Page 32 of Just a Plot Twist (Tate Brothers #7)

Benson

“Uh. No.” Claire calls through the door.

I get it. She still thinks I’m going to throw her in the pool.

I want to. Who knows what it is with guys throwing people in pools, but it is what it is. I’m a guy and I’m here to say that it lives up to the hype.

It was embarrassing when I so gracefully sauntered into the water—right in like I meant it. And it wasn’t just because I inadvertently stepped into a swimming pool full bore, but because of the reason.

It was because I couldn’t stop staring at Claire. In her soft green sundress that matches her eyes, I couldn’t get enough. My eyes were craving every last bit of her. And when she turned back to look at me, too, I lost all awareness of anything else .

Unfortunately for me, I’m still wet from head to toe, but that can’t matter. I got a call from Danica, so Claire and I have to leave now, and I can’t run home and change my clothes first.

“If I promise to not throw you in the pool, will you open the door?”

“Hmmm. You have to convince me. How do I know this isn’t a ruse?” Her

voice is teasing me. I drop my forehead against the door. I want to keep playing games with her. I want this back and forth between us.

“It’s not a ruse because Danica called. We need to leave now to go pick up the kids.”

There’s a pause and then a click as she unlocks the door. She peers around it to study my face and must be satisfied that I’m trustworthy because she steps out, allowing the bathroom door to close behind her.

I slide my hand down her arm and interlace her fingers with mine. “Sorry about this, but we have to go.”

Her brows knit together. “Is everything okay?”

“The kids are fine. Danica and Harry both got called in for shifts at the hospital, so I’m picking Dax and Indie up. They’ll stay at my place tonight.”

“But you’re soaking wet.”

“I’ll dry off fast. It’s okay. It wouldn’t make sense to drive home to change first. Highlands Ranch is in the opposite direction from my place.”

I explain the situation to Peter and Mandy on our way out, and they insist I take a couple of towels with me.

When we reach the car, I place a towel across the driver’s seat, another one hanging where I rest my back, and then remove my shirt and spread it out along the backseat so it can dry faster .

I don’t miss that she totally checks me out while we get our seatbelts on.

I’m not gonna lie, it’s nice to be seen, even though I’m not completely comfortable sitting here without a shirt on.

I call Danica. “I’m on my way.”

“I appreciate this. There isn’t anyone in the neighborhood we know well enough yet to ask,” Danica says through the phone, as we drive out of the Schiller’s neighborhood, making our way to Highway 89.

Peter and Mandy live in the same neighborhood as my father and Celine, so I feel the sting of what my father is going through all over again as I catch a glimpse of their road before we exit their exclusive area.

Claire’s staring ahead, looking a little uncomfortable about all of this.

I’m uncomfortable, too. I wasn’t planning on having her meet my kids yet. But suddenly, here we are.

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell Danica. “I’d much rather you ask me than a neighbor. Always.”

“They’re fine at the house by themselves until you can get there,” Danica says.

She’s right. Dax started tending Indie on occasion a few months ago and it usually goes well, if you don’t count the times they call their mother or me complaining about the other one.

But this was unexpected. And it’s a school night, so I’d much rather they be at my place.

“This never happens,” I tell Claire when I’m off the phone.

“Several of the local pediatricians are on call at the hospital once or twice a month. And since she’s a nurse, Danica had also signed up to be on call, as well.

They weren’t even worried about being on-call the same night, though, because they don’t have to go in much. Tonight was the exception. ”

Claire nods and brightens into a smile. “It’s nice you live close enough now that you can just pick them up whenever.”

As strange as it is that we’re having a normal conversation while I’m sitting here bare chested, there’s not much I can do about it.

I let out a slow breath. “You have no idea how nice it is to be near them, for lots of reasons.” The air conditioning is cold on my skin, but it’s helping me dry faster, so I leave it on.

I should mention the other thing, the fact that she’s suddenly forced to meet them.

But Claire speaks first. “Lora Schiller talked about her business when we were in the bathroom.”

“What did she say?”

“When I told her it was great she was doing this all on her own at such a young age, she added that she was getting some help. I’m assuming she meant from her father.”

“Makes sense. Sounds like it to me.”

“And guess what? She said her parents are friends with my grandparents.”

“The Schillers were at the anniversary celebration.”

She clucks. “You’ve made it your mission in life to never again say the word ‘extravaganza,’ huh?”

I laugh. “I’ve made a game of it.” I adjust the towel I’m sitting on. It’s not great to be sitting in wet shorts. “But I wonder how close the Schillers and Hansons are?”

“I can ask. Lots of VIPs from Boulder and Longdale were invited to the soiree. ” She gives me a pointed look. “Lora alluded to many people helping her start her business, but I’m not sure what that means. ”

We’re quiet for a moment.

“So the plan is, we pick up your kids and bring them back to your place?” Claire ventures.

I nod. “Thanks for being willing to come with me.”

Nerves fill in the spaces between us.

She shrugs. “I wanted to come.” A smile teases her lips. “We haven’t discussed me meeting your kids, though, so I’m not sure what the protocol will be.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either. But it’ll be okay.”

“What will you introduce me as? I mean…I’m not sure what to tell them,” she says, staring out the windshield.

“Like I did at the party. My date.”

My stomach dips, though. How are the kids going to feel about it? And Claire is so much more than a simple date. Still, we need to take baby steps, especially where the kids are involved.

“And that won’t be problematic?”

“If I say we’re just friends, Dax and Indie will call my bluff a mile away. No, I need to be honest with my kids.”

