Until Harmony

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “Dad said welcome to the family,” she whispers, studying me.

  I smile, grabbing her hand and bringing it to my mouth. “Told you we talked and that it’s all good between us.”

  “I thought you were lying,” she murmurs, and I laugh, doing it loud, and she grins at me then sets her coffee on the ground. She stands, coming to me, settling herself in my lap, wrapping her arms around my sides, and resting her head on my chest. “I don’t want to go home tomorrow.”

  “We can come back anytime.”

  “Something to look forward to.”

  “Yeah, Angel.” I kiss the top of her head then ask, “Do you want a big wedding or a small one?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What?” I lean back to look at her, and her eyes meet mine.

  “I never really thought about it before.” She shrugs.

  “You plan everything, baby.”

  “Until you, I didn’t think I’d find a man who I’d want to spend my life with. All my other goals have been attainable. Finding a man who loves me the way you love me seemed outlandish, completely impossible. So I never put much thought into what my life would look like if I did find a man to spend it with.”

  “Time to change that,” I tell her gently, and she nods.

  “What kind of wedding do you want?” she asks after a long moment of us just staring out into the forest surrounding us, soaking in the peace and just being us.

  “The kind where, at the end of it, you’re my wife,” I tell her honestly, giving her a squeeze, and she laughs.

  “I can do that, but when your aunt comes for Christmas, maybe she, Mom, and I can start getting some ideas together,” she says quietly, causing my chest to get warm and my gut to tighten.

  “She’ll love that.”

  “Good.” She leans up and kisses my jaw. “We have a plan.”

  “We have a plan,” I agree as her words from earlier wash over me, ripping me open and putting me back together again. I didn’t think I’d find a man who I’d want to spend my life with. All my other goals have been attainable. Finding a man who loves me the way you love me seemed outlandish, completely impossible.

  Outlandish, completely impossible. I thought the same thing—that there was no way I’d find someone perfect for me. But right when I wasn’t looking, she walked into my life, proving that every fucking thing happens for a reason.

  Chapter 11

  Harmony

  STOPPING IN FRONT OF THE nurses’ station I look over the top at Mimi, who’s bent over a stack of papers with her head in one hand and a pen in the other as she writes. “I’m going to the gift shop to get a coffee before they close. Do you want one?” I ask.

  She looks up then leans back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head. “Yes please, milk and three sugars.”

  “Got it, can you keep an eye on my rooms?”

  “Sure,” she agrees, and I smile.

  “Be right back.” I head down the hall and out of the double doors. Stopping at the elevator, I press the down arrow, my ring catching my attention like it’s done every day for the last week. I love my ring; it’s perfect—more than perfect—I still want to pinch myself every time it catches my eye. Getting on the elevator when the doors open, I go down to the first floor, get off, and then head for the gift shop, smiling at people as I pass.

  Glimpsing Dr. Hofstadter as he stands at the end of the hall talking to another doctor, I blink. His nose is swollen, there is purple and yellow bruising under his eyes, and there’s an ugly yellow-green bruise on the underside of his jaw. His eyes come to me, and as soon as our gazes lock, my stomach twists when I see the look on his face.

  Ducking my head, I enter the gift shop, and then my head flies back up when I hear a woman ahead of me in line give her order. I know her voice. I know her voice, because she’s the woman I heard crying and talking to her friend in the bathroom. Placing my order, I wonder what I should do. Should I talk to her? Should I tell her I heard her talking about Hofstadter? Going to stand at the end of the counter, I get close to where she is, my heart pounding hard against my rib cage.

  “Hi,” I blurt, and her eyes swing to me.

  “Uh… hi.” She smiles a small, awkward smile, and I bite my lip when she looks away.

  “Do you work on this floor?” I ask.

  She looks at me once more. “Yeah, I’m in the emergency department.”

  “Awesome. My dream is to work in the emergency room,” I tell her.

  She smiles genuinely then sticks out her hand toward me. “Amy Sheldon.”

  “Harmony Mayson.” I shake her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.

