“Pauli, I need you to order a full workup of STD testing for me as soon as possible.”

“No, I don’t suspect that I have anything.  Yes, I’m still with Lane.  God no, I don’t think she has anything.  Pauli, can you just order the tests, so I can go someplace today and get my blood drawn?  How long before I get results?  Fine, call it in, I’m on my way now.  When will you be in town?  Are you staying with me, with friends or with the folks? Good, see you later.”  Ben ended the call and turned to Lane.

“Pauli’s leaving St. Louis after he calls in my lab orders.  There’s a place where I can go today, so I’m heading there now.” He smiled and bent to kiss her.  “I’d ask you to ride along, but I suspect you might find it uncomfortable.”

She kissed him. “I wouldn’t find it uncomfortable, but I’m going to hang out here and wait for the kids.  Go, get out of here you dopey love crazed man.”  She pushed him toward the garage door.

As he clicked the remote access for his SUV he turned back to her.  “Hey, I’ll stop and get some steaks.  Bring the kids over for a cookout.  We’ll swim, we’ll eat.  We can tell them about the outcome of the search. It’ll be fun. Don’t make anything, don’t bring anything but yourself. Come whenever, you know the code.”

Chapter 8

A Bellini Meets the Parkers

After Ben left, Lane went through the house, setting things back to rights after the police invasion.  She spent over an hour cleaning and straightening her bedroom alone.  Finally, at around two o’clock, she called Jess and was surprised to find that they were already at Ben’s.  They’d played nine holes and opted for a dip in the pool instead of the final nine.  So Lane told her Ben was running a couple of errands, but was stopping off for steaks and all the cookout side dishes.  Lane told her she’d be over in a few minutes.

Jess ended the call, relayed the information to her brothers and went into the house to get a drink.  She’d gotten a glass of ice and was bent over in front of the refrigerator, when she heard the garage door open and close.  She peered through her legs at the feet of a man leaning against the door jamb.

“Hey did you bring DDP?”

The man looked at the ass attached to the voice.  That wasn’t Lane, too short and the hair was blonde, not red.  Hadn’t Ben told him that he was still with Lane?  So who the hell did those legs and that ass belong to and why the hell did she want diaminedichloroplatinum?

“I don’t think I brought DDP, but if you enlighten me as to why you want it, maybe I can help.”

Jess stood, turned, and screamed.  She’d grabbed the only weapon in the refrigerator, a stalk of celery.  And she held it in front of her like an ugly, mostly limp, green sword.  She looked the tall dark stranger over.  He was wearing scrubs and he looked a lot like Ben.

“Who the hell are you?”

Pauli started at her feet and worked his eyes up to the top of her pretty blonde head.  She stood about five feet four inches tall, was trim but not anorexic and had blue eyes, which were currently squinted at him. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he wondered what she planned to do with that stalk of celery.

He took a step toward her, his hand extended.

Apparently, she took it as an act of aggression, because she shook the celery at him as menacingly as celery could be shaken.

“Who ARE you?”  She repeated.

He withdrew his hand, but stood his ground.  “Allow me to introduce myself.  I’m Dr. Paolo Raffaele Bellini.  I believe you’re standing in my brother’s kitchen.”

She put the celery back in the open refrigerator.  She smiled and extended the hand which moments ago had held the deadly celery stalk.  “I’m Jess.”

She had the bluest eyes and longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. And a smoking hot body, barely covered by the blue and white striped bikini she wore.  He knew she was a sophomore at UCLA which would make her about 20.  He stepped forward and took her hand.  He was a doctor and he knew there was no medical explanation for feeling electricity as he held her hand.

“Now that we’ve been introduced, maybe you’ll tell me what you call DDP and why it would be in the refrigerator.”

She laughed.  “It’s shorthand for Diet Dr. Pepper.  And it’s the preferred beverage of the Parker women.  Ben usually keeps the fridge pretty well stocked for my mother, but I don’t see any.”

He bent to look into the open door.  His mother would be throwing a fit about the door being open for so long, and letting all the cold air out of the refrigerator.   He reached around her with his left hand to close the door.

“I don’t see any soda in there.  I saw a refrigerator in the garage.  Is it possible that Ben keeps soda out there?”

They were inches apart now and neither of them seemed to notice or care that he was still holding her hand.

The door to the patio opened.  “Jess, where are those sodas?”

Pauli looked into the hazel eyes of a man who stood as tall as himself.  He was blonde and muscular with six-pack abs.  Brother or boyfriend, Pauli was hoping for brother.  He knew Lane had three children and that Jess was the middle child with a brother on either side.  He was definitely hoping for brother.

Jess hadn’t even turned around before saying, “Well Jamison, as soon as Doc Bellini here lets go of my hand, I’ll check the fridge in the garage.”

Jamie glared at Pauli trying to figure out what possible dire situation would cause Jess to use his complete real first name.

“Jess?” A second tall blonde with similar six-pack abs had stepped into the kitchen.

Jess whispered, “That’s probably your cue to let go.”

“You must be one of Ben’s brothers.  I’m Jamison Parker.”

“I’m the youngest, Paolo.  My family call me Pauli.”

Jake nodded in that male “what’s up” greeting style.  “Jake Parker.”

“So Parrot Boy, are you going to let go of my hand or do I have to sick my brothers on you?”

Pauli released her hand.  “So, is your whole family here?”

“Not yet.  Is there someone in particular you’re hoping to see?”

And as if speaking about her had conjured her up, Lane stepped in from the garage.  She dropped her purse on the island and grabbed Pauli in a hug

“Paul.  It’s so good to see you.  You look good.  I see you’ve met my daughter and my sons.”  She released him and he stood looking from gorgeous redheaded mother to gorgeous blonde daughter and back again.

“I just talked to Ben.  He’s about 15 minutes away.”

She looked at Jess. “Jess, you’re getting goose bumps.  The air conditioning must be freezing you.  You’d better put something over your suit or get back out to the pool.  Speaking of pool, Paul, please excuse me I’m going to go change.”

She walked toward Ben’s bedroom unsure whether either Jess or Pauli had heard a word she’d said.  Neither had responded to a single thing and they seemed to be engaged in a staring contest.

She was in the master bathroom in the midst of changing into her modest one piece swimming suit when she heard the bedroom door open. “Jess?” She walked out of the bathroom pulling the straps up over her shoulders.

“No.  She’s sitting in the kitchen with my dumbfounded brother.  I’m not sure he even knew I was there.  What is that about?”

Lane laughed.  “I planned to wait until I finished changing and then I thought I might have to throw cold water over him.  Jess has goose bumps from being in the air conditioning in her wet suit.  At least I think it was because of the cold.  I guess it could have been Bellini fever or something.”

Ben picked her up and kissed her.  “Give me a couple of minutes to change.  I’ll see if I can shake him out of it without water torture.”

As Ben and Lane approached the kitchen, they heard voices.  What they found was Jess and Pauli sitting at the table each with a DDP, Pauli bare chested, Jess drowning in Pauli’s scrub shirt.  Jess was telling Pauli the same story she’d told them Friday night about the practical joker and his fake car accident make-up. Pauli was listening in rapt attention.