Nothing Stays In Vegas (32 page)

"It's true. It's very special here."

"So, tell me about you. Mom said you were married and you have a son."

"I do have a little boy, Ben," I said avoiding the rest of the statement. "He's outside looking at those puppies."

"Oh, you have to take one," Enid exclaimed. "They're so cute, but I can't handle any more animals. Seth, my husband, would take in any stray he could, and he does. But when his latest refugee had puppies, I drew the line. I just can't. But they are cute, aren't' they?" She smiled.

"They are," I agreed laughing.

"Then take one. Every boy needs a dog," she said then paused. "Assuming you can have one in the city. Do you have a yard? Dogs need room to run. So I suppose if you don't have a yard, you really shouldn't take a puppy, I mean-"

"I was actually thinking about staying out at the lake for a while." I interrupted.

"Really? You mean to live or for a long holiday?" she said, the subject of the puppy forgotten. For now.

I picked up a can of soup and pretended to examine it before putting it in my cart. "Well, maybe to live. Things are a bit mixed up at home right now."

I filled her in on Uncle Ray's heart attack. She'd known him too, and knew what a good man he was. We hugged, but I kept the tears at bay. I didn't tell her the details, but mentioned that I was separated from Andrew and I needed a change. Thankfully she didn't pry. 

"Well, I'm glad you're back," Enid said. "I'm just sorry it's under such sad circumstances. But, if there was ever a place to feel better and heal from life's troubles, it's Lake Lillian." 

I sure hoped so, but I didn't say it out loud. Instead I asked, "Enid, do you know who I would talk to about enrolling Ben in school? I don't know yet how long I'm going to stay, but he's supposed to start grade one this year, so I should at least look into it."

"I don't know what to tell you. Classes start in a few weeks, but things are a bit of a mess at the elementary school at the moment. I heard the gossip because Seth's a teacher over at the high school." 

My mind caught on something. Hadn't Uncle Ray mentioned something about a teaching job?

"There doesn't happen to be a job opening at the school, is there?" It didn't hurt to ask after all. 

"How did you know?" Enid asked and her face fell. She'd been looking forward to telling me the gossip.

"Uncle Ray said your dad mentioned it awhile back," I said. "But I don't know why."

"Well, let me tell you," she said and her face lit up again as she launched into the story. "It seems there was a bit of an indiscretion between some of the staff this summer. One of the grade four teachers was caught in a compromising position with Principal Henderson during the dance at the summer festival. They were, um, doing it in the coat room." 

I stifled a smiled.

"I guess it wouldn't be such a big deal, but the principal is married and it was the head of the PTA, Patty, that discovered them. Well, Patty went right out to the dance and up on the stage. She grabbed the microphone and announced what she'd seen right in front of everyone. Of course, Mrs. Henderson was there and heard everything. And when the offenders came out of the coatroom with their clothes and hair all out of place, well, I don't think I need to tell you what happened."

"No, tell me," I said trying to hold back laughter. It sounded like a scene out of a bad eighties movie. 

"Nothing really very exciting actually," Enid admitted. "Mrs. Henderson agreed to forget it ever happened as long as the woman in question left. She did. So now we're down a teacher and my girlfriend who teaches grade two is not too happy about it because she says everyone else has to cover the space. There isn't really a whole lot of teachers who want to move to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere."

Except me. I thought. 

"So who would I talk to about getting the job?"

She looked at me. "Seriously?"

"I am going to need money somehow and you know what they say about timing..."

"Timing is everything," Enid said. "It's like it was meant to be." Her round face broke into a wide grin. "I'll call Seth and get the information right away," she said and disappeared to the back room. 

The store was pretty quiet, with just a few customers coming in and out, so I finished up my shopping, checking every few minutes to see that Ben was still playing on the porch with the puppies. It was going to be hard to tell him no, but I didn't think we could deal with one more change right now. Maybe in a few months. I wouldn't say no. Just, not right now. I threw in a bag of Ben's favorite chocolate candies and went to the till.

Enid was ringing up the purchases for a lady I didn't recognize when I got to the till. 

