.” he said and she nodded. She emptied the pockets of his pants onto the dresser and left the bedroom as he shut the light off. Then she dropped his dirty clothes into the laundry bin in the hall. Tina walked back and waited in the hall outside the door until she heard his breathing deepen indicating he was asleep. She made her way to the kitchen and dialed Catherine’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hello Catherine, it is Tina.”
“Is something wrong?” Cat immediately asked.
“No, he took headache medicine and now he is sleeping. Did something happen with Ben at the dinner?” Tina asked.
“No, I don’t think so. He left earlier than I was expecting and I don’t remember Ben ever having a headache before.” Cat said.
“Did he behave differently or strangely?” Tina pressed.
Catherine thought about it. “Well, he was a little distracted earlier but only for a moment. He got the headache later. Aside from that he seemed fine when he left. That man’s kiss takes you half way to the moon! Megan! You didn’t hear that!” she said to the side of the phone. Obviously her daughter was nearby and listening.
Tina actually felt a little better hearing Ben was able to get affectionate with Catherine. That was expected behavior. She sighed and smiled. Tina suddenly recalled she’d been on the phone with Hannah the previous night when Ben had yelled in his sleep. “Thank you Catherine! I will speak with you tomorrow.” she hung up and listened for Ben but there was only silence. She relaxed and finished tidying the kitchen.
Ben was sitting up in bed, his eyes wild and his throat locked in a silent scream. Finally, his body relaxed and he sat there panting and confused. He flopped back down and in seconds he was asleep.
Tina slipped into the room, undressed and got under the covers next to Ben. His body relaxed as she pressed against him and Tina smiled.
Chapter 26
Ben left the bank with house keys in his hand and a smile on his face. He wished all his transactions at the bank went this smoothly. The manager, Dan, was very accommodating to one of his best customers of course. Ben was eager to hand the keys over to Tina for her to explore and he would as soon as he’d done his inspection and had the home’s services restarted.
Climbing into his truck he set course for the custom milling shop to pick up his prototype. Earlier that morning he’d received a note from the tech who’d run his piece through the machine to say it was ready. They were on the outskirts of town in an industrial park so it took a little time to get there.