The Lucky One(46)

“Only if you want to tell me,” he offered.

She felt her thoughts drifting from the present to the past and sighed. “It’s the oldest story in the book . . . I was a nerdy high school senior, he was a couple of years older than me, but we’d gone to the same church for as long as I can remember, so I knew exactly who he was. We started going out a few months before I graduated. His family is well-off, and he’d always dated the most popular girls, and I guess I just got caught up in the fantasy of it all. I overlooked some obvious problems, made excuses for others, and the next thing you know, I found out I was pregnant. All of a sudden, my life just . . . changed, you know? I wasn’t going to go to college that fall, I had no idea how to even be a mother, let alone a single mother; I couldn’t imagine how I was going to pull it all off. The last thing in the world I expected was for him to propose. But for whatever reason, he did, and I said yes, and even though I wanted to believe that it was all going to work out and did my best to convince Nana that I knew what I was doing, I think both of us knew it was a mistake before the ink was dry on the marriage certificate. We had virtually nothing in common. Anyway, we argued pretty much constantly, and ended up separating soon after Ben was born. And then, I was really lost.”

Logan brought his hands together. “But it didn’t stop you.”

“Stop me from what?”

“From eventually going to college and becoming a teacher. And figuring out how to be a single mother.” He grinned. “And somehow pulling it off.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “With Nana’s help.”

“Whatever it takes.” He crossed one leg over the other, seeming to study her before he smirked. “Nerdy, huh?”

“In high school? Oh yeah. I was definitely nerdy.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Believe what you want.”

“So how did college work?”

“With Ben, you mean? It wasn’t easy. But I already had some AP credits, which gave me a bit of a head start, and then I took classes at the community college while Ben was still in diapers. I took classes only two or three days a week while Nana took care of Ben, and I’d come home and study when I wasn’t being Mom. Same thing when I transferred to UNC Wilmington, which was close enough to go to school and make it back here at night. It took me six years to get my degree and certificate, but I didn’t want to take advantage of Nana, and I didn’t want to give my ex any reason to get full custody. And back then, he might have tried for it, just because he could.”

“He sounds like a charmer.”

She grimaced. “You have no idea.”

“You want me to beat him up?”

She laughed. “That’s funny. There might have been a time when I would have taken you up on that, but not anymore. He’s just . . . immature. He thinks every woman he meets is crazy for him, gets angry at little things, and blames other people when things go wrong. Thirty-one going on sixteen, if you know what I mean.” From the side, she could sense Logan watching her. “But enough about him. Tell me something about you.”

“Like what?”

“Anything. I don’t know. Why did you major in anthropology?”

He considered the question. “Personality, I guess.”

“What does that mean?”

“I knew I didn’t want to major in anything practical like business or engineering, and toward the end of my freshman year, I started talking to other liberal arts majors. The most interesting ones I met were anthropology majors. I wanted to be interesting.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. That’s why I took the first introductory classes, at least. After that, I realized that anthropology is a great blend of history and supposition and mystery, all of which appealed to me. I was hooked.”

“How about frat parties?”

“Not my thing.”

“Football games?”

“No.”

“Did you ever think you missed out on what college was supposed to be?”

“No.”

“Me neither,” she agreed. “Not once I had Ben, anyway.”

He nodded, then gestured toward the woods. “Umm . . . do you think we should have Zeus find Ben now?”

“Oh, my gosh!” she cried, her tone slightly panicked. “Yes. He can find him, right? How long has it been?”

“Not long. Five minutes, maybe. Let me get Zeus. And don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

Logan went to the door and opened it. Zeus trotted out, tail wagging, then wandered down the stairs. He immediately lifted a leg by the side of the porch, then trotted back up the stairs to Logan.

“Where’s Ben?” Logan asked.

Zeus’s ears rose. Logan pointed in the direction Ben had gone. “Find Ben.”

Zeus turned and started trotting in wide arcs, nose to the ground. Within seconds, he’d picked up the trail and he vanished into the darkness.

“Should we follow him?” Beth asked.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

They’d barely reached the first of the trees when she heard Zeus emit a playful bark. Right after that, Ben’s voice sounded in a squeal of delight. When she turned toward Logan, he shrugged.