Ben entered the code and opened the door. Brittany was sitting next to Darcy and they looked good together. Cozier than he’d expected them to be after just meeting. His smile faded as he saw the cell phone in Darcy’s hand. “Darcy, I can explain.”

“You knew?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about this morning.”

Brittany looked between them. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, squirt. Adult stuff.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hate when you say adult stuff.”

Ben smiled tightly. “I know, but this time it really is.”

“All right.”

Darcy tucked a lock of Brit’s messy ponytail behind her ear. “Hey, why don’t we go out in the girl’s department and see if we can find you a nice Christmas shirt. Does your dad take you to Mass or anything?”

Brit’s eyes brightened. “Yeah, we go to Christmas Eve Mass. And I’m finally getting this stupid thing off tomorrow.”

“That’s great. We’ll find you something pretty, how’s that?”

Ben frowned. He was waiting for Darcy to rip into him, but she simply stood and ushered Brit out the door. She stopped. “We’ll be talking about this when I get home.”

Fuck.

He followed them out the door and grudgingly past the exit to the girl’s department. It exploded with red and greens for the holidays as well as the dark colors of fall. Brit shoved her coat into his hands. “Can I get a dress, Uncle Ben?”

“Oh, Uncle Ben will be getting you whatever you like,” Darcy chimed in.

Ben’s jaw clicked shut. “Sure, short stuff. Get two.”

Darcy folded her arms across her chest and followed Brit as she weaved in and out of the racks. The click of hangers as she searched for her size reverberated in his head.

She had four dresses, three skirts and two blouses hanging off Darcy’s arm by the time Darcy convinced her to try a few on. Ben rocked back on his heels and didn’t say a word. In fact, he was pretty sure Darcy was encouraging her to buy more than the two dresses.

“Do you need help in there?” Darcy called out.

“No. I’m just slow.”

Darcy leaned on the door and stared daggers at him. He was a dead man. But she hadn’t booted him out of the store, so there was still hope.

Please God, let there be hope.

Thirty minutes later, the girls were chattering at each other as though they’d been friends for years. And he had about one hundred dollars’ worth of girl’s clothing in his arms for the yes pile.

“You don’t work on commission do you?”

Darcy lifted an eyebrow. “It’d be much worse if I did,” she said sweetly.

He groaned but said nothing more. Twenty minutes later there was more on the pile and he was one hundred sixty-four dollars poorer. Two shopping bags weighed down each hand.

“Dad is going to flip!” Brittany slammed herself into his side. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

He smiled down at her. “Don’t say I didn’t get you anything cool for Christmas.”

“I still get a Christmas present too, right?”

Ben shook his head. “Brat.”

She threw him a cheeky grin full of dimples and raced ahead.

“Darcy—”

“Not here, Ben. We’ll talk tonight. I’m too mad right now, but we’ll talk it out.”

He frowned. He was waiting for the clothing rack to come for his head. He didn’t get her at all. “Okay, come by after your shift.”

She nodded, her arms crossed over her chest as she walked away.

The rest of the day dragged. He checked his phone every few minutes to see if there was a text from Darcy or from John. His stomach was a roiling mess by the time dinner rolled around. He’d stopped at the market for supplies.

He killed some time cutting vegetables for chicken stir-fry and popped three ibuprofen to combat the endless chatter from The Disney Channel that Brittany wouldn’t turn off. Finally his phone buzzed.

Be there in 10. Is B still there?

He tapped back the affirmative and mentioned that he made dinner. A few seconds later she typed back a simple okay.

He heated up his wok and set the chicken into the oil. He had no choice but to concentrate on the sizzle of the meat and the quick preparation time on the meal. “Set the table, Brit.”

She ran in and shuffled out the plates and silverware he’d set out for her. “I like Darcy. You should make sure that whatever she was mad at you about earlier, you fix.”

“You’re way too astute, kid.”

She shrugged. “I watched this show on Discovery about body language. It was pretty cool. And Darcy? She had all the signs of being really pissed at you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, the super nice words with that clipped tone? That’s a good one. My teachers use that a lot.”

Christ, the kid was too smart for her own good.

“And then there was the folded arms and tapping toe, and the way she wouldn’t look you in the eye.”

“Thanks, Brit.”

“What? I’m telling you this stuff to help you. I don’t want to see you sad like Daddy is all the time.”

Ben pulled their meal off the burner for the sauce to thicken and hauled her in for a hug. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”

“I know. Even if Daddy wants to box my ears in.”

The door opened and Darcy slid in and hung up her coat. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Well, at least she let herself in like she normally did. He was half expecting her to ring the damn doorbell. He went out into the living room. Her arms were across her midsection and something on the carpet was damn interesting.

