“She’s just finishing her dinner. You’re Mr. LeBlanc, I take it?” Ben answered.
Emma said quietly, “You don’t have to run, Jasmine. We’ll invite your dad in for some pie.”
The girl turned her look of horror on Emma, then blushed. “I have to go.”
“Jasmine! Come on, girl.”
Emma stood up. She stepped in front of Mikey, who was headed for the door, and pulled him to a stop before pushing past Ben.
“Good evening, John. You didn’t have to come all the way out here. I was going to bring your daughter home. Why don’t you have some pie before you leave?”
John’s demeanor suddenly changed, and his face turned as red as Mikey’s.
“Good evening, Emma. I … we can’t stay. I’ve got a Grange meeting tonight.”
“Some other time then, John. Come on. I’ll walk you to your truck while Jasmine gets her school pack.”
As she closed the door behind her, she saw Ben staring at her through the glass. She smiled and led John away from the house and certain trouble.
“What was that all about?” Ben asked.
“Nothing,” Emma answered as she sat down at the table to have her pie.
Mikey snorted.
Emma shot him a warning look, but the boy ignored it. “That was John LeBlanc. He doesn’t particularly care for me. Nor you, either, if he learns you’re Benjamin Sinclair,” Mikey informed him.
“Why?”
“Something about the sins of the father,” Mikey explained as he served himself a piece of pie, not sounding terribly concerned.
Ben shot Emma a questioning look. “Is it common knowledge that I’m Mike’s father?”
“Yes. And John LeBlanc was on duty at the dam the morning it was blown up. He walks with a limp now, and like everyone else in town, he blames you and the environmentalists you came here with.”
Ben stood up and paced to the woodstove. He turned to Emma and his son. “It’s archaic to blame Mike for something they think I did. Does everyone else treat him like that?”
“No, just a few. Mostly those who were directly involved. Durham did for a while, but I set him straight years ago. He was Dad’s closest friend and the one who found him. It’s hard for some people to let go.”
“LeBlanc certainly changed his attitude when you showed up. Why?”
“John used to date Nem,” Mikey piped up.
Emma could see that Ben didn’t like that news, either.
“His kid’s your age, Mike. Which means …” He looked over at Emma. “That you were just a baby when you dated him.”
“Jasmine’s his stepdaughter,” Emma explained. “And I was nineteen at the time and he was twenty-six. Any other questions?”
“No. But I think you should know that you’re not dancing with anyone else tomorrow night.”
“You don’t really intend to go to that dance, do you?”
“Hell, yes. We have a date.”
Emma looked at Mikey, who was nodding agreement. No help from that quarter. “Someone’s bound to recognize you, Ben. There’s sure to be trouble.”
“I don’t intend to hide out here for two more months. And it’s probably time I cleared my name, don’t you think?” He looked at his son. “And Mike’s, too.”
“A local dance is not the place for public vindication. Especially not when liquor’s involved. Half the town will be drinking tomorrow night, and the other half will be carting them home and tucking them into bed.”
“I won’t start anything.”
“You won’t have to. Don’t you see? These are hardworking, uncomplicated people, and they have long memories when they’ve been wronged. If just one person recognizes you, there’s going to be trouble.”
“John LeBlanc didn’t recognize me.”
Emma walked over to stand in front of him. “Wayne Poulin probably will.”
He growled deep in his chest. “Is that bastard still around? I would have thought someone had killed him years ago.”
Emma remained silent.
He glanced at Michael, then back at her. “Who … who did Kelly run off with?” he asked in a suddenly subdued voice. “I thought she was in love with Poulin.” He darted another look in Michael’s direction. “That’s what she told me that … that day.”
Emma went back and started clearing the table. “We don’t know. According to Wayne, it was some guy she’d been seeing in Bangor.” Emma shrugged. “It’s possible. She went shopping there often enough.”
She took Mikey’s untouched pie from him. “Kelly and Wayne fought more than they loved. Wayne would get crazy jealous if Kelly even looked at another man. She probably got tired of the roller-coaster relationship and took off with the first man who offered her a way out.”
Michael pushed his chair back and stood up. “Be thankful, Dad,” he told Ben. “I could have been living with Wayne Poulin all these years if Kelly had married him.” The boy made a face and gave an exaggerated shiver. “But for the grace of God and my frightened mother, I could have been his stepson.”
Ben blew out a tired sigh. “What a mess.”
“Things have a way of working out for the best,” Michael said. “Don’t look back. Look at the present. And the future. I’ve had a good childhood; I’ve been loved, given security, and experienced life to the fullest so far.” He gave his father a great big grin. “And I’ve still got a lot of living ahead of me, and it’s going to be a wonderful adventure. Don’t regret anything. If you hadn’t come here sixteen years ago, I wouldn’t exist.”
With a gentle punch to his father’s arm, Michael walked out of the kitchen, giving Emma a wink.
The silence he left behind was thoughtful. Emma didn’t move. Neither did Ben.
“He’s right, Ben,” she said into the void. “I’ve been silently thanking you for Michael for the last fifteen years.”
“I wish … I’m sorry I missed those years,” he said, still not turning. “I would like to have known him.”
“You can now.”
Ben finally turned around, and Emma watched a play of emotions cross his face. Curiosity settled into place when he finally spoke again. “Where’s Kelly now? Has she ever contacted Mike?”
Emma shook her head and went back to clearing the table. “I had taken Mikey with me to Portland for the weekend,” she explained. “When we returned, all I found was a note from her saying she had to leave for a while. It also said she’d call once she got settled, and that she’d send for Mikey.” She looked at him. “She never did either one.”
Ben’s face was unreadable.
Emma carried the dishes to the sink before she turned to him again. “Wayne Poulin claims Kelly has written him two or three times over the years, but I don’t know if I believe him. He was always a loud braggart, especially when he was drinking. He continues to claim she’ll come back to him.” Emma shook her head. “He’s trying to save face, even after all these years. I actually feel sorry for him.”
“Why didn’t Kelly marry Wayne? She told me she intended to.” He snorted. “Apparently I was just someone to pass the time with, because her realboyfriend was spending the summer at some logging camp in Canada. When he came home, she ran right back to him. It took me a week to get her alone again, so I could ask her to come to New York with me. “
“I don’t think she was running backto Wayne as much as she was running awayfrom you.”
Ben stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Kelly was afraid of you, Ben. You were so sophisticated and worldly, and so passionate about the dam not being built. I think Kelly was afraid that if she fell in love with you, you’d … you would overwhelm her.”
“She told you this?”
“More or less. I tried to get her to contact you several times during her pregnancy, but she was afraid you’d insist she and the baby move to New York. Or worse, that you’d fight for custody.” Emma walked over to him and touched his arm. “She was eighteen and scared, Ben. And we’d just lost our father. We were both scared. So we took the insurance money the lumber mill paid us for Dad’s death, bought Medicine Creek Camps, and we clung to each other.”