He blinked. “Not my area of law anyway.”
Snappy comeback. Not. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t voice the thought. It would only continue the argument.
“Don’t you have work to get back to? Or does being an associate in a law firm just mean you’re a glorified errand boy?” She tsked, glancing pointedly at the document he’d delivered.
His emerald eyes darkened, his cheeks flushing. “Yes, because doing my sister a favor on my lunch break is thoroughly demeaning. So kind of you to imply that, Kirby.”
Okay, he had a point there. Not that she intended to admit it. “As kind as you implying I’m so inept at my profession I’m likely to kill someone. If not yet, then it’s bound to happen someday.”
He had the grace to wince, but didn’t bother to apologize. “I was joking. You weren’t.”
“I wasn’t amused,” she countered. “It’s not a joke if no one except you thinks it’s funny.”
The toilet flushed, ending the conversation. Nora rose, ready to make her escape as soon as possible. So much for a pleasant chat with Karen. When the older woman emerged from the bathroom, Nora said her goodbyes, pleading a desire to sleep after her long hospital shift.
Ben smirked. “Need to catch up on your beauty rest before your hot date tonight?”
“I’m not even going dignify that with a response. Get a life, Ben.” Turning on her heel, she marched out the door and didn’t look back.
One more encounter where she walked away wishing it was legal to poke someone who wasn’t her patient with sharp instruments.
That had gone well. Then again, it was par for the course when it came to his interactions with Nora. He needled her, she hissed and spit like a cat with its tail on fire. They’d shared a mutual antagonism for nearly a decade and a half, which he used to cover how desperately he wanted to get his hands on the grown up version of his schoolboy crush.
Ben didn’t remember how the hostility had started, just that he’d done something to piss her off and she’d done her best to give him the cold shoulder ever since.
The woman was a master at the silent treatment.
He hated that. It drove him nuts. Always had, probably always would. He reacted now exactly the same way he had as a middle schooler—by pulling the cute girl’s ponytail in an attempt to get her attention. At this point, it was the only way to get her attention.
Not his most mature moments, but…she was hell on his sanity and libido. He couldn’t help revving her up whenever she was near. Under her cool exterior, she was a firecracker. He’d love to make more than her temper explode, but there was no way in hell she’d ever give him the chance.
The moment she left, Karen gave him a chastising look, but since there was nothing she could say that she hadn’t already said at some point in the last ten-plus years, she just sighed and rubbed the small of her back. “I think I’m going to take a nap. I’d like to still be semi-alert when Tate gets home.”
“Let me help you to your room.”
“You’re not carrying me up the stairs.”
“No, but I can walk behind you and make sure if you fall back you don’t take a tumble.”
“Okay, I’ll allow you to break my fall. That’s all.”
“That’s very magnanimous of you.”
They met the nanny and Karen’s son in the hallway as they were coming up the back stairs. Apparently, it was naptime for everyone. Once kisses and hugs had been exchanged, Ben made sure his sister was tucked into bed with her feet propped on pillows—she tried to tell him something about ankle swelling, but he really didn’t want to know so he bailed as quickly as possible. He jogged down the stairs and grabbed the leather messenger bag he used as a brief case.
Checking his watch, he saw that he was only a few minutes later than he’d expected to be. He had no more meetings today, but a shitload of paperwork to plow through. Ah, well. Billable hours were billable hours, whether he was doing the interesting part of legal work or not.
The first thing he noticed when he stepped onto the porch was that Nora hadn’t left. She stood outside her car, her phone pressed to one ear. So he took a moment to look his fill while Nora wasn’t paying attention. She was so lovely. Her skin was as pale and smooth as cream, and her hair was the color of flame. She came across as cool, but the fiery hair gave away her real personality. When she let go, she was a firecracker.
He’d love to know if she was as explosive in bed as he imagined. As it was, he’d only managed to ignite her temper when he egged her on, but he’d take what he could get. Yes, it was ten shades of pathetic to jones for her the way he did, but she was the girl who’d gotten away. The one he’d always wanted and could never have.
