90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (18 page)

     The kid would sure have a good upbringing—Benji was confident of that.  Tula and her husband were hard working, good people and the fact she was a bestselling author didn’t hurt. 

     Carmen LaRoque was one of the most popular erotica romance authors in the world and her books were loved by thousands.  He’d taken a look at one of the copies Lydia had.  Good stuff in his opinion.  And the best part?  She even had a book that featured a trans man and he was the male escort everybody desired.

     Benji could get on board with that, even though he truly only wanted to be desired by one woman.

     Damn, he couldn’t wait to see Laney.

     As Tula continued talking about this or that, showing him the newest releases and gasping at how pretty a particular cover was, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have an author as a parent.

     He wondered what it would be like to have a decent parent, period.

    
Fuck them.

     “So, Benny my boy, do you have any questions?”

     Glancing up from the back of the book he’d absent-mindedly picked up, he thought about it for a second and shook his head. “Nope.  I think I’m good.”

     “Good.” She nodded, smiling cheerfully once more.  “Then I guess we’re ready for the grand opening tomorrow.  I hope everyone can come.”

     “I’m sure they will.  This is the most exciting thing to happen since I arrived.” He snickered, carefully putting the book back in its place.

     “More exciting things will happen.” She promised.  “Especially if I run for mayor.  Just you wait and see.”

     “Mayor?” His eyebrows shot upwards.  “Lydia never mentioned that.  Are you serious?”

     “Oh, I’m serious.” She nodded matter-of-factly.  “It’s time for things to change in this world, Benji.  Winning a campaign in Prairie Town is just the beginning for people like us.”

     “Us?”

     “Oh, it’s so sweet how you act like you don’t know the truth about me.” She pinched his cheek and he scowled.

     What was he, five?

     “You know we’re the same, Benji.  My voice is only so strong as an author, but imagine if I actually held a position in office.  I could do things that would benefit us all.”

     Whoa, whoa.  Wait a minute.  What did she mean they were the same?  Did he miss something?

     The look of surprise on his face must have said it all because Tula tilted her head to the side, much like a cat, and stared at him.

     “Lydia didn’t tell you?”

     “Tell me what, exactly?”

     “Oh…I guess she didn’t. Hm.” She shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the counter, busying herself with straightening a few rows of signed bookmarks that had been graciously donated by authors from all over the world.

     “What didn’t Lydia tell me, Tula?” He questioned, staying right on her heels.

     “You know what I’m going to say, Benjamin.  I think a part of you always knew.  There’s a reason the state didn’t want to let me adopt a baby, handsome.”

     “The state?  I thought you were just waiting your turn…”

      And then it clicked.

    
Holy shit.

     “Whoa.” He said beneath his breath.  “Tula, I…wow, really? 
Really
?”

     “Yes, really.” She laughed, glancing at him from over her shoulder.  “Did you think I was just a really tall girl, honey?  Were you really that oblivious?”

     “N-no, I just…shit, I don’t know what I thought.” He admitted.  “But I didn’t know you were trans.  Not that it matters,” he added quickly.  “I just…wow.  Really?”

     “It’s okay, honey.  You’re so cute when you’re shocked.  I can see why Lydia’s sister likes you so much.”

     And just how the hell did she know about that?  Did everyone in Prairie Town know?

     “Don’t act so surprised.  I’m a very observant creature, you know.  I see the way you two act when you’re around one another.  I may or may not have based a new couple in my book on you…”

     “Really?”

     “Honestly, Benji.” Resting one hand against the counter and the other against her hip, she shook her head laughing.  “You think I wrote a book about a hottie trans man just for the hell of it?”

     “I don’t know.  Authors write what they want to, I suppose?”

     “True, but I wrote that book because I wanted people to understand we come from all walks of life.  I wanted to introduce a trans character to the world so he would be accepted, and I pray that it somehow helps those who read my work to accept us.  I think it’s working.” Her eyes sparkled and the corners of her lips curled upwards again.  “Just wait and see.  We’re going to change the world, Ben.”

     “Wow.” He slumped back against a bookshelf and dropped his gaze to the floor.  Tula was possibly one of the most awesome people on Earth.  No wonder Lydia admired her so greatly.  She was trying to make a difference, a real difference.  For everyone.

     “Oh!” Her phone started ringing and she picked it up from the counter, smiling as she glanced at him.  “That would be my husband calling.  Why don’t you go ahead and take five?  I’ll be back in a minute.”

     “Sure.” He watched as she stepped outside and listened to the little bell chime above the door. 

     It was the perfect opportunity to text Laney again.  She should have been off work already.

    
Just don’t seem too desperate.
  He thought as he wrote out a short greeting and hit send. 
Be normal.  Chill.

     But that was easier said than done when all he’d been able to think about since last night was her; her smile; her laugh; her smell; her kiss.

     Damn.  He couldn’t wait to see her.

     Disappointment set in when she didn’t reply by the time Tula returned.  A part of him wondered if he was coming off too strong—maybe he scared her away?  He hoped not.  That was the last thing he wanted to do.

     They had a chance at something real, didn’t they?

     He thought so.

