Derailed (Clayton Falls #1)(28)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I smiled a little before returning my attention to the corn.

“You know he still loves you, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And you still have feelings for him that go beyond physical attraction, don’t you?”

I sighed. “Being able to deny it would make things easier.”

She laughed lightly. “I thought so. What I don’t understand is what’s holding you back. Are you still stinging from your breakup? How long ago did it happen?”

“It’s been months.” At least that part was true.

“I’m sorry. I know that must have hurt.”

“It did; it does.”

“But you shouldn’t let that stop you from trusting someone else. Ben’s a good man. He has his faults just like he always has—just like we all do—but you’ll never meet someone more in love with you then he is. And in case you didn’t know, there is nothing more powerful than that for a woman.”

“I’m not ready.” There was something more powerful—guilt.

“Well, he isn’t going anywhere. And I mean that. I don’t think he’s letting you leave again. If you decide to leave Clayton Falls, it’s going to be with Ben at your side.”

I shifted uncomfortably. I couldn’t take the serious conversation, not after the one Ben and I’d just had. I was grateful when I heard voices approaching. My relief disappeared when I saw that Jake was with them. I guess I should have expected he’d be there, but I didn’t want to deal with him.

“Nice to see you.” Jake pulled out an ear of corn and took a seat next to me to help husk.

I looked at him quizzically. Had his family told him he had to be on good behavior or something? “Uh, hey.”

“How are things?”

I couldn’t keep the sarcasm away. “So you’re nice to witches now?”

Jake smiled. “Oh, I guess you heard about my tirade at Gill’s the other night. I’m sorry about that. I honestly didn’t remember it until Tom gave me hell the next morning.”

“What tirade?” Ben sounded defensive. “What were you saying about her?”

“He called me a witch and accused me of bewitching you.”

“Real cool, man, real cool.”

“I was drunk. So sue me.” He tried to say it nonchalantly, but the way he avoided my eye made it seem like he felt bad about it.

“You’re lucky Mom’s here,” Ben warned.

“I’m terrified. So who told you anyway? Tom?”

“No, Gavin.”

“Oh, the newest addition to your fan club,” Jake said condescendingly.

“Shut up.”

“Gavin? As in the jolly green giant cop? How do you even know him?” Ben asked.

“He’s Tom’s partner, so Tom and Kelly introduced us.”

“Oh, so you just ran into him or something?” Warning bells were going off. I’d heard this tone from Ben before, and it was never pretty.

I needed to be honest. “No. I had dinner with him the other night.”

“You what?” Ben squared his shoulders.

“It wasn’t a big deal. He just wanted to hang out as friends.”

“Where’d you eat?”

“Oh, an Italian place in Wilmington.”

“You went with him to Wilmington?” Ben asked incredulously. “When?”

“Ben, you need to calm down,” Mary tried to soothe him.

“Thursday night.”

“Thursday night? The night you didn’t want me coming over? You were with him, weren’t you? You were probably in his f**king bed.” Ben’s hands were in his hair, his face a complete mask of rage.

“I was home in my own bed, just like I told you. Thanks for jumping to conclusions. What, do you think I’m sleeping around with everyone now?” Then the stubborn side of me kicked in. “Not like it would be your business if I was. We’re supposed to be keeping things casual, remember?”

“Fuck that.” Ben stormed out of the screened in porch, slamming the door behind him. A minute later, I heard his truck start up out front.

Suddenly, walking home sounded appealing. It hurt more than I expected to have Ben angry at me and for him to accuse me of sleeping around.

“Well, that went well.” Jake smirked.

Mary swatted at his arm. “Don’t start, Jake. Go find your brother and bring him home.”

“What? Why?”

“Do it.” Mary glared at her youngest son.

“I’m going to go.” I stood up.

“He just needs time to cool down. Why don’t you wait here?” Mary said calmly.

“He needs to stay away from me. I’m not good for him anymore. I’m going to go ahead and go before it gets too dark.”

“I didn’t see a car out front; were you going to walk?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, it’s not too far.”

“I’ll give you a ride home before I search for Ben.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Stop it, both of you. Molly isn’t going anywhere. She agreed to come over for dinner, and we haven’t had dinner yet.” Mr. Mathews looked pleased with himself for finding a solution. “I’m sure Ben will calm down and come back. He was just surprised.”

“That’s right.” Mary smiled at him.

“Do you still want me to look for him?” Jake stood with his keys in his hand.

“You know what? On second thought, just wait here. There’s no reason to have you both running around town.”

I busied myself helping with Mary in the kitchen while we waited. I kept glancing over to see if Ben was back. We were bringing everything to the table when I looked up and saw Ben standing in the doorway.

“Can I talk to you?” He seemed much calmer than he’d been before he left.

“Sure.” I followed him out onto the porch, not sure whether I felt more guilty or angry.

“I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that. You’re right. We did agree to keep things casual. I don’t care what we call what’s going on between us, but I want it to be exclusive. I’ve never been good at sharing anything, and I’m sure as hell not okay sharing you.”

Ben’s anger had turned to hurt and fear. I would have done anything to fix it. For once, I wanted to make someone happy. “Is it possible to have a sex only relationship that’s exclusive?”

“Why not? I think we’re more than capable of satisfying each other without involving anyone else.”