Hot and Bothered

by Jennifer Bernard

  Not that he was complaining. This was what he’d dreamed of every day while he was in the Air Force. To come home, work for himself, and fly for the sheer joy of it. At the back of his mind, he’d also thought about starting a family. But he couldn’t think about that now, not until he got this unfinished business with Julie taken care of.

  But that was never going to happen if he didn’t see her. She wasn’t on social media. Suzanne refused to hand over her phone number without Julie’s permission. He was completely dependent on a quirk of fate throwing them together. And after a couple weeks of running into her constantly, suddenly she was nowhere to be seen.

  Maybe she’d left again.

  That dark thought brought back his bad mood, to the extent that he even glowered at a couple celebrating their anniversary. Tobias caught him in the act and drew him aside.

  “Dude. I’m the frowny one. Not you.”

  “Frowny?”

  “Sarah’s description. You get the point. It’s your job to smile at the customers, because Lord knows it isn’t mine. I thought we settled this.”

  Ben bared his teeth in a forced grin.

  “Better. Still needs work, though. Hey, we’re all going for pizza tonight. That ought to make you smile.”

  Tobias was right about that.

  Being surrounded by his brothers always made Ben happy. Now that they were adding on partners—Merry and Carolyn—and more—Chase and Sarah—they didn’t all fit into one booth at Outer Crust Pizza. Instead, they pushed two tables together. The only one missing was Aiden, currently in the thick of his spring classes at Evergreen.

  And Mom and Cassie, of course. And the permanently missing member of their family, Dad.

  Sometimes Ben thought that Dad wasn’t gone at all, because he was right there in the back of his thoughts. Times like these, when they were all together, Ben felt his presence even more powerfully.

  They launched into a long, noisy discussion of which combination of pizzas to order. Half meat, half veggie? What about olives, loved by some, loathed by others? What about Carolyn, who liked to eat healthy and avoided cheese? What about Merry’s dislike for mushrooms?

  “I don’t eat anything that could be described as a toadstool,” she declared from her spot snuggled against Will’s side.

  Carolyn stage-whispered to Sarah, “Toadstool-gingerbread pizza, how does that sound?”

  “Ewww,” Sarah said, relishing her disgust. Ben was amazed by how well she was adapting to her new life, after spending the first seven years of her existence in a wacko compound run by a militia group. Carolyn and Tobias had gone into the compound to rescue her. Ben had flown the chopper up the coast in case they needed a quick getaway, and so he’d actually been the one to whisk Sarah, and several other kids, away from the Light Keepers. That experience had bonded them forever.

  Chase took charge of the pitcher of beer and filled glasses for anyone interested. Ben accepted one and took a long swallow. “How was Vegas?” he asked.

  Chase startled. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, how did it go?”

  “Oh. Pretty good.” Uncharacteristically, he said no more. Ben glanced over at Merry for help, but she shrugged.

  “I’ve tried prying the story out of him, but I got nowhere. And if I can’t make him talk, no one can.”

  A wave of ruddy red crept up Chase’s cheeks. “There’s no story,” he muttered.

  Will snorted, and Chase turned on him. “You said you wouldn’t tell!”

  Will threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. “Did I say anything?”

  “I heard a sound,” Chase muttered.

  With a roll of his eyes, Will took a glass of beer from Chase. “The good news is, our client is safe and sound. The bad news is, Chase has lost his damn mind.”

  The server arrived, ready with a notepad. Tobias beckoned him over. “No one can agree what to order, so I’m taking charge here.” He rattled off a list of pizzas that miraculously seemed to cover all the possible contingencies.

  As he was wrapping up, Sarah climbed onto her knees on her seat so she could see over Chase’s head. “There’s that boy! From the ice skating!”

  Ben turned to look, his gaze arrowing in on the woman who had just walked in. The bells over the door were still jingling, her cheeks still pink from the outdoor air. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, a knit cap keeping it from her face. She wore a cozy red-and-black plaid wool jacket that made him think of curling up in front of a fire in a cabin in the woods.

