They were crossing a footbridge over one of the creeks. When Marcie stopped, listening to the music coming from the pavilion, he stopped with her, giving her time.
“I’ll Stand By You, by the Pretenders. Cass used to sing that when we were young.” She started to hum it, closing her eyes.
She opened them when he turned her toward him. Sliding one arm around her waist, he took her other hand in his, against his chest, and began to sway with her. He picked up the hum, going along with it. Hell, people didn’t dance at funerals, but he didn’t really care. She let out a weary sigh, relaxed a little more in his arms.
He could be here for this, and for every need she had after this moment. She might think he was her Master, holding all the reins, but when push came to shove, he couldn’t deny her anything.
* * * * *
Cass had gone into the house with Jessica and Nate to show Steve Pickard’s wife some pictures of Jeremy. She’d told Lucas she’d be okay, and so he was sitting out in a corner of the pavilion, keeping an eye on Cherry and Talia. Steve had the two girls engaged in conversation about their school activities, so all the kids were handled, giving him a momentary break.
As he took a swallow of Scotch he’d poured from the self-serve wet bar, he glanced out over the marsh and saw Ben and Marcie coming back from the lake. He’d intended to go after her when he didn’t see her come in from the service, but he’d gotten involved in other things. His moment of guilt was short-lived, though, seeing Marcie tucked under Ben’s arm, a comfortable fit.
His lips twisted wryly. He hoped he’d done well by Cass’ siblings, because he loved all of the kids. The rest of the guys felt the same way, but there’d been a special relationship between Ben and Marcie from the beginning, he couldn’t deny it. He hadn’t had to worry about Marcie all that much, because when she needed an adult friend, a shoulder, an ear, Ben had been there. Her playmate, her surrogate big brother, and now something else entirely.
As they stopped on the bridge and he saw her register the song, the sadness from it reflected in her face, he was ready to go to her. But Ben turned to her, going into that slow dance, his head bent protective and attentive over hers.
“She’s the one for him, Lucas. You can tell.” Jon was standing at his shoulder now, holding a beer and gazing at them. “He gave his heart to her a long time ago. She brought it back to him.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lucas sighed. “With all this other shit, I’d forgotten their history. There it is, right in front of us.”
“Right where it was destined to be. That was why it took him so much longer. He had to wait for her to be ready. And figure out what he truly wanted.”
“Hell, if his head’s back on straight, there’s no one in the world I’d trust with her more.”
“You might want to tell Ben that at some point. I think he’d be surprised to hear it.”
Lucas glanced at Matt as he took a seat next to him. The CEO nodded toward them. “She had to have enough faith for both of them. She’s a remarkable young woman.”
“In some ways, I get how Ben felt,” Peter said. “I still don’t know what I did to deserve a gift like Dana. I just try to do whatever’s needed to earn it, every day, weighting the other side of that scale as much as I can.” He gave a half smile. “She always gives me twice as much, so I’ll never catch up. Some gifts take a lifetime to find the balance.”
”For some of us, maybe not even then.” Lucas nudged Matt. “Most of us still think Savannah married beneath her.”
No argument there,” Matt returned, unruffled. “Cass’ll probably throw your midwest beancounting ass back into the pond any day now.”
Lucas sobered, looking back at Ben and Marcie. Their lawyer had his hand curved around her jaw, thumb stroking her cheek as she pressed her face into his chest. “He’ll protect her with everything he is. He’s figured it out. He won’t let her down.”
“That’s the job.” Matt lifted his glass, tapped it to his. “And the blessing.”
Marcie: I’m sitting in the student commons, and the sunset is spectacular. The reds are painted against the clouds, as if the sun is courting the moon.
Ben: Does the moon like being courted?
Marcie: What woman doesn’t?
Marcie texting Ben, sophomore year
Chapter Fifteen
Marcie stood on the footbridge, watching the sky and remembering the dance she and Ben had shared here, three weeks before. Tonight would be a full moon. She felt like its light was already filling her, lifting her up toward the heavens.
Ever since Jeremy’s service, she’d received some type of whimsical gift or gesture from Ben every day. He’d made her dinner at his Garden District house. Her as well as Cass and Lucas, the other K&A men, her siblings. He’d had her come early, help him chop, mix, sauté. Driven her completely crazy when he laid kisses on her neck, holding her inside his armspan as he showed her exactly how he wanted things prepared. But her Master had been clear.
No sex right now. These next three weeks are for something different.
She tried really hard to change his mind. Alice had returned from her trip, but Peter needed some admin help on an offsite project. Therefore, Ben agreed to let Marcie split her internship between his office and the research department on the days Alice was gone. Of course, on those days, she always wore provocative clothes, doing a lot of bending over file cabinets in line with his office door. When he brought her close enough to touch, she
