The Shepherd's Crook Pt. 03

Ben nodded as he caught the looks of love Tina and Lucy were sending him after her comment.

"Yes, I suppose I am, but I never expected it to happen. It's a special experience for me."

Shelly just nodded and flashed a happy smile at Tina, who placed a plate before her with eggs, bacon, and toast. "Thank you!"

"Thank you, Tina!" Ben said as he accepted his plate. She nodded to him and Shelly.

"Coffee?" Tina asked Shelly, who nodded, so Tina brought a mug of the dark brew to her.

"I take it black, thank you!" Shelly stated before Tina could ask.

Once they were all seated, they began eating, and Ben realized this may not be the best moment to drop a bomb on the woman's expectations. Instead, he gave his family a heads up on the guests they'd see this afternoon.

"I spoke to the two SEAL platoon leaders this morning on my walk around the block. They want to use the tower for zip-line practice at night. I told them they could if it didn't cause noise in the house. They're coming over this afternoon to run some tests."

"They're planning from the tower into the court?" Lucy asked in surprise.

Ben shook his head. "No. The other direction, into the woods."

The ladies raised their eyebrows as they thought about it.

"I bet Trish would love to try that," Shelly said, grinning.

Ben snorted and nodded.

The doorbell rang, and Ben shared a glance with Tina as they knew it was the Sergeant. "We gave her a key, right?" Tina nodded. Lucy got up to answer the door.

Shelly's eyes were wide as it looked like she might bolt. Ben put his hand on hers, and she looked into his eyes.

"Finish your breakfast. The Sergeant is aware of your presence in my home as she tracks comings and goings from my front door. She sees all--"

Shelly burst into nervous giggles as her eyes looked to the deck off the kitchen. Tina grinned at him too.

Ben wanted to retract his words, but it was too late as Lucy returned with the woman in question.

"Good morning, Evelyn," he said to the smiling woman.

"Good morning, Ben. Tina. Ms. Spencer." She looked back at Ben. "Am I too early?"

Ben sighed and shook his head. "No. Take a seat. We were just finishing up. Would you like anything?"

"No, I'm good. Did you enjoy your walk this morning?" she asked.

Ben figured she would be aware of his little stroll and nodded.

"You met the Lieutenants?" she asked, and he raised an eyebrow as she really had kept an eye on him. Then he realized she'd probably contacted them to let them know he was entering their protection zone. She handled the eastern end of the court.

"Yes, they came out to introduce themselves. And to ask if they could zip-line from my tower into the woods during their nighttime training."

The Sergeant's face clouded over as she suddenly became angry. "They had no right to ask for more than you've already granted us--"

"Evelyn, it's okay. I told them I don't have an issue if the activity doesn't cause noise within my home," Ben explained. "Zip-lining is something the SEAL team would need to practice, yes? If I can help them become better at it, that's in everyone's best interests. That said, if their tests this afternoon result in vibration noise in the tower's frame that we can hear within my home, then it's a no-go. I'm not going to disturb the sleep of my family for this. In that case, they'll just have to set up their lines from tree to tree in the woods."

She looked upset. "Still, they shouldn't have attempted to expand the rights we've been granted. The Army is also aware of the tower's suitability for these exercises, but the General directly indicated we weren't to ask."

Ben watched her in surprise. "I see. Well... someone didn't pass along that message to the SEAL Teams or me. I'm sorry if I stepped beyond the agreement the General set."

Evelyn suddenly looked dismayed at making Ben apologize. "No, no! It was our mistake, and you shouldn't have to deal with it. I can go tell them the test is off."

He gave her a serious look. "Won't that just perpetuate the animosity between the Army and Navy?" The Sergeant blinked her pretty blue eyes at him as her face reddened. This answered the question for Ben. "Why don't we go ahead with the test this afternoon, and if it looks like zip-lining is possible, we open up the option for future Army squads. As long as these activities don't impact the lives of the people living in the court, I'm okay with it."

The Sergeant nodded slowly then her expression became serious. "I'll attend this test and ensure none of the east-facing windows on the McGovern and Wallace homes are visible from the zip-line. I assume you'll leave the privacy screen up at night over your deck to hide... uh, activities." Evelyn's face got redder, her eyes flicking to Shelly, whose blush matched the Sergeant's.

Ben cleared his throat and held Evelyn's eyes with his. "We'll set appropriate start and end times for the zip-lining to ensure privacy, but I'd appreciate you confirming the visibility of my neighbor's windows."