He watched her pop open a car door and reach in to pull out her iPad. She propped it on the hood of her sedan. Car trouble? He approached her, but she was speaking to someone and still hadn’t noticed him.
She frantically tapped the screen of her tablet, typing something in to a webpage. Whoever was on the other end of the line was clearly upset—he could hear the tone, but couldn’t make out words. Nora made a soothing noise. “Okay, Hazel. I need you to take a deep breath and walk me through this again. Are you and your friends safe? Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”
Hazel, her younger sister. None of the Kirby girls was particularly high maintenance, but Hazel was the scholarly, logical one of the four. If she was upset, something had gone seriously wrong. Ben tensed, eavesdropping even though he didn’t really mean to. He just wanted to know what was going on, and Nora sure as hell wouldn’t volunteer information.
“So, you got back from a day of diving and the car was gone. Is that right?” Nora remained calm and collected, yet somehow comforting.
This was clearly the nurse side of her, and Ben winced again at the crack he’d made about her killing someone. Verbal diarrhea for the win. Then he processed the part about a missing car and his attention sharpened.
“Have you reported the theft to the local police? Okay, that’s perfect. Were your passports and money in the car? No? Smart girl.” Nora’s breath rushed out, her relief palpable. “So now, we just have to figure out how to get you guys home.”
A response came from Hazel that he couldn’t hear, no matter how much he strained his ears.
Nora’s fingers quit tapping on the iPad, but her brow furrowed. “Here’s what I think. Plane tickets are basically out—stupid expensive or just plain sold out—so I’m going to drive down and get you guys.” She paused while Hazel spoke, then said, “No, Camille’s out of town in Seattle, remember? It’ll just be me. I have four days before my next hospital shift and I can be in Ensenada by tonight, no problem.”
Ensenada. The truth hit Ben like a ton of bricks. Nora was planning to drive to Mexico alone after a long-ass hospital shift to get Hazel and her friends who’d had their car stolen. No fucking way. That was insane.
“Do you have a better idea?” Nora asked, making it clear Hazel’s thinking was along the same line as Ben’s. “I’m doubting you and your grad school buddies have enough cash to find another way home or you would have just handled the situation without calling me.”
If there was a reply to that, he didn’t hear it.
“All right.” Nora’s voice turned brisk. “So sit tight until tonight and I’ll be there, then I’ll drive you back to your apartment on campus tomorrow.”
A subdued response came over the line.
“Honey, it’s no problem,” she said gently. “I love you to the moon and back. A quick road trip is nothing compared to lunar orbit.”
Ben heard Hazel chuckle, but while Nora’s tone eased her sister’s stress, his anxiety was shooting through the roof. His fingers balled into fists at his sides. He got that the Kirby sisters were close-knit. Growing up with a mother who refused to be the adult in their relationship meant they’d spent a lot of time fending f
or themselves or being raised by their oldest sister. That kind of upbringing would make them rely on each other a lot, but Nora had always been the one willing to tie herself in knots for the people she loved. Her boundaries were firm with everyone else, so she was no pushover. Normally.
Then again, he didn’t want anything bad to befall Hazel either, if it could be prevented. She was a good egg. It took everything he had to suppress a growl of frustration.
“Bye, sweetie. Call me if anything else happens.” Nora made a kissing noise into the phone. “Love you.”
The moment she hung up, Ben snapped, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Nora shrieked and spun around, slapping a palm to her very shapely breast. “What the hell? What do you think you’re doing?”
“Tell me I’m mistaken.” He crossed his arms, not giving a damn that he was looming over her. “Tell me you’re not planning to drive ten-plus hours to Mexico after already working a twelve-hour shift?”
She mirrored his position, folding her arms, her chin jutting pugnaciously. “I can’t just leave them there. They have no way home, and the sooner I leave, the sooner I can be back to get some rest before my next twelve-hour shift.”
