The EX-GIRLFRIENDS' CLUB.

Rhonda Nelson.

1.

Artemis525: I'm thinking someone needs to break Bennett's* heart. *Literally.* Like maybe s.n.a.t.c.h it from his chest, then run over it with a lawn mower. < beg="">

EDEN R RUTHERFORD READ the new drive-by post and felt another nudge of unease prod her belly. Granted she was still a bit of a rookie on h.e.l.l, Georgia's, police force, but even a rookie could discern the somewhat unsettling menace behind this most recent message. She instinctively picked up the cordless to call Kate, her best friend and cofounder of the Ex-Girlfriends' Club, but the thought was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. A quick check of the caller ID confirmed that Kate had beaten her to the punch. the new drive-by post and felt another nudge of unease prod her belly. Granted she was still a bit of a rookie on h.e.l.l, Georgia's, police force, but even a rookie could discern the somewhat unsettling menace behind this most recent message. She instinctively picked up the cordless to call Kate, her best friend and cofounder of the Ex-Girlfriends' Club, but the thought was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. A quick check of the caller ID confirmed that Kate had beaten her to the punch.

"Did you see it?" Kate asked gravely.

"I did," Eden told her, equally unsettled. And annoyed, dammit. The board was their cybers.p.a.ce playground and this weird chick was kicking sand. "I was just about to call you."

Kate released a worried breath. "This woman is really starting to freak me out, Eden. Run over his heart with a lawn mower? Run over his heart with a lawn mower? Sheesh. She's got issues. I seriously think we need to consider banning her from the board." Sheesh. She's got issues. I seriously think we need to consider banning her from the board."

The same thought had occurred to Eden, but she wasn't even certain it was possible. Granted the sole purpose of the Web site and message board was to bash Bennett Wilder-or any other man who employed his. .h.i.t-and-run style of romance-but this...

A huge proponent of the old you-reap-what-you-sow adage and justice in any form-be it poetic or otherwise-Eden still thought this this fell smack-dab into over-the-top territory. fell smack-dab into over-the-top territory.

Quite frankly, after all the heartache he'd heaped upon her and the rest of her little club, Bennett having a broken heart in the figurative figurative sense would be particularly gratifying. She inwardly snorted. h.e.l.l, he'd certainly left a lot of casualties in his wake-most notably sense would be particularly gratifying. She inwardly snorted. h.e.l.l, he'd certainly left a lot of casualties in his wake-most notably her, her, Eden thought. Eden thought.

But literally literally was out of the question. was out of the question.

Or at least it was to all of Bennett's victims but one.

Artemis525 had started posting to the board a couple of weeks ago-which was strange in and of itself-and there'd been something about her even then that had given Eden pause.

Though the site was dedicated to Bennett, within a couple of months after it had gone live, their cathartic vengeful-humor sort of therapy had served its purpose, and now the site was more about lamenting daily woes: problems at work, meddling mothers-usually hers, Eden thought with a mental eye roll-PMS and the occasional Mr. Wrong. Having a broken heart courtesy of h.e.l.l's third-generation bad boy might have been what had originally gotten them together, but it certainly wasn't what kept the group talking now.

That's what made Artemis525's posts so strange. Despite the fact that she seemed to have materialized out of thin air, they hadn't even been discussing Bennett. Hadn't in months.

Without warning, dark brown hair, even darker heavily lashed old-soul eyes and lips a little too full to be anything short of s.e.xy materialized all too readily in her rebellious mind, making a melancholy tide of longing rise up inside her. Tall, hard and lean with a smart mouth, a smoother tongue and a smile that epitomized wicked, Ben Wilder should come with a warning label. After all this time, the mere memory of him could still cause her foolish heart to jump into an irregular rhythm and a hollow, woeful ache to appear in her belly. Eden released a small breath.

Bennett might have left town three years ago, but there was rarely a day that went by that she didn't think about him. Pathetic? Eden rolled her eyes. Without a doubt. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary-particularly where Bennett was concerned-she wasn't stupid.

But...Eden couldn't seem to help herself.

