Wilde Chase (8 page)

“And just what
would that offer be?” she asked playfully.

“The one where you
tell me to forget dinner and take you back to my place.”

Kelly tipped her
head and wrinkled brow in exaggerated thought. “Funny, I don’t remember saying
anything like that. If I did, then we wouldn’t get dinner, and I’ve been
craving cheeseburgers with double pickles since I got up this morning.”

“Double pickles,
huh? Alright, you win. We’ll go to dinner first.”

Kelly cheered and
kissed him. “Thank you. Just let me grab my purse and we can go.”

She turned on her
heel and jogged off again, leaving him alone with Amber.

“You’re good for
her, you know. She’s been so much happier since you two started going out.”
Amber flushed a little and lowered her voice to a whisper. “With everything
that happened with her sister and all, she deserves it.”

Ben was going to
ask what Amber was talking about when he heard Kelly coming back down the hall
and thought better of it. Besides, Kelly would tell him when she was ready. They
had only been dating a little over a
month,
there was
plenty of time to learn everything about each other. One day he needed to talk
to her about the realities of his work too, but there wasn’t any rush. He
didn’t want to scare her off by talking about the dark side of his job too
soon. He’d seen firsthand what that could lead to when his brother’s marriage
had unraveled after less than a year. Dave’s wife married the uniform, but she
couldn’t handle what came with it.

Ben was determined
to do better than that when the time came.

Kelly fell in
beside him and he forgot everything but the pleasure of her company as they
headed out into the heat of the summer evening. He slid his arm around her
waist as he scanned the area, looking for trouble. The punks he’d seen earlier
had finally moved on.

Maybe they were
getting the message. Kelly and her clinic were under
his
protection.

* * * *

In the past few
weeks Kelly had rediscovered her sense of fun, as well as a sensual side she’d
never suspected she had. Ben made her happy, he made it easy for her to smile
and laugh for the first time since her parents’ accident. Kelly didn’t know how
long it would last, but she was determined to enjoy every minute.

And when it’s over, no
regrets.

Part of her was
convinced that what she had with Ben was too good to last. She saw the way
women watched him whenever they went out, their expressions ranging from
admiration to outright lust. She knew he had eyes only for her, but for how
long? None of his brothers dated long-term. In the short time she’d known
them,
she’d never seen any of them with the same girl twice.
Could Ben be that different?

He was sexy and
sweet, and when they were together he made her feel like she was the center of
his world. It was an addictive feeling, and that was what worried her. None of
her relationships had ever made it past the two-month mark, and as time ticked
on, she grew increasingly afraid of how much it was going to hurt when it all
fell apart.

“Penny
for your thoughts.
I’ll go as high as a buck if
they’re X-rated.” Ben’s voice pulled her out of her musings and back to the
present.

“I was just
thinking about us. How it took me getting robbed for us to finally get
together. Fate has a seriously wicked sense of humor,” she lied. There was no
sense in being
honest,
it only seemed to speed up the
inevitable.

“Yes, she does.
I’m not happy you got hurt that night, but I am grateful you’re in my life
now.” He took a hand off the steering wheel and laid it on her thigh.

She rested her
hand on his and smiled. “I like having you and Chase in my life too.”

“Chase feels the
same way. I always figured vets would have a ton of animals at home. Since you
don’t have any, I think you should adopt Chase.
Part-time of
course.”

“I have the office
cats. It wouldn’t be fair for me to have a pet when I’m not home very much. But
I will happily borrow Chase anytime you’re willing to share him.”

“Good,” Ben said
as they pulled into a parking spot. “If you wanted, I could give you a—”

“Hey,
Benji.
Good timing!” Dave called from the
sidewalk, interrupting whatever Ben was about to say. Dave was the oldest of
the Wilde brothers and yet another one of the siblings who worked for the city
police force. He opened Kelly’s door for her, helping her out as Ben came
around to join them.

“Hi,
Dave.”
Kelly greeted the big blond, who gave her
a quick hug before letting her go as he grinned at Ben.

“I know, I know.
Hands off the girlfriend.
Nice to see you,
Kelly.
You’re looking lovely, as always.”

Kelly just rolled
her eyes as Ben growled under his breath. “I swear you all take far too much
pleasure in teasing him.”

“Yeah, but it’s so
much fun!” Dave smirked and fell in behind them as they headed for the bar.

 
“I don’t know how your mother did it. When I
have kids I am going to pray for sweet little girls.”

Dave laughed, but
Ben turned to look down at her with an odd expression on his face. “You want
kids?”

“One
day, yeah.
Not tomorrow or anything, but
someday.”

“You’ll make a
great mother,” he said softly and Kelly’s heart stuttered in her chest. That
wasn’t the response she’d been expecting. Bringing up the fact she wanted kids
one day was usually enough to send the men she dated running for the hills,
which is why she hadn’t said anything about it.

“Thank you,” she
said, hiding her surprise. Did Ben want a family? It dawned on Kelly that she had
never asked. That was a long-term kind of
question,
and she’d been avoiding those, not wanting to shorten the time they had
together by accidently making him feel pressured.

 
Fortunately, the sidewalk was too congested
for further conversation, and by the time they got inside the subject had been
forgotten. Ben’s parents had already staked out one of the larger tables, and
soon they were laughing and catching up with each other.

They were a tight-knit
family, and watching them together was a joy. Kelly’s heart was touched every
time Brian stroked Meg’s blonde and silver hair, or Meg reached out to pat
Brian’s hand. They had been together more than forty years, and they were still
very much in love. One day she wanted something like that, and she briefly
wondered if Ben was the man who could give it to her, then banished the thought
before it could take hold. Having him in her life for now was enough. It had to
be.

