To Love and Protect

by Muriel Jensen

  He groaned.

  “Ben?” she asked worriedly, then said his name louder when his reply was another groan. “Are you hurt?”

  “Corie?” Teresa lay on her stomach, looking at Corie through the lacy pattern of needles and branches. “Are you all right? You got smacked by a branch and I think the trunk might have hit Ben hard.”

  “I’m okay. I just can’t move,” Corie replied. “Call 9-1-1.”

  “No.” The single word came firmly if a little quietly from Ben, followed by a small gasp of pain. “No. Just...give me a minute.”

  Relieved to hear his voice, though the words he spoke usually annoyed her, she said, “I don’t have a minute, Ben. You weigh a ton. I think my stomach is coming out my ears.”

  “I believe that’s physically impossible. But there seems to be a lot coming out of your mouth.”

  There. Annoying. “Hey!” she complained.

  “Relax. Maybe we can roll out of here.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Apart from the fact that I have twelve feet of tree on me and six feet of hateful man?”

  He muttered something unintelligible then it felt as though he tried to boost himself off her and couldn’t. He tried again. No luck. It alarmed her that she was very aware of every muscle in his body pressed into every soft surface of hers.

  “Don’t panic,” he said. “I can’t lift up, so we’re going sideways. Okay?”

  “Please hurry. Before we start growing moss.”

  “Keep your hands tucked in,” he said sharply. He cupped the back of her head in one of his hands, tucked her face into the hollow of his shoulder and, with a leg wrapped around hers, rolled them sideways.

  Teresa and the older children pulled on them. Sweaty little hands grabbed her arm. Ben pushed her away from him. Suddenly she was on her knees, the sun on her face.

  She reached toward Ben, who lay on his back, his chest moving comfortingly up and down, a broken branch of the tree still covering him. Corie dragged it away and she and Teresa pulled him clear.

  Teresa put her hands to Ben’s face and looked him over feature by feature. “Oh, Ben. Can you see? Does your head hurt?”

  His thick, blunt eyelashes rose up then down. “I’m fine.” He rolled over and stood carefully. When he straightened, he wobbled.

  Corie put his arm around her shoulders and wrapped hers around his waist. “Easy. Don’t fall,” she pleaded, “or we’ll never get you up.”

  “We could put him in the wheelbarrow,” Soren suggested helpfully, hovering around them. “Want me to get it?”

  Ben smiled and Corie heard a low laugh escape him. “No, thanks. I can make it.”

  With Teresa on his other side, they started for the house. “Just go slowly,” she instructed as though he were one of the children. “Let us share your weight. Boys, run and open the door and make sure the couch is clear.”

  Let them share his weight. He felt like Gulliver being led away by the Lilliputians.

  Ben let them lead him to the sofa but refused to lie down. As soon as he was seated Teresa headed for the kitchen. Ben ran a hand over his face to clear blurry eyes and looked up at Corie. “You’re sure you’re okay? There’s a bruise near your cheekbone.”

  “I just carried you across the yard, didn’t I?”

  He saw a hint of humor in her expression. He couldn’t stop an answering smile—until he remembered why he was here. But before he could raise the subject, Teresa returned with two wet washcloths. She placed one unceremoniously on his upturned face and the other she put against Corie’s cheek.

  “That bruise might be from Ben’s shoulder,” she said, “when he went down on top of you. I’m sure the trunk missed you, but you got a branch in the face. I think you’re okay but... Ben? Are you? The trunk smacked right into you.”

  “Yeah.” He held the cold cloth to his face one more minute then took it down. His back prickled and he shifted uncomfortably. “Apart from having needles down my shirt.”

  “I’ll get you another shirt and wash that one for you. How’re you doing, Corie? Want a glass of water? A cup of tea?”

  “I’m fine, thanks.”

  Nine little bodies crowded around them as Teresa left the room again. Rosie held Roberto.

