The Road Home

Chapter 22

Harper woke before the sun rose and lay in her bed. She stared at the ceiling as the sunrise slowly lit up her room. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking of Ben. She wondered what had been going through his mind the night before. The way he looked at her before he left was unsettling and the tone in his voice distressing. She wondered how he felt about her leaving. Or if he even cared.

She was on her third cup of coffee when she heard someone coming up the steps. She peeked out the kitchen window and saw the white Jeep.

She opened the door for Ben and noticed the papers in his hands.

"'Mornin." He walked past her and went to the couch.

She could tell something was different. His tone was formal and he barely looked at her. 

"Do you want coffee?"

"No, let's get busy. We don't have much time."

They practiced vigorously for the next two hours. Harper tried to focus on her lines and not Ben's reserved demeanor or the fact he hadn't made eye contact with her throughout the entire session.

"Alright, you're doing well." He picked up his script and stood. "I've got to meet with Joseph then you're filming this afternoon." They walked towards the door. He barely said goodbye before he left.

Once he was gone, Harper leaned her head against the door and took a deep breath. She had never known him to be so distant discounting the first few days, of course. She grabbed her keys and decided to head toward Hill City.

It had turned out to be a beautiful day and she was glad she had free time especially since she had missed Neva the night before. As she pulled in their driveway, she was relieved to see Neva's car.

"I was hoping you'd come back today!" Neva opened the door and hugged her. "Come in. I heard John drug out all the picture albums. Bless your heart." Neva wrinkled her forehead and shook her head.

"We had fun." Harper laughed. She walked in and followed Neva to the kitchen.

"Well, tell me about your week!" Neva sat at the table. "I watched you Tuesday and Wednesday. What did you do the rest of the time?"

Harper filled her in on the details between yawns and eating too much of the delicious pecan pie.

"Did you work late?" Neva scooted the sugar bowl closer to her as Harper refilled her coffee cup.

She sipped her coffee then set it on the table. "I didn't sleep well and woke early."

Neva folded her arms and rested them on the table. She leaned in. "What are you worried about?"

"I only have a couple weeks of filming and then I'm finished."

"Then what?"

"I have two movies to choose from. One is filming in Vancouver and the other in San Francisco."

"Which one are you leaning towards?"

Harper stared into her coffee for a moment. "I don't want to do either one of them. I'm not ready to leave."

"Does Dr. Chase have anything to do with this?"

"I don't know," she said, quietly. She raked her fingers through her hair. "I think about him all the time and when I'm not with him, I want to be."

"Does he know how you feel?

"I don't even know how I feel."

Neva smiled. "Sounds to me like you're in love."