AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sylvie’s eyebrows remain raised, and the corner of her mouth lifts. She knows he’s my personal physician. She also knows he costs a fortune.
“Well, we’ll leave her to rest,” Mom says, shooing us all out of the room. “It’s probably best that she sleeps off the drugs.”
* * *
That evening, leaving Emma in the safe hands of my ever-fussing mom, I travel over to Ben’s house. He’d given me a call to let me know the lamp was ready, and I told him I’d be right over.
When I arrive, I knock on the door, and Jackson answers.
“Hey, man,” he says. “How are things?”
“Good,” I say with a nod. “How are the wedding plans?”
“They’re taking over my whole house,” Ben says teasingly, walking into the hallway behind Jackson.
“That’s kids for you, Ben,” I joke back.
Jackson laughs at my patronizing remark and opens the door wider for me to step inside.
“There’s no point in coming in,” Ben says, moving toward me. “It’s down in the barn.”
“Right,” I say, stepping back again to let the older man out of the house.
“Follow me,” Ben says, leading the way across the yard.
The lamp is stunning. I can do nothing but gawk at it, mainly because I have never seen such intricate craftsmanship in my entire life. I’ve seen a few of Ben’s pieces, but nothing like this.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Ben asks.
“Are you kidding?” I blurt, finally pulling my eyes away from the beautifully carved piece I hold in my hands. “She’ll have a cow!”
“Well, if you need somewhere to store it…” Ben quips back without missing a beat. He keeps cows in his fields, so the punchline is obvious.
I burst into laughter, and Jackson joins me. Ben always did have a quick mind. “Truly, Ben, it’s amazing. You took the idea out of my head and created it, except better.”
“Well, I try. Right—back to the house with you boys. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a beer.”
Once we’re settled on the porch with a cold beer, Ben tells me about an issue he’s having with his website. He asks me if I could take a look.
“I don’t understand all this technological mumbo jumbo, young Finn,” Ben says, shaking his head. This comment elicits a smirk from Jackson in my direction. “I have to keep the website to sell what I make, but my skill is in the craft, not the computer.”
“That’s no problem, Ben. Of course, I can take a look. Where is your computer?”
“Oh, Lord, I don’t mean now.” He throws a dismissive gesture. “It’s too late for all that tonight. There’s no rush. Come by whenever you have a minute.”
We talk for a little longer, and then Ben retires to bed, leaving me and Jackson out on the porch alone.
“I hear Nick Fenton hasn’t left town yet,” Jackson says out of the blue. There’s something in his tone that makes me look at him strangely. He lifts his hands in surrender. “Well, it is Sharon Springs.”
I still don’t know what he’s getting at, and I say so.
“He was seen in the coffee shop with Emma,” Jackson says, his tone a little wary. “I just didn’t know if you’d heard.”
If I hadn’t been in the kitchen making a sandwich that day, I might not have heard. But I was, so I did. The thought of that man makes me grimace inside, and my face falls into a scowl.
“Tell me, are you looking like a bear because he’s still in town, or because he had coffee with Emma?”
I don’t want to answer that question because I know where it will lead. But I know I can’t hide anything from Jackson, anyway. He knows me too well. “Both,” I reply.
