Page 135 of Vegas Duology

After Uncle Ray died, the cabin was the only real connection Ben and I had to him.

Of course, the house hadn’t been designed to be lived in year round—well, it hadn’t really been designed to be lived in at all.It had been built as a cabin, a summer retreat.

The insulation was just another concern that Leo was probably worrying about.We’d talked about replacing the windows before the snow flew and getting some better insulation sprayed into the walls to help keep the house warm and cut down on our heating bill.I’d been tucking away money for the last few years, and then there was our savings, a small inheritance that Uncle Ray had left us.But I didn’t want to touch it.Either way, I knew we had enough by now but I hated to bring it up, because although he’d never say anything, I knew Leo didn’t want to put more money into winterizing the house.I think secretly he hoped I would wake up one morning and decide it was too cold in the Canadian Rockies and we should move.

Not that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.Because it had.Sure, I loved the lake.There were a lot of memories here.It was Uncle Ray’s house, but that was the problem, too.It was Uncle Ray’s house.We’d lived in the cottage for almost five years, but despite spending all that time there, it still didn’t seem like our place yet.To be fair, I probably hadn’t tried hard enough.The years had been busy.Leo spent all his time at the Lake Lillian Inn, transforming it into a thriving business and for me, building up a whole curriculum for grade four from scratch took time.Let alone getting Ben adjusted to his entirely flipped upside-down life.He’d adjusted much better than I’d expected to finding out hisfatherwasn’t really his father and Leo, a man he’d just met, was his father and we were in love and moving to the lake.It was a lot for anyone, let alone a little boy.But he was resilient and not only had he adjusted, he’d thrived.

Despite that, we still hadn’t settled in and the problem was I’d been using the same excuses for years and that’s all they were.

Excuses.

~Leo~

God, she was beautiful.

Always.

Even bundled up in that thick black coat of hers that I hated so much, she looked amazing as she walked through the doors of the Lake Lillian Inn.I flipped my laptop shut, tossed it to the couch next to me and left the warmth of the fire where I’d been working on some new marketing ideas to greet the love of my life properly.

I pulled her close and swallowed whatever it was she was going to say with a kiss.But I could never only have a taste of Lexi.It was never enough.With one hand keeping her close, I unbuttoned just enough of that dammed coat to slip a hand inside and onto her sexy curves.She moaned.Just a little, and only so I could hear, but it was all the encouragement I needed.There wasn’t much I could do about it in the foyer of the inn, but when we got home...

My hand slipped around to run down the swell of her breasts and rest on her stomach, just over the line of her belt.And just like that, the kiss was over.Lexi pulled away, that look on her face.The look I couldn’t stand because it reminded me just how much she was hurting.I should have known better.Ever since the last miscarriage, she would barely let me look at her stomach, let alone touch it.

“Lex, I’m—”

“It’s fine.”She straightened her hair and tightened her coat around her.There was a smile on her face, but it was tight and forced.Not the smile I wanted to see.“I’m sorry to bother you, but...”She glanced around, likely to see whether anyone was there to overhear us, but it was November, one of the slowest months at the inn, despite every effort I’d made with marketing.Bump season, the time between the summer and winter seasons, was one of the hardest challenges I’d ever had to overcome managing a hotel.Of course, there was no bump season in Vegas.A lot of things were different in the Canadian Rockies.Including my family.

“You’re not bothering me.”I took her hand and led her to the couches in front of the fire where I’d been working.“You know I love it when you visit.How was school?Where’s Ben?”

Her face shifted again, and instead of sitting, she popped back up and paced.“I was hoping he’d be here.”

“Here?”

“He didn’t wait for me again, and I assumed he’d be at home after walking with his buddies.But he’s not and well, I was hoping he’d be here with you.”

I could count on one hand how many times Ben had come to the inn on his own to hang out with me in the last year.He used to ride his bike down the gravel roads to spend time with me whenever he could.I’d had him painting, cleaning, hauling boxes, you name it.Ben loved helping out.Or at least, he had.Now that he was in grade six, things were different.But it was perfectly normal.Or at least that’s what Lexi told me.I really had no idea.“He’s not here.”I shrugged.Lexi got a lot more worked up about these things than I did.It was a small town, and Ben was a kid.He’d be fine; it was all part of growing up.Hell, when I was his age, I was by myself most of the time.I definitely didn’t have a mom hovering over me, worrying about where I was every second of the day.Ben was old enough to hang out with his friends.In fact, I encouraged it.Not that I was about to suggest that to Lexi.

At least not at the moment.I was smarter than that.There was definitely a time and a place to mention things like that.And it wasn’t right then.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Lex.He probably just forgot to tell you he was going to Marcus’s house.You know boys, they’re pretty forgetful and—”

“He should have told me.”Lexi spun around again.“He knows I worry and I think it’s more than that.Something’s going on.”

“What do you mean?”

She turned to look at me.Her hair flipped over her shoulder; the sight distracted me for a moment, but only a moment.“I talked to Liz today,” she said.“She was telling me Ben didn’t hand in a short story assignment.That’s not like him at all,” Lexi continued.“Ben doesn’t blow off homework.He just doesn’t.”

“He’s a pre-teen boy.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“No.But it’s the reality.”

Lexi shook her head and turned away to look out the window.“No.It’s not our reality.I refuse to allow Ben to flunk grade six.”

I went up behind her and rubbed my hands up and down her arms.She still hadn’t taken off that jacket, and I had to fight to keep from doing it for her, but there’d be time for that later.For the moment, calming her down was way more important.When Lexi got worked up, she could really get herself going.And I knew Ben was fine.Of course he was.“He’s not going to flunk grade six.He’s a smart kid.”

“Is he?”She spun in my arms and I caught her tight.“Is he really?Do smart kids blow off assignments?No.It’s not like him, Leo.It’s not like him at all.”