Her knock was answered by a teenage girl. “Hello,” she began, holding out the picnic hamper, “I’m Harmony from next door. I wanted to give you…”
Harmony stopped when she noticed the girl’s tear-stained face and red eyes. “What’s wrong?”
The girl sniffled. “Nothing. You’re the one the triplets stole the flowers from, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes…but that’s all right. I’m sure they won’t do it again.”
“Ha,” the teenager responded. “Don’t bet on that.”
Harmony was at a loss for what to say next. She settled on asking the girl her name.
“I’m Abby,” she replied. “What’s in the basket?”
“I made you supper,” Harmony finally succeeded in passing off the hamper, “to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
****
It had been a long, hard day at work, but then all his days were like that. Joseph pulled into the driveway of their new house, noting that the morning’s sunshine had given way to clouds. Now, the sky looked dark and threatening in the west. A storm was coming.
As he climbed out of his house, he looked over his new home. He’d hated to leave the old house that he and Cheryl had bought as newlyweds. It was the house that he’d brought all of his children home to after they were born. It was the house that Cheryl had died in, after her struggle with breast cancer.
But that was a long time ago. He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. The family had outgrown the old house and they needed to move on. He needed to move on. He’d been looking for a bigger house for months when Pansy Parker insisted he look at this one. That was one persistent woman. Why did she care what house he bought?
At first he’d been skeptical. The house needed a lot of work. But then again, building and renovating houses was what he did for a living.
Joseph wasn’t looking forward to a night of unpacking, though, and he hoped his sister had put the kids to work after school—and kept an eye on the triplets. It was too soon to be antagonizing their neighbors. They didn’t need a reputation as the neighborhood troublemakers.
When had his life gotten so complicated, Joseph wondered as he got out of his truck. Just when he’d finally gotten used to being a single parent, his oldest sister, Theresa, had gone to a rehabilitation center to deal with the drinking problem he didn’t know she had—which is why he had taken the triplets, even though Hope had almost begged to have them. But he was the head of the family, and it was his job to take care of his nieces.
Joseph opened the door to the kitchen and inhaled a wonderful aroma—definitely better than take-out pizza. Who had found the time to cook today?
Hope was putting dishes in a cupboard, her face hidden by the scarred wooden door. Probably she hadn’t heard him come in. Joseph slid onto one of the stools that lined this side of the counter. “How did you make something that smells that good in all this mess? I didn’t even think we’d unpacked the pots yet.”
She turned and closed the cupboard door, and it was then that Joseph realized he hadn’t been talking to his sister at all. It was his new neighbor, Harmony Solberg, who was putting dishes away.
“You haven’t—unpacked the pots, that is. I—I made dinner. At my house and brought it over. It’s in the oven, keeping warm.”
Joseph was stunned. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry. I thought you were my sister.”
“I wanted to apologize about last night.”
“You wanted to apologize?”
She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, avoiding his eyes. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper. It’s just that I’d been traveling, and I was tired and…”
Joseph cut off her apology. “If that’s losing your temper, you can argue with me anytime. You didn’t even raise your voice.”
Harmony frowned. “Well, no. But I wasn’t very welcoming to you.”
“The fault was entirely on our side. The girls shouldn’t have been in your garden.”
“It was silly to get upset over flowers. They’ll grow back.”
Her earnestness touched Joseph. “You have nothing to apologize for. Thank you for making dinner. It will be a welcome change from the take out we’ve been eating for the last few days.”
“I’m happy to help. I’ll just head home now, so you and your family can eat.”
“Will you stay for supper? After all, you made it. It wouldn’t be very gracious of us not to share.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
She was poised for flight, ready to bound away like a deer. What made her so nervous? “You aren’t intruding. We’d be pleased to have you.”
Just then, Abby came down the back steps. “I’m sorry Ms. Solberg,” she said as she emerged from the stairway, cordless phone in had. “I didn’t mean to be on the phone so long.”
Their neighbor’s attention turned to Abby. “That’s all right. I don’t mind. Please call me Harmony.”
“You left Harmony down here unpacking while you were on the phone with one of your friends?” Joseph was surprised to see a look pass between Abby and Harmony. It was a look that told him they had a secret. What was going on here?
“Unpacking?” Abby noticed the half filled cupboard. “Oh, Ms. Solberg, I mean Harmony, you didn’t have to…”
“I don’t mind,” Harmony said simply.
“How did you know where we’d want things?” asked Joseph, his gratitude for the meal she’d cooked ebbing.
“Well, I just thought that your everyday stoneware should go above the dishwasher for easy unloading.”
