Ben didn’t stop the next day. He was busy from the moment he woke up. He had several early morning calls with people on the East Coast, which meant his first conference call was at six a.m. By noon, he was fried, and more than ready to get out of the house and take a drive into town to his bank and then the law firm to drop off a check and a signed contract for Steven. He’d been too busy to stop for lunch and his stomach was protesting as he drove. He decided to swing by Kelsey’s Kafe for lunch after he left the law firm.

He parked and a moment later, a sleek champagne-colored Mercedes sedan pulled in next to him. The car looked as if it had just been driven off the lot, it was so new. As he walked toward the door, he noticed the driver of the Mercedes getting out of the car. A pair of slim legs on dangerously high heels hit the ground first, followed by an elegant older woman with a perfectly shaped blonde bob. He walked in the door and the woman rushed in behind him.

“You must be Ben Turner!” she exclaimed and held out her hand. “I’m Elise Cummings, the office manager. Ray is expecting you. You can go right into the conference room.

“Okay, thanks.”

Ben met with Ray briefly, dropped off his check and contract, and was eager to be on his way to grab lunch. He liked Ray Thompson. Ray was an older man who’d founded the firm years ago and didn’t waste a lot of time on small talk. They chatted for a few minutes and then both men were ready to go. But Elise wasn’t ready to let him escape just yet. She was waiting at the front desk as he walked by.

“Ben, if you have a moment?”

He paused, hoping it would just be a moment.

“I just wanted to welcome you to Riston. I think it’s really special that you’re raising your sister’s daughter here.” She smiled big, and he forced a smile in return. There was nothing special about what he was doing. It was just what you did for family. It was Taylor who was special. In the short time she’d been with him, she’d captured his heart and he couldn’t imagine her not being with him.

“Thank you.” Another thought occurred to him.

“I think we pulled in at the same time earlier. Your car is gorgeous. Is it new?”

Elise looked thrilled at the compliment. “Yes! Thank you. It’s a special edition, and I got a nice discount because I paid cash. I imagine you pay cash all the time?” Ben tried not to laugh. She really was a piece of work.

“Oh, look at the time. I have to run. It was nice talking with you!” He dashed out the front door while Elise was still talking. And as he drove away he couldn’t help thinking how interesting it was that someone who supposedly didn’t inherit much at all was paying cash for a new Mercedes. Before he said anything to Anna, though, he wanted to dig around a bit more and see what he could find out.

* * *

Ben arrived at Kelsey’s Kafe a few minutes past one. The dining room was busy, but there was plenty of room at the counter. He sat down next to an older couple who were bickering about what to order.

“Simon, I know you want the burger with everything, but you know what the doctor said. That’s okay once in a while, but you need to watch the fatty food. Get the toasted turkey sandwich or a bowl of soup.” Her tone was sweet but bossy and Ben smiled as he listened, picturing his own parents saying similar things.

“Fine, I’ll have the blasted turkey sandwich. Jaclyn, I swear you’re not as much fun as you used to be.”

“I am the queen of fun! But I’m planning on you sticking around for a few more years, so you need to do your part.”

“Hmmmm…” The older gentleman picked up the newspaper by his elbow and started fiddling with the crossword puzzle as a pretty young waitress with long brown hair in a ponytail came to take their order. After she finished with them, she turned her attention to Ben, and handed him a menu.

“Hi, there. Can I get you something to drink?” He noticed that her slightly askew name tag read ‘Rachel’.

“Sure. I’ll have a root beer and Bob’s famous burger.” He felt a little guilty ordering it with the older gentleman sitting two stools down, but he’d been craving a burger since Wade told him it was the best thing on the menu, other than the specials.

“Good choice.” She returned a moment later and set down a tall glass of root beer.

“Thanks, Rachel.”

She looked startled by him mentioning her name and he could tell she was wondering if she was supposed to know him. He tapped his chest, the spot on her uniform where her name tag was, and she laughed.

“We just started wearing these, and I forgot it was even there.” Something buzzed in her apron and Rachel pulled out her cell phone to check a text message. She looked dazed as she put the phone back in her pocket.

