“You’re right, I hadn’t heard any of this before, and she certainly didn’t tell me,” Ben said. “Not that it would have made a difference,” he mumbled uncomfortably.
“I know! That’s why you’re the perfect man to reintroduce her to sex!” Trish said with a grin.
Ben rolled his eyes. “Enjoy your run. I’m going to keep walking now.”
“I love you, Ben,” Trish said, and Ben stopped to look into her eyes.
“I love you too, Trish. Now, stop embarrassing me.”
Trish burst into a delighted laugh as she set off with Rain, who was looking back at Ben with a happy grin.
Ben shook his head and sighed. He knew the moment he said it that there was no way Trish would stop pushing his buttons.
He continued walking and saw Jayden rushing out to his car. Heading off to work, Ben supposed.
Jayden caught his eye. “Ben! Can I come talk to you later tonight?” Jayden called out, halfway into his car.
“Uh, sure! I’ll be home!” he answered and got a wave from Jayden, who got in and drove off.
Ben remembered that Jayden would be one of Dominic’s team picked up by the other construction company. He might have asked him about getting the team for the new build but speaking with Dominic would likely yield the same answers.
As he continued along, he noted that Rochelle’s home could use some updating and made a mental note to touch base with her later to see if she might be interested.
Standing before One Ashburn Court, he pondered the issue of Tatiana. Every time he thought he had a handle on how to deal with her, she changed her attack. He’d promised Gabriella he wouldn’t get involved with emotionally unstable women and Tatiana certainly fit that definition.
With a sigh, he crossed the road and admired the work he, Dominic, and Dan Bishop had done with Two Ashburn Court, the Spa.
He had to admit, he liked the nickname.
As he was looking at the building, the front door opened, and two men in uniforms climbed down the stairs and walked briskly towards him.
“Mr. Shepherd?” one called out.
“Yes,” Ben replied, and they reached the sidewalk.
The man who spoke thrust out his hand. “I’m Lieutenant Ashton,” he glanced at the other man. “Leader of SEAL Platoon Five.” Ben shook the man’s hand, then accepted the hand of the other sailor.
“Lieutenant Gage, leader of Platoon Three. I’ve been informed that you are a man of discretion and can be trusted to not disclose any information about our presence or activities at this location.”
Ben snorted and smiled as he held the man’s eyes. “Yes, that’s an accurate statement. However, you should note that this is a residential neighborhood, and I’m not the only occupant. Many families live here. There’s also a daycare in Ten Ashburn Court with parents from the surrounding neighborhoods dropping off and picking up their children.
I’ve made an agreement with General Davis to work on his engineering projects, and he gets to rotate troops through this location. But there can be no visible or overt sign of a military presence on the street. His troops run night exercises in the forest and enter that by going around the wall. The men are welcome to exercise in the park, but no visible weapons. Kids play there too.”
Gage nodded. “Yes, we’ve been briefed on the expected and acceptable activities.” Ben nodded and saw the men share another glance. “We couldn’t help notice the rather impressive structure rising up behind your home.”
Ben glanced down the street and smiled at the tower that housed the indoor kid’s play center and jungle gym. “Yes, it was a lot of fun to design and build that.”
The men shared a look. “It has quite the deck on top.”
Ben grinned. “Captain Kendricks indicated it has plenty of space for a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to land, with room to deploy personnel.”
The Lieutenants took another look at the structure and frowned. “Hovering,” Nelson clarified.
Ben shook his head. “No, land. The structure supporting the deck and the deck itself are extremely strong. I prefer to over-engineer structures I design as you never know when you might need to land a helicopter on your rooftop barbecue area. Maybe even a Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.”
They looked surprised, then glanced at each other again. “We wondered if you might be willing to let us use the structure for some night-time maneuvers.”
Ben looked at them in surprise. “What kind of maneuvers?”
“Zip-line drills.”
Ben was still confused. “Zip-lines? From the tower to where? Not into the court,” he insisted.
“No, into the surrounding forest. When we arrived yesterday, we saw the structure and sent scouts into the woods. They mapped out two clear paths from the top of the deck to locations deep in the forest,” Gage indicated.
Ben’s mind was sifting through the logistics of their request. “If you intend to leave the zip-line in place, connected to the trees for the two weeks you’re here, you’ll probably need a permit of some kind from the US National Park Service. The forest surrounding us is owned by them.”
“That won’t be an issue,” Gage declared.
Ben frowned. “You’ll need access to the interior to climb up to the top platform.”
“Is it only accessible from inside the house?” Ashton asked.
Ben shook his head. “No, the tower’s interior can be accessed by a door from the backyard. That’s how the daycare team gains access to the jungle gym during the week. There is a locked interior door between the playroom and the house.” He considered their request. “In principle, I don’t have an issue with you using the tower for this purpose. I’d want a signed agreement that any damages to my property from this usage would be repaired to my satisfaction. I’d also need a waiver from you accepting responsibility for any and all risks from the activities performed from my property.”
“Agreed,” Gage said immediately.
“However, before I agree to this, we need to determine the answer to one critical question. Will the Zip-Line generate noise that can be heard within the house? After all, we’ll be trying to sleep during the time interval in question.”
The two lieutenants looked at each other. “We could set up the line and run a test.”
Ben nodded slowly. “Come by after lunch. As it’s pointing away from the court, a couple of tests shouldn’t disturb anyone,” Ben suggested.
“Thank you, sir,” Ashton said.
“Ben is fine. Don’t forget to bring the agreement and waiver.”
Both men nodded with smiles.
“See you this afternoon, Ben,” Ashton said.
He waved and continued his way back toward his home. He wanted to stop and speak to Dominic, but he should be getting back to talk to Shelly first. It was still early, so when he eventually stepped back in his front door, Shelly was just walking down the hall toward the kitchen dressed in Ben’s dressing gown. She smiled at him shyly as she pulled the sides of the large garment tight around her.
“Good morning,” she said softly. Her eyes darted to his face to see his expression.
“Good morning, Shelly. Sleep well?” he asked with a gentle smile of his own.
Her lips picked up a wide smile as she nodded to him. “Very well. Better than I have in a long time.”
She paused, and he could tell she wasn’t sure what to do. He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug, and he heard her breath gust out as she must have been holding it. She clung to him a little tightly as well.
When he pulled back, she was a little slow to release him and her face tilted up immediately. Ben paused for the briefest moment before capturing her lips with his for a sweet kiss. Her eyes were twinkling happily as she turned and walked into the kitchen.
Tina turned her head to smile at her and Ben. He saw her notice the joy on Shelly’s face and the concern on Ben’s as he walked in behind the blonde.
Ben was worried how she might react to his saying he wasn’t interested in adding another woman to his… entourage? Harem? Shit! What did he even call it?
Now that he knew the fragility of her emotions, he was hesitant to say anything she might construe as rejection. He was grateful Trish was there this morning to let him know, but maybe he should have known earlier?
Ben walked over to give Tina a kiss, then went to the table to kiss the kids.
Lucy walked in with Gretchen, so he gave them both a kiss, then took his spot at the table. Lucy got Gretchen situated in her highchair, then assisted Tina with getting the children their breakfast. He saw Shelly watching him with a smile on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“You really are a devoted family man,” she said, smiling.