Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) (17 page)

“What do you want me to do?”

“Can you put two pieces of plywood from that stack over there at every station?” Bennett asked, pointing to the corner.

Dale just nodded and got to work, not saying a word as he went back and forth across the room.

Bennett had known Dale’s father. Vince Rigels had been a good guy, even though he was a marine. Bennett and Vince had shared a couple of beers with each other over the years when they’d been home on leave at the same time. Bennett had been in the hospital from his own near-death experience when he’d found out that a roadside bomb had killed Vince.

Dale wasn’t a bad kid, he really wasn’t. But he needed a role model to look up to, one who didn’t wear his pants around his knees. Bennett had seen him hanging out with some of the older kids at the school—the same kids who continually got busted for drugs and alcohol.

“Do you stay after school every Wednesday to help out in here?” Dale asked after about ten minutes.

Bennett had been pulling out the tools they were going to need for the day and setting them up on the station. He leaned back against the table and looked at Dale.

“Yeah. Some of the groups need a little bit more time to keep up with the schedule.”

“I heard you were letting kids work on some things that weren’t related to the bookshelves. Like personal projects or whatever.” Dale shuffled his feet back and forth on the dusty concrete.

“I am. Was there something you wanted help with?”

“Nah. Just curious.” Dale turned around and headed back for the pile of wood.

“You know, you’re really doing good with this project. You listen to what I say and figure out what to do before you act.”

Dale paused for a second as he reached for two pieces of wood. “You should tell my mom that. She doesn’t think I can listen for shit.”

“Well, do you?”

He didn’t say anything as he walked to another station and put the wood down. He looked at Bennett before he answered. “I hear what she says loud and clear. I just choose not to do what she says.”

Bennett had to resist the urge to smile. “I’d argue that isn’t listening. You have to follow through with it. What else does she say?”

“She doesn’t like my friends.”

“Do you know why?” he asked.

“She thinks they’re bad influences. But she doesn’t get it.”

“What doesn’t she get?” Bennett asked.

“That sometimes you just have to forget.”

Well, Bennett understood that perfectly. “Maybe you should try doing something that doesn’t mess with your mind.”

“You telling me you don’t have a beer every once in a while?” Dale asked, narrowing his eyes.

“No, I do. But I’m also an adult.”

“You don’t get it, either.” Dale shook his head at Bennett, frustration evident in every feature of his face.

“Kid, I get it more than you could imagine.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes as he turned away from Bennett again.

Bennett really hated that
I don’t care
attitude, and he really wanted to say something but before he could a group of girls came into the room talking and laughing. One of them was the little blonde in Dale’s group, Kylee something. The second Dale saw her his shoulders straightened and he made an attempt to pull his jeans up. Now Bennett only saw half of the skull and crossbones that were across his butt.

Well, that was interesting. The little punk had a crush on the girl. Maybe if he took those damn earrings out and wore pants that weren’t five sizes too big, she’d give him the time of day.

Maybe.

Mel walked into the room a minute later, looking rather bright-eyed with two cups of coffee in her hand. She smiled as she crossed the room and handed him one.

“Well, you look wide awake,” he said, taking the cup.

“The coffee just needed to set in first.”

Bennett looked around to make sure that none of the kids were around them. “I don’t remember you needing coffee yesterday to wake up,” he whispered before he took a sip.

“Well, yesterday I had a very different wake-up call,” she whispered back.

“That you did. We missed out on that this morning.”

“If we’d only gotten up twenty minutes earlier.”

“That was an oversight on my part. It won’t happen again.”

“Good to know.” She smiled mischievously as the first bell rang. “I’m going to go get ready for class. I see that you’ve already got everything ready. So you can just stand there and look pretty again.” She patted his shoulder before she walked away.

Bennett couldn’t help but grin like an idiot.

“Dude, you’ve got it
bad
for my sister.”

Bennett looked to his left to find Hamilton shaking his head.

“And?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t you want to know what my intentions were?”

“Your intentions are written plain as day on your face, and it’s rather disturbing as it’s directed toward my sister. Maybe you should calm it down there, buddy.”

“‘Buddy’?” Bennett asked. Geez, these kids liked giving him a hard time.