“You’re not going to make that drive alone with little to no rest. That’s crazy. You’ll end up dead in a ditch somewhere.”
“Why, because I’m some helpless female who’ll be victimized if allowed to wander too far on my own?”
“Don’t be a self-righteous moron, Kirby. You being female doesn’t have shit to do with this. Anyone traveling to another country alone is more likely to be victimized. And the dead in a ditch comment came from how likely you are to fall asleep behind the wheel and die in a crash.” Just the thought made cold fear slick his gut. “Which is why I’m coming with you, since you’re clearly determined to get on the road immediately, no matter how stupid it might be.”
The words flew out of his mouth, shocking him, but the idea sprang into his mind fully formed. He had more than enough vacation days saved up and no court appearances scheduled for the next few days. Something like this was one of the benefits of working with his brother-in-law. Tate wouldn’t want any of the Kirby sisters in harm’s way—it would upset Karen.
Nora’s eyes went wide and she sputtered, “Are you out of your damn mind? There’s no way I’m taking you with me. Forget about it.”
She snatched up her iPad and turned toward the driver’s side door. Sure, he could wrestle with her, muscle her away from the car. He was bigger, stronger. But brute force wouldn’t get him what he wanted now. “Sure, go ahead. But I’m calling your mother to tell her what’s going on. Do you want Dinah to know?”
She went utterly still. He wasn’t even sure she drew breath for almost twenty seconds. When she turned, there was fire in her gaze. “You. Wouldn’t. Dare.”
He just smiled. They both knew he would definitely dare.
Eyes narrowing to dangerous slits, she hissed, “Why? Why do you insist on making my life harder? Every fucking time you see me, Ben. Every. Fucking. Time. You harass me, you say nasty things to me, you push every button you can. You’re the last person—correction, the second to last person, behind my mother—I would ever want to be locked in a car with for hours on end. Why can’t you leave me alone for once in your miserable life?”
The venom in her voice stung, and he couldn’t even defend himself against anything she’d said. He swallowed. “It’s not safe for you to go alone and you don’t have time to recruit anyone else. I’m here, I’m available, and I’m willing to help with the driving.”
“No.”
“Hating me isn’t a good enough reason to refuse my help. You need me whether you like it or not.” He let out a breath, knowing he had to play dirty and loathing himself for it. “I’m coming with you or Dinah gets a phone call. Is it worth dealing with the drama llama mama to leave me behind? Take me with you, and she never has to know about this. Ditch me and you’ll get calls every fifteen minutes the whole way, meltdowns bigger than Chernobyl and Fukushima combined, and she’ll get mileage out of this for years to come. You’ll hear about it until the end of time.”
“And somehow she’d make it all about her. Every crisis any of us ever had is somehow all about her.” Shadows filled her gaze, a sadness that made him ache. She shook her head. “You know that about my family and you’d use it against me. That’s low, Ben. Even for you.”
“Maybe, but I’m not wrong.” He steeled his resolve, because as much as he loved to rile her, causing her real pain sent knives into his soul. “You need a copilot. Driving in shifts means we won’t have to stop to rest. It’s safer. Be reasonable, Nora. Sitting beside me for a couple of days can’t be worse than dying in a fiery car accident. You’re a nurse. You’ve seen what a crash can do to the human body. Hell, you saw what it did to your youngest sister, and she managed to recover. There’s never a guarantee of that. And what if you hit someone else?”
She blanched. “I’ll stop for the night somewhere in LA. I can still be there by tomorrow. I’ll be fine.”
“Sorry, no deal.” He stabbed a finger at her. “I go too, or your mom hears about it.”
“Now who’s being unreasonable?”
“Twelve-hour shift,” he reminded her. “Tell me you’re not tired. You did just leave my sister’s house because you wanted to go home and get some sleep.”
“Maybe that was an excuse to get away from you,” she retorted.
“Are we going to stand here bickering or are we going to get on the highway? You have your options.”
