New Business

Ben & Liana

Parking the Range Rover, Ben walked around to the other side and opened Liana's door. She held out her hand, expecting him to take it and help her out, but instead he slid his arm under her knees, scooping her out into his arms. She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ben! The baby! Be careful!" But she was laughing.

"Now, darlin'-" He smiled down into her flushed face. "You know good and well I ain't gonna drop you. You or that baby."

"Yes. I know." Liana laid her hand against his cheek, looking into his eyes. She'd noticed, over the months they'd been married, that his smile had begun to show in his eyes at times. It was a beautiful sight.

Setting her gently on her feet, Ben let his hand roam down over her rounding belly. She was five months along now and he never grew tired of watching her blossom. Never found anything unattractive about her figure. From the beginning, he'd felt a sense of pride and possession that she carried his child. The beginnings of the family he'd wished for all his life but never thought he'd have were growing inside her. Nobody'd ever take that from him.

He turned her around and slid his arms around her from behind. "See that?" The walls of the building that would become his gambling club had been put up, were waiting to be finished and the inside properly fitted and furnished. He felt the same sense of pride and possession when he looked at it that he felt for Liana and his growing child. This place would be a part of the Wade family holdings, and he'd make it a place to be proud of.

Frank Parker watched them from a distance and shook his head in disbelief. He would never have expected to see Ben Wade so proud of what ordinary men took pride in--land and family. Wade had made his money taking what belonged to other people, but as far as he was concerned, he had worked hard for what he had. It was his and he was building a life and a family with it.

Liana leaned her head against Ben's arm, her eyes soft as she heard the pride in her husband's voice. He loved her and their baby. He might be different from other men in some ways, but in others he was the same.

She'd been a little nervous and on edge lately. Ben had always kept up with news about robberies and thefts. Since they'd been married, he'd watched news and read news about crimes, commented on how inept the men committing them could be. Lately, though, he seemed even more caught up in it. His comments had begun to involve what he would have done differently, had he been the one pulling the job.

Now, as she listened to him tell her about how much longer the construction would take and when they might expect the club to open, she thought about the way he still seemed very fascinated by robberies. When they'd come to Australia and the Glen together, he'd told her he was retired, that he was never going to do it again.

"Ben," she said quietly now. "Do you miss it? Your old life, I mean."

He leaned his cheek against her soft hair. "I don' have time to miss it, honey. I got a ranch to run and investments to keep up with it. I got this club to get up and runnin'. An' I got you and this baby to take care of."

"Don' worry 'bout nothin', Liana. There's nothin' for you to worry about." Ben told her softly, kissing her hair.

He guessed that now was not the best time to tell her that he was planning to go to the States for a couple of weeks on 'business'.