The Road Home

Chapter 11

"Huston," Harper began sweetly. "You know I enjoy working with you, but I'm on location right now in South Dakota, my new album was released yesterday, and I still have a tour to do this summer. I can't make any promises today. If you want me in, you're going to have to give me some time."

Huston seemed satisfied with Harper's proposal. After lunch, he gave her a script to peruse.

The rest of Harper's day was filled with meetings, more interviews and, once again, going over her music video with Stan and this time, Mel. While they debated which shots were best, Harper checked her phone. She hoped Ben would call but he hadn't, so she decided to call him. Her call went straight to his voicemail.

"It's just me. Hope you're having a good day."

Her group flew to Nashville on Thursday for a meeting with the head of her record label. She tried calling Ben while on the plane and left a voicemail only to find one from him later that night.

"Sorry I missed your calls. Hope everything is going well with you. I'll see you when you get back."

Back to New York to sing four of her songs on the Today Show's spring concert series on Friday before heading to the other morning news programs. She had lost track of the number of times the plane had been from LA to New York this week. She tried Ben that afternoon but once again, had to leave a voicemail. Later, she noticed a voicemail from Ben. 

"I don't guess we're going to catch each other, are we? Hope you're not working too hard. See you soon."

Harper was relieved when Stan remembered that he was still mad at a New York City radio station owner and canceled her Saturday interviews. He had her jet ready to fly back to South Dakota early that morning.

~

It was nearly eleven when her limo pulled into the parking space in front of her trailer. Once her bags were in the trailer, she set out to find Ben. The grass swayed with the cool breeze as she walked toward the small crowd of actors and technical crew that had gathered at the fort. Drawing near, she heard Brett shouting, "Okay, let's try this again, folks. Quiet on the set! Action!"

She tried to see over the line of people and could barely make out that Michael and Clayton were doing a scene. Both bare-chested and in buckskin pants, they recited their lines with little help. Harper noticed Ben wearing headphones and sitting in front of a monitor next to Brett. He seemed intent on the scene that played out before him offering assistance when needed.

She waited until Brett called for filming to be finished before she walked up behind them. As people started to disperse and Brett went to talk to the actors, she stood next to Ben and waited to see how long it would take him to notice.

"What are you doing here?" He grinned. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"Stan canceled the interviews I had today."

He gathered his papers. "You're hard to get a hold of."

"I know. Sorry."

They stood looking at each other for a while before Ben took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Harper smiled, wondering if he felt the same way she did. She had missed him.

"What are your plans today?" he asked.

"I don't have any," she replied. "But I haven't met your Grandmother. Yet."

Ben chuckled almost fearfully. He eyed her and then slowly spoke. "You want to meet my grandmother." He waited for a moment as if trying to decide what he should do. "Alright. But, as long as you realize that if I take you to meet her, it wouldn't be a date or anything like a date."