The Sergeant nodded. She stood and gestured toward the stairs down to Ben's office. "I should get started. See you down there?"

Ben nodded.

Evelyn looked to Shelly. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Spencer!"

Shelly smiled, nodded to the Sergeant, and glanced at Ben as Evelyn left the room. "Did-did you have a chance to sign Mrs. Wilson's sale agreement?"

"Yes. The price looks fine. I left a message with the bank to prepare a certified cheque for me today," Ben said with a smile, relaxing now that the topic was less charged. He pointed to the documents in question on the end of the kitchen counter.

Shelly grinned. "Excellent! I'll contact Walter to get him to complete the title search on the property, and if all is good, we can complete the transaction today!"

Ben nodded, and Shelly looked to Tina and Lucy. "Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious!" She blushed again. "A-and thank you for last night. It was... magical."

"It was for me as well," Lucy said.

Tina took her hand between hers. "Ben was surprised by my bringing you to him last night. I did it because I know he is a man of limitless love." Shelly nodded as she glanced at Ben's face. "This makes me sometimes forget he's just one man with many demands on his time."

Ben snorted in amusement at the sweetly apologetic look on her face. He nodded. "Speaking of time, I'll take Christopher over to the daycare now and come back for Sam and Gretchen."

"Yay!" the boy cheered, and Ben smiled at him.

Ben stood and gave the ladies a kiss, including Shelly. Then he scooped up Christopher and flew him to the front door, where they put on their boots. It was warming up outside, so Ben slipped Christopher's light jacket on and held his hand as they left the house.

They crossed the court as Christopher told him about the games they would play today, and he led the boy inside.

Lori was at the entrance and grinned happily to see the wide smile on Christopher's face. "You're our first arrival today!" she said cheerfully, and Christopher raised his hands in victory. Ben set him on his feet, and Lori led the boy into the back. Lisa immediately rushed out to the front to see Ben.

They were alone, so she tilted her face up to get a kiss which he gladly did.

"Trish texted us that you had a visit from her cousin, Shelly, last night," Lisa purred as Ben took in her beauty.

"What? When?" he asked in surprise.

"A few minutes ago," Lisa said.

Lori joined them and gave Ben a hopeful look, so he kissed her. He turned back to Lisa. "I thought she was out on a run!"

Lisa grinned. "She's not going to keep such exciting news from us until she gets back! We heard about the first time, and that was so sexy!"

Lori nodded. "We can't wait to hear about last night!"

"Whatever happened to private intimacy?" Ben mumbled. The twins grinned excitedly, and he sighed. "I suppose if I asked Shelly to keep the details to herself--"

"No! Please!" the twins exclaimed in unison as they clung to Ben's arms.

Dawn Liston entered the door with her daughter next to her and stared at the two women leaning against Ben as they begged him for something. Her eyes widened, and the twins immediately released Ben's arms to smile at her and her daughter. Lori signed the child in and brought her to the back.

"Good morning, Dawn," Ben said with a smile.

"Good morning, Ben. Did I interrupt something?" she asked curiously. Lisa just tilted her head slightly and maintained her friendly smile.

Ben sighed. "No." He looked at Lisa. "I'll be back with Sam and Gretchen in a moment." Lisa nodded to him.

With a nod to Dawn, he left and walked home. Shelly was walking down his driveway. He thought about asking her to keep the details to a minimum if she felt she had to tell Trish about the previous night, but he held his tongue. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable with her cousin.

"Walter is working on the title search, so I should have news for you later today," she said as she stopped before him.

"I look forward to it," he said.

She flashed him a happy smile and nodded as she walked back to her car. Ben headed up his drive and climbed the steps. He heard a noise like a faint squeal and turned to see Trish hugging Shelly in her driveway. He saw her trying to pull her cousin toward her home, but Shelly waved her off and climbed into her car to drive away. Ben breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she was going to keep their evening's activities private after all.

He went inside and saw Lucy had Gretchen in her arms.

"I'll walk over with you," she said to Ben as Tina approached to hand Sam to him.

"Did you say something to Shelly about last night?" he asked.

Tina nodded. "She said she understood my comment regarding the demands on your time. She said she was grateful for being included last night." Ben began to protest, but Tina held up a hand. "I told her you would not have been with her if you didn't consider her a special friend." Tina smiled sweetly. "We shared some happy tears."

