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“Nuh-uh. Keep walkin’.”
He grabs my bicep and moves me along. “Wait! I wanted to look at those.”
“Too bad. We’re not here to look at those.”
That’s a shame. He sure made an adorable kid. He opens the back screen door, and I spot a little woman kneeling and digging in the dirt.
“Hey, Mom.” She picks her nose up from the pot. Her smile barely reaches her eyes at his presence. “I thought you just replanted these the other week.”
“Well, they didn’t look right. What’s it to you?” she snaps, her eyes darting to me next to him. She fumbles with the trowel in her hand. Blinking rapidly, she nods at me. “What are you up to? Did you kidnap her?”
Ben looks over at me, then back to his mom. “Who? Makayla? Why would I kidnap her?”
“There’s no way someone as pretty as her came willingly with you. Honey, are you in trouble?”
“Mom—”
“Blink once if you’re in danger—”
“Mom! This is Makayla, my girlfriend.”
Heat blazes across my cheeks. I bite down on my lower lip to conceal my smile.
“Yeah, right. Any girl you’ve brought home has looked like you dragged her through the mud first. This one’s too pretty for you.”
A small giggle breaks from my lips. I step forward and stick out my hand. “Hi, Mrs. Wallace. I’m Makayla.”
She stands and wipes her dirty hands on her jeans. “Makayla,” she repeats, then looks over at Ben. “You used to know a Makayla. Always came home gripin’ about her. Man, did that one really get under my son’s skin. One would have thought he liked her.”
“Jesus,” Ben mumbles, and I can’t help but hiccup a laugh.
“Well, she sounds like a great girl.”
She shakes my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m his mom, but you can call me Patricia. I was starting to wonder about this one.”
We both look over at Ben, who’s sporting a handsome scowl. “Oh, he’s doing just fine. I’m making sure to keep him in line.”
His mother’s brow raises. “If that’s the case, welcome to the family. He hasn’t been able to be tamed since his daddy. . . since his daddy died.” Her playful smile vanishes as quickly as it appeared. “Well, I’ve got a lot of work to do here, so if you’ll excuse me.”
“Mom—”
“These flowers aren’t gonna plant themselves—”
“Mom! We came over to—”
“I’d like to help. If you don’t mind.” Both turn to gape at me. “I used to plant flowers with my mom before she died. She taught me a few things.” Ben eyes me warily. “Why don’t you go find some old photo albums for me to look at? Ones of you with braces and pimples. We’ll be fine out here.”
His mom chuckles beside me. I nod, letting him know it’s okay. He’s hesitant but gives in. “Hard no on the photo albums, but I’ll see what I can do about some lemonade.” I smile up at him. Leaning in, he places a delicate kiss on the tip of my nose and turns to his mom. “No stories of when I was a kid, got it? She doesn't need any more ammo.”
His mom shrugs in a way that saysfat chance, and I know I’m about to fill up my Ben Wallace blackmail bank. Ben walks back into the house, and I turn around, suddenly nervous. “So, where do we start?”
She kneels back in the spot where we found her. “You and your mom used to do this?”
“Yeah,” I say, taking the potted plant she hands me. “She always said it was good to understand all life. That beauty came from all things.”
“Smart mother.”
I gaze at her and smile. “Yeah, she was. She loved flowers. Loved the colors, the smell. She even loved the dirt.” I take the flower and place it in the hole she dug.
