Ensenada Escapade: Destination: Desire, Book 6 (2 page)

“Ben, help me up.” Karen held out her hands. “The baby’s tap dancing on my bladder.”

He stood and bent to scoop her into his arms, walked over to the bathroom near the staircase, and gently set her on her feet.

She arched her eyebrows. “I can still walk, you know.”

“My way was faster.” He ruffled her hair. “Bladder dancing didn’t sound pleasant.”

“It’s not.” She patted his shoulder. “You’re a nice brother. Sometimes.”

“Always,” he corrected. “Call me if you need a lift back to the chair.”

Nora quickly refocused on the RSVP list. But her skin prickled. When she glanced up, she found him watching her. It sent an unwanted little tingle down her limbs. She shot him a dirty look.

“How’s nursing? Kill anyone yet?”

“No.” She made her smile as serene as she could, knowing that ignoring his barbs would annoy him faster than anything else. He hated when he couldn’t get a rise out of her. Sadly, he succeeded more often than she’d like to admit. “You’d top my hit list before even my most cantankerous patient, Hudson.”

His lips twitched as if he couldn’t quite suppress a grin.

“Never fear, Benjamin.” She pursed her lips. “I won’t be hiring you for the malpractice suit if I ever do accidentally off a patient.”

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 for 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.”