Chasing Dreams: A Small Town Single Dad Romance (Harper Family Series Book 1)

by Nancy Stopper

  She sank onto her favorite chair and as if he knew, Freddie raced into the room, the faint jingling of his tags announcing his arrival. She scooped the dog up and was greeted with wet, slobbery kisses as she nuzzled him. Loving a pet was so easy—they gave their love unconditionally. People… they were another story.

  Izzy had spent most of today running this conversation with her siblings through her mind, and she just wanted it over with. Where the hell were they?

  She needed to know what they thought, and she had to work through the conflict that coursed through her. How could she love and hate her father at the same time?

  When a car door slammed outside, she set Freddie on the ground and rushed to the door. She threw it open just as Justin and Serena stepped onto the stoop. “It’s about time.”

  “Nice to see you, too, sis.” Justin kissed her on the cheek as he stepped into the cottage.

  Serena followed right behind him. “Sorry I’m late. Three new arrivals from the hurricane in Texas.”

  “Where’s Alexis? Anyone heard from her?”

  “I’m right here.” Alexis hurried across the lawn from the direction of Mom’s house, nearly out of breath as she ran in. “Sorry.”

  Late and frazzled were just not like Alexis. And visiting with Mom at this hour? Alexis had been the most upset by what they’d learned about their father last month. Maybe that had drawn her closer to their mother. Had she talked to Mom about Rachel?

  If some good could come of this news, that would be easing the strain between Alexis and Mom. Izzy didn’t know what had happened to drive Alexis away, and she wasn’t telling.

  Justin popped the top off a beer and sprawled on the couch, his feet on her coffee table.

  “No beer at your house either?”

  “Are you kidding me? Alcohol went out with the caffeine.”

  “No caffeine? I’d wither up and die,” Alexis said as she sucked on her soda. Izzy wished she could drink soda like Alexis, but that many calories would go straight to her ass, and it would do no good to have a ballerina who couldn’t spin because she was bottom heavy.

  Stop it, Izzy. You aren’t that person anymore. Every once in a while, Izzy’s issues with food would crop up, fed by years of hearing that she had to lose just a few more pounds, grow a few more inches, to be the ideal weight for a ballerina. And the voice in her head that continued to harp on her in times of stress was none other than her father’s. He’d never got on Izzy about her weight like her dance teachers had, but his constant insistence that she work longer and harder to be the best had morphed into her unhealthy relationship with food.

  Speaking of her father… She sank into the stuffed chair beside the stone fireplace.

  “So…” She drew in a deep breath. She had expected this to be hard, but every word that she’d rehearsed for the past hour flew out of her head when confronted with the rest of her family. “I wanna talk about Dad.”

  Justin’s feet slammed into the floor as he sat up straighter on the couch. “Why? I don’t think he deserves another minute of our time. The bastard cheated on Mom, and he wasn’t even smart about it.”

  Yep, Justin was still angry. Izzy couldn’t blame him, being the oldest and the only boy. To know that Dad not only cheated on Mom, but had a child none of them knew about, rubbed salt in the wound. “You’re not the only member of this family, Justin. And maybe some of us want to talk about the fact we have a sister out there.”

  Alexis brought her knees up on the couch and wrapped her hands around them. Izzy could see her turning in on herself. Unlike her twin, Serena perched on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide with interest. This was one of the few times Izzy could remember her sisters disagreeing about anything. Serena typically would ignore the negative aspects of her life, choosing to focus on the positive. But while Alexis brooded over things, she usually went along with Serena.

  But this time, Alexis had internalized this information and hadn’t given any clue to how she felt.

  Now that Justin had set the tone, Izzy wanted to know what her sisters thought. “Serena, what are you thinking?”

  Alexis’s head snapped up and her gaze locked with Serena. The twins shared a silent conversation with their eyes. At times, Izzy envied their connection.