Ben leaned down and kissed Tina. "Thank you for explaining this to Shelly. Let's not expand the circle of special friends with more, okay?" He caught Tina's and Lucy's eyes, and they nodded with little grins.

Lucy and Ben walked back to the daycare, and Daphne was at the front door this time. She smiled with delight as Ben kissed Sam and handed the boy to her. She nuzzled his ear, and he smiled for her.

"Sam is a real sweetie!" Daphne said with a smile.

"As is Gretchen!" Lori said as she accepted the girl from Lucy's arms. Lucy waved and rushed back to the house to get her day started.

Ben waved, then walked over to Dominic's home and rang the bell. Sophia answered and gave him a huge smile and a hug.

"How is Dominic doing?" Ben asked.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Such a grumpy old man!"

"I heard that!"

Dominic walked into the foyer and shook Ben's hand with a grin.

Ben grinned at the man. "Good to see you up and on your feet. You look so much better!"

"Yeah, funny how having the proper blood flow going through your heart improves the rest of your body. I feel much better, too!" Dominic agreed. They shook hands, and Dominic gestured for Ben to follow him into the living room.

Sophia looked at Ben. "Would you like a coffee? Tea--"

"Or me?" Dominic finished for her as he glanced sidelong at his wife with a raised eyebrow.

Sophia gasped in outrage and gently slapped her husband's arm as he grinned at her. "You're such a naughty man!" she scolded.

"Hey! I wasn't the one caught sleeping with another man!" he continued to tease. "Marcus told me all about the hospital waiting room."

"Incorrigible!" she gasped again, and her face reddened as she recalled resting against Ben's broad chest.

Ben held up his hands. "Nothing for me, thanks!" he said with a smile. She nodded and shot her husband another stern look before leaving.

"Diet is the thing I'll have the most grief with," Dominic sighed.

Ben nodded. "Changes are required to adjust to your new condition."

The big man just nodded. "Anything new in the neighborhood since I went into the hospital?"

Ben chuckled as it had only been a couple of days, then he nodded as there had been a significant change. "Beth Wilson is getting married to a fellow from Canada. She's moving away, and I'm buying her house."

"Ah! That's wonderful for her! Honey!" he called out.

"Yes?" Sophia said as she appeared in the entrance.

"Beth Wilson is getting married and is moving away." Dominic suddenly frowned. "Wait, this seems sudden. Were you aware of this guy?" he asked.

Ben shook his head. "She's been keeping their relationship under wraps to ensure it wasn't impacted by the noise surrounding my life. This way, she could tell it was by her and for her. I think that was a smart move for her."

"Are you buying her house?" Sophia asked.

Ben nodded. "I wondered how I might be able to work with your old team through the company that hired them."

"Just give Louis Klein a call and let him know what you need. He can take it from there," Dominic said. He looked at Sophia. "Would you bring me my wallet?" She nodded and stepped away.

"I'll give you Louis' card as he planned on calling you this week anyway. You can call him and make what arrangements you can," Dominic said as Sophia returned with the wallet and gave it to him. He plucked the business card from it and had Sophia hand it to Ben. "Thanks, honey."

Sophia nodded and left the room once more.

Ben entered the details from the card into his cell, then popped the card into his pocket for the Sergeant.

"Who's this home planned for?" Dominic asked.

"I thought it would be nice to have a house for guest visits. I'm hoping to work with the architect who did the building my accountant Jerry Taggart is working in to design the home. It will be ranch-style and blend into the forest. I'll ask Dan if he's available to work his magic on the home's utility systems."

Dominic frowned as he recalled the size of the existing home. "That's going to be a considerable change from the home that's in place now. It looks like it was one of the first mansions built on the court."

Ben nodded. "Yeah, I've never liked the design. It's so blunt and makes no attempt to blend in with the forest at all, aside from the mature trees around it."

Dominic glanced at the doorway. "So, you'll be getting those food trucks back for this rebuild?"

"I heard that!" Sophia called out from the kitchen.

Ben chuckled. "If I do, I'll be giving them instructions to only take your order from Sophia."

"What?" Dominic complained.

"Thank you, Ben!" Sophia called out.

"She's not the only one who wants to keep you healthy and with us for a long time," Ben said.

Dominic sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll be a good boy."

