The Truth About Mallory Bain (33 page)

“Started in how?”

“Coming on to me. She had invented this elaborate fantasy and believed her delusions too much to let go. She wanted to replace you. Like anybody ever could.”

My stomach hardened. A flash of anger spread through me. As much as I wanted to hear more about Dana, I needed a change in subject or I'd explode from rage.

“Tell me what happened to Brian Hayes.”

“I moved back to Canada to escape Dana. I guess Hayes never renewed the lease. We had two months left on it. My dad lent me my share of the rent for June and July to help out Brian. It would've been unfair to stick him with all of the rent for two months, eh?” I stepped back to take in the man's face Dana cheated me out of seeing.

“She did one helluva job splitting us up,” said Ben. “I guess she figured if she couldn't have me then no one would, especially you.”

“She was our friend,
my
friend.” In that moment, I realized Lance and Ronnie's suspicions were true. “She still wants me gone. That hasn't changed.”

“You're not going anywhere, babe. Not this time.” He cupped my face in his hands and thumbed away my tears. “So help me, you will never hurt like this again.” He held me close and nestled his lips against my ear. “After I believed you left me, I packed up and went to my sister's.”

“I remember her, but I forgot their last name.”

“Bowe.”

I laughed a little. “How simple. Amazing I forgot.”

“You need to know what she did back then.” He held me at arm's length and looked into my face. “Dana bought me gifts that I dumped in the trash, even ones that cost a few bucks. She showed up at Beth's all hours, day and night. I had no interest in anybody, definitely not her. I wanted you back so much I couldn't think straight.”

“You went home to Canada.”

“To live with my parents. The miles and a different country made it tougher on her to get to me.”

“Staying here was obviously out.”

“It was. I moved a few times after she'd found me again. Stalking. Watching everything I did. Where I went. Hard to prove when I only caught a glimpse of her behind the wheel of a car driving by or standing on a street corner.”

“That's sick.”

“Big-time sick. I finished my education in Manitoba and ended up in Pullman, Washington, where I worked in sports rehab until a few months ago.”

Caleb dropped his bike and ran to me. He stretched to rest his fingertips against my cheek. “Mommy.”

“It's okay, baby. Nothing's wrong. Not anymore.”

Caleb whispered, “He's the man who asked Pam if the house was on fire.”

“Of course he did, because he is a nice man.”

“You hugged him.” He touched my chin. “You were crying.”

I stooped down and pulled him into my arms. “I was crying because I'm happy.” I let him step back. “But Caleb sweetie, we need to talk about—”

Ben interrupted. “What did you call him?”

“Caleb.”

He studied Caleb's face. “Whose boy is he?”

“Yours. Ours.” I grinned. “Chad never knew your middle name.”

Ben rested his palm against his forehead.

I stood up beside him. His eyes filled with tears and he pulled me close.

“Forgive me. Mallory, I am truly sorry I told you what she called you. I never should have repeated such a thing. I thought he was Chad's son. I was angry. I am so, so sorry.”

He studied his son's face and smiled. “Caleb. Now that I see you up close, I see how you do look a lot like me.” He turned to me. “I suspected you might be pregnant when you got sick and passed out. That was my reason for wanting to talk with your dad right away. Wish we'd talked about it.”

“I wasn't sure if I was, and I was scared.” He once loved me, and I hoped he could love me again.

I turned to Caleb, whose innocent expression made what I had to say next difficult. “Honey, sometimes grownups tell real bad lies. Terrible lies.”

“She's right, pal. Somebody lied to your mom and me a long time ago, before you were born. They told your mom I was dead.”

“You aren't dead,” said Caleb. “That was a hor-ri-ble lie.”

I brushed Caleb's hair off his forehead. “The worst. You know who this man is?”

Caleb grinned ear to ear. “My dad. Ben Holland.”

“He knows me,” said Ben.

I nodded to both of them.

Ben picked him up and cradled him against his hip. “You must be about six, eh?”

“I turn seven January eighteen.”