  “Yeah.” She nods. “You too. Have you applied for the emergency room yet?”

  “When I first applied at the hospital, yes, but I didn’t get accepted. Right now, I’m taking the trauma and critical care class here, in hopes to transfer to emergency when a spot opens up.”

  “We’ll have to exchange numbers. I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” she says.

  I stare at her. “You’d do that?”

  “Totally.”

  “Wow.” As I pull out my cell phone and she does the same with hers, my skin prickles, and I turn to find Hofstadter in line to get coffee, his eyes on us. Feeling Amy tense, my stomach twists, but I fight through it and return my attention back to her. “What’s your number?” I ask, and she gives it to me then shoves her phone in her pocket, saying a quick goodbye before taking off.

  Picking up Mimi’s and my coffees when they are done, I take them to the elevator and up to the second floor. “Dr. Hofstadter has a broken nose,” I blurt out, and Mimi looks up at me, her brows pulling together. “He also has a few other bruises.”

  “Yeah, I saw that a few days ago.” She grabs her coffee from me, taking a sip of it.

  “Do you know what happened to him?”

  “No idea. My guess: he pissed someone off.” She shrugs, and I bite my lip. The bruising looked a week old, maybe a little older. I told Harlen what I overheard a week or so ago, but would he do that? “I wish I knew who did it. I would walk right up to them and give them a high five.”

  Mimi’s admission breaks through my thoughts, and I smile at her then look at the board when a ding starts and a light flashes. “Be right back.” I lean over the counter to set my coffee down then head for my patient’s room. After helping them to the bathroom and back to bed, I walk back out to the nurses’ station, seeing Hofstadter talking to Mimi when I get there. I slow my steps, but when he sees me, he doesn’t acknowledge me. He takes off.

  “What was that?” Mimi asks as soon as I reach the station, her eyes on the door Hofstadter just left through.

  “What?”

  “As soon as Dr. Hofstadter saw you, he couldn’t get away quick enough. What was that?”

  “I don’t know,” I mutter, but my stomach twists once again.

  “Weird.” She shrugs, and I bite my lip. It’s not weird; I have a feeling I know what’s going on, and as soon as I get home, I plan on finding out from my fiancé exactly what he did.

  ***

  Walking out of the hospital four hours later, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I scan the dark, mostly empty lot. Since I started working here, it’s always dark when I leave, but I’ve never felt the way I do right now. Hurrying to my car, I get in and lock the doors, scanning the lot as I start the engine. I put on my seat belt, back out of my parking spot, and then see a car a few spaces down from mine pull out too.

  Shaking off the weird feeling sitting in my gut, I turn right onto the main road and see the car do the same. Then I stop at a stoplight and look in my rearview mirror. Seeing the person in the light from the streetlamps above, my heart starts to beat strangely. It’s night, completely dark outside, and they have on a black beanie, which wouldn’t be weird normally, since it’s cold, but they also have on sunglasses, those also black, hiding their face from view.

  Reaching over into my passenger seat, I
search through my purse until I find my phone then drop it in my lap. The light turns green, and when it does, I make a last second decision, and instead of going left, I go straight, seeing the car’s blinker shut off as they follow me.

  Okay, maybe they didn’t want to go left either. Driving straight, I bite my lip then pull into one of the turn lanes. The car follows, pulling up behind me. Panicked now, I wait for two cars to pass then turn and pick up my cell, dialing Harlen.

  “Hey, Angel, you off?” he answers, sounding like I woke him up, and I’m sure I did. He probably fell asleep on the couch with Dizzy, something he does often when he’s waiting for me to get home.

  “I think I’m being followed,” I whisper, wondering if I’m losing my mind. Looking in the rearview, I see the car still there, still close. Shit.

  “What?”

  “I just left the hospital, got a weird feeling. When I pulled out, a car pulled out with me. I turned; they turned. I don’t know, but I think they’re following me.”

  “Where are you?” he asks, and I hear him moving around doing it quickly.

  Looking at the streets as I pass, I answer. “Right now, on Main,” I say, as my breathing starts to turn ragged with worry and fear.

