"Then I'd leave, and you'd never hear from me again."
The comment hung in the air, pregnant with meaning. She shifted on the couch, turning away in apparent disgust before swiveling her face back toward him.
"You wouldn't even call? After all we've been through?" she sniffed. "I can't believe that."
Relief swept through him when he realized she was teasing. He exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath, and grinned.
"If that's what it took for you to believe I'm not a psycho."
"I think that's pathetic. A guy should at least call." He scooted imperceptibly closer on the couch. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You do realize that you're not going to be able to tell this story if you intend to live around here."
He slid even closer, noticeably this time. "I can live with that."
"And if you expect a raise just because you're dating the boss's granddaughter, you can forget that, too."
"I'll make do."
"I don't know how. You don't even have a car."
By then he had sidled up next to her, and she'd turned back to h hair just brushing his shoulder. He leaned in and kissed him: herneck. "I'll figure something out," he whispered, before pressing his lips to hers.
They kissed on the couch for a long time. When he finally carried her to the bedroom, they made love, their bodies together as one. Their exchange was passionate and angry and forgiving, as raw and tender as their emotions. Afterward, Thibault lay on his side, gazing at Elizabeth. He brushed her cheek with his finger, and she kissed it.
"I guess you can stay," she whispered.
Chapter 34
Clayton
Clayton stared at the house in disbelief, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He blinked repeatedly to clear his vision, but he still saw the same things: Beth's car in the driveway, the couple kissing on the couch, Thigh-bolt leading her to the bedroom.
Beth and Thigh-bolt together. With every passing minute, he felt stronger waves of anger cresting and crashing inside him. His perfect plans, all of them, up in smoke. And Thigh-bolt would forever have him over a barrel.
He pressed his lips together in a tight line. He was tempted to storm in on them, but then there was the damn dog. Again. It had been hard enough already, following them through his binoculars from his car without being noticed.
Thigh-bolt. The dog. Beth…
He banged the steering wheel. How could this have happened? Hadn't Beth heard what he'd said? Didn't she understand how much danger she was in? Didn't she care about Ben?
No way was that psycho going to be part of his son's life.
Not a chance.
Not on his life.
He should have expected this. He should have known how stupid Beth would be.She might be pushing thirty, but she had the intelligence of a child. He should have known that she'd see in Thigh-bolt whatever she wanted to see and ignore the obvious.
It would come to an end, though. Sooner rather than later He'd make her see the light, no matter what it took.
Chapter 35
Thibault
After kissing Elizabeth good-bye at the door, Thibault collapsed on the sofa, feeling both drained and relieved. He reveled in the knowledge that Elizabeth had forgiven him. That she'd tried to understand and make sense of the convoluted journey he'd taken ro get here seemed nothing short of miraculous. She accepted him, warts and all-something he'd never thought possible.
Before she left, she'd invited him for dinner, and though he'd readily agreed, he planned to rest up before he went. He somehow doubted that he'd have the energy for conversation otherwise.
Before his nap, he knew he needed to take Zeus out, at least for a little while. He went to the back porch and retrieved his rain suit. Zeus followed him outside, watching him with interest.
"Yeah, we're going out," he said. "Just let me get dressed first."
Zeus barked and leapt with excitement, like a prancing deer. He raced to the door and back to Thibault again.
"I'm going as fast as I can. Relax."
Zeus continued to circle and prance around him.
"Relax," he said again. Zeus fixed him with a beseeching gaze before reluctantly sitting.
Thibault donned the rain suit and a pair of boots, then pushed open the screen door. Zeus bounded out into the rain, immediately sinking into the muddy ground. Unlike Nana's place, his property occupied a slight rise; the water collected a quarter mile away. Up ahead, Zeus veered toward the forest, then back to the open area again, then circled around to the graveled driveway, running and bounding in sheer joy. Thibault smiled, thinking, I know exactly how you feel.