Ben smiled and stood up. "That's good to hear! I should get back home as I have another project to sink my teeth into. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Dominic rose and shook Ben's hand and followed him to the door.

"Thanks for coming by," the big man said.

Ben nodded and waved as he walked down the drive to the sidewalk.

The air's briskness was gone, and the day was shaping up to be another hot one. Parents were dropping off their kids at the daycare, and most took the opportunity to wave to him. He politely waved back though he barely knew any of them.

He sighed happily as he slipped inside his front door and locked it behind him. He walked down into the basement and joined the Sergeant. He could hear her speaking to someone on the phone. She was arranging lab space.

He smiled at her and pulled out his own cell. He'd see if Mr. Klein was available.

Before he could dial, it rang, and he saw it was Rochelle calling him.

"Good morning, Rochelle!" he said with a smile.

"Good morning, Ben! Is this a good time to call you?" she asked.

"It's always a good time to talk to you!" he said with a grin. "How's California?"

He could hear the smile in Rochelle's voice. "So good! We should have opened up a restaurant here years ago! They love our recipes, and business is booming! This brings me to my reason for calling. Sara has joined me in California. She's setting up our new franchise head office. We need to expand, so I want to sell my home on Ashburn Court. Would you be interested in buying it?"

"Uh, yes, of course. I guess this means your move is permanent?" he asked.

"Yes. Thomas and I got married last weekend--just a small ceremony," she rushed to add.

Ben nodded to himself. He knew Rochelle needed this. "Congratulations, Rochelle! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Ben!" she said, her voice wobbling a little.

"Oh! What about Jayden?" Ben asked.

"He said he'd make arrangements for himself. He's really become such a dependable young man. I have you to thank for that," she said.

"Please, you gave him a solid foundation of right and wrong. He was just following a poor path out of love for his father," Ben argued. "Even he understood there was a conflict, but he needed to get to the answer on his own. If he hadn't had that foundation you gave him, he never would have been strong enough to change his course. You can be proud of yourself for that!"

There was quiet on the other end of the phone for a moment, then a sniffing sound.

"You're a special man, Ben. I'm so glad you found love as well."

"Thank you, Rochelle. I guess we're lucky people," he replied. "I'll have Shelly work out the comps and contact you. You and she can work out a price you're happy with, and then I'll get involved. How does that sound?"

"Very good!" Rochelle said.

"I found out recently that Beth Wilson is moving to Vancouver, Canada. She's marrying a man from there. I'm buying her home too," Ben explained.

"Oh! Are you sure you want to buy mine too?" Rochelle said anxiously.

"It's not an issue. Of course, I'll buy it!" Ben said and heard Sara's voice calling out to her mother in the background.

"Oh! I have to go! Thanks, Ben. I'll wait for Shelly's call," Rochelle said.

"I'll ask her to contact you today. Have a good one!"

"You too, Ben. Bye!"

Ben hung up and looked up to see Evelyn watching him with wide eyes.

"Is that why Ms. Spencer was here last night? You're buying Mrs. Wilson's home and now Mrs. King's?"

"Yes. That's the main reason Shelly dropped by last night. Now I have to call her to get her working on Rochelle's home. I spoke with Jayden this morning, and he said he wanted to speak to me tonight after work. It's probably related to Rochelle's request, but we'll see."

Ben dialed Shelly's number. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hi, Ben! I haven't heard back from Walter yet," she said with a grin in her voice.

"Actually, I wasn't calling about Beth's house. I need you to contact Rochelle King as she just called me to offer to sell her home to me. She'll need the comps and help working out a price."

"Oh my god, Ben! You're going to own half of the properties in the court!" she chuckled.

"Close to it, at least," he said. He gave her Rochelle's number.

"I'll set up a comp report and contact her right away," Shelly said. "I'll say it again! You're my favorite client!"

Ben chuckled, and they said their goodbyes.

He looked at Evelyn with a smile. "Maybe we can get some real work done now! What's it look like for getting lab space?"

She loved working with Ben! Evelyn smiled at him and pulled up her notes.

-=-

Ben was tidying the kitchen after making lunch for the Sergeant and himself when they heard the doorbell.

"I'll get that," Evelyn said. She quickly moved to the door and opened it to see the two Lieutenants standing on the step. Four SEAL team members stood on the driveway with large duffle bags on their backs. "You can walk around the house and wait by the entrance to the tower in the backyard," she said to the men with the duffles. She looked to the Lieutenants.