Straight to the Heart

by Samantha Hunter

  “I’m glad he’s there. It’s a weight off my mind, I’ll admit. Thanks, Dad,” Ben said, though he wasn’t quite sure what his father expected him to do about Joanna. His dad left him deep in thought.

  He knew he wanted her, but everything had changed between them. Or had it?

  He supposed there was only one way to find out.

  CHARLIE WATCHED THROUGH THE open doorway as Abe focused on his homework at the dining-room table, his smooth brow wrinkled in concentration, his grip on the pencil extremely tight as he wrote the names of states and capitals into the blank map given to him by his teacher.

  Charlie had offered to help—the kid had so much homework for his age that it seemed criminal—but Abe was intent on doing his own work. He liked school, said he wanted to be a veterinarian when he was older, and so he had to do well in his classes.

  Patsy’s voice burbled like bubbles in a stream from the floor beside her brother, where she was playing with her dolls, making them talk to each other.

  Charlie loved them both about as much as he was able, which was a lot.

  “He’s so focused for his age,” he said to Lisa, grabbing a towel to help dry the dishes as they stood a few yards away in the kitchen after dinner.

  He tried to help around the house as much as possible, especially because the first time he had picked up a dish towel, Lisa had been so amazed and grateful that she’d made him a pie. It was crazy, but she’d never had a man help her in the house. Her ex seemed to go out of his way to make life more miserable rather than easier, and Charlie wanted to show her that men could be different.

  She made him want to be different. Better.

  “Did you like school at his age?” she asked, scrubbing out a pot.

  “No way. Wanted to be out playing, doing anything but sitting still.”

  He’d certainly never had anyone to help him with homework, or make him a nice dinner, not after his mom died when he was almost too young to remember her.

  “Playing soldier, no doubt.”

  “Absolutely. Ben and I would build forts from old wood in the desert on his family’s land, and sometimes we’d even camp out there, preparing for night-time invasions,” he said, laughing.

  “Ever get invaded?”

  “Only by the local wildlife,” he said, grinning.

  “It’s so nice you two have been close all your lives…parted ways, and now you’re back together again,” she said happily.

  “Yeah, he’s more like a brother,” Charlie admitted as Lisa went out to the dining room to move the kids along, getting ready for bed.

  He loved being a part of it all. Loved sitting down to dinner, helping with bedtime, reading stories to the kids or doing stuff around the place. It was the family he’d always imagined having, being a part of, and he knew they loved him too, which was the most amazing part.

  When he was a kid, most of his meals were skipped or stolen, which was how he got to be friends with Ben, actually. He’d been nailed for the nth time stealing lunch at school, when Ben had told the lunch lady that Charlie wasn’t stealing it, Ben was paying for it. Charlie wasn’t too proud to accept the helping hand.

  After a while, Charlie spent more time with Ben’s family than at home. Rachel had made him dinners and desserts and let him sleep in the clean room upstairs so often he should have paid rent, but the Callahans always welcomed him.

  Charlie signed up for the military as soon as Ben did. He hadn’t really wanted to go that way, but college wasn’t for him, and as it ended up, the army was good for him. Turned him into a man.

  He and Ben had lost touch a lot over those years, but now it was as if the time had never passed. Charlie swallowed the stab of guilt he had been fighting ever since he’d sneaked back after the party, set that fire, slashed the tires two nights ago.

  What other choice did he have? He made sure it wasn’t going to be serious, no one would be hurt, no real damage done, but maybe Ben would take it as a warning—which he had—and back off of his testimony. Then they would all be okay. Of course, now there was Joanna to consider. Did she suspect anything? Charlie thought she had sent him a few strange looks that afternoon at work, and wondered if she knew more than she was telling anyone. She’d fooled everyone, and fooling Ben wasn’t easy. What if she knew?

  No. If she knew, he wouldn’t be standing here right now.

  He fought the surge of betrayal by telling himself that it was to protect Ben as much as anyone. If they sent anyone else…Charlie could convince him not to testify, to save Ben’s life. Charlie had to make it all stop, and if anything was going to work, it was making Ben believe the people he loved were in danger. Ben would do anything to avoid that.

  “I was glad to see Joanna stayed,” Lisa said, resting against the counter, drying her hands.

  “Really?” Charlie asked. He had been less than thrilled. He liked her well enough when he thought she was a waitress, but now she was a threat. Ben still looked at her as if she was the center of the universe, and that could mess things up considerably.

  “I know Ben had the hots for her, and I wondered if he’d scratched that itch—” he said, but his mind was buzzing again with ways he might be able to discourage Ben from testifying.

  “Geez, Charlie,” she said, laughing and snapping the end of a towel at him. It hit his artificial leg, so he didn’t feel a thing and stuck his tongue out at her.

  “Stick that out only if you mean to use it,” she said with a sassy wink.

  “If you say so,” he said with a playful leer and grabbed her, hauling her up close for a deep, strawberry-flavored kiss from the shortcake she’d made for dessert.

  She kissed him once again, and backed away. “But seriously, I think they have something more than the hots for each other. Do you see how they look at each other?”

