by Jacie Floyd
Harper loved interviewing for the available positions at the library. She loved the puzzle of fitting the right people in the right place, being able to help the community by putting so many people to work, and getting the chance to meet so many townspeople and hear their stories.
Rehiring Myrna was a no-brainer. No one knew the town and its citizens better than the older librarian. It was a popular move that erased some of the resentment against the new librarian.
If Myrna was wary of Harper and slightly skeptical of her plans, the woman mostly seemed grateful to have her job back with a regular income. Learning that Harper wouldn’t press charges against Bennie put a renewed spring in her step. As a community service, Bennie had been instructed to paint murals on the walls of the children’s room at the library.
Friendships blossomed between Harper and Clare Willoughby, Cora, and Rachel. Each of them agreed to participate on outreach committees, and sometimes a meeting with one or all of them rolled over into lunch and conversation. Daxina was hired on for the new IT department.
Councilwoman Barbara Gentry turned out to be more supportive than Harper had expected. Maybe it was the women-in-arms theme that gave them common ground, but they started meeting regularly for tea and sharing their observations about town activities after the library board meetings.
In odd little ways, Harper made unplanned progress. One day she dropped in at the end of one of Myrna’s teen advisory board meetings. After reviewing their ideas and projects for the coming school year, Harper enthusiastically approved their plans and encouraged a few more. Mindy, a girl Harper had met at the concession stand on the Fourth of July, ventured a personal comment when the young librarian prepared to leave. “Super cool skirt. I wish I could wear something like that.”
“I wish I could afford something like that,” muttered goth-girl Ava.
Harper knew what it was like to be envious of someone else’s appearance, so she gave the comments the consideration they deserved. “It’s not about cost so much as knowing what will look good with your body type and coloring and developing your own style around it.”
“How do you do that?” Ava asked. “None of this year’s fashions look good on me, but how do I know what will?”
The three boys in attendance groaned at the turn the meeting had taken, but Harper held up her hand to keep them quiet for a moment. “We’ll devote equal time to your needs, too, so be thinking of something you’d like to add to our programs.”
“Your hair and makeup are gorgeous.” A girl named Ivy had gone overboard with the smoky-eye look. “I don’t want to look like a small-town hick when I go on college visits and interview for jobs. Could you help me pick out the right thing to wear? The only clothes I own are jeans or shorts and T-shirts. I want to look more sophisticated than that.”
“I want to look like you!” Mindy admitted.
Their comments were flattering. Harper had been playing down her personal style and fashion connections while she’d been in town, afraid that they would give the wrong impression or cause ill will and resentment. But some of her natural style had apparently had been drawing notice. At least among the teen population.
“How about this? A fashion how-to with separate workshops on hair and makeup could be one of your projects. Something like a what-not-to-wear week.” She could put India’s and Fiona’s expertise to good use on clothes and cosmetics. Harper’s hairstylist in Chicago might be willing to participate, too. “I can’t make any promises, but I might be able to get a couple of fashion experts to help out by Skype if not in person. What do you think, Myrna?” It was the older librarian’s committee after all. Harper didn’t want to alienate her at the very beginning of their working relationship.
“A wonderful idea.” She pushed up her glasses and tugged on the cuffs of her long-sleeved blouse. “I could use a few tips myself. Everyone likes to put their best foot forward. If it’s successful with the teens, some of the other women in town might like to participate in a workshop geared toward a career look. It could be in conjunction with our technical courses for women brushing up their computer skills and rejoining the workforce. There are a lot of possibilities here.”
Like that, so many things were falling into place at home and at work.
After the drunken bug she’d put in Zach’s ear about her desire for a less-clandestine relationship, they occasionally left town together to do simple things like having lunch or grocery shopping in nearby Lincoln or Springfield.
One weekend, they each made excuses to be out of town and drove to Chicago together. They showed one another some of their favorite places, visited with Nathan, and went to dinner with a couple of Zach’s friends from college. She enjoyed the simple things like holding hands and flirting with Zach in public without having to constantly look over her shoulder.
Some of the more astute residents of Sunnyside gave them the occasional knowing wink or sidelong glance. A few people might have guessed their secret, but nobody mentioned seeing her with Zach more often than might be strictly necessary. Liam, of course, knew after the stairwell incident. Zach admitted that he’d told his brother, just because the two men worked and lived together. Too much trouble to make excuses about where he was going and what he was doing all the time. And it was useful to have one other person to hide or cover up the details when Zach or Harper verged on slipping up.
Rachel had looked at Harper strangely several times and asked her casual questions about the status of her love life. But it wasn’t until she showed up on Harper’s back doorstep one night asking for Zach that Harper knew for certain his sister was on to them.
After leaving Rachel in the kitchen, she slipped into to the bedroom. Zach sat at the edge of the bed with elbows on his knees and his head in hands. He’d had one of his nightmares earlier and had been sleeping fitfully for the past hour.
She crossed the room and put her hand between his shoulder blades. “Your sister’s here.”
He turned his head toward the clock. “At this hour? Why?”
“Looking for you.”