In fact, to her immeasurable shame and chagrin, she'd never never been able to keep her wits about her when it came to Bennett, a fact that became glaringly evident with each botched attempt at resisting him. He crooked his finger, she came. The end. The emotional tug and off-the-charts attraction she'd always felt for him had never been governed by anything remotely close to rationale. It had been ruled by her heart and her body, completely excluding her brain and anything close to common sense. been able to keep her wits about her when it came to Bennett, a fact that became glaringly evident with each botched attempt at resisting him. He crooked his finger, she came. The end. The emotional tug and off-the-charts attraction she'd always felt for him had never been governed by anything remotely close to rationale. It had been ruled by her heart and her body, completely excluding her brain and anything close to common sense.

He was Bennett-her Ben-and, as such, he would always hold a special place in her pathetically miserable broken heart.

Though he'd been a good kid, an A-plus eager-to-please-almost desperate desperate-to-please, in retrospect-student and a budding athlete through the majority of their school years, something had happened to Bennett in their senior year of high school, and for no apparent reason he'd done an about-face.

For starters, he'd dumped her-right before prom, which at the time had been the mother of all humiliations-without reason, without provocation and without warning.

She'd been devastated, and to this day Eden still didn't know why he'd done it.

Then his grades had plummeted, he'd started hanging out with the wrong crowd and within a month had become their ringleader. Most painful of all, he'd turned into a skirt-chasing fiend bent on bedding practically every girl in the county.

In short, the seemingly manic effort he'd put into toeing the line-a misguided attempt to atone for the bad reputation of his parents, she knew-had been nothing compared to the effort he'd put into crossing crossing it. it.

He smoked. He drank. He cursed. He grew long hair and pierced his ear. Tame by regular standards but positively scandalous in their little hometown. A strange set of rules for a city named h.e.l.l, of all things, she'd admit, but just as rigid as any Bible Belt burg below the Mason-Dixon Line.

And the first time he'd tossed one of those heavy-lidded, baby-I-could-rock-your-world glances at her, she'd melted. melted.

She'd fallen hook, line and sinker. Eden let go a shallow breath.

But Bennett Wilder had the rare ability to make a girl feel as though she were the only woman on the planet, and more importantly, the only one for him him in the entire galaxy. When he'd looked at her and smiled- in the entire galaxy. When he'd looked at her and smiled-just smiled-the rest of the world had simply fallen away. Eden grimaced.

Unfortunately, being with Bennett meant that her world was in danger of being rocked, flipped, shattered and otherwise knocked for a loop and off its axis.

Prior to his move to what she'd dubbed his dark side, they'd been high school sweethearts. The term sounded so blase, so casual-unsubstantial, even. And yet even now Eden couldn't competently describe what that time-every minute spent with Ben-had meant to her.

Holding hands, planning futures, building dreams while she watched him whittle away on a piece of wood. He'd been funny, earnest, dark and s.e.xy and, though she hadn't realized it at the time, curiously grateful for being with her. She smiled sadly, remembering. He'd been her hero, her warrior, her confidant and best friend. And on a hot summer night by Fire Lake, he'd been her first. She'd been his, too, which for Eden had made it all the more sweet.

Call her stupid, but even after all this time and even knowing what she knew now-that years later they'd get back together and he'd dump her again again without so much as a goodbye-she still believed that they'd had something special. without so much as a goodbye-she still believed that they'd had something special.

Regardless, that second breakup had been particularly hard to swallow. Four years at Georgia Tech followed by three in Atlanta as a probation officer had given Eden seven years' worth of distance and perspective...which had promptly fallen by the wayside the minute she'd returned to h.e.l.l at twenty-five.

Come home, her dad, h.e.l.l's longtime mayor, had pleaded. her dad, h.e.l.l's longtime mayor, had pleaded. h.e.l.l needs you. h.e.l.l needs you. More like More like he'd he'd needed her, but Eden had been homesick all the same. She hadn't necessarily missed her mother, who sadly she'd never been close to. But she'd missed her aunt Devi-her mother's sister and surrogate mama-and all the people of her little town. needed her, but Eden had been homesick all the same. She hadn't necessarily missed her mother, who sadly she'd never been close to. But she'd missed her aunt Devi-her mother's sister and surrogate mama-and all the people of her little town.

Just as she'd feared, though, she hadn't been back in the apartment above her parents' garage two weeks before she'd been right back in Bennett's bed. Time hadn't changed a thing. The pull, the need, the absolute unadulterated desire to be with him had been stronger than ever.

