"Crustacean. Betty Boop is a hermit crab," he admitted.
I grinned and bounced in my seat. "You have a hermit crab? That's awesome. I had one when I was a kid but never got another one because I travel too much for work."
Ben shrugged. "I originally bought Betty for Jacks, but her mom refused to let her keep it. Something about not wanting a nasty bottom-dweller in her house."
Hmmm. Jack's mom sounded like she'd get along great with my parents. "So you kept it?"
"Well, yeah. How else will Jacks get to play with Betty?"
My heart melted, just a little. He loved his niece.
"Now that Monica and Brody are divorced, I need to hit him up about taking the aquarium home so Jacks can have her all the time and I can get some counter space back."
"I bet Jacks would love that."
I'd been so distracted by our conversation that I hadn't noticed that we'd left the city limits of Farley.
"Wow, are you taking me to your secret murder spot?" I asked him as we continued down the dark road, not a streetlight in sight.
Ben shot me a look. "Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
I laughed. He not only got my sense of humor, he was able to throw it right back to me.
He turned at a gravel drive and I saw the name Murphy on the mailbox as we passed by.
"Wanted peace and quiet, huh?" I asked as we tooled down what had to be the longest driveway I'd ever seen. I couldn't even see the house due to the trees on each side of the drive.
"Yep. Keeps the more persistent door-to-door solicitors at bay."
The drive curved and he slowed, which was good because the house was right there. He hit the button on the garage door opener and pulled inside a ginormous garage. We were in the middle bay. On the right was a car under a tarp and on the left, I saw the hulking shape of his motorcycle. The chrome gleamed under the dim overhead light and I tried not to drool. I loved riding motorcycles. It had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, mostly because my college boyfriend got miffed when I told him I wanted to buy my own instead of always riding bitch.
Apparently, that wasn't very feminine of me. Yeah, I rolled my eyes pretty hard at that one. Considering I had a vagina, I thought anything I enjoyed doing qualified as feminine.
Needless to say, he didn't last much longer.
"You like to ride?" Ben asked.
Hmmm. This might be a nice way to see what he was made of.
"Yeah. I was thinking about getting a bike of my own."
Ben looked me over. "You're what? Five-two, five-three?"
"Five-three," I answered. "Why?"
"Finding a bike low enough to the ground for you might be an issue, but let me know when you decide you want one. I know a guy."
That was not the response I'd expected. I gaped at him as he turned his back to me and climbed out of the truck. I was still processing his words when he came around and opened my door.
"You okay?" he asked. "I can take you back to town if you're not sure about—"
"I'm good," I interrupted. "Just thinking about what color I want my bike to be."
I scooted to the edge of the seat and slid down. Why did trucks have to be so far off the ground?
Ben's hands slipped around my waist to steady me when I landed hard on my feet. His hands felt strong even as he gently squeezed my sides.
"All right?"
I nodded, holding my breath because his eyes were locked on my lips. I wanted him to kiss me but the thought had my heart thundering in my chest.
"Let's get inside and you can tell me more about this bike you want to buy."
I suppressed my disappointment when he released my waist and grabbed my hand. I followed him through the side door and into the mud room-slash-laundry room. Then I stopped short in the kitchen. White cabinets were topped with black granite countertops and a huge eight-burner gas stove squatted to my left. I was pretty sure that Cam would go into throes of ecstasy when she saw it.
"Nice kitchen," I said as Ben turned on the light. "Resale value?"
Ben chuckled and tossed his keys in a little wooden tray on the counter to my right. "Nope. I cook a few times a week and Brody brings