“Right, that’s what you heard. Karen Shepherd and Penny Shepherd are my daughters and as any good father would,” Ben nodded to Dominic who grinned widely, “I’ll be watching out for their best interests.”
Jayden’s head snapped back to look at Ben who leaned in a little closer. “We’ll talk about this later,” Ben said quietly.
Karen handed the containers to Dominic and Penny handed hers to Ben then the ladies hurried over to Ashley’s place to get a lift to school. Karen glanced over her shoulder a few times to look back at Jayden who was still frozen like a deer caught in the headlights.
“You did it all wrong! You adopted girls and moved past all the fun stuff of watching them grow to begin at the hard part of protecting them from boyfriends!” Dominic’s laugh boomed out. Ben grimaced and his scar flared. Dominic’s eyes went wide. “Crap! You can scare them away with that scar!”
“Ha. You are a million laughs Dominic,” Ben said sourly as the man chuckled. He turned to Jayden who was still a little starry eyed. “Earth to Jayden! If you see any sign of those young men you are not to associate with you find one of us and let us know immediately.”
Jayden nodded.
“The services are all shut off to the house. No power, water, or gas. We’re going in to salvage the existing fixtures. Let us know when the excavation crew arrives.
Ben popped open the container and grabbed a few cookies. He offered the container to Jayden who grabbed three cookies as well. Ben left the container on the table Dominic set up beside his truck then they headed inside. He popped one of the cookies in his mouth and chewed the sweet treat with a smile on his face. He looked over at Jayden who was eating with a thoughtful expression. Ben had his tool box inside the front door. He picked it up and they walked through the house to the kitchen.
“We’ll take the kitchen sink, the taps, and the ceiling light fixture from this room. Be careful removing the items so they are in good enough condition to donate. You start with the light. There is a step ladder by the front door. Tools in the box.”
Ben got to work on the sink and made quick work of disconnecting the taps and the sink mount from under the cabinet. He crawled out and saw Jayden was almost done with the light. He helped him bring it down safely then got him to help lift the sink out. They carried the stuff outside to put them in the back of Dominic’s truck. Then they stopped to grab a few more cookies.
“Karen, she makes good cookies,” Jayden said casually.
Ben looked over at Jayden and saw the curiosity burning in the young man.
“Did your Mom give you the back story for the girls?” Ben asked. Jayden shook his head. Ben imagined he stopped listening once he heard there were more women in his house. He walked back towards the house and Jayden followed. Ben stopped when they were in the foyer and looked Jayden in the eye.
“Karen and Penny were likely runaways when they were really young. We couldn’t find any information about their abduction or the abduction of children who looked like them in the date ranges we worked out. The bastard who grabbed them abused them, kept them as playthings, forced them to undergo painful operations to change how they looked for his amusement. They didn’t have a childhood and next year they were going to be murdered because he’d grown tired of them. They’d become ‘too old’ at 25.”
Jayden’s eyes were wide as he absorbed the story.
“I’m not telling you this because I want you to pity them. They don’t need pity. What they need is patience, compassion, respect, and understanding. Penny is having an easier time picking up a new life. Karen is still trying to find her place. I’m hopeful,” Ben sighed. “It’s obvious you’re attracted to Karen.”
Jayden scowled as he expected Ben’s harsh words.
“Do you think you’re the man she needs in her life right now? Do you know how to be?” Ben asked gently instead.
The questions caught him off guard and he stared at Ben’s back as the big man walked away. After a moment he followed and saw Ben had moved into the only bathroom in the house.
“We’re going to take the taps, the sink, the toilet, the medicine cabinet, the light fixture, the door knobs, and I’m keeping this old cast iron soaker tub. I’m going to fix it up and put it back in the refurbished home. We’ll need help carrying this out and from the look of that narrow doorway we may need to do a little demo to get it out.”
They spent the better part of an hour removing the items and carrying them out to the truck before one of Dominic’s workers informed them that the excavation team had arrived. Ben had just finished disconnecting the tub. He walked out side with Jayden who was looking a little tired.
The heavy equipment had arrived so it was time to take a break as the excavator made its way to the backyard.
Jayden was fidgeting and glancing at Ben. Finally Ben couldn’t take it any longer.
“What?”
He paused. “What- what kind of man would I have to be?” he finally said.
Ben looked at Jayden with a serious expression. “Before you can answer that you have to ask yourself what kind of man have you been. Be brutally honest with yourself. If you can’t be honest with yourself how can you be honest with others? Spend some time on that. When you have that answer come to speak with me. Tomorrow.” He walked off to speak with Dominic.
“How goes it with the boy?” the contractor asked.
“Early days. He’s been a good worker so far though,” Ben admitted.
“Hey Ben! The guys want to know if you got the same caterers you had on the daycare job?” Hector called out.
“Never you mind the caterers. I don’t need a team of fat sluggish workers!” Dominic called back. When Hector walked away to deliver the bad news Dominic turned to Ben. “Who did you get to make lunches?” he asked quietly.
“You’ll just have to wait another hour to see,” Ben grinned. “Is it safe for us to go back in yet?”
