The Lucky One(76)

She forced herself to smile. “I told her it wasn’t true.”

“But you wanted to make sure by asking me in person.”

She heard a tinge of anger in his voice and reminded herself to be careful.

“You were coming over,” she said, trying to sound casual. “And besides, we’ve known each other long enough that we can talk like adults.” She looked at him wide-eyed, the victim of an innocent mistake. “Did it bother you that I asked?”

“No, but still, to even think it . . .” Keith threw up his hands.

“I didn’t. But I wanted to tell you because I figured you might want to know what other people might be saying behind your back. I don’t like them talking about Ben’s father that way, and I said that to her.”

Her words had the effect she wanted: He puffed up with self-righteous pride.

“Thanks for defending me.”

“Nothing to defend. You know how gossip is. It’s the toxic waste of small towns.” She shook her head. “So how’s everything else? Work going well?”

“Same as always. How’s your class this year?”

“It’s a pretty good group of kids. So far, anyway.”

“Good,” he said. He motioned toward the yard. “Some storm, huh? I could barely see the road.”

“I was thinking the same thing when you drove up. It’s crazy. It was gorgeous at the beach yesterday.”

“You were at the beach?”

She nodded. “Logan and I went. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now.”

“Huh,” he said. “Sounds like it’s getting serious.”

She offered a sidelong glance. “Don’t tell me that woman was right about you.”

“No, of course not.”

She worked up a playful smile. “I know. I was just teasing. And no, we’re not serious yet, but he’s a great guy.”

He brought his hands together. “How does Nana feel about that?”

“Why does that matter?”

He shifted in his seat. “I’m just saying that situations like this can be complicated.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He works here. And you know how the courts are these days. You’re opening yourself up to a major sexual harassment lawsuit.”

“He wouldn’t do that—”

Keith spoke with patience, as if lecturing someone much younger. “Trust me. That’s what everyone says. But think about it. He has no ties to the community, and if he’s working for Nana, I doubt he has much money. No offense. But remember, your family owns a lot of land.” He shrugged. “I’m just saying that if I were you, I’d be very careful.”

He sounded persuasive and, despite her knowledge to the contrary, caring. A friend who was generally concerned for her well-being. The man should be an actor, she thought.

“Nana owns the land and the house. Not me.”

“You know how lawyers can be.”

I know exactly, she thought. I remember what your lawyer did at the custody hearing. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem. But I’ll talk to Nana about it,” Beth conceded.

“That’s probably a good idea.” He sounded smug.

“I’m just glad I was right about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know—not having a problem with me dating someone like Logan. Aside from the sexual harassment concern. I really like him.”

He uncrossed his legs. “I wouldn’t say I have no problem with it.”

“But you just said—”

“I said I don’t care who you date, and I don’t. But I do care who comes into my son’s life because I care about my son.”

“As you should. But what does that have to do with anything?” Beth protested.

“Think about it, Beth . . . you don’t see the things that I have to see. In your work, I mean. But I see terrible things all the time, so of course I’d be concerned about anyone who spends a lot of time with Ben. I’d want to know if he was violent or if he was some sort of pervert—”

“He’s not,” Beth interrupted. She felt her color rising despite herself. “We ran a background check on him.”

“They can be faked. It’s not hard to come up with a new identity. How do you even know his real name’s Logan? It’s not like you can ask anyone around here. Have you talked to anyone from his past? Or his family?”

“No . . .”

“There you go. I’m just telling you to be careful.” He shrugged. “And I’m not saying that just because of Ben. It’s for you, too. There are some bad people in the world, and the reason they’re not in jail is because they’ve learned how to hide it.”

“You make it sound like he’s some sort of criminal!”

“I’m not trying to. He could be the nicest, most responsible guy in the world. I’m just saying that you don’t know who he really is. And until you do, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You read the papers and watch the news. I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. I just don’t want anything to happen to Ben. And I don’t want to see you get hurt.”