“Thanks.” She let out a deep breath. “I appreciate it. I have a lot on my plate right now, and I don’t need William distracting me too.”
They finished eating, shared some laughs over school memories, and caught up on some mutual acquaintances. Time seemed to disappear as he talked with her, and then before he knew it, they had returned to the camper.
“You’re still welcome to use the spare room if I passed the stranger-danger test.”
“I wasn’t testing you,” she said. “Okay, maybe I was a little concerned at first about staying here. It has been over a decade since we’ve talked.”
“I don’t blame you for being wary. I would expect it, honestly. But I take it I passed with flying colors.” He grinned, then unlocked the door and held it for her to enter first.
“You passed,” she admitted. “And somehow I’ll repay your kindness. I’m not sure how, but I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing,” he said as they settled in.
Ben found clean towels—thank God he’d remembered to do laundry last week before heading out to the ranch—and they stood in the central living/dining area, making sounds about going to bed and tomorrow’s busy schedule.
“There’s Wi-Fi if you need it. The password is longduckdong16, all one word,” he said, wondering if she had any idea where the movie reference came from.
“What’s happening, hot stuff?” she said with an incredibly bad Asian accent and not missing a beat. “Why do you have a Sixteen Candles password?”
“I have no idea. My brain holds onto the weirdest information.”
“It’s easy to memorize at least. I loved that movie. I used to have rom-com movie marathons when I needed some downtime.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the whole thing,” he admitted.
“You know who Long Duck Dong is, but you haven’t seen the movie?”
“Maybe?” he said as a question.
She nodded but wore a look of supreme uncertainty that made him smile. Maleah pushed her long dark hair back and hit her elbow on the corner of the wall.
“Ooh! I hit my funny bone.” She flinched with the pain, then cradled her elbow in her other hand. Maleah turned and somehow collided with the bathroom door. She jumped back and managed to go perfectly still. Except for her breathing. Her chest rose and fell in fast, short breaths.
Ben watched the newest episode of Maleah Failing at Life and said, “Maleah, can I ask you something?”
She squinted at him as she rubbed her elbow. “If you really want to. But I’m an honest girl, so let that be your warning.”
“Are you always such a train wreck?”
She didn’t dignify his question with an answer at first and settled with giving him a haughty glare.
Finally, she said, “I don’t think it’s in my best interest to divulge my secrets to someone like you.”
“Someone like me, huh?” He gave her a slow grin. “You were always the smartest one in our class. I wouldn’t share secrets with me either. My villainous side has been known to sneak up on me when I least expect it. Then I get into trouble.”
“Says the guy who buys me dinner and lets me sleep inside his trailer for no other reason than being nice.”
“Don’t be too sure I don’t have ulterior motives.”
The way he looked at her indicated that he definitely did.
“I guess I’ll take my chances.”
“She plays with fire and dances naked on ant hills. I always thought of you as more reserved and kind of shy.”
They stood across from each other in the camper, Ben leaning against the kitchen counter and Maleah against the closed bathroom door. She tucked her hands behind her back.
“I guess I’ve grown up some since I lived here.”
Should I make a move? She was too damned cute and sexy to boot. A cute sexy train wreck. Exactly what he didn’t need. Ben didn’t know how to do this. He’d only ever been with Kinsey, and he barely remembered anything about dating. Before Kinsey, he had been playing in the kiddie league. Do you want to come over and play my Xbox? didn’t feel like an appropriate pick-up line at this age.
“Good night, Maleah. Make yourself at home. Hope you don’t mind stuffed animals and a lot of purple. My daughter sleeps in that room when she stays here on the weekends.”
Maleah glanced into the spare room then said, “I like stuffies, and purple.”
Ben nodded, turned, and walked to the bedroom on the other end of the fifth wheel camper, closing the door behind him.
Six
WHEN BEN WOKE UP he sported an impressive stiffy. Great. Freaking wonderful. The gorgeous babe thirty feet away had absolutely nothing to do with his hard-on. Nope, not a thing. His current condition surely couldn’t be related to the vivid images of her naked ass bouncing up and down alongside the road, which were now permanently stamped on his memory. Or her sultry laugh at dinner that felt like silk stroking his eardrums. Stroking. His thoughts were making things exponentially worse.
One important life lesson Ben learned when he was thirteen years old was that no matter how much you believed you had privacy in your own bedroom, anyone, especially parental figures, could and would come barging in at the most inopportune moment. Ben opted for a cold shower instead of taking care of things with a more hands-on approach.
After showering, Ben dressed and readied himself for the work day. Maleah’s door remained closed, and he didn’t want to disturb her. His schedule for the day was packed, but he could spare an hour to drive out to the hospital. Kiki was currently his most important client, due to the extensive amount of work she’d hired him to complete on her buildings. He felt he owed her a lot for hiring him to act as her general contractor, but besides the business aspects of their relationship, Ben had a soft spot for the elderly woman. Since her husband had passed away and she’d moved downtown, Kiki Brookhart had become like a grandmother to him. At least in some ways. He saw her nearly every day, and she always wanted to know if he’d eaten and she never forgot to ask about Skyla. If his daughter was with him, she would give her treats or small presents. Sometimes, Kiki would even give his daughter money for candy or ice cream. Kiki may be a little eccentric, but she was selfless, thoughtful, and had the energy of a woman half her age. Ben liked her a lot. Since his paternal grandmother had passed away when he was a teen, he didn’t mind being fussed over by someone who had decades of life experience and owned too many flowery knickknacks and teacups.
His grandfather was a resident at the assisted-living facility, which was part of the Mount Tenderfoot Medical Complex. Ben needed to stop in and drop off the hot wings Grandpa Joe liked. He would be a day earlier than his usual weekly visit, but his grandpa wouldn’t mind. Ben wasn’t sure if Grandpa ever knew what day of the week it was anymore. Dementia hadn’t been kind to the old man.
Ben grabbed a bottled sports drink out of the fridge and a protein bar from the cabinet and left the trailer as quietly as possible. A real breakfast would have to wait until later. If he saw Maleah, he’d offer to buy her a coffee at Mad Mountain Roasters. Prudence’s Perk Place was closer, but Kinsey had claimed their favorite coffee and breakfast café as belonging to her during the divorce. Ben attempted to eat there one time since splitting up with Kinsey, and his order had been “accidentally” forgotten. When he finally received a cup of coffee to go, it wasn’t what he ordered. Based on the icy glares from the girls behind the counter, Ben decided Prudence’s was permanently closed to him. It didn’t matter that he’d been a customer since the day they opened. What Kinsey must have told them was beyond his comprehension, but he knew where he wasn’t wanted.