And Then You Fall (Crested Butte Series)

by Heather A Buchman

  Once they were engaged, she went to his base to visit and he took her around, introducing her to his friends, most were already married and had families. She particularly remembered him never failing to ask if they didn’t think she was the most beautiful woman they’d ever seen. Her looks always seemed so important to him. As did her innocence.

  One evening during her visit they went out for dinner with several other couples. One of the wives asked Liv what she liked to do, what her hobbies were, and Liv told her about her horse, and that she had always dreamed of being a barrel racer. She’d been training and was thinking about looking into rodeos she could enter.

  Later, when he dropped her off at her hotel, Scott sat her down and told her he didn’t want to hear anymore talk of rodeos. She would be too busy as an Air Force wife for such foolishness. He also told her that he wanted to start a family as soon as they were married. Liv remembered thinking that he knew best, and she loved him more than anything, so giving up her dream to be with him didn’t seem like a sacrifice.

  When she got home, she talked to her mother about it. Her mom assured her that life with Scott would be an unimaginable series of adventures. She’d travel the world and have opportunities as the wife of a pilot, few could even dream about. Rodeos and barrel racing were for women of a different caliber than Liv was. And evidently it wasn’t a better caliber.

  The next month was a flurry of activity as they rushed to plan the wedding. The ceremony was held at the Air Force Academy chapel, and the reception was at their ranch. Liv knew so few people at her own wedding, most were Scott’s friends, or friends of her parents. It was another thing that seemed odd to her now, but hadn’t at the time.

  Scott took her to Hawaii for their honeymoon and treated her like a queen. He was romantic and charming, he made her feel as though she was the most special woman who ever lived. He was gentle when they made love, and patient as he taught her how to please him. And he was sure to please her as well. She’d never dreamed that sex would be the way it was. It was spectacular.

  While they were in Hawaii, he made sure they did everything she wanted to do. They went sailing and whale-watching, hiking and snorkeling. He took her all over the islands and when they were in Kauai, they’d made love on a beach, under the stars.

  As a captain, and a fighter pilot, Scott had arranged for a very nice home for the two of them, off base. It wasn’t anywhere near as nice as her parents’ home, but Liv hadn’t expected it to be. She missed her horse more than anything, but being with Scott was everything to her.

  The life of an Air Force officer was something Liv was accustomed to. She understood what the expectations would be of her, there would be wives’ clubs to join, dinner parties to host, and functions to attend. She had seen and learned it all from her mother.

  In early April, Liv found out she was pregnant. Scott was beside himself with happiness and so was she. If she’d felt like a princess before, now she felt doubly so. He was attentive and caring, always making sure she had everything she wanted or needed.

  Each month, on the fourteenth, he’d bring her some kind of gift, to celebrate their anniversary. In March, he brought her an emerald four-leaf clover necklace; in April a pair of diamond earrings, in honor of her birthday which was April 17. In May, he gave her tickets for the two of them to go and visit her parents for Memorial Day, and in June, he gave her a bracelet that had belonged to his grandmother. Scott never failed to make her feel as though his sun rose and set with her. God, she had loved him so much, heart and soul.

  In August he was deployed and by November, he was gone. Those had been such dark days for Liv. Her world ended when they told her Scott was gone.

  Her parents had flown in immediately, she wondered now if her father had known Scott had been shot down before she had. They had taken care of everything. She moved back home to live with them. She remembered Scott’s funeral, the day he was buried at the academy cemetery. Everyone told her she should be so proud, her husband was a hero.

  Irene Louise Fairchild was born a few weeks later, and from that moment on, she was Liv’s everything. Her world went from revolving around Scott to revolving around her daughter.

  Ben watched the expressions on Liv’s face change as she told him the story of her life with Scott. She had been so young, so innocent, but it sounded as though he had been a decent man, and good to her. And she had loved him, completely. Which made it easier to understand why she hadn’t found someone else, hadn’t ever remarried.

  “When Renie was little, I had no desire to do anything but be her mom. My parents would’ve been happy to watch her if I had ever wanted to go out, but I never did. I believed that Scott was it for me. I shut that part me off.

  “The day Renie started school, I met Paige. Her daughter Blythe was in the same kindergarten class.”

  Soon Liv became busy with mother-daughter play dates, helping in Renie’s classroom, and on field trips. When that happened, her parents started traveling more. Liv never realized how much they put their lives on hold to help her after her daughter was born.

  When Renie was ten, Liv’s father had a heart attack. He died the next day without ever regaining consciousness. That was when Liv got Pooh, Renie’s horse, as a way to distract her daughter from the pain of losing her grandfather. Two years later her mother passed away from breast cancer. The time between her diagnosis and her passing had been brief.

  Between then and now, Liv had her hands full raising her daughter. Over the years Paige and Mark had tried to fix her up with different guys, but there had never been anyone she thought could hold a candle to Scott. She enjoyed the time she spent with her daughter. They were as much friends as they were parent and child.

  “I guess you really didn’t ask me to tell you my life story, but it’s hard to tell you about Scott, without doing so. The truth is, we were together such a short amount of time, but even so, he was my life, and he impacted the rest of my life so profoundly, it’s hard to separate one from the other.”

