Family Secrets

She looked at Ben.  “So much for never leaving me alone again.”

Ben opened her door.  “I could call them back if you want.”

As she got in she laughed. “No, please don’t.”

Saturday was family night and after church, as was their habit, they began making plans.  They always went out to eat, and as the talk went to, shall we dine at Bellini’s or not, she wondered how they were going to get her back to Ben’s after di

By six-thirty, they were up to their elbows in cheesy corn, pork ribs, beef ribs, and onion rings.  It was delicious.  After di

Ben watched as the Parkers danced along in the mutual deception.   Lane knew about the party but wouldn’t spoil the surprise the kids had pla

They’d gotten Ben to foot the bill for valet parking so that no cars would be in his drive.  The cars had been parked at a school parking lot a couple of blocks away.  He’d picked up the cake, appetizers, and other refreshments when he’d left Lane earlier in the day.  Jess had recruited Lane’s assistant, Meg to let people into Ben’s house and keep everyone quiet as they walked in.  Ben excused himself at the restaurant and called Meg with an ETA.  Jake, Jess and Jamie drove ahead, parked in the driveway, and waited for Ben and Lane.  Ben opened the garage door, and escorted Lane into the house so she could be surprised when the people all popped out.

Jess might be the professional actress, but if Mick hadn’t told him Lane knew about the party, Ben wouldn’t have had any idea that she was anything but surprised.  Ben got a glass of wine and handed it to Lane.  She handed her purse and wrap to Jess who put them in Ben’s room.

Jess slipped next to Ben while Lane was talking with Meg and whispered, “So, Ben, who’s the blonde?”

“That’s Meg Kelly.  I thought you arranged this.  Haven’t you ever met her?”

“Of course I arranged it.  No, I’ve never met her.  I’ve never been at Mom’s office during the day. I guess she isn’t what I expected.”

Jess overheard Meg ask Lane about the ordeal that occurred in her office the day before. Meg seemed to know a lot more about what went on with her mother than she did and frankly, it pissed her off.

“Did Kyle have his gun pointed at you the whole time?”

“Not the whole time.  There was a time when he started waiving it around at Craig.”

“Still, weren’t you scared?”

Lane noticed Jess standing just feet away, and wanted to put a stop to the topic of discussion with Meg.  “Really, it was no worse than some union negotiations I’ve been involved in.  Meg, I’d like you to meet my daughter.”  Lane motioned for Jess to step closer.

“Meg, this is my daughter Jess.  Jess, this is Meg Kelly.  I know you two have spoken on the phone, but I think this is the first time you’ve met.”

Jess and Meg said hello to each other.  Lane excused herself and began to mingle.  As Lane worked her way around the room, Jess and Meg were engaged in a conversation of sorts.

“You put together a great party.  How is school going?  I can’t imagine living in L.A.”  Meg asked.

“School’s good.”  Jess maneuvered Meg toward her brother Jamie. “Have you met my brother Jamie?”

“Meg, this is Jamie.  Jamie, this is Mom’s assistant Meg Kelly.”

Jess left Meg in Jamie’s care.  She had spotted Jake across the room and made her way to him.

“Jake, see that girl talking to Jamie?”  Jake nodded.  “She’s Mom’s assistant, Meg, and she’s all up in our business.  Go take care of that.”

Lane saw Al and Babs Edwards and she made her way toward them.

“Al, Babs, thank-you so much for coming.  Babs, I’ll give your office a call on Monday, I’ve thought of a use for the trust.”

They wished her a happy birthday and Lane was on to the next group. All eleven members of her book club were there, and she moved from group to group, accepting birthday wishes and exchanging pleasantries.

Jake thought, “Go take care of that, typical Jess, issuing orders.” What was he supposed to do, threaten her?  He looked at Meg.  She was five feet six inches tall, not as thin as Jess, but not fat. In fact, as he looked at her, he’d say she was just about perfect.  She had blonde hair and blue eyes, a nice figure.  He walked over to where she stood talking to Jamie.

“Hi.  I’m Jake Parker.  You’re Mom’s assistant, Meg, right?”  He looked at her nearly empty glass.  “Can I get you a refill?”

Meg nodded.  “Sure.”  She walked with him to the kitchen where the bar was set up.

“What are you drinking?”

“It’s just Diet Coke.  I’m driving.”

“You’re here alone?”

“Here and almost everywhere.”  God, had she really said that aloud?  What was she thinking?  Why had her whole filtering system had taken a vacation?  Meg was 24 years old.  She had a two-year-old daughter.  The guy she’d dated through college had started to show violent tendencies.  She left him and never even told him he was pregnant.  She moved back in with her parents who helped take care of Abigail.  Even so, she didn’t go out much.  She looked up at Jake.  He was six feet four inches tall, with a muscular build, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  He looked great in his shorts, polo shirt, and boat shoes.  And, he did look a little like one of the Hemsworth brothers, tall, blue eyes, muscular and steamy, but that was no reason for her to take leave of her senses.

“Let’s go out to the patio.  Looks like it’s less crowded outside.”  He held the patio door open and ushered her out.

Lane was talking with Pat Elliott, a friend from book club.  It was the first time the book club members had met Ben.   Pat was a widow with two daughters, and she was teasing Lane about fixing her up with someone.

The women were laughing when Lane noticed Ben was talking with Mick.  Lane excused herself and slowly made her way to the corner where the two men stood.

“Hi, Mick.  It’s so nice that you could come.”

Mick smiled at Lane.  He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked in the clingy jersey dress.  He also couldn’t miss the fact that the second she joined them Ben had put his arm around her waist.  He wanted to say, “Okay, already, I get it, she’s yours.  Hands and eyes off.”  Well, hands off that was difficult, but doable.  Eyes off was completely something else.  Lane wasn’t the kind of woman who demanded attention, yet it seemed he couldn’t help giving it to her.

“It was thoughtful of you to invite me.”

Lane laughed.  “When I invited you, I was still a suspect and I thought it would be easier for you to keep an eye on me.  Speaking of suspects, I’d like to talk with Kyle Paulson.  I want to help with the medical expenses for his wife. Do I need to get permission from someone?”

To say that Mick was surprised might have been an understatement.  He’d spent a lot of time with Lane during the past week.  His opinion of her from the first meeting to now hadn’t exactly changed, more like it had grown.  He had a better feeling for the complete woman.  She was beautiful, that was obvious from the start.  She was intelligent, she’d proven yesterday how capable she was, and now she was clearly compassionate and caring.

“Yeah, since you’re a witness against him, you should talk to his lawyer.  Maybe Ben could approach him for you.”

“Who is it?  Has he got a public defender?”

Mick nodded and gave him a name.

Ben looked at Lane who was looking up at him.  “Oh, no.  I can tell by the look on your face you want me to defend him.  That’s just not going to happen.  For at least three reasons.  He tried to frame you for murder, he threatened you, and the kids, and he held you at gunpoint. And we can talk about it privately later.”