Point Pleasant (68 page)

“Lovely, though,” Ben said and kissed her cheek. The rumble of percolating water indicated that the coffee had started to brew. “Shouldn’t you be avoiding caffeine?”

“It’s for you, jackass,” Kate said, poking his shoulder. “I cut out caffeine at the start of the year, actually. Resolutions and all.”

“Jesus,
why
?”

Kate laughed again, and Ben found the sound almost musical.

“French toast?” she asked.

“Only if I can help.”

“All right, you do the eggs.”

Ben saluted and headed to the fridge. He cracked four eggs and whipped them while whistling to himself as he worked.

“God, you’re so chipper,” she said. “I hate chipper people in the mornings.”

“Except me, I hope,” Ben said, shooting her a scandalized expression.

Kate swatted him playfully with a spatula she had just pulled out of a drawer. “Do you think there’s cinnamon?”

“I have no idea. I’m going to guess no, though.”

“That’s fine,” Kate said. She proceeded to make an enormous stack of French toast. By the time she finished, Ben’s stomach was practically howling.

Kate sat down at the table with their plates and an easy smile. Ben slipped into his seat across from her.

“So,” Kate started, her tone casual. “Did you talk to your sheriff last night?”

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” he asked, taking a bite of his breakfast.

“Why beat around the bush? Is he your
boyfriend
?” she asked, putting on an intentionally girlish intonation to emphasize the word.

“We haven’t labeled it.”

“Do you want him to be?”

“I want him to be a lot of things,” Ben replied and sipped his coffee.

A slow smirk crept across Kate’s face. “You should have him over.”

“I’ll see if I can arrange something,” Ben replied.

“I’m leaving after the funeral,” Kate said. “There’s not much time. Invite him over for dinner tonight.”

“You of all people know my culinary skills leave something to be desired.”

“Quiet.
I’m
cooking, you jackass,” she replied as she huffed out a sigh of affectionate exasperation. “I’m especially domestic these days. It’s like I’m nesting. I’ll make something amazing. It’ll be a good distraction anyway. We should try to make the best out of the situation. There can be no talking about Dad. We’ll have enough of that today and tomorrow as it is.”

Ben considered the idea and finally nodded in assent. “Yeah, why not?”

“Good,” Kate said. “Ask him now.”

“What’s the rush?”

“Because I want to watch you fumble for words.” Kate leaned forward, placed her chin on her hands, and smiled to Ben with an air of insistence.

“Sorry, tickets to that show are all sold out.” Ben stood and slid his phone out of his back pocket. “I’ll be in the backyard.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Kate said. “It was my idea. You’ve gotta give me something here, Benji.”

Ben bent down and kissed her forehead. “There. Now be quiet.”

He grabbed his coffee and strolled out the backdoor. It was colder than the previous morning, but the crisp air was refreshing. The digital clock on his phone showed that it was almost eight o’clock. He dialed and hoped Nicholas had not left for the station yet.

“My shower was very cold, thanks,” Nicholas said when he answered.

“Hello to you too, Sheriff,” Ben laughed. “How are you?”

“Eh, I could be better. You?”

“Same.”

Nicholas’ voice chuckled in Ben’s ear. “I’m just heading out,” he said. “Can I call you later?”

“I was just calling to invite you to dinner tonight. Kate is cooking, apparently.”

“Oh,” Nicholas said with surprise. “That’d be nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, cool. What should I bring? Wine?”

“Just yourself.”

“What time?”

“Seven?”

“Cool,” Nicholas said again. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“See you later, then.”

“Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I really did miss you here this morning.”

“Me too, Nic.”

Ben hung up and saw that Kate was observing him from the kitchen window. She looked away as if embarrassed to have been caught spying, and Ben shook his head as he made his way inside.

“What was that?”

“There was a bee,” Kate said.

“Uh huh,” Ben grunted, and he narrowed his eyes when his sister smirked. “In November?”

“So what did he say?” Kate asked, ignoring his question. “Is he coming?”

“He is,” Ben confirmed. “I said seven o’clock, is that okay?”

“That’s perfect. I can judge him in silent disapproval.”

“
Katherine
,” Ben said, his tone full of reproof.