  After a sharp nod from Serena and an equally violent shake of her head from Alexis, Serena answered. “I want to meet her. To talk to her. It’s not her fault our father, uh, Dad, did what he did. Like it or not, she’s our sister. Well, our half-sister, at least.” She turned to their sister. “I’m sorry you don’t agree, Alexis.”

  Leave it to Serena to be logical at a time like this. There were times Izzy wanted to scream and yell but what good would that do?

  “What about Mom?” Alexis’s husky voice joined the conversation. “Have you thought about what this might do to her?”

  “Whether or not we choose to meet Rachel…” There, Izzy’d said her sister’s name. It was about time they got used to it. “Dad cheated on Mom.”

  “Yeah, but if she doesn’t know now, why do we have to go and tell her?” Alexis leapt to her feet in a move more animated than Izzy had seen in a long time. Had Alexis been spending more time with Mom to ferret out information about Dad? Or was she trying to keep her head in the sand by spending time with the one person they assumed didn’t know about the big secret the lawyer had sprung on them?

  Izzy had struggled each time she’d seen Mom since learning the devastating news last month. What if she blurted out something at the most inappropriate time. She just couldn’t seem to stop her thoughts from flying out of her mouth, a trait that had gotten her into trouble more than once. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this from her. You’re lucky I haven’t said anything already.”

  “I thought we agreed to take some time to think about this before we made any decisions.” Justin’s voice of reason joined the animated conversation.

  Izzy took the opening. “It’s been over a month. We can’t just ignore this and hope it goes away. I want to tell Mr. Flemming to pass my information on to Rachel. You guys don’t have to decide right away. I’m fine if I meet her alone. But she lives about an hour away from us, and as far as we know, has for her entire life. I say it’s about time we take the next step.”

  Her siblings sat in stunned silence after Izzy delivered her speech. That was fine. Being the middle child sucked at times, but she was for once going to stand up for what was important to her.

  Justin hung his head in his hands, wringing his fingers through his hair. Alexis gnawed on her fingernails, a habit she’d had since the twins were little and only emerged when she was stressed. Serena’s head bounced between the three of them. Izzy shot Serena a smile. She understood, even if the others didn’t, how Izzy felt.

  Justin raised his head and his gaze met Izzy’s. Resignation won out over the anger that swirled in his eyes, and he gave her a slight nod. Seeing that, Alexis huffed and flopped back on the couch. “I guess if the rest of you want to meet her, I will, too. But who is going to tell Mom?”

  Justin drew a pull from his beer. Alexis stared at her hands in her lap, and Serena looked anywhere but at Izzy.

  Izzy didn’t want to take this on, but her siblings obviously had other ideas. “No. Nuh-uh. Why me?”

  Justin stretched his arms along the back of her couch, looking way too comfortable for the conversation they were having. “You’re the one that called this meeting. You want to meet Rachel so badly, you should tell Mom what’s going on.”

  “Why not you? You’re the oldest.”

  Serena piped up then. “What about Alexis? She’s spending more time with Mom recently. Maybe it would be best coming from her.”

  Ah, so Izzy hadn’t been the only one to notice the difference in their sister.

  The three of them started a rowdy back and forth that was reflective of her home growing up. No wonder she’d escaped to the dance studio. She shoved her fingers in her mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle.
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br />   Serena covered her ears. “Why do you always have to do that?”

  “It seems to be the only thing that works in this family. We’ve decided that we want to meet Rachel. Justin, will you ask Mr. Flemming to set something up? Since none of you have the balls to bring it up with Mom, I guess I will. It’s only fair that she knows before we meet Rachel, don’t you think?”

  Nods and mumbles from her siblings finished that conversation. But that didn’t stop the knots from building in Izzy’s stomach. They’d decided to meet their sister. How would she be? She appeared nice from her picture, but pictures never told the entire story. Shoot, the Harpers themselves had a wall full of annual family photos, everyone smiling and hugging. But Izzy knew that wasn’t reality.