  Charlie scoffed. “Guys don’t notice that kind of thing.”

  “Well, take it from me, I think they might have something serious going on.”

  “Seems a little quick,” Charlie said.

  “Doesn’t take long when you meet the right one.” Lisa returned to his arms after she put the last dish away.

  Charlie heard the bath water running upstairs, and knew they’d have to go up in a minute to watch over bath time, and get everyone settled in. He gave Lisa a quick taste of what he hoped to do with her after the kids were in bed.

  She pressed into him, making him hard and humble at the same time. He didn’t know he could love someone this much, or be loved back.

  The black fear in the pit of his stomach was because of how fast that would change if she found out about his past addiction and what he was up to now. He had to make sure that never happened. He didn’t deserve to lose everything, not again.

  If only Ben hadn’t seen that stupid murder, everything would be perfect.

  The fire had almost done the trick though. Maybe one more nudge would get him to go the rest of the way, then they would all be free to be happy.

  “So you think Ben is really falling for Joanna?” Charlie asked Lisa, pulling her in close to him for a tight hug.

  “I do. And she’s falling for him, too, though she wouldn’t quite admit it, but it was all over her face.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Charlie said quietly, an idea forming. That could be just what he needed to make Ben turn over. He’d seen Ben’s face when he’d mentioned something happening to Joanna. Maybe she was just the one to make him change his mind.

  “Wouldn’t it be great? The four of us together? What if they decided to get married? Then we could all have a ceremony togeth—” Lisa stopped looking horrified.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Oh, Charlie, I’m sorry, I’m not even really divorced yet, and here I had you walking down the aisle with me,” she said hastily.

  Charlie laughed, noting the mortified expression on her pretty face.

  “Did you just propose to me, then?”

  “I know, I didn’t mean it, I was just thinki
ng how nice it would be, with Ben and Joanna, and if things worked out like that,” she babbled, and dropped her head into her hands. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were running out the door about now,” she said.

  “I’m not running anywhere, darlin’. I love you, and I love those two mini-yous upstairs, and there is no place I’d rather be than here. And when your divorce comes through, you pick the time and the place, and I’m there,” he said, his heart full.

  Lisa looked surprised all over again.

  “Charlie, did you just accept my proposal?” she said breathlessly.

  “I absolutely did,” he said, and was nearly deafened by the whoop of joy she let out, followed by the stampede of footsteps down the stairs as the kids ran into the kitchen.

  “What? What’s going on?” Abe asked, searching their faces for any clue.

  “Charlie just made me the happiest woman on the planet,” Lisa told the kids.

  “Did he give you chocolate?” Patsy asked, and they all laughed.

  “A motorcycle?” Abe guessed.

  “Even better, but we’ll talk about it more later,” Lisa said, all smiles and ruffling the boy’s hair, hugging them both tightly. “Right now, time for bed.”

  She looked over the children’s heads toward Charlie, her eyes beckoning, and Charlie joined them, wrapping his arms around all three, and knowing he would do whatever it took to defend this family. His family.

  He’d keep them safe, no matter what.

  10

  JOANNA WENT THROUGH HER YOGA routine in the middle of Ben’s living-room floor, wringing the tension from her muscles by stretching them to the limit.

  It had been a long afternoon, and she needed a break. Ben too, apparently. He’d gone upstairs for a shower and hadn’t come back down. But she heard him rustling around. Joanna knew he was annoyed with her being there, however, now she was doing her job the way it was supposed to be done. No more pretense. She was going to be on him like peanut butter on jelly. So to speak.

  Laying back in Savasana, the restful pose that always ended a yoga session, she closed her eyes and groaned, all of the tension returning.

  Ben hadn’t said a word to her when she’d arrived. She’d checked in briefly with Stivers, who was watching the ranch, and everything else was calm, now. As if there had never been any trouble at all.

  In her experience, that’s when things tended to explode in your face.

  Joanna took a deep breath, then another, trying to direct the in-breath to certain parts of her body, and then exhaling in a calm way, letting her limbs grow heavy.

  Yoga wasn’t something she’d discovered on her own, or even had done voluntarily. Department of Defense and some arms of the military were using it for conditioning as well as treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome—with good success—and so some law-enforcement departments were picking it up as well.

  Hers had been mandatory treatment assigned by her physical therapist to help her shoulder regain its strength and flexibility. While Joanna had resisted at first, thinking it had to be a bunch of New Age nonsense and fluff, she found out differently very quickly. Her yoga workouts were among the hardest she’d ever had, testing muscles she never knew were there, and she had carried on classes and personal practice long past her recuperation. She smiled to herself, recalling her attempts to get her brother to try it. That had been amusing, but not very successful.

  Under the right conditions, it did help her relax and focus—and that helped her become better at her job.

  But it wasn’t going to help today.

  Giving in, she pushed up from the floor, intending to shower, as well. She saw a light on under the door to Ben’s room, and she knocked softly.

  He answered, clad only in shorts, his skin and hair still damp. Desire hit her like a fist, and she had to take a breath before speaking.

  “I’ll be in the shower. Don’t leave the house,” she said, sounding more terse than she meant to.