Kate gave an innocent shrug and hovered by the counter while Ben poured himself a second cup of coffee. She made a slight scoffing sound, and Ben frowned.

“Benji, you should really cut back.”

“Slice me open, and I’d bleed black coffee,” Ben said.

“You should watch that, you know. And I thought you said you were going to start running? What happened to that?”

“You know when I run, Kate? When something’s chasing me.”

“That happen often, then?”

“More than you’d believe,” Ben replied, and his thoughts skittered to the thing that had transformed from a little girl into a spiraling cloud of fucking doom.

He pushed the memory aside and gave his sister a lopsided smile as they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

“You should come visit,” Kate said suddenly. “When the baby’s born. Or before. I would like that. And you promised me a garden. I have a terrace, you know.”

“Should I call Margaret? She can schedule it for us.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kate said, grimacing. “I suck lately.”

“We
both
suck.”

“Anyway,” Kate started, “I’ve gotta head out soon. I’m going to sort out all the paperwork. Finalize everything while I’m here.”

“You want me to come?”

“It’s all boring legal stuff, Benji. Might take a few hours.”

“I’ll come along. You don’t have to go alone.”

“You sure?”

“Of course,” Ben replied. “I’ll try not to be too overwhelmed.”

They spent the morning in and out of Town Hall and Grantham’s Funeral Home to finalize the paperwork and the details for the funeral. Kate insisted she could handle the particulars on her own, but Ben caught a wistful glint in her otherwise shuttered eyes more than once.

When they were finished at Town Hall, having filed the papers to initiate the transfer of the Wisehart house deed into Ben’s name, Ben drove Kate back to Cardinal and watched as she wandered out to the sidewalk and peered up and down the street with a whimsical expression on her face.

Despite the circumstances, Kate’s presence was soothing
,
and
Point Pleasant seemed less heavy with her there. Her demeanor was sunny as she spoke of the baby and Ben’s plans to move home. Ben thought of Raziel and
the light
. Marietta had talked about Ben’s soul. He could only imagine that if souls really did exist, then his sister’s would have shone like Raziel’s grace.

“It’s nicer than I remembered,” Kate said. “I miss
houses
. I love New York, but it doesn’t have
this
. There’s a story behind it all. A history. You can smell it in the air.”

“I think that’s the river,” Ben replied.

“Shut up, I’m serious,” Kate said, and she poked his shoulder. “I’m cruising on a wave of nostalgia, here. Let me enjoy it.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “It was a nice place to grow up.”

“And move back to, hmm?”

“It is kinda inspiring,” Ben said, noting for the first time since he arrived back in Point Pleasant that the Carmichael house no longer had shutters over its windows.

“Are you writing a new book already?” Kate asked. “The other one only just came out.”

“It’s best to keep busy.”

“What’s it about?”

“That would be telling,” Ben replied.

“Oh, please,” Kate said and rolled her eyes. “I know all your secrets. Tell me.”

“Angels,” Ben said, conceding her point. “It’s about angels.”

Kate tilted her head and appeared almost birdlike in her curiosity. “Really? That’s different. Do you believe in angels all of a sudden?”

Ben offered a small nod.
You have no idea.

“That’s nice, I guess,” Kate replied. “It’s good to believe in things. Do you think they’re watching over us now?” She cast a solemn glance up at the sky, and Ben followed her gaze.

“Yeah, I think so,” Ben said after a moment.

“So what are the angels like in your story?”

Ben considered the question. “A lot like us.”

“Do you think they would be, though?”

“I think they’d have some similar motivations.”

“Like what?”

“Like family,” Ben said. “I think family means a lot to them. And they have a home just like we do. Can you imagine if an angel was locked out of Heaven? How horrible that would be for him?”

“Why do you assume angels would be male?” Kate asked, groaning in annoyance.

“I don’t, not all of them, but the one I’m going to write about is. I think. I’m not sure, actually. That’s a really good point.”

“Hmm,” Kate said, and she seemed to be considering the idea. “So it’s a story about family?”

“Looks like. Anyway, you need lunch.” Ben asked. “What do you say I make you a grilled cheese sandwich?”

“Just like Mom’s?” Kate asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“You bet your ass.”