“You're in school already.”

“First grade. Gavin's in my class. We like dinosaurs.”

“No kidding. Me, too. T-Rex, raptors, Triceratops?”

Caleb grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Oh, yeah! And the long-neck guys!”

“Caleb, I never knew you were born. If I had, I'd have searched the ends of the earth to find you.”

Caleb bobbed his head. “Uh-huh.”

“That person who lied said your Mom didn't love me anymore, when your mom really did.” Ben pulled me close again with his free hand. “She and I will fix this for you, pal. We promise.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my cheek against his. He smelled good, a mix of salty scented soap and fresh air.

“There is nothing preventing me from fixing this the way we intended in the first place,” he whispered to me.

I beamed with happiness. “And nothing preventing me.”

“Then we never had to live with creepy, mean Chad,” said Caleb. “We coulda been a family when I was a baby.”

My heart nearly exploded with love. Our son had already made the transition. He readily accepted Ben as his father.

“Creepy, mean Chad?” Ben whispered in my ear.

I straightened the twisted sleeve on Caleb's jacket. “Creepy is misleading. He's been using creepy words lately because
Halloween is coming. But the past three years, especially the last two—not good.”

Caleb bobbed his head. “He ran over my bike on purpose. He wrecked it bad but Mom got me a new one when she sold the washer.”

“I hope Chad isn't here.”

I shook my head into his shoulder. “We're divorced. He stayed in Memphis and hopes we stay here.”

“You bet you will.” Ben shook his head. “It's hard to believe what she's done.”

“She almost got away with it,” I added.

“She left my family with a monster and me stumbling through life without them for seven years.” He blew out a heavy breath. “I cannot begin to sort this out and I can't let it go. There has to be a law . . .” his voice trailed.

“I doubt there's a law to protect innocent young adults from bald-faced liars.”

I hoped he wouldn't make any threats against Dana in front of Caleb, not that Ben had ever been vengeful. People change. As much as I loved him, reason reminded me to be cautious.

I stroked his hair. “You called us your family.”

He chuckled. “Having a family was our plan before she broke us up. I hadn't given you your ring but we were engaged.” He kissed me again, and then leaned back. “I saved your ring, like part of me knew I'd be needing it.”

“Good thing, because you will. You must be living close. We see you on your bike all the time.”

Ben chuckled. “Believe it or not, I'm staying with Jack Grant. He moved back last spring. He's housesitting for his sister and it's close to his parents.”

“I thought they were in Iowa.”

“That was temporary. They stayed less than a year. When I told Jack I wanted to move back, he offered me a place to stay until I settled in.”

“Ever a wife?”

“None for Jack. Almost one for me.” Ben uttered a slight laugh. “Which is why I moved to Pullman. She actually did run off with another guy, like what our former friend said about you. I've always loved you, Mallory, even when I thought you hated me.”

“I never hated you. I've always loved you and always will.” I turned my head upward. “And I am really glad you are not dead.”

He grinned. “Not as much as me.”

I considered Ben's pain after two women rejected him and how Lance had felt when his brother's wife jilted him. Chad definitely had his counterparts.

“Are you guys gonna keep huggin' and smoochin'?” Caleb asked with a wrinkled nose and a giggle. “I gotta get my bike.”

“Smoochin'!” Ben chuckled and set Caleb back down. “Go on. Get your bike.” Standing arm in arm, we watched our son run for his bike laying at the edge of the King's front yard.

“He's a cool kid,” Ben grinned. “You're doing great with him.”

“Thank you. He is adjusting in spite of the problems I created when I married Chad.”

“When he falls asleep tonight, you tell me about creepy, mean Chad. But first, we need to decide what to do about Dana.”

“She married Erik.”

“What a mess Eeyore got himself into.”

I shook my head. “Lying is only one of her sins. Wait until I tell you what's been happening.”

Our son walked his bike ahead us. Ben picked up the portable compressor and unplugged it from my car. I stored it back in the trunk. He then set my bike upright and started rolling it up the driveway.

