“Damn right, I did, Momma,” Caddy said. “There wasn’t a reason in this world for the boy to be sniffing around The River other than wanting to get into my business and Quinn’s business. Only reason I let my guard down was on account of him knowing Daddy. And, in hindsight, that should’ve been a warning more than anything.”

“Jason Colson can be charming,” Jean said. “It’s a side of your father you never saw.”

“Hard to see any side of a man who was never around,” Caddy said. “Please don’t go and be making excuses for Daddy now, too. I just don’t think I can stand it. I told Bentley he was a two-faced son of a bitch and to never call on me ever again. I took the damn check and ripped it in a million pieces, scattering it right there in his French fries and ketchup.”

“I wish you’d heard him out,” Jean said. “You and your brother have quick tempers. Quinn likes to fight and you like to dog-cuss folks. I saw the way Bentley treated you, the way he looked at you when you couldn’t see him. I don’t know why he came down to The River. I figured it was all about his family foundation. But I know he loved you, Caddy. Don’t be thinking of anything otherwise because that will eat you damn-near whole and we all can’t go there again.”

Caddy quit walking, red-faced and out of breath, but not on account of the exercise. Her mother always, always knew how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and go right for the soft spot in her. It was a talent most mothers had with their daughters.

“You don’t want to go there again?” Caddy said. “I sure would hate to disappoint you, Momma, if I went off the rails again and ended up in a black ditch like those times before. I sure don’t want to be an inconvenience around the holidays. Don’t say things like that. And don’t you dare make excuses for Bentley Vandeven. You want me to be real honest with you, daughter to mother? I let my guard down because he was handsome, had good hair and nice teeth, and seemed to have eyes for me. I hadn’t been with a man I cared about since Jamey died. And it felt real good to have that again. I should’ve known it was all bullshit. A man six years younger than me wanting to get into my pants.”

“Caddy.”

Caddy was so damn mad she wanted to spit. She turned her head and did spit, on the track, and kept on walking, following the same lane, Jean walking up beside her, pumping her arms, staring straight ahead through her sunglasses. The bleachers were empty, the aluminum seats glinting in the sun.

“Caddy.”