Meeting Mr. Right

She entered the house through the sliding door in the back and brushed her shoes against the welcome mat. “Excuse me, Mrs. Atwood?”

“You’re still here?” asked Ben’s mom in surprise as she entered the room. “I would have thought you’d have something better to do on a Friday night than hang around here, especially if you’re not on call at the fire station. Don’t tell me there’s no fancy date with a handsome hunk?”

Vee blushed so hard she thought her head might pop. “No, ma’am. Not tonight.”

Not ever, actually, but Vee didn’t see the need to elaborate on the subject.

Ben’s mother chuckled lightly. “Their loss.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she agreed, becoming more embarrassed by the moment. She decided to change the subject before it got completely out of control. “I was wondering if you had any rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide that I could use. Ben has a few blisters on his hands, and I’d hate for them to get infected.”

“Of course. My son isn’t used to shoveling dirt, poor dear. Why don’t you sit down for a moment while I get them for you?” His mom sounded more amused than concerned by her son’s dire plight. She gestured to a chair at the dining room table, but Vee politely declined. Despite the woman’s kindness, Vee decided it was better for her to remain standing on the mat where she wouldn’t accidentally make a mess with her dirty clothing.

In less than a minute, Ben’s mother returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a roll of gauze, a handful of large cotton balls and a tube of antibacterial cream, delivered with a perceptive smile.

“There you go, hon. Everything you need to patch my boy up right.”

“This ought to do it,” Vee agreed warmly. Ben’s mother was one of the most pleasant women she knew. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Atwood.”

“Never a problem. You tell Ben that his mother said that he ought to wear gloves next time.”

Vee chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. I will.” How nice, to have his mother’s permission to rub it in a little bit, both literally and figuratively.

Laden with her impromptu medical kit, she returned to where Ben waited, tucked onto a porch chair with his legs extended before him, crossed at the ankles. His head was back, his eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling evenly. Vee thought he might be asleep and wondered if she ought to wake him, but when she approached, his eyes, with those thick, long eyelashes that only men ever seemed blessed with, fluttered open.

His gaze narrowed on her tentatively when he saw the bottle of rubbing alcohol in her hand.

“Rubbing alcohol? That wouldn’t have been my first choice.” He sounded none too thrilled about it.

“Don’t be a baby. Now put out your hand.”

Ben frowned but allowed her to pry the fingers of his left hand open, palm upward.

Vee doused a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol, cupped his hand in hers and began dabbing at the red, angry blisters that covered his palm.

“Ow,” Ben complained, trying to pull his hand out of her grip. “That hurts.”

Vee persisted in wiping the wounds, ignoring his protests. “If you insist on pulling away like that, it’s going to take a lot longer to get this done.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked suspiciously. “You’re making it hurt on purpose.”

Was he teasing her? Maybe. She couldn’t tell, so she went for a neutral—though truthful—response. “Of course not. I would never do that.”

Vee carefully wrapped his hand in strips of gauze so he couldn’t accuse her of further assaults on his person. “There. All better. Just keep it clean, okay? Doctor’s orders.”

“Hey, are you forgetting who the paramedic is here?”

“Fine, then—mother’s orders. If you don’t like it, take it up with your mom. She’s the one who gave me the supplies to get you bandaged up. And if you don’t keep that gauze clean, you’ll be answering to her.”

“Do you really think I can do that? I work with cars, remember?”

“That could be an issue. I don’t know how you’re going to avoid grease when you’re tinkering with a car engine. I suppose you’ll just have to do the best you can.”

“I will,” he promised, but under his breath he muttered, “I’m glad you’re a firefighter and not a nurse.”

“That makes two of us. I didn’t try to hurt you on purpose, but I’ll be the first to admit my bedside manner is a little rough.”

“A little?” He chuckled and shook his head. “If that’s what you’re like when you’re trying to help me then I’d hate to think of the damage you could do if you really were trying to hurt me.”

Hurt you like you hurt Olivia? Vee thought to herself. He must have noticed the shift in her expression that accompanied the new direction of her thoughts because he quickly changed the subject.

“Now that the work’s done—the planting and the bandaging—would you like to stay for dinner? I know I told you I can’t cook, and I can’t, but even I can manage to throw a couple of steaks on the grill without ruining them. Mama usually ropes me into grilling for her when the weather cooperates, so I’m guessing that’s probably what she has in mind for today. We’ve got plenty of room at the table for one more, and I’m sure my parents would love for you to stay and visit the family.”

“I should be offering you a steak dinner for all the help you’ve been to me today. I wouldn’t have gotten even a quarter as far along as we did together.”

“No problem. I was glad to help. It was for a good cause. And we do work well together.”

He sounded as surprised as she felt. Vee shivered in what she thought must be discomfort, though in truth she didn’t dare identify the emotion. Is that what Ben thought, that they worked well together?

“As for dinner,” she said and then paused. She already had other plans. Not an in-person date with a handsome hunk who wanted to take her to dinner or out to the movies like Ben’s mother had suggested, but definitely the next best thing. Those plans in question were calling to her, tugging at her heartstrings to make short work of leaving and hurry along to Cup o’ Jo Café.

But then there was Ben, with his convincing half smile and dancing gaze. She hesitated.

Vee couldn’t believe she was tempted, even for a moment, to stick around and share a dinner with Ben and his family—but she was. No wonder Olivia had fallen for the man hook, line and sinker. Ben could be very charismatic when he wanted to be.

Nice, even. And he was good-looking, no denying that fact.

Which was exactly why she had to say no.

She took a deep breath and plunged in before she lost what was left of her mental faculties and caved to his suggestion.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” she murmured, pausing only for a moment at his crestfallen look. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he actually cared what her answer would be.

But that wouldn’t change it. “As much as I’d love to share a meal with you and your parents this evening,” she continued, “I already have other plans.”

Chapter Four

Dear BJ,

This week has been very tough for me. Sometimes I just feel like I need to let my hair down—do you know what I mean? I’m so guarded all the time, worrying about what people think of me and, even more, what they expect of me. I’m afraid I might not be living up to everyone’s standards.

It’s stressful keeping everything bottled up inside all the time. It would be nice to be able to see things differently for a change, from another point of view. From a different set of eyes.

Oh, who am I kidding? I am what I am and that’s all...well, you know. I’m starting to sound like Popeye now. Terrific. Who ever knew that he was such a sage?

I guess I should just accept the way that God made me and not try to make myself anything different. I might feel like a distinct person inside my heart, but people don’t see that, do they?

That’s never going to change. I’m never going to change.