“Yeah, you should get some practice in before you have dinner with my parents. I don’t think my mother would appreciate you drooling over Mel instead of the meat loaf.”

“Don’t worry, little man. I’ll learn to control myself.”

“Little man?” Hamilton asked, getting all puffed up.

“Yup, you’re smaller than me.”

“Everyone is smaller than you. You’re freaking Goliath.”

“I wasn’t always. I was kind of small until I was around your age. And then I started lifting. You can work out with me sometime.”

“Seriously?” Hamilton asked, looking just a little bit excited.

“If you want.”

“Hell, yeah,” he said loudly.

A couple kids looked over at them, as did Mel from the other side of the room. She merely raised her eyebrows at him.

“Sorry,” Hamilton said to Mel, somewhat abashed, before he turned back to Bennett. “Hell, yeah,” he said again, so only Bennett could hear.

“Sounds like a plan.” He clapped Hamilton on the back and looked up to find Dale watching the two of them. If Bennett didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that Dale looked envious.

Bennett’s mother had a bit of a green thumb. Jocelyn was out in her garden every chance she could get. She’d just picked a ton of peppers, squash, tomatoes, and eggplant, and she’d told Bennett he needed to come by the house so she could give him some. He hadn’t been by the house in a couple of days, so he stopped by on Monday after work. He wasn’t supposed to pick up Mel until six, and then they’d head over to her parents’ house together.

“Mom. Dad,” Bennett called out as he walked in the front door.

“In here, Benny,” Jocelyn called out from the kitchen.

It didn’t matter how old or big he was, Jocelyn still called him Benny.

He walked down the hall to the back of the house to find his mother at the stove stirring a pot. The smell of marinara sauce hit him, and his stomach growled audibly.

“Hey, sweetie.” She beamed at him as she covered the pot and wiped her hands on her apron. It was the same apron Bennett had sent her his first Christmas away from home. It said:
I’d tell you the recipe, but then I’d have to kill you.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, crossing the kitchen to her. She took his face and kissed his cheek before he wrapped her up in his arms. “Dinner smells good.” He let go of her and took a step back.

“You want to stay. I have more than enough.”

“Nah, I’m good. I’m going over to Mel’s parents’ house for dinner.”

“You’re what?” she asked.

“It isn’t that big of a deal, Mom.”

“Isn’t that big of a deal?” She was beyond incredulous. “Have you ever gone home to a girl’s house before?”

Bennett raised his eyebrows. He’d been to plenty of girls’ houses, but he wasn’t about to discuss that with his mother.

“I meant to meet her parents,” she said, smacking his shoulder. “Because I know for a fact that you’ve never brought one home to meet us.”

This was true. He’d never been serious enough with anyone in high school, and bringing a girl home after he’d joined the military would’ve involved some traveling, since he’d never been stationed close to home.

“I know, I know. But again, I don’t see what the big deal is. You knew we were dating.”

“I knew you went on
one
date.” She glared up at him. “I want you to bring your girlfriend
here
for dinner. And soon.” She poked him hard in the chest.

Girlfriend? Yeah, that seemed like a pretty accurate title for Mel. It was just a little weird for Bennett, because he hadn’t referred to a woman as his girlfriend in about five years.

“All right, all right,” he said, holding up his hands in defense. “I’ll invite her over here.”

“Tomorrow, then.”

“We can’t tomorrow. It’s the last karaoke night at the bar.”

“Wednesday?”

“I have baseball practice.”

“Thursday?” she said through narrowed eyes.

“Thursday should be fine. Let me just check with Mel.”

The severe look disappeared from her face. “Good,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Is there anything I should make specifically? Or not make? She isn’t a picky eater, is she?”

“No, Mom. She isn’t picky at all and she’ll like whatever you make her.”

“So things are going well between the two of you?” she asked as she went to the pantry and pulled out a canvas bag.

“Things are going very well.” He leaned back against the counter and watched Jocelyn load up the bag with veggies.

“Oh geez, you’re just like your father, a man of few words. Can I get a little bit more than that, please?”

