by M. Malone
Once he was dressed, he hesitated next to the bed. Finally, he knelt and kissed her cheek.
“I had fun. I’ll let myself out so you can get a little more sleep before the kids get home.”
Katie sighed. He was always so considerate. It made her feel even worse.
“Thank you, Bennett. I had fun, too.”
She bit her lip as he walked out of the room. His footsteps faded as he went downstairs and then a few seconds later, she heard the front door close behind him as he left.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
♥
Bennett read the same line in his book easily five times before he gave up. There was no point pretending to relax. He’d spent the entire drive home from Katie’s house going over every aspect of their date in his mind, looking for where he’d gone wrong.
She’d been friendly and flirtatious at the restaurant. Obviously his conversational skills hadn’t been that bad. Then at her house, he’d tried to slow things down. She’d pulled him down to her and wrapped her legs around him. Clearly she’d been on board with the plan to get naked. And there was no way she had an issue with his actual performance between the sheets.
Bennett took a deep breath as he was slammed with images from their night together. He ran a hand over his hair. It had been so damn good and he knew it had been good for Katie, too. Despite what a lot of people thought, orgasms actually weren’t that easy to fake if a guy knew what a real one looked like.
He chuckled, remembering something Nick had told him in high school when he’d been known for having quite a few girlfriends. If it doesn’t look like a demon is being exorcised through her face, it’s not the real thing.
He’d later learned that as crudely put as it was, Nick’s advice was spot on. Katie definitely hadn’t been faking it. She’d screamed loud enough to shatter the windows several times and a woman couldn’t fake getting that wet. She’d nearly burned him alive with how responsive she was.
So why did she kick you out this morning?
Frustrated, Bennett decided he could go around and around the issue all day and not get anywhere. Something had gone wrong unless he was imagining how eager she’d seemed to get him out of her house that morning. Maybe it was as simple as she’d said and she was worried about her kids finding him there. He’d never dated anyone with children before so he couldn’t say if that was a common concern but it seemed reasonable to him.
He went about running his errands, going to the grocery store, jogging five miles on the treadmill and working on lesson plans for a community college course he’d committed to teach over the summer. There was no point stressing over something he couldn’t change and Katie was the straightforward type. If he’d done something wrong, he had no doubt that she’d tell him when he saw her at work the next day.
It wasn’t until he woke up Monday morning to a voicemail from Katie explaining that she wasn’t coming in that he got the sense that he had well and truly fucked things up.
All morning, he went through his usual routine but couldn’t concentrate. Finally he gave up and went to his office to see if there was anything administrative he needed to do. Unable to stop himself, he picked up his cell phone and listened to Katie’s message again.
How pathetic was he? He was so desperate for the sound of her voice that he was sitting here alone listening to the only recording he had of her voice. Bennett scowled. It was better than sitting in the lab and pretending to get work done. He’d been completely useless all morning.
Halfway through the message he sat up straight. He’d been so focused on the part about her not coming in that he’d completely ignored the reason she’d said she had to miss work. He skipped to the beginning of the message and played it again.
I got a call from the guidance counselor at Hunter’s school. They requested a conference for today at two o’clock. I’m not sure what’s going on. I hope he’s not in trouble. Anyway, sorry for the late notice but I’m not coming in today.
Bennett hung up and glanced at his watch. He had just enough time to get over to New Haven Elementary if he hurried. He shrugged out of his lab coat. He wasn’t sure what was going on between him and Katie just yet but none of that mattered when she sounded worried. Not that having him there was going to do much but at least he could offer support if she was about to get bad news.
Maybe this thing between them wasn’t meant to be and maybe he was reading too much into this and she wouldn’t be happy to see him at all. But if he’d learned anything growing up as an Alexander, it was that being there for the people that mattered to you was important. So he’d be there until Katie told him she didn’t want him around.
He only hoped his heart and his ego could take it if she did.
♥
Katie looked up when she heard the sound of her name. She’d been sitting outside the guidance counselor’s office for the last ten minutes, wringing her hands. She still had no idea what this meeting was about and could only hope that Hunter wasn’t in some kind of trouble.
She didn’t think he was. He’d always been such a good kid. He’d been a little more sullen since the divorce but that was to be expected, right? Even though Don had been gone a lot, he’d still spent time with the boys in the evening whenever he wasn’t working and she knew both of the boys missed that. He’d been a terrible husband and a mostly absent father but he loved his children. That was part of what made it so hard to see their relationship deteriorate completely.
“Yes? I’m Katie Mason, Hunter’s mom.”
“Hello, I’m Miss Meadows. Come in, please. Have a seat.”
The guidance counselor looked like she’d just graduated from high school herself. Geez. Katie wondered when had she gotten so old? Everyone looked like an infant to her lately.
She took the seat in front of the counselor’s desk and placed her handbag on her lap. The other woman rifled through some papers on her desk and then put a pair of glasses on.