Brit nudged him forward. “Uncle Ben made his awesome stir-fry.”

“Oh yeah?”

Brit nodded and took Darcy’s hand, dragging her into the kitchen. “Come sit down.”

She passed him and he tried to grab her hand, but Darcy twisted her fingers away. He sighed and followed them into the small kitchen. He scooped their dinner out into a huge bowl and stuck two serving spoons into it, placing it in the middle of the table.

Brit made sure that they were facing each other at the table. She smiled around the vegetables and lined the snap peas around her plate like a frame. “They’re my favorite, so I eat them last.”

“I’m partial to the mini corn.”

Brit stabbed one onto her fork and bit into it. “It’s good. Uncle Ben makes the best sauce. My dad tries to make it, but he’s better off with one of those meals in a bag.”

Brit kept up a steady stream of chattering as Darcy picked at her food.

She answered her and ignored any conversation starters that Ben tried to initiate. The door opened again and Ben groaned as John filled the entryway.

“I thought you were going to be late.”

John looked to Ben, then to Darcy, then back to Ben. Brittany cleared her plate and put it in the sink. “Thanks, Uncle Ben. I’m tired, so we’re going to go home now.”

John stammered out an okay and grabbed Brittany’s jacket from the closet. He cleared his throat. “We have an early appointment with the doctor.”

Brittany smiled and hopped in a circle to get her arm in the hole of her jacket. “I can’t wait to get this stupid thing off.”

Her dad smoothed a hand down her hair. “I know, kiddo. It’s still going to be sore though.”

“I know, but at least I can move and tie my shoes.”

John leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get moving. Thanks for taking care of her, Ben.”

“Bye, Uncle Ben. Remember what I said.”

He bent down for his hug. “I got it, squirt.”

She hooked her arm around his neck. “If you break up with her I’m gonna be mad.”

“You’re not the only one.”

“Good. Bye, Darcy! Nice meeting you. I can’t wait to hang out again.”

He stood to see Darcy in the doorway to the living room. “I had a great day with you too, Brittany.”

Darcy came farther into the room. “John?”

John stopped at the door. His shoulders straightened before he turned around. “Yes?”

“You have a beautiful daughter. Remember that the next time you lose your temper.”

John nodded and ushered Brittany out the door.

Ben turned around. “That’s it?”

“What am I supposed to say, Ben? It’s been weeks since he wrecked the Blackstone’s tree.”

“Yeah, weeks, not years. You can still press charges.”

“I could. But what good would that do?”

Ben sat down on the couch. “I don’t get it.”

Darcy sat next to him, hugging her clasped hands between her knees. “I like your niece. And seeing what she’s been able to do with that awful strap thing that holds her chest so tight, there’s no way I can be mad.”

There was three inches between them and he wasn’t sure how to bridge the gap. “I didn’t know, I swear. I wondered when you told me about it. And when Jaime gave me the details when I was doing the tree, but I didn’t know for sure.”

“Until?”

“Until I visited my brother a few weeks ago.”

She closed her eyes. “And you didn’t tell me.”

“We barely had time to say hello with our schedules and I didn’t want to ruin what was going on between us. I didn’t even know how to bring it up. Oh hey, Darcy—remember that asshole that wrecked your store. Oh yeah. He’s my big brother.”

Darcy tucked her hands under her arms. “And you wanted to protect him.”

“Yeah.” He sighed, itching to hold on to her, even if it was just her hand. “And if he got arrested, what would happen to Brit? I mean sure, I’d take her, but she’d be so embarrassed about what he did.”

Darcy leaned her shoulder into the couch and rested her head against the cushion, but still wouldn’t unfold herself. She might as well have a bubble around her that screamed keep out.

He turned to her. “I know this is hard to get past, but I swear he’s not normally like that. With the bills from the doctors and the extra hours to pay for them because he’s so proud, he’s been strung way too tight.”

“And now?”

Ben shrugged. “Ever since Brit’s mom left he’s been angry. Having his daughter break her collarbone and there was nothing he could do for her just drove him over the edge. I wish I’d known it was that bad, I’d have kept him under wraps.”

She searched his face, then laid her palm over his hand. “I’d have done the same. And if he hadn’t come in and wrecked the store maybe we’d never have this.”

He flipped his hand and caught hers before she could pull it back. “You’re not mad?”

She shook her head. “You’re probably the best man I know, Ben. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me on purpose. I just need some time to think about this.” She slid her hand out from between his. “You lied.”

His gut churned with their dinner and the acid that had been boiling up like crazy all day. “I don’t want to lose you, Darcy.”

“I don’t want to lose you either.” She stood up. “Thanks for dinner.”

Ben couldn’t think of anything he could do but watch her leave.