“You seriously want to live with me and Alex, here?”
“Yes. You own the house. I pay the monthly expenses. You come to work for me at Haven House as the new director. You can take Alex to work with you every day. Eventually, I give you a ring, you say yes, we get married, and we raise Alex and however many more kids you’d like to have together.”
Wow. All that. All at once. It overwhelmed her, but settled quickly in her mind, like, “Oh, yeah, that’s what I want too.”
She shook off her jumbled thoughts and focused. “You want me to quit my job and work for you?”
He smiled.
“Why are you smiling?”
“You have no problem with the part where I ask you to marry me—you’re worried about your job.”
“Well . . . I . . . I worked hard to get where I am.”
He only smiled more. “Keep your job. Live with me. Make a life with me.”
Kate stared down at the ring Donald gave her sister now sitting on her right hand. A promise never fulfilled with a wedding, but enforced every day they were together by the love they shared.
“I don’t need the ring, just your promise that we will love each other forever.”
Not exactly the “I love you” declaration they’d both avoided until now, but close enough to reinforce they both felt and wanted the same thing.
“I promise, Kate. I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.”
“You do make me happy. You’re more than I ever thought possible for my life. You and Alex.”
She scanned the rooms laid out before her and up the stairs leading to the second floor.
“What do you think? Do you want to live here? If not, we can sell it and buy another place.”
The thought of selling tightened her gut. As much as the ghosts in this place haunted her, they comforted her more. She eyed him, her practical side taking over for her whimsical heart. “You’ll have to commute to work.”
“It’s not that far. If I have you to come home to each night, I don’t mind.”
She took a deep breath and mentally leaped for that happy life her sister had and wished for Kate to embrace too. “Okay. I think this will work.”
“You think? Of course it will work.”
His enthusiasm sparked hers even more. “I’d like to change a few things. Make the house feel more like us, but still have those things Margo picked out and put together here and in Alex’s room that I can share with him. We’ll make new memories, but I can hold on to some of the old ones too.”
“Whatever you want to do, we’ll make it happen.”
“I’ll move my things from my condo. Sell it. Alex will have his room back. A backyard to play in when he’s bigger. You can set up your office in there.” She pointed to Donald’s office.
“We’ll get rid of whatever you don’t want. We’ll bring our things here. You’ll have them and us. Right now, it’s just a place with a bad memory. We’ll make it a home again.” Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and kissed her on top of the head.
Her heart lightened. She couldn’t wait to live together, here, as a family. She leaned into him, loving the solid feel of him beside her. She smothered out the nightmare in her mind with dreams of what their life would soon be like.
“So, when do you want to do this?” Kate asked, allowing herself to set aside her pain and look forward to her future.
Ben couldn’t believe this went so well. He thought he’d have to do some fast talking and a whole lot of convincing.
“We can hire a crew to pack up your place.”
“I think we should go through this one, decide what stays and goes, then we’ll know what to bring from our places. We are definitely bringing your bed.”
That made him laugh. “Well, now that we’ve christened it, we have to bring it.”
“I think that’s the best bed I’ve ever slept in.”
“It’s the last bed you’ll ever sleep in,” he warned, eyeing her.
“Then you better uphold your best boyfriend status.”
“Is that right? Didn’t I treat you good this morning?”
“We never did eat breakfast.”
“I did.” He winked at her, remembering having her laid out on his kitchen table. He loved the blush that spread from her neck up to light up her cheeks. “You’re so pretty when you’re embarrassed.”
She pressed her hand to her red cheeks. “Stop.”
He laughed, but inside he recognized those walls she’d erected had come down. He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her close for a sweet kiss. He loved that they could be like this. Her resilience and strength shined through when she stopped living in the past and her grief and saw their future here in this house. She turned to him to give her strength to see this through. They’d wipe the slate clean and start building their own memories in this place.
He pulled her close and hugged her tight. His phone rang. He groaned, hating the interruption.
Kate pressed her hands to his chest and leaned back, staring up at him. “It might be Sam. Something about Alex.”
He kissed her forehead, then stood tall and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He frowned at the caller ID. “It’s Haven House.” He swiped the screen to accept the call. “Hello.”
“Ben, it’s Jill. You need to come to Haven House now.”
“Whatever it is, can it wait until Monday?”
“Someone tossed a rock through the day care window. There’s glass everywhere.”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“No. A couple of children were in the room, but they’re okay. The cops are on their way.”
“Take the kids outside and organize a game. I’m on my way.”
Ben stuffed his phone back in his pocket, stared at Kate’s worried face, and at the open rooms around them. He reached out and traced the side of Kate’s face. “More trouble at Haven House.”
Kate grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. “Let’s go.”
