“Which reminds me, what were you doing at my house last night?”
Ben tried to be casual when he hunched one shoulder. He’d hoped she’d forget about that in all the chaos. Since confession was good for the soul, he said, “I’ve been sleeping on your beach.”
“What?” She jerked forward so hard her seatbelt locked. She twisted around to face him. “Sleeping on my beach?”
Ben nodded. “I knew Watson was escalating and I wanted to be on hand if he freaked out.”
“You told me he was on the run. You said I didn’t have to worry so much.”
“You didn’t. I was worrying for you.”
“Ben, for heaven’s sake, it’s freezing outside.”
Ben curled up one corner of his mouth and controlled a shiver. “Tell me about it.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Since the first night he was parked across from your driveway.”
Tru counted. “That’s weeks.” She stared out the window, then glanced at him as if she were a little afraid. “It’s rained.”
“Much as I hated the idea, I was really rooting for him to crack up and attack you.”
“Ben!”
“Well, I was freezing! I don’t know if I’d have lasted much longer.” He would have. Dynamite couldn’t have blasted him off that beach as long as Tru was in danger. “Of course, I did have an insulated sleeping bag, a waterproof tent and thermal everything.”
“How’d you haul all that in with you?”
“It’s been stored in your garage the whole time.” Ben frowned at her. “Eleanor knew. You aren’t very observant.”
Tru rolled her eyes. “I’m not used to being a crime victim.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Then tonight I didn’t even see him go in. We found his laptop and he had the code to your security system. I found a note with your handwriting in his car with the code written down. I guess he got it the night he vandalized the place.”
“You know, you don’t have to drive me to work anymore.”
Ben nodded. Rats! She was using her brain again. “So, instead of riding with me to work because you have to…” Ben sent her his most charming smile. “How about riding with me because you want to?”
He pulled into a parking space.
Tru unbuckled her seatbelt and grinned. “I do want to.”
Glad to be done driving so he could look only at Tru, Ben cut the engine and turned toward her. “I’d like you to have dinner with me.”
Tru turned her baby-blues on him. “You mean like a date?”
Ben let the silence stretch as they looked at each other. Not cop and victim, not doctor and patient, not teacher and student. “I mean exactly like a date.”
Tru watched him for a long time. Ben enjoyed the scrutiny but, as the seconds ticked by, he started to get nervous. Always thinking, this woman. “Or we could just keep carpooling, if you’re not ready to do something like…”
Tru leaned across the long bench seat and kissed him.
It was just as well. He was afraid if his mouth was unoccupied he was going to do something pathetic, like beg.
When Tru straightened away from him, he asked, “Is that a yes?”
“That’s a yes.”
“Aren’t you afraid hanging around with me will make you want to whack more people on the head with a rock?”
Tru flinched. “I never did anything like that before we met.”
“You never did anything like that before you met Watson either. I’m thinking we hang the blame for all of that on him.”
Tru grinned and, with a tiny shrug, said, “Fair enough. And I don’t even have to sue Watson, because my money problems are solved.”
Ben straightened away from her. “I didn’t hear of a bank robbery over the police band. How’d you solve your money problems?”
“I finished Tru Interventions: Bullies.”
“You didn’t sleep at all?”
“Yes, I slept like a baby. By the time the police left, it was almost dawn, but I got three solid hours of sleep.”
“Then how’d you finish your book?”
“I dreamed it.”
“Did you walk in your sleep and type it, too?”
“Nope.” Tru slid closer to him and grabbed one of his hands. “But I dreamed of the ending, exactly how it should be. I can type it up tonight and send it off tomorrow.”
“You found a way to give a soft answer to bullies, too?” Ben tried to keep the skepticism out of his voice.
“A soft answer does turn away wrath.”
Ben nodded. “I’ve got the promotion to prove it.”
Since she was holding his hand, he tugged her a little closer. “I owe that to you, Tru. You were right. A lot of the people I work with used to be my friends. They used to talk about their day and relax around me. Then I became a grouch and they started avoiding me. Worse than hurting my career, it was hurting my friends and my faith. I learned all of that from you.”
“And I took using a soft answer to turn away wrath too far.” Tru looked down at their joined hands, then raised her chin. “I’d become a liar.”
