What It Takes: A Kowalski Reunion Novel

by Shannon Stacey

  “He’s a wreck, but they were up here with some friends. They didn’t ride with them today, but they can drive him to Boston so he’s on his way.”

  “Good. She’ll definitely want him there if she pulls through. If you hear anything else, let me know, okay?”

  “Will do. And good work out there.”

  He wasn’t sure he felt the same, but he said his thanks before he hung up. He supposed the fact she’d been alive when she was put in the helicopter meant he’d done a good job, but he always wished he could do more.

  After letting Laney know Butch was going to give him a ride home and promising to give her an update when he had a better idea of what time he’d be home, Ben went in search of something to drink. The slight headache let him know he was dehydrated and it would only get worse if he ignored it.

  Ten minutes later, he was still wandering around when he ran into one of the guys who’d met the ambulance in the emergency bay. “Where the hell are they hiding the damn vending machines?”

  “From here, it’s faster to run into the gift shop. They have basically the same kinds of snacks and drinks, but it’s easier to get to and you don’t need change.”

  After getting directions, he hurried to the gift shop because Butch would probably be there any minute and he didn’t want to keep the man waiting when he was doing him a huge favor. He wasn’t sure yet if it was a favor that would be paid for by the fire department or some other town fund, but that wasn’t Ben’s problem.

  As he grabbed a bottle of water and a soda from the cooler on the back wall of the small gift shop, movement in the window caught his eye. Lined up on a shelf across the bottom of the glass were a bunch of plastic toys that appeared to be dancing. And right in the front was a silly pink flamingo that made him smile.

  “What are those?” he asked the cashier.

  “They’re solar powered and they wave or dance or whatever. They cheer people up, I guess.”

  The flamingo flapped its wings up and down, so he wasn’t sure if it was dancing or pretending to fly, but it looked ridiculous.

  Laney would love it.

  “I’ll take the flamingo.”

  * * *

  Laney heard the low rumble of Butch’s tow truck pulling up outside and closed the book she’d been reading on her phone. The pizza had come out of the oven five minutes before and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. All she had to do was cut it and they could eat.

  It had been weird, emotionally, sitting in his apartment and waiting for him. She’d almost decided to head home, but May had suggested she go ahead upstairs and wait for him since Ben never locked his door. And she’d been looking forward to seeing him all day, so the temptation was too strong to resist.

  It wasn’t long before he’d sent her a text message, and she told him she’d cook the dinner he’d prepared for them. Now she was listening for his footsteps on the stairs, and it was a glimpse into what a normal day could look like if their relationship lasted beyond the summer. Waiting with dinner warming on the stove was something she was familiar with, since she’d done it for her entire marriage.

  The delicious sense of anticipation simmering under the strangely conflicted feelings was new, though. Even though he must have had a hard day if he’d ridden to the hospital with the patient and she had her own misgivings about getting too comfortable in their relationship, Laney wanted to see him.

  When his footsteps finally reached the top step and the door opened, Laney was in the process of cutting the pizza into slices. He smiled when he saw her, and she could almost see some of his exhaustion fade away as their gazes locked.

  Hi honey, how was your day? She killed the impulse to ask the question out of habit and held up the pizza cutter. “Perfect timing.”

  “I’m starving.” He kicked off his shoes and dropped his wallet and keys, along with a small paper bag, on the coffee table before crossing the room to pull her into his arms. “But first I want a kiss.”

  She dropped the pizza cutter on the counter so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He smelled like sweat and the inside of a twenty-plus-year-old tow truck, but his mouth tasted like mint and she would have smiled against his lips, but his tongue slid over hers as he deepened the kiss. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her hard against his body before he sighed against her mouth. After breaking off the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment.

  “I needed that,” he said, giving her another smile.

  “Bad day?”

  “It was a rough one,” he said, and she knew that was all he’d say about the call that had kept him out late. “I need a shower, but the pizza’s ready, so let’s eat first.”

  He didn’t wait for her to serve him, but instead grabbed a couple of plates and put a slice on each. While they ate, he told her some of the funny stories Butch had shared with him during the long ride back from the hospital. He didn’t pay a lot of attention to the gossip Fran shared with him, but when Butch did decide to tell a story, he did it with good old Yankee flair. By the time they’d eaten their fill of pizza, all traces of his day had seeped from Ben’s face except for some tiredness around his eyes.

  “Before I jump in the shower, I got you something today.” Laney watched him grab the paper bag off the coffee table. He gave her a sheepish grin as he handed it to her. “It’s kind of silly, but I saw it in the hospital gift shop when I was buying a drink and it made me think of you.”

  Intrigued, she opened the bag and pulled out a little pink flamingo. Its tiny wings were moving and she noticed the little solar panel right away. Given enough sun, the bird would keep flapping its wings like it was flying, and she smiled at the thought of it dancing in front of a window in her camper.

  Ben brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I hoped it would make you smile like that. The same way you do when you look at the flamingo outside your door.”

