The Lucky One(15)

Oh, she’d talked to him about it. Talked to him ad nauseam. It went in one ear and out the other, of course. Same old story. Despite—or perhaps because of—his immaturity, Keith was stubborn and opinionated about many things, and raising Ben was one of them. He wanted a certain kind of son, and by God, he was going to get him. Ben, predictably, began reacting in his own passive-aggressive way. He began to drop everything his dad threw, even simple lobs, while ignoring his father’s growing frustration, until his father finally slammed his glove to the ground and stormed inside to sulk the rest of the afternoon. Ben pretended not to notice, taking a seat beneath a loblolly pine to read until she picked him up a few hours later.

She and her ex didn’t battle just about Ben; they were fire and ice as well. As in, he was fire and she was ice. He was still attracted to her, which irritated her no end. Why on earth he could believe that she’d want anything to do with him was beyond her, but no matter what she said to him, it didn’t seem to deter his overtures. Most of the time, she could barely remember the reasons she’d been attracted to him years ago. She could recite the reasons for marriage—she’d been young and stupid, foremost among them, and pregnant to boot—but nowadays, whenever he stared her up and down, she cringed inside. He wasn’t her type. Frankly, he’d never been her type. If her entire life had been recorded on video, the marriage would be one of those events she would gladly record over. Except for Ben, of course.

She wished her younger brother, Drake, were here, and she felt the usual ache when she thought of him. Whenever he’d come by, Ben followed him around the way the dogs followed Nana. Together, they would wander off to catch butterflies or spend time in the tree house that Grandpa had built, which was accessible only by a rickety bridge that spanned one of the two creeks on the property. Unlike her ex, Drake accepted Ben, which in a lot of ways made him more of a father to Ben than her ex had ever been. Ben adored him, and she adored Drake for the quiet way he built confidence in her son. She remembered thanking him for it once, but he’d just shrugged. “I just like spending time with him,” he’d said by way of explanation.

She knew she needed to check on Nana. Rising from her seat, she spotted the light on in the office, but she doubted that Nana was doing paperwork. More likely she was out in the pens behind the kennels, and she headed in that direction. Hopefully, Nana hadn’t got it in her mind to try to take a group of dogs for a walk. There was no way she could keep her balance—or even hold them—if they tugged on the leashes, but it had always been one of her favorite things to do. She was of the opinion that most dogs didn’t get enough exercise, and the property was great for remedying that. At nearly seventy acres, it boasted several open fields bordered by virgin hardwoods, crisscrossed by half a dozen trails and two small streams that flowed all the way to the South River. The property, bought for practically nothing fifty years ago, was worth quite a bit now. That’s what the lawyer said, the one who’d come by to feel Nana out about the possibility of selling it.

She knew exactly who was behind all that. So did Nana, who pretended to be lobotomized while the lawyer spoke to her. She stared at him with wide, blank eyes, dropped grapes onto the floor one by one, and mumbled incomprehensibly. She and Beth giggled about it for hours afterward.

Glancing through the window of the kennel office, she saw no sign of Nana, but she could hear Nana’s voice echoing from the pens.

“Stay. . . come. Good girl! Good come!”

Rounding the corner, Beth saw Nana praising a shih tzu as it trotted toward her. It reminded her of one of those wind-up toy dogs you could purchase from Wal-Mart.

“What are you doing, Nana? You’re not supposed to be out here.”

“Oh, hey, Beth.” Unlike two months ago, now she hardly slurred her words anymore.

Beth put her hands on her hips. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“I brought a cell phone. I figured I’d just call if I got into a problem.”

“You don’t have a cell phone.”

“I have yours. I snuck it out of your purse this morning.”

“Then who would you have called?”

She hadn’t seemed to have considered that, and her brow furrowed as she glanced at the dog. “See what I have to put up with, Precious? I told you the gal was sharper than a digging caterpillar.” She exhaled, letting out a sound like an owl.

Beth knew a change of subject was coming.

“Where’s Ben?” she asked.

“Inside, getting ready. He’s going to his dad’s.”

“I’ll bet he’s thrilled about that. You sure he’s not hiding out in the tree house?”

“Go easy,” Beth said. “He’s still his dad.”

“You think.”

“I’m sure.”

“Are you positive you didn’t mess around with anyone else back then? Not even a single one-night stand with a waiter or trucker, or someone from school?” She sounded almost hopeful. She always sounded hopeful when she said it.

“I’m positive. And I’ve already told you that a million times.”

She winked. “Yes, but Nana can always hope your memory improves.”

“How long have you been out here, by the way?”

“What time is it?”

“Almost four o’clock.”