Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,90
plate. “If they ask, you say your name is Sam Slocum. Your mom died and now you’re living with your dad in Houston.”
“What about Claire?”
Ben’s eyes met hers across the table. There was something there she couldn’t quite read. “Claire lives in Los Angeles, son. She has a job there. She can’t stay with us. Houston isn’t her home.”
Sam’s face went pale and his attention swung to her. He almost never cried but his eyes were glistening, and she knew he was fighting to hold back tears. “You’re not staying? You’re just gonna leave me here?”
Her heart squeezed. Dear God, she should have talked to Ben sooner. Told him her plans, figured things out. Now it was too late.
She tried for a bright, cheery smile. “Actually, I...umm...I’m not going back—at least not right away.” Probably never. “I’ve rented an apartment close by. That way we’ll be able to see each other, spend time together, just like before.”
Ben’s icy eyes bored into her. “What about your job?”
“I was going to tell you. I just... I wanted to get everything in order. I...umm...found a position here.”
Ben came up from his chair. “Finish your breakfast,” he said to Sam. “Claire and I need to talk.” He caught her arm, hauled her to her feet.
Sam was out of his chair in an instant. “Don’t hurt her! She didn’t do anything!”
Ben froze. Claire’s heart was pounding. Clearly Sam had seen Troy hit Laura. Or maybe it was the way Troy had treated him on the road.
Ben crouched down in front of him. “It’s all right, Sam. I’m not going to hurt Claire. I’d never hurt her. I’d never hurt you, son.” Ben eased the boy into his arms and held him until his small body softened and Sam’s arms went around his neck. Ben gave him a reassuring hug. “We’re just going to talk, okay?”
Sam slowly nodded and Ben released him. He looked up at Claire with his father’s amazing blue eyes. “You’re really gonna stay?”
Her heart thudded softly. She hadn’t expected Ben to like the idea of her staying in Houston. Or maybe she had. Maybe that was the reason it hurt so much to realize how eager he was for her to leave. “I’m staying.”
Sam sank back down in his chair and started eating as if the breakfast she had cooked was the best-tasting food in the world.
When she looked at Ben, he was standing behind his chair, his arms crossed over his powerful chest.
“You’re right,” she said. “We need to talk, but unfortunately, if you’re going to get Sam to school on time, we’ll have to wait till you get back.”
Ben scowled, looked down at the top of Sam’s dark head. “Fine.” He sat back down and the two of them finished their meals, then Ben loaded Sam into the Denali and drove off toward school.
Sam never called Ben Dad or Father. Mostly he didn’t call him anything. Sam was settling in, trying to get used to his new life. Although he gazed at Ben with a serious case of hero-worship, he didn’t know this man who had rescued him from the swamp.
He wanted to, though. Claire could see it whenever he looked at his dad. He wanted a father, just like any other boy his age. But trust wasn’t that easy for a child who’d been abandoned time and again. Unknowingly by his father before he was born. By his mother, who had died and left him alone. By Claire, who had failed him.
She needed to explain all that to Ben, but she wasn’t sure exactly what to say. She had rented a car when they got to Houston. It crossed her mind to head over to her new apartment, give Ben a chance to cool off a little, get used to the idea that she wasn’t going to leave.
But that was the coward’s way out. Clearly Ben was ready to say goodbye and move on with his life. She had known it was coming. Maybe it was the reason she had put off the discussion so long.
Her heart squeezed. For the first time Claire realized that somewhere deep inside, she had hoped Ben would ask her to stay, that maybe he harbored at least some of the feelings she felt for him.
But she had known from the start he wasn’t a one-woman man, and that wasn’t going to change. She just hadn’t known how badly it was going to hurt.