"Kelly," he said, his voice soft but firm. "What's wrong? You've hardly said two words since we left the restaurant."
She stood with her back to him for a long moment, her shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. When she turned, her eyes flashed with anger.
"What's wrong? You want to know what's wrong?" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "My father pulled me aside tonight to tell me he'd been investigating you."
Now Ben was genuinely confused. He lived a pretty damn boring life.
"Investigating me? Why would he do that?"
Although it wouldn’t be unheard of for a parent to investigate the person in their child’s life. It sounded like something his Uncle Dare would do when it came to his two daughters.
"To protect me, apparently." Her laugh was brittle, humorless. "He told me all about your father, the famous sheriff who caught Wade Bryson and later helped capture his son. About the danger that follows your family."
The pieces clicked together in Ben's mind. His father's cases, his reputation, and the media attention that had followed their family for years. It had ramped up again a few years ago when Hollywood had tried to make a movie.
Then another killer had sprung up, one of Wade Bryson’s many disciples. The movie production had ended with a whimper, and not too many people were looking to bring it back to life.
But he’d never thought that “danger followed his family” at all. He couldn’t argue that his Uncle Logan might be a target, but Ben himself?
He didn’t lose any sleep over it.
"Kelly, I never hid who my father is from you. I told you he was Sheriff Seth Reilly from Montana."
"You never mentioned that he put away two serial killers. That people tried to kill him for revenge. That your family had to live with that kind of danger.”
Her voice rose with each accusation, and Ben felt a surge of frustration. He'd never intentionally kept any of this from her. It simply hadn't come up in their whirlwind of murder investigation and unexpected attraction.
Why was she so pissed off about this?
"Your dad probably didn’t have to do too much investigating because I’m not keeping any secrets," he said, genuinely perplexed by her reaction. “I'm Ben Reilly, and I've never lied to you. I told you that I'd tell you more about my family, but we got diverted last night.”
"Oh, so this is my fault?"
Was she just looking for a fight? Because while he was trying to keep calm for both of them, he wasn’t going to let her make him the asshole in this situation either.
"There is no one at fault," Ben replied, working to keep his voice level. "I'm saying there was no deliberate deception. My father is who he is. I'm not ashamed of him or his work."
"That's not the point.” Kelly paced across the living room, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. "The point is that you kept this from me while knowing exactly what I do for a living. You knew I'd recognize the Bryson cases. You knew, and you chose not to tell me."
“It's not like I was hiding some deep, dark secret. My father's cases are public record. Anyone with Google could find the information in five minutes."
"Then why didn't you mention it? When I told you about my podcast, when we started working on Lori's case together, why keep quiet about your own connection to famous murder cases?"
The accusation stung. Ben's hands opened and closed at his sides, a physical manifestation of his growing frustration. He didn't like being cornered, didn't like being made to defend himself against charges that felt unfair.
"I didn't think it was relevant," he said finally. "My father's cases have nothing to do with what happened to Lori."
"Nothing to do with it?" Kelly's voice was sharp, incredulous. "You have firsthand experience with violent crime investigations through your family, and you didn't think that was relevant to mention?"
"I wasn't trying to hide anything," Ben insisted, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he fought to remain calm. "And as far as firsthand experience, I have none. I was a kid when my dad helped bring in Wade Bryson, and a teenager when he helped bring in the son. I have never, personally, worked on a murder investigation. And frankly, it just didn't come up because whileI might have heard about more murders than your average person, I’ve solved exactly zero cases. Besides, we were focused on your friend, on your investigation. My family history didn't seem important at the time."
"Not important," Kelly repeated flatly. "You didn't think your father, being a legendary sheriff who solved multiple murder cases, was important information to share with someone investigating an unsolved murder?"
Put that way, it did sound like an obvious omission. Ben took a deep breath, trying to see the situation from her perspective. But the implication that he'd deliberately deceived her still rankled.
"Look," he said, "I can see how it might look from your side. But I promise you, there was no hidden agenda. It's just a fact about my family that hasn't come up yet. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on my dad’s accomplishments, especially now that he’s retired. I don’t think of him as a legendary lawman; he’s just my dad."
"You kept it from me," Kelly shot back. "My father somehow knew before I did."