  Maybe naked.

  His cock stirred as that vision took shape. She’d stretch out nude on the blankets, all pink and flushed. He’d keep her warm, every inch of her, with his hands and tongue and…oh hell.

  Stop it. Just stop. Public place here.

  Felix was a half-step ahead of her, bundled up in a sheepskin-lined jacket. He looked over at their table because Sarah was calling his name, but his glasses were fogged from the steamy warmth. It fell to Julie to wave at them, then tap Felix’s shoulder to encourage him to do the same. The boy took off his glasses, then carefully took out a piece of cloth from his jacket pocket and cleared the lenses.

  He really was a character, this kid.

  When he saw Sarah, who was now standing on her chair, grinning at him excitedly, he smiled back and headed toward them.

  Julie hesitated. She scanned the table, obviously daunted by the group of Knight brothers and company. For a quick flash, he saw things from her perspective. Will and Tobias used to treat her like a little sister, but what did they think of her now? And the rest of the group were strangers to her.

  As for him? They had yet to have a normal conversation.

  Maybe this was their chance.

  With an out-of-body sensation, Ben rose to his feet. “Come on over, Julie. Meet the crew.”

  She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, still hesitant. Her eyes shone bright against her flushed cheeks. And a visceral memory came over him of the first time they kissed. He remembered exactly how fresh and tender her lips tasted. It was behind the lifeguard shack at the beach. She’d worn her regulation lifeguard swimsuit, which had revealed just a shadow of cleavage that drove him absolutely mad with lust…

  He’d brought her a soda and a bag of barbecued corn chips, because she was a junk food addict at that point. Since her mother cooked obsessively healthy meals for the Reinhards, Julie rarely got a chance to eat junk. Nothing made her happier than a surprise gift of completely nutrition-free food.

  She’d grinned and accepted his gift with a hug. The sensation of her sun-warmed skin was like an injection of adrenaline into his veins.

  “What are you doing here, Knight?” At that point, they weren’t yet boyfriend and girlfriend. They were “hanging out.” Which he loved and hated. They joked and talked and even shared a few secrets. But she had those pretty legs, and those breasts, and that skin, and those lips, and he lusted after her hard.

  So, he’d leaned forward and touched his mouth to hers, as if it was pre-ordained. Destined. The sweet sweep of his flesh against hers filled his senses. A quick draw of breath echoed in his ears, amplified by the blood roaring through his veins. Her breath? A gasp? Had he gone too far? Ruined everything?

  Almost afraid to know, he opened his eyes. She was staring at him, mouth open, touching her lips with her fingertips. “You kissed me.”

  “Yeah,” he said cautiously. “Is that…are you…I’m sorry…”

  “I thought you liked Savannah.”

  “Savannah? Why did you think that?” He was almost insulted. Ever since he’d met Julie, he’d barely remembered that Savannah existed.

  “Because she’s…” She flapped her hand, chasing the thought away. “It doesn’t matter.” She lifted her chin and leaned toward him. “Will you do that again? It’s so much nicer than I even imagined.”

  He laughed a little, thrills of joy racing through him. “So, you imagined kissing me?”

  “Um, yes. A few times. Now shut
up and let’s try it again. But like, longer this time.”

  So, they kissed longer, and deeper, and it was amazing and arousing and maddening and satisfying, all at once. After that, they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Until she left.

  Ben shook off the memory in time to see Tobias introducing her to everyone at the table. She smiled at everyone, then said, “And this is Felix Reinhard. I think someone here already knows him, right?”

  Sarah jumped with happiness. “I do! I do! He helped me skate. What kind of name is Felix?”

  “It means ‘happiness,’” Felix said stoically. “But there’s also Felix the Cat. A lot of people know about him. It’s kind of a stupid name because I’m not a happy kind of person.”

  Ben’s eyes flew to meet Julie’s, because that’s what the two of them had always done. They’d always shared jokes and found the same things funny. Julie caught her lip between her teeth and amusement filled her eyes.

