"I have to say, I really like the artist part of you, Kara, the way you get so enthralled with whatever moves you. The way you see beauty in things that I just pass by fascinates me. As for this ‘me-me' aspect of your personality? Well, you could be an honorary Shotbrook. You'd fit right in." He watched the smile that bloomed across her face. Then he molded his features into a solemn expression.
"But this boyfriend-girlfriend issue, it's a problem." He watched as she wilted, and he immediately lowered his head to nuzzle the crook of her neck so that he could whisper in her ear. "The only way we can solve that particular problem will be to experiment. We're going to have to do a lot of experimenting this afternoon, here on this blanket, to see if you have what it takes to be girlfriend material. I say we get started right now." With that, he gently bit down on the tendon between her shoulder and her neck, and her whole body arched up against his as she moaned.
"Now, that's a really good start, sweetheart. I think with another hour or two of intensive experimentation, we might find you have just what it takes to be a very good girlfriend."
* * * *
At the end of the day, Kara fell into bed like a giddy teenager. Actually, her feelings seemed only right, since she had actually spent at least an hour necking like a teenager out on a blanket! She had never been on a picnic that was really nothing more than a ploy to make out. She hadn't realized what she'd been missing. Ben could really kiss! Then they had hiked back, and he had taken her out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in town. Everywhere they went, she allowed him to open doors and pull out chairs for her, and each time he gave her a smile that curled her toes. That night, he had parked a hundred yards away from the lodge and they had literally steamed up the windows of his truck, until he had reluctantly said it was time to get her inside.
Kara also knew that he was going to go back to his house to work on those pesky taxes, so she quickly agreed.
"Wait a minute. Kara, are you that eager to get away from me?" Ben asked with a little bit of hurt showing in his eyes.
"Oh, Ben. No," she said. She cupped one cheek while stroking the fingers of her other hand through the silky warmth of his black hair. "I just know that you plan to work tonight, and I thought you said you wanted to go to breakfast tomorrow, right?" Kara asked hopefully.
"Oh, yes, sweetheart. I'll be here at six thirty. You can count on it."
"Well, okay then. You need to get home and get some work done, and get your rest." She smiled mischievously at him.
He put the car into drive and winked at her. "You'd better get some rest, as well, Ms. Johansen," he warned.
Now, here she was in bed, too excited to sleep. She hoped he was at least getting some work done.
The next morning they arrived at the restaurant at seven thirty, a little later than planned. Kara hoped nobody noticed that her lips were probably swollen. When they sat down at a table, instead of Florence coming to take their order, a stately Tlingit woman with green eyes came toward their table. Ben immediately stood up with a large smile. "Auntie Dot, I didn't think you were working weekends anymore! I'm surprised to see you here on a Sunday morning," he said as he enfolded her into a gentle hug.
"On special occasions I do," she said, eyeing Kara.
"Dorothy Jackson, I would like to introduce you to Kara Johansen," Ben said, indicating Kara.
Kara stood up so she could shake the woman's hand. "I really enjoyed eating here yesterday. It reminded me a lot of my hometown."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," the woman said with a warm and sincere smile, which wasn't what Kara expected. Her surprise must have shown, because the woman's pretty eyes twinkled. "Oh, dear, were you expecting the third degree?" she asked with a laugh.
"I guess I was," Kara admitted. "But I'm not anymore."
"It's okay, Auntie. Selma was all protective yesterday, so I think Kara was expecting more of the same."
"Oh, well, that explains it," Dorothy said. "No, I'm cut from a different cloth. Anything that makes Ben or Quinn happy makes me happy, and I know their Mama, my sister, feels exactly the same way," she assured Kara.
"I wish you could meet her, Kara. She would love you," Ben enthused. "Mama was one of the chaperones for Sully's band-camp trips to Kenai this year. Auntie, would you like to join us for breakfast?" Ben asked.
"Well, that was the reason I came out here, now wasn't it?" she asked wickedly.
They had a great meal. Dorothy had no children of her own, and was the only sister of Ben's mother, so she was extremely close to her nephews. Currently, she was staying at the Shotbrook household, taking care of the boys who were there, while Sully and Rosemary were in Kenai.
"So, did you babysit all of the boys when they were growing up?" Kara asked.
"Definitely. I even took Quinn down to Disneyland for a week, when he was ten."
"I remember that. I was so sad when Quinn left," Ben said.
"That was part of the reason I took him. He was such a good big brother, always looking out for all of you little ones. You and Randy were three and two, and your Mama was pregnant with Kyle. He needed to be a child."
"Yeah, even now he takes on so much," Ben acknowledged.
"Don't feed me that horse pucky. Since your Papa died, you both take on too much. You're not just trying to help your brothers. You and Quinn are trying to make sure they have everything you didn't. You need to stop that. You two did quite well not having everything handed to you," Dorothy reminded him with fire in her eye.
"Now wait a minute, Auntie Dot. Kyle isn't starting UAS for a year, because he's going to work on the boats to make more money for school," Ben defended.
"Don't you dare," she said, pointing a finger at him. "That was all Kyle's idea. If it were up to you and Quinn, you'd have him at UAS next month." Kara watched as Ben lowered his head in defeat. It seemed this woman really knew her two oldest nephews. The more she heard about Ben and Quinn, the more impressed she was with the devotion they showed to their family.
As if she could read Kara's mind, Dorothy turned to her, "You do realize that it was Quinn who practically raised Ben from the age of sixteen to now? If not for Quinn, you can be damn sure Ben wouldn't have his GED and have finished two years of online college."
"Hey," Ben objected, "I might have had something to do with that." Dorothy just looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Ben burst out laughing and looked over at Kara.
"It's true, Kara. After Dad died, we both had to work. There was no way around it. I had to quit attending high school. Quinn rode my ass until I thought I was wearing a saddle. Any time there was down time on the boat, he'd have me studying, or he'd be checking my homework and testing me. There is no way I could have done it without him."
"Well, you might have," his Aunt admitted. "Ben is so smart. But, he wouldn't have accomplished everything so quickly without Quinn. Of course, that was when they only had the one boat."
"Auntie, I'm not sure I would have finished at all without Quinn. I was okay with the idea of becoming a fisherman like Dad. He didn't have a high-school degree. Besides kicking my ass, Quinn and I had a lot of long talks about how much the world has changed, and how I also needed to be a role model for the rest of the boys in the family. He really made me understand how important my education is to all of us. I know I'm behind the curve, but I'll have my degree in business in the next three years because of him."
"You're a smart man, Ben Shotbrook. You're not behind the curve, you're ahead of it. Right after you got your GED, you and Quinn purchased Shotbrook II. Then you had to captain that one. It's amazing you've managed to finish two years of college already," his aunt complimented. After hearing everything, Kara had to agree.
"Isn't it rare for such young men to be able to purchase a second fishing boat?" Kara asked.
"Oh, it was. It was the talk of the town, let me tell you," Dorothy crowed. "But they had kept their boat out on the water from the first day of every season to the last day, without coming in except to unload. They were the top money-making boat in its size and class for two years running," Dorothy explained.
"We had to be, to keep the family afloat and to be able to make double the down payment for the second," Ben said.
"Let me guess, you had to come up with twice the down payment because you were so young. The bank didn't believe in you," Kara guessed.
"You got it on the first guess." Kara was warmed by Ben's admiring gaze. "Anyway, we now have sixty percent of Shotbrook II paid off, and we're two months away from having enough to purchase another boat."