“Nothingreally,” I say, and he raises his eyebrows.
“Nothing somewhat?” he surmises, and I sigh.
We didn’t have a chance to talk about what Miss Barbara told me last night, what with getting home so late, then having to settle all the animals and kids. Chores on a homestead never seem to end. And, truth be told, I was considering whether to talk to Bethany before I mentioned it to Josh, but since he’s hereand we’re a team, it feels right to say something. Besides, he’s clearly not going to let me prevaricate.
“Miss Barbara told me something last night,” I begin, and his eyebrows shoot higher.
“MissBarbara?”
“Yes, about Bethany.”
Josh’s look of surprise morphs into a frown of concern. “Okay,” he says cautiously, and finishes pouring his coffee.
I wait until he’s joined me by the window seat, Max stirring from his sprawl on the floor to sniff around Josh’s feet hopefully for a few seconds before flopping back down again with an audible groan. He’s eight years old now, and he’s clearly feeling—and looking—his age.
“Well?” Josh asks, taking a sip of coffee.
“Miss Barbara offered her house to Bethany,” I say, and Josh looks as confused as I felt when she told me last night.
“What?” he asks, clearly not understanding.
“Tolive. She wants someone to keep an eye on the house, and she thought Bethany could use the space.” I think about mentioning Ben, but I don’t want to send Josh into a rage. My husband is very even-tempered, but he also can be kind of impulsive. I haven’t forgotten the time when I told him that William was being bullied in fourth grade, and the next day, he was at the bus stop, glowering at the kid in question and telling him he’d better back off… or else.
William was thrilled and mortified in equal measure, and I was worried the parents were going to sue us for threatening their son. At the very least, I expected them to call the school, but thankfully, the incident passed unnoticed… and it worked. The kiddidback off.
I’m not sure what would happen inthissituation, but I do know that the thought of Bethany and Ben potentially spending a lot of time together alone in Miss Barbara’s house would beenough to make Josh’s blood pressure skyrocket. Mine, too, in all honesty. It was only last summer that I came upon them smoking oregano in Miss Barbara’s living room. I thought it was cannabis, Bethany thought I was hilarious, and we managed to move on.
But herb-smoking aside, this feels more serious.Bethany and Benfeel serious, and she’s still so young.
“Bethany hasn’t mentioned this, I take it,” Josh says, scowling into his cup of coffee.
“No… I was hoping to talk to her about it today. I don’t understand why she wouldn’t tell us it was something she was thinking about.”
“Because she knows we’d refuse?”
“Josh,” I say gently, “I don’t think it’s in our power to refuse. Bethany is nineteen years old. An adult.”
“An adult who lives at home is under our health insurance, cellphone plan,andNetflix subscription,” he retorts in a near growl.
I can’t help but laugh.
“You’re bringing out the big guns with Netflix,” I tease. It’s unusual for me to be the laid-back one in any conflict or crisis—not that this is eitheryet—and in truth, I’m not all that laid-back right now, but Josh is looking like he’s ready to spit nails.
“I’m just saying, in many ways, she’s still a kid. I don’t think she’s ready to live independently.” His scowl deepens, the lines on his forehead crinkled into rivets. “And where does Ben fit into all this?”
I knew he’d get there, eventually. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But she’s an adult when it comes to her relationships, too.” Even if that thought makes me all the more anxious.
“Emmy and Ed Wilson will have afitif Ben and Bethany shack up together,” Josh warns me.
I nearly choke on my coffee.
“I wouldn’t use that phrase with Bethany.”
“Theywould with Ben.”
I let out a reluctant laugh. “Probably true. But why don’t we approach this a little more calmly and just ask her what’s going on?”
“Ask who?”
