Love Under Two Benedicts(50)

“Don’t fret,” Bernice said as she set a small tray on the bedside table.

Kelsey thought she’d feel embarrassed under the circumstances. They’d brought her back to the ranch and tucked her into Steven’s bed, and here was Steven’s mother serving her hot tea there.

She felt odd but not embarrassed.

“I’m not used to being waited on,” Kelsey said.

Bernice pulled a chair up beside the bed and poured out the beverage. “Nonsense,” the older woman said. “There comes a time, now and again, when a woman ought to be waited on.” She smiled, and Kelsey realized anew that Bernice was still as beautiful as she appeared in the picture Steven kept on the mantel. Considering that photo had been taken nearly thirty-five years ago, that was certainly saying something.

“I think for some of us,” Bernice said, “learning how to graciously accept that pampering and learning how to ask for help when we need it are two of the hardest things to learn in life.”

Benny had been put down for a nap, and although he’d protested at first that he wasn’t a baby and he wasn’t tired, he’d fallen asleep within minutes.

Steven had gone out to the barn once he’d been assured that Benny slept and she, Kelsey, had been made comfortable.

Matthew had headed out to join Adam at the scene of the crash.

Both of her men had been badly shaken by her accident, and she had to admit she had been, too. She’d never encountered anything like what had happened to her on that state road earlier.

She hadn’t gotten a real good look at the driver, but the man behind the wheel of that Taurus had to have been drunk.

She simply couldn’t think of another explanation for what had happened.

Because Mrs. Benedict sat with her, and because she’d lived the last many years without a mother or a motherly friend, Kelsey thought maybe the time had come for her to begin that lesson on how to be gracious while being pampered.

“It’s kind of strange having this conversation while I’m in your son’s bedroom.”

Bernice laughed. “Oh, sweetheart, I know how you feel, but this isn’t Steven’s bedroom. This is the master bedroom.”

Kelsey recalled Steven had said that the first night they’d…well, their first night together. She tilted her head to the side. “Come again?”

“The master bedroom is meant to be shared, Kelsey. When we moved out and turned the house over to Steven, he remained in his own bedroom. Now you’re here. This bedroom is as much yours as it is his or Matthew’s.”

Kelsey felt her jaw drop, then shut her mouth with a snap. “I don’t know…I mean, I haven’t…that is, I’m not sure what this is between us, let alone where it’s going.”

“Oh, I know that, sweetheart. You haven’t reached the point where you’ve finally said good-bye to your lost loved ones yet. I understand that. And so, too, do my sons.”

Her understanding and that of her sons, come to that, simply floored Kelsey. “I never could have guessed that a place like this would have existed.”

“This town was formed to be an oasis. Do you know about the Town Trust?”

Kelsey had heard the expression, but she had no idea what it meant. She shook her head and then closed her eyes as that action hurt.

“All of the land in Lusty is owned by the Town Trust. There’s a substantial fortune to see to the needs of the community. Every member of the Benedict, Jessop, and Kendall families has a vote in the trust. Even so, there are things we cannot do. Breaking the covenant that Warren Jessop set up all those years ago is one. So the rules that govern this town stay the same as they were more than a hundred years ago when the town was established. That covenant is simple. People are free to live as they choose, and no laws can be passed to prevent that. In this day and age, such a covenant may not be necessary. You can be certain it was in the eighteen hundreds. Even so, it still stands. ”

“So this town is actually all private property, and the Town Trust voted to let me open my restaurant?” Kelsey asked.

“We did. One of the best decisions we’ve made in recent years if you ask me. Listen to me going on, and here you are not feeling well. You close your eyes and rest. I’ll just go downstairs and set the kitchen to rights. I’ll come back up and check on you in a while until my boys come back to take over for me.”

She’d been enjoying her time with Bernice, but she was tired. “Maybe I’ll just close my eyes for a few moments.” The bed felt so comfortable, she was barely conscious of falling asleep.

It seemed like just minutes later that she opened her eyes to find Matthew sitting beside her where his mother had been.