"I'm sure it's fine, Mrs. Beaumont," Enid was saying to her.

"Is everything okay?" I said interrupting the conversation.

The woman looked at me; her face was screwed up in disproval. "No, it most certainly is not," she said. "There's another city slicker at the Inn trying to swindle poor old Dex, and I don't like it one bit."

"Mrs. Beaumont," Enid said as she bagged the woman's purchases. "You can't assume that he's there to swindle Dex. Maybe he's a guest at the Inn."

"At the Inn?" I asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Beaumont said she saw a rental car parked out front and a suave, dark haired young man talking to Dex on the back deck."

I froze and the blood drained from my face. 

Leo. 

I wanted to rush out of the store and find him. Hug him and let him hold me. I looked out to the porch and looked at Ben. No, I couldn't see Leo yet. 

"Are you okay, Lexi?" Enid asked. "You don't look good all of a sudden."

"He's there to try and rob Dex out of his Inn and his memory of Jessie, no doubt," Mrs. Beaumont said. 

"I'm fine," I told Enid ignoring the other woman. "But I really should go. Ben's waiting for me."

"Sure, no problem," Enid said. "Mrs. Beaumont, please don't worry. Do you need help out with these?"

"No, no, I'm fine. But I just don't know about that poor old Dex," she muttered as she took her bags and headed out of the store.

I tried to listen to Enid's chatter as she rang in my groceries but I couldn't focus. Enid promised to get me the information about the school and after paying her, I carried everything to the trunk of the car and called to Ben. 

"But the puppy?" he asked.

"You know what, buddy? Maybe next time," I said. "First we need to talk about something."

I was surprised, but thankful when Ben put the puppy he was holding back in the box and got in the car. 

We drove back to the cabin in silence. There was a suave, dark man at the Inn. Leo. I glanced at Ben in the rearview mirror. 

I couldn't put it off any longer.

###

I knew I had to talk to Ben. It was time to tell him about Leo. But I was chicken. After a simple dinner of burgers on the grill and oven fries, I sat on my swing and watched Ben try to skip rocks into the flat lake. Uncle Ray had tried without much success to teach him last summer, but he was too little to understand that he had to pick flat rocks and throw them at just the right angle. Ben seemed intent on perfecting the skill now. 

After watching his efforts for a few minutes I called out, "Ben." He turned towards me. "Can you come here for a minute?"

He threw his handful of rocks into the water all at once and ran up the lawn at full speed, which is the only speed little boys know. Fortunately he slowed before he jumped onto the swing with me. 

"Hey, buddy," I said and pulled him close. "How're you doing?"

"I miss Papa. He should be here."

"I know." I stroked his silky hair and felt him relax against me.

"He's not coming, is he?

Tears burned my eyes. "No, baby. He's not coming back."

I looked out at the lake. It was reflecting the vibrant oranges and pinks from the setting sun and a few stars had already popped out over the mountains in the darkening sky. 

"Sara Beth says he's watching us. Is he?" Ben asked.

A tear pushed free and slid down my cheek. "Yes, I'd like to believe that he's watching over us."

"Is he now?"

"I think so."

"Maybe he's a star, Mom." Ben's arm wiggled out from the blanket and pointed to the three stars that had appeared over the mountains, brighter now. 

"I think you're right, Ben. See the one on the right? The brightest one?"

He nodded.

"I think that one's Papa, and the two next to it," I spoke through my tears, tasting the saltiness. "Those are my mom and dad, your grandparents."

"Cool," Ben said

"Very cool." I wiped my face and smiled. 

Together we watched the sun disappear behind the mountains and soon, the rest of the sky filled with stars in a display never seen in the city.

After a few minutes of silence Ben said, "You know what, Mom?"

"What's that?"

"This is the perfect spot for Papa and Grandma and Grandpa to watch us. I don't think they could see us in the city."

"Even if we can't see the stars, they're still there, Ben."

"But I can't see them," he said his voice took on an edge of panic. He turned so he was facing me. "I want to see them. Can we stay?"

"You want to live here?"

He nodded. "Can we?"