He'd been working construction for Ryan Mothershed at the time, and she'd happened upon him at the Ice Water Bar and Grill. An hour of playing pool and a single slaying glance later and predictably-poof!-her panties and her good sense had both fallen away. Given his particular talent for making her brain and her undergarments disappear-not to mention his own penchant for vanishing from her life-Eden had secretly dubbed him "the Magician."

The only thing that never actually managed to fade was the way she felt about him. That, Eden thought with a tired smile, was purely magical.

She'd tried dating a bit while in college and later, working for Fulton County, but nothing had ever compared to the way Ben had made her feel. Sure, she could develop a certain fondness for other guys and drum up a bit of s.e.xual enthusiasm, but it was barely more than superficial, and ultimately Eden had given up the business altogether. Other than the requisite ricochet lay after Bennett had left town three years ago, to help soothe her wounded pride, Eden hadn't been with anyone since.

Her mother was constantly harping on her to find someone new, get married and produce some grandchildren, but Eden had decided those things simply weren't in her cards and she'd come to terms with that. Did she long for a family? Sometimes get lonely? Of course. But settling wasn't worth it, and she enjoyed her own company too much to compromise.

"Do you think we should let him know about this woman, Eden?" Kate asked, thankfully detouring her unproductive walk down memory lane.

Eden blinked, jarred back into the present. "Let him know about it?"

"Yeah," Kate said. "Something's not right."

Eden rubbed an imaginary line from between her brows, tried to gather her focus, which was hard anytime her thoughts drifted to Bennett. She agreed that something wasn't right, but the idea of contacting him didn't feel right, either.

Distinctly wrong, in fact.

As far as she knew, Bennett had left town for good immediately after he'd left her bed and had put those woodworking skills he'd learned from his grandfather-Grady Wilder, another rounder, Eden thought with a fond smile-to very profitable use as an artisan catering to the Low Country's upper crust.

Despite everything that had happened between them, Eden secretly warmed with pride at his success. She was equally proud of him and for him. She'd always known that he had a special talent, and seeing that recognized and knowing how validated it must make Bennett feel was especially gratifying.

By all accounts, he'd created a life as far removed from h.e.l.l as possible. Thanks to Kate, she was aware of his monthly treks to the Golden Gate Retirement Home to see his grandfather, but as far as she knew, he'd never darkened another door in town aside from that one.

Thankfully, and much to her shame and ultimate relief, Eden hadn't seen him again.

Certainly there were times when she fantasized about what she would say if she ever ran into him. What girl who'd had her heart broken didn't? But the idea of willingly contacting him after he'd walked away without so much as a goodbye had never occurred to her.

Eden considered herself relatively brave-she had to be in her line of work-but facing Bennett required an emotional courage and a s.e.xual wherewithal she wasn't altogether certain she possessed. In fact, past history had consistently proved otherwise. So her best course of action if she wanted to hang on to her heart, her underwear and the smallest modic.u.m of self-respect demanded that she stay far, far away from him.

Furthermore, she had too much pride and, frankly, didn't know whether she could get through the confrontation without breaking down and making a fool of herself. She swallowed.

True, he'd broken her heart in high school. But three years ago, when he'd walked away for the second time, he'd obliterated obliterated it. it.

She had no one to blame but herself, of course. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But knowing that certainly didn't lessen the hurt. It only served to make her feel more stupid. In retrospect, giving him the second chance-the "by," as Kate had called it-hadn't been the wisest move she'd made, but per tradition, she hadn't been able to resist and...she'd still believed in him. But knowing that certainly didn't lessen the hurt. It only served to make her feel more stupid. In retrospect, giving him the second chance-the "by," as Kate had called it-hadn't been the wisest move she'd made, but per tradition, she hadn't been able to resist and...she'd still believed in him.

In them, them, specifically. specifically.

And she'd been wrong.

The Web page had been her bitter brainchild, her way of injecting a little retribution toward Bennett, even if it had been conducted through the somewhat pa.s.sive-aggressive venue of cybers.p.a.ce. It had made her feel better-all of them, as a matter of fact. Just because she'd been the most recent casualty didn't mean that the others' heartbreak had been any less.

"Eden?"

She started. "Er...do you really think it's that serious?" she asked Kate. "Serious enough to contact him?"

"Don't you?"

"I don't know," Eden said, knowing as the words left her mouth that they were a lie. Kate was right. Something about Artemis525's post stirred her instincts, and those instincts told her that the woman-whoever she was-didn't appear to be wired correctly.