“Just as soon as the dump truck gets into the backyard, sure.”
“I’ll need some guys to help carry out the tub,” Ben said.
“I’ll ask Hector.”
Ben walked back to Jayden who wasn’t looking too happy. The truck was in so Ben gestured for him to follow.
He picked up a cordless reciprocating saw and a sledgehammer. Jayden’s eyes lit up.
They made it back to the washroom and Ben handed Jayden the hammer. “I’m going to cut a notch out of the door frame and I’ll need you to break it out into the hallway.” That got a smile from the young man.
Ben use a power driver to remove the hinge screws and Jayden carried the door outside and returned to see Ben making short work of the door frame. He made four deep cuts, two to a side, then stood back.
He stepped out into the hall and gestured for Jayden to begin. “Knock out the sections between the cuts. Put your safety glasses on first.”
Jayden’s first swing was anticlimactic as the hammer bounced off. He looked at Ben with embarrassment.
“Not as easy as it looks, right? Take a secure grip on the hammer and swing as hard as you can. Don’t aim for the surface. Aim through the wall, about four inches beyond. Keep your grip firm but not a death grip,” Ben suggested.
Jayden nodded and took a deep breath. This time his swing went through the wall, across the hall, and embedded itself in the drywall there.
Ben grinned and Jayden’s scowl wobbled as he struggled not to laugh.
“It’s slightly euphoric to hit stuff with a big hammer isn’t it,” Ben remarked and Jayden nodded as his smile finally won. “Try again and this time just a little more death grip.”
Jayden retrieved the hammer and managed to knock out the section of the doorjamb in one swing. Four workers showed up behind Ben and Jayden had it down now so he blew through the remaining section in just two swings. The guys cheered as they knew that demo was the best part of renovations! Jayden smiled at them then helped clear the debris from the hall.
It took all of them to carefully manoeuver the tub outside and carry it over to Ben’s to put it in the garage. As they walked back they saw the gourmet food truck parking in front of the day care. A cheer went up from the crew who hustled over to the truck. A police cruiser followed the truck into the neighborhood. Ben waved them down and walked to the curb. Jayden hung back with a frown on his face.
“Good day officers. There’s been no sign yet of the men Jayden is to avoid. We’re all keeping an eye out.” He received a nod for that. “If it’s lunch time you can place an order at the food truck. It’s covered.” That earned him smiles and the driver shut off the engine as his partner called in. Ben nodded and continued on his way to the truck.
“You invited them to lunch?” Jayden hissed.
Ben frowned at him. “I think you’re mistaking them for the enemy. I’ve dealt with more police than you have both here and overseas and I can say that while they’re subject to the same human failings as anyone, I’d far rather have the law on my side. Showing respect and courtesy costs nothing and yields good will. We can all use a little more of that.”
Jayden looked troubled as they reached the back of the line.
“Are you the crime you committed or are you Jayden King?” Ben asked him quietly.
Eyebrows went up as he looked at Ben. “I- I’m Jayden King.”
“I think you’re still discovering who that is,” Ben said.
Jayden gave Ben an evaluating look. “Are you trying to be some kind of Zen Master?”
“Depends. Is it working? Are you thinking deep thoughts?” Ben smiled faintly.
Jayden turned away so Ben wouldn’t see his smile but Ben recognized the motion for what it was and felt a little burst of satisfaction.
Lunch was incredible! Mexican burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos all with a gourmet flair. Delicious and filling! Ben got huge grins from the crew and Dominic lamented they were being spoiled rotten. This made the team cheer for Ben.
The excavation crew alternated through the lunch hour taking turns to keep the steady flow of trucks coming and going. Each driver gave his order so when they returned for the next load their food was waiting for them.
There was an embarrassing moment for Ben during lunch when Lisa and Lori came out of the daycare to speak with him. They were still worried about the state they’d left him in the previous day. Conversation amongst the crew quieted significantly as attention swung to the two beauties who walked up to Ben and gently pulled him aside to whisper their questions. He gave them assurances once more that they’d been wonderful and he was fine. Then he told them they could order lunch from the truck for themselves and the other staff if they liked. They squealed and jumped up to kiss him then looked very contrite as they saw his embarrassed scowl. They rushed back into the daycare and came out minutes later to place the orders. They apologized to Ben but were so nervous they’d fucked up they wouldn’t leave until he gave them a kiss.
Ben dropped himself on a chair next to Dominic’s truck and suffered the man’s wide eyed smile. The crew was looking at him in a new light as well.
“These are NOT your daughters,” Dominic said quietly.
“No,” Ben growled and received a chuckle. Jayden watched his discomfort.
The dump truck driver called out to Dominic and indicated that was the last load. Now his crew could begin in earnest. He, Hector, Ben and Jayden walked into the backyard once the excavator made its way out. They looked at the plans once more and Ben explained how the new foundation would be integrated with the old and how it would support the two stories. An oversized deck with a six seater hot tub on it would extend beyond the new addition.
Once they confirmed the plan Ben and Jayden returned to their salvage job inside the house. They spent most of the afternoon removing bits of the house that would be donated to the community housing agency.