As she stepped out of her car, the front door opened and Audrey stepped out onto the porch.
"I thought maybe you'd sleep in longer," she said with a wide grin on her mouth.
Nichole shut the car door. "I decided it would be better if I were home when they woke up."
"Lucky for you they stayed up late." Audrey gave her a wink. "I won't indulge you with what they ate, or what they watched," she said as Black Sabbath poised himself between the doorjamb in her leg.
"Considering the evening I had, I won't divulge any of that either."
Audrey chuckled as she stepped back and nudged the dog back as well. "I take it it was a night well spent?"
"Indeed." She walked into her own house, which was tidier than she had left it. Setting her purse on the chair, she knelt down to pet the dog who had come to greet her. "Did you take good care of my kiddos?"
"That might be a conversation your boys can have with you. One night with the dog and, well you know, now they want one."
"I know how to field that conversation," she said standing up. "Thank you again, I don't know how to repay you."
"Well, when I have kids, and I need a good night with my husband, I'll call in the favor."
Nichole laughed. "I promise I'll be available."
Audrey stretched her arms over her head and twisted her neck from side to side. "I guess I will take my beloved dog and head home. I slept on that beanbag in Laura's bedroom. Not so comfortable."
With those words guilt bubble in Nichole's chest. "Was she having a hard time going to sleep without me?"
"Actually, I was dressing her doll. We put her in every outfit we could create. Laura gave up before I did," she said with a laugh. "I kind of just fell asleep there. All three of them were fantastic, Nichole. You have good kids. They're a joy to watch. So, any time you need some time to yourself, or with my cousin, give me a call."
Nichole pulled her in and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate it," she said stepping back.
"I can see it in your eyes. You look happy."
"I am."
They heard the undeniable sound of Laura talking to her dolls.
"I guess my mini-vacation is over," Nichole said.
"I'll see you on Tuesday," Audrey said as she gathered her bag and her dog and headed out the door.
As Nichole listen to her daughter talk to her dolls on the baby monitor, she went to her room and changed her clothes. Pulling her hair atop her head in a ponytail, she decided this was the perfect look for a Sunday. She would let herself relax, enjoy her children, and in the back of her mind, relive the night she had.
28
It seemed as though the entire town were getting married. Nichole had booked three wedding parties for the next two weekends. Usually, she thoroughly enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the wedding crowds, but this time she found they were simply making her depressed.
That was two weekends where she would be on her feet nonstop. Extra hours would be put in at the salon. And honestly, all she wanted to do was see Ben.
She could tell there was equal frustration on his side. Gerald was taking longer getting back to work, Eric and Susan had planned to take their daughter on a mini vacation, and that left him with a lot more work. Even though he had wanted to come into town and see her and the kids, he just couldn't make time for it. And now with the bridal parties, she couldn't get out of town.
It didn't matter much, she decided. The relationship she had with Ben was new. Perhaps it was a test. If they could make it through this next month, they have a better understanding of each other's lives. Besides, the boys had been invited to two birthday parties, and somewhere she had decided signing them up for flag football was a good idea, and they had their first game coming up. Such was the life of a single parent.
Gia walked into the salon as Nichole finished putting the last bridal party into the computer.
"Hey, Nichole, that candle you ordered just came in."
"Fantastic. I can't wait to smell it. I am absolutely scheduling myself a bubble bath tonight when everyone is in bed."
Gia a smile. "I just got in some new bath salts too. I could add them to your order."
Nichole wasn't sure if it was the thought of the bath salts or Gia's beautiful accent that had her sold. "Let me get my credit card."
She retrieved purse from the back room, pulled out the credit card, and walked back up front and handed it to Gia.
"I will go run this and bring back your order. You are going to love those salts," she said as she walked out of the salon waving Nichole's credit card.
It was good to have friends that understood you, Nichole thought as she continued to type away on the computer. Audrey had been there to give her a night off. Lydia had all but done some spiritual dance to get her and Ben together. Gia, though it still helped her business, always knew what would lift Nichole's spirits. Then there was Pearl, she simply made Nichole feel sophisticated just hanging around her. Together, they made a circle that Nichole fit into. They had accepted her as family, and she hadn't known how much she needed that.
Gia walked back into the salon with Nichole's credit card in her hand. "It wouldn't let me run it. It said declined, but didn't tell me why."
Nichole let out a breath. "Oh shit! I forgot to check into that. I tried to run it for gas the other day, and it wouldn't work either. None of my cards would work. I thought something was wrong with the gas station."
"Give me another one. Let me try it."
Nichole walked into the back room and dug out her other credit card and handed it to Gia.
"I'll be right back."
Gia was back in under two minutes.
"This one says declined too."
Nichole took the card from her. "I don't keep balances on my credit cards.”
"I would get on the computer and check. Identity fraud is huge."
Nichole gritted her teeth together. "I'll come over before you close. I'll bring you cash for my items."
