Mustard on Top by Wanda Degolier Page B

want to do this for both of you and for myself.” Ben held his breath as he waited for Helen’s response. In the silence, the ladder creaked.
    “Don’t say things you don’t mean or can’t fulfill, Ben Smiley.” She started climbing down.
    Ben followed.
    “I want to do the repairs to the house as well,” Ben said when Helen stepped onto the porch.
    “I can’t accept all that, Ben.” Helen slid a key in the door lock. She stepped inside and flicked on the porch light. Standing in the threshold with a hand on her hip and her lips pulled tight, she looked weary.
    Her distrust and disdain of him hurt and an overwhelming need to prove he’d done something all these years overtook Ben. “I’ve confirmed where the US Marshal Service sent the payments. My first payment went to your mom’s address here in Nalley.”
    “My mom kicked me out. She said I was a ‘whore,’” Helen’s tone was matter of fact.
    Ben stepped closer, wanting to pull her into his arms even though she didn’t appear to need or want his compassion. She’d been poor, alone, and pregnant. “Oh, Helen.”
    “Don’t do that. Just say what you so obviously need to say.”
    Ben took a deep breath. “The Marshal Service received notification that your address had changed. The payments started going to Florida.”
    Helen swallowed audibly. “They’re the US Marshals, how could they not know where I lived? I wasn’t hiding.”
    “They had no reason to question the address change.”
    “You’re saying what exactly?” The crinkle returned to her forehead.
    Ben hated seeing her serene features pinched. “The money went to Eve Ableman’s address.”
    “You have got to be kidding.”
    “Untraceable and in cash. I’m sorry, Helen.”
    Helen took in a shaky breath. “Well that explains a few things.”
    Ben never her to wear that pained expression again. “The Marshal Service will have records. We can press charges to get the money recovered.”
    Helen shook her head. “Not worth the heartache.”
    “I’ll repay you.”
    Helen sighed. “I have my house, my car, money for Theo’s education. I don’t need more.”
    “It could be your mad money. Take a vacation somewhere exotic.” He had the absurd desire to sweep her off her feet, to take her somewhere warm, and pamper her with expensive drinks.
    Helen’s laugh was one-part playful, three-parts sad. “I’ve always wanted to travel, but I’m not going on your dime. I’ll have time enough when I retire.”
    He’d expected a different reaction. Outrage. Despair. Something. Not a quiet acceptance as if she were used to being on the short end of things. “Why wait until you retire?”
    Helen glared. “I’m going in now. Good night, Ben.” She took a step back and closed the door.
    Realizing they hadn’t resolved whether or not he could continue working on the roof, Ben took a step back. He’d be there in the morning. “Good night, Helen.”

    ****

    Helen closed the door then turned and rested her back against the smooth wood. Her anger, for the moment, was directed at the messenger. Ben’s appearance in Nalley felt hallucinatory, and she half expected him to appear in front of her like a mirage.
    Heartache spread through her like a disease. Her mother had stolen money meant for Theo. Each breath hurt like a stab to the chest. She and Theo had survived, she reminded herself. Survived, but not thrived. Things could have been worse.
    Her whole life she’d never been able to make her mother happy. As a child, she’d grown up feeling like a burden. She had a lingering memory of her mother’s warning that Ben would dump her as soon as he’d slept with him. Her mother had told Helen, ‘Boys like Ben didn’t keep girls like her’.
    Helen inhaled a deep breath. Wallowing in anger wouldn’t help. She couldn’t change the past, or turn her mother into a caring person. She could only govern her own feelings and deal with the present.
    And in her present, was Ben. He’d invaded