The look on his handsome face was one of such poignant sadness that it made her heart ache. “Almost constantly,” he whispered.

But it was the way in which he said those two simple words – and the sorrow in his eyes as he said them – that gave Lauren serious cause to wonder if he was referring to his job or to her.

Without another word, she turned and practically ran out of his office before he could beg her yet again for a chance to explain. Because she was very much afraid that this time she might just say yes. And all of the apologies and explanations and regrets in the world wouldn’t matter any longer – not while Ben belonged to someone else.

Chapter Twelve

June

“Ben, there’s a Robert McKinnon on the line for you. Should I take a message?”

Ben snapped to attention at the mention of that particular last name. He’d been engrossed in reading over an article that one of his teams had drafted after a recent trip to Belize, and had barely noticed that a call had come in.

“No, you can put him through, Kym,” he told his assistant via intercom. “Does he, uh, sound annoyed or anything?”

“Polite but impatient,” clarified Kym. “Hang on a sec and I’ll put him through.”

“Thanks.”

Ben frowned as he wondered why Lauren’s father would be calling him. Was it possible that Lauren had finally told her family about their long ago summer fling, and her dad was calling to chew his ass out? But even as he thought such a thing, he knew that wasn’t the reason. Lauren would never allow anyone else to fight her battles for her, and especially not her father. So whatever the reason he was calling now, Ben sensed it wasn’t personal.

“This is Ben Rafferty,” he greeted in the polite but businesslike tone he typically used on the phone.

“Mr. Rafferty, this is Robert McKinnon, Lauren’s father. I’m very sorry to disturb you, but I understand that you’re my daughter’s boss?”

Robert had a deep, no-nonsense voice, and Ben could distinguish traces of a Scottish brogue here and there in his speech patterns.

“That’s correct, Mr. McKinnon,” replied Ben, his tone becoming friendlier and more relaxed. “Though I’m not certain she’d agree with that. Lauren is very much her own boss, I’m afraid.”

That earned a deep chuckle from the other man. “And how long did it take you to figure that out?” he asked in an amused voice. “With most people, it only takes a few minutes.”

“I would break that down into seconds in my case, Mr. McKinnon. What can I do for you, sir? Lauren and her crew flew out yesterday to Nepal in case you were looking for her.”

“I’m always in the loop about my daughter’s travel plans, Mr. Rafferty. Lauren is very good about keeping us updated on her schedule. But she also calls us every time she reaches her destination, and then again when she returns. And according to the itinerary she gave us, she ought to have arrived almost twelve hours ago. I even checked the flight status, and the plane arrived right on time. Her mother and I are growing concerned because we haven’t heard from her. Has she or one of her crew contacted you?”

Ben was so astonished by what he’d just heard that he was speechless for long seconds. It was only when Robert cleared his throat a bit impatiently that Ben hastily replied. “Ah, no, Mr. McKinnon. I haven’t heard from them, but that’s not unusual. I’m sure there’s a good reason why she hasn’t called you yet. Have you tried her cell phone? Email?”

Robert gave a mildly disgusted “humph”. “I get a fast busy signal every time I try to call her, and she hasn’t replied to our emails yet. I’m sure I sound ridiculously old-fashioned, Mr. Rafferty, but we do worry about our Lauren. I know she’s tougher than a dozen men put together, but she’ll always be our little girl. And when she jets off without a care to some of these godforsaken places you send her to – well, I can’t help but be concerned.”

“First of all, please call me Ben,” he told Lauren’s father gently. “And second, I share your concern for Lauren and all of my employees when they’re on an assignment. I’ll tell you what, Mr. McKinnon. I’m going to try and get a hold of her one way or another, and tell her to contact you right away. Let’s see – it’s around eight p.m. in Nepal right now.” He made a quick estimate after pulling up a time zone converter site on his computer. “They should be having dinner or just finishing up.”

“I appreciate it – Ben,” replied Robert. “And I am sorry to have disrupted you at work but Lauren’s usually so reliable about calling us.”

“Not a problem, sir. Hopefully I can get in touch with her, and have her call you back soon.”

As Ben disconnected the call, the smile on his face grew wider and wider until he was chuckling, and then laughing out loud. By the time he buzzed Kym and asked her to please bring in one of the satellite phones, he very nearly had tears in his eyes.

Use of the satellite phones was widely discouraged due to the high cost of making a call. Dutifully, Ben tried calling each of the crew on their cell phones first, and predictably got the same fast busy signal each time. Next, he tried calling the hostel where the crew was staying, but received an automated message that the call could not go through as dialed. Knowing how unpredictable communications could be in more remote parts of the world, Ben resorted to using the pricey satellite phone, knowing a lecture from Nadine about saving money would be sure to follow.

Each time a crew went out on assignment, they were given a satellite phone to take along, often for occasions just like this one. It took a minute or two for the call to connect, but then, thankfully, George picked up on the other end.

George sounded surprised to hear from Ben, and even more so when he asked to speak to Lauren. In the background Ben could hear dishes and silverware clanging, conversations being carried on, and the loud hum of what sounded like a generator.

“Ben?” Lauren’s voice sounded both perplexed and annoyed, and the connection wasn’t the greatest. “What’s the matter? Must be something big for you to break out the satellite phone. Did you get Nadine’s written permission first?’

“I don’t need her permission. For anything,” he stated. “And the reason I’m calling is because you forgot to call home. More importantly, Daddy is very worried about his little girl.” He wasn’t able to hold back the laughter for a second longer, and was quickly chuckling anew.

There was silence on the other end for long seconds, and Ben only hoped the tenuous connection hadn’t been lost. But then Lauren spoke, and he realized he’d actually managed to shock her.

“You talked to my father?” she asked, aghast. “He – he called the office looking for me?”

“We had a very nice conversation,” drawled Ben. “And he’s concerned because you didn’t call when you were supposed to. He even checked to make sure your flight got in on time.”

“Jesus, please tell me this is not happening,” she muttered. “How long ago did he call?”

“Just a few minutes ago,” he replied cheerfully. “So tell me, why haven’t you checked in yet with the folks? Especially when you know how much they worry about their baby girl?’

“Will you shut up?” hissed Lauren. “And if you dare say a word to the rest of the crew, you will definitely regret it. Big time. And the reason I haven’t contacted my parents is because this charming but bare bones hostel Nadine found for us currently has no power and therefore no internet service. And apparently, even though she was supposed to arrange for an international calling plan specific to this area, something got lost in translation because none of our phones work.”

“Why didn’t you just use the satellite phone?” Ben asked in confusion. “That’s why you have it, for situations just like this.”