Elise was starving. She picked up her fork and caught herself to wait until he joined her. She laid it back down and sipped the small glass of orange juice. It felt so good to be waited on, with real food. And then she saw it. A pot of coffee nestled in the home of its very own appliance house.
Her eyes widened with delight. Ben caught a glimpse of her infatuation.
“Would you like a cup?”
“Would I? I think you are the only decent person around here to own one of those fancy machines. It seems my sister doesn’t believe in its magical powers.”
She stood to find a cup. Ben grabbed one out of the cabinet and poured her a large dose. Elise closed her eyes as the steamed aroma made acquaintance with one of her five senses.
“This is worth the breakfast alone. Thank you so much for all this. You really didn’t have to cook. I’m going to have to probably stop and get Mom something on the way over to her house.”
Ben pulled up a stool beside her and began sampling the feast on his own plate. “Yeah, about that.”
Elise looked over at him. “What?”
“I stopped at her house after I took the kids and knocked on the door to see if she needed anything.”
He stuffed a bite of toast in his mouth, forcing her to wait for his response. He swallowed and took a drink of coffee. She waited patiently for him to finish.
“Anyway, I noticed a car in the drive. It was a Toyota something or other.”
She interrupted his very descriptive retelling of the walk to her mother’s door and the snails he passed on the way. “Who cares what kind of car? Who was it?”
“A man came to the door in a robe.” He checked for Elise’s reaction and then proceeded. “After he yelled back to the bedroom for your mother, she said something and then he told me he would take care of breakfast.” He bit his toast again and raised his eyebrows at her.
Elise sat motionless, a bite of toast still waiting for liquid to complete its journey down into her stomach. Her mother, the patient? The victim? The man hater? Had an overnight guest who was suddenly making her breakfast? What the hell? She poked around at the eggs on her plate. Obviously something was on her mind.
“What’s wrong, Elle?”
The name caught her mid-thought. It echoed like a gong being smashed with a large hammer. Why did such an innocent gesture, a silly name that only he could say with affection that touched her whole being, render her stupid?
“It’s just that the one woman who drilled it in my head that all men were the devil has now changed philosophies. Suddenly she’s partaken the Kool-Aid, smoked of the pipe, taken a bite of the forbidden fruit.” She couldn’t stop shaking her head. The fall of her mother from man liberator to man lover just wasn’t settling with her breakfast this morning.
“If we’re all not careful, she’ll start stringing flowers for our hair and skipping through the meadows hand in hand with Mr. Toyota.”
Ben stopped eating and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Everyone needs someone, Elle.”
Elise pushed her half-eaten plate away and stood up. “Could you stop calling me that?” She controlled her tone and volume, not wanting to sound tyrannical.
“What? What are you talking about?” he asked, scrunching his face into ten extra folds than usual.
“That name. I can’t take you calling me that anymore.”
“I didn’t know you didn’t like it. You used to.”
“That’s the problem, Ben.” She walked around the kitchen as though she was searching for the trap door to escape. “We aren’t the couple we were. You can’t just start calling me something that we were tons of years ago. We are older now. We’ve moved on. I live in California and you live in Kentucky.”
While parading around and spouting her lecture of all things obvious, she struck her toe on the corner of the center island. “Shit!” she said, bending over and grabbing her foot.
Ben pushed his stool out from under him and ran around to console her.
He bent over, resting one of his hands on her back and the other on her naked leg. She stood up quickly, recoiling from his closeness. She couldn’t find herself vulnerable anymore around him. She was leaving in just five days. That’s all she had to last, just five days more.
“I’m sorry.” He stood erect and moved away from her. “I didn’t mean to help you.”
He paced back and forth, rubbing his head. She watched, feeling badly for thwarting his help. But this was her defense. It was all she had. Keeping a healthy span of space between them was all she had left. And now her mother had gone to the other side. What shred of identity did Elise have left?
“I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just wasn’t ready for all this, you know?”
He sat back down and watched her. She winced at the pain in her right foot, but fought through it. “I came home to watch my mother and help Melanie. I wasn’t supposed to be here. And what happened last night...I’m just chalking that up to insanity, incoherence, unconsciousness, and a weird thunderstorm.” She paused. “Ben, what happened last night? Why did you kiss me? Did you kiss me, or was I really dreaming?”
“I kissed you. I shouldn’t have and I’m sorry. It’s just that I had a great evening with you and missed you so much. You were right there.” He pointed toward the living room sofa. “Right there in my house. Where I’ve remembered you being so many times in my head. And it was raining. I watched you lying there so peacefully just wanting to touch you. To smell your hair again and feel it against my face. Feel your breath on my cheek. I was going crazy yesterday, not being able to touch you like I could in the past. Like I used to.”
Elise moved from the sink to the side window, staring out at the trainers in the corral in the distance. She should have stopped him, but it was too late. Maybe there was a part of her that needed to hear how much he wanted her, too. Now, it was just a matter of damage control. Get your stuff and get out. This fantasy can never happen.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll get my things from the dryer. Do you have the car fixed?” She refused to look at him.
