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“Well, order quick and we’ll have you on your way. Chance was just in here though, and I doubt he’s too worried about it. He said progress was good on the Outpost.”
I lifted a shoulder. I’d been working construction since I’d come back to Kings Grove, slaving away for the Palmer brothers, doing my best to exhaust myself every single day so my mind didn’t torment me at night. Sometimes it worked, but my old life was prodding me more often lately, tugging at my sleeve and asking for attention like a neglected child. I’d been a film producer, and though walking away had been easy enough when Jess was sick, construction didn’t seem to scratch the same itch. Right now I was helping set up an offshoot of the new Kings Grove Inn—a fine dining restaurant halfway up the ridge that was part warming hut in the winter months, part open-air dining in the summer. It was called the Outpost. “Mostly need coffee,” I said, sliding my menu away. “Some scrambled eggs.”
“Be right back.” Maddie tucked her pencil into her apron and disappeared.
I turned my head to stare out the window at the central parking lot, which was flanked by the trees that had given Kings Grove its name. The sun had risen hours ago, and the sky shimmered with late-spring heat. It was going to be a hot summer. The Post Office and grocery store sat directly across the lot from the diner, and as I sipped the coffee Maddie placed in front of me, I watched a familiar little silver Subaru pull into a spot directly in front of the grocery, and felt my heart tick up a notch.
Harper.
She popped out of the driver side in jeans and high-heeled sandals, a loose floral blouse tied at her waist making her look very “city” for the landscape. I watched, unable to look away, as she leaned back into the car to reach for something, and I had a hard time swallowing my coffee as her legs and butt swiveled as she reached. I didn’t like admitting it, but Harper was damned attractive, and this particular view only cemented my opinion.
When she’d retrieved her bag, she stepped back out of the car and closed the door, turning to look around her. If she’d grown up here, she was probably curious about all the changes. Kings Grove had grown slowly over the last decade or so. I know I’d been surprised when I’d come back here two years ago.
Harper’s blond hair bounced in curls around her shoulders and down her back, and mirrored aviator shades covered her eyes. Her perfect little lips stood out, even at this distance, painted a deep plum color.
“Oh Lord, what is that?” Adele had spotted Harper out the window. “Princess, is that your sister? She dresses like you did when you first came up here.”
“Not everyone with fashion sense is related to me,” Maddie scolded, coming back to my table to look out the window. “Oh, she’s cute,” she said admiringly. “Who is that, I wonder?”
“That’s my renter,” I said.
Maddie’s head spun and she stared at me. “Is it now?” I could hear the wheels turning in her head. “Well, she looks like a very nice girl,” she said. “With excellent fashion sense.” She added this last part loudly, looking at Adele, who turned away muttering, “she’s gonna break an ankle...no common sense...”
Maddie sat down across from me after retrieving my eggs from the kitchen. “Tell me about her.”
I started eating, and said through a mouthful, “I don’t know much. Got here last night. Likes coffee.”
“She does, huh?” Maddie waggled her eyebrows, almost like she knew Harper had been by my house this morning in her pajamas, like she thought there might be more to things than there was.
“Don’t get ideas.”
“I have no ideas.”
“You always have ideas.” I swallowed some coffee and gave my sister a focused stare. “I mean it. No ideas.”
She smiled and shrugged. “She’s going to work at the Inn, right?”
“I didn’t interview her, Maddie.”
“She’s living in your house—didn’t you get any references or anything?”
“A couple. A Mr. Franklin and his friend, Ben Franklin.” The money had been enough for me originally, but now I was kind of curious about my renter. Though I didn’t want to tell my sister that, or I’d never get her to stop digging up details and Harper would never get a moment’s peace.
She tilted her head and then her mouth dropped open. “Mr Franklin? Oh my God, are you ten?”
“Her money’s good. All I need to know.”
“And?”
I put down my fork. “I’m trying to eat.” This was our game. I got annoyed at my sister’s persistence, and she repeatedly kept me from sinking into my own isolation. Maddie was the only thing keeping me afloat some days. I wished I could tell her how grateful I was for her. But deep chats had never been my thing, so instead I bantered when appropriate and stayed close the rest of the time.
“Just tell me what else you know and I’ll get back to work and leave you in peace.”
“You’re so nosy.” I swigged my coffee and leaned back. “She grew up here until she was seven and then her parents split. Says her dad is still here, but I don’t know who he is. Last name Lyles.” I stood, dropping money on the table. It felt ridiculous to tip my sister, but I did it every time.
Adele had crept nearer as we talked, pretending to wipe down the booth next to us. When I said “Lyles,” she gasped lightly and then turned and bustled back to her podium when I stood. “What do you know?” My sister asked her.
“What?” Adele was not very good at playing dumb.