“Grant and I know nothing about anybody,” he said.

“Nice you stayed friends.”

“And you've kept in touch with Jack Harwood.”

“Not him. The last I saw Harwood was the morning after our cookout.”

“There were a lot of cars parked here one Sunday afternoon. I was riding home and I swore Harwood was standing by the side
porch looking at the kitchen door. I stopped to talk, but he walked into your backyard. The front door opened and you were coming outside, so I took off.”

I tried recalling if any of the men that Sunday resembled Jack.

“You didn't see Jack. My cousin Will, maybe.”

“Sure looked like Harwood. You still talk to Ronnie?”

“Now I do. She was living in Boston until last spring. She moved back after her divorce.”

“You should have tried to find Grant. He would have told you I was alive.”

“We just found his Chicago address, but we hadn't gotten any further.” I'd tell Ben about Lance later. I kept my end of the conversation simple for the time being. “I went to your apartment in early June after your graduation. You probably had moved back to Canada already. The place was for rent.”

“Which means Brian skipped out on the lease and pocketed my cash.”

“The guy was a jerk.”

“Never said he wasn't, but had he been there, he'd have told you where to find me.”

My heart sank at how close I'd come to learning the truth had I found Brian or Jack Grant. Had I stayed in Minneapolis with Mom and Dad, I might have run into Jack Grant's parents or his sister. Caleb and I could have avoided the misery of Chad.

“The building manager had no clue what had happened to you or your belongings,” I said. “He ignored me when I asked about Brian, but he felt awful you were dead.”

“I had my things sent home and my diploma mailed to me. I imagine life got tough for you after I supposedly died.”

“It did.” I felt ashamed, embarrassed, but I refused to lie. “Dana insisted I call Chad right away. I think she had already told him, because he didn't sound all that surprised. He got on a plane and came here.”

“He saw his chance with me out of the way.”

“He offered friendship, Ben. He kept me from falling apart. For a while, anyway. But he never told me you called.”

“Doesn't surprise me. He had you right where he wanted you.”

Thinking Chad had played me, too, sickened me more.

“I had no reason to keep calling him,” said Ben. “Dana's lie was believable enough. Her timing perfect.”

He parked my bike inside the garage. Caleb was already spinning on the tire swing. Ben strolled over and gave him pushes before joining me on the white bench.

He pointed to an area in front of us. “I stood right there on that spot the day she told me you ran off with Chad. Your dad was levelling the ground for this patio.”

“My dad knew where I was.”

“He was angry. He ranted on how a dog dug up the dirt where the patio was going in. They couldn't lay stone until the area was level, and he wasn't paying anybody to screed again.”

“I suppose he was angry that his mother was dying and business commitments kept him here until the day before she died.”

“He never mentioned your grandmother. But I offered to tamp the ground for him once I connected the pallets of stone sitting in the driveway to what he was doing. I told him tamping and screeding was heavy work for him to do alone.”

“My dad was stubborn.”

“And talking to me a major inconvenience. He shouted at me, ‘She's not home!'

I laughed. “You sound just like him.”

“I asked if you ran off with Chad Powers. He tossed the two by four into the yard and yelled, ‘How the hell do I know who she's run off with? She runs off with you on the back of that damn motorcycle. She was up in Duluth. Wherever she's at, she's not home.'”

“Then you left.”

“Then I left. He never liked me much.”

“He didn't like your bike.”

“His face turned beet red. Any idiot could see the slightest provocation would give the guy a stroke.”

“Because he mentioned Duluth, too, must be why you believe me now.”

Ben nodded. “Partly. Your story matched his.”

I looped my fingers around his. “We jumped to conclusions and made stupid mistakes. Our son has paid an awful price for our gullibility.”

“Not anymore.” He pulled up our joined hands and kissed my fingertips. “I should have stayed on it until we talked face to face.”

“Every bit of it is Dana's fault.”

“I'm sorry for thinking you ran off with Chad, because your baby was his. That made me sick.”