Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

waited for her to get in touch with me. I didn’t want to push. She can be a bit petulant sometimes, but it’s probably our fault. We doted on her, and I always knew I’d end up being her protector. But at this point she’ll have none of that.”

Ana made an effort to put him at ease. She was surprised he would speak so freely about his family, and she liked that he felt comfortable with her. But of course they were still off the record. “I’m an only child, but I was in my friends’ houses often enough times to know that there’s nothing simple about sibling relationships.” Ben nodded his head in agreement, but said nothing else. “When you see each other I’ll bet it will be like nothing happened.” She didn’t want to pry further about the specifics of the falling out between them.

“I told you I’d find us a way to avoid boredom, but I’ve failed so far. I hate to think we’ll have to resort to surfing the net.”

“Well… I did have an idea, but I don’t know if you’ll go along with it.”

“Ah, that sounds interesting—or should I say a little mysterious.”

“Neither, really. I just thought that while we have the time, we might get started with the interview that seems to have been the catalyst for this ‘snowball rolling down a hill’ situation we’re all involved in.”

“I don’t see it that way. The interview was a completely separate thing. You see it that way because I had come to meet you, and it was part of the night I got attacked. You bear no responsibility for what happened, and your involvement was just coincidence. You must know that I would have preferred you not be a part of anything that happened.”

“Yes, but as it turned out, it was a good thing I was there. I know, I know—they saw me. But if they know so much about you, or your family, they’d have to know that we weren’t a couple. Some woman you may have dated only once—that night—wouldn’t make much of a hostage. Unless you do have a girlfriend, and they mistook me for her.”

Silence ensued. Ben looked at her—through her, really. At least that’s how it felt to Ana. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was afraid she had put her foot in it. Clearly the question would not be a part of the interview, when and if it happened. Her subconscious had betrayed her. However, it had been the perfect segue. Now she wondered if she was in trouble, either as a journalist or as a woman who couldn’t seem to escape her attraction to the subject of her assignment. Ana looked around the room, trying to be nonchalant, but her eyes continued to return to Ben and his expression. Very slowly a smile began to cross his face. It was ‘that’ smile. This time she was sure there was a private joke causing it. She could think of nothing to say and just waited for the smile to subside and for the emergence of either information or admonition for having broached the subject.

“Very smooth,” he said, and then waited for her to speak.

“I… I didn’t mean to pry. It was just conjecture.”

“I’m just pulling your chain. Relax.” Ben turned in the chair, dangled one leg over its arm and put his hands behind his head. “For the record, I do not have a girlfriend at this time.” His tone was so formal that Ana had to stifle a laugh. But it seemed that was the response he was trying for. Their eyes met and they both began to laugh; the awkward moment having passed.

“Well, since we’ve settled that, do you want to do some work on the interview? I can run upstairs and fish the tape recorder out of my bag. I can’t put off my editor forever. I’ve avoided checking my phone.”

“Sure. I’d actually like to get it over with.” Ben sprung from the chair and said, “But first I want something to eat. I’ll check what Edith may have left lying around for us, and you run up and get your machine.”

Ana nodded, got up, and headed for the stairs. The errand had taken only a few minutes and as she returned to the kitchen, she heard a scratching noise that seemed to be coming from the pantry. Ben turned from his sandwich making and said, “I know that scratch.” He wiped his hands on a towel and walked through to the small door that provided pantry access from the outside of the house. When the door was barely ajar, a husky black Labrador retriever pushed his way through and into the kitchen. He panted and danced around Ben excitedly, making small whimpering sounds. Ben squatted and took the dog’s head in his hands, looking him in the eye. This seemed to calm him, as did Ben’s voice when he spoke. “Sir Frederic, how have you been?” The dog sat down, and then with the speed of a lizard catching a fly in midair, he gave Ben an affectionate lick on the nose. Ben stood, used his sleeve to wipe away the wetness, and returned to Ana, who was standing at attention beside the table, not knowing what to expect when the dog saw a stranger in the house.

“This is Sir Frederic—Freddie to his pals. We rescued him about five years ago, but it seems more like he adopted us. He got his name from acting like he was lord of the manor—still does.” Freddie approached Ana slowly and sniffed at her shoes before nudging her with his head. “He approves of you. That’s what he does after he makes a decision about someone.”

Ana smiled down at the dog and gave him a scratch behind the ears. “He’s a big fellow. Formidable. I’m very glad he approves of me.” She slid into a chair at the table. Freddie sat rather near and stared at