“I guess you’ve heard Jessie Soren—” Robert stopped himself from calling Jessie by her maiden name. But he couldn’t bring himself to call her by her married name either. “Jessie’s back.”
“I heard.” Ben pulled his lunch from the bag and opened it. “I ran into Sylvia in the grocery store a while back and she told me you took Jessie to the cabin. She also said Jessie wanted to file for a divorce and would contact me.”
“But she hasn’t yet?” Robert shifted in his seat.
“If she had, I wouldn’t be discussing her with you.”
Right. Ben might be Robert’s cousin and best friend, but he took his clients’ privacy seriously. He never told Robert who the anonymous donor was last year that gave over four million dollars to the city of Providence. Not that he and the rest of town hadn’t figured it out.
“She’s at the ranch now,” Robert said, pulling his thoughts back to Jessie.
Ben finished chewing the bite he’d taken from his club sandwich before speaking. “I’ve heard that too. From Jake. What I want to know is why I had to hear any of this from someone other than you?”
“I’ve been busy, man.”And I didn’t know what to say. My old girlfriend’s back, and I think I’m still in love with her.
“Yeah, fighting her husband and getting hit in the head with an ax, from what I hear.”
Robert recalled how close he’d come to blacking out. He hated to think about what might have happened to Jessie if Pendleton had gotten the upper hand on him. He touched his temple that was still tender, even though the bruise had faded. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.”
Ben raised a skeptical eyebrow. He pinned Robert with another one of his piercing gazes. Ben had the uncanny ability to see right through a person, and Robert hated when he looked at him like that.
Ignoring his food, Robert picked up a letter opener off Ben’s desk. He rotated it in his hands, alternately pressing his middle finger and thumb against either end.
“Pendleton pressed charges of police brutality against me.”
“What?” Ben pitched forward in his seat. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing yet. I’ll let you know if it looks like I’m going to need representation.”
Ben leaned back in his chair, still scrutinizing Robert. “If you don’t need a lawyer, why are you here? You’re obviously not hungry.” Ben motioned to Robert’s unopened food.
“Jessie’s pregnant,” Robert blurted.
Ben’s eyebrows shot up.
“I’m surprised Jake didn’t tell you. He’s practically ghosted me.”
“Why?” Ben asked.
“Probably because he didn’t want to have to be the one to break the news to me.”
“Can’t say I blame him. Who told you?”
“No one told me. I figured it out the same way I figured out Emily was pregnant.”
Ben pitched forward again, eyes wide. “Emily’s pregnant?”
Heat rushed up Robert’s neck. “Oops, forget I said that. I think Jake said they were going to wait awhile to announce it.” He gave Ben his sternest look. “My mother doesn’t even know.”
“Obviously. If Aunt Faith knew she was going to be a grandma, the entire town would know about it.” Ben bit back a smile. “My lips are sealed.”
“Yeah, until the next time you kiss Amy. Then I bet you blabber to her. And we all know she can’t keep a secret for nothing.”
Ben laughed. “True, but you’ve put me in a precarious situation. When Amy finds out Emily is pregnant, I’ll be in the doghouse, if she figures out I already know.”
“Then you’d better hope she doesn’t find out.”And hopefully, Jake will forgive me.
“So, how do you know Jessie is pregnant, if no one told you?”