"No hurry," Gia said as she placed a hand over Nichole's. "It is not the first time I have seen somebody's credit card get stolen. The companies are usually pretty good about it. Hopefully, they will not give you any trouble."
As Gia turned to leave, Nichole hoped they wouldn't give her any hassle either. The last thing she needed was stolen credit cards.
An hour later, Nichole sat in the back room, her head in her hands and her cheeks damp with tears.
"Hey, beautiful," the familiar voice broke the silence.
When Nichole looked up she saw Ben standing in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers tucked in the crevice of his elbow. His eyes went wide when he saw her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he moved quickly to her.
She held up a hand as if to ward him away. "Nothing. Not a damned thing."
Carefully, he set the flowers on the table and pulled out the chair next to her. "You want to tell me about it?"
"No, I don't want to tell you about it." She got to her feet and slammed the chair into the table.
Ben didn't move or say another word. That would seriously work to his credit. Nichole scrubbed her hands over her face and wiped away the tears that continued to fall. None of this was his fault, so why was she yelling at him?
With her back turned to him, she dropped her hands from her face. "I'm sorry. I had no right to yell at you."
He stayed in the chair. "You've got something on your mind, feel free to let it out."
Nichole chuckled. "You're not even fazed by that?"
"Are you mad at me?"
She turned and looked at him through tear hazed eyes. "Are you currently the one in Cabo buying tequila?"
His eyes narrowed and studied her. "Last time I checked, it'd been a couple of days since I even had a beer. Mostly because I ran out. What are you talking about?"
Nichole tossed her hands up in the air and then sat back down with a humph. "Somebody stole my credit cards and have run up fifteen-thousand do
llars."
"Just one credit card?"
"No. I have two, and they did it to both."
"They don't make you pay for fraudulent charges."
She buried her hands in her face again. "I know. I know. It just makes me sick."
Ben reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. "Hey, if you need some money…"
As if she'd been burned, she pulled back her hand and shook her head. "Oh, no. There is no way I'm borrowing money from you, or anyone else. I'll have this taken care of by tomorrow. Right now, it’s just weighing me down."
"Tell me how I can help."
She studied him for a moment, and then the flowers on the table. "Did you bring those for me?"
He acknowledged the flowers. "My mother raised me to bring flowers to a woman who has been on my mind nonstop. That woman is you. I can't get you out of my head," he said as he raised her fingers to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss across her knuckles.
Suddenly the mess that faced her melted away for the moment. "Can you come to the house for dinner?"
"I was hoping I could scam an invite."
"It's not much. I have beef stew in the crockpot. The boys have a flag football game tonight. So it's kind of a rush dinner."
"Flag football? I haven't played flag football since I was twelve."
The smile came genuinely as their fingers interlaced. "If you're not busy, maybe you could go with us. You could share your knowledge with the boys. They're only starting to learn what it's all about."
"And I thought the night was going to be lonely," he said moving into to press a kiss to her lips.
She felt that tumble as his lips moved against hers. Every moment she was with the man she fell deeper in love with him. It was much too soon to tell him. Something like that would make a man freak out and run away. She was enjoying him too much to scare him off.
* * *
For the time being, Nichole forgot about the hassles of canceling her credit cards as she loaded the boys into the car, and buckled Laura into her seat. Zane and Wyatt hadn't stopped talking since she'd walked through the front door with Ben right behind her.
It warmed her to see how their eyes widened and lit when he was around because she knew seeing him did the same for her.
Ben helped them all wash up before dinner as Nichole got the table set and stew into each of the bowls. She was more than prepared for Wyatt's nose to turn up at the sight of what she had to offer for dinner but maybe seeing Ben eat it would help.
She could hear the water running in the bathroom, and the laughter put a smile on her face. When there was a knock at the front door, she set the serving spoon down in a bowl and went to answer it.
"Hello, Mr. Cowell," she said as she opened the door to her landlord who stood on her front step. His short stature and silver cap of hair made him look much older than she knew him to be. Usually, he wore a warm smile, but tonight his brows were furrowed and his lips drawn down. "How are you this evening?"
"Nichole, I hate this part of my job." He handed her an envelope. "Your rent check bounced. Twice. I'm afraid I'm going to need your payment by the end of the week."
She took the envelope from him and opened it. Inside was the bank paper saying that her check had indeed bounced twice. That wasn’t possible. She kept enough money in that account to pay for multiple months. How was it possible that her credit cards were compromised and so was her bank account? She had her wallet in her possession. No one had stolen it.
"Mr. Cowell, I'm so sorry about this. I don't know what happened. I have plenty of money in that account. In fact, I only use that account for rent, and I have three months of rent saved in it at any time."
"Perhaps it was a mistake on the part of the bank, honey. If you have the money in there, it shouldn't be a problem to have it to me by Friday then."
