Page 30 of Somebody's Watching Me
All because of Ty.
In the years since planting that first kernel of distrust in his mother’s head, Ben had never discovered who the man was or why Helen had invited him to lunch with her at Parkland Grounds.
Being the same age, he and Ty were hardly apart growing up, forced into a friendship neither minded. On the day his mother met with a man who was apparently a new business associate of Fairweather Holdings, and the call came in for Ty to present himself downstairs, Ben had naturally gone with him.
Yet, when they reached the ground floor, his mother intercepted them and ordered Ben to return to the playroom. “Ty is the only one I need for this.”
Perhaps it had been that gleeful maliciousness in his mother’s eyes, or that sinking feeling in his stomach that had him ignoring her. All Ben had known when he snuck back downstairs was that he needed to find Ty.
And it had been easy.
Because when Ty cried, he cried with his whole heart.
On the ground floor, the daytime staff went about their business, each of them pretending not to hear the sounds coming from Helen’s private study. They never looked in Ben’s direction as he crept closer, nor did they try to stop him from gaining access to the room.
Opening the door and seeing Ty squirming on the strange man’s lap had been a shock, one that Ben’s young brain hadn’t quite understood at first. But as he slowly comprehended what was happening, that was when it ended. That was when the thing that called itself Fairweather died in Ben.Gone.Obliterated in no more than a millisecond of time.
And while he might have been young, he was still fearless, and barged into the room to strike the man square in the face. Once Ty was free, the two of them pounded the ever-loving shit out of the stranger before running off to hide in the playroom.
Ty had been worried his aunt would lose her job as a nanny at Parkland Grounds, and if fired by the Fairweathers, finding employment in Hollingsdale was nearly impossible. Scared, but wanting to do what was right, Ben made a promise never to tell, and the two of them had kept each other’s secrets ever since.
Helen had remained quiet on the incident as well. There had never been a doubt in Ben’s mind that she orchestrated the entire thing, but he couldn’t prove it. Not that anyone in his family would have cared.
“Where have you been?” Ben signaled for the waitress, or at least who he thought was a waitress. No one in this bar was dressed in any type of uniform. “We’ve been here for an hour.”
Laura Jean arched up on her toes to kiss Ty’s cheek. “And where’s SiSi?”
Ben and Ty laughed together. SiSi would never be caught dead in a dive bar. This place would offend her on every level, but even if she had wanted to come, they definitely couldn’t risk being in public together.
“I took a lady friend to dinner before heading this way,” Ty replied, giving Laura Jean a one-armed hug. “And my sister would burst into flames if she stepped foot into a honky tonk.”
“Not if she’s with me,” Laura Jean insisted. “I would have her line dancing in no time.”
“Hell, I would pay to see that.” Ty arched an eyebrow at Albie. “Is he ducking and running or spinning and passing?”
“I say he’s in too deep to spin and pass,” Ben replied. “It’s going to be a definite duck and run.”
As expected, Albie dipped under one of the women’s arms and sped walked over to kiss Laura Jean in a way that made it clear he was taken.
The women booed.
After he finished making a spectacle of himself, Albie relieved his wife of her pool stick. “Next time, come rescue me. I’m fragile, and they were scary.”
“No way.” Laura Jean crossed her arms. “I could say the wrong thing, and since you’re a public figure now, Dr. Eddins, we have to be careful. One day, those women might become patients and get you right where they want you.” She winked at Ben. “Under their hood.”
Ben grinned. He’d never had an inside joke with anyone before. Not with Albie or even Ty. “You just never know when a woman’s check engine light might come on.”
Albie slapped his wife’s butt as she spun away laughing. “I see you haven’t taken Fairweather out while I was gone.”
“I didn’t want to bruise his manly ego.” Laura Jean danced her way over to the fresh round of drinks being delivered. “Fairweather has never been the type to take losing very well.”
Losing wasn’t an option. It was the difference between suffering and thriving, and too many people depended on him.
“Because I don’t lose.”
The music switched to some slow, bluesy tune, and Laura Jean squealed. “I love this song. Ty, come dance with me.”
Ty gazed out over the mass of cowboy hats and buckles shining under the dance floor lights. “Girl, you ask too much.” He held his hand out. “But come on before I change my mind.”
