Adversaries and Lovers (14 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

It was another week before Ben came by, and it was almost a repeat of the last time they’d had words and parted in anger. Again, Ben looked weary, and again, he wanted Kate to sit beside him in the truck. But this time, Kate felt a need to keep some distance between them. They had too many issues to sort out. As they drove, she said, “I didn’t intend for things to get so out of hand with the marching last week. I just wanted to get my point across, mainly to you. I’m sorry I made such a mess of things.”

“You did that," Ben said, "and I don’t know what to do with you.”

“I don’t expect you to do anything with me,” Kate said.

“Maybe that’s what’s bothering me the most,” Ben replied. “You’ve got me tied in knots, and all you can say is you’re sorry you made a mess of things. I don’t much give a damn about the protest, but I do give a damn about us. Just come sit next to me.”

“No Ben. Not this time. I won’t be able to think straight if I’m sitting beside you, and I need to keep emotions out of this if I can even attempt to reason through it. You’re the one who pointed that out to me.”

Ben gave a long sigh. “You’re without a doubt the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. You get your mind set on something and noting can change it.”

“I’m not the one being stubborn," Kate said. "There must be a half-dozen locations where you can build your corporate office, but you refuse to consider them.”

“I’ve considered every one of them, but none work.”

“So we’re back to where we started. But when we started, you led me to believe you might be considering other locations. That never was so, was it?” When Ben didn’t reply, Kate said, “I didn't think so,” then stared out her side window and said nothing more.

Once inside Ben’s house, Kate picked up Chloe and cuddled her, glad for the distraction. Ben stood staring at her, hands on his hips, a perplexed frown on his brow, as if not certain what to do next, which seemed out of character for him. As Kate eyed him over the top of Chloe’s head, he slowly moved toward her, his eyes holding hers. Then he lifted Chloe out of her arms, tossed the kitten onto the futon, and stood looking at Kate with an intensity that made her heartbeat quicken, her cheeks grow warm, and her chest feel tight. And as she held his gaze, a bittersweet yearning began to stir, and tears of longing prickled behind her eyes.

“Ah, Katie, when you look at me like that...” Ben pulled her into his arms and held her, then captured her lips with his. She flattened her palms against his chest, but her arms were not to remain a barrier between them. In one fluid motion, he placed her hands around his neck and enfolded her in his arms. She didn’t protest. Instead, her fingers began tracing little patterns on the back of his neck. He kissed her again, his tongue flicking over hers, dueling with it, parrying with it, stroking it until he felt drugged with the need for her. It wasn’t until he lifted her in his arms and started for the bedroom that Kate braced her hands between them, and said, “No, Ben, please put me down. This has to stop.”

He paused, and with her still cradled in his arms, he looked at her and said, “Why?”

“Because I’ve never... That is I’m still a... Well... you know.”

Ben stared at her. “Are you saying there haven't been any men in your life before now?”

“In my life, yes, but not in my bed." For a few moments Kate seemed at a loss for words, then her brows drew together and she looked at him, and said, “My mother asked only two things of me when she was at the hospital the night she died... that I'd go to college, and that I'd have a ring on my finger before being with a man.”

Ben said, offhandedly, “An engagement ring or a wedding ring?”

“She didn't say but that's not the point," Kate replied. "The point is, I need to wait for the right man, and I need to be certain of my own feelings. But if you can’t understand my position about this, then we have nothing more to discuss on this issue.”

Ben lowered her to the futon and sat beside her, and said, “Honey, I’m trying like hell to understand your position, and it’s commendable that you’re honoring your mother, but it’s a little out of touch with the times,” he said, unable to dismiss the intense need that tormented him with its absence. With Gayle, making love had seemed natural and uncomplicated. The night of her senior prom, they’d consummated their relationship in the back seat of her father’s Buick. There had been no talk of love or commitment. It had been an unspoken promise.

Kate placed a hand to his cheek and said, “It’s not that I don’t feel that same desire too, Ben. I do. Right now I want nothing more than to curl up in your arms and let you make love to me. But when it happens, if it happens, I have to know that I’m the only woman in your life. Right now, we both know that’s not the case.”

