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She sat on the bed and keyed in her number. Beverly answered, slightly out of breath.
“Annie.”
“Yes, it’s me. Do you have time to talk?”
“I guess so. I’ve got plans this afternoon, but my ride doesn’t come for half an hour. What can I do for you?”
“Well, this is difficult, but I need to hear what you have to say. Stevie has marks and scratches on his back, and after a terrible night with Steve, who said he cried for twelve hours nonstop, Stevie said you hit him with his wobble board.”
She could hear labored breathing over the line but no response for at least a minute. Finally, she said, “I admit I spanked him. He was out of control, Annie, kicking and screaming. He didn’t want Steve to leave. I took it for half an hour, and then said this is ridiculous.”
“Did you hit him with his balance toy? And how did he get the scratches?”
“That’s not true. I used my open hand on his bottom. I probably scratched him when I grabbed the back of his shirt when he tried to get away from me. The kid is a brat, Annie. I warned Steve that if you can’t control him now at a year and a half, you’ve lost control forever.”
Biting her tongue, Annie was not going to get into a pissing match with Beverly Casson.
“Enjoy your day, Beverly,” she said.
“Oh, that’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it. I just wanted to get your side of the story.”
“Why do you have him already? Doesn’t Steve usually take him for the whole weekend?”
“He brought him home early because the child was brokenhearted and hadn’t stopped crying all night.”
“Surely you aren’t blaming me for that.”
“Yes, actually, I am. We’ve had the sheriff out and he’s filing a report. I felt it was only respectful to you to let you know.”
“You called the sheriff?”
“Yes, as soon as we saw his back. Some of the marks are starting to turn black and blue, Beverly.”
“I didn’t do that to him.”
“Well, you’d better call your son because he’s telling us it was you. I have to hang up now. Goodbye.”
With a racing heart rate, Annie sat there, trying to calm down. It wasn’t in her nature to be confrontational, but she’d never had to confront someone who had harmed her kid, either. She began to cry again and let it come. The last thing she wanted to do was be social at Maggie’s with everyone telling her what she should do. But she had a feeling that Chris wasn’t about to allow her to sit at home, either.
Out in the living room, Chris and Stevie were on the couch, playing with Matchbox cars. Chris looked up when she walked into the room.
“Well, that wasn’t fun,” she said.
“I bet. Any insight?”
“She admitted she had grabbed him by the back of the shirt and also that she spanked him, but not with the wobble board.”
“Do you believe her?” Chris asked.
Clenching her fists, Annie fought to stay calm.
“I’m not sure! I keep thinking about other times that she babysat for me and something was just off about him afterward. Even when he was an infant. I wonder if she was being mean to him then, too.”
The couple exchanged glances. Chris grabbed her hand and squeezed, winking at her.
“Okay, everybody ready to head to Bayou Cottage? I want to see the horses.”