I looked into his dark eyes. Leo's eyes. "I think we could stay. At least for a bit."

He flung his arms around me and squeezed me tight. When he let go I told him about the elementary school in town and that I might be able to teach there while he went to grade one.

"What about Dad? Will he come?"

And there it was. The moment that could no longer be avoided.

"No," I said. "Dad will stay in the city."

"He has to work, right? Dad likes to work," Ben said with the honest acceptance only a child possessed. 

"Ben, what would you say if I told you that you have two dads?" I swallowed hard and waited.

"Does the other dad work lots?" 

"Does it matter?"

Ben shrugged. "I guess not."

"So, would it be okay?"

"I guess."

I waited for him to say something else. When he didn't, I said, "Well, you're a lucky boy because you do have two dads, and someday very soon I'm going to introduce him to you, okay? He really wants to meet you."

"Okay."

I shouldn't have been surprised by Ben's nonchalance. He didn't understand it yet. He probably wouldn't for a few more years. I hadn't discussed with Andrew how I would handle this situation and I'm not sure he cared all that much. Despite everything, I knew Andrew must care for Ben, even if it wasn't the way I always wished it was, and no matter what, I knew he would be part of Ben's life in some way.   

I rocked us in the chair and when Ben's breathing changed to slow, rhythmic breaths, I kept the chair swinging, enjoying the weight of him next to me too much to stop. When I saw the flicker of a shadow move next to the tree line I didn't panic. The woods were full of creatures; it was probably a raccoon, a rabbit or even a deer settling in for the night. But when the shadow stepped out onto the lawn and into the square of light coming from the window of the house, my breath caught in my throat, but not because I was scared.

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Lexi, I-"

"Ssh." I held my finger to my lips and gestured to my lap. "Stay right there." I slid out from Ben's sleeping body and lifted him in my arms. It was harder now, he wasn't a toddler anymore, but I managed to carry him into his bed. I took off his shoes and jeans; he could sleep in his t-shirt. I gave him a kiss on the forehead and pulled the blankets up over him. Closing the door gently behind him, I straightened my blouse and went outside to talk to my son's father.

Leo wasn't where I'd left him. He'd moved to the dock and was standing at the end looking out into the blackness of the lake. 

"Leo?" I spoke softly so I didn't spook him.

When he turned around, my first instinct was to run to him and let him hold me. My body had craved his touch since I'd left him. But I held myself back and wrapped my arms around my body. 

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he said.

"You didn't. I knew you were here."

His face was mostly covered in shadows, but I could make out a sliver of a smile from the light coming from the house. 

"It's a pretty small town," I said by way of explanation. "Word is, you're here to swindle Dex out of the Inn."

"Is that right?" His voice was light and for a moment I forgot everything between us. Everything we still needed to figure out. He moved towards me but stopped only inches from me. "I missed you," he said, his voice deeper now. 

"I'm sorry that-"

"Don't be sorry. You had a lot to deal with. I'm sorry. I should've come sooner. I'll never forgive myself for not being here with you."

I couldn't help it. I didn't want to, but I did. I started crying again. Just having Leo near had released the flood of emotions I'd done my best to keep bottled up.

"I asked you not to come," I said between sobs.

"Hey," he said. "Come here." Leo stepped forward and wrapped me in his arms. It felt good to be close to him. He smelt like coffee and wood smoke, like he'd been sitting in front of a campfire. I nestled my face into his sweater and let the tears flow. He rubbed my back but didn't say another word. He let me cry and didn't rush me while I exhausted my emotion. Finally, the tears slowed and I pulled away just enough to look at him. 

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"For that. I needed to do that."

"I was going to ask how you're holding up with everything, but I don't think I need to." He wiped a tear from my cheek and the gesture was so gentle and intimate I thought I might start to cry again.

"Come on," I said, "let's sit." I took his hand and led him off the dock, across the lawn to the deck. Once we were in the light I could see his face clearly and the resemblance to Ben struck me again.

He sat in a wooden chair. I grabbed my blanket from the swing and sat across from him, turning my back to the lake.