"Of course not. Again, I'm so very sorry this happened. I'll look into it. But I'll bring over the money before Friday," she promised.
He gave her a warm smile, and it lit in his eyes which had been dark and clouded with worry. "I'll see you then."
Looking at the piece of paper, Nichole closed the door and turned to see Ben leaned against the wall.
"It's not polite to eavesdrop," she said through gritted teeth.
"Didn't mean to." He stood and walked to her. "How can I help you?"
She set her jaw and raised her eyes to meet his. "Clever. You think that I'll just tell you I need money if you word it that way?"
He shrugged. "I think maybe you could fill me in on what's going on."
"I did fill you in. And you overheard this. It looks like I'm walking through some shit storm and it's about to get really bad."
Ben stepped in closer, invading her personal space, but she didn't take a step back.
"Then let me ask you again. How can I help you?" He raised a finger before she could lash out at him. "I want to help you. I have no doubt something is going on, and this isn't just you losing track of things. I've been around you enough to know you don't work like that."
"Just because we're sleeping together doesn't mean you need to just step in and save me," she whispered so that the words didn't carry to the ears of the children laughing in the kitchen.
"A little crass, but okay. Let me say that since we are sleeping together, I don't take what's between us lightly. In fact, I usually am very involved with a woman if I'm sleeping with her. I take her interests to heart, and it's usually because I care a great deal about her. So if you want to belittle what we have by labeling it the way you do, then I suppose I'll be a bit heartbroken in the end. But now you know where I stand."
She felt her mouth open, and tears clogged her throat, but she wouldn't let them pass. For a moment she considered his words against hers. There was no way in hell she was taking money from him, but she'd consciously take a step back and let him into her troubles.
"Ben, I don't know what to do. I only have two credit cards and two checking accounts. I had three full months of rent set aside just for emergencies in that account. There is no way this could have bounced."
"Why don't I go get the kids settled and feed them. You go look at your accounts, and we can talk about it all when we get home from football."
The words when we get home resonated with her. Perhaps it was because she was in in a moment of shock and feeling weak, but she needed to accept the gracious words.
With a nod, she moved in and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything. This is what I can do for you right this moment." He gently pressed a kiss to the side of her head before she walked down the hallway to her bedroom and shut the door.
29
Nichole was quiet through dinner and on the drive to the football field. Ben wasn't sure the kids even noticed, but he had.
Something was processing inside that beautiful head of hers. When they got back to her house, and everyone was settled for the evening, they would talk. And damnit, she was going open up. He wasn't sure what was happening, but Ben was damn sure not going to let her go it alone.
On the drive to the football field, Wyatt and Zane had been asking questions about Ben's time playing. He answered questions about the flags and the game itself. Zane was at a loss as to how it was possible to grab for flags, but not tackle the other player. The coach had made him sit a few times during practice since he hadn't understood it, he confessed.
Ben found it amusing, and he wondered how many of those same questions he and his brothers had asked his parents as they were driven into town for their first game.
He hoped he was being helpful by keeping the kids engaged in conversation as Nichole drove to the field. Did she even realize she wasn't present?
He'd seen the same look on his mother's face more than once, and now he wondered what took his mother into those dark places. Had there been times that something worried her enough to force her into silence? Surely if one of them were to speak to Nichole at that moment, s
he'd never even notice.
When they reached the football field, Nichole had mustered up a smile. She greeted the other mothers who had gathered, and with some space between them, she introduced Ben as a family friend.
Acknowledging the state of mind she was currently in, he didn't find any reason to get upset at the introduction.
She cheered and high-fived the boys when they made a good play or simply got excited about running out on the field. There was joy in her eyes again, and when Wyatt ran in for his first touchdown, she grabbed hold of Ben and planted a noisy kiss right on his cheek.
The simple gesture lit a fire in his belly. Then, when Laura tugged on his pant leg and put her arms up for him to pick her up, he did so only to have her give him a noisy kiss on the cheek as well, and that lit a fire in his heart. Keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, Ben held her on his hip and continued to watch the game.
They waited after the victory for the boys to enjoy their orange slices and bottles of water, which the coach had brought before they headed back to the car.
Laura, exhausted from cheering, had rested her head on Ben's shoulder as he carried her to the car. The boys walked ahead of them, each of them talking over the other about the game.
Nichole slipped her hand into Ben's. When he looked over at her, he saw the softness in her eyes now. He was sure the worry hadn't disappeared, but for the moment she resonated calm.
An hour later, Laura had been bathed and put to bed, and the boys were splashing about in the tub. Nichole dealt with them as, under protest from her, Ben tended to the dinner dishes which they'd left in order to get to the game on time.
He had started the dishwasher when Nichole came back into the kitchen, her shirt wet and her hair now piled on top of her head.
"I'm not condemning your upbringing, but something tells me your mother didn't teach you to clean a kitchen like this," she said looking around.
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