Bennett laughed at her obvious frustration before he conceded and gave his mother more information, but only a little bit. Really there were a lot of things he had to leave out, because he just wasn’t going to talk to his mother about his sex life.

M
el wasn’t sure why she was so damn nervous. She’d brought home guys to meet her parents before—not a lot, but there’d been a few. And she’d never felt as antsy or anxious as she did right at that moment.

“You okay?” Bennett asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

He was watching the road, but he glanced at her for a second. “I can hear your mind turning all the way over here.”

“I’m worried about my mother,” Mel told him.

“Why?”

“Because she tends to say what’s on her mind. And I have more than a small feeling she isn’t going to filter herself around you.”

“So what’s in store for me tonight?”

Our wedding plans, probably.
“Uhhh,” Mel said, completely unsure of what to say.

“Oh, come on. Just tell me. Wouldn’t you rather me be prepared than surprised?”

“My mother thinks a lot of you—” Mel began.

“Naturally.”

Mel rolled her eyes at him. “She tends to make things into something before they become something. Or makes them bigger than they are. And this is new, and I’m really worried she’s going to say something to scare you off.”

“Melanie,” he said seriously. He reached across the console to take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “There is nothing your mother is going to say that will scare me off.”

“You say that now.”

“I’m serious.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “I don’t scare of that easily.”

“Really? Because I remember a certain teddy bear that freaked you out to the point of fleeing my house.”

“Hey, that was different,” he said, sounding mildly offended, as he rested their still-joined hands on the console.

“How?”

“That was me freaking out about something that you’d done, not something that somebody else had done. But I’m cool as a cucumber these days—something you should be, as well.”

“After tonight I’ll be fine.”

Bennett cleared his throat. “About that. I stopped by my parents’ house today, and when I told my mom I was eating over here, she pretty much demanded we have dinner at their place sometime this week. So you free on Thursday?”

“To have dinner with your parents?” she asked, surprised. “Um, yeah.”

Why was that even more terrifying than dinner with her parents?

Bennett let go of her hand as he pulled into her parents’ driveway and put his truck in Park. He turned it off and moved to look at her. It took him about a second to correctly read the plethora of emotions on her face.

“Wasn’t one of the things on your list to not dwell?” he asked her.

“It was to not dwell on things I can’t change.”

“All right, well, we can’t change dinner tonight, and we can’t change dinner on Thursday, so stop overthinking it.”

“I overthink everything.”

“Not always.” He leaned across the console and came in very close to her face. “If I remember correctly, you were a little impulsive on Saturday.”

“Saturday I was
very
impulsive.”

“Well, just keep calm and think of Saturday,” he told her before he pressed his lips to hers.

She might’ve moaned just a little bit when he nibbled on her lower lip. “That isn’t going to make me calm,” she whispered against his mouth.

There was a tap on the window and Mel pulled away from Bennett. She turned around to find Hamilton on the other side, looking thoroughly disturbed.

“Come on. Time to face the music.” Bennett got out of his side of the truck.

Hamilton opened Mel’s door, his look of disgust not moving an inch as she got out. “You two need to get a room,” he said, shaking his head.

“Shut up,” Mel said.

“Ooooh, Ms. O’Bryan you just said
shut up
. I’m soooo telling.”

Mel looked over Hamilton’s shoulder to find Nora Ross. Nora’s hands were perched on her hips and her lips were pursed together as she gave Mel a look of sheer mischief.

The Rosses had moved in next door to the O’Bryans about ten years ago. Nora had been four and Hamilton had been five. They’d been best friends ever since.

Nora had shoulder-length light brown hair and big green eyes. She was also a tiny little thing, just under five feet, and she’d be lucky if she cleared it in the next year or two. But even though Nora was short, she was going to be curvy, with a narrow waist and a chest that was already just a little bigger than Mel’s.

She was stunning even at fourteen, and she was going to cause her parents more than a little heartache when she went to high school next year.

The two families had always been very close. Nora’s aunt Beth had been Mel’s roommate for two years in college. And even though Beth was still living up in Tallahassee with her boyfriend, she and Mel still talked on a regular basis.

“What are you doing over there, Miss Priss?” Mel asked putting her hands on her own hips.

“Where else am I supposed to be?” Nora countered.