Joseph quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes. It all depends on the kitchen and how it’s laid out. Everything should go as closely as possible to where it will be needed. It’s all about flow.”
“Is that your expert opinion, Ms. Solberg?”
She quailed a bit under his stare. “Of course you can put everything where you wish. I was just…just trying to help.”
There was a noise from the stairs, comparable perhaps to a stampeding herd of buffalo. Noah and Peter came into the kitchen.
“When’s supper?” asked Peter. At fourteen, his appetite was bigger than he was.
“Soon,” answered Joseph, turning his attention to his sons. “Where’s Aunt Hope?”
“She’s helping the terrible trio get their room set up. What smells so good?”
“Our neighbor, Ms. Solberg, has made supper for us.”
Joseph introduced his sons. “Ms. Solberg, these are my sons, Noah,” he indicated his seventeen year old, “and Peter.”
She smiled at them. “I’m happy to meet you. Please, call me Harmony.”
The boys made appropriate responses. Then Peter asked, “What did you make for supper?”
Harmony came out from behind the cupboard as she recited her menu for them. She inched toward the door as she spoke, so that when she got to, “I hope you all enjoy it. I’ll just pick up the dishes tomorrow,” she ducked out before anyone could stop her.
Joseph watched her go. He should stop her, he thought, but he wanted to ask Abby about her visit with their neighbor. He’d catch up with Harmony herself later. “Peter, Noah, Ms. Solberg unpacked—”
“She said to call her Harmony,” Abby reminded him.
“Yes, thank you. Harmony unpacked our ‘everyday stoneware.’ You two set the table while Abby and I take care of the casserole.”
The teens grumbled about setting the table being ‘women’s work’ but it was more out of habit than any actual intention of complaining. Joseph waited until the boys had gone into the dining room before he turned to Abby. “How long was Ms. Solberg here?”
Did he detect a flash of guilt in his daughter’s eyes? She picked up some potholders from beside the stove. Joseph didn’t recognize them. They must be Harmony’s.
“She came over about five.”
“Five? You two must have found a lot to talk about.”
Abby shrugged and opened the oven door. The chicken ca
sserole smelled almost good enough to distract Joseph, but not quite. “So what did you two talk about?”
Abby set the casserole down on a hot pad. She turned to her father and with a hint of defiance; she told him, “We talked about boys.”
He hadn’t expected that. “Boys? What about them?”
“I…I told Harmony that you wouldn’t let me date yet, even though Ethan asked me out, and you know him from youth group and everything, and he’s a really nice guy…” She paused to take a breath. “I told her about all of that.”
“Oh really? And what did the helpful Ms. Solberg say about that?”
“She talked to me like a real person. She didn’t just tell me to wait until I was older, like you and Aunt Hope.”
“So,” prompted Joseph, containing his anger with difficulty. “What did she say?”
“She said I should ask you about going out with Ethan and some other friends. That way it wouldn’t be a date, and we wouldn’t be alone, but…”
“What about the phone call? What was that about?”
“I called Chrissie,” Abby admitted, referring to her best friend. “I wanted to see what she thought. But I wasn’t setting anything up, honest. Harmony said I had to ask you first.”
Well, at least she had that much sense. Didn’t she know better than to go around dispensing advice to other people’s children?
“So, what do you think, Dad?”
“About Ms. Solberg?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “No, about her idea.”
What did he think? Was it just a camouflage so Ethan and Abby could sneak off? He knew they were both good kids, but they were kids. They lacked the experience that good judgment required. “I’ll have to think about it.”
Abby opened her mouth to protest, but Joseph cut her off. “That’s enough for now. Let’s get supper on the table. Go call Hope and the triplets.”
There was no denying that supper was excellent. Harmony had made enough food to satisfy even Peter’s appetite. The Velasquez family finished every morsel. Even Joseph couldn’t resist second helpings—or thirds for that matter.
After the dishes were finished, the teens filled the dining room table with textbooks and notebooks and got down to their homework. Hope went home—or possibly off to do something with Oliver. Joseph didn’t know, and he didn’t ask.
He made sure the triplets were settled in front of the television with one of their favorite videos. Joseph didn’t allow much television on school nights, but he made an exception tonight. Besides giving him the opportunity to slip away, it might distract them from the rumbles of thunder that proclaimed the coming of an autumn storm.
Gathering up Harmony’s clean dishes, he told the teens he was going next door for a few minutes. They barely raised their heads as he left.
