Can't Stop the Feeling (Whispering Bay Romance 6)

“Can we put chocolate chips in the pancakes? Grandma let me do that once and they were really really good.”

“We can put anything you want in them.”

“I know where they are. I’ll go get ’em!” Rachel jumped down from the stool and ran to the pantry. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him. “Uncle Ben! Look! We’re making pancakes for

dinner!”

Jenna spun around. “I didn’t hear you come up.” She glanced warily behind him. “Everything all right?”

There were a couple of different ways he could answer that. But in this moment, there was only one that would be completely true.

“Everything is perfect,” he said.

Chapter Thirteen

Ben leaned against the kitchen doorway with his hands in his trouser pockets, staring at her. The expression on his face tripped off little warning bells in Jenna’s head. His blue shirt was open at the collar and his sleeves were rolled back, exposing his strong forearms. He was also sporting an unfairly delicious five-o’clock shadow.

Defcon five! her girl parts warned.

“Do you want chocolate chips in your pancakes, Uncle Ben?” asked Rachel.

“Absolutely I want chocolate chips. What can I do to help?”

“You can set the table,” Jenna said. “So, are we making pancakes for three or four?”

“Three,” he said meaningfully.

“I take it that means Greta won’t be joining us?”

“Greta will definitely not be joining us.”

Good. There was a lot more she wanted to say out loud, but Rachel was looking at them as if she was trying to figure something out. She might only be four, but the little girl was already smart enough to pick up the subtleties between adults, and Jenna didn’t want to say anything that might be out of line. She was an outsider here, and there were things she didn’t understand. But she wanted to.

“Syrup, whipped cream, nuts on top?” she asked him.

“Definitely all the above.”

The way he kept looking at her, as if she was another condiment to be added to that list, was flustering her. She managed to plate the pancakes while he filled their glasses with juice and water.

Ben was on his third pancake before he came up for air. “These are fantastic.”

“Even better than hamburgers and milkshakes!” Rachel proclaimed. “Wait till I tell Grandma we made breakfast for dinner!” She frowned, like she’d suddenly thought of something. “Are you gonna tell Grandma that I ran away?”

“Yes,” he answered thoughtfully. “Because she loves you and she needs to know what happened tonight, and because Greta isn’t coming back.”

“She’s not?”

Ben laid down his napkin. “It was Greta’s job to take care of you, and she didn’t do that, did she?”

Rachel hung her head. “No, but… I shouldn’t have left without telling her. And…” her voice got small, “I crossed the street without holding anyone’s hand. And that’s bad.”

Jenna and Ben exchanged a tense look. “You’re right, you shouldn’t cross the street without holding someone’s hand, but tonight wasn’t your fault. Okay?” he reassured her.

“Okay.” Her forehead scrunched in thought. “If Greta is gone, then who’s going to take care of me?”

“Grandma and I are.”

Her brown eyes rounded with happiness. “Really?”