Rick stepped out onto the porch and breathed in. It was October, but true autumn was months away. It was still warm, but in his cotton shirt and khaki shorts he was comfortable. He settled on the swing suspended from the porch ceiling and looked out over the park toward the lake, letting the breeze cool him as he sipped his coffee. He had about an hour before he had to show up at the Welcome Center. He was in charge of the Sales Office, and loved showing prospective residents and investors the benefits of living in a place like this.
Four years had passed since he first came to Cypress Corners, and the development still puzzled him. Pristine natural beauty and all the modern comforts blended together into a perfect place to make his life. His real life, not the one he’d left behind in Boston.
“Good morning!”
He turned to find Harmony walking up the sidewalk toward him. Wearing shorts and a tank top, her hair in a fat curly ponytail, she still made his mouth go dry. Talk about pristine natural beauty. Damn.
“Morning,” he said. He put the coffee cup down on a side table and held out his arms. She came willingly, her and the little guy bounding along beside her. Their three-year-old son Nick.
Harmony sat beside him and held Nick on her lap. The boy was a looker, with black curls and hazel eyes. More than that, the kid knew Rick loved him.
“Daddy!”
Rick shifted and held his son close. He kissed the top of his head, feeling his soft curls with his cheek. “Hey, big guy. You and Mommy have a nice walk?”
Nick nodded. “We saw a lizard and Mommy said it was supposed to be eating that bug, so we didn’t touch it. Over in the park there were three cranes as big as me!”
“Really? Cool.”
“Miss Lettie gave me a seed pod.” He held his hand out to show a slightly-crushed husk. “Mommy says we’ll plant the seeds up near the café.”
Harmony smiled. “Grandpa Max will enjoy those beans next summer.”
Nick nodded and gave Harmony the seed husk. “I’m gonna play with my trucks.”
And just like that he switched from nature boy to rough-and-ready little man as he hopped down. He hurried over to one corner of the wraparound porch and started to play with the oversized toy trucks and SUV’s parked there. Rick watched him for a minute, shaking his head. Expensive gifts from Bill. The man would never learn.
He put his arm over Harmony’s shoulders and they leaned back together on the swing. “I heard from Jake.”
Harmony clicked her tongue. “I don’t know why he’s still at Chapman.”
He shrugged. “He’s still in grad school, too. Maybe he just can’t figure out what he wants.”
“It’s a shame what your father did to all of you.”
He just waved a hand. He wouldn’t waste any time talking about Bill. His father was firmly in his past until he could come to terms with Rick’s choices. With Rick’s life.
“Jake’s coming down next week,” he went on. “Something about an extreme training camp.”
She nodded. “I heard something about that at the Welcome Center. He’s going to plan the project. Maybe that will give him some focus.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Maybe he’ll finally find what I have.”
She turned and smiled up at him. “And what’s that, Rick Chapman?”
He grinned. “You know damn well, Harmony. I found you.”
They shared a sweet kiss and she settled against his side once more. He thought about what he’d really found at Cypress Corners. Yes, he’d found the love of his life. The mother of his son. But he’d found an understanding, too. Life was full of contradictions, of choices. You had to know what was important and what wasn’t. His life was like that. It was a life that needed balance.
He’d found his with Harmony.