Letters of Love (Green Division Series Book #3) (10 page)

*****

Ben could tell she was embarrassed about her behavior.
 And regretted their sleeping arrangements.  She was a spitfire when she had a buzz on and could picture her being the life of the party.  Likely that’s why she didn’t drink, she wasn’t that type.
Aubrey came back into the house.
“Brrr it’s cold out there.”
I could warm you up.
 Had Ben drank to match Aubrey, the morning could have proven far more awkward.  With the way she was toward him and how he felt toward her, he had no doubt where the night would have led.  Then she wouldn’t have spoken to him again.  He contemplated whether it would have been worth it.  
No.
“I should probably head out.”  He put his shoes on.  “I’m going to catch up with Jack and I have a few errands to run.  I’ll give you a call later and let you know how Tiffy is.”
Aubrey nodded her head.
“It was an interesting night.”  Ben laughed.
“It was an embarrassing night.  Whatever foolish things I said or did, please pretend you don’t remember them.”  
“I’ll try.”  They’d be hard to forget.  “Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”  
Ben left and couldn’t help but smile.  She might cringe at the memories, but he wouldn’t.
A short commute later and Ben was home.  Kip’s truck was still there.  He’d hoped the bugger had left for work.  
“Good news,” Kip said when Ben walked inside.
“You’ve found an apartment?”
“Better.”
“You’re moving back home?”
“I asked Hanna to marry me.”
“What?” Ben said stunned.
“She said yes.”
“Holy shit.”  Hanna wanted nothing to do with Kip for three months.
“I know.  That’s what I thought too.”
“You’re going to marry her?”
“Hell yeah.  I might have fucked up once, but I won’t be doing that again.  She’s the best thing that’s happened to me.”
“So good you screwed around on her...”
“Mistakes happen.  I’m not perfect.”
“This has mistake written all over it.”  He stopped himself from continuing.  That meant Kip would move out.  Why was he discouraging him?   “What am I saying?  I should be congratulating you.  Congrat’s bud.”
“Thanks.”  Kip smiled.  “I’ll be out by tomorrow.”
“I’m gonna miss you.”  That was a lie.  He’d have the house back, no more frat boy roommate.  Hanna could have him.  He was one of his best friends, but he couldn’t live with the man.
“Oh, I’ll miss seeing you in the morning in your skivvies too, but I’d rather see Hanna.”  
“I’d rather see Hanna in her skivvies too,” Ben joked.
“Easy man.”
“Have fun.”
“Oh ya.”
Ben dropped onto his bed.  He hadn’t slept well, but didn’t mind.  Aubrey could lay on him every night, he could deal with the sleep deprivation.

*****

Aubrey turned on the cold water in her shower.
 That damn rug burn stung like a menacing bee and all she could smell was alcohol.  After showering, she crashed and crashed hard until her alarm clocked beeped at 7:00 p.m.  Damn, seven rolled around quicker than she intended.  Her phone had a text message from Ben earlier in the afternoon.
They brought Tiffy home this morning.  She’s in good spirits and said she’d call you later.  She’s worried about you.  What a girl. - Ben
She’s quite the girl.  Thanks for letting me know.  I’ll ttyl. - Aubrey
By the time Aubrey got to work all that remained of her drunken night was a dull headache and bad memories.
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
 

