Sarah’s worried about you, too. You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“This Ainsley. She’s the girl you threw Emma out of the car for talking about, isn’t she?”
When the family had made the annual trek back to Georgia after the disastrous summer, Ben and Emma had been driving in their car. Owen, Sarah, and the girls followed in theirs. Emma had so pestered Ben during one leg of the trip that he’d pulled over to the side of the road and gotten out of the car, furious that she wouldn’t leave matters be. His father, who was a few miles back, had caught the brunt of his anger after pulling the family car up behind Ben.
“Get her out of my car, Dad, or I’m going to strangle her.”
“It’s my car, too,” Emma protested.
Owen had separated them, making Amelia—who was less inclined to pry—ride the rest of the way to Savannah with her brother. Emma hadn’t talked to Ben for over a week, and Ben hadn’t minded that in the least.
He answered Owen’s question. “She is.”
Owen put his arm around Ben’s shoulders and squeezed. “We’re here if you need us.”
And that was all. He didn’t try to get Ben to confess or discuss his feelings. He just offered the unconditional support that Owen and Sarah had been giving all their children from day one.
Ben was so grateful for that love he couldn’t have opened his mouth and spoken if he had to. His family wasn’t perfect, but they were good. And good trumped perfect any day of the week.
Chapter Twelve
B en didn’t have to face the reality of Ainsley in the flesh immediately. The day after John had delivered his news, the family received word that Zanny’s estranged father had died. An over-the-road trucker, Dennis Franks was, in Ben’s humble opinion, a waste of humanity. The only good thing the man had ever done was produce Zanny.
The good news of the week was that John and Zanny seemed to have patched up their differences. She was working with Emma, helping manage the photography studio his sister had opened in town, and the independence had given Zanny the boost of confidence that she needed. She and John hadn’t officially reconciled, but Ben figured that was coming soon.
That left the little problem of what to do with Emma. Ben knew his twin was capable of taking care of herself and her baby, but he also knew doing it by herself was going to be harder on her than it needed to be. He had an idea of how to help her without stomping on her pride. When he heard about Dennis’s passing, he’d known John would be moving out of the house he shared with Emma and back into his own home. That would leave his sister alone and vulnerable. He’d picked up the phone up that evening and set the wheels in motion.
He told his boss what he needed the next day. “My grandmother is moving back to Kentucky from Georgia. The family doesn’t know. I need to fly out of Lexington and go get her, drive her back up here. I know that’s going to put you in a bad spot.”
“When are you going?”
“Next week. I’ll leave Wednesday or Thursday, and we’ll be back by the Fourth.”
Kyle hadn’t been happy, but he’d understood. “I can get my nephew to step in while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
With the exception of Rick, whom he’d coerced into driving him the two hours to the airport on Wednesday evening, Ben told the family only that he was going out of town for a few days. As his Nonny had said, he loved a surprise. This would probably be the biggest surprise he ever managed to pull off. Eliza Browning hadn’t been back to Kentucky since right after her husband, Ira, had died almost thirty years ago.
He took a taxi from the airport to Eliza’s house, arriving at half-past six Thursday morning. Despite the early hour, the light was on in her living room. She met him at the door.
“There’s my boy. Come here and let me hug you.”
She was a tiny little thing, at least compared to him. He sat down his bag and folded her
“Yeah.”
“This Ainsley. She’s the girl you threw Emma out of the car for talking about, isn’t she?”
When the family had made the annual trek back to Georgia after the disastrous summer, Ben and Emma had been driving in their car. Owen, Sarah, and the girls followed in theirs. Emma had so pestered Ben during one leg of the trip that he’d pulled over to the side of the road and gotten out of the car, furious that she wouldn’t leave matters be. His father, who was a few miles back, had caught the brunt of his anger after pulling the family car up behind Ben.
“Get her out of my car, Dad, or I’m going to strangle her.”
“It’s my car, too,” Emma protested.
Owen had separated them, making Amelia—who was less inclined to pry—ride the rest of the way to Savannah with her brother. Emma hadn’t talked to Ben for over a week, and Ben hadn’t minded that in the least.
He answered Owen’s question. “She is.”
Owen put his arm around Ben’s shoulders and squeezed. “We’re here if you need us.”
And that was all. He didn’t try to get Ben to confess or discuss his feelings. He just offered the unconditional support that Owen and Sarah had been giving all their children from day one.
Ben was so grateful for that love he couldn’t have opened his mouth and spoken if he had to. His family wasn’t perfect, but they were good. And good trumped perfect any day of the week.
Chapter Twelve
B en didn’t have to face the reality of Ainsley in the flesh immediately. The day after John had delivered his news, the family received word that Zanny’s estranged father had died. An over-the-road trucker, Dennis Franks was, in Ben’s humble opinion, a waste of humanity. The only good thing the man had ever done was produce Zanny.
The good news of the week was that John and Zanny seemed to have patched up their differences. She was working with Emma, helping manage the photography studio his sister had opened in town, and the independence had given Zanny the boost of confidence that she needed. She and John hadn’t officially reconciled, but Ben figured that was coming soon.
That left the little problem of what to do with Emma. Ben knew his twin was capable of taking care of herself and her baby, but he also knew doing it by herself was going to be harder on her than it needed to be. He had an idea of how to help her without stomping on her pride. When he heard about Dennis’s passing, he’d known John would be moving out of the house he shared with Emma and back into his own home. That would leave his sister alone and vulnerable. He’d picked up the phone up that evening and set the wheels in motion.
He told his boss what he needed the next day. “My grandmother is moving back to Kentucky from Georgia. The family doesn’t know. I need to fly out of Lexington and go get her, drive her back up here. I know that’s going to put you in a bad spot.”
“When are you going?”
“Next week. I’ll leave Wednesday or Thursday, and we’ll be back by the Fourth.”
Kyle hadn’t been happy, but he’d understood. “I can get my nephew to step in while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
With the exception of Rick, whom he’d coerced into driving him the two hours to the airport on Wednesday evening, Ben told the family only that he was going out of town for a few days. As his Nonny had said, he loved a surprise. This would probably be the biggest surprise he ever managed to pull off. Eliza Browning hadn’t been back to Kentucky since right after her husband, Ira, had died almost thirty years ago.
He took a taxi from the airport to Eliza’s house, arriving at half-past six Thursday morning. Despite the early hour, the light was on in her living room. She met him at the door.
“There’s my boy. Come here and let me hug you.”
She was a tiny little thing, at least compared to him. He sat down his bag and folded her
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