Tamara and Henry came over to join them. She came to stand close to him, and he recognized the look of shock on her face. Kate Benedict could take some getting used to.
“I’ve been busy this week with the last-minute arrangements for my granddaughter’s ceremony,” Kate said, stepping back from Goodwin, making the group into a kind of circle. “But I’ve been meaning to come over and meet Tamara, here.”
“When my girl called me to tell me she’d made an emergency landing right here in Lusty, I of course thought of you and Gerald and Patrick. It’s been a lot of years, woman.”
“My, yes it has been! And imagine that, Tamara just…falling out of the sky as it were, landing almost at Morgan and Henry’s feet!”
The laughter in Grandma Kate’s eyes was impossible to resist, so Morgan didn’t even try. “Yes,” Morgan said to her. “Imagine that.”
“Now, I understand that you’re both going to be here tomorrow, so of course you must come to the ceremony. And before either of you thinks to argue, I know that Susan, Colt, and Ryder would be thrilled to have you there.” She touched Morgan’s arm. “I’m so glad that you and Henry decided to stay in Lusty and open this new business here.” Then she beamed a huge smile at Tamara’s uncle. “The party tomorrow is going to be a real celebration!”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Goodwin said.
Kate turned her raised-eyebrow look on Tamara. “What about you, Tamara? Will I see you there, too?”
His woman’s smile in return proved what Morgan had always known. There wasn’t a person on God’s green earth who could resist Kate Benedict.
“I’d already planned to attend,” Tamara said.
“Now that’s just perfect. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go have a cup of tea over at Kelsey’s restaurant. If I time it right, Ginny Rose will be on her break.”
Tamara looked confused. “You don’t want her to wait on you?”
“No, I don’t. I want her to join me. Did you know that Adam and Jake are sweet on her? And who could blame them, really? I certainly like her.” Kate gave a quick wave to all of them—including those who’d been working away while she’d visited, and then headed for her car.
The woman could walk faster than he did, and that was saying something. Morgan shook his head and then looked over at Henry.
“You see?” his brother said. “I told you we didn’t have anything to worry about.”
“Pardon me, but I’m confused.” Tamara looked up at Morgan, clearly wanting him to straighten out her confusion. “That is the woman you asked me if I knew just after we met, isn’t it?”
“I’ll explain it all later, Red.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been invited by your fathers to go over to the Big House with them. Something about looking over the partnership agreement for that Investigative agency the Benedicts are setting up.”
“Well, good,” Henry said. “That means we won’t have to worry about keeping our uncles off any of the ladders, at least not today.”
“Aw, could be they just want to feel they’re a part of their own business, hit the ground running, as it were. I sure know how that feels,” Goodwin said.
“That’s the part about our uncles on the ladders that we’re worried about,” Morgan said. “The part that involves them hitting the ground.”
Chapter 16
“So what you’re telling me is that Kate Benedict picked you out for her grandsons?” Tamara couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.
The woman standing before her was a vision. Hair so black it nearly sparkled blue in the Texas sun, eyes of startling violet, she looked like the sort of woman who’d have men lined up out the door and down the block.
“I suppose that sounds kind of funny, doesn’t it? Actually I guess you could say that Grandma Kate didn’t so much pick me out for them as she simply facilitated my meeting them, as she thought we belonged together. And really, that’s all she did—um, well, until she had us stranded in the middle of nowhere, that is.”
“Hey, geek boy, quit staring at your woman and get back to work!” Jordan’s shout carried throughout the entire airfield, Tamara was certain of it.
“You’re just jealous, there, Bob the Builder, ’cause you don’t have a love life of your own at the moment!” Joshua Benedict’s rebuttal sounded just as loud.
“Boys.” Penelope sighed the one word that said so much and shook her head. “They all get together, and I swear, no matter what it is they’re doing, the maturity level drops at least fifteen years.”
“I think it has to do with that Y chromosome thing they have going on there,” Tamara said. Then she laughed. “At least now I understand a little about why Morgan asked me if I knew Kate Benedict just moments after he tackled me to the ground. Which, of course, I didn’t until earlier today. She seemed like such a sweet, if very energetic, lady.”
“I love her, but then I’ve known her for years. The entire family—Benedicts, Kendalls, and Jessops alike—are watching her nervously, wondering who it is she’s going to set her matchmaking sights on next,” Penelope agreed. “But that isn’t why he would have asked you that, exactly. It’s what Kate said to him when he told her, very politely, I might add, that he and Henry didn’t need her help finding a wife.”
Tamara blinked. “Hey, I’m not wife material. I’m just here until we solve the mystery surrounding that Piper I flew in on.” Tamara told the truth. Sure, she might be enjoying the best sex of her life, finally discovering that she was a sensual woman, after all. That didn’t mean marriage was on the table, or anywhere near it.
She was brought back to the conversation by the twinkle in Penelope’s eye. The other woman tilted her head to the side. “Don’t
