ready for. It was easy to play parent to Ben. Her role and responsibilities were clear-cut there. But playing parent to Nana? Nana had always been so full of life, so full of energy, that until a few months ago it had been inconceivable to Beth that Nana would ever slow down. And she was doing well, really well, especially considering the stroke. But what was going to happen the next time Nana wanted to do something that Beth honestly believed wasn’t in her best interest? Something simple . . . like driving at night, for instance? Nana couldn’t see as well as she used to, and what was going to happen in a few years when Nana insisted that she wanted to drive to the grocery store after work?
She knew that in the end, she’d handle these situations when the time came. But she dreaded it. It had been hard enough to keep Nana in check this summer, and that was when her physical problems were obvious even to Nana. What was going to happen when Nana didn’t want to admit to them?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Nana’s truck slowly rolling up the drive and coming to a stop near the back entrance to the kennel. Logan got out and went around to the bed of the truck. She watched him sling a fifty-pound bag of dog food over his shoulder and head inside. When he emerged, Zeus was trotting beside him, nosing at his hand; Beth figured that he must have kept Zeus inside the office while he’d been in town.
It took him a few more minutes to unload the rest of the dog food, and when he was done, he started toward the house. By then, dusk had begun to fall. The faint echo of thunder sounded in the distance, and Beth could hear the crickets beginning their evening song. She suspected the storm would hold off; with the exception of a couple of scattered showers, it had been miserably dry all summer. But the air, carried from the ocean, was scented with pine and salt, and she flashed on memories from a beach long ago. She could remember seeing spider crabs scuttling before beams from the flashlights that she and Drake and Grandpa were holding; her mom’s face illuminated by the glow of the small bonfire her dad had started; the sight of Nana’s marshmallow catching fire as they toasted them for s’mores. It was one of the few memories she had of her parents, and she wasn’t even sure how much of it was real. Because she’d been so young, she suspected that Nana’s memories had become fused with her own. Nana had told her the story of that night countless times, perhaps because it was the last time they’d all been together. Beth’s parents had died in an auto accident only a few days later.
“Are you all right?”
Distracted by her memories, Beth hadn’t noticed that Logan had reached the porch. In the fading light, his features seemed softer than she remembered.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She straightened up and smoothed her blouse. “I was just thinking.”
“I have the keys to the truck,” he said, his voice quiet. “I wanted to drop them off before I went home.”
When he held them out, she knew she could simply thank him and say good night, but—maybe because she was still upset that Nana had made her decision to leave without talking to her about it first, or maybe because she wanted to make her own decision about Logan—she took the keys and deliberately held his gaze. “Thanks,” she said. “Long day for you, huh?”
If he was surprised by her invitation to talk, he didn’t show it. “It wasn’t too bad. And I got a lot done.”
“Like regaining the ability to drive legally?”
He offered a lazy smile. “Among other things.”
“Did the brakes give you any problems?”
“Not once I got used to the grinding.”
Beth grinned at the thought. “I’ll bet the examiner loved that.”
“I’m sure he did. I could tell by the wincing.”
She laughed, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. On the horizon, lightning flashed. It took some time before the thunder sounded, and she knew the storm was still a few miles off. In the silence, she noticed Logan was looking at her with that peculiar déjà vu expression again. He seemed to realize it and quickly turned away. Beth followed his gaze and saw that Zeus had wandered toward the trees. The dog