“Lucky guess or going house-to-house?” At least he’d attempted a joke. Stretching, his muscles rippled. “I guess I can’t make her wait while I shower, but give me a minute to get dressed, okay?”
Harper nibbled a thumbnail. She’d seen him after one of these episodes before. Sometimes it took a while to pull himself back together. “Sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine.” He brushed away her concern. “It’s not like she’s my mother waiting to march me back home and ground me for life.”
“Right. What’s the worst she can do?” Harper squared her shoulders and returned to face her friend while Zach got a grip on the demons that haunted his sleep.
Back in the kitchen, Rachel was making herself at home, kneeling on the floor in conversation with Calliope. Harper liked having friends in her house. She wished this visit was for a friendly purpose, but none of the indicators pointed in that direction.
Zach’s sister looked up. “Nice cat.”
“Isn’t she? Can I get you a glass of water or something?” Harper moved to the refrigerator.
“No, no. I’m sorry to interrupt.”
“No problem. Zach and I were just going over some paperwork for the library and didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” She winced at the stupidity of the comment. Rachel was nobody’s dummy. No way would she believe an excuse as lame as “paperwork”.
Rachel scooped up the cat and got to her feet, preparing to call Harper on the falsehood. “Secretly? At midnight? In your bedroom? None of that sounds like paperwork.”
Harper tried to control her blush. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lie to you, but Zach prefers for the town not to know we’re together.”
“Obviously.” Rachel took a seat at the kitchen table and deposited Calliope in her lap. “I guess that has something to do with his supposed relationship with Kate.”
“Partly.”
Zach’s sister hesitated through
several seconds of awkward silence. “This isn’t going to end well for you. Nothing against you personally, but I don’t see Zach making a long-term commitment.”
Harper’s heart clenched at the underlying truth of Rachel’s comment. “Because of the nightmares he has?”
“You know about those?”
“I know he has them sometimes, but he won’t ever talk about it.”
“He never does. Just locks it down. He’ll never come to terms with it until he lets it all out. In my opinion, that’s why he’s let this pretense with Kate go on for so long. She doesn’t pry, and she won’t try to get too close.”
Harper had heard bits and pieces of a tragedy that had happened a long time ago, but no one had been willing to share the details with the outsider. And she didn’t want to find out from Gossip Central. But Rachel was a different story. Anything she knew would be fact. “I guess you don’t want to tell me about it?”
She contemplated the request. “I would if I thought it would help him, but it’s his story to tell. If he won’t tell you about it, my advice is to not get too attached.”
Too late for that. “Some people are only meant to enter our lives as a temporary happiness.”
“And you’re all right with temporary?”
“Most of the time.” Harper reached for an apple from the fruit bowl on the table. She polished it on the sleeve of her robe. “How long have you known about us?”
Rachel glanced at her watch. “About five minutes.”
“What?”
“I had my suspicions, but I figured if Zach wanted me to know, he’d tell me. But Dad woke up and fell down the stairs tonight. Since neither Zach nor Josh were at home, he called me. I paged Josh, but he was with a patient at the hospital. He told me not to make a big deal out of it, but Zach would probably be here. I called Zach’s cell and didn’t get an answer, so I barged on in.”
Harper’s head reeled from Rachel’s words. She latched on to the most important detail and the one that didn’t involve her. “Your dad fell down the stairs? Is he all right?”
“He probably has a sprained ankle, but I got him into a chair with a cold pack. Zach needs to check it out. What’s the point of having two doctors in the family if you can’t get free in-home medical advice, right?”
Zach joined them in the kitchen looking like a man who’d just rolled out of bed, but that didn’t matter anymore.
“Who needs free in-home medical advice?” he asked.
“Dad fell and hurt his ankle.”
Zach nodded and tipped his head in the direction of the house. “I’ll be right there.”
“See you around, Harper.” The screen door slapped shut behind her.
He stopped beside Harper and took the apple from her hand, returning it to the bowl. “Sorry I have to go. Seems like I’m always saying that.”
“No worries. Text me and let me know how he is.”
He kissed her cheek and headed out the door.
“Have you noticed?” she asked. “The circle of people who know about us is starting to organically expand. How long before everyone in the town finds out?”
Stopping on the porch, Zach wheeled around and came back in. “It was always a possibility. We’ll deal with it if it happens.”
“How?”
“It depends on what you want, Harper. It always has. If the fall-out’s not too bad, we’ll keep seeing one another. If public opinion goes against us, you might want to cool things down and distance yourself from me.” He hugged her to him and propped his chin on the top of her head. “I don’t want to make life harder for you here, but let’s worry about that another day, okay? Our secret’s safe with Rachel.”
This time he kissed her on the mouth, loading it with a world of unspoken meaning, feeling, and reassurance. Small comfort.
Throughout August, baseball was a common topic in Sunnyside. The town was evenly divided between support for the St, Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. The two rival factions organized regular day trips to St. Louis and Chicago to watch their teams play. But it wasn’t until early September when the pennant race heated up that she realized how serious they were.
One afternoon, she was having lunch at the diner with Rachel when Kate showed up and joined them.
