The sun was starting its evening descent when Claire’s pickup rumbled slowly up the driveway. Benton kept his seat on the porch next to the table holding the pitcher of iced tea. He couldn’t greet her with the kiss he wanted to until she’d stopped moving, and his body needed the rest.
They had thought the scene on the highway was under control until the tow truck arrived. Then, as the driver had hooked the Lawsons’ car to the winch, a spot fire had sprung up in the ditch. Benton and his team had jumped into action and put it out. Then another had flared, and another, as the undercarriage had scraped across the asphalt. Then one had sprung up on the other side of the highway. Eventually they’d doused and dug up the entire stretch of road. He was exhausted from working in the heat and had a sore throat from all the soot and smoke and dust. He must have looked like he felt because Clay had taken one look at him and told him to go shower rather than muck out the stables.
His mom approached the matching chair. “Did you finish the check in the tack room?”
Clay had also told him that his phone had blown up with texts while he was in the waiting room at the hospital. Corporal Random had let them know that they’d been targeted by the gang of thieves in the area, and that he suspected somebody had been scouting their property. Clay had immediately sent Paul and Shannon back home to start doing an inventory. When Benton arrived, they had already checked the house; Paul was working in the machine shop, and Shannon was inspecting the outdoor kitchen. They’d sent him to the tack room. That was his domain, especially with all his specialty and award saddles. It would only take one carload of stolen saddles to make a couple thousand dollars. Although there was evidence that someone had been in the barn—a tipped-over wheelbarrow and an open door to an empty storeroom—everything was there.
“Yes, Mom, I think we’re all good. Nobody has noticed anything missing.”
“Didn’t Corporal Random say that he was sending somebody out to make a report? What’s taking them so long?” she griped as she slowly lowered herself to the cushioned seat.
“Shouldn’t you be inside lying down?” he asked. She’d been moving tenderly enough that Clay and his dad had had to help her out of Clay’s truck when they’d finally returned home. His brothers had tried to talk her into taking a hot bath and a nap, but she was more stubborn than her children and said she wanted to hear the report.
“I’m fine,” she lied. She squinted at the approaching vehicle. “It looks like Claire has come to check on us.”
Clay barrelled out of the house. “What is she doing here?”
Then Claire climbed out of the cab of her truck. In full uniform. She wore a grey shirt with patches and a name tag, and blue-black slacks with their unmistakeable yellow stripe down the side. Her hair was pulled back slickly and pinned into a bun at the base of her neck. To make sure nobody misunderstood what they were seeing, she was also wearing her police vest and fully kitted-out belt.
“I do believe that Constable King has come to take our statements. I’ll go first.” Benton bounded to his feet and down the porch steps, only hitting the one in the middle. Claire raised her arms when she saw him coming and let him wrap his arms around her and pull her close. He spun her around once then set her back on her feet. “Are you okay? Did your bust go well?”
“No shots fired,” she whispered back. “Textbook takedown. My first major crimes bust. My mom is going to be so proud.”
“Not as proud as me. Can I kiss my hero?”
“Can I kiss mine?”
Benton ignored the fact that his mother and brother were watching from the porch. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with everything he was feeling. Worry and pride and love and respect and the sheer joy of her being in his life. He felt the same from Claire.
“We need to talk about what you said at the crash site,” Claire said. “I need to make sure I understood what you were saying.”
“Was I unclear? Let me try again. I love you, and I want to see if we can turn this pretend engagement into a real one.”
“Oh,” she replied in a quiet voice.
“I know it’s not going to be easy. Your job will be back in Alberta for a while longer, and I’m needed here. But I’m willing to try if you are, Claire King-not-Kincaid.”
“I’m willing to try, Benton Lawson, because I love you, too. If we’re this good at pretending, the real thing shouldn’t be much harder, right?”
“Right.” Bonnyville wasn’t so far away. It was a ten-hour drive each way, five if they split the difference. They could do that while they were figuring things out. From the way Claire was grinning at him, Benton figured she was having the same thoughts.
A gentle cough from the porch interrupted their hug. “Excuse me, Benton. Are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” his mother asked. “Perhaps properly this time.”
