“Okay folks, we’re holding the cabin door for one more passenger. It should just be another few minutes before we’re on our way. Thank you for your patience.”
I wanted to rail at the flight attendant making the announcement to just leave the jackass behind, but I held my tongue. The flight wasn’t overly full, and I’d been lucky enough to get the entire row at the back of the plane to myself, a fact I was grateful for since I hadn’t been able to stem the occasional tear that slipped unbidden from my eyes.
I forced myself to take deep breaths as I watched rain begin to pelt the window. The plane next to us was all closed up, so I began searching for something else to distract myself with.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re closing the door now in preparation for takeoff. Please stow your belongings…”
I only half-listened as the flight attendant began going through the rules. I drummed my fingers on the armrest as I watched the rain start to come down in sheets. I hoped the weather wouldn’t mean a delay of any kind.
I felt rather than saw someone drop down in the seat next to me. I barely managed to temper myself as I realized it had to be the jackass the plane had been held for. The jerk hadn’t even sat down in the aisle seat so we could have the middle one open between us.
I reminded myself to take a deep breath before turning to confront the asshat. But before I could say or do anything, warm fingers closed around mine.
Fingers I knew better than I knew my own.
Fingers that had brought me more pleasure and comfort in the past month than I’d ever known in my entire life.
Before I could stop myself, I began to cry.
He’d come.
My Benny had come.
“Shhh,” Bennett whispered as he leaned across the armrest at the same time his hand came out to cup the side of my head so he could tug me against him. I managed to keep my cries quiet as I clung to him. His lips skimmed my temple and he began whispering all sorts of things in my ear.
How much he loved me.
That everything was going to be okay.
That he wasn’t going anywhere.
The plane had started heading for the runway by the time I managed to pull myself together. I lifted my head and Bennett brushed his mouth over mine before using his sleeve to wipe at my face. If the people on the other side of the aisle noticed, I didn’t care.
Because Bennett was here.
“You’re here,” I said softly.
He smiled that sweet, gentle, Bennett smile. “Where else would I be?”
“The kids,” I said.
“The kids need me, not what my father is offering. There are people out there who want to help because it’s the right thing to do, not because it looks good on the company brochure or tax returns. I’ll find those people, and I’ll get them on board and I’ll do it all on my own. But not tonight. Tonight, I need to be with my family.”
I nodded and wiped at my eyes.
“Have you heard anything about Lolly?”
“Yeah, the hospital called me right before I boarded. She’s out of surgery and in intensive care. She’s got a broken leg and lots of cuts and bruises, but they said she’ll be okay.”
“Thank fuck,” Bennett said. “Aiden said they had to operate.”
“A piece of metal got lodged in her chest, so they needed to perform surgery to remove it. It didn’t damage any of her organs, luckily. They said she’ll make a full recovery. She should be awake by the time we get there.”
“Oh, baby, that’s so great,” he said, and then he was kissing my temple. “How are you holding up?”
“Better now,” I admitted as I clutched his hand.
“You do know you’re in deep shit for not calling me, right?” he asked as he tucked my hair behind my ears.
“Those kids mean everything to you, Bennett.”
“No, Xander, you mean everything to me. You and Lucky—you’re my family and you always come first.” He covered our joined hands with his other hand and began massaging the skin by my thumb joint. “Promise me you’ll never doubt that again.”
He was right. There’d been a small part of me that had thought maybe he’d put the kids above me. And it was something I’d been okay with, because the kids needed him more.
But in the hour that I’d had to wait to hear back from the hospital, I’d been as lost as I’d been the night my father had died. And I’d needed Bennett just as badly as I’d needed him back then. I just hadn’t had the courage to tell him that. I knew just by looking at him that my lack of trust had hurt him.
I clasped the side of his head and pulled him to me until our foreheads were touching. “Never again, Benny. I promise.”