“Did you hear Jason and Annie broke up?” Lenore asked when she took their order.
Rachel’s jaw dropped at the news. “Just two years after the wedding? They made such a cute couple.”
“I knew that relationship was doomed from the start.” Lenore dropped her voice to speak more confidentially—as if everyone in Sunnyside didn’t already know everything about everyone else. “They were a mixed marriage, you know.”
Kate nodded and grimaced. “Summers are hard on couples like that.”
“Mixed how?” Harper considered the possibilities. Race? Politics? Religion?
Lenore gave a sad shake of the head. “Cubs/Cardinals.”
“You’re kidding, right?” How could baseball be a serious bone of contention if a couple truly loved one another?
“Usually, the Cubs aren’t good enough to be a factor,” Kate explained like a true Cardinal fan. “But when they do well, their fans get overly confident, and then they resent the Cardinal fans when things ultimately go sour for Chicago.”
“That’s not healthy for any relationship.” Rachel’s observation sure didn’t bode well for Harper and Zach.
“Zach’s a Cardinal fan, Harper. And so am I.” Kate’s benign comments carried a world of hidden meaning and animosity. “What about you?”
“Cubs fan all the way.”
“Oh.” Kate tried to hide her smirk. “Too bad.”
Harper let the teacher think she had scored a point somehow, but nothing as immaterial as a baseball rivalry would get in the way of her relationship with Zach. Bigger issues than that awaited them. And as a die-hard Cardinal fan, Zach had already given her a hard time when he found out about her Cubs preference. But hey, she’d lived in Chicago for ten years. What else could he expect?
“What are you?” He had feigned outrage as he walked her home from the library the day he found out the truth about her insanity. “A masochist?”
“No, an eternal optimist.”
“Your choice if you want to root for a loser, of course. But you’re a smart woman. Maybe you can still be converted to the right side.”
“I’m already on the right side.”
“Maybe you are a masochist.” Then his eyes brightened. “But we can work with that.”
“How?”
“You’ll see.”
The next day, he’d brought over handcuffs he’d borrowed from Jimbo just to test her level of masochism—which, as it turned out, was very low. Since she didn’t like the cold, hard metal against her skin, she talked Zach into playing around with some silk scarves instead.
In Zach’s quest to win Harper over to his team’s side—and because it was such a relief to be away from all the prying eyes of his friends and neighbors for a few days—he and Harper snuck off to St. Louis to attend a Cardinal/Cubs game and hangout in the city.
And just by luck—good or bad, he wasn’t sure which—they ran smack into Zara Fairchild, his long-time sex buddy. And they had been just that. Buddies who had sex.
Wondering how much of an explanation he owed her for coming to town without contacting her know, he realized he didn’t owe her one at all. It had been almost a year since he’d seen her.
After embracing him with a quick hug, Zara turned to introduce him to Trevor Beaumont. She gazed up at Zach with searching eyes. “I’ve been meaning to call and tell you…” She held out a left hand that sported a baseball-sized diamond. “I’m engaged!”
“Congratulations!” Relieved at the update, Zach hugged Zara and shook hands with the fiancé. “You’re a lucky guy. She’s an amazing woman.”
“That she is.” The look Trevor settled on Zara brimmed with admiration. “I pursued her for almost a year before she agreed to go out w
ith me, but it was worth the effort. We’re getting married in November.”
“Do you work together?”
“Kind of. I’m a hospital administrator at Barnes, and Zara caught my eye right away.”
Zara smiled and caressed Trevor’s cheek. “By that he means we butted heads over policy and protocol the first week I came on staff.”
“I’ll bet you did.”
“Are you here with one of your Sunnyside groups or on your own?” She switched her gaze from Zach to Harper, radiating with curiosity beside him.
“It’s just us.” He pulled her into the conversation. “I’d like you to meet Harper Simmons. Harper, meet my friend, Zara Anderson, and her fiancé, Trevor Beaumont. I couldn’t have gotten through my residency without her.”
Harper lifted an eyebrow at the description. “It’s good you had someone you could… rely on.”
Zara’s attention bounced back and forth between them. “So, are you two dating?”
Dating was such an imprecise word for what they were doing. He and Harper were dating in almost the same way that he and Zara had “dated.” But he was too smart to get into a conversation about semantics with either woman. And his relationship with Harper encompassed so much more than sex and work. So much more than he’d ever shared with Zara. “Something like that.”
“That’s great! Do you live in Sunnyside, Harper?”
“Moved there this summer from Chicago.”
“And you’re a baseball fan, too, I guess. Good for you.” She gave Harper a big thumbs up as she turned to Zach. “I’m so happy you’ve met someone with similar interests.”
He tapped Harper’s Chicago cap. “Not all that similar. She’s a Cubs fan.”
“That is a lot for you to overlook, isn’t it? But no one is perfect, Zach. Except you. Sometimes you have to adjust.”
Harper laughed at his friend’s comment.
“There’s the anthem,” Trevor said. “We need to get to our seats.”
“We’ll send you an invitation to the wedding.” Zara looped her arm around his neck for a hug.