13

 

Ben had never been so nervous. A couple unsteady weeks had passed as he absorbed Aaron’s advice and formulated a plan. Despite the first cooling days of early autumn, his palms left sweat marks against the leather steering wheel while he navigated the short drive to town, to the Thomas family home. Hailey Beth would be at the store, but Byron Thomas expected him in just a few minutes, and he was right on time.

No way would he be late for this meeting.

His heart thundered against his ribcage. He fought to steady his breathing. This would be OK. He had a plan. He had goals. Still, the entirety of his heart, and future, was on the line.

Corinne Thomas answered his summons when he knocked at the front door. Following a hug, and a brief exchange of post-wedding family updates, she led him into the main living area, where Byron waited. He stood from the leather chair where he sat once Ben entered the room. Hailey Beth’s father welcomed him with a warm smile and firm handshake.

“It’s good to see you, Ben. Glad to have a chance to spend some time with you before you leave.”

“Same here, sir. Weddings are a lot of fun, but not really conducive to many one-on-one conversations.”

“I second that, for sure. Have a seat.” Ben accepted the gestured invitation to occupy a black leather chair next to the one Byron had occupied. The Thomas family were generations-old merchants. Their home was well styled, reflecting a sense of affluence, but no pretense. He’d always been a bit intimidated by the power and status of the Thomas family, not because they were rich, or arrogant, but because they represented the opposite side of his life and upbringing. The Fisher family earned its livelihood from the land, from raw, physical work. The Thomas family earned its livelihood from book smarts and a sense of well-heeled confidence.

“You holding up OK? Last minute details coming together? If there’s anything you need, just shout, y’hear?”

“I do, and thank you for that. I appreciate it, sir. We’re set, though, far as I can tell. We’re in the process of organizing supplies to be packed and hauled, then there will be the convoy of volunteers and a second round of supplies to be coordinated—mostly perishables and such. We appreciate your donation to that effort, by the way. The food staples and produce mean a lot.”

“My pleasure.”

Enough groundwork had been laid, Ben figured. It was now or never. He dipped his head for a moment, closed his eyes to find stillness and peace. Both descended upon him at once, soothing his nerves. Thank you, Jesus. Take it from here. Please. “I called because I wanted to talk to you about an idea I have. About the mission, and about me, and Hailey Beth.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Well…” Another deep breath, and he dove into the deep waters. “I’d like Hailey Beth to come with me. To Arkansas.”

“Come again?”

Oh, her father was beyond surprised alright, and not inclined to hide the fact. That was expected, and respected. Only full-bore openness would take this proposal where Ben hoped it might go.

“Sir, I think, if she were able, she’d come with me. Not for the whole year, but for most of it. She could still receive training and be brought up to speed with respect to our objectives for the mission, but she’d only do so under a very specific set of conditions.”

“Such as?”

“After the wedding, we talked about the idea of her joining me. Not surprisingly, she said she won't go. She won't even entertain the idea of joining me if the store isn’t tended to in the manner she feels is best. Mila’s an obvious candidate, but Mila’s already got her hands full with Sundae Afternoon, and her marriage, and maybe even a family before too long, so—”

Byron’s brows shot up. “Do you know something I don't know?”

Ben released a nervous chuckle. The moment of levity was just what he needed. He enjoyed the teasing glint in Byron’s eyes. “Only a week past the wedding? No, I don't. But it stands to reason kids would be in their future.”

“I’m hoping.”

They shared smiles.

“So, I guess I'm here to ask for two things from you today.”

Byron nodded agreeably, waiting.

“First and foremost, I am asking for your permission to marry Hailey Beth, if she'll have me.” Ben stopped there, gauging, waiting a couple beats for any discernable reaction. Nothing came to him, though, except a smooth blink, a nod. Byron had always been a cool, collected man.

“And what's number two?

“Number two is a question I have about the store. A proposal, if you will.”

“Which is?”

Byron’s eyes sharpened, going narrow. A fire came alive—protection and passion for the business his family had created generations ago. That was precisely what Ben counted on. After all, Thomas’s Grocery was Byron’s flagship, his legacy.

Leaning forward, Ben propped his elbows on his knees and faced Hailey Beth’s father in a moment of truth. “Sir, would you be willing to come out of retirement, for just under a year, so she would be free to either except or decline my offer to join me in the mission based on her own wishes, her own heart, rather than the interests of the store and her family ties?”