  Freddie ambled into the living room, Izzy’s whistle probably waking him from his dog bed in her room. She scooped him up and settled him on her lap. She stroked his wiry fur, his warm body calming her frayed nerves. “Hey, Serena, I’ve got someone I’m going to bring by the shelter on Saturday. They’re looking for a dog.”

  Serena’s eyes brightened. The prospect of pairing up an animal with their forever home always brought a smile to her face. She clapped her hands. “That’s great. Tell me a bit more about them, and I can think about what dog might be a good fit.”

  Damn, she hadn’t thought this through. She’d wanted to give Serena a heads-up, not reveal her… whatever it was… with Tanner. “Oh, uh, just someone I know.”

  Serena shifted on the couch and rubbed her hands together. “Spill, sis. You can’t keep anything from us.” She gestured to the rest of the room where both Justin and Alexis’s gazes were locked on the two of them.

  Justin even had the gall to smirk as he leaned back, crossed his arms, and propped his feet on her coffee table. “Yeah, sis. You can’t keep anything from us.”

  “It’s the father of one of my dance students. I mentioned that my sister ran a shelter.” There, that was sufficiently vague. She bit her lip and held her breath.

  Justin didn’t say a word, his gaze burning into her, but Serena didn’t let her get away with such a weak response. “I don’t buy it. You’ve sent plenty of people my direction. Not once have you come with them, nor have you been so intentionally ambiguous.”

  She’d never been able to fool Serena. Even as a young child, Serena had seen through her big sister. When Izzy had come back to Cedar Hill after her career-ending injury and surgery, Serena had hounded her until she’d admitted that she suspected the stage had been fouled prior to the rehearsal during which she fell and wrenched her knee.

  Izzy threw her hands in the air. “Okay, fine. He is the father of one of my students. I didn’t lie about that. But I saw him at FitzGerald’s and we danced…”

  “And…” Even Alexis had joined in now, sitting on the edge of the cushion. Izzy would be thrilled to see such excitement in Alexis’s eyes if her attention wasn’t focused on Izzy.

  “And I also saw him at the movie when I went with Natalie.” She flopped back in the chair and hid her face in her hands. She could never keep anything from her siblings, no matter how hard she tried. She prepared herself for the grief they were sure to rain down on her.

  “Are you dating him?” Serena’s voice was laced with sincerity, and Izzy braved a peek. Serena’s gaze was locked on her, but there was no sign of a joke or any amusement on her face.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. We’re going out to dinner Saturday night after the shelter.”

  Justin joined in with her sisters. “I think that’s great. It’s about time you left the asshole behind. When can I meet him?”

  That was why she shouldn’t have said anything. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not going all big brother on him. I’d like to get to know him a little before you scare him off.”

  “I’m not going to scare him off. But after what you went through with Erik, I’ve earned the right to be a little protective, wouldn’t you say?”

  It had been all Izzy could do to keep Justin from rushing to New York and confronting her ex-partner after Izzy had finally shared everything that had led to their breakup. All of it. She hadn’t gotten over the shame of the verbal abuse that Erik had inflicted on her in the years they had been together. At first, she’d thought that Erik just wanted her to succeed, pushing her to work harder, to lose a few more pounds. And he’d kept his criticism private. After a while, he no longer hesitated to berate her in public, in front of the company, when she missed her spot or was late on a turn. Everyone in the company steered clear of him when he was in one of his moods, and the director was loathe to say anything. He was their principal dancer, of course. They weren’t going to jeopardize that just because he was an asshole. It turned out their prima ballerina, Izzy, was the expendable one.

  But all of that had made her wary of getting involved with anyone else. She didn’t trust her own instincts anymore. Erik had seemed loving at the beginning, and look what he’d turned out to be. But there was a compassion in Tanner that radiated in his eyes, a gentleness in the way he interacted with Hayley. And he ran a teen center, for crying out loud. There had to be careers that paid better. Jobs like his were more a labor of love than anything else.

  “I guess. But…”

  “But what?”

  “There’s something different about this guy. I can feel it. He’s really good with his daughter, and he runs Jason’s House, a teen center.”