Finally when Katie couldn’t take it anymore, she asked, “Hunter isn’t in any trouble, is he?”
The other woman looked up then. “Oh no. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. Hunter has always been a model student.”
“Oh good. I’ve been a little worried about him since the divorce.” Katie swallowed hard at the admission. It was hard not to feel guilty, as if she was to blame for her family falling apart. Even when she knew people weren’t judging her, it still felt like it sometimes.
“Actually that’s why I called you in today. The students had an assignment last week to write about their family. This is Hunter’s work.” She held out a piece of construction paper.
Katie took it with trembling fingers.
It was a picture of a woman and two kids. A man was in the corner of the picture with a white mask over his face. She gasped. Hunter had drawn Don wearing blue scrubs and a white mask but he’d drawn Katie with tears on her cheeks. Both of the little boys in the picture had sad faces.
The counselor spoke softly. “When I asked him about it, Hunter said that his mom is always sad and he misses his dad. I just thought you should see this.”
Katie looked up, sure she wasn’t hiding the devastation she was feeling. “Yes, I did need to see this. Thank you for letting me know.”
The counselor nodded. “There are quite a few programs in New Haven that provide free counseling and I’ll be working with Hunter one on one also. We just wanted to let you know that there are services available that can help.”
Katie hoped she nodded in the right places and said the right things. By the time they were done, she was on the verge of tears. She needed to get the hell out of there before she broke down in front of this girl who looked like she still wore a training bra.
“Thank you again. Just ... thank you.”
Katie didn’t look back as she left the counselor’s office, just kept her head down and walked as fast as she could. She wasn’t even sure where she was going but she needed to be alone. That was the thing about small commun
ities. Everyone knew everyone and if she was seen crying in public, all of her friends and neighbors would know about it within an hour.
Strong arms grabbed her and Katie gasped. Then she looked up into Bennett’s worried eyes. It was a strange thing to notice in the moment but they seemed darker today, the green flecks surrounded by more brown.
“Bennett! What are you doing here?”
His gaze took in her damp eyes and the death grip she had on her handbag.
“When I heard that you had a meeting about Hunter this afternoon, I thought you might need a friend.”
Katie didn’t think twice or question her instincts. She just walked straight into his arms and hugged him.
His arms wrapped around her with no hesitation. Nothing had changed in the past few minutes but there was no question that she felt ten times better about the situation than she had before.
It took her a few moments to gain her composure before she pulled back reluctantly. Bennett seemed just as hesitant to let go. In light of how they’d left things, okay, with how she’d kicked him out on Sunday morning, Katie wasn’t even sure what to say. He certainly didn’t owe her anything and if the tables were turned, she doubted she would be so nice to someone who’d treated her like a booty call.
But that was Bennett. He didn’t hold grudges and when the chips were down, you could always count on him to come through. It was just who he was.
“Thank you for coming. You really didn’t have to.”
He smiled. “I know. I take it that you got bad news?”
Katie sighed. “Sort of. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
Bennett hummed a non-committal sound. He glanced behind her at the closed door to the guidance counselor’s office. Then he held out his arm.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Katie accepted his arm and the unspoken offer of support. “Where are we going?”
“Remember when I told you I wanted to show you some of my favorite spots on the Alexander homestead? Now is as good of a time as any.”
Katie wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Hunter or even what she was going to do about the situation between her and Bennett. However, if he was willing to put the weirdness aside for a while, then so was she.
♥
When Bennett made the suggestion to Katie, he wasn’t sure exactly where he was going to take her. But as she followed his truck back to the Alexander farm, he suddenly knew exactly where they should go.
He parked and then got out of his truck. By the time she parked behind him, he was waiting next to her door to help her out of the car. She smiled at him gratefully.
“Thank you again for coming to the school. I’m sorry for getting so emotional back there.”
“I told you it’s no big deal. Come on. I know exactly what I want to show you first.”
Bennett tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and started walking. Although Katie wore a nice blouse, she had luckily worn low-heeled shoes and a pair of jeans with it. If she’d been wearing high heels or a skirt, his plan probably wouldn’t have worked.
When they reached the barn behind his, he went inside and took the key for one of the small tractors off its peg on the wall. When he emerged from the barn riding it, Katie burst into laughter.
“Seriously?”
Bennett grinned. “Unless you want to end up walking about two miles or so in total. I’m game if you are.”
Katie climbed on the back of the tractor eagerly and he laughed. When he drove off, she squealed in excitement and her arms tightened around his waist.
There wasn’t as much to see at this time of year— mid-April was still too early for the corn to be planted but it was a clear spring day and the air was refreshingly cool against the skin. There were few things Bennett loved more than exploring the rolling terrain of his family’s property and knowing that he was part of preserving it for future generations.
