It all started with her father getting sick.”
It had taken Ben some time to get his emotions in check, but once he had, the sad look returned to his face, and he launched into the story.
“Stroke actually. He’d had a few little ones in the past, but then the big one hit. There was nothing wrong with his mind, but he wasn’t able to walk afterward. He needed someone in the house round the clock. Connie never hesitated. Wouldn’t hear of putting him in a home. And not that the others offered, but she wouldn’t have accepted help from them either. She was like a mother to those kids. She wanted them to live their lives.”
“This is what I don’t understand. It sounds like there was a lot of love in the family. I know Rippert Sr. was hard on the kids, but—”
“Hard on them? Ha! That’s an understatement. Those kids could never do anything right.”
“But wasn’t Constance included in that treatment?”
“She was. But to a lesser extent. She looked a lot like her mother. Seeing his wife in Connie I think held him back at times.”
“Is that what came between you and Constance? The fact that she was caring for her dad?”
“No. No. We were making it work, as people like to say nowadays. I would come by the house and spend time with Connie while her father slept. He had mellowed quite a bit toward the end. It wasn’t easy, but we both knew the situation wouldn’t last forever.”
“So, when did it all change?”
“When Connie changed,” he said, shaking his head. “That damned will of her father’s. Why that man cut his other children out of the estate has always been a mystery to me. But the even bigger mystery was why Connie went along with it. That was the fight that ended us.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the old man died, and the others found out about the will, they were not happy, to say the least. The way they turned on her? After all she had done for them?”
“How exactly did they turn on her?”
He rapped the table with his knuckles. “They accused her of horrible things. They said she tricked her father into writing that new will. But she had nothing to do with it. I can’t prove it, but Beatty knows the truth. Those siblings of hers though—led by Rip—accused her of using the time she spent caring for her father to whisper poison in his ear. But she never said one unkind word about any of them.”
“I can’t imagine how that made her feel.”
“It nearly killed her.” Ben frowned, anger creasing his face.
“That’s truly awful.”
“And, unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it. I think Connie could have gotten past those first accusations, but what Rip accused her of next?”
I didn’t prod. Ben was clearly building himself up to what was coming.
“He accused Connie of more than just getting their father to change the will.” He pinned his lips together. “He implied she helped the old man along.”
A chill ran over me. “He accused Constance of killing their father?”
He nodded. “After Connie told me that, I went out looking for Rip. Found him in the town square. Laid him out flat. I’m not proud of it. But boy did it feel good.” Ben’s fist clenched with the memory. “You know what really burns me?”
I shook my head.
“I doubt Rip ever believed any of it. He was just so angry about being cut out of the will. He lashed out in the worst way possible.”
“It sounds like you loved Constance a lot.”
He smiled and the anger drained from his face. “Do you believe in soul mates?”
I nodded.
“Connie was mine.”
“So, what happened?” My words came out almost sounding like a plea.
Ben sighed. “Connie was so torn up by everything that had happened. I just wanted to make it better, so I went to her with an idea.” He shrugged. “Why not just split up the estate? Rip wanted the house. Give him the house. John wanted the land. Let him have it. Mary didn’t want anything, but that first husband of hers, he sure wanted cash. So, give it to him. We didn’t need it. We could make it on our own.”
“What did she think of that?”
“At first, she thought it was sweet. She liked that I didn’t care about any of it. She said she wanted to respect her father’s wishes though. That never sat well with me. Her father had never been fair with those kids when he was alive, and he wasn’t being fair now that he was dead. Connie asked me to drop it, but I couldn’t. I didn’t understand. I knew as long as she lived in that house, on that property, her siblings would never let it go. I couldn’t understand why she’d want to live with that kind of bitterness directed toward her. But the truth was, the bitterness was already spreading to Connie. The way those kids turned on her after she had devoted so much of her life to them? That kind of hurt cuts to the bone. I think it got away from her.”
“How so?”
“She wanted to hurt them the way they had hurt her.” He looked up at the sky. “Anyway, I guess I brought up the idea one time too many, and that’s where it all ended for us. Connie accused me of siding with her siblings. I tried to tell her that wasn’t the case, but suddenly she was accusing me of believing she had made her father change his will, and that maybe deep down I believed she had something to do with his death.”
“I’m so sorry. For everything.” I jolted back from the picnic table. Those had not been my words. They had come from my mouth, but they were not mine.
I shot a look over my shoulder, suddenly convinced Constance would be there, but if she was, I couldn’t see her.
Ben patted my hand. “It was all a long time ago. Anyway, I tried to make things right between Connie and me, but it wasn’t meant to be. Eventually I had to get on with my life. It took a few years, but then I met my wonderful Patty.”
“But she wasn’t your soul mate.” This time the words were mine, but I couldn’t believe they had left my mouth. “I am so sorry. I never should have said that.”
“Don’t worry. And yes, Patty is my soul mate. You can have more than one. I’ve been fortunate to find two of them in my lifetime.”
It surprised me how certain he was.
“I can see by the look on your face you don’t agree.”
I looked down at my hands.
“One day life might surprise you.”
“Thank you for sharing all this with me. I know it couldn’t have been easy, and you certainly didn’t have to.”
“Bah, I think it’s done me some good. I know what people think of Connie, but who she became, it wasn’t who she was. Not in her heart. I think I needed to tell someone that.”
I smiled.
“Now,” he said with a groan as he pushed himself up, “I should probably get going. I promised Patty I’d pick up groceries on the way home. She’ll have half the town looking for me soon.”
“Before you go,” I said, reaching out a hand to stop him, “you said Constance told you she wanted to respect her father’s wishes. And that it was a mystery to you why Rip Sr. wanted to cut the others out of the will, but did Constance ever try to explain it? Was he simply being vindictive for some reason?”
“That’s the part that was so strange. The last few times I spoke to Rip he expressed a lot of regret for how he lived his life, especially how he treated his children. But in answer to your question, no, Connie never said.”
I thanked Ben again and got to my feet. I stood by the table as he took his leave.
At one point he looked back and gave me a wave, and I held my hand up in return.
I knew it wasn’t just me saying goodbye.
A gentle wind rushed over the lawn, and with it a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
I had helped Constance say goodbye to Ben. Not like I would have before, but it was something.
I tilted my face up to the sun.
Maybe I could find my way back to that place. Losing my gift along with Adam had driven me to cut myself off from everything. But maybe my aunts were right. Maybe there was a way I could reclaim what I had lost.
“Brynn?”
I snapped my eyes open.
“Brynn Warren?”
All the warmth I had been feeling dissipated when I saw the woman calling to me from the shadow of the oak tree. She didn’t look angry. Or even unfriendly. But the way she had her bag clutched close to her chest, she most certainly looked nervous. Almost afraid.
“My name is Maureen. I’m Rip’s wife.”