The Road Home

Chapter 30

Harper closed the north side door to the stable and was beginning to make the walk back to the house when her phone rang. It took her a moment to breathe after seeing Ben's name on the screen.

"Hey," he said. His voice was quiet and filled with apprehension.

Harper tried to speak but no words would come.

"Are you there?" Ben asked.

"Hey," Harper whispered. Was this shock? This felt like shock. She wondered as the line stayed quiet too long.

"Emma called and. Well. Um, can we. Could we talk?"

Harper took a deep breath and leaned against the white fence. She had stopped walking and was trying to put words together. She could barely speak. As a gentle wind danced through her hair, she answered,  "Okay."

"I'm at the gate in front of your house?" His statement sounded more like a question. "I can come back later or tomorrow or anytime. If you're not here or if you don't want to talk right now. I'll do whatever you want." His words were rushed and so unlike him.

"The code is 0516. Go past the house and come up to the stables." She stuck the phone in her pocket, and then leaned all of her weight against the fence. She had dreamed of this. Thought it would never happen but had rehearsed every word she wanted to say to him if she ever saw him again. Why couldn't she think of anything to say now though?

Within minutes, she heard a car pull up behind her. She took deep breaths to calm her raging emotions. The engine shut off. A door closed. Footsteps.

She kept her gaze on the land in front of her, the trees swaying in the breeze and the birds flying overhead. Deep breaths.

Soon Ben was leaning against the fence beside her. She quickly looked at him, but then went back to the horizon. His hair was longer than the first day she had seen him. She couldn't believe after all this time he was standing next to her.

"This is beautiful."

She nodded at his statement without looking his way.

He cleared his throat and began, "Do you remember when we talked all night? Before the funeral? And then the next night you got back to your trailer and called and we talked almost all night then, too. And we were exhausted. I had Samuel that night. But I didn't want to let you go."

She met his gaze. She hadn't wanted to end their conversation either. She moved her lips but no words came.

He continued. "I thought about every single thing you said. How you thought you wanted to stay. How South Dakota seemed like home. I thought about everything and there were so many things that I wanted to tell you. And I should have. I should have that night. But...I'm an idiot." Ben looked away and kept talking. "I just kept processing everything. Us. How different we are. Our time together. How I feel when I'm with you. I was going to tell you everything I wanted to say the next day. I was going to see if you wanted to have dinner or just talk at your trailer and then..." He quit talking.

Harper watched him stare across the field. Did he say us? She snapped back to reality and realized he had quit speaking mid-sentence, "And then what?"

"And then Mel told Brett that you were going to New Zealand and you wanted to keep it quiet. And it wrecked me. I was ready to tell you that I needed you here and I didn't handle that very well."

"New Zealand?"

"The Jack McCoy movie."

Harper scoffed. "I never signed with Jack." Melinda. That little bitch. She had never liked Ben. She dug her phone out of her pocket, went to her favorites, and lightly touched Mel's name and then put the phone on speaker. "Give me one minute."

Within a couple of seconds Melinda answered. 

Harper began, "Mel, why did you did tell Brett I signed with Jack?"

Mel laughed, "What? I was just messing around. It's no big deal. Plus it really pissed off the Professor."

"You're fired."

Ben's head snapped around. His eyes showed his shock.

She continued. "I'll have Statler draw up the termination papers."

"Harper, what the hell? What is your deal with him? I was just messing around."

"It's not just this, Mel. It's everything and it's time." She dropped her phone back in her pocket and watched Ben. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and seemed surprised by what had happened. Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry. I should have come to you that night. I should have asked but I was so afraid of what you might say. I couldn't bear the thought of you leaving. I never thought I could feel this way again, Harper. I never thought I would want to have a life with someone again. It's kind of terrifying and I've been afraid for too long. You're the first time in all these years when I've allowed myself to think about settling down with someone, loving someone, and having a family."

A family? Harper tried to control her expression and immediately Ben started to backtrack.

"That. I mean. I shouldn't have said that. In that way. I didn't mean it like. That was-," he stammered.

"It's ok," she smiled fully and bit back a laugh. He matched her smile with one of his and she could tell he felt more comfortable. Truth be told, he was the first time she had ever considered having a family. "I'm not opposed to a family."

"I want to make this work more than I have wanted anything in a long time," he said, leaning closer to her.

"I do, too. And you were right."

"About what?" He barely managed to whisper.

"You said that I would know if I had ever been in love," she forced a weak smile and then continued but he didn't seem to be listening. The corner of his lips turned upwards even though she thought she saw him blink back a tear. He turned toward her, gently touched her cheek, and then pulled her close. As she wrapped her arms around his neck he leaned down and kissed her. Slowly, at first then more passionately. He wrapped his arms around her and with his lips barely touching hers, whispered. "You make me crazy."

Harper quietly laughed as her eyes fluttered open to find his, "I love you, Bennett Chase."

"I love you, too"

She rested her head against his chest and held onto him as her Palomino galloped across the field. South Dakota had been exactly what she needed.