“Over here giving me a hug.”

“Oh, well, that I can do.” She dropped her hands and walked over to Mel, throwing her arms around Mel’s waist and squeezing tight.

“How are you doing?”

“Good,” Nora said, stepping back. “You haven’t been around a lot lately.”

“That’s ’cause her new
boyfriend
is keeping her busy,” Hamilton said.

“Hamilton, you’re going to get a girlfriend one day and you’re going to be falling all over yourself,” Bennett told him.

“Kind of like you are?” Hamilton asked.

“I’ve got no shame.”

Mel turned and looked up at Bennett. Yup, cool as a cucumber. And he hadn’t even flinched when Hamilton had called him her boyfriend. And why that was such a big deal to her she had no idea. They were sleeping together, for goodness’ sake.

“Anyways,” she said, turning back to Nora, “you coming to dinner at our house tonight?”

“No. Mom and Dad are going out to dinner, so I have to watch the rug rats.”

Colleen and Kevin Ross had waited a few years between their first and second kids. Nine years, to be exact. They’d had Grant five years ago, and then Penny had come along last year.

They all talked for a couple more minutes before Nora headed home. Mel, Bennett, and Hamilton approached the O’Bryans’ front door. Mel took a fortifying breath before they walked inside.

“It’s going to be fine,” Bennett whispered into her ear.

“You say that now.”

They walked through the living room toward the kitchen. Mel’s mother was putting the meat loaf on the dining room table and her father was looking in a drawer.

“I can’t find those salad things,” Miles said as he pushed all manner of kitchen utensils around.

“That’s because they’re not in the drawer by the stove, darling.”

Miles straightened and looked at his wife. “Well, then, where are they?”

“In the drawer by the fridge.”

“Because you keep lettuce in the fridge and not in the stove?” he asked jokingly.

She turned to him, putting her hands on her hips. “Exactly,” she said.

“I’ll leave you to your kitchen logic.”

“As it should be,” Corinne said. She turned and saw Mel, Bennett, and Hamilton standing on the other side of the kitchen, and her face broke out into a huge smile. “Right on time.” She crossed the room and hugged Mel, kissing her on the cheek before she let go and pulled Bennett into a hug. “I’m so glad you could come.” She put her hands on Bennett’s shoulders. “I’m so glad you and Mel are finally dating. She’s always so shy when it comes to guys.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Mel’s face was already starting to turn red.

“What? You are. You have to take some initiative with men. I did with your father.”

“Hey,” Miles said. “I resent that. I took plenty of initiative.”

“Only after I got his attention. He had his nose shoved so far in those books of his that he was sneezing ink.”

“All right, Mother, how about we start dinner now. Do you need any help?”

“No. Let me just get the wine.”

“Oh, I brought some.” Bennett held up the bottle.

“Well, aren’t you thoughtful.” Corinne beamed at him as she took the bottle and went to open it.

“I think my mom might have a crush on you,” Hamilton said to Bennett under his breath.

Bennett laughed.

“He’s serious,” Miles said.

“Why don’t you guys go sit down?” Corinne made a shooing motion toward the table as she opened a drawer looking for the corkscrew. “And I heard that.”

“Teacher ears are intense,” Hamilton said to Bennett. “Between my sister and my mother, I get away with absolutely nothing.”

Bennett shook his head. “Tough break, pal.”

“Yup.”

“So how you doing, Bennett?” Miles asked as he held out his hand.

“Doing pretty good these days.” Bennett nodded toward Mel as he shook Miles’s hand. “How could I not be when I’ve been spending so much time with your daughter?”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Miles ushered the group to the table as Corinne came back with the bottle of wine in one hand and the bowl of salad in the other. Bennett and Mel went to the opposite side of the table, and he pulled out the chair for her.

“Thoughtful
and
a gentleman,” Corinne said.

“Oh geez,” Hamilton mumbled as he sat down.

“You could take some notes,” Corinne said to her son as she poured the wine.

“Who am I trying to impress?”

“Well, there’s Nora,” Miles said.

Hamilton frowned at his father. “We’re just friends. Always have been, always will be.”