  Wow—her life story, she thought. She had been a daughter, then a wife, then a mother. That was it. She really liked Ben, but the idea of adding “Ben’s girl,” as the fourth title on her life’s resume, didn’t resonate so well. She needed to do something for herself, be something for herself, before she woke up twenty years from now and resented the fact that she never had.

  Other than Liv believing no one could measure up to her long-dead husband, the thing that bothered Ben the most, of everything she’d told him, was that her birthday had been a little over a week ago, and he hadn’t known it. For all he knew, she celebrated it alone. He only hoped that Paige and Mark had done something nice for her.

  “Are you getting hungry?” They were sitting out on Ben’s deck, the sun was going down and he turned on one of the outdoor heat lamps.

  “I am. What should we make?”

  Ben decided he wanted to take her into town. He’d surprise her and they’d celebrate her birthday. “I think we should go out tonight. How does sushi sound?”

  “Oh fabulous. I love sushi, I would eat it every day if it wasn’t such a long drive from home. Um, what should I wear?”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable in. I’d be happy if you wore nothin’ at all baby, but then I wouldn’t want to leave the house.” Ben snuggled her closer to him. “Thanks for telling me about Scott. I know it wasn’t easy for you.”

  “I’m still not sure I want to hear about your ex-wife Ben.”

  It wasn’t so much that he needed to tell her about Christine, but he did need to tell her more about himself, and that included the things that lead to the demise of their marriage. He didn’t want to keep any secrets from Liv, and while he wasn’t proud of the way he lived his life back then, it was part of what made him a better man, a better person, now. At least he hoped so.

  “Tell you what, let’s leave that story for another day. I want to take you out on a date tonight. And maybe show you off a little bit.”

  The tho
ught filled Liv with a new sense of dread. Was she just another one of Ben’s conquests? Did he date much? How many other women would they be running into that he’d slept with? This was all so new to her.

  The dates she’d gone on over the last several years had never been with anyone she really cared about. When she had dinner with Ben and the band in Las Vegas, she hadn’t given any thought to other women, it hadn’t really mattered then. At that point Liv considered the thing between them just a fling, something that would be over in a day or two. She no longer looked at it that way.

  She wished she brought something nicer to wear, but she made do with a sleek black cashmere sweater and black wool pants. She took a little more care with her makeup than she did at home, where she hardly ever wore it. She was glad she remembered to throw in her black boots at the last minute, the ones with the four-inch heels. Ben was so much taller than she was, she wouldn’t feel as short wearing them.

  He was out on the deck, leaning on the railing with his back to her when she finished changing. God he looked hot, even from behind. His jeans, slung effortlessly low, hugged his tight behind in all the right places. The sweater he wore was taut over his broad shoulders, making her heart beat a little faster. Maybe she should rethink the cashmere, she was overly warm already.

  Ben turned just as Liv walked past the fireplace inside, the light from it cast a warm glow around her. He was sure he’d never seen anyone more beautiful in his life.

  “Look at you,” he took her hands in his but stood back, his eyes gazing over her. “Remember when I said I wouldn’t want to leave the house if you wore nothing at all? I think this counts too. Baby you look so hot, I want to keep you all to myself.”

  “Unh uh,” she said. “You promised me sushi and I’m holding you to it.”

  They stopped first at the Dogwood Cocktail Cabin. It was dimly lit and had a very romantic feel. Liv studied the menu.

  “I don’t know where to begin,” she told him. “These are the swankiest cocktails I’ve ever seen.” She decided on the Bee Sting, a mix of tequila, honey, mint and lemon, with a splash of habañero. Ben had a Latin Lover, hot cocoa, habañero and whipped cream. He asked them to hold the tequila on his.

  “I thought you might like this place,” he said. “It seems like the kind of place to start a date.”

  “Is this where you start all your dates?”

  Ben pulled her close and nibbled on her earlobe. “You’re the first woman I’ve brought here Liv, and you’ll be the last. It’s you and me baby, I thought you knew that by now.”

  She turned her head and brushed her mouth across his. Ben cupped the back of her head, holding her close, nibbling her bottom lip. “Do you know what you do to me?” he whispered. “You make me crazy with wanting you.”

  Liv brought her hand up and stroked the side of his face. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you,” she whispered in his ear as she kissed his neck just below it.

  “Ben? What are you doing here?” Ben didn’t have to look to know that Christine, his ex, was standing next to their table.

  He felt every muscle in Liv’s body tighten in an instant. She tried to pull her hands, caught in his, away, but he tightened his grip. Before he spoke, he leaned over and brushed his lips against hers one more time. “Shh,” he whispered.

  He kept his eyes fixed on hers, not even blinking. “Liv, this is my ex-wife, Christine.” He felt her trying to wiggle her hands free from his, but he wouldn’t let go.

  “Christine,” he said, eyes not leaving Liv’s, “what brings you out tonight?”

  “Drinks with the girls. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Who’s your friend?”

  Ben’s gaze still had not left Liv’s and he had no intention of letting it. Every instinct told him that Liv was trying to pull away from him. There was no way he would let her. “This is Liv,” he said, still not looking away.