  He looked down at himself, and waved the book in his hand. “I’m in for the night.”

  “Okay. I’ll be out in fifteen minutes, and back downstairs.”

  “Why don’t you take the room down the hall, Jo, it—”

  She shook her head. “I’d rather keep an eye on the first floor, and it makes it easier to go outside, check there too. The divan is comfortable if I need a snooze,” she said, realizing her error a second too late as her eyes met his and she knew they were both thinking about what had happened on that divan just days ago.

  “I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” she said and turned away.

  “Oh, I need you. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

  At first, she wasn’t sure she’d actually heard that, and paused in the hall, letting the words and the sexy tone of his voice sink in.

  She faced him squarely. “You don’t need to worry about that. We won’t be doing anything about it. This is work only, no funny business, remember?”

  “But you could keep a much closer eye on me in here,” he said seductively, and she narrowed her eyes.

  “Are you messing with me or what?”

  He stared at her for a long minute, and it threw her that she was trembling. The idea that he still wanted her, wanted anything to do with her, turned the world upside down.

  Maybe that’s what he was trying to do? Was this some new game? Some kind of payback? Answer his bedroom door half-dressed and tease, then back off?

  “You know me better than that, Joanna. I don’t play games,” he said, looking deeply at her, and opening the door a little more widely.

  Was it an invitation, or a dare?

  His eyes reminded her of so many things she loved. The desert sands, caramel, whiskey, lions, butter rum ice cream and topaz. Depending on the light and his mood, they changed intensity, and right now they didn’t flash in anger or agitation, but were quiet, contemplative and definitely hot.

  He leaned on the doorjamb, looking at her lazily.

  “Why are you acting like this?” she said impatiently.

  “I had a talk with my dad today, and it cleared my head, I guess. I didn’t like that you lied to me, but I know you were only doing your job, and I know it’s a serious job. You had to follow orders. I get that, and I don’t see why it should come between us now.”

  Her heart leapt, but she kept her mind steady.

  “I can. I have a job to do, and I can’t do it if I’m…if we’re…you know.”

  He smiled a little. “If we’re what, Jo?”

  “Sleeping together,” she said, straightening stiffly.

  “We slept a little, but the stuff we did when we were awake was a lot more fun,” he said, looking dangerous.

  “I’m taking my shower,” she said, needing to end this conversation. He was playing with her, and she was either going to hit him or jump him any second now, and neither was a good idea.

  “If you change your mind…”

  It was all she heard before she closed the door behind her more loudly than she intended. She took a breath, her jaw clenched. She didn’t like letting him know he’d gotten to her at all, but who was she kidding?

  Stepping into the shower, she turned the water on cold and didn’t warm it up until her head was clear and her teeth were chattering. Washing her hair and soaping up, she wondered, for the first time, if she could do this.

  It was easier if he was angry at her, not speaking to her, keeping his distance. But if he changed his plan of attack—and that was what it had felt like—she’d have a much harder time resisting.

  Because she cared more than she wanted to. Wanted him more than she cared to.

  If she were smart, she’d take herself off the case, tell Don to send in someone else, the way he had wanted to in the first place. But with her next thought, she knew she couldn’t do it. Couldn’t admit that she couldn’t handle it; she had to see it through.

  She was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn’t hear the door open and shut, and was startled when he
pulled the curtain back, standing there before her as naked as she was.

  “Ben!”

  She was sputtering as he stepped inside the tub and took her in his arms. His kiss wiped out any thought that might have followed her exclamation. Her hands were planted on his chest, and she knew she should push him away, but instead, her fingers curled as his tongue rubbed up against hers, getting reacquainted.

  Other parts wanted to get familiar, as well, his thigh nudging in between hers, his hands covering her breasts.

  “Ben, we can’t—” she managed as he broke the kiss, only to take his lips to her breast, lowering his hand to cause trouble between her legs.

  He stroked her hard, sucking hard, bringing her to the edge of a sharp climax that had her shaking and clutching his shoulders for balance. Then he stopped, stood, and her knees almost gave out.

  “If you don’t want this, Joanna, then go. But if you stay, I’m not stopping,” he said, his own breath heavy, his voice rough.

  Leaving would have taken more strength than she had, she realized sadly. She wanted him, one more time, just one more time when they both knew the truth, and everything was out in the open. Then they’d be done.

  “Don’t stop,” she whispered, and took his hand, putting it back against her tender skin as she sought his mouth.

  She came seconds later, crying her pleasure into his mouth as he kissed her, and reveled in his control, the masterfulness of his touch as he brought her back up again.

  “I couldn’t spend one more night thinking about this with you downstairs, and me alone, hard, aching, up here,” he said, turning her to face the shower wall. She planted her hands, lifting her hips, knowing what he wanted.

  “I ached, too,” she admitted, sighing as he eased into her, filling her until she felt she’d burst wide open.

  She thought, perhaps, given her deception, the situation, that he needed to be in control, and she was fine with that. Holding her hips with strong, hard hands, he started to move, and her only worry was that her legs wouldn’t hold her—it all felt so good.