And then, I heard him.
“Harper, what on earth do you think you’re doing?”
My chest heaved as I lifted my eyes. “Dad?”
Oh no, that meant …
“Harper?” My mother hurried from the kitchen, her perfect demeanor never wavering as she gave me a disapproving look. “Why would you attack your father?”
This was worse than an intruder.
My mother was here.
Regaining control of my breath, I straightened like the good little girl I was raised to be. Perfect posture, perfect smile, perfect behavior. Well, one out of three wasn’t bad.
“I’m going to need a drink for this.” I walked past them into the kitchen, relieved to see my grandmother pouring coffee into mugs. I stepped up next to her, leaning in. “We’ve been invaded.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “If we stick together, we’ll survive.”
“What are you doing here anyway?” She wasn’t supposed to be home yet.
“They called and said they were coming and getting here late, so I drove back. Didn’t want you facing the wolves alone.”
She really was the best.
Grandma reached into a cabinet below, using her body as a shield to hide her activities, but I caught the flash of the bottle of Bailey’s. She added it to two of the coffees and then put it away. I suppressed a smile as she handed me one of the doctored drinks and finally turned to my parents.
They didn’t look pleased.
“Harper.” Mom scowled, but I was never sure if that was intentional or if was just her face. “Was that any way to greet your mother after you skipped town to come …” She looked around with distaste. “Here?”
I wanted to defend this house. This town. But it would be no use with her. Mom didn’t grow up here, she didn’t get it. I took a giant gulp of scalding coffee, trying not to choke at how much Bailey’s Grandma had added. She shot me a wink.
I set my cup down and approached my mother, kissing one cheek and then the other. “This is a surprise.”
“We’ve been here for hours,” Dad said, chastisement in his tone.
“Oh.” My face reddened. While I was out with Carter. “Sorry, I was with a friend. Um, you remember Lena, right?” A grown woman shouldn’t have to lie to her parents, but here I was.
Really, I just didn’t want to deal with their reaction to me reconnecting with Carter. Not in the middle of the night when I was suddenly exhausted.
“Hmm.” My mom walked into the hall and straight to the living room, where she lowered herself to perch on the edge of the flowered couch, her knees pressed tightly together in her stiff navy dress that looked entirely uncomfortable.
I glanced down at my cut off shorts and solid white t-shirt. I hadn’t felt so underdressed when I was with Carter, but now I could feel the judgmental gaze taking in everything about me.
My dad joined my mom, and I sat in a chair across the room, knowing if I got too close, I’d probably drown right here in this house. Grandma smartly stayed in the kitchen. The traitor.
Dad sent me a tentative smile, one I returned with just as much hesitation. No one spoke for a long moment until he cleared his throat and gestured to my mother.
“Harper,” she started. She was trying to keep her voice soft, and I recognized the tactic. My mother was a fundraiser for various organizations. She knew how to manipulate people into doing what she wanted, and I’d had that voice used on me many times.
Her eyes met mine, unblinking. “We’re here to talk about your future.”
I should have known. I sighed. “Is it possible to do this in the morning? It’s late, and I’m tired.”
Grandma appeared at my side and pressed my forgotten mug into my hand. “Drink that. It’ll fortify you.” She’d filled it to the brim again, and I sipped it gratefully, but even so, I doubted it would be enough.
Grandma didn’t leave my side after that, keeping one hand protectively on the back of my chair, and that gave me more strength than any coffee or alcohol could.
I sat up straighter and pasted on the practiced smile I’d perfected over the years. “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry you drove all the way out here, but I promise you I am thinking of my future.”
Mom pursed her lips. “Garret came by for dinner last night.”
It should have surprised me that my parents now had more contact with my ex-husband than me, but sadly, it didn’t. He was the type of man they had always dreamed of for me. “Is that so?” I sounded bored, but it was the only way to keep the irritation out of my voice.
Dad leaned forward, a hand on Mom’s arm. “Honey, he still loves you.”
I rolled my eyes before I could catch myself, knowing my mother hated the action. “If he told you that, it’s a lie.”
Mom’s gaze burned into me. “A man like that has no need to lie.”
She was wrong. I was a trophy to Garret, the daughter of a wealthy family he could show off at functions. The young wife he could prop up beside him. “Okay, Mom.” I stood. “If we’re done here, I’m going to bed.”
“Sit. Down.” Dad’s voice was commanding, not one to argue with. “Respect your mother enough to listen to her.”
My mother, who’d never once listened to me. I did as he said, but I slouched back in the chair, my own tiny rebellion.
Mom drew in a long breath. “We think this separation was too hasty. A mistake. You can still change your mind. In fact, we’re telling you to.”
“Really, Mom? You’re telling me to? I’m glad you’ve made a decision about my life. The divorce isn’t a mistake, it’s a choice, one I have every right to make for myself. I know it doesn’t fit into the narrative of our happy little family that you present to the world, but I don’t want to be a story, not anymore. I want to be real.”
I’d never said those words, the ones resting on my heart. For someone who told factual stories for a living, it was odd to think of how long I had lived in a false one.
