23. Second Impressions (1/2)

23 – second impressions

felicity got out of the car and

stared up at the beautiful house with its pond and backdrop of evergreens.

"wow. this riley knows how to live."

"yeah," ben agreed, coming around

the car and taking her hand. they ascended the porch steps. ben's knock on the

door was answered by a great wwwooof!

from within the house.

the door opened on a dark-haired young

man hauling on the collar of the biggest german shepherd felicity had ever

seen. the dog barked again, and the sound blasted out into the yard, echoing in

the air. "down, max!" the man

hollered.

the dog glanced at his owner,

whined, and gave another half-hearted "wuff" before

backing away from the door.

the man held the door open with a

chuckle. "sorry. he gets a little excited and forgets his manners when company

comes. i don't get many visitors out here in the sticks."

"sure," ben responded, stepping

into the house with a cautious look at the huge dog. felicity entered the

house, and the man shut the door behind them.

max wagged his tail furiously,

every muscle twitching to come forward and greet the guests. "sit," the man ordered. the dog gave him

an impatient look and complied. the man held out his hand to felicity, who

stood nearer. "riley donagher. it's nice to meet you.

welcome to my place."

felicity shook his hand. "felicity porter. it's nice to meet you, too. thanks for

having us over."

the man gave her a grin. his

sky-blue eyes sparkled with humor. "miss the chance to try my cooking on

someone who cares? never." he shook ben's hand. "you

must be ben covington. nice to put a face to the name."

"hey, how you

doing?" ben responded automatically. "this is some house."

"thanks," riley responded. "it's

a rental. comes with the job. i'm basically planning

to work here forever, just so i can keep it."

max gave a desperate whine,

looking from his master to the visitors and back again. "all

right, you big oaf. be nice," riley said.

the dog inched forward and shoved

his nose under ben's hand. ben smiled and scratched him behind the ears. the

dog's tail thumped on the hardwood floor and he closed his eyes in a look of

sheer joy.

"i warn you. he's an attention

hog," riley added as felicity came forward to pet the dog. "why don't you guys

come in and get comfortable? dinner's almost ready."

max trotted ahead into the large

eat-in kitchen. the table was already set, and candles burned at either end.

caitlin stood at the counter putting the finishing touches on a salad. "hi,

guys. i'm glad you could come."

"hey," felicity and ben said

together. they gave each other a smile of amusement and sat down.

"what do you two like to drink?"

riley asked, moving to the fridge. "we've got water, milk, wine, just about

every conceivable kind of soda…"

"water's fine," felicity said,

petting the dog as he put his head on her knee. max's tail swept the air. she

looked down at the dog and laughed. "he's really sweet."

riley pulled a pitcher of ice

water from the fridge and

ought it to the table to fill her glass. "don't let

him kid you. he can be a right pain in the posterior when he wants to, but he'll

sit there all night if you keep petting him."

felicity giggled at the dog's

blissful expression and smiled up at riley. "i don't mind. it's kind of sad

living in a dorm where you can't have a pet."

caitlin came to the table and set

the salad bowl down. "i hope you two are hungry. there's enough food here for a

small country. riley's a firm believer in the 'more is

better' theory."

ben smiled and poured himself a

glass of water. "it smells great. do you need help getting anything on the

table?"

"you just sit there and be your

charming self," caitlin ordered. "you're a guest." she moved back to the

kitchen to get the chicken from the oven. the mouth-watering smell of roasted

chicken wafted across the kitchen as she transferred the food to a platter.

"so…what have you been up to all

this time?" ben asked.

caitlin

ought the platter to

the table, while riley set the remaining dishes down. "well," she said

thoughtfully, "i finished up my high schooling, and went to university here in america

for parks and rec, much like my accomplished cousin."

she grinned at riley. "he was very convincing about how exciting it is."

"are you going to work here in yellowstone?"

felicity wondered.

caitlin shook her head. "olympic national park in washington state.

if you've never seen it, you have to

go. it's

eathtaking."

riley started carving the chicken.

"tuck in, you two. we don't stand on ceremony."

dishes passed around the table.

max laid at felicity's feet in the hopes of further attention, which made her

smile. conversation and laughter flowed freely. when ben offered to drive home,

felicity decided to have a glass of wine, after all. coupled with the roasted

chicken, it tasted wonderful. the chicken melted in her mouth. "riley, your

cooking is amazing. i wish i could say i cook this good."

"uh-oh," caitlin grinned, rolling

her eyes.

riley lit up. "well, thank you.

it's nice to have someone over who appreciates it," he added with an amused

smirk at caitlin.

"my cousin, the

amateur chef. why didn't you go to cooking school?" caitlin groaned.

"i was a hair's

eadth from it,"

admitted the man to his guests. "i've always juggled between a career in the

outdoors and one as a chef."

"sounds like me with art and

medicine," commented felicity, helping herself to some salad.

"oh, you're an artist?" asked

riley, looking interested. "my mother used to paint. i have some of her work

hanging in the den, if you'd like to see it."

"yeah, i'd love that."

caitlin propped an elbow on the

table. "so, ben. what have you been up to since high

school? do you see kelly at all?"

ben hunched his shoulders. "no.

not really, no."

caitlin looked surprised. "really? she used to talk about you all the time. i'd have

thought you two would have dated—"

"yeah, for a

little while."

felicity raised her eye

ows at

ben's obvious discomfort. "who's kelly?"

"just this girl from high school

we used to hang out with," ben said, stabbing a forkful of chicken and

shoveling it into his mouth.

riley must have noticed ben's

reticence. "what medium do you work in, felicity?"

eager to change the subject and