“Yeah, and that was a while ago.”
“I did hear a few more rumors since then,” she said.
Something in her tone had him looking at her in surprise. “Like what?”
She sighed. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”
“Tell me,” he said in a hard voice. “Nothing about this is easy.”
“She mentioned that the baby she lost when she was married to you was actually your brother’s.”
Laysha Arkansas looked over at the man she had always loved to see his reaction to that news. He just stared at her in shock. She winced. She pulled her keys from her pocket, quickly unlocked the truck, and said, “Come on. Get in.” She watched and yet tried to ignore his stricken expression on his face as he moved to the passenger side and slowly got in her truck. She turned on the engine and pivoted to face him. “I thought you should know.”
He looked at her, still wordless.
“I know,” she said. “I know. All kinds of ramifications come from this.” She sat here, hoping he would talk about it.
“You’re not kidding,” he said, his voice harsh. “Was I cuckolded from the entire get-go?”
“You already know the answer to that,” she said. “It wasn’t your baby anyway. Now you know who the father was.”
“And my brother? Did they carry this on the whole time I was married to her?”
“I hope not,” Laysha said. “I would hope that you and your brother have a better relationship than that.”
“Well, I thought so,” he said, “but you’re making me wonder.” He turned, looked out the passenger window.
“Then ask him about it, while you’re here, and clear the air,” she said, “because nothing is worse than worrying in the background about it all.”
“It sucks,” he said, then finally focused on her. “And I had no idea. Or is she just saying that to throw a wrench in the works?”
“And that’s possible too. Your brother was out of town for quite a few years. Remember that?”
“So maybe they split up, and then she latched on to me?”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” she said, “and I get that you probably hate her for everything that went on, but don’t let her destroy you.”
He lifted one eyebrow and cocked his head at her.
She laughed. “Yeah, okay. She has this ugly side, yet surely something about her must be redeeming? Your brother loves her.”
“You think so?” he said. He shook his head, fastening his seat belt. “You think whatever you want to think,” he said. “Right now I don’t have a clue how to interpret that news.”
“And that’s why I suggest you talk to them about it.”
“Do they know I’m coming in for the wedding? And only the wedding? That’s more than enough without having to attend the rehearsal too.”
“Well, your brother did want you for his best man, but I hear you turned down that role?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to be around her any more than I had to be.”
“I think your brother does understand that. At least somewhat. I think he’s also hoping to make peace.”
“Maybe. I don’t know that a whole lot of peace can be made between him and me. Although maybe, … maybe I’m the fool here. Maybe they’ve been the real item, and I was just the baggage along the way.”
“Well, let’s not worry about it,” she said, settling in the driver’s seat, clicking her seat belt into place. “What’s this about a War Dog?”
He looked at her for a moment, and she saw him visibly try to pull back from his brother and all the emotions entailed in that. He took a long slow deep breath. “Beowulf. At least that’s his nickname. His legal name is a series of names. He’s a trained War Dog but was released to retire.”
She quickly drove through the parking lot, punching her ticket into the machine, paying the tab via her phone, and then pulled out onto the main highway, heading home. “And that’s got what to do with you?”
“It’s hard to say. It’s more a case of, I’ll do what I can do. If I pick up his trail, then I’ll carry on. He came to an adopted family, and they let him out to go to the bathroom the next morning, and he never came back.”
She stared at him and then returned her gaze to the road. “So he was only there for one night? Was it that bad?”
“Or was it not fenced? Did he get taken by somebody else or did the coyotes get him, whether human or animal? Or did he try to head back home, looking for the war where he spent all those years?” he said. “It’s really hard to know.”
“And do you have a picture of him?”
“I do,” he said. “It’s in my bag. He looks like a really stocky black shepherd. The only other color on him is a brown and black pattern found on his ears.”
“Interesting,” she murmured. “Well, I certainly haven’t seen any dog like it.”
“The only thing I have to go on is the place he went missing from.”
“And how long ago?’
“It’s been a couple months now.”
“Well, that’s a useless trip then, isn’t it?”
“Maybe,” he said, “I don’t really know yet.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but at least it brought you here.”
“It did. I’m not so sure I’m happy about that right now though.”
She nodded slowly. “Well, if nothing else,” she said, “I am delighted to see you.”
He barked out a laugh at that. “And I missed you too,” he said affectionately.
She shook her head. “But not enough to come back and visit, huh?”
“Nope,” he said. “Since the divorce, I buried myself in work. Then was injured and haven’t come up for air since.” He added, “And then it became a habit.”
“Will you stop living just because of her?”
“Well, I was hoping not to repeat my mistake,” he said jokingly.
She smiled and nodded. As she headed home, she wondered how to broach the conversation. But then he said it himself.
“What about you?”