After a few steps, Ben dug in his heels and held her back. “No. Wait. What if Evan set this up to get to you? I can’t take you there. What if something happens? I’ll take you back to my place first.”
“Nonsense. I want to help. I need to help. I can’t stand to be cooped up in your place alone another minute. I’m not letting you go there alone. You said we stick together. We face whatever happens together.”
“I don’t want anything else to happen to you.”
“I took care of myself the last time. I can do so again if I have to, but I won’t, because you’ll be with me.”
“Stay here. Lock the door. Turn on the security system. I’ll call Sam to come and get you. Better yet, I’ll drop you at his place in the city before I go to Haven House. You can stay with him and see Alex.”
“No. Alex is safe with Sam. If Evan’s coming for me, I’m not leading him to Alex.”
Kate held the door wide, waiting for him to make up his mind. Everything in him wanted to make her stay here—better yet, lock her away somewhere out of state, out of Evan’s reach. Ludicrous. Evan wouldn’t stop. Not until she was dead and the Faradays took everything. He needed to settle the estate, get everything into Kate and Alex’s name, and end this madness.
Chapter Twenty
BEN STOOD AT the back of the building staring at the damage to the massive six-foot-by-twelve-foot-wide windows. He’d purposely made the room the day care because of the brightness the windows provided for the children.
“I’ll go into the office and start making some calls to replace the glass,” Kate said.
Even with the cops standing beside him, writing their report, Ben hated to let Kate out of his sight. “Kate, come right back. Don’t go anywhere else.”
Kate gave him a soft indulgent smile
, but he read the underlying message. She could take care of herself.
Maybe so, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to take care of her.
“Mr. Knight, any idea why you’ve been targeted?”
Ben rattled off the same tired story about Evan, Donald, and Margo mixed with the threats from Christina toward Kate and Alex. He hated this mess, this unyielding threat against them, Evan’s constant pursuit of Kate. It had to end. He needed to find a way to stop it. Them.
The police officer folded his notepad and walked back to his patrol car.
Ben turned to Jill and the other staff members who’d set up a kickball game to distract the children. He needed to clean up the glass and board up the window.
“Jill, keep everyone out here until I finish inside.”
She waved to let him know she heard. He walked back toward the building, but caught a movement outside the gates. He turned and caught sight of a woman walking on the other side of the street. She looked his way for a second, then dashed into the alley between two other buildings. She wore large dark glasses that obscured her face. Long blond hair hung down over her shoulders and chest. He swore she looked just like Kate’s sister.
A cold shiver raced up his spine, warning him of danger.
Ben ran for the back door of the building. It slammed against the wall as he burst through and ran down the hall, calling, “Kate!”
He ran through the dining room and stopped short when Kate ran toward him, her expression dark with concern.
“Ben, what is it?”
He smelled it first, but the surprise and fear registered on Kate’s face a second later. He turned and scanned the kitchen, saw the line of emergency candles all lit up on the counter, and beyond to the broken gas pipe just over the restaurant-size range.
He ran for Kate just as a whoosh split the stunned silence a second before the explosion. His body flew into Kate’s. He took her down to the floor, shielding her with his body, blocked from the brunt of the blast by a low stone wall wrapped around a bank of booth seats. Debris hit his back along with a blast of heat, but the wall held. He didn’t look back, just grabbed Kate by the arm, scrambled to get up and pull Kate with him to get away from the crackling flames consuming the building. They stumbled over pieces of wood and metal and ran out of the room, along the wide hallway where the windows had blown out along with part of a wall. They pushed through the door that led to the lobby and out the front of the building.
Kate patted her hands all over his back as they ran; she didn’t stop when they got outside. He finally registered what she was screaming at him. “You’re on fire.”
Ben tore off his heavy coat and dumped it on the concrete, thankful the thick material hadn’t burned all the way through to his shirt and skin.
“You’re okay. You’re okay,” Kate said, checking his back, then launching herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You’re okay.”
“I’m okay, but what about you?” He had to yank her arm to bring her around his body. He checked her out from head to foot. She seemed fine. He brushed his thumbs over the redness on her hands from trying to put out the flames on his back. She hissed and pulled her hands away.
“That stings.” She held her palms up and studied them. “They’re okay.”
“Oh, God, I can’t believe we made it out of there alive.” If he hadn’t gotten to her in time, that blast would have killed her. The office Kate used to make the calls sat right behind the kitchen. Judging by the flames and damage to the building, she’d have been blown to bits.
His stomach soured. He leaned over, planted his hands on his knees, and dragged in several deep breaths, trying to erase the disturbing images in his mind. He coughed to clear the clog in his throat. His heart clenched at just the thought of what could have happened to Kate.
She rubbed her hand over his back. “Just the gas and smoke. Breathe, honey.”