A tear slipped down my cheek, and I wiped it away, not wanting my parents to see how much they affected me. I distracted myself by draining the rest of my coffee.
Mom didn’t seem to notice. She started to speak, but Dad stopped her with a raised hand.
His eyes held more sympathy than hers. “What if you just come back to Boston with us? You don’t have to make any decisions, but you can figure things out there. It’s your home.”
Grandma’s hand on my shoulder gave a squeeze, and I covered it with mine. “I …” I took a breath. “I think I need to stay here. At least for a little longer.”
Mom stood, her mouth opening, and I could only imagine the things she meant to say. This town wasn’t good enough for me. It would ruin me, ruin my reputation. There was nothing here for me.
Maybe she was right.
But I had to believe she wasn’t.
I didn’t get to hear her arguments because Grandma stepped in. “Stephen, Olivia, it’s late. This conversation would do better with some sleep. I’ve made up the guest room for you.”
My parents didn’t look at me as they followed Grandma up the stairs.
Chapter Twenty
Why did I say yes to this?
There were three things I knew were true. I hadn’t seen Harper in the two days since our island rendezvous. I wasn’t a leader. And this day was going to be my end.
Yet, my cousin had faith in me.
Man, I was going to let him down.
This morning at the community center, we’d invited the owners of several local businesses and other professions to come for a sort of career day. And I was in charge.
I stood in the center of the gym, clipboard in hand, as I ticked tasks off. My mind kept wandering to Harper and why she hadn’t answered my calls. When I stopped by her grandmother’s house, Mrs. Chapman answered the door and told me I should probably wait a few days before coming back.
But I wanted to see her, to taste her lips, to remind myself I could do that now.
A hand on my back m
ade me jump.
“Everything good?” Harrison asked.
I scanned the room, where volunteers were setting up tables and bringing out the food the town had donated for the event. This place ran off donations and a bit of town funding. “I think so.”
“Don’t think, Carter. Just know. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Says the guy who can run the whole town when I can barely run my own life.”
He laughed. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Leave that for everyone else to do.”
I shoved him. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“I do, actually.” Harrison’s mayor duties were the reason he needed my help today. He had a meeting with the mayor of Hidden Cove. So, he wouldn’t even be here to bail me out when I screwed this up.
Once he left, I checked the time again. The kids would start arriving in twenty minutes. Great.
I went over my list, stopping when I heard someone calling my name. Looking up, I groaned. Conrad and Conner, walking side by side, were heading right toward me.
A wry smile twisted Conner’s lips. “Didn’t expect to see you here, baby bro. You showing these kids they can aspire to be a barback?”
“Leave him alone, Conner.” Conrad sighed, uninterested in brotherly rivalry.
I didn’t mind Conner’s dismissal. “No, but I bet you’re here to show them how to be a daddy’s boy.”
Conrad snorted a laugh, and even Conner smiled at that. The three of us didn’t spend a lot of time together. We went boating occasionally, but only when Harrison was there to referee.
A wet nose nudged my hand, and I reached down to pet Duke, Conner’s giant of a dog, who just happened to be my favorite four-legged creature on this planet.
I scratched between his ears. “Who’s a good boy?”
Duke’s tongue lolled out the side of his mouth, and I swore he was smiling at me.
“Where’s Red?” I asked Conrad. His fox was cool, but it also unnerved me when he was near. Mostly because I always came up missing important things. Pens. Sunglasses. My wallet.
Conrad looked down at Duke. “He doesn’t get along with this beast. Figured it was best to leave him at home.”
“Duke.” Conner patted his leg to call the dog to his side.
Duke didn’t budge, only leaning harder into my hand. I smiled. “Your dog is a better judge of character than you are.”
Conner scowled. “Are you ever going to tell us what you’re doing at a career day?”
I could have. Before now, I could have told them I spent every spare moment volunteering here. Sometimes weekends and special events too. That despite their opinions, I did have something I cared about. It just wasn’t a career. But I’d never felt like I owed them that truth. They’d see it for themselves eventually.
“C-man!” Henry, one of the middle schoolers, reached up for a high five as he walked by. I dodged his hand and ruffled his hair.
“You finish that writing assignment?” I called after him.
Henry rolled his eyes at me over his shoulder. “This is summer. Don’t expect homework and I won’t disappoint you.”
I laughed. The kid sounded like me.
Amanda, a high school girl I’d spent two months working with last summer to get her to actually talk to anyone, knocked into my shoulder as she walked by. “That’s for making me speak in front of people last week.” She scowled at me.
“You’re welcome,” I called after her.
I ignored my brothers as I greeted the stream of kids arriving, most by name, high fiving and grinning. This was my favorite part of working with the community center. The kids.
Once they all gathered in our normal starting spot, where all ages began each day in one giant circle, I remembered I had an audience.
Conner and Conrad were both looking at me as if they’d never seen me before.
“Who are you right now?” Conner asked.