Ben shoved the chair forcefully behind him, the noise startling Elise enough to turn around. Within seconds, he was standing within her personal space before she could step away.
“I don’t want to scare you away, Elise, but I’m here. Don’t ignore me. Please, look at me.” He raised her chin with his hand. “If I promise not to talk anymore about anything that makes you run for the door, will you spend today with me?”
His aftershave played havoc on her decision-making skills.
Just get to the laundry room, Elise Newton. Drop to the floor, out of the path of his muskiness, and crawl to the dryer..
And then what? Go to her mother’s house and wait for Mr. Toyota to get dressed and leave? Sit the rest of the day with her, knowing she had changed playing fields? What?
Now men were all right because some chip had been inserted in them, making them an option for the modern woman?
Just go with Ben. What could possibly happen in the daylight? He used to be your best friend.
“Promise to call me ‘Elise’?” she asked, looking at him with the most neutral eyes she could muster.
He took her hand and shook on it.
Elise changed into her clothes from the day before while Ben cleaned up the dishes from breakfast. She never felt so ill-prepared for a day, with her disheveled appearance and messed up priorities. Was she chalking this up to more insanity and incoherence? Are those even acceptable in the court of all cheaters who go to hell? What? Who was cheating? She was simply going to spend an ordinary day with an old friend and bide time until her mother’s flavor of the week had a chance to pack up his robe and leave. She certainly didn’t want to have a face to compete with the one she already had in her mind, of the man with horns, sleeping with her mother.
She took her phone out and messaged Melanie that she would be home a little later. Before slipping the electronic device back inside her pocket, she thought about texting Da
rren. But what would she say to him? ‘Spending the day with my old boyfriend. You know, the one I never told you about? Oh, and incidentally, I kissed him last night and haven’t stopped thinking about it. Hope you save a life today, hon.’
No. She stamped out a more acceptable note. One that could not be used against her. One that would hopefully satisfy him enough to get through the day without a call to her. She searched her brain high and low for such a message. She had it! ‘Good morning! Super busy day planned today.
‘Running errands. Hope you have a good one, Elise.’
She shoved it in her pocket when she heard Ben come up the stairs. Elise opened the door and second thoughts plagued her mind when she saw him in his white cowboy hat. Why was she such a sucker for a cowboy?
“What are we going to do?” she said, hoping it included separate body capsules to ensure no touching of any sort.
He smiled in a way that made her want to do five pre-Hail Mary’s and ask for forgiveness for the thoughts that were stabbing into her brain. They included an impromptu swim in the creek; without clothes. She wasn’t even Catholic, but figured it would work for a Baptist all the same. The day was still early. She hoped she could muster up a little bit of defense against his drop-dead looks and the history that seemed to be trying its best to repeat itself.
“I’m getting you back on a horse, city girl.”
“Ben, I don’t know if I’m ready for that. What if I can’t?”
He reached out for her hand. “I’ll be right there. You’ll be fine. You never forget something that is second nature.”
His eyes told her that rule of thumb wasn’t just for horseback riding.
She took his hand uncomfortably and he led her out of the house. The sun was climbing to its daylight position and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The late night rain brought a chill to the morning, making the world feel perfect; brand-new, without any mistakes. The sun glistened on the water puddles by the barn, making Elise squint. The trainers were busy doing their routines in the corral and didn’t pay attention to the two of them approaching.
“Come in and we’ll get your horse saddled. Mine is out back all ready for the adventure.”
He kept her hand until they reached the stall door to a beautiful white horse. Her gentle eyes told Elise she wouldn’t throw her off. Ben grabbed a saddle off the wall and took it in and strapped it on the old girl. She stood perfectly still and waited until he pulled her by the hitch to meet Elise.
Elise stroked her head and it felt like no time had passed since she’d ridden before. She took the reins and followed Ben outside to unhitch his horse. Before they made it out back, he ducked into his office and brought out a pair of boots.
“Here, you can’t be a proper cowgirl without boots.” He handed them to her and took the horse so she could put them on.
“Ben, whose boots are these?”
“Yours.”
She took them and looked back at him, confused. She looked inside and saw they were her size. “Where did you get them?”
“I had Chuck pick them up on the way in to work this morning. I looked at your shoes this morning and got the size. I hope they fit.”
Not good. Gifts, assumptions, plans? What next? A skinny dip reunion in the pond out back, just for old times’ sake? Oops, there went one of the Hail Mary’s. She had to focus. All she had to do was make it past today. Clothes intact.
“Pretty sure I would agree to go, huh?”
“Strongly hoping,” he said, holding his arm out for her to lean on in order to slip into the boots.
She jumped around, managing to get them on. She looked down and raised her eyebrows in approval. “Chuck has impeccable taste. I’ll pay you when we get back, if that’ll be all right. I don’t know where I’ll wear them in California, but they’ll look good in my closet.”
“I bought them for you, Elise. Don’t worry about it.” A few seconds passed before he asked her the unquestionable. “Do you ever think about moving back?” He gave her the horse’s bridle and watched for her reaction.