They spent a few minutes outside, wandering in the storm. The sky had turned charcoal, heavy with rain-burdened clouds. The wind had picked up again, and Thibault could feel the water stinging his face as it blew sideways. It didn't matter; for the first time in years, he felt truly free.
At the base of the driveway, he noted that Elizabeth's tire tracks had nearly washed away. In a few more minutes, the rain would smooth them away completely. Something snagged his attention, though, and he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. His first thought was that the tires that had left the tracks seemed too wide.
He walked over for a closer look, reasoning that the set of tracks she'd left going out had probably overlapped the set coming in. It was only when he stood at the edge of the drive that he realized he'd been mistaken. There were two sets of tracks, both leading in and out. Two vehicles. At first, it didn't make sense.
His mind began to click quickly as the puzzle pieces slid into place. Someone else had been here. That didn't make sense, unless…
He glanced toward the path that led through the forest to the kennel. At that moment, the wind and rain unleashed in full fury, and he squinted before his breath caught in his throat. All at once he took off at a nan, making sure to pace himself. His mind raced as he ran, calculating how long it would take to get there. He hoped he would make it in time.
Chapter 36
Beth
As fate would have it, Nana was in the kennel office when Keith stormed into the house and closed the door behind him, acting as if he owned the place. Even from the kitchen, Beth could see the veins on his neck protruding. His hands balled into fists when his eyes locked on hers.
When he marched through the living room, Beth felt some' thing give way inside her; fear filled its place. Never once had she seen him like this, and she backed away, following the angles of the cabinets. Keith surprised her by stopping at the entrance to the kitchen. He smiled, but his expression was off somehow, a grotesque and demented caricature of what it was supposed to be.
"Sorry for barging in like this," he said with exaggerated courtesy, "but we need to talk."
"What are you doing here? You can't just walk in here-"
"Cooking dinner, huh?" he said. "I remember when you used to cook dinner for me."
"Get out, Keith," she said, her voice hoarse.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said, looking at her as if she didn't know what she was talking about. He motioned toward the chair. "Why don't you sit down?"
"I don't want to sit down," she whispered, hating how frightened she sounded. "I want you to leave."
"That's not going to happen," he said. He smiled again, but It was no better than his first attempt. There was a vacancy in his gaze she'd never seen before. She felt her heartbeat speed up.
"Would you get me a beer, please?" he asked. "It's been a long day at the office, if you know what I mean."
She swallowed, afraid to look away. "I don't have any more."
He nodded, glancing around the kitchen before fixing his gaze on her again. He pointed. "I see one right there, by the stove. There's got to be another one somewhere. You mind if I check the fridge?" He didn't wait for an answer. He walked to the fridge and opened it before reaching for the bottom shelf. He came out with a bottle. "Found one," he crowed. He looked at her as he opened it. "Guess you were mistaken, huh?" He took a long pull and winked.
She forced herself to stay calm. "What do you want, Keith?"
"Oh, you know. Just wanted to catch up. See if there's anything I should know."
"Know about what?" she asked, her stomach clenching. "About Thigh-bolt," he said.
She ignored the mangling of the name. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He took another drink, swishing the beer in his mouth as he nodded. He swallowed, the sound loud. "Driving over here, that's what I thought you might say," he said, sounding almost conversational. "But I know you better than you think I do." He gestured at her with his beer bottle. "There was a time there when I wasn't sure I knew you at all, but that's changed in the past few years. Raising a son together really bonds a couple, don't you think?"
She didn't respond.
"That's why I'm here, you know. Because of Ben. Because I want the best for him, and right now, I'm not sure you're thinking all that clearly about things."
He stepped toward her and took another long pull of his beer. The bottle was already nearly empty. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before going on. "See, I've been thinking that you and I haven't always had the best relationship. That's not good for Ben. He needs to know that we still get along. That we're still close friends. Don't you think that's an important lesson to teach him? That even if your parents get divorced, they can still be friends?"
