Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,59
beige suit with dark brown embroidery on the lapels, and a pair of very high brown suede heels. Annie wore a dark green pantsuit and flats, making the difference in their heights dramatic.
“I’d love some tea,” Maggie said. “I think we all would.” In black jeans and a lightweight turquoise sweater, Maggie Rawlins had pulled her fiery red hair into a ponytail, a few soft wisps escaping around her pretty face. She was a well-known landscape photographer. One of her pictures, a seascape at sunset, hung on the wall in Ben’s living room.
“I brought this.” Annie handed Claire a foil-covered plate. “I know how much His Grumpiness likes brownies.”
Claire smiled. “I love them, too. Thank you, Annie.”
As she carried the brownies into the kitchen, Claire glanced at the clock and realized that the morning was almost over and it was nearly noon. She poured each of the women a glass from the pitcher of tea she kept in the fridge, and the women sat down at the round oak kitchen table.
Annie took a sip and frowned. “Where’s the sugar?”
“Sorry. I forgot this is the South.” Claire set out the sugar bowl and teaspoons. “Ben’s working in his study. Let me tell him you’re here. I know he’ll be glad to see you.”
“In a minute,” Annie said, stopping her. “Truth is, we came by to see you.”
“You did?”
“We figured you could use a little moral support,” Sage said. “Ben isn’t the easiest guy in the world.”
“The man needs a guard dog instead of a woman to take care of him,” Maggie said with a smile.
Claire tossed her stale coffee into the sink, poured herself a glass of tea, carried it over to the table and joined them.
“Ben’s really not so bad. He acts tough, but that’s just his way of protecting himself. Actually, he’s a very nice man.” As if to make the point, Hercules wandered over, jumped up in Claire’s lap and meowed. She stroked a hand over his soft gray fur. “See. He’s a cat lover. That proves it.”
Sage laughed. “I don’t think most women would think of Ben as nice.”
“Maybe he just wasn’t nice to them.”
Annie harrumphed. “You can say that again.”
Maggie took a sip of her tea. “Did you know you’re the only woman he’s ever let stay in his house? At least that’s what Trace says.”
“Ben’s always been a one-night-stand kinda guy,” Annie said bluntly.
Something Claire had known that very first morning she’d seen him climb out of his SUV in his wrinkled black tuxedo. It was also the moment she’d been hit with a fierce sexual attraction that had only grown stronger every day.
“I know the kind of man he is,” she said, tracing a finger through the condensation on the outside of her glass. “If you’re thinking we’re involved in a relationship, we aren’t. We...umm...we’re just working together to find his son.”
Annie frowned. “We’re talking about Ben Slocum here, right? Gorgeous blue eyes. Six-pack abs. Rock-hard body. You’re not a lesbian, are you?”
“Annie!” Sage’s eyes twinkled. Maggie took a drink of her tea to hide a grin.
“I’m not a lesbian,” Claire said, fighting a smile of her own. “Of course I’m attracted to Ben. What woman wouldn’t be? But as you said, he’s a one-night-stand kind of guy. I’m not that kind of woman.” Except for that one wild night in Phoenix she was supposed to have forgotten but never really would.
“Good for you,” Annie said.
“Ben used to be different,” Claire said. “I know I shouldn’t tell you. I’m sure he wouldn’t approve, but when he was younger, there was a woman he loved. When it didn’t work out, he changed.”
“Sam’s mother,” Sage guessed.
“That’s right. Laura. Before she died, we became close friends.”
“So you’re saying this Laura is the reason Ben doesn’t trust women,” Annie said.
“They were madly in love, but according to Laura love wasn’t enough. Ben found her in bed with another man three days after they got engaged.”
Sage leaned back in her chair. “I knew there was something. I never could quite put my finger on it.”
“Please don’t tell him I told you. He can’t handle another woman’s betrayal and that’s the way he’d see it.”
“We’re family,” Annie said firmly. “Family doesn’t hurt each other.”
Sage reached over the table and caught Claire’s hand. “Ben thinks a lot of you, Claire. When he was in the hospital, he asked Jake and me to look out for you. He said you were amazing in El Paso, that you saved his life. He said