Page 61 of Reeves

“Now you wait and observe. Time will tell.”

“Yeah,” Benjy says, brightening. “Like recon.”

The word still sounds a little awkward coming out of his mouth, but he’s clearly proud of remembering it.

Reeves glances at me before answering.

“Recon is the most important part of the mission.”

Benjy nods with serious approval.

“I’m thinking we might need to come back tonight with flashlights and check it out,” Benjy says, clearly pleased with the plan forming in his head. Then he grins. “But first we should go eat crawdaddies.”

Reeves clears his throat and pushes his hands further into his pockets.

The invitation Benjy tossed out a few minutes ago is still hanging between us, neither of us knowing quite how to handle this. I think we both hoped it might drift away if we gave it enough time.

I built every inch of what I have from scratch. He was born into more money than I'll see in my lifetime and spent six years running from it. I'm not sure which of us made the harder choice.

“It’s getting late, Ben,” I say gently. “Reeves lives all the way in New Orleans. He probably needs to get back.”

I glance at Reeves as I say it, offering him the cleanest exit I can.

"Right?"

He hesitates, rubbing his hand along his jaw. The gesture is familiar enough that I recognize it instantly. Reeves always did that when he was thinking through something he hadn’t planned on.

“I mean,” he says slowly, “traffic heading back toward the city is probably rough right now anyway. But I definitely don't want to impose.”

He lets the thought hang there, unfinished.

"You should come, then." What else can I say right now, with him hedging and my son looking at me with that look?

“I could stick around a little while.”

It isn’t quite an answer. It isn’t a refusal either.

He’s watching me, waiting to see whether I close the door or open it wider.

I should definitely close it.

Instead of a quick meeting, we’re standing halfway up a sandy path while my son casually invites the man who broke my heart to dinner with my parents.

“My parents will be thrilled to see you,” I say before I can talk myself out of it.

It’s the polite thing to say. Whether or not they’ll actually be thrilled remains to be seen. The last time my parents talked about Reeves, they were under the impression he had disappeared without a word after finding out I was pregnant with his baby.

Twenty-four hours ago, I thought the same thing.

Reeves studies me for a moment, like he’s making sure I really mean it.

“I may not stay for dinner,” he says carefully. “But if you’re sure, it would be nice to say hello to them.”

Then he glances down at Benjy.

“And continue discussing our recon strategy, of course.”

He rests a hand on Benjy’s shoulder. A shudder runs through me.