  “I love it,” she said, cupping the back of his neck and giving him a long thank-you kiss. “How can a person not be happy watching it dance?”

  “Watching you smile makes me happy.” Before she could say anything, he kissed her again and then gave her a light slap on the behind. “And now I’m going to make us both happy by taking a quick shower.”

  She set the flamingo on the counter so she could clean up after dinner, which consisted of tossing the paper plates and napkins, and leaving the baking sheet for him to wash tomorrow. It was a small but important-to-her boundary she’d established right away. She’d cook with him and if he washed the dishes, she’d keep him company and dry them, but she didn’t clean up after him. Spending time with him was one thing, but taking care of him was another and she didn’t let herself cross that line.

  The pink flamingo caught her eye as she was wiping down the table and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at it again. Tired and thirsty, Ben had still taken the time to buy her a toy just to make her happy, and her heart seemed to beat a little faster in her chest. He’d said it was silly, but it wasn’t. Nobody had ever really done that for her before.

  “You’re smiling again,” Ben said from so close behind her, she felt his breath on her neck, and she jumped.

  “I didn’t even hear the shower shut off.”

  “I told you it would be a quick shower.”

  When she turned around to find him naked except for a towel wrapped around his hips, she laughed. “You’re still damp, Ben.”

  “I was in a hurry.” He pulled her hard against his body, so she could feel the proof of his urgency against her hip. “I missed you today.”

  “Part of you did, anyway,” she teased.

  “All of my parts,” he replied before claiming her mouth.

  The words should have made her pull back, but instead they just inflamed her. He was never shy about what he was feeling. He’d missed her. He wanted he
r. And she wanted him. For now it was all that mattered.

  She ran her hands over his bare chest, stopping just short of the towel, before sliding them around his waist and up his back. His skin was still warm from the shower and he made a growling sound against her mouth when she skimmed her fingernails up his spine.

  When he tugged at her T-shirt, she lifted her arms. He broke off the kiss and pulled it over her head. She unbuttoned her shorts and tugged them down so she could step out of them as his hands cupped her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra.

  When his thumbs brushed over her nipples, she moaned, knowing his mouth would follow. But first he turned her and backed her toward the bed. The towel fell off halfway across the floor, but he didn’t seem to mind. And Laney sure didn’t.

  Her knees hit the edge of the bed, and he kissed her again while his fingers made short work of unclasping her bra. She slid her hands over the curve of his ass, holding him close enough so she felt the hard length of his erection against the front of her panties. But when she moved one hand between them to stroke him, Ben moaned and dropped his head to her shoulder.

  “I thought about this—about you—all the way home and if you touch me like that, this isn’t going to take long.”

  It was heady stuff, being wanted that much, and Laney closed her fingers around him just to hear him make that sound again. He bit gently at her neck while rocking his hips, slipping his hand under the elastic waist of her panties.

  Her breath caught when his fingers brushed her sensitive flesh, and she knew it wouldn’t be very long before she either needed to be lying on the bed or Ben would have to hold her up. She didn’t know if he could read her mind or if he felt the same way, but after stroking her for another moment, he withdrew his hand and then held her wrist until she released him.

  “I want to be inside you,” he murmured against her lips before he kissed his way down her neck. As she pushed her panties down far enough so she could step out of them, his mouth closed over her nipple, sucking hard enough to make her gasp.

  He lifted his head and grinned before setting her on the mattress. She pushed back toward the center as he got a condom from his nightstand and rolled it on, and was unable to keep from smiling as he moved over her.

  “You look pretty happy for a woman who hasn’t come yet,” he said, settling between her thighs.

  “Maybe because I’m confident you’re about to make me very happy.” She reached between their bodies, guiding him into her.

  They moved together, her hips moving to meet his as he pushed deeper with each stroke. Laney scraped his back with her fingernails before taking his face between her hands and pulling his head down so she could kiss him.

  His mouth was fierce against hers, his tongue sliding over hers until he bit her bottom lip, holding it between his teeth. Then he lifted his head so he could look into her face. His gaze was so intense, Laney shivered.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  She felt beautiful when he looked at her like that, and when he said the words in that low, earnest voice. “You make me feel beautiful.”

  “Good.” He kissed her again and it was less forceful and more emotion-filled this time—almost electric with the connection between them. “I like making you feel good, Laney.”

  He quickened his pace, which felt really good, and she dug her fingertips into his hips. Each thrust came deeper and faster, until the delicious tension in her body exploded in a burst of pleasure. She might have said his name, or maybe she was incoherent. She didn’t know. All she knew was the orgasm rocking her world and the feel of Ben’s body.

  “Laney,” he said a moment later, his voice raspy as he found his own release. When the tremors faded, he collapsed on top of her with a guttural groan, his face pressed to her breast.

  “I swear you are everything I’ve ever wanted, Laney,” he mumbled against her skin.

