Unexpected Inheritance

11

"Oh, I don't know," Marina said lightly. "Ben's got a pretty particular taste. He usually knows exactly what he wants."

Miranda gave a tight smile. "That so?"

Marina nodded. "Mhm. But thanks for the tip. I'll grab these for now and let him decide if they're good enough."

Rosalind cleared her throat. "Well, I'm sure Ben will eat 'em either way," she said, trying to move things along.

Miranda shrugged. "Yeah, he's not too picky. I mean, when you've had the real thing, sometimes you just settle for what's available."

Marina's smile never wavered, but the look in her eyes said she caught the meaning behind Miranda's words just fine.

"Hmm," Marina mused, tucking the bag into her basket. "Funny thing about that. Sometimes people think they want what they had before, but turns out, they just needed something new."

Miranda let out a small laugh. "New doesn't always mean better."

"And old doesn't always mean worth keeping," Marina shot back with ease.

Rosalind took a slow step back, pretending to suddenly be very interested in a shelf of canned goods.

The two women held each other's gaze for a beat longer before Marina gave a polite nod. "Well, nice running into you, Dr. Bailey. Hope you have a good rest of your day."

Miranda gave her a tight-lipped smile and walked on, Roz right beside her, mumbling, "That was just petty."

Miranda shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."

A few days later, Ben walked into the hardware store.  He had just finished some work for a neighbor and figured he might as well pick up a few things for himself when he spotted him. Miranda's... whatever he was.

Eli was standing near the gardening section, holding a bag of soil, studying it like he had any idea what the hell he was looking at. Ben almost let it go, almost walked right past. But then he heard him mumble to himself, "I think this is the one she uses."

Ben clenched his jaw and stepped over. "Leave the garden be."

The man looked up, a little surprised, but then he smiled. "I just wanted to take care of it for her."

Ben took a step closer. "Leave. The. Garden. Be." This time, his voice was lower, firmer. A warning.

Eli exhaled through his nose like he was amused. "Look, I know you're the groundskeeper—"

Ben scoffed. "I was more than the damn groundskeeper when I had Miranda screaming my name."

That wiped the smug look off the Eli's face. His grip tightened around the bag of soil, but he didn't say anything. He just nodded slowly, like he was trying to decide if the conversation was worth continuing.

Ben smirked and took a step back. "Like I said—leave the garden be." Then he turned and walked off, knowing damn well he'd made his point.

Ben was back at his cabin, splitting firewood, when he heard a car pull up. He didn't have to turn around to know it was Miranda. He could feel it.

She slammed her car door shut and marched toward him, her boots crunching against the gravel. He let out a slow breath, wiped his hands on his jeans, and turned just as she stopped in front of him, arms crossed tight over her chest.

"You told him to leave my garden alone?" she demanded, eyes sharp.

Ben smirked, grabbing another log and setting it on the stump. "I did." He swung the ax down, splitting it clean. "Told him three times, actually."

Miranda exhaled through her nose. "You don't get to tell people what to do with my garden, Ben."

He rested a hand on the ax handle, looking at her now. "That garden was ours. Not just yours. Don't act like I wasn't involved."

She opened her mouth, then shut it, looking away for a second. "That's not the point."

"Oh, I think it is." Ben tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "But since we're talking about what's not the point—what the hell was that little knock-off comment to Marina?"

Miranda's lips pressed together, but she didn't deny it.

Ben let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah. Thought so."

"She asked me about a snack I introduced you to. I gave her an honest answer," Miranda said, her voice too smooth, too calm.

Ben folded his arms. "An honest answer would've been just telling her where to find it. But you had to get that little dig in, didn't you?"

Miranda shrugged. "If the truth stings, that's not my problem."

Ben took a step closer. "You got a lot to say about Marina, but you were the one parading around first."

"I told you—"

"Yeah, yeah," he cut her off. "'We were broken up.'" He shook his head. "And yet, here you are, acting like I did something to you."

She scoffed. "Please. You were the one who got all territorial over my damn garden."

Ben's jaw ticked, but instead of responding, he let out a long sigh and looked away, hands on his hips.

"And you and I both know it wasn't actually about the garden"

Ben shrugged. "Hope he knew it too." 

"Oh, real mature, Ben."

"You started it"

Miranda frowned but didn't argue. She just turned and walked back to her car. Ben watched her go, gripping the ax a little tighter before turning back to his firewood.

Ben sat on the steps of his cabin, staring out at the land that had been his home for a good while. He was really considering leaving. His tools, his clothes, his life... all packed up and moved elsewhere.

He exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. He promised Eleanor he'd take care of her land. He knew Eleanor set them up but he couldn't stay anymore. Not when he was stuck this close to Miranda, pretending they weren't tangled up in something neither of them had the guts to deal with.

Meanwhile, Miranda sat inside her house, staring at nothing in particular. It had been a long day, and now, as she sat alone in the quiet, she couldn't ignore the thoughts creeping in.

She'd been childish. Petty. Letting her emotions get the best of her. And for what? She had pushed Ben away, convinced herself that space was what she needed, but all she had done was leave them both stuck in limbo.

She shouldn't have broken up with him.

The realization settled deep in her chest. Maybe she hadn't been ready back then, maybe she had needed time—but she had let fear make decisions for her. And now? Now she was sitting here, watching her real relationship slip through her fingers while she played around with a man she had no future with. A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.

She opened it to see Eli and before he could even say a word she spoke first. "We need to talk,"

He nodded. "I was afraid this day would come"

He stepped inside, and Miranda let out a breath. It was time to stop pretending.

She took a steadying breath. "I've been doing a lot of thinking," Miranda began, struggling to balance honesty with the pain of the truth.

"You're breaking it off" he stated more than asked. As if he was anticipating this all along. 

"I have to," she said "I need to be true to myself, to the life I want to build, and I can't do that with you."

"I just wanted to be with you," he whispered. "Take care of you"

"I understand and I should have not made you believe that this was leading to something" Miranda replied, her own voice softening with regret.

"I knew you loved that man and yet I wanted to convince myself it didn't matter."  He nodded, backing away toward the door. "Take care of yourself, Miranda."

And then, he was gone.

Miranda stood there, staring at the door for a long time.