  “Breathe for me, baby. It’s going to be okay. Just keep your speed, stay on Main, I’m gonna get on my bike and find you.”

  “I want to come home,” I whisper, as tears start to blur my vision.

  “I know you do, and you will. But right now, I want you to keep your speed and stay on Main. I’ll find you. Promise.”

  Promise. Yes, he will find me.

  “Okay.”

  “I gotta let you go so I can get on my bike. Call your dad and tell him to notify the cops so they can be on the lookout for you.”

  “Harlen,” I whisper, fear audible in my voice that’s now shaking.

  “Angel, it’s gonna be okay. Stay on Main. Call your dad as soon as we hang up. I’m on my way to you now.”

  “Okay,” I whisper.

  “Love you.”

  “I love you too.” I see the light ahead of me turn red, and with no choice, I slow to a stop as the line goes dead. With blurred vision, I pull up my dad’s number in my phone and press Send.

  “Honey, what’s going on?” Dad asks, sounding like I woke him up.

  “I think someone is following me,” I whisper into the phone once again, looking from the rearview mirror to the light ahead of me.

  “What?”

  “I think someone is following me,” I repeat, pressing down on the gas as soon as the light turns green.

  “Where are you?”

  “On Main Street. I just passed Veterans. Harlen is coming, but he will have to find me. He’s home, so it will take him a few minutes to get to this side of town. He said to call you.”

  “I’m gonna call dispatch and let them know to be on the lookout for your car. Keep driving. Do not get off Main.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Is the person still tailing you?” he asks, and I look in the rearview mirror.

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of car is it?”

  “It’s black and small. I don’t know what kind of car it is.”

  “All right,” he says softly, then I hear him relay that information to someone else and I don’t close my eyes, even though I really want to. “Can you see the driver?”

  I look in the rearview mirror again and see nothing but the same beanie and sunglasses. “Yes, but I can’t see their face, they have on sunglasses.”

  “Okay, take a breath. People are looking for you,” he tells me, and I swallow over the sharp lump forming in my throat.

  Then I see red and blue lights coming from the opposite direction. “I see lights, but they’re going the wrong way,” I say into the phone, watching two cop cars pass me before dropping my eyes to the side view mirror and watch them get further away. When my eyes fly to the rearview mirror again I see the car that was behind me is gone. Looking back over my shoulder, my stomach drops. They are gone. They must’ve seen the cops too and taken off, or they were never following me to begin with and I’m just paranoid.

  “They’re gone,” I whisper into the phone, checking my mirror again.

  “Pardon?” Dad asks, and I clear my throat, fighting back my relief filled tears.

  “They’re gone. I’m not being followed anymore.”

  “Got spooked,” Dad mumbles, as a whimper climbs up the back of my throat when I hear the sound of motorcycle pipes close by. “What is it?” His voice sounds worried.

  “Harlen found me,” I tell him, looking behind me and watching one headlight get closer and closer. Relief, like I’ve never felt in my life, overwhelms me. I pull over into a gas station parking lot and put my car in park, rip off my seat belt, and open my door. Before I even have a chance to get out, Harlen drags me from my seat, and wraps his arms around me. Burying my face against his chest, I sob, my body shaking with adrenalin and fear. Lifting me into his arms, he carries me to the back of my car and settles me on the trunk, placing himself between my legs and wrapping his arms around me.

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” he whispers, his big hand running down my hair and my back.

  “I was so scared.”

  “I know, Angel but you’re okay. It’s okay.” He kisses my hair, and I wrap my arms around his waist as tightly as I can. Even as he shifts back to reach his phone when it rings, I don’t let him get far. “Yeah, I got her. She’s shaking, but she’s okay. We’re at the gas station at the corner of Main and Vermont,” he says, and I know instantly he’s talking to my dad. “Didn’t see anyone. Have someone check the tapes at the hospital. Yeah. Good. Right. See you soon.” He shifts again, and I look up at him when his fingers touch my chin.

  “It’s gonna be okay.”

  “Okay.”

  “Promise.”

