Free And Then You Fall (Crested Butte Series) by Heather A Buchman

little. Let him in.”
    “Who? Ben? I don’t think he really wants in Dottie. In fact, I’d be surprised if I heard from him again.”
    “You got your cell phone on you?”
    “Yeah,” she said, pulling it out of the pocket in her vest.
    “Is it on?”
    She hadn’t remembered to turn it back on since she’d gotten home. She hit the power button and set it down on the table.
    It immediately chirped, letting her know she had a new voice message and a couple of text messages too. Liv picked up the phone to look. Her face turned red.
    “That’s what I thought. You heard from him didn’t you?”
    “Yes, but . . .”
    “No darlin’, no yes-buts. I’m gonna excuse myself for a few minutes. You listen to those messages and when I come back, you’re gonna tell me what he said.”
    ***
    Ben couldn’t understand why Liv hadn’t answered him. He was starting to feel as though she might be avoiding him. Maybe she hadn’t charged her phone. He knew her flight had landed a couple of hours ago, and figured she’d be home by now, although he didn’t know how far it was from the airport to wherever it was she lived. He knew it was somewhere between Denver and Colorado Springs, but that was all he knew.
    He wished she’d just answer him, as it was, he couldn’t think about anything else. This was uncharted territory for him, this woman was under his skin, making him crazy thinking about her.
    The door of his house flew open and Luke came running toward him followed by his brother.
    “Daddy’s home,” Luke shouted. Ben lifted him up and swung him around a couple of times before setting him down, grabbing Jake and doing the same thing.
    Jake gave his dad an exasperated sigh, but Ben didn’t care. You never got too old for your dad to show you he loved you. At least he hadn’t. Ben’s mom and dad walked in the door behind the boys.
    “There he is,” his mom said, giving him a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. “We missed you around here.”
    Ben’s dad came over and hugged him too. They were a family who had never been shy about affection, and Ben was glad of it.
    “Hey Dad, how are you?”
    “I’m good son, how were the bright lights of Las Vegas? Stayed a little longer than you thought, were you winnin’ big?”
    “No, you know me better than that. Never have been a big gambler.”
    His father looked deep into his eyes. Ben knew his dad wouldn’t ask the question, but Ben would answer anyway.
    “Nothin’ to report Dad. Life is good.”
    Ben’s father put his hand on his shoulder. “Glad to hear it.”
    They worried whenever he went on the road, and they were right to. The truth was, the time he spent with Liv, he hadn’t thought about drinking at all. Even at the show. He wanted her, but he hadn’t wanted a drink.
    The boys were racing around him, each vying for his attention, telling him what they’d been doing while he was gone. That morning his dad had taken them fishing and his mom had grilled up what they caught for lunch.
    “There’s a rodeo in Gunnison Dad. Can we go? This is the last year Luke can do mutton bustin’.”
    Luke was Ben’s little Tasmanian devil, Jake was the more cautious of his boys. Ben knew the older Luke got, the more trouble he’d likely get into, just like he had. That worried him more than a little.
    “Of course we can go. Are G’ma and G’pa coming along?”
    “You bet.”
    Ben pulled his cell phone out, not only to check the time, but to see if he’d heard back from Liv. He hadn’t. “It’s 2:30, what time do we have to be there?”
    “Check-in’s at 5:00,” Jake answered. “Can we play PS3 until it’s time to go?”
    Ben laughed. “You can play PS3 for an hour, then you can play outside until it’s time to go.”
    “Thanks Daddy,” said Luke, climbing up Ben’s leg to give him a kiss. Ben picked him up and hugged him close. “I missed you buddy.”
    “Me too. Put me down now Daddy, Jake’s gonna pick out a game I don’t want to play if you