Ben said nothing because Kate was right. Only moments before he’d silently compared her to Gayle. But that was changing. Thoughts of Gayle came only during those brief moments when Kate wasn’t dominating his mind. “I guess I’ll play by your rules then," he said, "because I’d rather be frustrated and keep you in my life than let you walk away.”

A smile lit her face, erasing the worry, and her eyes sparkled with tears of joy. And Ben knew he’d be willing to tolerate his frustration if only to see her glowing face. He put his arm around her and gathered her to him, and she snuggled against him, and for a long time, neither spoke. Then he kissed her lightly, and said, “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, and I don’t want to think about it. All I want is to hold you right now." He didn’t attempt to kiss her again, and she made no move to leave the circle of his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder, and he tightened his arm around her and held her close, and neither spoke, both enjoying their quiet time together...

The spell was broken when they heard a car drive up.

Ben pulled his arm from around her and went to the window. When he said nothing, Kate asked, “Who is it?”

Ben drew in a long breath. “This may be a little awkward, honey, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said, eyeing the middle-aged couple climbing out of a burgundy SUV. “It’s Gayle’s parents.”

Kate looked at Ben, puzzled. “You’re still seeing them?”

Ben shrugged. “I’ve known them since I was in high school. They’re part of my life.”

Kate laced her fingers together and pressed her clasped hands to her chest. “Well, I really don’t want to meet them right now,” she said, nervously eying the front door.

“You don’t have a choice,” Ben replied. “Just think of them as a couple of old friends, which they are.”

“No, Ben—“

“Honey, just sit down and be yourself.” Ben opened the door to an attractive, dark-haired woman, and a dignified-looking man with a small mustache. The woman gave Ben a hug and said, “You hadn’t stopped by in a while, sweetie, and we were beginning to worry. We like to hear from you more often. Even your mother wonders where you’ve been. You’re not answering the phone here, and when she tried to reach you at the office, they said you hadn’t been in the last two days.” She looked past Ben to Kate, who was sitting on the futon, hands clasped in her lap, and said to Ben, “I’m sorry, we didn’t know you had company. We’ll be back another time.”

“Kate’s just a friend,” Ben said. “Come on in, Linda... Ernie.” He stepped aside for them to pass. He introduced Linda and Ernie Barnes to Kate, and they drew up chairs and sat in a close grouping around the futon, Kate looking decidedly uncomfortable and ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Ben sat beside her, and leaning forward slightly, with his elbows on his knees, and his hands laced together, he said, “Sorry I haven’t been by but it’s pretty hectic at the office right now with a few aging activists still hanging around.” He could feel Kate’s eyes boring into him.

“We know all about it,” Ernie said. “We saw it on TV. That was pretty crazy, all those old people marching and carrying signs. We thought you could use a couple of friends about now.”

Ben smiled. “You’ve got that right.”

“Honey,” Linda said to Ben, “if you don’t mind my saying, you look pretty exhausted. You are taking care of yourself, aren’t you? We worry about you.”

“Yeah, well, like I said, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks. But as soon as the zoning change goes through and we can start building, things will simmer down.”

Linda looked at Kate, and said, “So, you and Ben are friends.“

“Kate’s doing some advertising work for me,” Ben said, before Kate could reply.

Ernie appeared to be studying Kate. Then his brows drew together in a puzzled frown, and he said, “Weren’t you the young lady on TV, the one they interviewed?”

Before Kate could respond, Ben said, “Kate’s a woman of many talents. When she’s not helping promote my products, she’s fighting me at City Hall.”

Kate glared at him. “I do have a voice, Ben, so if you don’t mind…" She looked at Ernie. “Ben doesn’t understand what he’s doing to all those wonderful old people,” she said, her voice growing impatient, “and I get so upset when I think of how he’s about to ruin so many lives.“

Ben patted her hand, and said, “Honey, simmer down. We can get into this another time.”

“Simmer down! We’re running out of time. At least I am. And you’re being completely unreasonable and uncaring!”

“Honey, don’t get me fired up right now.”

Kate gazed at him angrily, her lips pressed in disapproval.

Ernie looked from Kate to Ben and back to Kate, and said, “If you can get Ben fired up about anything, young lady, you have our blessing. He’s been holed up here with his gargoyles far too long.”

“Ernie’s right,” Linda said. “You’re turning into a recluse, Ben.”