“We’ll just see about that.” Mel grinned at her little brother. She’d always secretly wanted Nora to wind up with Hamilton, but either both kids were oblivious or they really were just friends. Either way, Mel wasn’t giving up hope yet.

“Shut up.” Hamilton stuck his tongue out at Mel.

Mel stuck hers out at him. “You just wait. You’re going to wake up one day and have feelings for her and not know what happened.”

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Bennett looking at her. He was wearing a bemused expression.

“Everyone start serving yourselves,” Corinne said, indicating the table filled with food and effectively pulling Mel’s gaze away from Bennett. “So, tell us how the project is going.” She lifted the lid off the container of potatoes and dished a little out onto her plate.

“What, are my daily updates not sufficient enough?” Hamilton asked.

“You’re only in one class. I want to hear about all of them.”

“Yeah, and whenever she bombards me with questions they’re always about the two of you.” Hamilton waved his fork in the air between Mel and Bennett. “I’ve had more to report back lately.”

“Oh geez.” Mel closed her eyes.

“What? I’m just curious. My daughter refuses to tell me anything,” she said to Bennett. “I’ve had to resort to other means.”

“The project is coming along real nice,” Bennett said as he helped himself to a slice of meat loaf. “We’re right on schedule, and we should be finished by the end of the semester.”

“Well, that’s promising,” Miles said as he passed the salad bowl to Hamilton.

“Yeah, we just need to raise the last little bit of money. But I think we’ll be good. We’ve gotten a lot for the mud run that’s this weekend, and the last little bit should be secured with the auction at the fall festival,” Mel told them.

“And how are all of the kids responding? Are you getting them excited?” Corinne asked.

“I think so,” Mel said as she put a dab of potatoes on her meat loaf and took a bite.

“There’re actually quite a few who are coming in on Wednesday afternoons to work on other projects. It’s a real shame they dropped the wood shop class. I think a lot of kids could benefit from it. I know I did when I was in school. If it hadn’t been for that class I wouldn’t be in the profession I’m in now. And it really helped me when I was in the air force.”

“It’s all because of that horrible man, Keith Reynolds. I’m so glad he’s gone,” Corinne said more than a little angrily.

“Mom hated him,” Hamilton said.

“I did not
hate
him,” Corinne explained to Bennett. “I just despised him with every fiber of my being.”

Truer words could not be spoken. Corinne wasn’t exactly the most forgiving of people, and Keith Reynolds had never done anything to be even remotely redeemable. Ever.

“Knowing the little I do about the man, I find that to be completely justifiable,” Bennett said.

“Well, maybe the new superintendent will see how the class benefits the kids and bring it back,” Miles suggested.

“I hope so. I can already see a noticeable difference in some of the kids, especially Dale Rigels. I think it really brings something out in him.” Mel reached for her wineglass and took a healthy drink before she dived back in to her mashed potatoes.

“Yeah, he isn’t as bad as I thought he was going to be. I was real pissed when you put him in my group.”

“Hamilton, language,” Corinne snapped.

“Ticked! I was ticked when you put him in my group.”

“Believe me, that didn’t escape my notice. I thought you could be a good influence on him. He needs some better friends.”

“No kidding,” Hamilton said, nodding.

“It couldn’t have been easy losing his dad. I know his mother Virginia has been having a really tough time,” Corinne said.

“Maybe he’d like to work out with us,” Hamilton said to Bennett.

“Maybe. You want to invite him?”

“Work out?” Corinne looked between Hamilton and Bennett.

“I told Hamilton I’d show him how to work out if he wanted to bulk up.”

“Bennett thinks I’m too scrawny for my own good.”

“Well, this will be interesting,” Miles said with a chuckle.

“Hey, are you doubting me? ’Cause I can do this.”

“I’m not saying you can’t. I just said it was going to be interesting.”

“I was small like Hamilton when I was his age. Well, maybe just a tad bit bigger.” Bennett grinned. “I think he’s got just enough fire in him.”

“As soon as you say the word I’m ready to start,” Hamilton said seriously.

“Wednesday after school. We can start at three after everyone leaves, and you can invite Dale. I think it’s a really good idea. If he decides to come, tell him we’ll be running.”