“Remind me why we don’t do this sort of thing more often?” Ben joked as he held the ladder for Rowan as he drilled a hole for the camera wire.
“Because you stand around drinking beer while we do all the work,” Calvin joked.
The rain had let up shortly after Brock had left. The early morning mist had been burned off by the sun and now there was a bead of sweat rolling down his back as he felt his skin burn in the sun.
Sarah had shown up an hour after Ben had come back from the hardware store. She’d dropped the kids off at her mother’s and was keeping Bella entertained by listening to her play on her old guitar, which she’d brought over from their house.
He had to admit, listening to her play and sing was a pure joy. He even caught Rowan singing along to one of her songs.
“You know this?” he asked him with a nudge.
“Sure do. It’s Kayla and CJ’s favorite.” He smiled then frowned. “Don’t you?”
Calvin felt like a fool for being with Bella but not knowing the words to any of her songs, so he shrugged and busied himself.
He promised himself that the first chance he got alone, he’d listen to her songs and memorize the words. After all, she’d written them all herself. The least he could do is hear them at least once.
At one point, the ladies ran to the grocery store and picked up burgers and hot dogs to grill out. More people from the town showed up to help out, even though most of the work had been done already by the time they arrived. Instead, they all gathered on his deck and drank beer and ate food that everyone brought along with them.
By evening, the party had grown so big that it had spilled into the house, filling up his kitchen, living room, and dining room in addition to the deck.
He’d never had this many people in his place before. He didn’t even know this many people. But everyone seemed to know Bella.
He watched her laugh and joke with everyone as she walked through the crowded rooms. He kept a close eye on her. If he was being honest, it was because she’d changed into one of those flowing dresses she’d purchased at Serenity’s Attic. The dress was tight around her breasts and stomach then flowed loose around her legs with a sexy little slit up one side, giving him a pretty view of her tan legs every now and then.
She’d tied her long hair in a sexy messy bun at the nape of her neck, which only made him want to untangle it with his hands and lick his way up to her mouth.
The more he watched her, the more he realized he was lucky she hadn’t left him after his confession last night. It was true, he still struggled with guilt over Kelly’s death. It was also true that, as an adult, he knew there was nothing he could have done back then to stop the events from unfolding. If Elijah Adams hadn’t kidnapped Kelly that day, he would have found another opening and gotten her eventually. He’d confessed to stalking the family after seeing Kelly while he’d been painting her room.
His parents had let their daughter’s murderer into their home. Into Kelly’s room. The fact that a twelve-year-old boy was left to watch his little sister had been the perfect opportunity for the killer to strike.
He’d tried to talk to his parents about it once, and the fight that had ensued convinced him to never bring up the subject again. He even kept quiet on the subject with his brother James.
As far as he was concerned, he had no family. It was one of the reasons he’d been thankful Ben had offered him the job at the resort. He’d been in a bad spot with his family since he’d lost the last fight that he’d had with them over his career choices.
He was finally someplace they couldn’t touch him. Independent and free of their reach.
“You’re deep in thought,” Bella said, walking into his arms while she held a glass of wine.
He smiled down at her. “Just thinking how lucky I am to have you and all these friends.” He motioned around the room with his half-empty beer.
“Do you know everyone here?” she asked with a whisper.
He chuckled and leaned closer to her. “I thought you knew everyone.”
She smiled and then leaned up and kissed him. “It’s like high school all over again.” She sighed. “I told a friend that my parents were going out of town one weekend.” She shook her head. “Two hundred kids showed up at my house, dragging kegs and booze of every type. When the police showed up…” She rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s say that was one of the darkest days in my past.” She tilted her head as if she were thinking. “I think that’s when they started threatening to send me to the boarding school.”
He smiled down at her. “I’m thankful Ben rescued us both then.” He waved his beer towards her brother, who was currently wrestling with his oldest daughter on the living room rug. Sarah had picked up the girls when they’d gone out to pick up the burgers since her mother had had a yoga class to teach later that night.
She followed his gaze and nodded. “I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t there to buffer my parents.” She turned to him. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. We could always throw Ben at your parents.”
He laughed and hugged her. “Not a bad idea,” he agreed.
“So,” she said quietly, “how do we kick everyone out of here?” She wiggled her eyebrows as she ran her hands up his chest.
Ten minutes later, the house was empty, except for Ben, who was trying to gather up his daughter’s toys from the living room floor while Bella and Sarah chatted.
“Thanks for all the help today.” He shook the man’s hand when he threw a massive bag over his shoulder filled with the toys and other kid things.
“Any time.” Ben smiled at him, then leaned in close. “Sarah told me that Bella knows about Kelly.” His friend frowned slightly. “If you need me to talk to her…”
“No,” Calvin jumped in. “I think we got it all out in the open.”
“Good.” Ben slapped him on the shoulder.
He chuckled. “She thinks I need to hire you as a mediator between me and the folks.”
Ben laughed and shook his head. “I’ve met your parents. I don’t think even I can convince them of anything they don’t want to believe.”
Calvin sighed. “Right.” He glanced over to Bella. “I told her I loved her,” he said, catching Ben off guard.
“Bout time,” he said when he recovered. “Dude, it’s been on your face since she stepped off the boat.” Ben shook his head. “Kind of like how I felt about Sarah.” His smile grew. “One look at her”—his voice rose slightly— “and I fell at her feet.”
“Passed out, you mean,” Sarah said with a chuckle.
He’d heard the story many times of how Ben had arrived at the resort to assess Sarah for her long-lost grandfather, who owned the place and was ready to hand it and Elite Resorts International, his other business, over to his only grandchild. Ben had been fighting the flu and had passed out cold at Sarah’s feet.
“Get new jokes,” Bella said, rolling her eyes.
“We do. We have you living in town now,” Ben said, walking over and kissing his sister’s forehead. Then his smile fell away. “Don’t scare us like this again.”