Cornbread & Crossroads by Bella Falls

Author:Bella Falls [Falls, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evermore Press
Published: 2020-09-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

We started our search at the advocate’s office that Ben now ran by himself. Jedidiah Farnsworth had retired and was currently traveling to visit family members outside of Honeysuckle.

The front of the space maintained a professional appearance for a small-town legal business. Based on my knowledge of Ben’s training, I suspected he could have had his pick of jobs anywhere he wanted, and I thought about my trip with Mason in the bigger city.

“Did you always know you were coming back here to work?” I asked as he escorted me to the back room filled with rows of filing cabinets.

With a flourish of his fingers, he unlocked one and pulled out the drawer. “This cabinet and the next has town business in it, at least from what Jed showed me. I would start with these first. And to answer your question, no, I thought when I left here I wouldn’t be coming back.”

“So why did you?” I pressed.

Ben took a step back, considering his response before he gave it to me in true advocate fashion. “I know most people think I wasted an opportunity or that I was crazy to come back. But the simple answer is, I missed home. No matter how hard I tried or how well I did in my job, the hole right here,”—he tapped his chest over his heart—“it just never got filled. Not until the night I made the decision to come back.”

“And now you’re where you want to be? With the person you want to be with?”

He tilted his head. “Yes, but why are you asking?”

I thought about Mason and the reason he’d stayed behind. Maybe life in a small town wouldn’t be enough to keep him satisfied. Maybe the happiness we had together wouldn’t be enough.

“No reason,” I lied, refocusing the conversation back on him. “Although if you want to make Lily happy, you really should consider moving up your plans for your future together.”

He scoffed. “Did Lil put you up to this? Ever since Alison Kate and Lee’s wedding, I’ve definitely felt a bit of pressure.”

Shifting my weight on my feet, I challenged him. “What are you waiting for?”

Ben leaned against a nearby filing cabinet. “I don’t know. I guess to feel like my roots run deep into the ground here. To make sure everybody stops second-guessing my return. And for me to be more established and stable in the practice.”

“That’s a long list of requirements. Are you sure you need all that to happen just to pop the question?” I asked.

“I’m sure that you’re stalling in the task at hand,” the advocate countered. “Let’s figure out whether or not Jed was right about some of the town papers being taken.”

Since our mission far outweighed whether or not Ben would ask my friend to marry him anytime soon, I let him off the hook, rubbing my hands together. “Right. Let’s see what I can find.”

My powers usually worked better if I was holding onto someone or something belonging to a person who wanted the item.

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