Once in a Lifetime(78)

“Uh…” Luke said, and looked at Jack.

“You and Aubrey broke up?” Jack asked Ben.

“You weren’t calling about the breakup?”

Luke shook his head.

Jack tried to pull his phone back, but Ben snatched it, and then went still as a stone.

The picture on the screen was of a woman in a very skimpy kitten costume, which wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the woman was hotter than hot.

And she was Aubrey.

She was clearly younger, maybe even not of legal age, posing on her knees, one hand curled like a cat with its claws out, the other holding a whip. She wore cat ears, and her “tail” was curved around her million-dollar bod, which was encased in a snug leather bodice, tiny leather shorts, and stiletto heels.

“It’s from an adult costume website,” Jack said. “An X-rated costume website. Near as I can tell, there are a small handful of different models, maybe five in total, modeling close to a hundred different costumes that you can order for home delivery—sans the girls, of course.”

Luke snorted. “Thorough much?”

“I like to do my research, especially when it involves nearly naked women.”

“That’s my woman,” Ben said, and both Luke’s and Jack’s brows went up.

“Thought you broke up,” Luke said lightly.

Ben ignored them and flipped through the site, sucking in a breath because Jack had showed him the most PG-rated costume in the bunch. He found the same younger Aubrey as a “slutty nurse,” a “slutty French maid,” a “slutty bunny,” and a “slutty police officer.” Christ. He closed the browser window and handed the phone back. “How the hell did you find this?”

“Lucille came to me with it,” Luke said. “Apparently it was in Ted Marshall’s book—the one that no one in town read until the seniors got hold of it for their book club.”

“Why did Lucille come to you?”

Luke smiled. “She wanted me to arrest Ted for being a ‘spineless dickhead.’ She’s worried about Aubrey because it’s already getting around. Someone tweeted about it, and someone else posted some of the pictures on Instagram, and she doesn’t want this to affect Aubrey’s grand opening on Saturday.”



Ben stood up.

“Where are you going?” Jack asked.

“To make sure she’s okay.”

“Didn’t you just say you broke up?” Jack asked.

“He also said she was his woman,” Luke said, studying Ben’s face. “And speaking of that, maybe we should hear that story.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Ben said, and started to walk away.

“Hey,” Jack said, managing to block his way. “How come when I’m f*cked up, you’re all in my face about it, but when you’re f*cked up, you get to be alone?”

“I’m not f*cked up,” Ben said firmly.

“You look pretty f*cked up to me,” Jack said. “I’m with Luke. Let’s hear the story. Or should I guess? You decided you were too happy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ben asked, his voice very quiet. It was the voice that usually sent men running. But Jack just looked at him, not running anywhere. In fact, he went toe-to-toe with Ben and stared him straight in the eye.

“It means,” Jack said, “that ever since you lost Hannah, it’s like you don’t think you have the right to be happy. She’s dead and buried, and you think you have to be, too. That’s what running for the past five years was all about.”

“It was about helping people,” Ben said. “You might recognize the concept, since you’ve been doing it all these years as a firefighter.”

“Bullshit. It was running, Ben.” Jack punctuated this with a little shove. “I gave you the five years, but it’s time to get better. It’s time to let yourself have a life.” A bigger shove now. “It’s okay to do that; there’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

Ben shook his head. “I get why you think I might feel guilty, and I did feel guilty for a damn long time. But I’ve moved on.”

Jack’s gaze said he thought otherwise and that Ben was an *.

“You two going to need a referee?” Luke asked, still sprawled out, all relaxed in his chair. “Because if I have to arrest you, Dee’s gonna kill me.”

Jack didn’t look like he cared, and Ben blew out a breath. “This has nothing to do with my happiness,” he said. “Aubrey lied to me. So it’s over, end of story.”

“What was the lie?” Jack asked.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ben asked.

“A lot,” Jack said. “If she lied and said, ‘Oh baby, that was so good,’ when it was only okay, that’s not exactly a breakup lie.”

“It was an omission,” Ben specified.

“Like I-forgot-to-tell-you-I-hate-pizza omission?” Jack asked. “Or, like, I’m-really-a-male-in-chick-clothing kind of omission?”

Ben considered swiping the smirk right off Jack’s face with his fist. But then Luke would get all pissed off and call Sawyer, the sheriff, just to make a point. Plus, it was probable that even off-duty Luke was armed. “It was an omission, okay?” he said to Jack. “Drop it.”