Ben sat back and folded his arms. “With Kate and Gramps protesting with the rest of them, and now you two against me, I might just go off somewhere and sulk.”

Suddenly, the kitten dashed out from under the futon, then crawled up Ben’s leg and perched on his shoulder. She nuzzled his ear and began to purr loudly. “I guess it’s just you and me against the world, Chloe,” he said, stroking her soft fur.

Linda looked at Ben, bemused. “I thought you had an aversion to house pets.”

Ben scratched Chloe under the chin, which she raised loftily to accommodate him. “I made an exception in Chloe’s case. She’s the one female who understands me, don’t you, princess?” Chloe responded by licking the tip of his nose.

“Ben’s only keeping her until I can find another home for her,” Kate said.

A smile tugged at one corner of Ben’s mouth. “We’ll talk about that later too.”

Linda took the kitten from Ben’s shoulders, held her up, and said to her, “How did you manage to wander way out here, Chloe?”

“She didn’t wander out here,” Kate said. “We found her at Cooper’s Landing.”

Linda looked at Kate, surprised, and said, “Ben’s abandoned town? However did he manage to drag you out there?”

“Actually, I was the one who wanted to go,” Kate said. “I’d been there with Ben before, but we had this disagreement and Ben went off in a huff, and I sort of did the same, so when Ben finally came around again and wanted me to go to his—“

 “Honey, just drop it,” Ben said, cutting her off again.

Kate glared at him, lifted her chin with the same defiance he’d seen the first time they’d met, at the reception, then tightened her mouth and said nothing.

Linda’s gaze shifted from Ben to Kate. “We’ve known Ben since he was a teenager and we love him to death,” she said, “but we learned early on that he does like to take charge of things. But there are ways to get around him. We’ll meet for lunch one day next week and talk about it.”

Kate’s eyes brightened. “I’d like that very much,” she said, glancing at Ben.

Ben caught the little smile of satisfaction on Kate’s lips and had an almost overwhelming urge to grab her and kiss her senseless right in front of Linda and Ernie. Kate somehow read his thoughts, because a deep color crept into her face. He reached over and covered her hand with his, gave it a little squeeze, then continued to hold it. He shifted his gaze between Ernie and Linda, and said, “You’ve probably already figured out that this woman is special to me.”

All Linda said was, “It’s time, Ben.”

Ernie looked from one to the other, and said to Linda, “It seems these young folks have a lot to talk about, so maybe we’d better let them get on with it.”

Linda stood, kissed Ben on the forehead and, to Kate’s surprise, kissed her forehead too. Then she said to Kate, “I’ll be in touch so we can meet for lunch. I’ll get your phone number from Ben later.”

They let themselves out of the house the way close members of a family do, and Kate realized that Gayle’s parents would always be a part of Ben’s life, and as much as she liked  them, she wasn’t sure she could ever come to terms with their presence, should her relationship with Ben develop into something serious and long lasting. They would always be a constant reminder of Gayle’s place in Ben’s life, and in his heart—the woman whose life he couldn’t save, and who would always be present in the faces of her parents to remind him of that fact.

After Linda and Ernie left, Ben suggested they have dinner. As he prepared scrambled egg omelets and hash brown patties that he took from the freezer, Chloe stepped out of her fleecy-lined cat bed, stretched and yawned, then rubbed against Ben’s leg with delicate insistence, while Ben deftly avoided stepping on her. Kate watched Ben and Chloe’s interaction for a few minutes, then glanced around the room at the assortment of kitten playthings—a furry ball, a catnip mouse, a rubber ball with a bell inside, and a stick with a fuzzy tail on it, all purchases Ben made
after
he'd taken over Chloe's care. In the short time Chloe had come into Ben’s life, Ben had bonded with her in a way Kate could never have imagined Ben bonding with anything or anybody, six weeks before. Though Ben would never admit it, he was quickly becoming possessed by a tiny furry being. Kate smiled in satisfaction.

Ben caught her smiling, and said, “A penny for your thoughts?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

“Try me.”

“Okay. You once said, and I’ll try to quote you, 'When one's holdings become crucial to maintaining happiness and well-being, one becomes possessed by them.' I’d say Chloe is doing a pretty good job of possessing you.”