Thibault!” he shouted. “Are you ready to build the kite?”
“I was coming to ask if you were ready,” Logan called back.
“Almost. I just have to get the straws and the garbage bags.”
Logan waved in acknowledgment. As he drew nearer, Beth noted the shape of his shoulders, the tight cinch of his waist. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed his body, but today it felt almost as if she were . . . staring. She turned away, laying a hand on Ben’s shoulder, feeling suddenly ridiculous. “The garbage bags are under the sink, and the straws are in the pantry by the cookies. Do you want to get them or should I?”
“I’ll get them,” he said. Then, to Logan: “I’ll be back in a second.”
Logan reached the steps just as Ben disappeared inside.
“Making a kite?” she asked, both surprised and impressed.
“He said he was bored.”
“Do you really know how?”
“It’s not as hard as it sounds. You want to help us?”
“No,” she said. Up close, she noticed the way his sweat made the T-shirt cling to his chest, and she quickly averted her gaze. “I’ll let you two do that. It’s more of a guy project. But I’ll bring the lemonade. And afterwards, if you’re hungry, you’re welcome to stay. Nothing fancy—Ben was in the mood for some hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.”
Logan nodded. “I’d like that.”
Ben came back out the door, bags in one hand and straws in the other. His face, despite the bruises and cockeyed glasses, was animated.
“Got ’em!” he said. “You ready?”
Logan continued to hold Beth’s gaze longer than necessary, and Beth felt her neck flush before she turned away. Logan smiled at Ben.
“Whenever you are.”
Beth found herself studying Logan as he worked on the kite with Ben. They were sitting at the picnic table near the large oak tree with Zeus at their feet, and the wind would occasionally carry the sound of their voices—Logan telling Ben what to do next or Ben asking if something had been done correctly. It was clear they were enjoying their little project; Ben was chattering away, making the occasional mistake, which Logan would then patiently correct with extra tape.
How long had it been since she’d blushed when a man stared at her? She wondered how much of her newfound self-consciousness had to do with the fact that Nana was away. For the last couple of nights, it had almost felt like she was really on her own for the first time in her life. After all, she’d moved from Nana’s home to Keith’s and back to Nana’s and had been there ever since. And although she enjoyed Nana’s company and liked the stability, it wasn’t exactly how she’d imagined her adult life would turn out. She’d once dreamed of having her own place, but the timing had never seemed right. After Keith, she’d needed Nana’s help with Ben; when Ben was old enough, both her brother and her grandfather had died, and Beth had needed Nana’s support as much as Nana needed Beth’s. And then? Just when she was thinking she was finally ready to find a home of her own, Nana had a stroke, and there wasn’t a chance she was going to leave the woman who’d raised her.
But in this moment, she had an unexpected picture of what her life would have been like under a different set of circumstances. Now, as the starlings above her moved from tree to tree, she sat on the porch of an otherwise empty house, witnessing the kind of scene that made her believe that all could be right with the world. Even from a distance, she could see Ben concentrating while Logan showed him how to put the final touches on the kite. Every now and then, Logan would lean forward and offer direction, his demeanor patient and steady, but he let Ben have most of the fun. That he seemed to be simply working on the project, rectifying Ben’s mistakes without frustration or anger, made her feel a burst of gratitude and affection toward him. She was still marveling at the novelty of it all when she saw them move to the center of the yard. Logan held the kite above his head, and Ben unwound the fishing line. As Ben started to run, Logan followed, allowing the kite to catch the wind before letting go. Logan stopped and gazed skyward as the kite began to soar above them, and when he clapped his hands at Ben’s obvious