  She tightened her arms around him and kissed the top of his head before closing her eyes. A moment later, he rolled away and disposed of the condom before curling up against her body and throwing his arm over her. Ben was a cuddler, which she loved about him, and he always pressed little kisses to her hair or behind her ear as he nodded off.

  When she felt her eyelids getting heavy, though, she lifted his arm off of her and slid out of the bed. She thought he’d be tired enough to sleep through her gathering her clothes, but when she turned back to the bed after getting dressed, he was awake. Barely.

  “Are you leaving?”

  “Yeah, it’s getting late. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away for the rest of the week. We have a big group coming in and it’s some kind of guys’ trip. That means a lot of drinking and who knows what, so it’ll probably take all of us to keep things under control without making them feel babysat, if you know what I mean.” She leaned over the bed to kiss him, and he put his arm around her, as if to hold her there.

  “If it’s quiet tomorrow afternoon, I’ll ride over on the four-wheeler and let Sam know I’ll be responding from the lodge.” He paused, pushing her hair away from her face. “If that’s okay. If you think you’ll be too busy or you want some alone time, that’s cool, too.”

  Maybe telling him another night would be for the best, she thought. After tonight, she should probably put a little distance between them. But that’s not what she wanted, so she shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll be too busy. And they have to sleep eventually, right?”

  “I’ll try not to keep you up too late,” he said, but the way his lips kicked up at the corners told her he didn’t mean it.

  “Speaking of being up past my bedtime, I need to get back so I can get some sleep.”

  She saw the amusement fade and felt in her gut that he was about to ask her to stay the night. But then his expression cleared and he kissed her. “Drive safely. Text me when you get there.”

  One more kiss good-night, and then Laney picked up her present and went down to her car. She winced as she fired the engine and tried to pull out of the driveway and head up the road while giving it the least amount of gas possible. Hopefully his parents were sleeping.

  For the entire drive back to the Northern Star, she tried not to look at the flamingo on the passenger seat and cursed herself for not staying in bed with Ben. She knew he’d wanted her to. It was only his promise not to ask for more than she was willing to give that kept him from saying the words, but she hadn’t considered how she felt about it until the moment had passed.

  She wanted to be in his bed right now, her back pressed to his chest and his breath warm on her hair. And that scared the hell out of her because she felt as if she was losing herself in him, and she wasn’t even sure she’d found herself yet.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ben bolted upright in bed, almost knocking himself out on the cabinet that hung over the bed. Laney’s bed, he thought, as she sat up beside him.

  He was in Laney’s bed, and somebody was pounding on the door.

  “Ben! Come on, dammit!”

  It was Josh’s voice, and the urgency in it had Ben on his feet. He pulled on his underwear, but didn’t bother with the rest. He unlocked the door and had barely released the door latch when Josh yanked it out of his hand.

  “Something’s wrong with Katie.”

  Ben looked back at Laney, who was sitting on the edge of her bed with the sheet wrapped around her. “Keys are in the pocket of my pants. The one with the black plastic head opens the big cargo box on the back of the ATV. Can you grab my jump bag?”

  As soon as she nodded, Ben grabbed his phone off the counter and took off across the lawn on Josh’s heels. There were a few small rocks in the grass and he’d probably regret the bare feet in the morning, but he followed Josh through the kitchen door and through the house to their bedroom.

  Katie was lying on her side, clutching
her stomach and grimacing with pain. Rosie sat next to her, smoothing her daughter’s hair back from her face. She looked up when they came in and Ben spared her only a quick glance before he leaned over the bed.

  “Hey, Katie. What’s going on?”

  “She started—” Ben cut Josh off with a wave of his hand.

  “Tell me what’s happening, Katie,” he repeated, because her ability to speak would help him gauge her pain level. “And we’re going to roll you to your left side, okay?”

  She nodded, and he was relieved she was able to roll to her other side without too much assistance from him. “I felt fine when I went to bed. And then I woke up and my stomach hurts really bad. I have antacids next to the bed, but they didn’t help.”

  Laney ran into the bedroom, her face almost as flushed as the patient’s. She’d pulled on shorts and a hoodie, and she had his bag in her hand. He took it from her and started checking Katie’s vitals.

  “Can you check the baby’s heartbeat?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t have the equipment for that. Hearing a fetal heartbeat with a stethoscope is almost a miracle under the best of conditions and takes too long. Katie, has your doctor expressed any concern through your pregnancy? Any risk factors?”

  “No. We’re both doing great.”

  “Do you feel any pressure low in your abdomen? Between your legs?”

  “No. No pressure. And the pain’s higher.” She rubbed her sternum, above the baby bump. “It’s like a knot.”

  Ben relaxed. Not a lot, but some of the tension eased from his muscles. “How are those cravings going for you lately?”

  She made a face, but it was Josh who answered. “Cravings? She’s even eating stuff she never has before. And I swear she turns into a raccoon at night.”

  “What have you eaten tonight?”

  “We had pork chops and mashed potatoes for supper.”

  “Which you dumped ranch dressing on because your taste buds are weird now,” Josh added.