Chapter 41
Ben had barely managed to get Courtney outside before she started blabbing about the fantastic offer he’d accepted. He’d told
her in no uncertain terms that she was to keep this news as quiet as possible so he could tell people on his own terms. What
he really meant, and what Courtney knew he really meant, was that he wanted to tell Mylie on his own terms.
He did plan to tell her, of course, but he wanted to wait until after the tournament—it was only a few days away—once everything
settled down, once he’d had time to think of something, anything, to say. Right now wasn’t the time, that’s what he told himself.
Besides, the deal could always fall through, and what good would it do to tell Mylie before he knew for sure that the sale would happen? No good, that’s what.
He’d managed to go back inside and enjoy lunch, and Mylie seemed to accept his excuse about the forgotten meeting. They’d
had a nice time together, but Melissa had given him a knowing look that had him squirming in his seat. He couldn’t get out
of the Cracked Egg fast enough. He loved being with Mylie, but he couldn’t sit still, thinking about what he needed to say
to her and wondering how she might interpret it.
Morris was waiting on his front porch when he got back. The older man stood with his hands in his pockets, staring up at the
roof.
“You’re gonna need a new roof before winter,” he said by way of greeting.
“Oh?” Ben asked.
Morris nodded. “I know a guy, in case you’re interested.”
“Thank you,” Ben replied, unlocking the door and motioning for him to come inside. “That’s probably something I’ll leave to
the new owners... whoever they might be.”
“Hmmm,” Morris said.
Ben studied Morris’s face and then replied, “You’ve heard.”
“Might’ve heard something.”
“Please don’t say anything to Granny,” Ben said. “I want to tell Mylie myself, and something tells me that Granny wouldn’t
keep that from her.”
“I’m not in the habit of keeping secrets from Granny,” Morris replied. “But this ain’t rightly my business, is it?”
Ben cautioned a smile. “No, sir. I guess not.”
Morris sniffed. “My sister works over at that Realtor’s. Courtney. She wasn’t much of a history student.”
“Do you think your sister has told anyone else?”
Morris shook his head. “I told her not to be tellin’ other people’s business. But you should tell her, son, before word gets
out. You know how small towns are.”
“I do,” Ben replied. “Thank you for the warning.”
“That’s not my warning,” Morris said, angling his head to one side. “Did I ever tell you that I moved off from here back in
my twenties, must’ve been a hundred years ago by now.”
“You didn’t tell me that.” Ben shifted on his feet, wondering how he’d managed to talk himself into a lecture in his own living
room.
“I was gone for a time. Left my girl here, my first wife. She passed on some years back, but I loved her,” Morris continued. “I thought life was too small here, thought I was too big. It was important, you know, to get out and see things.”
“I know what you mean,” Ben said.
Morris eyed him. “But nothing ever felt quite right out there. I’d look around at the end of the day and find that I had no
one to celebrate the good things with and no one to commiserate the bad days with. It felt empty. It didn’t matter, you see,
if I didn’t have the people I loved beside me.”
“I understand” was all Ben could think of to say.
“Do you, son?” Morris asked.
“I don’t know,” Ben admitted. “But I’d like to.”
“Good,” Morris said, clapping Ben on the back. “Now, I need to crawl under your house and grab that live trap. I left it during
the, uh, cell phone debacle.”
Ben grinned. “I have it,” he said. “I brought it in. I’ll grab it.”
“Oh, good,” Morris replied, relief written all over his face. “I was afraid I was gonna have to fight Fat Tony for it!”