Page 63 of No Kind of Hero
“Please, honey,” her mother said. “Once you go back to Portland, we’ll hardly see you.”
“Yes, but—”
“Besides,” Michelle said, “we’re having a few people over, and you’d be so helpful. I can’t believe how much growth we’re seeing in Wild Horse, and all so fast. It’s the resort, of course, but it’s beyond that, andnotjust football players. There’s a developer in town checking out the lake, in fact. Very exciting.”
“I’m not sure that’s great,” Beth said. “But—”
“Oh, it’s not what you’re thinking. Not ticky-tacky little houses.Veryhigh-end. Custom homes. Vacation homes, of course, but think what that will do for the tax base, for the library and the schools. He’ll be here tonight, in fact. You’ll see for yourself.”
“Wait.” Beth was walking faster, Henry trotting at her side. “Is this developer young, by any chance?”
“Of course not,” her mother said. “That’s never a first career. How could it be?” Good. Phew. But her mother went on. “He’s forty, I’d say, although he’s certainly fit enough to be younger. He runs races on trails, he says, which is another reason I wanted you to come. You can talk to him about all that. Get him enthusiastic.”
“Uh-huh. Is his wife coming too?”
“Oh, he’s not married. Divorced, I think. No children, which is always a good thing, so much less complicated. Anyway, thirty is the new twenty. A man’s barely started to settle down by then. Not like your father was. For nowadays, forty’s perfect. He’s finished with all that and ready to make a commitment and have those babies withyou. And I just thought of something. Why don’t you invite Blake and Dakota? There’s nothing like a little star power, is there? They’d be company for you, too, since I can hear you thinking I’m setting you up. Of course not.”
“Wait. Mom. You’re going in too many directions.” She’d reached Dakota’s house, and she took Henry inside, unfastened his leash, and hung it up while he headed for his water dish. “First, why don’tyouinvite Blake and Dakota? Why would I invite them to your house?”
“To be honest, darling, Dakota doesn’t seem to feel comfortable with our crowd. I’m sure I see why, but there you are. And Blake won’t come without her. I thought since you two are such good friends now—”
“You can’t have it both ways, Mom.” Beth slipped off her sandals and wiggled her toes. “Either she’s good enough or she’s not. You might even have to make a choice. Dakota or Melody Farnsworth. I don’t think they like each other.”
“People need to get over these silly feuds,” her mother said. “Anyone can be civil for an evening. For heaven’s sake. If you don’t want to invite them, don’t. But please come and help me with Brett. I get the feeling he thinks we’re a tiny bit unsophisticated.”
“Didn’t Candy tell you, then?” Beth sat on the worn couch—the couch where Evan had rocked her world a few days earlier—crossed her ankles on the sturdy, scarred coffee table, and enjoyed looking at her absolutely inappropriate ankle bracelet. “I’m not available. Partner-wise. Or dinner-wise, for that matter. I’m seeing Evan tonight. And Dakota and Blake aren’t available, either. Because, as it happens, they’re babysitting.”
Silence for a moment, and then her mother said, “Let’s have lunch. I can’t talk to you on the phone.”
“I can’t, Mom. Actually, Ireallycan’t. I need to go help Evan at the theater. Painting.” She headed into the bedroom, unsnapping her jeans along the way. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“Candy told me she saw you two at Busano’s,” her mother said. “I’d be worried, except that youaregoing back to Portland, and whatever’s been going on with you, you have too much good sense, so I’m sure this is some sort of fling.”
Beth pulled the jeans off and folded them. How did she answer that? It was true. Her mother was still talking. “I’m sure we’ve all had daydreams about some . . . some rodeo cowboy, but we don’t end up with him. And for good reason. The more similar a couple’s background is, the more compatible they are.”
“Statistically. But you know what they say. ‘Lies, damn lies, and statistics.’ Besides, how similar were you and Dad?”
“That was different. We had the same interests.”
“Well, so do Evan and I.”
A faint snort. “What, demolition derbies? Crushing beer cans on your forehead?”
“Right, Mom.” Beth never got mad, but she was mad now. “I’m hanging up.”
“Wait. All right, that was uncalled for. I let my sense of humor get the better of me. All right, then. If he’s so appropriate, bring him along. He has a baby, though, Candy said. And you can hang up on me, but that’s another red flag. Men who’ve fathered children with their girlfriends who they’renotwith anymore.”
“Except that the girlfriend’s long gone, and Evan’s still here.Withthe baby.”
“Oh. Really.” She’d actually shut her mother up.
“Yes, really. And the reason I need to spend today with him is that he’s trying to get sole custody, and it’s making him nervous that she’ll decide to come back and fight him for it.”
“How old is the baby?”
“Eight months. A little girl. Gracie.”
“And her motherleft?”
