cost. He would protect her with his dying breath,
because he loved her.
Chapter Ten
The sky was
lightening with the first blush of sunrise by the time they finally got home.
Kelly was so tired that it didn’t even dawn on her at first that she
instinctively thought of Ben’s place as home .
It had been a long
night and all three of them were bone-weary. Even still, Ben insisted she stay
seated while he exited the vehicle and carefully lifted Chase to the ground.
Then Ben had opened her door and taken her into his arms, ignoring her repeated
protests that she was perfectly able to walk.
Truth be told,
Kelly was happy to be carried. Not that she would ever admit it. Ben hadn’t let
her out of his sight all night. No matter what was going on, he had always
managed to be close enough to touch her, as if to reassure himself she was
really okay. As the adrenaline had worn off, she had needed that reassurance.
The reality of how close she had come to being a victim of terrible crimes had
seeped into her awareness a bit of a time. Each new realization had threatened
to overwhelm her, but she had bitten back her tears, clenched her hands, and
refused to give in.
Ben had been there
every step of the way, offering his silent support. Kelly wasn’t sure if she
would have made it through the night without him, and she was grateful she
didn’t have to find out. Despite being a vet, hospitals made her deeply
uncomfortable. They were too big, too anonymous, holding too many sad memories.
Her parents’ death, her sister’s overdoses, nothing good ever seemed to happen
inside the dreary, worn out walls.
The staff had
poked and prodded at her, making Kelly roll her eyes on more than one occasion.
She knew full well the cuts weren’t that bad. Hell, they didn’t even need
stitches. But they had wanted to document everything and it had taken hours.
Hours of waiting and answering the same questions over and over again. Nurses,
police detectives, everyone wanted to know what had happened in painstaking
detail. It was exhausting.
Now they were
finally home and Kelly could hardly keep her eyes open. She let her head fall
against Ben’s broad chest, listening to the steady thump-thump of his heart as
he carried her inside. She felt cherished and safe in the comfort of his
embrace, and Kelly knew this was what she wanted. She wanted his love and
protection, now and always.
There was a time
when she believed that would have lessened her as a woman, made her weaker,
announcing to the world that she wasn’t capable of facing the world alone. Not
anymore. Ben didn’t weaken her, he made her stronger, and she would do the same
for him.
“Hey, baby. I know
you’re tired but I need you to open your eyes.” Ben’s soft words drew her out
of her introspection and Kelly forced her lids to open so she could look up at
him.
“What’s up,
caveman?” He smiled at her nickname for him and she felt a flutter of love and
desire deep in her core, along with a pang of guilt as she saw the bruising
beneath his right eye. All three of them had been hurt tonight, and that was on
her. She would have to find a way to make amends.
“Well, before you
went and got yourself kidnapped, I had a plan. I was going to apologize to you
properly, and then I had a question I needed to ask. Think you can stay awake
long enough for me to do that now? Then we’ll go to bed, I promise.”
“I think after
tonight, you shouldn’t be apologizing for anything. You were right, Ben. The
world is more dangerous than I wanted to admit.”
“That doesn’t give
me the right to tell you how to live your life though. I could have found a
better way to tell you I was worried. I should’ve told you about the guys I saw
hanging out by the clinic and explained why I was concerned instead of just
ordering you around. That is what I’m
sorry for.” He sat down on the couch,
cradling her in his lap.
“I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you about Jenny. I should
because he loved her.
Chapter Ten
The sky was
lightening with the first blush of sunrise by the time they finally got home.
Kelly was so tired that it didn’t even dawn on her at first that she
instinctively thought of Ben’s place as home .
It had been a long
night and all three of them were bone-weary. Even still, Ben insisted she stay
seated while he exited the vehicle and carefully lifted Chase to the ground.
Then Ben had opened her door and taken her into his arms, ignoring her repeated
protests that she was perfectly able to walk.
Truth be told,
Kelly was happy to be carried. Not that she would ever admit it. Ben hadn’t let
her out of his sight all night. No matter what was going on, he had always
managed to be close enough to touch her, as if to reassure himself she was
really okay. As the adrenaline had worn off, she had needed that reassurance.
The reality of how close she had come to being a victim of terrible crimes had
seeped into her awareness a bit of a time. Each new realization had threatened
to overwhelm her, but she had bitten back her tears, clenched her hands, and
refused to give in.
Ben had been there
every step of the way, offering his silent support. Kelly wasn’t sure if she
would have made it through the night without him, and she was grateful she
didn’t have to find out. Despite being a vet, hospitals made her deeply
uncomfortable. They were too big, too anonymous, holding too many sad memories.
Her parents’ death, her sister’s overdoses, nothing good ever seemed to happen
inside the dreary, worn out walls.
The staff had
poked and prodded at her, making Kelly roll her eyes on more than one occasion.
She knew full well the cuts weren’t that bad. Hell, they didn’t even need
stitches. But they had wanted to document everything and it had taken hours.
Hours of waiting and answering the same questions over and over again. Nurses,
police detectives, everyone wanted to know what had happened in painstaking
detail. It was exhausting.
Now they were
finally home and Kelly could hardly keep her eyes open. She let her head fall
against Ben’s broad chest, listening to the steady thump-thump of his heart as
he carried her inside. She felt cherished and safe in the comfort of his
embrace, and Kelly knew this was what she wanted. She wanted his love and
protection, now and always.
There was a time
when she believed that would have lessened her as a woman, made her weaker,
announcing to the world that she wasn’t capable of facing the world alone. Not
anymore. Ben didn’t weaken her, he made her stronger, and she would do the same
for him.
“Hey, baby. I know
you’re tired but I need you to open your eyes.” Ben’s soft words drew her out
of her introspection and Kelly forced her lids to open so she could look up at
him.
“What’s up,
caveman?” He smiled at her nickname for him and she felt a flutter of love and
desire deep in her core, along with a pang of guilt as she saw the bruising
beneath his right eye. All three of them had been hurt tonight, and that was on
her. She would have to find a way to make amends.
“Well, before you
went and got yourself kidnapped, I had a plan. I was going to apologize to you
properly, and then I had a question I needed to ask. Think you can stay awake
long enough for me to do that now? Then we’ll go to bed, I promise.”
“I think after
tonight, you shouldn’t be apologizing for anything. You were right, Ben. The
world is more dangerous than I wanted to admit.”
“That doesn’t give
me the right to tell you how to live your life though. I could have found a
better way to tell you I was worried. I should’ve told you about the guys I saw
hanging out by the clinic and explained why I was concerned instead of just
ordering you around. That is what I’m
sorry for.” He sat down on the couch,
cradling her in his lap.
“I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you about Jenny. I should
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