“Is everything okay?” Ben asked.

“What? Oh, yes. Everything is great. Really great, actually." She took a step closer and spoke softly. “I just heard that there is going to be a TV pilot filmed here in Riston. My agent is going to send my information in to see if I can get a meeting.”

That piqued Ben’s interest. “What do you do?”

“I’m an actress. I know Riston isn’t exactly the best place to be for that, but for family reasons, I can’t move for a few years. This is the biggest opportunity that has come along so far.”

“Have you done any acting?” Rachel was a very pretty girl, and probably photogenic on-screen but that was no guarantee she had any acting talent.

“Just local productions, mostly. Theater stuff and a commercial last year for an organic toothpaste product.”

“Are you in anything now?”

“We saw Rachel last night at the Spire downtown. Rachel was a marvelous Blanche!” the older woman sitting next to him said.

She then leaned forward, “Couldn’t help but overhear. I’m Jaclyn and this is Simon. We usually come in for breakfast but today is our weekly lunch visit.”

So the was the famous Jaclyn. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Ben turned his attention back to Rachel. “You’re starring in A Streetcar Named Desire? That’s quite a play.”

Rachel smiled. “It’s incredible. I feel very lucky to be part of it.”

“How much longer is it booked for?”

“Sunday night is our last performance.”

Ben thought for a moment. Adiel was flying in Sunday afternoon. If he was up for it, they could check out the play, and Rachel’s performance. As show runner, Adiel would be heavily involved in casting. 

“I have a friend coming into town this weekend. He loves going to plays, so we’ll try to make it to one of the shows.”

Rachel looked thrilled. “Oh, I hope you do. That would be great!” She turned as Bob hollered her name to pick up food.

“I know what you’re doing, and I approve,” Jaclyn said.

Ben looked at the sweet, white-haired lady sitting next to him and wondered what on earth she was talking about. He decided to play along.

“Well, I’m glad you approve, but what is it you think I’m doing?”

Jaclyn leaned forward and whispered so only Ben could hear.

“You don’t want to get that girl’s hopes up, so you’re not telling her about your involvement with the show. You want to go to the play and see for yourself if she might be right for it.”

Ben was stunned. Very few people knew of his involvement and he’d only just made it official less than an hour ago. He didn’t quite know what to say.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Jaclyn looked delighted with herself as Rachel delivered Simon’s soup and Jaclyn’s salad.

“You are. But how did you know that?”

Jaclyn smiled. “I just know things. You probably won’t believe me when I say the fairies told me, but they did. They’re quite excited about it.”

“The fairies?”

Jaclyn sighed. “Yes, dear. I knew you’d have a hard time with that. But it is what it is. Oh, you might want to bring your nanny to the play, too. She loves the theater.”

“You know Anna?” Ben hadn’t even thought about inviting Anna. Saturday and Sunday were her days off, but maybe she’d want to join them.

“Yes, I know her. She’s Tammy’s friend, the gal that manages the bookstore with Melissa. They both come to trivia often.” Jaclyn gave Ben a long look, and then said, “Maybe you should come to trivia, too. It might be a nice way to meet everyone.”

Ben smiled, as Rachel set his burger down. “Wade suggested that, too. Anna and I are planning to go this week.”

“Good, good.”

Ben started eating his burger, which was as outstanding as Wade had promised it would be. His cellphone buzzed when he was almost done eating with a reminder that he had a conference call at two. If he left now, he’d just about make it on time. He motioned to Rachel that he was ready for a check and put cash down for it as soon as she brought it over.

Jaclyn and Simon were still eating and Jaclyn was yakking away while Simon kept stealing glances at his crossword puzzle. They looked up when he stood to go.

“Nice chatting with you both,” Ben said as he picked up his car keys.

“Nice to meet you, too, young man,” Simon said.

“We’ll see you at trivia dear. Oh and please do put in a word for me if you wouldn’t mind. I’d love to be an extra on that show. Both Simon and I would.”

“What?” Simon said as if it was the first time he’d heard of it.

“We talked about this. You don’t have to say anything. It’s right up your alley.”

“Hmm.”

Ben smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”