The Road Home

Chapter 27

Maybe it was irrational but deep down he knew it was the right thing to do. Ben was going to be honest with Harper. He was going to tell her what she already knew, that she needed to stay and not only stay in South Dakota but stay with him. She had already made it clear that she didn't want to leave and he could see it every time she looked at him. He would tell her why she felt the way she did when she thought of leaving. She belonged here, with him. He had thought about this decision all night and couldn't wait to talk to her.

"Okay people! A few more minutes and we'll get this show on the road!" Brett yelled as the cast members took their places. It wasn't long before Eric walked up behind them.

"Have you guys seen Lane?"

Brett turned his way. "Not in about an hour. Hey, here comes your girlfriend. Ask her," Brett giggled like a school girl as Melinda walked up to Eric.

"You still taking me out tonight?" Mel asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Eric smiled, glancing from his camera to her.

"Not really and you better be nice to me. I'm only going to be here for a few more days."

Ben shifted in his seat and caught her eye. She smiled almost devilishly as she glared at him.

"I'm going to New Zealand next week."

Brett quickly spun around in his seat. "Did Harper sign with Jack?"

"Of course she did but keep it quiet. You know how she is, she doesn't want just anyone to know." Mel made sure to emphasize the word anyone.

"Ha! I knew she couldn't pass up on McCoy or another Oscar," he said to Ben who stared at Harper, his heart silently breaking.

~

Harper tossed her phone on her bed and fell beside it. She had texted and called Ben to no avail and realized that he obviously wasn't going to return her calls. She knew it had been a long day for him. She decided to use her free time to read and grabbed his book.

"What are you doing?" Mel asked, walking in with a script. She moaned when she noticed, "Oh, I see." Mel dropped a script on the bed. "If you're not going to choose, then I'm choosing for you. We're going with Les. Six weeks filming in San Francisco, you get to stay home and fly back and forth and you'll have some time for a short vacation before your tour begins," she smiled. 

Harper looked at the script.

"This is for the best, Harper," Mel encouraged. "Me and Eric are going out for dinner."

"Eric? Are you dating him again? What happened to the other guy?"

Mel ignored the questions, "Come with us."

"I don't think so."

"Come on," she persisted. "You haven't gone out with us at all. He thinks you don't like him."

"I'm going to take a hot bath," she said as she got up. "And wine. Do we have wine?"

"Okay, whatever," Mel said, visibly annoyed. "I'll see you later."

Harper checked her phone one more time then set it down on her bed.

~

"It's a wrap!" Brett called from his seat.

Ben glanced at Harper but looked away quickly. He had thought about telling her that Black Hills wasn't on Spring Break like USD and that was why he didn't return her calls last night but he knew they had talked too many Monday nights for that to make sense. He didn't want to talk to her at all. And at the same time that was all he wanted to do. What was he going to say to her? He wanted to ask about New Zealand but wasn't sure he wanted to know. How could she do this? What about everything she had said about staying? Honestly, he could walk away from this movie right now and never think about it again.

"You don't think it's muffled at the end?" Brett asked Ben, as he leaned toward the monitor. "Listen one more time," he said, then paused the play button on the lap-top. "Right there. Does that sound right?"

"It sounds fine." 

Brett still wasn't convinced. "Eric, come here and listen to this."

Ben gathered his things to leave.

As the footage rolled for Eric, Brett called to Harper. "You know you're off tomorrow and possibly Thursday, right?"

"No," she said.

"We're a couple scenes behind thanks to the weather, so check with me sometime tomorrow and I'll let you know when you're working." Brett's attention went back to the monitor and his complaints about the audio.

"I called last night."

He avoided looking at her but could see out of the corner of his eye that she was watching him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ben glared at her. What's wrong with me? A thought crossed his mind to tell her exactly what was wrong with him but it would be futile. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Her leaving hurt too badly and the fact she was keeping it from him felt like a betrayal. Not that he needed every detail but. She had said she wanted to stay. And he believed her. He slightly shook his head, not believing she was keeping Jack's movie from him. Not that she was obligated to tell him anything, he thought. Obviously, she didn't feel the same way about him as he felt about her. He rubbed his chin disgusted with himself for allowing his feelings to get out of control. As he walked to the parking lot, he tried to process his feelings. He was acting childish. She was an actress. She was here for a job and he knew from the beginning she wasn't going to be here long. He sighed deeply, angry at himself for falling in love with her in the first place. He walked off leaving her calling his name.

~

Harper was hoping last night's conversation with Ben had been a bad dream. It didn't make sense.  She was going to call this morning but decided to find him on the lot instead.

"Hey," Joseph said as she got close to the fort. He and Grace were sitting on a picnic bench not far from the village set. It was packed with actors and crew about to perform a scene. From the looks of it, Quanah Parker and his father were in the middle of a meeting of the tribesmen.

Harper surveyed the actors then slid in the bench beside Grace.

Joseph leaned forward to see Harper. "Brett said we're working in the morning,"

"Quiet on the set!" Brett yelled from his chair. Ben and Eric sat on each side of him. "Action!"

Harper picked up her phone and wanted to text but wasn't sure what to say. Had she missed something? Why was he acting so weird? She watched him and tried to will him to look at her but it was useless. Mel slid in next to her.

"Have you looked at Les' script yet?"

"No." She probably should have by now but just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Do you have a few minutes?" Ben asked as he approached the table.

Harper spun around to answer him when Grace spoke up. She watched them walk towards the main building together.

"I wonder if that's who he's seeing," Mel said.

"What?" Harper asked, quickly turning to look at Mel.

"Ben told Eric he was involved with someone. I just wonder if it's Grace," Mel replied.

"That's ridiculous." Joseph shook his head. "He's helping her with her script."

"Then it's probably someone at his school," Mel continued.

"Did he say that? That it was someone at school?" Harper questioned. Is this whole thing about Lisa? She had probably gotten upset about Harper being at the funeral home. It made sense. She could only imagine what she had said to Ben about it. She remembered the way they had hugged and the way Lisa looked at her.

"I think it was someone at his school," Mel said. "Where are you going?"

"To the trailer." Harper quickly walked away, hoping she wouldn't break down before she got there.