  “You’re not happy?” Sarah sounded amazed by that concept. “Why not?”

  “Just not. I’m in a bad mood a lot.”

  Julie stepped in. “Felix is a very honest person. Sometimes he’s happy and sometimes he isn’t. But he’s always himself, and that’s a good thing.”

  Sarah’s forehead creased as she worked that concept through her mind. “I know how you can be happy!” She turned to Ben, who braced himself for whatever madcap idea she’d suddenly come up with. “Let’s take him on a plane ride!”

  “Uh, sure. Anytime. But that’s probably up to the parent-in-charge.” He lifted an eyebrow at her. Hopefully she could tell that he’d be perfectly happy to take her—them—up for a ride. But he didn’t want to exert any pressure, especially considering how Felix had responded to him last time.

  Julie looked down at Felix, who twisted his body around to stare up at her. “Would I like it?” he asked her.

  She shrugged. “I guess there’s only one way to find out. But we’d hate to impose on you, Ben, and—”

  “No,” Ben interrupted before she could go too far in her bowing-out-gracefully process. “I’d love to take you up. Both of you. All of you. Bring the whole family. Name the day and I’ll put it in the calendar.”

  “That’s very generous of you. We’ll talk about it, Felix and I. I’ll have to get Savannah’s permission.”

  Sarah was so excited that she launched into a long description of her helicopter ride. She kept asking Ben to back her up on the details, so he almost missed a brief conversation between Julie and Will.

  “There’s something important I need to talk to you about,” she told Will quietly, under cover of the general chatter. “Can I come to your office sometime this week?”

  Ben didn’t catch the rest of their conversation, but he knew one thing for sure. He intended to be at that meeting, no matter what.

  7

  To Julie’s amazement, Felix threw himself into the idea of venturing up in the air in one of the small planes they’d seen in the flyer. It was all he could talk about the next night at dinner at the Reinhards’ sprawling Tudor-style estate in the foothills at the edge of town.

  Every time Julie brought Felix here, her stomach filled with butterflies. So many memories—the flagstone terrace where she and Savannah used to do their homework, the little cottage where she’d lived with her mom, the woods filled with birch and pine. She knew every inch of the property except for the Reinhards’ private quarters, where she was never allowed.

  Adam and Priscilla Reinhard were a “power couple” who owned houses in Jupiter Point, the Bahamas, and Dallas. He was an investor, she was a marketing genius, both were lean and sleek and sharp-eyed as sharks. They’d always been generous to Julie and her mother, but she’d never felt comfortable with them. Even as a teenager, and Savannah’s best friend, she’d sensed the distance they liked to put between them and those with less money. Not only that, but their generosity came with strings. Julie was expected to help the new cook, clean up after parties, run errands, and so forth. She’d never minded, because without the Reinhards, she would have been adrift after her mother died.

  But now, as an adult, it didn’t feel right. She’d chosen to stay close to Savannah and Felix. That didn’t mean she was his nanny, or some kind of paid caretaker. Yet sometimes she felt that way around the Reinhards.

  Like now.

  “Have you contacted Savannah about this?” Priscilla asked from the foot of the 1840s Victorian dining table. She had a passion for antiques, in a good investment kind of way.

  “I will, of course, but she trusts my judgment when it comes to Felix.”

  A server came in with a platter of rare, juicy roast beef, its rich scent making Julie’s mouth water. When her mother had cooked for the Reinhards, Priscilla had tried every diet from macrobiotic to paleo. So far, this meal seemed fairly normal.

  “The idea of Savannah being the final say on anyone’s judgement is debatable,” Adam Reinhard said in his wry way. His illness had turned his face gaunt and colorless, but he still had every ounce of his acerbic manner. Julie was starting to suspect his ailment wasn’t that serious, he was just using it as an excuse to get Felix to visit.

  “You shouldn’t say mean things about my mom.” Felix forked a piece of roast beef into his mouth and chewed in the sloppy way he knew his grandmother despised.

