Free Scarred by Jennifer Willows Page A

Tommy got on the bus he sent me a text message.”
     
    Ben snickered. “That child is too young for a cell phone.”
     
    “Yeah, wait until you have a kid. You’d be lucky if by the time they turn three if you haven’t given them one, just to keep them off yours.”
     
    Ben looked out the door where he saw Amelia stand beside of the bus doors, her posture slouched as if she were tired or achy. When Jenny was done ensuring all of her wards for the night were buckled in, she walked towards Amelia. She stiffened, then stood stock still as if a deer caught in the glare of head lights at Jenny’s approach. When the two women were within earshot, Ben saw Jenny pull Amelia into a hug that Amelia didn’t quite respond wholeheartedly to. But Jenny didn’t seem to notice.
     
    He walked out and heard Peter lock the doors behind him.
     
    Jenny beamed as usual and the minute woman’s naturally sunny disposition meant that she would never meet a stranger. “Amelia, I just wanted to give you my number. I’m always home, so if you want to we could have a chat and maybe a girl’s night.” Ben couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his lips for any reason. Amelia must have felt the same as he watched her pull out a cell phone that he didn’t even know that she owned and dialed Jenny’s phone.
     
    “Alright and thanks for snacking with me.” The two women hugged again and Ben herded Amelia quickly into the privacy of the bus
     
    He was going to make sure he had the number to the cell by the end of the night. He kissed her hand, nothing else, even though he really wanted much more than that. He pulled the bus away from Peter’s Pizza and into the darkness.
     
    Ben handed Amelia his car keys before he stopped in front of his Durango to let her off.
     
    “Go ahead and get in, I’m just going to park and I’ll be over in just a few minutes.” Ben did exactly as promised and he jogged back to the truck five minutes later. The SUV was already warmed up and ready to drive.
     
    “Did you enjoy the game?” He asked, on the way out of the empty lot.
     
    She smiled, this grin was a real one compared to the faux ones he’d gotten earlier in the day. “Actually, I did. Thanks for taking me.”
     
    This time the ride was so much faster. It seemed as if he had just pulled away, and then he was back at her house. Amelia made a motion to open the door herself, but Ben cleared his throat once and she stopped immediately. He opened her door and took her hand to escort her to the door.
     
    “Thank you for coming with me, Amelia.” He said, just as she opened her mouth.
     
    “Would you like to come in for a drink, Ben?” She laughed slightly, the sound sweet on the night air. “Oh sorry.” She blurted out. “You’re welcome.”
     
    “And yes, I would love a drink with you. Just let me grab my keys from the...” He was so stupefied by the fact that she finally asked him inside that he lost his train of thought altogether.
     
    “Gotcha.”   She smiled and unlocked her door as he turned away, with a huge grin on his face and an unusual flurry in his chest.
     
    When he walked back inside, Amelia was in the kitchen. She was bent over at the waist as she rummaged the overstocked fridge. But she must have gone into the pantry first, as the small door was open wide at the side of the cabinets closest to her. He had no idea what she did with all of the food that she’d brought before, and now he knew. She would do any country kitchen proud with the mass of filled mason jars spanning the entirety of the closet. There was row upon row of canned goods, and barely room for anything else. There was pickled this or that, jellies, preserves and all manner of vegetables.
     
    Amelia clanked bottles together. “Umm, do you want a beer?”
     
    “I don’t usually drink and drive at all, there’s too much wildlife and not enough road for the both of us.”
                “Oh, I didn’t think about that.