Claire groaned quietly against his chest before she gamely stood straight and let him pull her onto the porch. “Mom, this is Constable Claire King of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, currently on special undercover assignment to the Hopewell area. Claire, this is my mom, Marjorie Lawson, and my oldest brother, Clay.”
“Constable King.”
“Mrs. Lawson.”
“Oh, Benton, I can’t believe you’re dating an RCMP officer. It’s like a dream come true,” his mother gushed. “Claire, I have so much respect for what you do.”
Claire wore a hopeful smile at his mother’s warm greeting. At least one member of his family wouldn’t be holding a grudge. “You have an amazing son. I’d love to tell you how wonderful he is, but I’m here on official business to take your statements about this afternoon’s events. Maybe we can have supper at Ruth’s Place later and talk?”
After his mom nodded in agreement, Claire pulled out her notebook and her phone. “Can you detail the events of this afternoon for me that led to the accident?” Benton leaned against a patio post as his girlfriend gently teased details from his mom, the same way she had when he’d giving her his report two years earlier.
“She’s really a cop?” Clay stood beside him, listening to the conversation.
“For as long as I’ve known her.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“She was undercover. I couldn’t.”
“You should have told us.”
“You should have trusted me,” Benton countered. “I was protecting her. These guys, the ones who hit Mom and Dad? They’re no joke.”
“I would have helped.”
“With all of your police training? Claire wouldn’t have even involved me if she could have helped it. All I did was provide a little local information and tell people we were dating so her appearance in town had some solid backstory behind it.”
“Do you and Claire truly have a history?”
Benton nodded, as serious as he’d ever been. If he could convince Clay to be on their side, the rest of the world would be a snap. “It was real, and then it wasn’t, and now it’s as real as anything has ever been in my life. I’d appreciate it if you’d give Claire the benefit of the doubt until you get to know the real her.”
“I didn’t have anything to worry about with her spilling about Marki’s identity, did I?”
“She didn’t even talk about her own identity. Marki’s secret is safe.”
Benton watched Clay force himself to lower his shoulders, and to try to relax when Claire shifted to take his statement. Clay couldn’t tell her much since he was trailing behind his parents’ car, but he confirmed the description and actions of the other vehicle as it pulled in front of his parents and caused their accident.
“I’m going to type these up and ask you to come in to sign them tomorrow,” Claire said when she was finished.
“Then what happens?” Clay asked. Benton knew that his brother was asking about more than the accident.
“Then once all the paperwork is wrapped up, I’m going to take some well-deserved vacation days and spend some time with my boyfriend.”
“Then it’s awfully convenient that your boyfriend also has a few days off coming, isn’t it, Clay?” his mom said.
“Um, sure?”
“Thanks, Clay.” After months of texts and emails and video chats, and a few weeks of dates and short, stolen meetings, Benton needed to spend time with Claire as Claire to make sure that they were as good together as they seemed. Once they confirmed what he was already sure of, they had future plans to make. Lots of them.
“Mr. Lawson, do you want to walk me back to my car?” Claire asked.
“Other Mr. Lawson, do you want to walk me to the kitchen to give your brother some privacy? We can collect your siblings as we go,” his mom said, offering her arm to Clay to help her up.
The unrelenting heat was only beginning to fade as Benton stood with Claire in his arms beside her truck. “I’m going to have to make a lot of explanations around town and to the rest of your family. How mad do you think they’re going to be?” she asked.
“I think they’ll be more surprised than angry. The important things are that you had a good reason, and that most of what you told them was true, especially when it came to the personal stuff. Our part was true.”
“That is the most important part,” she agreed. “Okay, tied for now as the most important part today since we got the bad guys. Tomorrow it will be the most important part. What are we going to do?”
“I intend to take you around town and introduce you to everybody properly, and then take you away for some romancing.”
“That sounds like a plan, but there are a lot of busybodies around here.”
“If they interrupt our date, you can arrest them for felony love life interference.”
“It’ll never hold up in court, but I’ll give it a try,” she agreed.
Benton dropped his forehead to hers. “You know, I’ve only kissed Claire King once since you got here.”
“That’s almost criminal.” Claire leaned into his chest. “As an officer of the law, let me take care of that for you.”
And then she did.