Elise’s stomach flinched. She was sure a few flutters could be detected, the suggestion making her woozy and a little bit giddy. All feelings of weaknesses that she needed to avoid if she would make it to her flight home, unscathed by taking back emotional baggage. Her three bags were what she came with, and all she wanted to take back with her.
“I don’t. I have a house in California. I have a job and a car. I belong there.” Did she forget Darren? Or was it a question of material items?
“Yeah, we don’t have any of those out here.” He smiled and circled around to the back of her to hoist her up on the horse.
She put her foot in the stirrup and let out a noise as she flung her other leg over the horse. After she scooted into the perfect position, she sat erect and poised like a trained professional. He waited until she gave him an assuring look before saddling up on his.
When he mounted his, he turned the horse and headed out to the pasture area. Elise followed behind. She felt liberated, riding a wild animal into the country. It was the perfect day.
“Hey, where’s my hat?” she teased.
Ben held back, waiting until she got beside him. He handed his hat to her.
“I’m kidding, Ben. I’m not going to take your hat from you.”
“No, take it. I want to take a good look at what a city chick looks like playing a Kentucky girl.”
She put it on, cocking it just right. He smiled as they rode toward the tree line. Elise had never felt so free. As she watched Ben riding slightly in front of her in some of the tighter areas, she wondered about too many what ifs and could’ve beens. His body rose up and down as his horse cut through the dense trees and he checked her frequently, making sure she was all right.
They finally reached the opening where larger pastures awaited their journey. While they hadn’t said much during their ride through the forest, Elise’s thoughts continued to scream at her, regrets piercing voodoo pins into her heart. Why couldn’t she have just left his house and him last night? What was she doing here? Did she think this kind of activity came without thick strings? Of some sort?
“A penny for your thoughts,” Ben said, with the perception of her sixth sense.
“Just trying to keep up. Now, I think I’ll enjoy this scenery.” She looked at the vast openness and didn’t want him to ask any more questions.
“Are you kidding? I know what you’re thinking about.” Please don’t tell me he knows me that well. Please let him be rusty at reading my mind.
“You are thinking about running away.” Not bad. “Running away? Away from what?”
“From me.”
Elise felt like a cat that didn’t notice the cage she walked into when she saw the milk in the corner of it. There was a toll for this ride-along. The price was penance for what she’d done to him all those years ago.
“Ben, let’s just enjoy the day. I don’t want to talk about anything heavy. You promised.”
“Fine, I’ll race you for it.”
“What?”
“If I beat you to the creek, you have to talk about anything I want to. And if...”
Before he could get out the alternative, Elise kicked her horse’s hind part and took off. Ben pulled his reins hard, trying to catch up to her. She tucked her head, so not to lose his hat, all the while trying to look back at her lead. But she was too nervous she’d fall off if she tried to. They were neck in neck, each trying to be the first to the creek. Although it had been years since she’d been there, she could never forget where it was. Too many memories took her back to it in her head.
Ben’s superior experience took the lead and he beat her to it. She took her horse and pranced around, trying her best to avoid him. He had jumped down and tied his horse to the tall shade tree at the end, waiting for her. She slid off the side of her horse and walked it over to the tree and tied his rein to a branch.
“That was fancy riding for a California girl.
In fact, I would say it had a little dab of cheating with it.” He strolled over to her and took his hat back.
“You can’t blame a girl for trying.” She brushed past him and his very inviting body. She stopped at the edge of the water and picked up a rock, tossing it into the water.
He followed her. Elise moved away and walked on. It was just as she remembered all those times in her dreams. Diamonds danced on the surface, sparkling millions of flecks into the reflections in her eyes. She thought back how Ben would take her by the shoulders and untie that blue dress until it puddled at her feet. Then he would kiss her shoulders while she waited anxiously for him to get back to her lips.
“I won the race. It’s only fair that I get the prize.” His presence startled her reminiscence.
She backed up, wondering if he could somehow see the memory in her eyes. Watch it play out, like it was doing in her mind. The day was warming up, or was it the sudden heat in her cheeks that was making her hot? “I never agreed to the prize.”
He took her by the arm, as she tried to skirt around him. “Elise, come here and sit down.”
Without turning around, she replied. “Ben, this place is too much for me. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“You don’t think I nearly lost it when I saw you in that blue dress on Sunday?”
She turned around, surprised at his observation. “What?”
“That dress you wore to church. Why did you wear it, Elise?”
“That’s all my mother had for me to wear. I didn’t even want to go. I had packed nothing for church. Just some shorts and Capri pants.” She stammered, thinking of words to fill the tense silence.
He pulled her closer. Before she could resist, he kissed her. Her mind temporarily went out of service as her body slumped with relief and compliance. His hat fell to the ground as he pressed tighter to her. Smells of the wild honeysuckle growing on the fence lulled her into submission as his hand held her back and rubbed it passionately, pulling her even closer. Her eyes fought to open, but her heart made sure they stayed shut. His body cusped hers, rubbing against it. His hands moved to her face, holding it as his kisses strayed down her neck. Her lips parted, enjoying the ecstasy of the moment. Forgetting all that was right and all that was wrong, Elise wanted him.
The Kentucky Cure Page 13