“Neither one of which should ever be taken lightly.” The words were gently spoken, but carried an undercurrent of warning.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m living proof of that truth. I know what I’m doing puts my family on the line. We treasure our heritage, just as you do, but the thing is, they’re in support of what I want to do as a person above and beyond the world they’ve built. I’m grateful for that latitude, because you’re right, it doesn’t come easy. Or without risk. I want to know the farm will be OK without me. I care about it, and have since birth.”

Byron leaned back, studying Ben anew.

Ben continued. “I know you have managers you trust implicitly, that HB trusts implicitly as well. But she'll never surrender her hold to anyone but family. Really, to anyone but you, the one who delivered management to her to begin with. And I don't blame her at all.”

“What if you decide to continue?”

“We’d figure it out. Together. Maybe part-time mission work could be mixed into a schedule we could all live with. I thought the idea might be worth exploring, because, between HB, the people already in place, and you, of course, there are a lot of people standing ready to be sure everything continues on the way it should.”

It took some time for Byron to mull over the pros and cons. In the silence that followed, Ben was pretty sure he could see cogs spinning away within an agile mind. The coin flip he had initiated spun through the air. Heads. Tails. Heads. Tails.

“I’m on board, and you can tell Hailey Beth as much, but the decision to stay or to leave has to come from her.”

“Absolutely, and that’s all I want, sir. A chance to give her a level offer. I thank you. Truly I do.” Ben shifted, uncomfortable as silence returned. He didn't want to have to ask for her hand again, but he would if necessary. Nothing would keep him from pursuing her with all the power he possessed.

“About marriage.” Byron resumed their conversation.

Ben’s chest rose and fell on a sigh of relief that was probably palpable, because Hailey Beth’s father smiled warmly, with what Ben could have sworn was a sea of nostalgia rippling through his gaze. “Long ago, if someone had told me I'd have not one but two daughters married to sons of Jonathan and Anna Fisher, I never would have believed it possible. I love and respect your mother and father and your brothers. But we have a lot of history. Most of it good, some of it…tense.” 

“I know we had some tough scraps over crop sales. There’ve been some hard-fought negotiations, but the respect is returned tenfold. So is the affection.”

Once again, something mysterious flashed through Byron’s eyes. “True enough, but it goes beyond that. Someday, have Hailey Beth tell you the story of me, your mom, and dad and our earlier days.”

“I'll do that. And I want you to know, I'd be honored to join your family. I promise you, with all that I am, if she takes me on, I'll be good to her. I’ll treasure her. Always.”

“Ben, I feel the same, and I know you're a man of your word. I'd welcome you readily.”

Ben stood, overwhelmed by gratitude.

A firm handshake became a quick, hard hug.

When he left the Thomas’s home, driving back to the farm with a light heart and shoulders lifted of an invisible weight, a piece of Byron’s wisdom played through his head.

The decision to stay or to leave had to come from her.

 

~*~

 

Hailey Beth spent days agonizing.

Blowing up at Ben was bad enough. Now, having the seeds and roots of his offer to join the mission sprout leaves and flourish, was too much to handle. Really. He was a lunatic. Certifiable. He knew she had a store to run. He knew she had family and friends. He knew she had a life in Antioch she would never surrender on impulse. Even if that impulse came from the man she loved beyond reason.

Ben had picked quite the moment to become verbal and intense. It was as if he had surrendered his old sense of self and embraced some of the characteristics of his older brothers—Phillip’s ability to argue and negotiate coupled with Aaron’s straightforward intensity.

What was up with the universe these days?

Hailey Beth stood sentinel in front of the coffee machine in the kitchen of her family home, waiting for a jumbo-sized mug to fill with her favorite brand of dark roast. Not even those tempting curls of java-steam could rouse her from a relentless funk.

“Hey, Hailey-girl.” Dad strolled into the kitchen, newspaper tucked beneath his arm. Dad refused to give up the print edition of the Antioch Herald. “Something smells good.”

“Toasting some banana bread and making some coffee. Interested?”

“I sure am, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all.” Hailey Beth went to work, glad to serve and glad to be distracted from further introspection about a certain member of the Fisher family. Once breakfast was dished up, she delivered Dad’s portion and joined him at the eat-in area tucked into a wide, sunny bay window. They bowed their heads and Dad offered a blessing.

“Going to be a pretty day.” Dad spread a napkin across his lap.

