Ben (The Sherwood)

Disa stopped me there. “Ben, I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think she was on the pill. She had no health insurance. Very little money. I don’t know how she could afford them.”

“So, are you saying she set me up?” I asked.

“No, oh no. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying that she is young and naïve. She probably thought she wouldn’t get pregnant. Maybe?” Disa seemed to realize how ridiculous that statement sounded.

“She’s not that damn young, Disa.”

The anger I felt at Jasmine was increasing. So many lies had been told to me. Then I glanced down at the child in my arms. Something that Grandad always said clicked in. “It doesn’t matter now. This little girl was meant to be. She’s mine, Disa. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy and to protect her.”

She nodded at me. “I’m glad she had such a profound effect on you, Ben. Being a dad looks good on you.”

I nodded. “I’m glad we cleared the air. Can we be friends now?” I asked even though I wanted so much more with her. I would take friends for now.

Disa lowered her chin. She looked away from me. “Sure Ben, we can be friends.” It was a good start for now.

“I have to get going now. I need to stop by Jenny and Elijah’s house too.”

She rose while I put Asia back in her seat and buckled her in. Before she could start fussing I popped the pacifier in her mouth then lifted the carrier.

“Getting a good workout, aren’t you?” Disa teased me.

“I am,” I agreed.

Then I did the unthinkable. I leaned over and kissed Disa’s forehead. “I’m sorry, Disa if I ever hurt you. I never meant to,” I whispered. I wanted to tell her so much more about the years of regret, and how I still felt about her, but I left it alone.

I inhaled. She smelled sweet like flowers or fruit. Her skin was soft beneath my lips. I closed my eyes then backed away after a moment so that Disa wouldn’t see the effect she had on me. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes so that I could gaze at her. She nodded at me.

Then I headed for the door and glanced back once. “See you later.”

“See you around,” she replied.

Chapter 8

When Jenny opened the door, she was happy to see me and Asia. She had missed my daughter not being at her house. She missed Jasmine too, I knew. During their pregnancies they had created a bond, a friendship even though there was a big difference in age.

I thought Jen looked at Jasmine like a younger sister that she never had. It was good for them both then Jasmine walked away without saying goodbye. It hurt Jenny and I felt badly for her that she had taken this blow. She was a kind person.

I asked if she had heard from Jasmine, but she hadn’t.

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nbsp; I put Asia’s carrier in the overstuffed, yellow chair that came from Jenny’s house. My aunt, Penny and her fiancé, soon to be husband Dirk bought Jenny’s house shortly after the sale of the farm was finalized. It eased Elijah’s worries about them owning two properties and it brought Penny home. She was happy and so was the rest of the family.

Dirk had tons of grandchildren, so the big house Jenny had once owned was now filled with kids every weekend which had changed my Aunt Penny. She was happier than I had seen her since we were kids.

Jenny was leading me to the kitchen for tea and she drank a ton of it. I was going to have coffee. They had one of those single serving machines that would make a cup at a time. I needed one of those especially since Asia was keeping me up at night. Although, if I had one, I might be drinking more than I should.

“Sit down, I’ll make your coffee,” Jenny told me. She knew which one I liked.

“When are you going back to work?” I asked.

I had given her and Elijah a rough way to go.

Change wasn’t my friend. I had always had a tough time dealing with things that were in flux. My parents’ divorce. My brother moving out on me and falling in love with Jennifer Hart, his lifelong best friend at the time, while my world was turning upside down when I needed him had made me a little bitter about their relationship.

I had to kick myself in the ass to get over it. Elijah had been with Jenny, practically joined at the hip since they were seven. It shouldn’t have surprised me that one day, the gentle giant would open his eyes and realize that he loved her as more than friends. It was just that I needed him then. I didn’t want him to move out when my world felt like it was crumbling around me.

I didn’t want him to walk away from me and turn to her, but he did, and I survived in the bottom of a beer bottle for a while, knowing that was not the answer. Here she was, forgiving me for being an ass but that was her. Jenny was pretty, special.