  “Oh, well, nice to meet you. I guess I’ll let you get back to it.”

  Ben wanted to breathe a sigh of relief that Christine had walked away, but Liv’s body remained so taut, he was afraid to let a single breath out of his lungs. “Liv, honey, what’s going on?”

  That seemed to snap her out of it. Her hands relaxed and she took her eyes from his.

  “She’s stunning,” Liv said, so quietly he almost couldn’t hear her.

  “She doesn’t hold a candle to you,” he answered, keeping his voice equally soft, hoping to soothe her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, she’s gorgeous Ben.”

  “You really don’t have any idea how beautiful you are, do you?”

  “For an older woman, who spends more of her time with horses than humans.”

  He dropped her hands and sat back. “Liv, just how much younger than you do you think I am?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “Ten years?”

  “How old are you?”

  “I just turned forty.”

  Ben shook his head and looked down at the table. “I’m three years older than you are baby,” he chuckled. “Not that it makes any difference. I just thought you should know, since it suddenly seemed to bother you.”

  “You are not.”

  “I am, and I’ll prove it.” He dug out his wallet and handed her his driver’s license.

  “I don’t need to see that,” she said, while at the same time taking it out of his hand. “Wow. You look pretty damn good for your age, Benjamin Caldwell Rice.”

  “Let’s see yours, Olivia.”

  “Not on your life, your picture is way better than mine.”

  There it was, he could finally breathe that sigh of relief he’d been holding in. She was fine, she was back, the awkward moment running into his ex-wife had passed, thank God.

  He brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Wanna get out of here?”

  “More than anything.”

  Ben threw a fifty on the table and they walked out, before their drinks were even delivered.

  They walked, hand in hand, around the corner and downstairs to LoBar, the sushi restaurant. As usual it was packed, but there were four open seats at the sushi bar. Ben led Liv over to them and pulled the stool out for her.

  “Shouldn’t we check in with someone? Maybe we’re taking someone else’s seat.”

  “Well there he is,” she heard a deep male voice say. “And this must be Liv.”

  Ben hugged the man and slapped him on the back. “Good to see you big brother. Liv, I’d like you to meet Matt. Matt, this is Liv.”

  Matt took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “The magnificent Liv, I’ve heard so much about you.” He turned to Ben, “she’s even more beautiful than you said she was.”

  “Back off brother,” Ben said, taking Liv’s hand from Matt’s and tucking it in his.

  Matt threw his head back and laughed, the same hearty, whole-body, soulful laugh as Ben’s.

  “This is Matt’s place,” Ben explained. He waved his hand over the corner section where they were seated. “Reserved for family, no matter how crowded it gets.”

  Matt stayed and chatted with them for a few minutes and then excused himself to seat some open tables. Less than ten minutes later, they were joined by Ben’s younger brother, Will.

  “Is this a coincidence?” Ben asked as Will pulled out the stool on the other side of Liv and sat down. “Or did Matthew give you the word we were here?”

  “I had to come over and meet Liv,” Will answered. “Who knows if you’ll leave your house again while she’s here. Liv,” he turned to her, “I’m Will, Ben’s younger, handsomer, more romantic brother.”

  “Will it’s nice to meet you,” Liv responded. “Ben, didn’t you say you had ‘sisters-in-law,’ plural sisters? Do you have more brothers?”

  “Damn,” said Will. “You already told her I’m married?”

  They both laughed. “Seriously Liv, I’m Will, and I am all the things I said before, as well as happily married.”

  “It’s n
ice to meet you Will.”

  “Speaking of which, Maeve wanted me to ask you to come over for dinner while Liv’s here.”

  A few minutes later, two women approached them, both gorgeous. Liv stiffened again, but relaxed when Will stood. “And here she is now. Hey darlin’, fancy running into you at LoBar.”

  “Will Rice,” said the woman with coal black hair, and the palest, but most beautiful skin Liv had ever seen. “Don’t pretend you didn’t call me to come over and meet her. Hi,” she turned in Liv’s direction, “I’m Maeve, Will’s wife, and this is Allison, Matt’s wife.”

  Will and Ben went to pull more stools over so they ladies could join them. When the couple around the corner from them left, the group took over the whole far end of the crowded bar.

  Ben couldn’t keep his eyes off Liv as she interacted with his family. She fit, he thought as he watched her talking and laughing with them. She fit perfectly, just like he thought she would.

  They never ordered, the guys behind the bar kept the sushi and other house specialties coming without them needing to. Matt was showing off, thought Ben with a smile.

  “Oh, I’m so full,” Liv said, putting her hand on her stomach. Moments later the lights around the bar dimmed as the group broke into a rousing version of “Happy Birthday.” Liv looked around her, clearly trying to figure out whose birthday it was, as they set the candle-filled mochi ice cream in front of her.

  “Happy birthday baby,” Ben said, leaning over and brushing his lips against hers. “Make a wish.”

  Chapter 11

  When Ben woke up and felt the heat of Liv’s body next to his, it flooded him with a sense of calm. He loved having her here with him, he loved being with her at her place too, it was just about her. As long as she was next to him, he felt at peace.