The Bay window overlooked a wide patio area and a chunk of green grass bordered by fences that divided the neighboring lots. Their home fronted Washington Avenue, one of the offshoots of Main Street, but the back yard offered a measure of solitude and quiet. Hailey Beth enjoyed the view, buttering her bread, taking a bite. When she sipped from her coffee, thoughts of Ben intruded. Banana bread was his favorite…

“That was a heavy sigh. You OK, sweetheart?”

Hailey Beth hid a cringe at her father’s interruption. Yep, she was officially losing it, casting laden sighs aloud without even realizing it. “I’m fine. Just waking up is all.”

Dad tasted his coffee, but delivered a knowing look over the rim of his cup before setting it aside. “I’d love to believe you.”

Oh, what was the sense in hiding?

“I’m feeling a little down, I suppose.”

“What’s wrong?” He set the newspaper aside, leaning forward, intent and focused. Hailey Beth loved that about her dad. There was nothing halfway when it came to his kids.

“It’s Ben. And it’s me. And it’s…just…everything.”

“Can you narrow things down a bit?” A gentle, teasing light came alive in his eyes.

Hailey Beth grinned at him, but the grin quickly faded. “Actually, I’m ashamed to admit it.”

“Admit what, Hailey-girl?”

“That I’m scared.”

From there, she explained the muddled set of circumstances between her and Ben. She wanted to be with him, and the more she considered it, the more intriguing the idea of service became. But, beyond that was the heritage she cared for with every fiber of her being each day she tended to Thomas’s Grocery.

“You turned over the store to me a year after I graduated college, and no honor has ever meant more to me.”

“I know that, and it shows in your actions. The store is in great hands with you, but it was never meant to come with shackles.”

“It doesn’t!” She spoke hard, fast, and from the heart, but she also knew, deep down inside, that she was using the mercantile to dodge an emotional and life-altering bullet…

“Hailey Beth, that’s the fear talking.” She wilted at the shoulders, and he reached across the table to give her hands a squeeze. “There’s no shame in fear. Fear is a natural and helpful response to danger, and to the unknown. Trouble comes when you let fear paralyze you into hiding, or when it leads to misplaced complacency.”

Hailey Beth watched him for a few minutes, absorbing the truth he shared. Talk about spot-on delivery. “So, I’m not faithless?”

His deep laugh rumbled. “No. Far from it.”

“Still, I’m afraid. I’m afraid of leaving. I love my life here. I love what I do. I’m happy. It’s all I’ve ever known, and it satisfies me. What Ben offers feels so…risky.”

“All that’s true.” He paused meaningfully. “But, will you be happy when he’s gone?”

No.

The answer filled her at once. Completely. Still, she couldn’t deliver an immediate reply. Part of her wanted to continue to use fear as a shield. In the end, though, facts wouldn’t be denied. “No, Dad. I won’t.”

“Then I think you know what you need to do. Don’t let fear win. Don’t shy away from a risk. We’ll cover matters here in Antioch. We’ve got lots of support. But all of that is secondary to the most important thing of all.”

“What’s that?”

“You. You, and Ben.” She dissolved on the inside as her father stood and pulled her to her feet, and then into his arms, swaying a bit. “Ben gave me his word he’d take good care of you, and I trust him on that count.”

Hailey Beth leaned back, staring at her father wide-eyed. “What? When? When did he do that?”

“Oh, I believe he should be the one to fill in the details. For now, I think you need to go see him. Don’t you?”

“Yeah. I do.” On a burst of loving energy, Hailey Beth squeezed him tight, kissed his cheek. “I love you, Dad.”

“Back to you a million, Hailey-girl. Now, go make it right with Ben, OK?”

“I will.”

After breakfast, Hailey Beth climbed the stairs, headed for her room, ready to kick-start her day with a shower, and then a bookkeeping session at the store. She’d slip into problem-solving mode and work through what should come next, because wise as her father was, she still needed to come to her own decision, live her life, and the call of her heart, on her own terms.

The sound of her cell phone vibrating against the surface of her dresser caught Hailey Beth’s attention. She paused to check the alert and discovered a text message from Ben.

Need to c u. So much 2 say. Never meant 2 drive you away. Just the opposite. Can we talk? ASAP? I’ll b @ the farm.

Hailey Beth stared at her phone, nipping at the inside of her cheek as her pulse rate skyrocketed. Whatever it was Ben wanted to discuss, she was on board. God had obviously taken a hand, so everything else could wait.

I can b there in about an hour.