Unexpected Inheritance

10

Tuck shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Figured I'd come by. The walk wasn't too far, considering you live on our property."

"Your mom know you're here?"

"She does."

Ben sat back, exhaling. He wanted to ask a hundred things. Instead, he let the silence settle for a moment.

"You mad at me?" Tuck asked suddenly.

Ben blinked. "For what?"

"For leaving. For not saying anything before we left."

Ben shook his head. "Wasn't my place to be mad."

Tuck sat down on the porch steps, looking out at the trees. "I didn't wanna leave," he admitted. "But she needed to."

"She doin' better?"

Tuck sighed. "She's different. She got this thing called OCD. Mom checks locks over and over. Peeks around corners. Puts her keys in her bag, takes them out, puts them back three times. It has to be three times. She checks on me multiple times a day, even if I'm in the house. She won't leave the house on Wednesdays. Wednesdays are bad days she says. And pulls her fingers like crazy. She just started taking medicine for it."

Ben nodded again but didn't say anything. He wasn't about to agree or disagree. He knew Miranda had been through hell. If she was different, she had every right to be. But hearing everything she was going through was a lot.

Ben let that settle before he finally said, "You didn't just come out here to check in, did you?"

Tuck shook his head, glancing at him. "No. I came to say... I think you should come by the house."

"She say that?"

"No. But I know she misses you." Tuck stood up, brushing his hands on his jeans. "And you miss her, too."

Ben didn't argue with that. He just watched as Tuck gave him a small nod and started back down the path toward the house.

Ben stayed there for a long time, staring at the trees, thinking.

Ben had been doing his best to keep his distance, for Miranda's sake more than anything. He knew she needed time, and he wasn't about to force his way back into her life before she was ready. But that didn't mean it didn't eat at him, not seeing her, not talking to her.

Then the talk started.

Word around town was that the doctor had been seen with a new man. Ben had yet to see it for himself—just whispers at the store, murmurs at the bar, folks speculating. He tried to ignore it, but it gnawed at him all the same.

Rosalind showed up that evening, letting herself in like she always did. She took one look at him, and sighed.

"You heard the news, huh?"

"I ain't seen evidence of it," he admitted, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "Just talk."

"Then don't get all worked up over talk."

"I ain't worked up,"

"Then why you sittin' here lookin' like somebody kicked your damn dog?"

Ben exhaled sharply through his nose, rubbing a hand over his face. "I been stayin' away 'cause I figured she needed space. Needed time. Last thing I wanted was to crowd her after what happened. She said she was being held together with tape and glue and I'd never understand So I gave her space. Tryin' to let her heal. But now I hear she's been seen with some man, and I just—" He stopped himself, rubbing a hand over his face.

"You been tryin' to respect her boundaries."

"That's right."

"You been givin' her time."