Caddie’s voice was barely a whisper. “He has a crush on you,” she said.

Hudson knitted his brow. “Who does?” he said, having no idea what she was talking about.

“Him,” Caddie said, nodding toward the stairway.

The meaning of her words suddenly became clear. “Ben?” he said.

Caddie nodded. “It’s so obvious,” she said.

Hudson’s thoughts were spinning. He found it impossible to think clearly. What was Caddie saying? Finally he blurted, “That’s ridiculous. You father isn’t gay.”

“Maybe not,” Caddie said. “But he’s crushing on you, big boy, so you’d better deal with it.”

Hudson was stunned. He’d never even considered the possibility. Ben? A crush on him? No, that wasn’t it. “We’re just friends,” he said. He looked at Caddie. She was shaking her head. “Just friends,” Hudson repeated.

“You just keep believing that,” Caddie said.

“That’s why you’re shutting him out again?” asked Hudson. “Because you think he and I ... Because you think he ...”

Caddie shook her head. “You just walk in and he ...” she began, but didn’t continue. Hudson saw that her eyes were becoming damp. “I’m his daughter,” she said, her voice shaking.

It was too much. He couldn’t think. Ben had a—thing—for him? Even if it wasn’t true, Caddie thought that it was, and that was what mattered.

“You should see how he looks at you,” Caddie was saying. Tears had begun to roll down her face, although Hudson could tell she was trying her hardest to hold them back. “His whole face lights up,” she said. “And you,” she went on, waving a hand at Hudson. “You don’t even see it.”

“I—” Hudson began.

“Don’t say it’s not true,” Caddie interrupted. “You know it is.”

Hudson started again to protest. At the same time, his thoughts were rushing backward, replaying his times together with Ben. Like a movie rewinding, images flashed in his head: he and Ben laughing, him reaching for the buttons on Ben’s shirt, Ben’s eyes looking into his underwater. How had he not seen what was happening? With a sudden, gut-wrenching realization, as if the force of the evidence had landed a blow to his stomach and driven all breath from him, he saw that Caddie was right.

He stood up. “I have to go,” he said, not looking at Caddie. “Tell your father I’m sorry.”

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 34