Page 34 of Hometown Girl

“I think the feeling is mutual,” Callie said.

“What feeling?”

Ben. Thank God.

Callie snapped her jaw shut at the sound of his voice. She’d had thisthingfor Beth’s oldest brother ever since they were kids, and he seemed either uninterested or unwilling to notice. Beth had barely touched on the subject with Ben, whose own heartbreak had taken him out of the dating game years ago. They’d only spoken in generalities, but he clearly wasn’t ready for romance. Not yet.

Her thoughts briefly turned to Michael. Had their relationship put Beth’s whole life on hold the way Ben’s heartbreak had done for him?

God, I don’t want to be as closed off as my brother. Please help me get past this.

She’d prayed this so many times over the years. It never seemed to stick. But then, maybe she hadn’t meant it before. Something about seeing Ben unknowingly standing next to someone who would love him unconditionally pulled a sadness through her soul—not only for her brother, but for herself.

Neither of them needed to keep living in the past.

She pushed the thoughts aside. “It’s nothing. What’d you do, sneak in the back?”

Ben pulled his tattered baseball cap down even lower. “I think I was undetected, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “You could’ve helped with our sales pitch, you know. Having a baseball celebrity on our little stage would’ve given us some street cred.”

“Formerbaseball celebrity,” Ben said.

“Around here, you’ll always be a celebrity.” The words seemed to have escaped Callie’s lips without her permission. She stared at Ben with that faraway look in her eyes. And he seemed as oblivious as he always did.

“Cal, how about you get started prepping lunch, and we can go pick Ben’s brain for a while.” Beth had gotten used to keeping her friend from making a fool of herself. She considered it her duty.

Callie sprang into action without a word, and the three Whitakers headed outside.

“Can’t believe how many people showed up,” Ben said. “That’s a good sign, I guess.”

“You guess?” Molly didn’t hide her annoyance. “Five years from now when this place is back on the map, producing apples and pumpkins and landing on the cover ofCountry Livingmagazine, you’re both going to havemeto thank for it.” She stomped off toward Bishop, who looked about as awkward holding a hammer as Molly would’ve in a power suit. Beth had gotten used to seeing him in his police uniform, but today he sported old jeans and a gray T-shirt, covered by an open flannel. His freshly cut sandy-colored hair had darkened a bit over the winter, and he wore an eager expression.

“She’s spunky, we have to give her that,” Beth said.

“Don’t get so swept up in this that you forget why you’re here.” Ben crossed his arms. “You’re the brains. Be the brains.”

“I could use another brain, you know. And some of your millions.”

Ben laughed and started toward the house. “I don’t have millions.”

“But you have lots.”

“So do you, Beth. Don’t pretend you haven’t been squirreling money away for the past ten years.”

He didn’t know the truth. No one did. They would be so disappointed in her. The smart one. The sensible one.

Hardly.

“It’s not that simple,” she said. “Molly’s broke. I’m looking for a couple of investors. Of course, my first thought was you. I’m sure you agree we don’t want to bring Mom into this.”

Ben shook his head. “You’re right about that.”

“Even though she’ll never use everything Dad left her,” Beth muttered.

“No, we aren’t dragging her into this. We don’t even know if she’s healthy yet.”

“I know. And I agree.” Beth frowned. “So it looks like we’re on our own.”

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