A few days later.
“Aubrey, are you busy next weekend?”  Tiffy asked.
“Hmmm, what are you plotting?”  Aubrey dressed for work as she fought with the phone.  
“It’s my birthday, I’m turning the big ten-oh.  We’re having a party.  Can you come?”
“I’ll try.  When is it?”
“Next Saturday.”
“What time?”
“Four.”
“I have to be to work by six, but I’ll pop in on my way by.”
“Awww, do you have to work?”
“Unfortunately I do.”
“Uncle Ben will be there.”
“You’d never forgive him if he didn’t show up.”  
“No I wouldn’t!  So you should stay too.”  
I should stay because Ben is there?  What is this little devil up to?
“I’ll do the best I can.  How are you feeling?”
“Mmm, I’m okay.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“Yes.  I’m okay.  I know I can’t ride, but can I still go to the horse show with you?”
“Have you talked to your parents about it?”
“Um, no...”
“If they are okay with it, I’ll bring you to show.”
“Great!  They’ll be okay with it. Hold on, I’ll ask.  And Uncle Ben has to come too.”
Aubrey expected as much.  
“Hi Aubrey,” Joanne answered.  “It’s fine with us if you want to take her to the show, but if you have plans don’t feel obligated.  We can take her, but she’s telling me right now if you’re available she’d rather you do.  Thanks Tiff.”
“I’d be glad to take her.”  
“Thank you,” Joanne said.
“AND UNCLE BEN!”  Tiffy said in the background.
“I swear you’d live with Uncle Ben if you could.”  Joanne teased Tiffy.  “What time is the show?”
“It’s eleven on Sunday.”
“What time should we drop her off?”
“Anytime between nine and nine thirty would be okay.”
“We’ll see you then.”
Aubrey hung up and headed off to work.  She had to work on Sunday too, so it would be a short night.  Home at three, up at eight to get ready.  Tiffy wouldn’t get to cross off competing in the horse show from the list for the time being, but she seemed happy enough to attend it.  She was such an easy girl to get along with.

*****

“They belong together,” Tiffy said out of the blue to Joanne when she hung up the phone.
“Who?”
“Uncle Ben and Aubrey.”
“What makes you say that?”  Joanne hitched her eyebrow up.
“Uncle Ben looks at Aubrey, like Daddy looks at you.  He loves her.”  Tiffy hopped around to a Kelly Clarkson song that played on the radio in the living room.
“You think so.”
“I know so.  And I’m gonna help ‘em.”
“Don’t you be meddling in Uncle Ben’s love life.  He wouldn’t appreciate it.”
“Mom, I know what I’m doing here.”  Tiffy put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.  “They’re gonna get married someday.  They’re soul mates.”
“I think you should let them decide that for themselves my little angel.”
“We’ll see.”  Tiffy shrugged her shoulders.  “Miley!  No!   Put my shoe down!  That’s not a chew toy!”
Miley trotted by with Tiffy’s favorite ballet shoe in her mouth.

*****

Ben had his house back.
 No muddy boots.  No dishes in the sink.  No frat boy.  Ahhhh, it was home again. Ben sat in his office tweaking his resume.  Kerr called him to let him know the position would open the following week.  Ben would be ready.  His resume was impeccable and he already knew a majority of the wardens.
Ben’s phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Uncle Ben.”  
“Hi gorgeous.”
“Are you working Sunday?”
“I might pick up an overtime shift.  What do you have planned?”
“Aweee.  But you need to come watch the horse show with me.  Can you please come?”
Ben couldn’t say no to her.
“What time?”
“Eleven.  I have to be to Aubrey’s at 9:30.”
“Aubrey’s taking you?”
“Yeah.  You and Aubrey.”
“You’ve already decided for me, huh.”
“Yup.  So you hafta come.”
“I don’t know...”
“Please Uncle Ben,” she pleaded.
“Alright.  You talked me into it.  I’ll pick you up after nine.  Does your Mom and Dad know your master plan?”
“Yup, she talked to Aubrey already.”
“Alright.”
“I gotta go, ugh, Miley!  She keeps eating my shoes!”
Ben laughed.  “You better go put Miley in her playpen.”
“I’m going to. Bye!  Love you!”
“Love you too.”
“Miley, stop!”
Tiffy was such a little ham.
His phone immediately rang after talking to Tiffy.  It was Kevin from Green Dispatch.  There was a hostage situation in Limington so he was going to work.  Ben was a member of the SRT (Special Response Team) which responded to hostage and high risk calls.  It no longer was his day off.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
 