He rolled to a stop after about five minutes and turned off the engine. Katie climbed down carefully and looked around.
“It’s just this way,” Bennett said, gesturing ahead of where he’d parked.
Katie took his hand as they walked and he tried not to read too much into it. Maybe she just wanted help to keep her footing. As they walked, the earth under their feet changed and became rockier.
“Wow, this is beautiful.” Katie shaded her eyes from the sun as she got her first glimpse of the river. “How did I not know this was here?”
“This river serves as an unofficial boundary between New Haven and the next county, West Haven. That land over there,” he pointed to the other side of the river, “belongs to my father’s brother.”
Katie smiled. “So all of this is Alexander land? How cool.”
“There’s an interesting story behind it, too. Because there was a time when the land wasn’t divided. But all of that changed with my grandparents’ generation.”
He walked back about fifty feet from the river’s edge until they came to a tree. Bennett placed his hand on the trunk and traced his fingers over the initials carved into the bark. A heart with initials inside was clearly visible. His father came around periodically and kept it fresh.
Katie leaned closer to examine the mark. “MA + JB. Is that your parents?” Her eyes sparkled in wonder.
Bennett nodded. “This tree is called The Alexander Oak. It was planted on The Alexander homestead in the late eighteen hundreds. Our family was descended from freed slaves and the story goes that the first Alexanders in this county, John and Sarah, carved their initials into this tree to mark their territory. Every family that has lived here afterward has done the same. They fade over time of course but my father keeps his carving and the one his father did fresh by touching them up from time to time.”
He stopped suddenly. “Sorry, you probably didn’t want a mini-history lesson.”
Katie touched his arm gently. “No, I love hearing about your ancestors. I've always been fascinated by history. By the idea that something we do can last for generations. Sometimes I wonder what my legacy will be or if I'll even have one. I don't feel like I'm contributing much to the world.”
“Of course you are.”
She rolled her eyes teasingly. “That's easy for you to say Mr. Ten Patents. Your name is being inscribed in history books even as we speak. You're making a real difference in the world, Bennett. Whereas I’m just trying to keep it together. Since my kid is drawing pictures at school of our fractured family, clearly I’m not doing such a great job.”
Katie sat at the base of the tree and glanced around. Not wanting to push her, Bennett lowered himself to the ground next to her. There was something comforting about sitting here where so many of his ancestors had stood and worked to overcome obstacles far greater than any he’d ever see in his lifetime. It made him think that no matter what happened, if you had family, you could get through it.
Bennett looked over at Katie. His father had once told him that families aren’t just born, they’re created. He’d thought he understood at the time. After all no one was born married with children. But in that moment, he understood with greater clarity. No family was ever created without someone taking a chance. Someone reaching out and taking that leap, to love another with their whole heart.
“Katie, you are a great mother. I’ve seen you with your children and they are bright, curious and well-loved little boys. Your name will be remembered for generations to come by your children and their children. You don't realize how instrumental you are in their lives. Just like I'm telling the story of John and Sarah Alexander, your children will tell stories about their brave mother who traveled here from Barbados to a new life.”
When she looked over at him, she wore her insecurity on her face like a mask. “You really think so? Because I feel like I’m trying to juggle so many things and failing at all of them.”
Shock had Bennett sitting up straight. Katie thought she was failing at everything? He could understand she had concerns about her children, b
ut how could she not know how much she’d helped him?
“How can you think you’re failing at everything? Look at how much you've helped me. I successfully participated in an inane conversation about the weather at the grocery store this morning. With a stranger!”
As he’d hoped, she laughed. “I hope you didn't have to interrupt anything important to come here today.”
Bennett thought about the meeting he’d rescheduled with his architect. For the fourth time. He winced. It would be a miracle if the guy didn’t quit.
“Nothing important.”
Katie didn’t look like she believed him but luckily she didn’t call him out on it. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge. I just saw that picture that Hunter drew and it hit me really hard. He’s never had any kind of problem in school before. I’d hate to think that all this stuff with the divorce is ruining his life.”
Bennett reached over tentatively and took her hand. Her fingers flexed in his but she didn’t pull back.
“I had some problems in school when I was his age. If I’m this awkward now, I’m sure you can imagine what I was like at seven. My parents were worried about me, too. That I wasn’t fitting in and that I would struggle in life as a result. They had no idea what to do either so they just loved me harder and despite my issues, I’m doing all right. I have my doctorate. Plenty of money. Financial freedom. Hunter will be just fine, too. How could he not be with a mom who'd do anything for him?”
Katie leaned her head against his shoulder. He couldn’t resist pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. All at once, she sat up ramrod straight as if just suddenly realizing how intimate their position was.
Bennett cleared his throat. “So I should probably apologize for this weekend.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “You should?”
“Well, probably. Although I have no idea what I’m apologizing for exactly. I had a great time and then an out of body experience in your bed afterward.”