  “Everything’s okay,” Corie told them. “I’m fine. Ben’s fine. You can go play.”

  Carlos frowned and pointed outside. “But the tree.”

  “We might have to leave hauling it in until tomorrow. I have to go to work pretty soon. We’ll get it up, don’t worry.”

  Ben thought they looked more disappointed than worried.

  “Why don’t you go keep an eye on it,” he told the children. “I’m coming out in a minute and I’d like you to help me bring it into the house. Does anybody know where the Christmas tree stand is?”

  “I do.” Soren took off, Carlos and the other children right behind him.

  The moment they were out of earshot, Corie sat beside him. “We’ll take care of the tree. Why are you here, anyway?” she asked sharply.

  With a quick glance around to make sure no one had lingered, he replied quietly, “I want to talk to you about the jewelry you stole from Tyree. But I’d rather do it in private.”

  She made a sound of disgust and stood. To think she’d saved his life. Well, actually, he’d gotten into trouble trying to save hers. Still—same old Ben. Suspicious. Judgmental. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk about it at all.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “Everyone has a choice. You know what happened. You were there.” It was such an injustice that Jack had come in search of her after all those years on the very day she’d chosen to break into Cyrus Tyree’s house and steal the jewelry that could secure the future of Teresa’s foster home.

  He stood beside her, a good head taller than she was. She looked right into his face so he wouldn’t think he could intimidate her with his size.

  “I was, but something seems to have changed along the way,” he said. “I put the jewelry into a priority-mail box and sent it to Tyree. But, according to the news report on national television, what was delivered was not what I sent. Mrs. Tyree held up a handful of Mardi Gras beads for the camera. Not the diamonds, emeralds and gold that you stole and that I packed up and mailed back.” He folded his arms, biceps rounded under the thin cotton of his shirt. “How’d you do that?”

  She felt such dislike for him at that moment she didn’t trust herself to remain in his presence. She started to walk away but he made the mistake of stopping her again.

  * * *

  BEN DODGED FISTS, fingernails, even feet as he caught her to him when she rounded on him like a cornered coyote.

  “What about the security footage Tyree claims to have from that night?” He grabbed a flailing fist. “I’m guessing it’s just a matter of time before someone recognizes you then—by extension—Jack and Sarah and me.” He freed her hand and turned her so that her back was against him. He asked angrily in her ear, “You want to talk about that? Your war-hero brother’s reputation ruined because he tried to help his thieving little sister? Not to mention Sarah’s reputation and mine.”

  And that was how Teresa found them; Corie flailing in his arms, her legs bicycling the air a foot off the floor.

  Her expression changed as she approached them, a red sweatshirt in her hand. The warm, sweet-natured woman was now the wild coyote pup’s mother.

  “Put her down,” she said.

  He did.

  To his complete surprise Corie explained. “I started it.” She combed her fingers through her tangled hair and spared him a quick, dark glance. “We’ll put the tree in the stand, then I have to get to work and he’s going back to Oregon.”

  “I’m not going back to Oregon
,” he corrected.

  “Don’t you have a job? Aren’t you Beggar’s Bay’s most vigilant and disagreeable cop?”

  He smiled blandly at her. “I am, but I’m on leave. Built-up vacation time.”

  Teresa looked from one to the other, her expression grave. “What is this about?”

  Unwilling to rat out Corie, Ben said nothing.

  Corie waved both hands in a gesture that suggested it was difficult to explain. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  Teresa clearly didn’t believe her but finally handed Ben the shirt and said wryly, “That’s good, because I’m overextended on worry at the moment. Give me your shirt, Ben, and I’ll throw it in the wash. This one was Soren’s dad’s.”

  Ben yanked his shirt off. The sleeve’s hem caught on his watch and Teresa reached up to help him then winced at something on his back.

  Corie, looking away from a formidable six-pack of abs, walked around him to see what had caused such a reaction. A large bruise, already livid, ran from the middle of his back at an angle across his left shoulder.

