Page 71 of Stick Side
Melody reached for her bag as their group made their way toward the house, but Ben didn’t make a move to hand it to her. “It’s okay, I’ve got it,” he told her.
“I can carry my own bag, you know.” She made a playful motion for her bag.
“I know you can,” he replied, “but what if I want to do it for you?” He punctuated his statement with a flirty wink.
Melody, Shawna, and Ben were the first to ascend the steps to the house’s wide, wraparound porch and reach the front door. “Would you mind, Melody?” he asked, cocking his head toward the door.
She felt a subtle blush starting. With his hands filled with both his luggage and hers, he was unable to reach for the door handle.
He chuckled when she made to knock. “You can just walk right in, sweetheart. They know we’re coming.”
At his urging, she pushed the door open without knocking, but stepped back so he could be the first to enter. She held the door and waved Shawna through next. She would have waited and held the door open for the others, but they seemed content to look around. As such, she followed Shawna inside and closed the door gently behind her so the heat wouldn’t escape.
“Mom! Dad! We’re here!” Ben called out in a voice loud enough to carry.
Excited footsteps padded toward them. “Welcome! Welcome!” a woman who could only be Ben’s mom enthused as she pulled her son into a hug. “It’s good to have you home, honey.”
Mrs. Logan released her son after a good squeeze. When she stepped back, her eyes flittered over Melody and Shawna, her smile warm with greeting. Perhaps it was because Shawna was closer to her, but Mrs. Logan wrapped her arm around Shawna’s shoulder and gestured them all deeper into the house.
Not stopping for an introduction, she ushered Shawna past her husband and into the living room.
“Hi, Dad,” Ben greeted, pulling his father into a hug as warm as the one he’d shared with his mother.
“Hi, Son,” Mr. Logan returned with a gentle slap to Ben’s back. “Good to have you home.
“Hi,” Mr. Logan greeted as he broke contact with his son and turned toward her. “I’m Robert Logan, but please call me Bob. And you must be Melody.” He held out his hand for her to shake.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bob,” she returned, accepting his offered hand. “Thank you for having us.”
“It’s our pleasure,” he said with a secret smile that hinted at something he wasn’t saying.
“But how did you know I’m Melody?” she asked with curiosity.
Here he chuckled and shared an amused look with his son. “For one thing,” he explained, “my wife is almost always wrong when it comes to identifying Ben’s girlfriends. For another,” he said with a broadening smile, “I’m a good judge of my son’s taste in women. And you, my dear, are exactly the type of woman my boy would be drawn to.”
Ben moved toward her, wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, and tucked her gently into his side. Her stomach fluttered wildly. Between Ben’s affectionate gesture and the way his father had casually referred to her as Ben’s girlfriend, it felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies had just awoken in her midsection.
Shawna’s hearty laugh peeled from the other room, echoing down the hallway.
“What do you want to bet your mom just realized her case of mistaken identity?” Bob asked his son with arched brows.
Before Ben could respond, his mom was hurrying back toward them. Her facial features displayed obvious signs of embarrassment. A visibly amused Shawna followed at her heels.
“Oh my goodness,” Mrs. Logan said when she reached them. “I’m so sorry, Melody.” Her eyes flicked back to Shawna, silently voicing what she was sorry for.
“It’s no problem at all. Truly,” Melody reassured. It’s not like she was expecting preferential treatment.
Bob wrapped a comforting arm around his wife, demonstrating who Ben had gotten his comfort with public displays of affection from.
“Still,” Ben’s mom said, “where are my manners. I’m Cathy Logan. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Melody said when she had Cathy’s full attention again. “It’s awfully kind of you to open your home up to so many of us, especially all at once.”
“It really is. Thanks again, Mom,” Ben said with sincerity.
Cathy acknowledged her son’s thanks with a tilt of her head. “I hope you know you’re helping me with all the food prep, Benjamin.”
“That goes without saying,” he acknowledged. His calm countenance suggested leaving all the work to his mother hadn’t even crossed his mind.