As they ate and
laughed, Jared dropped by the table whenever it got quiet enough for him to
slip away, and the six of them passed a merry hour together.

When dinner was
over, David and Brian went off to play a round of darts, leaving Kelly with Ben
and his mother. Just as Kelly was finishing her drink, Meg leaned over and
asked, “Kelly, just where is this clinic of yours? I’m not terribly happy with
Casper
’s vet, and I was
thinking I might just bring him to see you.”

“I’m not sure
that’s a good idea, Mom.” Ben spoke before she could, and Kelly felt his words
hit her like a blow. Why wouldn’t he want his mother coming to Urban Paws?

“What’s wrong with
my clinic?” Kelly asked, surprised by Ben’s reaction.

Ben turned and
looked at her with confusion. “Nothing’s wrong with Urban Paws. I mean, I take
Chase there, don’t I? But it’s not exactly a safe neighborhood. You did just
get robbed, and today when I was coming to pick you up I saw a bunch of the
local troublemakers hanging around outside.”

Meg seemed to
sense trouble was brewing, because she stood up and came around to give Ben a
kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to go check up on your father and brother. If I
leave them to their own devices they’ll be playing until
midnight
.”
 
She patted Kelly’s shoulder. “I hope we see you again soon, Kelly. You
make house calls, right?
Casper
and I will just find an excuse to have you over for coffee and a checkup soon.”

Once she was gone,
Kelly turned to Ben again. “Was that necessary? I know the area isn’t the
greatest, but I would never put your mother in harm’s way. If it were that
dangerous, I wouldn’t walk to work most days.”

“It
is
that dangerous, and I want you to
stop.”

“What?” Kelly
stared at Ben. He hadn’t seriously just told her to stop walking to work, had
he?

“You’re walking
those streets after
eleven o’clock
at night sometimes. I know you are. It’s not safe. You have a car, and there’s
room for you to park behind the clinic. You don’t need to walk. You’re taking
chances with your safety and I don’t like it.” His brows furrowed and his eyes
narrowed just a little, as if he was disciplining a wayward child, instead of
speaking to a grown woman.

Kelly’s spine
straightened and she looked straight into his eyes. “I can’t tell if this is
worry or if you’ve just decided that you’re in charge of my life, but you can’t
start telling me what I can and cannot do.”

“Of course I’m
worried about you. It’s my job to keep you safe! You have no idea how bad
things can get, Kelly. I’m a cop, I know. I don’t get to turn that off. Not
ever. I know that part of town has a lot of criminal activity. What are you
going to do if they go after you next time they rob the clinic? What happens
when they pull a knife or a gun on you and I’m not there to stop it? I’m
telling you, no more walking to work.”

“And I’m telling
you
, that’s not how this is going to
work. You can’t just arbitrarily start making up rules I have to follow. If
something happens, I’ll deal with it. I managed just fine before you came
along, Benjamin Wilde, and I will continue to do so long after you’re gone.”

He flinched. “What
do you mean, after I’m gone?”

She didn’t bother
to acknowledge his question. There was more she needed to say first.

“I’m a grown woman,
Ben. I’ve taken self-defense classes. I carry pepper spray, I use common sense.
Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean you are suddenly in charge of my life. A
life you know very little about if you believe I can’t take care of myself and
have no idea what’s out there.”

“I’m not just
making up random rules for the hell of it. I’m trying to keep you safe! That’s
my job, damn it! And you’d make it a lot easier for me to do my job if you
would just do what I tell you. When it comes to your safety, I know what’s best
for you, Kelly.”

“You did not just
say that to me. You couldn’t have.” Kelly got to her feet and immediately
stepped away from the table, avoiding his hand as he reached out to stop her.

“Kelly, wait.
Where are you going?”

“I’m going home. You
just insulted my judgment and tried to tell me how to live my life.
My
life, Ben.
Not
yours.
My
choices.
And right now it’s my choice to go home.”

Kelly turned and
fled. She pushed her way through the crowed, muttering apologies along the way.
Her heart hurt and his last words rang in her head, repeating over and over. Had
she made a mistake? Did she know Ben at all? When she yanked open the door to
make her escape, she slammed into someone and started to apologize again, only
to be cut off.

“Hey,
Kelly!
Sorry I’m late for dinn—
What’s
up?” Tag was staring down at her with concern.

“Just get me out
of here, Tag, and I’ll tell you.”

Chapter Seven

“When he breaks my
nose for getting involved, I’m coming to you to have it reset,” Tag informed
her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, propelling her down the street.

“Is he always like
that? Telling people what they should do? I used to think the caveman thing was
cute, but it’s not. It’s…its…infuriating!”

Tag chuckled as he
guided her toward a bright red, vintage Chevy Impala, and Kelly couldn’t help
but roll her eyes. “You drive a muscle car?
Really?”

He went around and
opened the passenger side door for her. “Yes, I do. Now don’t go hurting
Tiffany’s feelings. Hop in and you can tell me where I’m taking you.”

“Tiffany?”

“We’re going to
have a conversation about this now? I’m pretty sure that’s my big brother who
just blew through the front door of the bar like a thunderstorm with legs. Unless
you want to have round two of whatever fight you two are having right here on
the street, you should get your cute ass in the car.”

Kelly risked a
glance out the windshield as she settled herself in the seat, and saw Ben
heading straight for them, wrapped in a storm cloud of fury. “Shit!”