The call ended and Vanessa started toward the Christmas Bazaar. Isaac Baker might be legit. And maybe the ring he’d shipped offhadbeen hers. It was the best lead she’d had in a year at least. But with the reward on the line, Vanessa had her doubts.
She spotted Ben before he saw her. He was looking at a booth of old books, talking to a couple who had brought their wares to the yearly bazaar. A rush of recent memories came to mind. She and Ben had found time to talk nearly every day, and on Saturdays they talked while walking at their separate parks.
He had told her about his hobby of woodworking and how he loved his men’s Bible study. A place where he could grow in his faith and enjoy an outlet other than what he shared with his dad. They shared a common loss, one that most people never knew in their early forties. Ben was funny and deep and a great listener. But there were still things she didn’t know about him. Like how his wife had died or how he had survived the loss.
She hadn’t shared that either. With their extended time together starting today, Vanessa had a feeling they’d find their way to those deeper places.
Even from a distance Vanessa could see Ben smile at the couple and shake the man’s hand. Like he really cared about the pair.
Watching Ben from a distance was sort of fun. Vanessa slowed her pace. She and Ben had only been together inperson a few times. And now she could see for herself that her memory didn’t do him justice.
This new friend of hers was not only a head-turning kind of handsome.
He was kind.
Chapter 6
From the moment he pulled into town, Ben loved Columbus, Georgia. Like his heart had belonged here way before he parked his truck near the Chattahoochee RiverWalk. Christmas trees stood outside storefronts, decorating the coffeehouses and festive boutiques that marked the main road into Old Town, and American flags flew from half the houses.
The sense of military pride, patriotism, and Americana felt woven into the fabric of the buildings and people.
Columbus was bigger than Marietta, but something about it felt small. Like home. Vanessa had told him all the city’s traditions: the annual lighting of the city Christmas tree in Old Town Square, dazzling light displays, and the Gingerbread Village where locals displayed original gingerbread houses to a growing crowd of visitors.
Then there was the RiverWalk Christmas Bazaar happening this weekend. Between this display of crafts and old heirlooms and the antique stores in town, there couldn’t be a better time to search Columbus for unforgettable vintage Christmas goods.
His father had agreed, but he had also known Vanessa Mayfield lived here. “Take your time, son,” he had told Ben when he left the store earlier today. “Treasures are rare and never easy to find.”
Ben loved that his dad was a poet at heart. The two longed for the deeper things, and in fact his dad had first taught him about Walt Whitman. Ben played down his interest in Vanessa to his dad—and sometimes even to himself. In case nothing came of it. The two were only friends, after all. But there was no way he would be here looking for antiques in December except for one thing.
Vanessa lived here.
He breathed in deep, savoring the cool air off the river. Vanessa Mayfield had worked her way into his heart from the beginning. After losing Laura, he had never really expected to find love again. Most people didn’t find a heart connection like that ever, let alone twice. But his conversations with Vanessa had been marked with familiarity from the beginning.
The other day he told the guys in his Bible study group about Vanessa and the trip to Columbus. Their consensus was the same. With God, to love again was possible. One of them put it succinctly: “It’s about time, Ben.”
He thought about her in the woodshop behind his house, the place where he processed his feelings and made rocking chairs that sold in the shop—the only non-antiques. She was on his mind when he worked out and when he drove to work and every Sunday when he fixed dinner for his dad and Gary and himself. Also, when the three of them played cornhole after eating.
The truth was, after just five months, Ben couldn’t stopthinking about her. And now as he walked along the waterside, he could practically feel Vanessa’s warm and beautiful heart in the very air he was breathing.
He moseyed along the RiverWalk, eyeing the cold water and looking at one booth after another until he saw her. The wind played in her chestnut hair, and her amber eyes locked on his. In a single heartbeat her smile lit up the afternoon. Ben walked toward her as she made her way through the meandering crowd.
No matter what they called this connection they’d found, Ben was sure of one thing. He did not see her as merely a friend. But how did she feel about him? And was she ready for something that—with every passing week—felt like much more than friendship?
When they reached each other, they shared a quick hug. Vanessa was always careful not to linger, another reason Ben wasn’t sure how she felt about him. But if her smile counted for anything, the possibility of something more certainly existed.
“So what do you think?” She wore a lightweight coat and a scarf and so did he. The weather was colder than usual, and the breeze off the river made it chillier.
“About Columbus? I love it.” He broke away from her eyes to study the winding pathway and the river beyond it. “A Christmas bazaar along the RiverWalk? Brilliant.”
They took their time, the breeze on their faces. The next booth held a table full of Christmas antiques. Exactly what Ben was looking for—workwise, anyway. They stopped and Ben sorted through the items. His eye caught a gold-plated bell. “I like it.”
“So pretty.” Vanessa ran her finger over the year engraved across the front. “Seventeen twelve.”
“Okay. So here’s the game.” Ben could feel his eyes light up. He turned to Vanessa. “You hold the antique and get a feel for it. Then you let the story come to life.”
“The story, huh.” She leaned in, studying the bell. “Tell me.”
Ben turned the bell over in his hands. “In the summer of 1718, a ship set sail from London headed to New York City. The vessel survived the journey, where many did not.”