Ben and Kate sat together on the Eames. He held a cold beer in his right hand. Kate had chased him out of the kitchen earlier; she said he made her nervous with his ‘looming around,’ but she had still joined him in the living room when she finished with the prep work.

“This is nice, Katie.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“It’s weird he left me the house,” Ben said, staring at the photographs on the mantle. “You’re the one with the baby on the way.”

“He didn’t know that,” Kate replied, her tone wan. “And besides, I own my apartment, and I’m happy in New York. He wanted
you
to have a home, Ben. It was never me he worried about.”

“You landed on your feet.”

“So did you. It just took a while.”

“I guess,” Ben said, though he was not entirely sure he believed that himself. He was still trying to find his feet, but he felt closer than ever before. Maybe he would even manage to find a pair of shoes that fit, as well.

“Your books are selling, aren’t they?” Kate said, poking her elbow into his side. “And you have the new one with the angels.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m thinking of calling one of the characters Katherine.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Don’t you dare.”

“It’s an honor,” Ben shot back. “Accept my love.”

“I’ll sue.”

They shared a smile, and Ben took a swig of his beer.

“So when are you moving down?” Kate asked. “Officially, I mean.”

“This weekend. I thought it’d be good to keep myself occupied. After tomorrow, you know.”

“That’s smart,” Kate said. “Do you want some help with the packing?”

“Nic said he would come up.”

“Maybe he’s a keeper after all,” Kate said. “I could probably change my flight if you need an extra set of hands. I don’t mind. You know I love me some Boston.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course I would.”

“Thanks, Katie,” Ben said, and he kissed her cheek. “But I haven’t packed anything, it’ll probably take a while. Plus, in your condition…”

Kate slapped Ben’s shoulder as she stood from the sofa. “Jackass, I could be nine months pregnant, and I’d still pack your sorry ass under the table. Anyway, the offer stands. I’m going to check on the food.”

Ben watched his sister stride through the doorway. His thoughts wandered to Boston. The weekend promised to be busy. He needed to call his landlord, cancel his broadband and all of the utilities, and everything had to be packed.

But where the fuck do you put it all, Benji?

The house was his now, but it still felt like Andrew’s. And it was filled with a lifetime of possessions that Ben had no right moving. His attention settled on the round watermark on the coffee table, and he frowned. There was a flash of
light
behind his eyelids, and Ben rubbed his eyes as if this would somehow clear the memory.

Busy was
good
. Busy meant he could distract himself. Busy meant he could think about the weight of everything from the last week
later
.

Ben stood and headed to the kitchen. Kate was adjusting the temperature of the oven.

“Need any help?” he asked, checking the clock on the wall.

“Nope,” Kate replied. “No one is allowed to touch my soufflés until they are on the table and ready to be eaten.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said, and Kate snorted. “What?”

“I can hear your twang, Benji,” Kate said with a laugh. “Soon it’ll be like you never lived in Boston at all.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said, affecting his very best non-rhotic Boston accent. “I can still park the car in Harvard Yard.”

“Aren’t you going to miss Boston?” Kate asked with an air of longing in her voice. “You went native years ago.”

The doorbell rang before Ben could respond, and he straightened. “I’ll get it.”

“Yeah, I
bet
you will,” Kate said, snickering.

“Hey, you behave tonight,” Ben said, his tone only partly joking as he turned toward the doorway.

“Hold up, you’ve got something on your face,” Kate said, stepping closer and reaching up as if to wipe at something.

“What is it?”

“A shit-eating grin,” Kate said and ruffled his hair. “Now go get the door.”

“You’re the worst,” Ben said and left the room. He ran a hand through his hair to straighten it before he opened the front door.

Nicholas was neatly shaved and wore his gray coat. Ben took a moment to appreciate the man’s handsome appearance before stepping aside.

“Sheriff,” he said. “Come on in.”

Nicholas had a small box in his hands, but Ben barely noticed it because once the door was shut, Nicholas kissed him with a kind of tender, unhurried intensity that made Ben’s knees tremble. Ben grabbed the collar of Nicholas’ coat to pull him closer, and Nicholas held Ben against the closed door with gentle strength.