Page 110 of Resisting the Fall

Ben’s truck wasn’t at the Walkers’, but before I turned the car around, Ann came out of the house, waving for me to stop.

“I thought that was you,” she said when I rolled down my window. “Are you looking for Ben?”

“I am. I tried his phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. Do you know where he is?”

She hesitated. “I think I saw his truck come by here not too long ago.”

“But he’s not here anymore?”

She glanced up at the sky. “It is such a lovely afternoon, isn’t it?”

I followed her gaze upward. It was a fairly warm day for October, warmer than it had been the last few days, anyway. Though I wasn’t sure why she was mentioning it currently. “Yeah, it is.”

“You should take a walk.”

I stared at her. “Right now?”

Ann nodded, her eyes urging me to agree.

“Okay,” I said, turning off the engine and climbing out of Carson’s black Lexus. “Do you want to come with me?”

She shook her head. “You should go by yourself.”

Ann was acting strange. I glanced around the yard, then at the house behind her. “Are you safe?” I whispered.

Her brow lowered.

“Ben told me about the… stalker.” I mouthed the last word. “Do you need me to get help?”

Laughter burst out of Ann, her hand coming to her chest. “No. Sorry. We’re safe. I just think you should go for a walk.” She glanced toward the dirt road that separated their property from their neighbors and again I followed her gaze.

“Is Ben up there?” I asked, beginning to understand her ambiguous clues.

She tucked her lips inward and lifted her shoulders.

“I guess I’ll take a walk and find out.” Not sure what I was getting myself into, I started in the direction Ann had indicated.

“Turn right when you get to the dirt road,” she called, immediately covering her mouth like she wasn’t supposed to have said it.

The last of the leaves still clung to the trees, and bright fall colors littered the ground, contrasting the trunks of the birch trees as I walked. To prevent the beauty from dulling my anger too much, I set my focus on the dirt at my feet. After I’d walked a good distance, barking brought my gaze upward. Finn stood in the middle of the road just before a bend, staring at me.

I patted my knees, and he came bounding toward me, tail wagging wildly. “Hey, boy.” I leaned over to pet him. “Aren’t you supposed to be hiding from me with Ben?”

“Finn,” Ben’s voice brought my gaze up again just as he stepped into view. He stopped mid-step. “Maven? What are you doing up here?”

“What I’m doing here is having you explain this to me.” I pulled the folded piece of paper from my back pocket and held it up, continuing toward him. “And why you left it on my porch.”

“It’s what you wanted from the beginning.”

My jaw slackened. “It’s what I wanted in the beginning, Ben. If you think this is what I want now—you just signing a document without even speaking to me, then leaving it for me to find at my convenience—you’re crazy!”

“If I’m crazy, it’s because of you!”

“Because of me?” I scoffed, coming to a stop a few feet in front of him. “You’re the one who keeps leaving, Ben. How is any of this my fault?”

“Because you were supposed to marry Colin!”

My head retracted slightly. Why was no one making any sense today? “What?”