Ben ran his tongue over the points of his teeth. What did her family have to do with anything? It had to be relevant somehow or else the other man wouldn't have brought it up; this seemed like the sort of gentleman for whom every word was calculated. Was he trying to imply that reconciling this 'grudge' that he imagined existed between the pair of them could lead to a reconciliation between Melody and her family? Ben was doubtful; if her mother hadn't reacted to the news that Melody had a daughter, it didn't seem anything else would bring her out of the woodwork, either. At least not publicly; they had already played their cards there, and there was no reason for them to walk back the consequences — particularly not while their youngest daughter was still unmarried and ostensibly corruptible by Melody's bad influence.

On the other hand, if that was an option, didn't he owe it to Melody to at least try? He knew her estrangement from her family was a major pain point for her, and his own family hadn't been exactly welcoming, given the circumstances. He didn't know that she could ever truly make peace with them after what they'd put her through in the aftermath of her elopement, but if there was something left to salvage...

"Alright," Ben said, still clearly uneasy but at least making an effort to be a little less hostile in his tone. "I'm not opposed to a clean slate, but I confess I don't know what you mean by it. What do you actually expect to happen?"

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