But did they need to call him? Warn him? Honestly, so long as he wasn't in town she didn't see any reason to alert him to the threat. Between the psycho's local ISP address-meaning she was using a local Internet service provider-and Bennett's reputation, she felt as if this chick was a hometown girl. She shared her opinion with Kate.

"What do you think?" she asked, hoping against hope that her friend wouldn't call her on being a coward, an agonizing label which set her teeth on edge.

Aside from Bennett, she'd never been afraid of anything in her life.

Kate paused, then let go a breath. "I guess you're right. But I'm going to let the other nurses know to call me if I'm not on shift the next time he visits Grady." A significant chuckle drifted over the line. "I'll let him know about her."

Eden chewed the smile lurking at the corner of her lip. "So you're going to tell him about the club?"

"I'll have to, won't I?" Kate replied, sounding particularly pleased with the idea. Though Kate hadn't been a Bennett casualty per se, she'd been there to nurse Eden through her heartbreak. At an even five feet, with short dark hair and pale blue eyes, Kate was small but fierce. Like Tinkerbell, Eden had often thought.

Eden grinned, somewhat heartened by the idea that Bennett-whom she was relatively certain didn't know the site existed because she hadn't felt the wrath of his anger pinging her from Savannah-was going to find out what she and the other girls had done. A perverse thrill whipped through her imagining his handsome outraged face.

"Think he'll ever move back here?" Kate asked conversationally, a question that had been widely speculated, debated, otherwise mulled over and betted on since his swift to-h.e.l.l-with-all-of-you departure.

Ha, Eden thought as her lips slid into a rueful smile. "Maybe when h.e.l.l freezes over." Eden thought as her lips slid into a rueful smile. "Maybe when h.e.l.l freezes over."

And considering how quickly she and her brain and various items of clothing tended to part company anytime he came around, that was soon enough for her.

2.

WELCOME TO H h.e.l.l.

Population 7,958 and growing. The only thing hotter than our hospitality is our barbecue sauce!

A broken laugh erupted from Bennett Wilder's throat as he read the sign heralding his hometown's city limits. Now that was apt, he thought darkly. It might not be the literal eternal hereafter for the d.a.m.ned, but it might as well be the equivalent to him. His fingers involuntarily tightened on the steering wheel and he bit back a blistering curse.

He still couldn't believe he was coming back here. Couldn't believe that he'd finally found his place in the world, made his mark and now...Bennett expelled a weary breath.

As though the devil himself had a hand in his fate, he'd been lured back to h.e.l.l, Georgia, the last place on the globe he wished to visit, much less live. In all truth, nothing short of a hot poker applied to his a.s.s could have brought him back, either-and even then it would have been a h.e.l.l of a fight-but one call for help from his grandfather had been all it had taken to make a liar out of him.

I'm sorry, but he has to go, Bennett, Eva Kilgore, the director at the Golden Gate Retirement Home, had told him two weeks ago. Eva Kilgore, the director at the Golden Gate Retirement Home, had told him two weeks ago. He's a pip, I'll give you that. But he's simply too...disruptive. Relatives who encourage their loved ones to live here expect what our brochures advertise. Peace, harmony and well-being. Since your grandfather moved in, we've had none of those. He's organizing protests against the menu. He's fleecing everyone out of their pocket money at the card tables when we've repeatedly told him that gambling for cash-or change- He's a pip, I'll give you that. But he's simply too...disruptive. Relatives who encourage their loved ones to live here expect what our brochures advertise. Peace, harmony and well-being. Since your grandfather moved in, we've had none of those. He's organizing protests against the menu. He's fleecing everyone out of their pocket money at the card tables when we've repeatedly told him that gambling for cash-or change- she'd emphasized sternly she'd emphasized sternly -is forbidden. And that's only the minor infractions. -is forbidden. And that's only the minor infractions. She'd blown out a disgusted breath and shaken her head. She'd blown out a disgusted breath and shaken her head. Frankly it's the womanizing that's turned this home into a circus. We can't have the women getting into catfights over your philandering grandfather during movie hour, Bennett, Frankly it's the womanizing that's turned this home into a circus. We can't have the women getting into catfights over your philandering grandfather during movie hour, Bennett, she'd said. she'd said. It's not good for them. Not good for anybody. It's not good for them. Not good for anybody.

