“Don’t you dare. Go talk to your dad.”
He walked me to my room and, as promised, pulled the covers up to my chin, then sat beside me on the bed. “I’m sorry. I should have caught on sooner to what Devlin was setting you up for.”
I pressed my finger to his lips. “I’m not blaming anyone for this except Devlin and Anson.”
He kissed my finger. “Can I pick up anything for you on my way back?”
“Double stuff cookie dough ice cream.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t even need to think about it.”
“It’s my go-to when life gets shitty. I think I learned that from my mom. Hers was mint chocolate chip.” Over the years, I’d grown to hate mint chocolate ice cream, probably because we always had so much of it. As far as my mom was concerned, after my dad died, every day was shitty.
“This occasion definitely qualifies. Consider it done.”
I sat up and grabbed Ben’s arm. “No, don’t pick up the ice cream.”
“Something else?”
“No.” I threw back the covers.
“What happened to your nap?” he asked.
“I’m not taking it.” A tear slid down my cheek. I wiped it away and refused to allow any more. “I loved my mom, but I’m not going to become her. I’m not going to curl up into a ball and give up because of assholes like Devlin and Anson.”
He squeezed my hand. “Good. What are you going to do?”
I grabbed my phone. “Find it, whateveritis. They’re hiding something on those extra L&M servers.” I punched in Pasco’s cell phone number. “Something worse than the extra bank account data that could be explained away to auditors, and much worse than those stupid course materials.”
Pasco picked up. “Hi, Savannah. How’s the nap going?”
“Naps are suspended until further notice. How far are you from the HEAT building?”
“Never left,” he said. “In fact, the whole team’s still here. We figured, the sooner we start digging, the sooner we find out what those assholes are hiding. Care to join us in the conference room?”
I grinned. “I’ll be right there.” I threw my arms around Ben’s neck and kissed him.
He pulled me into a hug. “Sounds like we have work to do. I’ll cancel my plans.”
“Like hell, you will.” I took both his hands in mine. “There’s a whole room of HEAT agents who can help me dig up dirt on WCI. But there’s only one man who can give me the gift of learning to believe in himself as much as I believe in him.” I kissed his cheek. “It’s time. Make your peace with your dad. Then come back here and help me kick some culty ass.”
35
BEN
Isat on a bench overlooking the Severn River. The air was clear and crisp but cold for April, which explained why so few boats were on the water. As quick footsteps approached, I stood and turned in the direction of the sound because I’d know my dad’s fast gait anywhere. He was in his khaki uniform that he wore to teach classes to the midshipmen and still looked every inch the vice admiral. He was 6’1”, the same height as me, and almost as broad-shouldered. He looked at least ten years younger than his sixty-three years, with sharp blue eyes and close-cropped gray hair.
But his face softened when his gaze landed on me. For all his sternness in his work life, he’d been a gentle and sometimes indulgent parent at home. But at some point, his standards for me had become more exacting, and my ability to disappoint him had plumbed great depths. I wondered if he ever looked at me without thinking of me as Three-Be Ben.
He grinned as he approached me. He moved as if to hug me, but I stuck out my hand, and we shook.
“Good to see you, my boy.”
I couldn’t say the same because we were about to embark on a conversation I’d been avoiding for seven years.
“Can we walk?” I asked.
I’d learned that from him. As a kid, I’d thought he suggested it so I could work out pent-up energy when I was nervous about telling him something. As an adult, I knew the advantage of avoiding eye contact when saying hard things. What a brave and mighty Ranger I was, nearly thirty years old and too scared to look my own father in the eye. I was grateful as hell as he agreed, and we fell into step together. We made idle chit-chat while we walked past the Academy, heading away from the water.
