Had Lori been pregnant when she died?
Chapter
Thirteen
"I can handle dinner,"Ben had told Kelly after they'd returned from meeting with Cal. "You look exhausted. Go rest for a bit."
She'd started to protest, but he could see the fatigue in her eyes. The day had been draining and emotional. First, examining the ditch where Lori had been found, then the awkward family brunch, and finally the conversation with Cal.
His theory could wait until after dinner, when she had a full stomach and at least one glass of wine, so he sent her off to lie down.
Of course, he might be overly cautious. Perhaps Kelly had already thought about this and had discarded it for some reason he didn’t know about. Since he couldn’t be sure, he’d err on the side of caution.
Chase and Lulu would have laughed at him, saying that’s how he did everything.
On the safe and cautious side.
But they wouldn’t be entirely true. He was here, wasn’t he? Coming here with Kelly, out of the blue after only knowing herfor a few days, wasn’t safe or cautious. It was out of character and rather spontaneous, if he did say so himself.
So far, he didn’t have any complaints. He was glad he’d made this decision.
I need to get out of my comfort zone more often.
His brother would have said that Ben had undergone a “stickectomy” from his posterior region.
Note to self. Call Chase and tell him it’s all going fine.
Ben pulled the ingredients he needed from the condo refrigerator and pantry, lining them up in order of use on the countertop next to the stove. The space was efficient but limited, much like his cooking skills.
Spaghetti and meatballs were well within his wheelhouse, though. He'd made it dozens of times over the years, usually when he needed to impress someone without risking culinary disaster.
He could also fry chicken, make meatloaf, grill up burgers, steak, or chicken without setting the house on fire. Considering most nights he either ate out or had delivery, it wasn’t too shabby.
With Kelly tucked up in bed for a nap, Ben turned to the task at hand.
Dinner.
He’d set everything up as usual, organized and orderly. Just like his life. But this time, he wanted it to be different. It wasn’t much, and it surely wasn’t spontaneous, but he quickly rearranged the ingredients in a random order on the countertop.
As if this makes me a changed man.
He started the tomato sauce simmering on the back of the stove, the herbs and spices filling the kitchen with their delicious aroma. Making quick work of the meatballs, he placed them in the sauce to finish cooking after he’d seared the outside. Finally, he filled a pan with water, salting it generously, before setting iton the stove to boil. He’d pop the garlic bread in the oven at the last minute.
"Something smells amazing."
Ben turned to find Kelly standing in the doorway, her hair slightly mussed from her nap, eyes brighter than they'd been earlier. He couldn’t stop staring and marveling at how incredibly beautiful she looked.
Right now, she was vulnerable and a bit sad, and all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. His protective instincts were in high gear over this little slip of a woman, and he’d never experienced anything like this before. It was all he could do not to wrap her in cotton wool and keep her safe from all the evil that lurked in this world, some of which he’d seen far too up close.
But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t fix all of this for her, and frankly, she might not want him to. She was incredibly independent, wanting to do it all on her own, even when it wasn’t reasonable. He had the feeling she didn’t want to depend on others since she couldn’t depend on her own family for support.
I sound like a psychologist or something. What the fuck do I know?
"Just about done," he said, tossing the pasta into the now boiling pot. "I’ll pour us some wine, and we can relax a bit until it’s time to eat."
Quickly pouring two glasses, he raised his in a toast.
“To finding the truth,” he said.