No amount of pleading, flattery or even bribery had convinced Eva that she shouldn't kick Grady Wilder out of the retirement home. Since Golden Gate was the only facility in the county, it had left Bennett with no options. Even if Grady would have been willing to move into nearby Willis County, Bennett wouldn't have had the heart to make him.

h.e.l.l, for better or worse, was his home.

So here Bennett was, moving back after three blissful years away from the poisonous gossip and grueling grind of being the b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of two of h.e.l.l's most notorious citizens. Kathie Petri, his mother, had been a teenage drifter who'd migrated from southern Louisiana to h.e.l.l without parents, without money and without morals. His father, Kirk Wilder-whose own mother had died during child-birth-had been a local boy, but a bad seed. So the two of them hooking up had been as disastrous as it had been inevitable.

Bennett had learned the hard way that no matter how much effort he put into being an upstanding member of the community, he'd never successfully shirk the weight of his parents' mistakes. He'd always be "that Wilder boy."

Could he help it that he'd been born to a couple of low-life misfits who hadn't been fit to own a pet, much less raise a child? Was it his fault that his mother had been a shameless wh.o.r.e the other women had shunned? His father a mean, shiftless, jealous drunk? A perpetual embarra.s.sment to the community?

No.

But that didn't matter because here in h.e.l.l his parents' drinking-whoring-fighting legacy would always be a shadow he couldn't shake. Thanks to an unpleasant and ultimately life-altering chat with Giselle Rutherford-the mayor's wife and the mother of the only girl he'd ever cared about-Bennett had realized that at eighteen, but hadn't had sense enough to accept it until he was twenty-five. That's when he'd cut and run, leaving his grandfather and the only girl he'd ever considered a...friend...behind.

Friend couldn't begin to describe what Eden Rutherford had been to him, but anything more than the casual label made his skin feel too tight for his body. Made his palms sweat and his mouth parch. Made him wish that he'd fought for her rather than taking the path he'd chosen. couldn't begin to describe what Eden Rutherford had been to him, but anything more than the casual label made his skin feel too tight for his body. Made his palms sweat and his mouth parch. Made him wish that he'd fought for her rather than taking the path he'd chosen.

You are nothing and will never amount to anything, Giselle Rutherford had told him. Giselle Rutherford had told him. Less than the trash your parents were. And I will not permit you to drag my only daughter down with you. You say you love her? Less than the trash your parents were. And I will not permit you to drag my only daughter down with you. You say you love her? She'd sneered as though he were incapable of such an emotion. She'd sneered as though he were incapable of such an emotion. Prove it. Because every time she sees you, I'm going to punish her. And it will be your fault. Prove it. Because every time she sees you, I'm going to punish her. And it will be your fault.

At eighteen, Bennett hadn't known what to do, had felt powerless to fight back. And he hadn't doubted for a minute that her mother would make good on the threat. He'd witnessed too many of her spiteful reprimands, most notably when she'd destroyed a wooden heart he'd carved for Eden. The b.i.t.c.h, The b.i.t.c.h, Bennett thought now, remembering how devastated Eden had been. He'd known at that point that she'd be better off without him, and though it had almost ruined him, Bennett had caved to Giselle's threat. Bennett thought now, remembering how devastated Eden had been. He'd known at that point that she'd be better off without him, and though it had almost ruined him, Bennett had caved to Giselle's threat.

With no other choice available, he'd broken up with Eden and had given up any pretense of trying to be good enough to make up for his parents' reputation. He couldn't be, he'd decided, because his good would never been good enough. Not by h.e.l.l's standards. By the time he and Eden had gotten back together years later-no longer intimidated by her, he would have as soon told Giselle to kiss his a.s.s than look at her-he'd realized that, in taking that path, he'd unwittingly fulfilled her mother's condescending prophecy. He'd become the very nothing she'd said he would be.

In what could only be described as divine punishment, he hadn't made that realization until Eden had told him that she loved him. That's when he'd left town and made a new life for himself. His insides twisted with bitter humor.

He had Giselle Rutherford to thank for that, if nothing else.

Regardless, the mere thought of Eden made his gut clench, his heart ache and his d.i.c.k invariably stir behind his zipper. Kind but fierce green eyes, a soft, slightly crooked smile that promised as much mischief as pleasure and an easy yard of hair as pale as a moonbeam.