Ben brushed her hair away from her face. No scars from Watson’s first attack. She was healed and her terror was finally over.
“You’re the most honest woman I know.” Ben cupped her cheek. “You told me some things I didn’t want to hear.”
Resting her face on Ben’s hand, she said, “I was honest with you, but I let everyone around me walk all over me. Liz and her unkindness. Ethel and her laziness. I need to speak softly, but I need to be honest, too.”
Ben nodded. “You can’t have any real power if you don’t speak the truth.”
“And how can I write about Tru Interventions if there’s no truth? From now on, I’ll speak the truth in love. I’ll use a soft voice, and I’ll still turn the other cheek, but I won’t quietly let people get away with sin either.”
Ben shrugged, wondering if the playgrounds of America would ever be the same. “It sounds simple, but something tells me it won’t be. I hope it’s worth all you went through to learn this lesson.”
“It’s the message God wants me to share. I’ll finish the book tonight and have the advance check by next week.”
“And Watson’s wife is divorcing him, so she’ll get half of everything. Thanks to a very subtle hint on my part, Watson just hired a new personal manager.” Ben was silent, waiting for her to add two and two together.
She didn’t disappoint him. “No,” she breathed, her eyes wide.
“Yep. He hired Liz this morning to handle his business affairs while he’s in jail. I did some quick footwork to secure his wife’s half of the estate before Liz spent it all.”
Tru laughed too hard to ask any more questions for a few moments. She swiped under her eyes and chuckled. “He can’t wear Armani in prison, can he?”
“She’ll no doubt stack his closets full of it, until she spends so much he loses his house.”
Tru giggled again. “Then everything is fine.”
“Yep and since you’re going to be spending every spare minute with me, I think you’ll be so happy, the insomnia will disappear. So, all your problems will be solved, thanks to me.”
“I’ve always had insomnia. It didn’t start when Watson attacked me. I sleep less than five hours a night, then occasionally crash on a Saturday and sleep for twelve hours straight. But it’s not all bad. I’ve written most of my books at night. Having insomnia has made me tired, but rich.”
“Rich, but broke.”
Tru nodded. “Just think how broke I’d be if I weren’t rich.”
Ben jabbed his index finger toward the Psycho building. “Get to work, Tru-Blue. The final is tonight and then we’re no longer student and teacher. Right after class, we’ll grab something to eat. This is a real date, so don’t ask Eleanor to tag along.”
“She’s my roomie, now,” Tru said in a wheedling voice that didn’t match the gleam of mischief in her eyes. “We rea
lly ought to invite her.”
“No.” Ben leaned close, cupped her face, and kissed her. A real kiss. One that made promises.
Tru rested her forehead against his and turned her cheek into his palm. “But what about your hero complex? Eleanor does hero worship better than I do.”
“My hero complex has always been attracted to softies. And you’re no softy, Tru. You’re one tough cookie. You saved my life.”
“I think your other girlfriend wanted the hero. She didn’t look deep enough to see how wonderful you are under the shining armor.”
He heard her kindness and saw her glowing eyes, focused strictly on him, and had to bite his tongue to keep from asking her to give him a very soft answer to the questions, ‘Do you love me? Will you marry me? Will you have my children?’
He gave her an enthusiastic kiss good-bye which she returned with interest. She got out and headed into the Psycho building. When she glanced back at him, he gave her a jaunty wave and pulled out of the parking lot.
He’d save those questions for their second date.
About the Author
Mary Connealy
Author of Romantic Comedy with Cowboys
Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys often with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
Mary has written 55 books in print including her latest, The Accidental Guardian for Bethany House Publisher, book #1 of the High Sierra Sweethearts series.
She’s writing (and sometimes reading) when she should be cooking! Then someone (her cowboy husband) comes in and is hungry! So she’s got a whole lot of fast recipes to choose from.
Mary is the wife of a Nebraska cattleman, a life that gives her special insight into ranch life.
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Find Mary online at:
http://www.maryconnealy.com
http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/
http://petticoatsandpistols.com
http://maryconnealy.com/series-guide
Also by Mary Connealy
The Accidental Guardian
Cowboys of Summer
All for Love
No Way Up
Long Time Gone
Too Far Down
Tried and True
Now and Forever
Fire and Ice
Complete Booklist
Loving the Texas Lawman_A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense Page 21