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“You swim?”
“Yes.”
He smiled. “The more I talk to you, the more I like you. Right, Ben?”
He grumbled.
Odell said, “He’s not going to agree because it’ll prove he’s wrong as always.”
Ben groused. “We come here to fish or listen to you jabber?”
“Both,” Odell said proudly.
The two shared an easiness that made Regan wonder how long they’d been friends. Determined to show Ben she wanted to know him better, she asked, “How long have you and Mr. Odell been friends, Mr. Lee?”
“Why do you care?” he asked coldly.
Regan drew back as if slapped. “My apology.”
Determined not to show her hurt, she pasted on a smile just as Colt snapped, “He’s the one who should be apologizing.”
Ben rolled his eyes dismissively and asked again, “We fishing, or not?”
Anna looked between the two warring men and cried unhappily, “Granpa, please don’t be mean to Miss Regan. If you make her go away she won’t be my mama anymore.” There were tears in her eyes.
Regan’s heart broke. She knelt and spoke to her as gently as she could. “It’s okay, honey. Nothing he can do will make me go away. I promise. Come, let’s go dig for worms.”
“Worms!”
Regan nodded. Ignoring Ben and the sting to her spirit, she nodded thanks to her husband and led Anna down to the bank.
Colt watched them go and once they were out of earshot, he asked Ben, “Happy?”
His grandfather didn’t respond.
“Anna adores Regan, and I’ll not have my daughter living in fear that her new mama will leave because of you. If you don’t think you can respect Regan as my wife and as Anna’s mother, you shouldn’t come back to the house.”
Ben showed his surprise. “You don’t mean that.”
“If I’m forced to choose between Anna’s feelings and yours, hers will win every time.”
Watching the exchange, Odell advised sagely, “Change your ways, old man, before you wind up alone. You’ve already lost Spring; don’t lose Colt and Anna, too. I’m going to join the worm hunt. You coming, Colt?”
“Yes. Think about what I said, Ben.”
They left him alone.
Colt and Odell found Regan on her knees using a small trowel to dig into the bank. Anna was watching warily.
“I found one, Anna!” Regan cried, and held up a large brown earthworm. “Do you want to hold it?”
“No!” she said, shrinking back.
Regan placed the worm in one of the small baskets and held it out. “Come see. I won’t make you touch it, but it’s fun to watch them wiggling around.”
Colt could tell by his daughter’s skeptical expression that this wasn’t what she deemed fun. “How about you and I look together?” he asked her.
She gave a quick nod. He took her hand and walked her closer. Anna peered in and eyed the worm silently. It was twisting and turning as it tried to burrow to freedom.