  “Okay,” I repeat, dropping my forehead to his chest as a fresh wave of tears climbs up my throat. I don’t try to fight them; I let them fall. Hearing sirens, and seeing lights through my closed lids, I open my eyes and watch two police cruisers pull into the parking lot. Then I watch the officers start to get out of their cars.

  Scanning the men as they get close, my eyes land on my cousin Cobi. He moved home about a year ago and joined the police force in town after being discharged from the military, where he was a military police officer. I haven’t seen him much since he’s been back; no one has. I watch his eyes come to me and his jaw go hard, and then I see his eyes go to Harlen as he lifts his chin while the other men stand back.

  “Did you guys see anyone?” Harlen asks.

  Cobi shakes his head. “After we knew you were with her, we spread out. Didn’t find anything,” he says, then his eyes come back to me. “You sure you were being followed?”

  “I…” I pull in a breath then shake my head. “I don’t know. I thought so, but now I don’t know,” I admit, and his face softens.

  “Someone needs to check the tapes at the hospital,” Harlen orders, his body going tense against mine.

  “Already on it,” Cobi agrees, then he turns his head as my dad’s truck pulls into the lot and he parks.

  As soon as Dad’s out his door, his worry-filled eyes come to me, and Harlen shifts, pulling me off the trunk. Before my feet even touch the ground, my dad’s arms wrap around me. “You okay?”

  “Yes,” I whisper, hugging him back just as tightly.

  “Don’t worry me like that again,” he demands, and I attempt to smile but it feels forced.

  “I’ll try not to,” I agree.

  He pulls back to look down at me before he presses a kiss to my forehead. Keeping his arm wrapped around my shoulders, he turns us and claps Harlen on the shoulder then looks at Cobi. “Did you find anything?”

  “Nothing,” Cobi replies, and Dad’s chest expands on a deep breath. “I’ll file a report, but right now, that’s all that can be done.”

  “I’m gonna take Harmony home,” Harlen inserts, and my eye
s go to him as he looks at my cousin. “Do you or your boys know how to ride?”

  “Yeah,” Cobi says, and his answer surprises me.

  “You mind getting my bike home for me?”

  “Not at all.” Cobi grins, holding out his hand, and I watch Harlen hand over his key.

  “You find anything, call my cell. Nico has my number,” he demands, and Cobi once again lifts his chin right before Harlen’s eyes come back to me and soften. “Come on, Angel. Let’s get you home.” He says gently and I look up at my dad.

  “Go on, get some rest.” Dad squeezes me into his side then kisses my temple.

  Taking Harlen’s hand, I let him lead me to the passenger side of my car and help me in, then slam the door. I put on my seat belt then watch him in the mirror talking to my dad and Cobi for a few minutes before he gives them a chin lift and opens the driver’s door, getting behind the wheel of my car, pushing the seat back as far as it can go, and adjusting the steering wheel.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper as he pulls out of the parking lot, and his eyes come to me.

  “Sorry for what?”

  “For this. I… I must have imagined it and freaked myself out.”

  “Angel, you did or you didn’t. I’m glad you had the sense to call me,” he says, reaching over, picking up my hand, and bringing it back to his lap. “I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to your safety.”

  I don’t agree or disagree. I stare out of the window, wondering if I imagined being followed then completely freaked myself out because of it.

  As soon as we get home, I go inside and pick up Dizzy, who greets me at the door. I give him a cuddle then go to the bedroom. I change into a nightgown, go through my nightly routine, and get into bed. Resting my head on my pillow, I listen to Harlen shut down the house then watch him when he comes into the room, disappearing into the bathroom.

  “You wanna watch something on TV?” he asks, getting into bed next to me wearing a pair of dark blue, almost-black boxers.

  “No, but you can.” I scan his big beautiful body, his thick biceps, toned chest and abs. Once he’s in bed with the sheet around his waist, I look at his hands. His hands have made me feel beautiful, and cherished, have made me feel loved and sexy, and have been nothing but gentle with me. But I know without a doubt they could inflict pain on someone if he wanted them to.