Ben stood in his office, staring out the picturesque window overlooking the Seattle skyline. Had he done the right thing?

Deciding not to dwell on his decision any more, he punched the button on his desk phone to call his assistant.

“Yes, sir?” Andy answered.

“Any word on my phone?”

Ben had lost his phone somewhere between the plane and baggage claim two days ago. So far, the airline had turned up nothing and he’d been too busy with meetings and negotiations to get a new one.

“Oh, no sir. They never recovered it so I ordered a new one this morning. It should be here any minute.”

“Okay, thanks Andy.”

Ben glanced down at his watch. It was just after one. He had a meeting at two to shore up the final wording of the contract with his attorneys before signing the formal documents to move forward with the sale of his company. Ben and his board would then begin the arduous task of going public.

Soon they would start out on the “road show” as the bank called it. They would travel extensively, trying to find prospective investors, giving them their best dog-and-pony show. The sale would mean even more work for Ben but he looked forward to the distraction. Giving his mind over to anything other than the woman who haunted him day and night would be a welcome diversion.

Ben was happy with his decision, or so he told himself over and over. Going public was the best for everyone involved. Especially him. If that were true then why did he feel so empty inside?

Someone knocked on Ben’s door and Patrick stepped inside. “You ready for this?” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them like he was starting a fire.

“I can see you are.” Ben laughed as he sorted through the mess of papers on his desk.

“Want to grab some lunch before we head into the meeting?”

Another meeting with bankers.

Ben’s stomach grumbled. He hadn’t had much time for anything since his return, least of all eating. “Sure. Let me just call and check on my mother one more time.”

Patrick didn’t say anything but Ben knew he was borderline obsessing. He’d been calling his mom fifty times a day. He probably didn’t need to call again. Something deep in Ben’s gut burned, thinking he wasn’t needed back at home. Something in his heart ached as well. Maggie apparently didn’t need him either. He hadn’t heard from her.

Staying in Canyon Creek long term had never been an option. Until it was. Until it had begun to nag at him as a possibility. As a hope.

“Come on,” Patrick said, waving to the door, “you can call her after our meeting and tell her how much money her son is going to make.”

“The money won’t come right away, Patrick.”

“I know,” he smiled, “but still, the potential’s there.”

Ben’s face fell.

“What?” Patrick’s brow furrowed.

Making a ton of money had never been Ben’s intent when opening Sumner Integrated Software Solutions, but now it was a real possibility—not that he hadn’t already made a nice nest egg so far. But his real passion had been in software development itself, helping companies achieve their goals through innovative technology, something he would have even less time for once his company went public. A board of directors was one thing, but answering to stockholders too would be even more taxing.

Patrick came close and snagged an arm around Ben’s neck. “Come on, let’s go grab a sandwich now. Then we’ll celebrate tonight with a real meal and a stiff drink.”

“Or two?” Ben smiled.

“Or three.” Patrick laughed as the headed toward the door.

They almost ran into Andy on their way out. He carried a small box in one hand and a cell phone in the other. “Oh, sorry, boss. Your new phone is here. I charged it and set it up for you. Hope that’s okay, it’s just downloading everything now.”

“Oh, yeah thanks,” Ben said. “Just put it on my desk.”

“Sure thing.” Andy strolled to the desk and set Ben’s phone on the wooden surface as he began to organize the papers.

“Just leave it, Andy, I’ll get to the papers later.” Ben and Patrick walked through the doorway out into Andy’s outer office.

Ben turned back to glance at his desk when he heard the incessant ping of his phone.

“Wow,” Andy called from behind them. “You’ve got a lot of messages and texts here, Boss.” Andy waved the phone in his hand.

Ben had survived two days without a phone, what was another few hours? “I’ll check it later, after we sign all the paperwork. There’s probably nothing important on it anyway.” He’d checked in on his mother almost hourly and everything with her and the lodge was fine.

Patrick patted him on the back. “Come on rich man, buy me lunch.”

Ben shook his head as they strode toward the elevators. Rich man. There was so much more to life than money. Losing his father and returning to his childhood home had finally taught him that hard lesson. True riches lay where you least expected them—in family, health, loyalty…and love.