Page 17 of What Boys Learn

“I didn’t say hitchhiking. If she was hitchhiking, she would have accepted my ride. I said she was trying to get away from someone. Her face was red. Her wrist was red, like someone had been twisting it. I saw him grab her shirt.”

“But she got away, right?”

“I think so.”

“You didn’t see the guy’s car again?”

“No.”

“All right then. Forget about it. You can’t save a girl today, much as you’d like to. That ship has sailed.”

His comment hit me like a slap.

Softer, he said, “Go talk to your son.”

“I will. But you’ve got to tell me. Why did you let Benjamin get away with it?”

“Abby,” Robert said, arms lifting for just a moment, like he was beckoning me to approach. I knew that gesture. He wanted me to hug him before he left, the way I sometimes still hugged him—unwisely—when we met at a bar for the occasional drink, to watch a game.

“You shouldn’t have put your own reputation at risk.”

Robert rolled his eyes, like it was no big deal, but it was. He could be in trouble.

“Benjamin did something incredibly stupid, but I was less worried about punishing him than finding out why.”

“Thank you,” I said, but carefully. Things were bad enough without letting Robert think I’d start dating him again just because he’d covered for my son.

He opened the front door an inch.

“Plus, Abby . . . I knew it would be an extra big deal for you, having Benjamin picked up for something.”

I wished I’d never talked about my brother. Robert knew us both as kids, and he was in a few of Ewan’s classes in high school. That only made it worse. Hethoughthe knew him. Ewan could seem charming, especially in small doses. But the charm always had a purpose and a plan behind it.

“Benjamin has nothing in common with Ewan,” I said.

“Of course. I gotta run.”

My mind was still racing. “Thank you. For what you did. I just wish I knew what was in that diary. You didn’t get a look inside?”

“Not a peek.”

“You’re sure?”

“There was no time.”

Robert was looking down at the radio on his hip as if he wanted it to squawk again, just so he’d have a reason to bolt.

“I’ll try to call you when my shift ends,” he said. “If not, then tomorrow.”

“I’ll wait up.”

“Don’t. You need sleep.”

He was avoiding my gaze, still.

“I said,I’ll wait up.”

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