Her face crumpled a bit, her shoulders slumping. “Of all the shitty things you’ve said and done to me over the years, Ben, this one is the shittiest.”
He wanted to apologize, but knew showing any weakness now wouldn’t serve him. So he kept his mouth shut and just arched an eyebrow, demanding she make a choice. He wasn’t sure what it said about him that she had to internally debate for a full minute whether her mother or he was lesser of the two evils.
She closed her eyes, resignation filling her expression. “Fine.”
Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he turned toward his MX-5. “My place first. You’re coming in with me while I pack, then we go to your place. We’ll hit the road after that.”
“It’s faster if we go to our separate homes, pack, and I pick you up,” she said as he walked away.
He snorted and didn’t bother glancing over his shoulder. “And give you the opportunity to leave me behind? Not happening, sweetheart.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” she called, and he heard the slight squeak of her car door opening. “I do not need you along on this trip. I’m fully capable of—”
“For someone who wants to save time, you seem to be wasting it by continuing to argue. My place first, you follow me.” He popped the lock on his car and pulled the door wide before he looked at her. “If I don’t see you tailgating me the whole way there, I will call your mother immediately. Is that clear?”
Her teeth bared in what only an idiot would call a smile. “Imminently.”
“Great. Let’s go. Don’t forget your passport.”
“I loathe you,” she spat and ducked into her car, slamming the door hard.
That was too bad.
Within an hour, they were on the road, the GPS on his phone charting their progress toward Ensenada. That also meant he was in an enclosed space with the woman he’d been lusting after for most of his life. The smell of her light perfume filled his nostrils, and he had to force his gaze away. This would be the longest amount of time he’d ever spent with her.
And he could feel irritation radiating off her, and the grip she had on the steering wheel was white-knuckled, so he didn’t bother with small talk. “Since you have the first stint at driving, I’ll see if I can catch some shut-eye. That way we can drive straight through.”
“Fine.”<
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Chapter Two
Ben Hudson didn’t snore.
Nora wasn’t sure that was information she wanted about him. In fact, with his face relaxed, and the dappled sunlight playing over the fans of his eyelashes, he looked almost angelic in sleep.
A yawn took her, and she blinked hard, focusing on the road. She was still fine to drive, but the adrenaline of finding out her sister was in trouble was fading. It also didn’t help that the California’s Central Valley was an endless stretch of dry fields dotted with citrus farms and cattle ranches, where the stink of cow manure made her eyes water as the air conditioning sucked the smell into the car. Nasty. Unfortunately, this was the fastest way to get through the state. The more scenic highways along the coast were windy and had lower speed limits.
Which meant there was a whole lot of nothing to keep her entertained as they cruised down I-5. Except listening to Ben breathe and wishing he hadn’t overheard her discussion with Hazel. Even sleeping silently, he bothered her and made her want to escape.
Her phone vibrated and she stuck in her earpiece to answer the call.
“Hello?” she said softly, glancing over to make sure she didn’t wake Ben. Nope, still dead to the world.
“Hey, it’s Camille,” her youngest sister replied with characteristic briskness. “I’ve been in meetings for the last few hours, but finally got Hazel’s message.”
“Yeah, I’m on my way down to get her. She forgot you had a business trip to Seattle.”
Camille made a humming noise. “I just got off the phone with her. She said Ben horned in on the trip.”
“Uh-huh. He’s crashed out in my passenger seat right now. I can’t even express how thrilled I am.”
“I can imagine,” she replied drily. “I would have come with you if I’d been home.”
There was a hint of defensiveness to her tone that made Nora’s heart squeeze. “I know, honey.”
A few years back, Cami had been in a bad automobile accident. No, bad wasn’t a good enough word. Catastrophic was closer to the truth. The guy who’d hit her had died on impact, but she’d suffered so many broken bones it had been like a horror version of Humpty Dumpty. Collarbone, ribs, both arms, and her left leg had been so damaged they’d had to perform a total knee replacement.
Ensenada Escapade: Destination: Desire, Book 6 Page 2