     “All right.  Let’s get to work on rearranging a few aisles.  Paul’s bringing over that shipment of Suanne Laqueur’s books—the ones I’ve been waiting on for forever?  I need to make room for them.”

     “Don’t know who that is or what she writes, but I’m at your disposal.” He chuckled dryly, glancing at his phone one more time before tucking it away.

     He hoped Laney was okay.  She usually responded pretty fast.

     “You don’t know who she is?  Well, of course you don’t. But we’re going to change that, aren’t we?”  She pinched his cheek again and hurried past him.  Tula was definitely a woman on a mission.

     “Ow.” He mumbled, rubbing his cheek.

     “Come along, Benny boy!  So many books, so little time!”

Chapter 10

Laney

     Wringing her hands together nervously as she paced back and forth in the bank parking lot, Laney waited impatiently for Callum’s Tahoe to come into view.

     She called him while he was at work—the new construction company his father had recently opened, where Jeb now worked, too—and he’d promised to get away from it as soon as he could. 

     At the moment she wasn’t sure if her heart would last long enough.

     The sickening feeling had yet to go away and to make matters worse, Lydia had tried to call her not long after she hung up with Callum.  She didn’t answer; she couldn’t hide something like this from her sister.

     Maybe she should have called Jeb.  Maybe she should have called their parents.  But for some reason Callum was the first person to come to mind and she was grateful he was willing to help.  He would know what to do, wouldn’t he?  It was his father, after all, who had all the connections and knew how to take care of things like this.

     But the biggest issue at hand was finding out
who
and
why
.  Lydia was too kind for something like this to happen.  Laney couldn’t think of anyone who would want to cause her grief.

     Aside from Devin, of course, but he didn’t know who Lydia truly was.

    
And he never will, if I can help it.

     Come hell or high water, she’d never let anyone hurt her sister like that.

      They had taken such careful measures to ensure Lydia’s secret was kept hidden.  Even her wedding invitations had been specially made, claiming that her parents were her aunt and uncle.  It hurt them all to do it like that.  Her mother protested the loudest, but Lydia made the final decision in the end.  She wasn’t willing to risk their family being attacked by the bigots they knew existed in town.

     Why did life have to be so damn unfair?  Why couldn’t they just exist peacefully?  Why couldn’t people like Benji just use the restroom or dressing room they wanted to?

     All of those thoughts weren’t doing her a bit of good as she turned and headed back to her car, biting back a frustrated sob.

     She felt so helpless.

     What if the person who sent the anonymous threat followed through before they had a chance to stop them?  What if the truth got out and Lydia had to run away?

     Laney didn’t want that.

     She hated the thought of losing her sister and what it would do to their family.

     Upon hearing his engine as he pulled into the parking lot, Laney quickly turned around and sighed in relief as Callum parked and got out. 

     Wearing an orange vest and an expression of quiet anger, he approached her and held out his hand.

     “May I see it?”

     She fished the phone out of her pocket and placed it in his palm, watching as he read over the text.  Hopefully he could trace the phone number and find out who the hell they were dealing with.

     “Did you try to call this number, Laney?” He questioned, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

     “Y-yes.  But no one answered.”

     “I’ll try.” He tugged his phone from his pocket and then typed in the number, handing her phone back as he stuck his phone to his ear.

     She waited with baited breath, her eyes on his face.

     “Hm.” He said after a moment.

     “Hmm, what? What is it?”

     “They answered and hung up.  They obviously didn’t want it to go to voicemail.”

     “Really?”

     “I think that’s what’s going on. Whoever sent that text probably didn’t mean for you to get their phone number in the process.  They screwed up and they know it.”

     “But that’s good, right?  That means we can trace it back to them?”

     “Yes, we can.  But it might take me a few hours.  If they’re halfway intelligent, they’ll be scrambling to get their number changed before I can locate them, but I’m going to do my damnedest to find out who it is, Laney.  This has been going on long enough.”

     She stared at him, surprised.  “What do you mean by that?  This isn’t the first time, is it?”

     He sighed and stared at her, seemingly fighting an inner battle.  “No, Laney. It’s not.”

     Unbelievable.  This had happened before, or was happening, and Lydia hadn’t told her?

    
Maybe that’s why Jeb has been acting so weird and Lydia so stressed out.  They’ve been hiding this from me.

     Her cheeks felt like they were on fire as she bowed her head and sighed.  Callum’s voice faded away as her mind grew dark, as it had many times before.

     What happened to all that bullshit about same blood?

     Tears blurred her vision and she couldn’t even make out the outline of her shoes as rage silently flowed through her veins, building up into something so much worse.

     So. Much. Worse.

    
They don’t trust you.
  The voice said. 
They kept you in the dark.  Why?

     Maybe it was because they thought she was too weak, or that she wouldn’t be of any use to them when it came to attacks against their family.

     Bullshit!  She was plenty capable of defending her family if it ever came down to it.  How could they leave her out of an important family matter like this?  Didn’t Lydia trust her to protect them?

    
Maybe she thinks I’ll kill myself, or something.

     No, that was stupid.  She would never—Lydia didn’t think that, right?  They were sisters.  Sisters didn’t lack faith in one another.

    
Maybe Jeb said something else…