“I sort of like your honest answer.” Her gaze skates to mine, but she looks away before I can meet it.

“Do you think we’re just friends?”

She gives up a soft laugh. “No.”

“I really like being around you, Claire.” My skin flushes hot. I’m so out of practice with all of this.

She looks at me, surprise on her face. “I like being around you, too.” There’s a lilt in her tone that does something to my breathing .

I do like her. There’s an ease and a comfort between us but also a stomach dropping, carnival ride-level of excitement, too.

“I’m not ready to meet them, Benson.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure I’m ready for it, either. But it’s happening and so we’ll roll with it.” Still, even as I say the words, my stomach flips.

I don’t want the kids to be confused or disappointed or even get too attached.

But I can’t worry about all that right now.

Claire starts asking me questions about the kids. All kinds of things like what we talk about, their favorite foods, and what kinds of music they like.

As we near the turn to Danica’s house, I glance over at her. “We’ve been talking about my kids the whole drive.”

She stares out the windshield, her mouth lifting into a smile. “I wanted to because this is important. I want to get it right.”

The kids handle all this surprisingly well. Honestly, Claire is barely a blip on their radar on the drive from Danica’s place to mine. They’re mostly focused on whose turn it is to take care of Cinnamon.

“She got to stay with you in your room last time,” Indie says with a groan, when Dax calls dibs on being Cinnamon’s caretaker for the evening.

“She’s right, Dax. It’s Indie’s turn,” I say.

“I’ve missed Cinnamon so bad,” Indie says.

“You smother her,” Dax says.

“I do not! She smothers me.”

“We all get a little overly excited when it comes to Cinnamon, okay? Good news is, she doesn’t seem to mind.”

Except for me. I’m not overly excited about Cinnamon. My feelings for her are more based upon whether or not she had another accident.

She is getting better, though, because it’s been a few days since I’ve found a little “surprise” waiting for me.

“I got to meet her for the first time earlier tonight.” Claire says, turning in her seat to address Dax and Indie. “And she’s a fabulous gal.”

“She smells like old dog vitamins and pills,” Dax grumbles, not even able to hide his grin about it.

“And peanut butter!” Indie says. “And she plays tug tug with a rope we made, but she gives up too easily.”

“Yeah, I thought dogs never gave up a game of tug of rope,” Dax says.

“She’s elderly, guys,” I say. “She probably gets worn out easily.”

Claire laughs. “I had a dog named Wilford. He’s huge. He lives with my sister now because, technically, he was hers, but I miss him something fierce.”

I catch a glimpse of Indie frowning from the rearview mirror. “You can share Cinnamon with us,” she says. “She needs all the help she can get.”

Claire and I laugh. “Yes, she does,” I say.

“I’d be honored to be a member of her fan club,” Claire says, turning towards them, resting her arm on the seat.

“If you’re in her fan club, you have to take a turn brushing her teeth,” Dax says.

I laugh. “Tell her what happened last time you had to brush her teeth.”

“My dad made me because he said it was my turn, but she ended up gnawing on the brush so hard, she mangled it. She thought it was a game. ”

The rest of the conversation is mostly about Cinnamon. When we arrive home, I’m relieved to change into some dry clothes. The kids excitedly show Claire the shelf with her things and where the dog food is and how she has a water bowl, but she doesn’t drink from it.

“She doesn’t drink her water?”

At Claire’s confused expression, Indie steps forward and raises a hand.

“I’ll show you the whole process.” She rolls her eyes, like it’s a huge pain.

And it is. But I’d bet money that Indie doesn’t mind, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to dog ownership for my kids than this situation.

Any other dogs moving forward are going to be a piece of cake after Cinnamon.

Claire and Indie come back from the bathroom and Cinnamon’s muzzle is all wet from the bathtub faucet. They’re talking about school and how it’s almost summer break.

“I loved school,” Claire says. “I mean, sure, you have some annoying kids and sometimes teachers can be annoying, too. But learning new stuff is so exciting.”

“We’re on the ancient Egypt unit,” Indie says.

And that launches a long discussion about the mysteries of King Tut’s tomb, with Dax chiming in, too.

“You two need a midnight snack before bed?” Claire asks, lounging on the sofa, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.

“It’s not midnight yet. But we can stay up ‘til midnight, if you insist,” Dax says.

“Nice try,” I tell him. “You’ve got school in the morning. ”

Claire lifts a finger in the air. “It’s called a midnight snack because it helps you feel full enough to not need a snack at midnight,” she says. “Imagine what a pain it would be to have to get up and eat every midnight!”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Dax glowers. “But I could eat now.”

The four of us make pancakes. Yeah, it’s messy, and someone has to be on Cinnamon watch because she’s gotten a burst of energy from the excitement in the house.

But the point of it isn’t that it’s fun and easy. Or tasty—although it is. The point of it is to do something together.

I don’t usually have them on a school night, so I was stressed about how it would go, but Claire’s a natural with them. And she even has them chip in on the dishes, but somehow makes it fun by putting some of the foamy bubbles on my chin in the process.

“Your dad grew a beard.” And that starts a chain reaction and soon there’s a water and bubble fight.

As we race around the house with cups of water as ammo, more than once, I catch myself imagining what it would be like to make this a regular thing.

And for the first time, I’m not remembering what it was like to be a family with Danica, some forlorn, impossibly tight feeling in my chest at what used to be.

This looks a whole lot like what the future could be. Because this time in my mind’s eye? The only person I imagine with the kids and me is Claire.