The Daddy Verdict. Karen Smith Rose

didn’t know if she was ready for another intimate relationship, especially with a man like Ben, a man dedicated to a career that was all-important to him. She had to remember that before she took another step toward him, before she let him take a step toward her.

      She backed away. “I’d better get ready.”

      He nodded. “My tuxedo’s still in the car.” He crossed to the door. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

      When Ben closed the door behind him, Sierra sank onto the bed. All she had to do was think about Camille and Miguel and the next few hours would be easy.

      If she said that often enough, she might believe it.

      Ben shrugged into his tuxedo jacket, then checked his pocket for the wedding ring. He heard the floorboards creak in the room next door. Was Sierra styling her hair? Applying makeup? Slipping into her gown? All too easily he could recall exactly what she’d looked like naked and become aroused by the picture.

      Damn! How could she possibly be as innocent as she looked? Was he really supposed to believe she wanted nothing from him?

      He thought of his mother leaving his father all those years ago, and his father’s bitterness and unhappiness after she left. His brothers’ sadness. His own feeling that he’d done something wrong to make her leave. Weren’t mothers supposed to love their children no matter what?

      He heard the water running in Sierra’s bathroom, then it was quickly shut off. He could picture her applying lipstick to her full lips or brushing her luxurious hair.

      Intentionally, he thought about Lois, the woman he’d thought he’d marry some day. She’d been beautiful in a much more sophisticated way than Sierra. She’d been a professional woman, serious about her career in public relations. He’d thought she’d understand working early, working late, working weekends. Before she’d left, before she’d told him she’d already found someone else, she’d said something he hadn’t been able to forget. “I still feel alone, even when I’m in the same room with you, Ben.”

      He wasn’t sure exactly what that had meant.

      Instead of focusing on a past that couldn’t be changed or Sierra, who unsettled him more than he wanted to admit, he turned his attention to another situation that had preoccupied his thoughts.

      Last night after a basketball workout with the teenagers he’d befriended, he’d approached his car in the public parking lot. The hairs on the back of his neck had twitched. He always paid attention to that feeling. Although years before he’d earned a black belt in karate, his skills had gotten rusty with disuse. Last night he’d reached into his jeans pocket for his pocketknife, flipped it open and kept his hand by his side. Then he’d heard, “Hey, Mr. District Attorney.”

      A man had suddenly appeared from behind a truck. Although he’d been of average height with lank brown hair and a too-large black shirt hanging over worn jeans, a memory had flickered in Ben’s brain.

      “I have fifty dollars in cash and one credit card,” Ben had said reasonably, his thumb securing a firm place on the knife handle.

      “I don’t want your money,” the man had declared. “I want you to lay off my brother. He’s innocent.”

      “Who’s your brother?” Ben had asked to gain time.

      “Charlie Levsin. If you don’t back off, something could happen to you.”

      Ben had considered the death threat he’d received in August. It had come in with his mail in a plain white envelope, one sheet of paper printed on a computer. You are going to die. Although he’d received death threats before, this time his boss had suggested he leave town for a few days and he had, to help his brother Sam lay floors in his new house. There had been nothing since then.

      Levsin’s trial was scheduled for December. Ben had known better than to alienate Levsin’s brother. “Threatening my life could get you in trouble.”

      “There ain’t nobody here to hear me. Your word against mine. Just make sure my brother gets off.”

      Ben had evidence up the kazoo against Levsin and there was no way he was going to back down. “The jury will decide whether he’s innocent or guilty.”

      “Yeah, well, they’d better decide he’s innocent. I mean it, Mr. D.A. You throw that trial or you’ll be sorry.”

      As quickly as the man had appeared, he’d disappeared.

      If Ben had chased him, caught him and hauled him in, they could have held him for a while. But it would have just been his word against Ben’s.

      Ben’s thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. Plucking it from the dresser, he opened it. When he checked the caller ID, he was relieved to see his brother Nathan’s number.

      “You almost caught me at the altar,” Ben joked, pushing away the sound of Levsin’s voice that had played in his head since last night.

      It took Nathan a moment to absorb what Ben had said, then he replied, “Sorry. I forgot you were a best man again this weekend.”

      “It’s okay. I have a few minutes. I was just checking to make sure I had Miguel’s ring for Camille in my pocket.”

      “I remember when you handed me the ring for Sara.”

      “No regrets?” Ben asked, really curious.

      “Not a one. I’m a lucky man. Who would have thought I’d find another woman who could put up with me?”

      Ben laughed. “I think Sara does more than put up with you.”

      “You’ve come to accept her.”

      “Yeah, almost like a sister. She’s a straight talker and you know I appreciate that.”

      “What about Corrie? Sam mentioned he thought the two of you got along really well when you flew home to help us lay floors in his new house.”

      His brother Sam was a newlywed, too. “I like Corrie. She’s not quite as open and free as Sara, but anyone who loves animals like Sam does has a good heart. She’s pretty honest about what she thinks, too.”

      “Women these days are like that.”

      Ben thought about Sierra…their news. He didn’t keep secrets from his brothers. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He hadn’t told them about the death threat. He wouldn’t, either. Yet that was different. “My life got a little more complicated recently.”

      “Work?” Nathan asked.

      “Not this time. I…uh…” He suddenly felt tongue-tied. “I found out I’m going to be a father.”

      The silence told Ben that Nathan was thinking how best to respond. Finally his brother asked, “Are congratulations in order?”

      “You mean, am I happy about it? I’m still trying to get used to the idea. But the more I think about it, yeah, I think I’m happy about it. You know how I love spending time with Kyle.” His nephew was one of his favorite people.

      “So you’re involved with someone?”

      “Not exactly.”

      “You’d better explain that.”

      Ben blew out a sigh. He had to admit his stupidity to his brother. “I messed up. First time ever. Remember the engagement party I told you about?”

      “The one in Santa Fe, where Miguel asked you to be best man.”

      “Yeah. Well, Camille’s maid of honor and I started talking. One thing led to another, and she’s pregnant.”

      “You’ve been dating her since the party? You didn’t say a word.”

      “No, I haven’t been dating her. After that night, she left. I just figured it was a night she didn’t want to repeat. But she turned up at my office to give me the news.”