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“Laurel and Ben.”
“That’s it?” He arches an eyebrow.
“That’s it. Now the entire town knows.” Anger flows through my veins.
“Can you tell me anything about him?”
“Sure, what little I know. Waylon Knight was a year older than me. When he graduated, he left Willowbrook, but his grandma died. He was raised by her, and I’m not sure I know why, unfortunately. But when she died, he had to come back and settle her estate since he was the beneficiary. That’s when I saw him at the bar. I was about a month off the breakup with Ben?—”
“Can we fast-forward to you finding out you’re pregnant?”
I sniffle. “Yeah. Of course.” I take a moment and sip my coffee. “Waylon and I snuck around a couple times, and he had a quick temper. He would disappear and come back to town. Never wanted to answer my questions. I was ready to tell him I was done when I found out I was about five weeks pregnant. He thought it was Ben’s, and he hit me. Said that I was trying to trap him.”
Clayton’s chest heaves up and down. Hold on, kid, we’re almost done.
“Then he apologized and said he didn’t mean it. That he was drunk. So I gave him one more chance. Another night, he drank too much and hit me again.”
I’m not going into specifics. He doesn’t need the visual in his head.
“And that’s when I told him we were done. He left town and never came back. I suspect because he doesn’t want to… well, I can’t say why, but that’s it.”
“Sheriff Watson said he was always jealous of Ben?”
I nod. “He was.”
“Do you ever wonder if that’s why he hit on you that night at the bar?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure.”
He eats half his French toast, not speaking, and I allow him to soak in all the information.
“Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“They say that it can be passed down. I mean, do you think that I’ll be like him?”
“Oh, Clayton.” I rush over and slide out of the chair next to his, taking his head in my hands and laying it on my shoulder. “You should be concerned about the alcoholism. Addiction can run in families. But the hitting does not. It’s a learned behavior. You have the choice to do it or not. And I know you. You’re not like that. It’s one reason I never wanted him back in our lives.”
“Okay.” He pulls back from me, wiping tears from his eyes. “You’re okay now?”
I nod. “Perfect.”
“What are you going to do about Ben?”
I pat his shoulder. “Don’t worry about that.”
“He made you happy, though.”
I stand and tuck the chair under the table. “He did. Yes.”
“You’re using past tense.”
“I promised to be honest, so all I can tell you is that I don’t have the answers right now. I have a lot of thinking to do.” I sit in my chair and force myself to eat a bite of my French toast.
“He said he was trying to protect you… us?”
I look at him skeptically. “Are you Team Ben now?”