“Knock, knock.”
 Tiffy looked through the screen door.  “Aubrey, you awake?”
“She gets out of work late, she might have overslept.”  Ben didn’t see any movement.
“Come on in. I’m not quite ready yet.”  Aubrey’s voice came from the back of the house.  
Ben opened the door and he and Tiffy went inside.
“I love her house.  It’s so cute.  But, she needs a dog.  I’ll give her Miley.”
“You would not.”  
“She ate another pair of my shoes.”  Tiffy scowled.
“She’s teething, like you did when you were a baby.  That’s how all my shoes looked.”
“I did not chew on your shoes!”  
“Oh, I have a few pair in the closet still, I can show them to you.”
“No!”
“What is all the ruckus out here?”  Aubrey appeared from the hallway.
“Uncle Ben says I chewed his shoes.”
“What?”  Aubrey laughed.
“She did.  Little teeth marks through all of my duty boots.”
“Then show me.”  Tiffy did her signature hands on hip pose.
“You guys will have to finish your little tiff in the truck, we’re running late.”
“I didn’t chew shoes.”
Ben shrugged his shoulders.
“Hmph.”  Tiffy turned and walked out to Ben’s truck.
“She chewed your shoes?”
“I’m kidding.”
“Poor kid, you picking on her.”  Aubrey grabbed her purse.
“Treating her like she wanted me to.  Like I always have.”
“Good.”  She tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled.  Her smile...what a smile.  “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m tired, guess I spaced out for a moment.”
“Alright...”  She opened the door.  “We should get going.”
They bailed into Ben’s truck and headed south.  It was an hour and a half drive, but Tiffy would keep them entertained.  Two cups of coffee and an apple juice and they were on the road for good.  
“Oh, turn it up, turn it up, I love this song!”  Tiffy leaned over looking between them.
The song
Call Me Maybe
played by Carly Rae Jepsen.  
“I love her!”  Tiffy flipped her hair off her shoulder.  
“Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe.”  Tiffy sang surprisingly well and swiveled around behind them.
“You’re good.”  Aubrey looked at her.
“And all the other boys, they try to chase me, but here’s my number, so call me maybe.”  Tiffy continued.
Aubrey jumped in and the two sang together bouncing around.  
“Boy you came into my life,” Aubrey sang and pointed to Tiffy.
“I missed you so bad, so bad, so so bad.”  Tiffy took the next line, then they both looked at Ben and pointed at him.
“Call me maybe?”  He chimed in at the wrong time.
Aubrey put her hand on Ben’s forearm and laughed, then she and Tiffy continued to sing together.
Ben smiled watching them together.  Like sisters.  A few decades between the two, but very much family.  
“You’re a good singer.”
“I like to sing.  This song is good too.”
The song was
What Makes You Beautiful.  
Ben even chimed in on this one.  He knew the words and both Aubrey and Tiffy had a few laughs at his expense.
“You better stick to your day job Uncle Ben.”
“I can rock out, this isn’t my type of music.”
“Rock out?”  Aubrey repeated his punk words.  
“Hold on.”  Ben flipped through the channels and stopped on the song
Whistle.  
He started jamming to it in full on white Maine boy style.
“Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go.”
Ben pumped one hand up in the air like the dork he was.
Aubrey cleared her throat.  
“What? I’m on a roll.”  Ben asked in response to Aubrey trying to get his attention.
“I haven’t heard this one before.”  Tiffy chimed in from behind.
“Do you know what this song is about?”  Aubrey had a shit eating grin on her face.  The chorus played again and Ben listened.
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go.
Ben hadn’t paid attention to the lyrics, not to what they actually meant.  His eyes widened and he quickly changed the station.
“I liked it, what was wrong with that song?”  Tiffy asked curiously.
“It ah, it’s not an appropriate song.”  
Aubrey took a drink of her coffee.
“All it’s talking about is blowing someone’s whistle.”  Tiffy commented seriously.  Aubrey lost it and began to laugh her ass off, choking on her coffee at the same time.
“Aubrey, you okay?”  Tiffy asked.
“Yeah,” Aubrey said hoarsely.  “I’m fine.”  Her eyes watered, but she still couldn’t stop smiling.
“So, why is it bad?”
Ben’s face flushed. The one song he picked to sing was about falacio.  He was simply awesome.
Aubrey continued to look at him and laughed.
“You’re not helping.”
“What?”  Aubrey asked innocently.  “I didn’t put it on that song.”
“Helllllllo.  I’m waiting.  What was so bad about that song?”
“It ah, it’s about...”  Ben wiped his forehead.  “Um....”  He looked over at Aubrey in a silent plea for help.
“It’s about yucky things like a girl kissing a boy.  It’s bad stuff.”
“Yuck.”  Her face puckered.  “That’s gross.  Thanks for changing it.”
“No problem.”  Ben breathed a sigh of relief.  Aubrey switched it onto a country station and Tiffy relaxed into the back seat.  Ben mouthed a silent thank you to Aubrey.