I didn’t answer him, instead searching through the business owners we’d invited—that somehow included both of my brothers. The others waited for direction, for someone to step up. I spotted my cousins Jake and Eli who owned a bakery and a law firm respectively.
The door opened again, and Harper slipped in. I smiled, lifting a hand to wave, lowering it when I noticed how tired she looked. She held a notebook, ready to record everything that happened for the Weekly Wine, but she didn’t look happy to be here.
I didn’t have time to find out what was wrong because kids and adults alike were growing restless. Shoving my clipboard at Conner’s chest with a satisfying slap, I walked to the center of the circle and turned to take in all the kids.
“Good morning.”
“Morning, Mr. Carter,” they responded, just as they would for Harrison. A twinge of confidence ignited in me. “I’m glad you’re all here. We have something special for you today, as promised. Many of our local business leaders have been gracious enough to stop in for a few minutes for our career day. All those in our ten and older groups will participate while those of you in the younger squads will head out for a game day with Miss Delia and Miss Nora.” I gestured to two other volunteers.
I gave them a spiel about being respectful and assigned numbers so we could rotate through stations. Every part of it was planned out. Harrison was right. Nothing would go wrong.
The kids broke away, following my instructions, and it was only then I realized Conrad was behind me. I jumped when I turned and almost ran into him.
“You can’t just loom over a guy like that, Conrad.” He was a big guy. I was tall but not particularly muscular. Conrad, on the other hand, spent a good part of his time doing physical labor at the sanctuary. Looking at him, no one would realize he’d graduated top of his class at veterinarian school. The guy was just as smart as he was intimidating.
He didn’t say anything, just stared at me as if he was trying to understand something.
“What?” I didn’t have time for this. I caught Conner watching us, but he was waylaid by a couple of kids and couldn’t come over.
Conrad rubbed his jaw. “You work here.”
The obvious statement made me laugh. “Is that all? I have things to do.”
His brow furrowed. “How long?”
“What?”
“You’ve obviously worked here for a long time. The kids all seem to know you well.”
Oh, that. I was so tired of hiding this part of me. “This is my seventh summer. We do five days a week, half days. During the school year, we do some after school workshops and a few weekend activities when we can, but the center doesn’t have the budget for year-round events. And it’s not really a job. I don’t get paid. I just … I kind of love it here.”
“Seven years.” He sounded like he was only talking to himself now. “Seven years and we didn’t know.”
“I’m not exactly the interesting one in this family. No one pays attention to anything I do.”
“Probably because no one thought you did anything.”
“Well, no one’s ever bothered to participate much in my life.” I could tell he hadn’t meant to say the words, but that didn’t mean they hurt any less. “I know, Conrad, okay? Carter is the irresponsible one, the trust-fund brat without a work ethic, who will never be good at anything in his life. Don’t worry, I haven’t changed that much.” Was I really going to let my brothers ruin even this?
He removed his faded blue ball cap and pushed a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean … Why didn’t you tell us? Tell Dad?”
Anger ripped through me, and I took a step closer to my brother. “Because this is the one thing in this town Dad doesn’t own.”
Conrad smiled at that. The jerk actually smiled. He never did, and now when I could only see red, that obnoxious douche smiled. “You sound like me.”
I never thought I had much in common with any of my siblings, but that made me pause. Conrad not only gave up his trust fund from my father to become a vet and take over the Corolla Sanctuary, but then
he’d gone a step further. It was a well-known secret in this town he kept the place running with money from the trust our mother left him.
It was his passion, something that had nothing to do with the money. He loved working with horses just like I loved working with kids, making their lives better.
Another volunteer called to Conrad, telling him there were kids at his table to talk about the sanctuary. He gave me one more pregnant look before walking away.
I caught sight of Harper slipping out and followed. When I passed Conner, he opened his mouth to speak but ended up just patting me on the back instead. That was as close to acceptance as Conner got, and I’d take it.
I exited the building and jogged down the sidewalk, but Harper was nowhere in sight. Putting my hands on my head, I turned, and there she was sitting on a bench in the community garden, sunlight creating a glow around her.
Today, she wore a white shift dress, giving a view of tanned legs and the chipped yellow paint on her toenails. That brought a smile to my face. She’d always loved painting her nails but complained about having to take it off and never did, even when it was broken and flakey.
I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my cargo shorts and approached her. “Hey.”
Her face brightened when she saw me, and relief flooded me that I wasn’t the reason she looked out of sorts. Though, I still wanted to know why. Taking a chance, I leaned down to steal a kiss.
A surprised breath puffed from her mouth, but it only took her a second to kiss me back, parting her lips to allow me in. I pulled back with a grin. “We’re at a kid’s event, Miss Chapman.”
“Well, Mr. Ashford.” She straightened her dress. “You probably shouldn’t be fraternizing with the press assigned to cover your event.”
“Fraternizing? Is that what we were doing?” I kissed her again, and she smiled against my lips, putting a hand on each side of my face.
“And other things.”
“I like other things.”
“Me too.”
I dropped down beside her with a laugh. “You don’t look like yourself today. What’s wrong?”
The Second Chance Page 12