  “You’re going out with Tanner Ross?” Serena screeched.

  “You know him?”

  “Of course I do. He’s only like Cedar Hill’s most eligible bachelor. He is H-O-T.”

  Izzy couldn’t disagree with that. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about Serena’s declaration. How had Izzy not managed to meet him before now?

  “Oh, Izzy, I can see those wheels spinning. I shouldn’t have said anything. I was just so excited that you had a date. I’m sure he’s a great guy.”

  “But that doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping an eye on him,” Justin added.

  Heat rose on her cheeks. She was not having this conversation with her brother in the room. “I guess that’s fair. But give me a little time before I have to subject him to the three of you, okay?”

  Her siblings nodded.

  Whew. That conversation had gone sideways a lot faster than she expected. “Great, now get out of here.”

  With quick hugs and kisses for her and a few extra for Freddie, Justin, Serena, and Alexis finally left Izzy alone. As much as she was loathe to admit it, she’d probably brought up the shelter in front of her siblings so she could gauge their reaction. Since she’d accepted Tanner’s date, she’d run a thousand different horrible things that could happen through her mind. Having her siblings to bounce ideas off of helped calm the nerves that danced in her gut.

  At this rate, she’d never make it to Saturday.

  Chapter Nine

  Tanner poured cereal into two bowls and slid one across the table to his bleary-eyed daughter, her hair poking out in several directions and her Wonder Woman pajamas hanging sideways off her shoulders. Hayley had always slept like a tornado, and she, and her room, reflected that.

  He topped his bowl off with milk and then dug his spoon into his own. Why was he stalling on this? Hayley was going to be over-the-top excited about picking out a dog. But it wasn’t Hayley’s reaction that had kept him up half the night. It was seeing Izzy again that had him tossing and turning. It had been a long time since he’d been this interested in a woman. There was a lot at stake with this date. But that was the problem. It was just a date, and he’d do best to leave it at that and stop worrying about the implications of one dinner.

  He couldn’t help it, though. He couldn’t make a decision without thinking about the long-term implications. That was what a father did, right?

  “I have plans for us today.”

  Hayley shoved cereal in her mouth and then spoke as she chewed. “Where are we going?”

  He shoved a napkin at her. “Wipe your face�
�� and don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  She swallowed big and swiped at her lips. “Okay, where?”

  “I thought we’d go to the animal shelter and look at the—”

  “Oh my God! Really?” Hayley leapt off her barstool and bounced around the kitchen. “I can’t believe it. We’re really gonna get a dog.” She circled the island and threw her arms around him.

  He chuckled as he absorbed the impact of Hurricane Hayley, his arms holding onto her so the two of them didn’t fall. He’d do anything to keep that smile on her face. “I take it you think this is a good idea?”

  “You know it is. When are we going? What kind of dogs do they have?”

  “Calm down a minute. This is why I didn’t tell you before. Sit back down and eat because we aren’t leaving until you’ve finished your breakfast and you’re dressed.”

  Hayley ran back to her stool and started shoving food in her mouth.

  “We’re going to Helping Hands animal shelter at ten. I don’t know what kind of dogs they have. They may not have the perfect one for us right now. It’s important for us to pick a dog that fits into our family.”

  Hayley vibrated with excitement as she gulped her milk. “I’m sure they’ll have the perfect one. I don’t know how we’ll choose. How’d you find this place?”

  “Miss Harper told me about the shelter. Her sister runs it. She’s, uh, she’s going to help us pick one out.” It may be a backwards way to gauge Hayley’s reaction to seeing Izzy again, but if he didn’t prepare her in advance, he might be confronted with a meltdown of epic proportions.

  “Ms. Isabella’s gonna be there, too?” She pumped her arms up and down, nearly knocking her cereal off the counter. “Just wait until Meghan hears this. She’s going to be so jealous. She wants a dog but her brother’s allergic. I need to get ready.”

  She hopped down and ran for the door.