  Teresa touched it gingerly. “You pulled Corie away from the trunk, but it must have glanced off you. Does it hurt?”

  He flexed the shoulder and hesitated just an instant. “Not much.”

  She came around him to offer help with the sweatshirt then gasped again at the still livid scar Corie hadn’t noticed since she’d been trying hard not to look at his bare chest. It was on his left shoulder, an inch long and bright red.

  He pulled on the sweatshirt. “I got shot,” he said when his head reappeared. “I’m fine. The bullet hit muscle. I had surgery. No big deal.”

  Still angry, Corie had to admit that it was a desecration of such a perfect torso. She remembered what it had been like to have her body covered by his under the tree. She ignored the heat flushing her cheeks and reminded herself that she hated him despite his perfect chest and shoulders.

  Soren and Carlos joined them breathlessly with a rusty stand that was far too small for the tree.

  “That’ll never do,” Teresa said. “Corie, do you have time to go to Wolf’s Hardware for a bigger one before you go to work?”

  Happy for an excuse to leave, Corie ran out to her truck.

  * * *

  BEN HAD THE most willing team he’d ever worked with. The biggest problem was that most of them were under four and half feet tall and had no sense of self-preservation. Teresa and the kids each grabbed a handful of tarp and helped him pull the tree as far as the back door.

  “Okay, drop it,” he ordered, turning to see that everyone had complied.

  Teresa smiled. “Usually, I have to do this by myself. Of course, I buy a six-foot tree, but this is Corie. She wants this Christmas to be special.” She didn’t explain, though the strain of the eviction threat showed in her face.

  He put himself into the spirit Corie and Teresa were trying to create for the children. He’d flown out from Oregon to talk to Corie, but that was going to take a little longer than he’d imagined. So, if he had to wait for her, he may as well make himself useful.

  He looked for Soren and Carlos. “Can you guys help Teresa clear a path for us inside?”

  As the boys were shepherded indoors, he was left with the other seven children. They came closer and stared at him. The small girl in blue-striped shirt and shorts, tiny feet in too big flip-flops, that purse still over her arm, asked, “Are you Santa?”

  Two of Carlos’s brothers scorned the question. “Santa’s fat!”

  “He brings presents, not trees.”

  The youngest boy stuck up for her and pointed at Ben. “He wears a red shirt.”

  Ah. The loaner shirt had prompted the question.

  “I’m Ben,” he said. “I’m a...friend of Corie’s.” Inaccurate but a good way to explain his presence to the children.

  “So are we.” The little girl smiled that they had something in common. “She said Santa’s gonna come to see us. For sure, this time.”

  Another girl maybe a year older in a similar striped shirt and shorts took a step forward. “He doesn’t always come,” she said as though it were a tough truth she’d accepted. “Sometimes he doesn’t have toys left.”

  A third girl in the same uniform made a face. “Our mom doesn’t have a lot of money. She’s working so she can come and get us. Sometimes you have to help Santa pay for stuff.”

  “You don’t have to buy presents,” Carlos’s younger brother Rigo said. “The elves make them.”

  “They have to buy the stuff to make them with.”

  “No, they don’t. It’s magic.”

  “There’s no magic,” Rosie said in her know-it-all voice. “Santa comes if you’re good but not if you’re bad.”

  Ben prayed for Teresa’s return, but she was busy. He was it.

  “I think Santa loves all kids,” he said. “And if you do something wrong, he understands that we all mess up sometimes, and he gives you another chance.”

  The middle girl in stripes asked hopefully, “You think so?”

  “I do,” he replied with confidence.

  Immersed in his deep discussion with the children, he missed Corie’s return and was surprised to find her standing behind Rosie when he glanced up. She held a Christmas tree stand in a very large box. Her midnight eyes looked into his.

  “He’s right,” she said to the children without looking away from him. “Everybody gets another chance.”