TITLE
Orchard Hill: volume three
Chapter 2
Harmony was working at the kitchen table on her laptop. She was pleased with the recipes she’d used today. Maybe she should have stayed for supper to see the Velasquezes’ reaction to her food. But it was apparent she’d overstepped her bounds by advising Abby. She didn’t want to stick around so she could put her other foot in her mouth.
Closing the file that contained her recipes and notes, she took a few moments to stretch. A flash of lightning drew her attention to the window for a moment. Then, she pulled her mind back to her computer and brought up her email.
Most of it was routine. There was a message from her editor, asking about her progress, no doubt. At least she’d have something positive to report now. There were a couple of junk emails that she quickly deleted without opening. The next email was from Blake.
Harmony paused. There had been a time when seeing a message from him in her inbox would have made her night. Now it just turned her stomach. She moved the mouse to highlight the email, but before she could delete it, there was a knock at her kitchen door.
Who could that be? With a sigh, Harmony stood and turned. She saw Joseph’s face framed in the window.
A spatter of raindrops let loose just as she opened the door.
“Thank you for making us supper.” Joseph stepped into the kitchen, carrying her picnic hamper. “Where should I put this?”
“On the counter is fine,” she replied. The patter of raindrops increased to a steady roar and lightning flickered in the sky again, followed by a crash of thunder.
Joseph set the hamper down and turned to her. “Supper was delicious. You’re a great cook, Harmony.”
“Thank you. I hope you’ll consider yourself welcomed to the neighborhood now.”
“If I say no, will you make us another supper?”
Harmony, her mind still on her email, answered with a faint smile. “Cooking is what I do best.”
“Yes, well…” Joseph cleared his throat. “I have no argument with that. About your giving advice though…”
Harmony gave him a blank look.
“I’d appreciate it, if in the future, you wouldn’t give Abby advice about boys.”
Oh that. She’d completely forgotten when she saw Blake’s email. “I’m sorry if I offended. It’s just that she was crying when I got there, and…I did stress that she had to get your permission.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I prefer to do my own parenting.”
So her good will gesture had blown up in her face. “Fine. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“I don’t want to offend you,” Joseph began, “but…”
“Mr. Velasquez, you’ve set your boundaries. I understand. I won’t trespass again.” She opened the door a little wider, hoping he’d get the hint. Surely she shouldn’t have to feel guilty about making him dash across the yard in this weather. It wasn’t as if he had to walk ten blocks in the rain.
“Please, call me Joseph.”
“Look, Joseph, as it happens, you’re right. I’m the last person who should be giving advice on men or love. It won’t happen again. Now, if you don’t mind, I was right in the middle of…”
There was a brilliant flash of lightning, a tremendous crash of thunder, and the lights died, leaving them in darkness.
The battery in Harmony’s laptop made the computer a source of light. Instinctively they both moved toward it.
With alarm, Harmony realized that when she’d clicked on Blake’s email, she hadn’t just highlighted it, in anticipation of deleting the message. She’d actually opened it. With effort, she controlled the urge to slam the screen down.
“You should go. I’m sure your children will want you at home in this storm.”
“They’re too old to be scared of the dark or of storms. My nieces might be a little upset, but I’m sure the older ones can handle it. Do you have candles or a flashlight?”
Who did he think he was talking to? She was Ms. Home Organization. “Of course I do. I’ll be fine.”
“Where are they?”
With a sigh of annoyance, Harmony moved around the table toward a cabinet on the far wall. She was only thinking of getting rid of Joseph and deleting her email. Unfortunately, she should have been concentrating on where she was going rather than that unwanted message. She tripped over a chair that hadn’t been pushed in all the way, and went sprawling onto the floor.
“Are you all right?”
Another flash of lightning revealed Joseph kneeling on the floor next to her.
“Yes. I’m fine.” Disgusted with her clumsiness, but otherwise fine.
He pulled her into a sitting position. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
His hands were warm on her bare arms, and his touch was gentle. Her heart began to beat faster. Oh no, she couldn’t possibly be attracted to her new neighbor.
When she didn’t answer, Joseph’s big hands moved to cradle her head. “Harmony? Did you hit your head?”
In a burst of motion, she pushed him away and leapt to her feet. “I didn’t hit my head. I’m not hurt at all.” A flash of lightning lit the room, and for a momen
t she could see Joseph’s face, surprised at her behavior.
As the room fell into darkness again, Harmony crossed to the cabinet that held her flashlights, batteries, candles and matches in a waterproof tin. She slid batteries into a flashlight, screwed the cover on and clicked the button. A pale beam of light emerged.
Orchard Hill Volume Three Page 2