jeans and a T-shirt that were a little too snug. Beth recognized her as a secretary in Adam’s office. Noelle, or something like that.
“What does she want?” Noelle asked. It was obvious by her tone that the recognition was reciprocal.
“I don’t know,” Adam said. “She just dropped by, okay?”
“But I want to see the race,” she pouted, draping an arm possessively around his waist.
“I know,” he said. “I won’t be long.” He hesitated when he saw Noelle’s expression. “I promise,” he reassured her.
Beth wondered whether the whine she’d noticed in his tone had always been there, and if so, why she hadn’t noticed it before. Either he’d tried to hide it or she’d been willing to ignore it. She suspected the latter, and the thought left her feeling a bit deflated.
Adam stepped outside and closed the door behind him. As he faced her, she couldn’t tell whether he was frightened or angry. Or both.
“What is so important?” he asked. He sounded like an adolescent.
“Nothing important,” she countered. “I just came by to ask you a question.”
“About what?”
Beth willed him to look at her. “I want to know the reason you never called after our dinner date.”
“What?” He shifted from one foot to the other, reminding her of a skittish horse. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m not.”
“I just didn’t, okay? It didn’t work out. I’m sorry. Is that what you’re here for? An apology?”
It came out like a whine, and she found herself wondering why she’d ever gone out with him.
“No, I’m not here for an apology.”
“Then what? Look, I’ve got company.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ve got to go.”
As the question hung in the air, he glanced up and down the street again, and she realized what was going on.
“You’re afraid of him, aren’t you,” she said.
Though he tried to hide it, she knew she’d hit a nerve. “Who? What are you talking about?”
“Keith Clayton. My ex.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he swallowed again in an attempt to deny it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She took a step closer. “What did he do? Did he threaten you? Scare you?”
“No! I don’t want to talk about this,” he said. He turned for the door and reached for the knob. She grabbed his arm to stop him, pushing her face close to his. His muscles tensed before relaxing.
“He did, didn’t he?” she pressed.
“I can’t talk about this.” He hesitated. “He . . .”
Though she’d suspected that both Logan and Nana were right, though her own intuition had prompted her to come here in the first place, she felt something crumple inside when Adam confirmed it.
“What did he do?”
“I can’t tell you. You should understand that more than anyone. You know how he is. He’ll . . .”
He trailed off, as if suddenly realizing that he’d said too much.
“He’ll what?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. He’s not going to do anything.” He stood straighter. “It didn’t work out between us. Just leave it at that.”
He opened the door. He paused, drawing a deep breath, and she wondered if he was about to change his mind.
“Please don’t come back,” he said.
Beth sat on her front porch in the swing, staring at the sheets of rain coming down, her clothes still wet. For the most part, Nana left her alone with her thoughts, intruding only to hand her a cup of hot tea and a warm, homemade peanut-butter cookie, but she’d been uncharacteristically silent when she’d done so.
Beth sipped the tea before realizing she didn’t want it. She wasn’t cold; despite the relentless downpour, the air was warm and she could see fingers of mist crawling along the property. In the distance, the driveway seemed to vanish into the grayish blur.
Her ex would be here soon. Keith Clayton. Every now and then, she’d whisper the name, making it sound like a profanity.
She couldn’t believe it. No, scratch that. She could—and did—believe it. Even though she’d wanted to slap Adam for being such a wimp about the situation, she knew she couldn’t really blame him. He was a nice guy, but he wasn’t, nor had he ever been, the kind of guy who would have been picked first for a pickup basketball or baseball game. There wasn’t a chance that he would have stood up to her ex.
She only wished Adam had revealed how Keith had done it. It was easy to imagine; she had no doubt Adam rented his office from the Clayton family.