  He heard Teresa say, “Okay. We’ve cleared a path.” Ben was aware of the children climbing over the tree and going inside but he didn’t move, still ensnared by Corie’s gaze.

  “Interesting that you know about the second-chance thing.” She spoke under her breath as she passed the stand to Teresa. “And yet you don’t apply it.”

  “That,” he said, tearing his gaze away, “is because I’m not Santa.” He took a large step over the top branches, grabbed the tarp and yanked the tree inside.

  CHAPTER TWO

  CORIE WATCHED BEN assemble the outsize Christmas tree stand with all the boys helping. She was impressed that he somehow maintained a sense of humor she hadn’t known he had. He fitted the trunk into the stand with the tree still on the ground, then righted it and asked her to help hold it while Teresa gave centering directions.

  When it was in place, they all stood back to admire it.

  “Wow,” Rosie said on a reverent gasp. Even without decoration, it was magnificent.

  “Holy s—!” Soren exclaimed.

  Teresa frowned at him. “Soren Peterson.”

  “Sorry.” He turned to Ben. “I’ll bet you swear.”

  “Sometimes,” Ben admitted. “But never at Christmastime. And never around little kids.”

  “Yeah,” Rosie said. “Even if Santa gives second chances, you’ve used yours all up. You won’t get anything.”

  Soren glowered at her. “Neither will you, ’cause you’re always mean.” He stalked away. Corie went to follow him, but Teresa caught her arm. “You go to work. I’ll talk to him.” She turned to Ben. “You’ll be back tomorrow to help decorate? We need someone tall for our ladder.”

  Ben opened his mouth to tell her he was here only to talk to Corie, but the children told him they were going to have hot chocolate and cookies and he had to come. The youngest Stripe Sister, as he’d designated them, held his hand.

  “Sure,” he said. “Thank you.”

  As Teresa followed Soren, Corie touched Rosie’s dark head. “It would be nice if you wouldn’t always mention people’s bad points, Rosie. Usually they know when they’re wrong. Your job as a friend is to tell them they’ll do better next time.”

  Rosie, who seemed to consider herself the world’s moral monitor, looked at her as though she were crazy. “But he said a bad word. He does it a
ll the time.”

  “He needs a friend,” Corie added. “Try to point out the nice things about him instead of the bad.” She gave Rosie a quick hug. “I have to go to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She cast a general wave in the direction of the children and they chorused a goodbye.

  Shouldering a large, colorful straw satchel, Corie ran out the door. Ben followed, stopping her when she would have climbed into her truck. She rummaged in her bag and looked up at him impatiently. “What? I’m going to be late.”

  “I’m here to talk to you,” he said firmly, “and I’m not leaving until I do.”

  She yanked open the driver’s-side door and put her bag on the seat for easier access. “So, talk,” she said, but he got the distinct impression she wasn’t listening. That was confirmed when she dumped out the contents of her bag and growled when whatever she’d been looking for wasn’t there. She said the word that had gotten Soren in trouble.

  Still ignoring him, she walked around the truck, patting her pockets. Too short to see into the truck bed, she put a foot on a tire and climbed up. Hands braced on the side, she leaned in, scanned front to back then leaped down again.

  As she dusted off her hands, she noticed him and seemed surprised he was still there. She looked cross, but then, she usually did with him.

  “Lost your keys?” he asked.

  “I’m sure I’ve just misplaced them.” She glanced at her watch.

  He pulled open the passenger’s-side door of his rented Navigator. “Need a ride to work?”

  Her chin dropped onto her chest when she accepted that she did. With impressive precision, she swept the contents of her purse off the driver’s seat and into her bag, slammed her door closed and walked, arms folded, to where he stood.

  “I do,” she said, “but I’d rather walk if you’re going to badger me the whole way.”

  “There’d be no badgering required if you just answer my questions.”

  She considered him a moment then climbed in. “Okay, but I’m almost late for work. I’ll answer your questions after.” She buckled her seat belt.