She didn't like the sound of his rambling monologue, but she was afraid to cut him off. This was a different Keith Clayton… a dangerous one.
"I think it's important," he continued. He took another step toward her. "In fact, I can't think of anything more important."
"Just stay back," she said.
"I don't think so," he scolded her. "You haven't been thinking all that clearly in the last couple of days."
As he neared, she slid farther down the bank of counters, trying to keep him in front of her.
"Don't come any closer. I'm warning you."
He kept closing the distance, staring at her with those vacant eyes. "See what I mean? You're acting like you think I'm going to hurt you. I'd never, ever hurt you. You should know that about me."
"You're crazy."
"No, I'm not. A little angry, maybe, but not crazy." When he smiled again, the vacancy in his eyes vanished and her stomach did a flip-flop. He went on. "Do you know that even after all you've put me through, I still think you're beautiful?"
She didn't like where this was going. Not at all. By then, she'd reached the corner, with no place left to go. "Just leave, okay! Ben's upstairs and Nana will be back in a minute-"
"All I want is a kiss. Is that such a big deal?"
She wasn't sure she'd heard him right. "A kiss?" she parroted.
"For now," he said. "That's all. Just for old times' sake. Then I'll go. I'll walk right out of here. I promise."
"I'm not going to kiss you," she said, stunned.
By then, he was standing before her. "You will," he said. "And you'll do more, later. But for now, a kiss is fine."
She arched her back, trying to keep away. "Please, Keith. I don't want this. I don't want to kiss you."
'You'll get over it," he said. When he leaned in, she turned away. He took hold of her upper arms. As he moved his lips toward her ear, Beth could feel her heart begin to hammer.
"You're hurting me!" she gasped.
"Here's the thing, Beth," he whispered. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck. "If you don't want to kiss me, that's fine. I'll accept that. But I've decided that I want to be a little more than friends."
"Get out!" she hissed, and with a laugh, Keith let her go.
"Sure," he said. He took a step back. "No problem. I'll leave. But I should let you know what's going to happen if we don't work something out."
"Just leave!" she shouted.
"I think we should go on a… date every now and then. And I'm not going to take no for an answer."
The way he said "date" made her skin crawl. Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"After all, I warned you about Thigh-bolt," he added, "but where were you today? At his place." He shook his head. "That was a big mistake. You see, it's pretty easy for me to make a case that he stalked you and that he's obsessive. Both of those things make him dangerous, but you're obviously ignoring it. And that makes it dangerous for Ben to be forced to live with you."
His expression was neutral. Beth was paralyzed by his words. "I'd hate to have to go to the courts and tell them what you're doing, but I will. And I'm sure they'll grant me full Custody this time.”
"You wouldn't," she whispered.
"I will Unless." His obvious enjoyment as he spoke made it, much more horrifying. He paused, letting it sink in, before speaking like a professor again. "Let me make sure you understand. First, you tell Thigh-bolt that you never want to see him again. Then you ask him to leave town. And after that, we'll go out. For old times' sake. It's either that, or Ben's going to live with me."
"I'm not going to live with you!" a small voice shouted from the kitchen doorway.
Beth looked past Keith to see Ben, his expression horrified. Ben started to back away. "I'm not going to do it!"
Ben turned and ran, slamming the front door behind htm as he raced into the storm.
Chapter 37
Clayton
Beth tried to force her way past Clayton, but he reached for her arm again.
"We're not done yet," he growled. He wasn't going to let her leave without making sure she understood. "He ran outside!"
"He'll be fine. I want to make sure you're clear on how things are going to go with us."
Beth didn't hesitate, slapping him across the face with her free hand, and he recoiled. When he let go, she pushed him backward with all her might, sensing that he was still off balance.
"Get the hell out!" she screamed. As soon as he steadied his feet, she slammed him in the chest again. "I am so sick of you and your family telling me what I can and can't do, and I'm not going to put up with it anymore!"