He did, but it wasn’t easy, knowing how close he’d come to losing her.
BEN STARED AT the wreckage of all he’d built. The south side of the building survived the fire, but the north side smoldered, sending up plumes of smoke. Firefighters continued to pour water on the hot spots. He’d have to close the place until he could rebuild. He’d have to find a place for the displaced families living here. All twelve of them. The task seemed monumental, but Jill was already speaking to the Red Cross workers who’d arrived moments ago.
Kate stood by his side, her hand in his, their fingers linked. The paramedics gave her some salve for the minor burns. They didn’t seem to bother her at all. She squeezed his fingers to get his attention. He hadn’t really moved or said anything since this happened an hour ago.
“I’m so sorry, Ben. Everything you’ve worked for to do for this community. Those women and children who needed your help.”
He gritted his teeth and shook his head. “The place is insured. I’ll rebuild.”
“I know you will. I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”
Surprised she’d say something so stupid, he glanced down at her. “What? No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is. If I hadn’t stayed here, none of this would have happened. I heard what you told the police. Someone intentionally set this fire. They wanted to kill me. Now they’ve destroyed this place.”
“Kate, none of this is your fault. You can’t take the blame for what the Faradays do.” He pulled her into his side. “I don’t blame you for this. I blame them.”
“Ben . . .”
“No. We are not going to let them win by putting a wedge between us.”
“Then I guess my first order of business as the new director of Haven House is to work with the insurance company to push through the claim. I’ll need to hire a contractor. Once we know the extent of the damage, I’ll figure out what we need to replace and what we can do better this time. I’ll let Jill handle finding places for the current residents. The rest of the staff will be on paid leave until we are up and running. Once we have a new structure, they can help with the decorating and furnishings.”
Ben stared down at her, dumbfounded she’d made the decision to take the job, especially now that it was so much bigger than just running the place.
“What?” she asked. “I’m your girlfriend. Your partner. This place is important to you. It is to me too.” She squeezed him tight. “We’ll fix it, Ben. Together.”
Ben crushed her to him and kissed her hard, then settled into it and the comfort she offered. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “I like the sound of that.”
“You know what else? I’m tired of reacting to everything the Faradays do. It’s time we made things happen.”
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“Well, if Alex owns the majority share in the company, then someone should be heading it like Donald did that has Alex’s and the employees’ best interest at heart.”
“You want to hire someone to run the company?”
“Yes. Someone we can trust. Someone who doesn’t have an agenda, or can be bought or manipulated by the Faradays.”
Kate pressed her lips together and considered the one thing she hated to do, but realized needed to be done to stop this madness. The heaviness in her heart wouldn’t go away. What if someone got killed today? What if Ben got killed because the Faradays wanted all that money? She’d never live with herself if she didn’t at least try to put an end to this.
“I also think we need to make Christina an offer. Settle the estate once and for all. End this before someone else gets hurt.” Kate’s gaze shot to the burned-out rubble. A sickening chill ran up her back. “It’s pure luck no one got killed here today.”
“Whether luck or design, I’m glad everyone got out.”
“You don’t think they meant to hurt anyone?”
“The fire started in the kitchen. Breakfast was over lon
g before the fire. No one was in the dining room. All the residential rooms are on the other side of the building.” He left off that she was the only one close to the fire’s origin.
“Makes sense. Still, you can’t count on everyone staying clear of that part of the building. The rec room and day care are on that side of the building.”
“Except all the kids were outside playing games Jill set up because of the broken window.”
“A distraction to get me here and do this.” Kate shook her head. “We can’t let anything like this happen again. If we take away their reason for coming after us, then we end this.”
“That’s if the Faradays accept a settlement.”
“What alternative do they have? Spend the next several years in court fighting over this. Christina will lose. Her lawyer has to have told her that it’s futile. Plus, we still have the murders. If they’re convicted, they’ll get nothing.”
“We still don’t know whose blood was on the knife. If they hired someone to do the crime, we might not ever find that person,” Ben pointed out.
“You’ve turned into a real pessimist, you know that?”
“You’re right. Let’s start doing something to stop them, rather than waiting to see what they’ll do next.”
“There you go, lawyer man. What do we do first?”
“Call my cousin, Cameron, and arrange a meeting with the executives of the company.”
“Why Cameron?”
“He’s the president of Merrick International. He’ll know what we need to do to run Faraday Electronics.”
“Excellent. And he’s family. You trust him, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Ben laughed. “Look at you all optimistic and trusting.”
“I’m turning over a new leaf. Enough is enough. I want to take them down. Short of that, I’ll settle for taking away their reason to come after me and Alex. Whatever it costs.”
Everything She Wanted Page 22