  “I’ve known Savannah a lot longer than you have.” Mr. Reinhard always hit back when he felt attacked, no matter the age of his attacker. “And if you think that was mean, the ladies have been spoiling you.”

  Felix stared stonily back at him.

  Julie cleared her throat. “I looked at the school schedule, and I think the best day for the flight would be this Saturday. That’s only a few days away, Felix. We can spend that time learning everything we can about Cessnas.”

  “I already started. It’s a 206, and it holds six people, including the pilot. It has a flight range of five hundred and sixty-three nautical miles and a cruising speed of one hundred and forty-four knots,” Felix rattled off.

  They all stared at Felix, while Julie hid a smile. The Reinhards weren’t used to Felix’s thirst for knowledge yet. When he glommed onto something that interested him, he soaked in details and information like a human supercomputer.

  “Six people, you said?” Priscilla asked. “Well then, plenty of room for us as well.”

  Adam looked at her askance. “Us? Are you referring to you and me?”

  “We’ll make it a family outing,” she declared. Her black hair was now cut in a bob, with one dramatic silver streak allowed to remain.

  “I’ll have to check with Knight and Day,” Julie began, before Priscilla interrupted again.

  “I’m sure Ben Knight will be happy to accommodate you.” She added just enough emphasis on “you” to make Julie flush.

  “This invitation didn’t come from Ben. It came from Sarah Moore, Ben’s niece. Or sister-in-law, or something along those lines. I’m not entirely sure of the connection. At any rate, she and Felix have struck up a sort of friendship, right, Felix?”

  But Felix had now checked out of the discussion. He was probably dismayed at the thought of the Reinhards joining them.

  She tried again. “It might be less stressful if it was just me and Felix.”

  “Ben will be there, correct?” Priscilla nodded briskly. “I’d feel more comfortable keeping an eye on things. With all the baggage between you two, I’m not confident it’s safe.”

  “Baggage? Plane? Good one.” Adam gave a bark of laughter.

  Julie gave her a puzzled frown. “Ben was a pilot in the Air Force. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.”

  “Nonetheless, I think it’s best. You’d like to get out, right, Adam, now that you’re feeling better?” Priscilla didn’t wait for his answer. “It’s settled, then.”

  Julie forced a smile at the older couple. The Reinhards were used to getting what they wanted, which was often annoying. But maybe this plane flight would be a good
way for them to connect with Felix, which was her purpose for being here, after all. “Saturday, then. It’ll be fun.”

  Well, maybe. At any rate, with more people around, maybe she’d have less chance of embarrassing herself in front of Ben. Maybe.

  Back at the tiny apartment she’d rented, Felix dove into more Cessna research while Julie took a quick shower. The streaming water gave her the sense of being swept back in time by a fast-moving river. Spending time at the Reinhards brought back so many intense memories.

  Her mother had been a free-spirit gypsy type who’d used her cooking skills wherever she wandered. But once Julie reached the age of ten, Mom had decided they needed to be in one place. The job with the Reinhards had seemed perfect. When she and her mother had first moved in, Julie had been terrified of the Reinhards. She’d stayed away from the big house and played in the woods by herself, climbing trees and making up adventure stories.

  Then one day, when she was eleven and Savannah was twelve, Savannah had “run away from home,” which meant fleeing into the woods in tears. She’d wound up huddled under one of Julie’s favorite fir trees, near the tree fort Julie had created from fallen branches and moss. So Julie had invited her in. From then on, they’d been best friends. The Reinhards didn’t like it at first, but when they discovered that Savannah was a lot happier with a playmate, they relaxed and gave Julie the run of the estate. She tagged along for tennis lessons, piano lessons, country club outings.

  Then came Ben, which was the first serious setback in Julie and Savannah’s friendship. But since Savannah always had boys in love with her, and she’d seen Ben as basically a new toy, they got past it. Then Julie’s mother had died just before Julie’s junior year. Right away, Savannah had vowed that Julie would always have a home with them, her parents be damned.