Chapter Nine

“You’re giving me your worried look. What’s going on?”

Ivy winced. “That obvious, huh?”

“I know you too well.”

“Since the rehearsal, there’s a lot of talk around town about Rafferty as the new prince.”

“And?” Harper asked, eager to hear the consensus.

“And…rumor has it there’s a lot of awkwardness between the two of you.”

“That’s because he’s new,” Harper said, not liking the dread filling her stomach.

“Right, but the awkwardness needs to be addressed.”

“It’ll take time—”

“You don’t have time,” Ivy reminded. “Not if you want to keep the castle in business.” She took a breath. “Which is why spending time with him away from the castle is a good idea. Get to know him again. Develop a relationship.”

“I don’t know…”

“It’s for the good of everyone.” Ivy sat on Harper’s bed, waiting for her to finish dressing for the dinner at the Bradford’s.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“What’s to think about?”

“Best case scenario—we become close friends again. Worse case—we end up as bitter exes fighting over custody of the glass slipper.”

Ivy laughed as Harper had intended. “Be serious.”

“I am seriously afraid of even being his friend. There’s this thing between us…”

“Thing?”

Harper searched for the right words. “A weird…vibe.”

“Chemistry?”

“No… Maybe. It’s like the air around us is holding its breath, if that makes sense?”

Ivy smiled. “Definitely chemistry.”

“Fat lot of good it’ll do to have chemistry with him.” Harper arched an eyebrow. “Can you picture Rafferty behind a white picket fence? With a wife? Or kids? Because you know what I want. What I’ve always wanted.”

Ivy pretended to imagine it. “Rafferty as a husband and father… Yeah, no. I see what you mean.”

“Exactly.” She bit her lip. “I’m supposed to go to a burn drill with him. It was a bet,” she clarified. “But…”

Ivy clicked her tongue. “But nothing. You’re going to have to suck it up and deal.”

“Haven’t I always done what’s best for the castle?” Harper didn’t wait for her friend to comment. “I’ll do what I have to even if it means I need to spend every day with Rafferty.”

“The only problem I can see is what if you fall for him?”

“Fall in love with Mr. Daybreak-and-I’m-Gone? I don’t think so,” Harper said firmly then frowned. “The dress doesn’t fit right. It looked okay in the shop, but I’m afraid that it’s—”

“An eleven on a scale of one to ten?” Ivy said, getting up to take Harper by the shoulders and force her to face the floor-length mirror. “Look at you.”

Harper smoothed her hands down the hips of the figure-hugging dress then touched the top. “I don’t know…it’s—”

“It’s perfect. Trust me. You’re going to turn heads.”

Harper frowned. As long as one of them wasn’t Rafferty’s. She turned toward the door. “Let’s go. I hear Barbara’s making those delicious barbecue ribs she made for the barbecue festival last year.”

Ivy groaned. “I knew I should have worn sweatpants. I already know I’m going to eat too much. Maybe I’ll develop stomach pains and need to be examined by hot Dr. Grayson.”

“He’s a pediatric doctor. He sees kids and teens, not a conniving single woman.”

“Conniving. That hurts. Where’s the love?”

Harper laughed. “Friends don’t lie to friends.”

…

As usual, there was a crowd at the Bradfords’. Every Sunday, Barbara invited a different group of people. Not only did she love cooking, but she loved the residents of Morganville. She was a kind woman who was well loved in return. Like her big heart, her Sunday dinners were legendary.

Harper remembered the first plate of biscuits she’d made herself when she was trying to take care of her mom after Dad died. She’d been so proud that she’d shared some with Barbara.

Those biscuits were hard as rocks and burned on the bottom, but Barbara had sat right down and crunched her way through one then declared it was the best bread she’d ever tasted. She’d given the little girl that Harper once was a boost of self-confidence, and Harper would never forget that. She’d always thought that the women who married Barbara’s sons would be lucky to have her as a mother-in-law.

Speaking of sons…she spotted Lincoln with Josie. She was glad they had each other. Josie had always been a good friend. Then she noticed the way Kent protectively hovered around Casey. News of Casey’s pregnancy had already made the rounds, and Harper was glad for them, even if it left her feeling a little emptier than usual.

The second Ivy saw Grayson, she made a beeline for him.

“That woman is like a moth to the flame,” Jean said as she approached, clearly delighted.

“Ivy has a crush,” Harper agreed.

Jean nudged her with a bony elbow. “You should take Grayson out on a date.”

Harper’s gaze flew to where Rafferty was talking to his dad. “Um…he’s not my type.”

“Kind of hard to see one brother when you’re busy foaming at the mouth for the other.”

Color swept up Harper’s face. “Rafferty is… There’s something about… I mean…”

“Sweetie, I didn’t get to be my age and not know exactly what you mean.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Oh no…there’s nothing going on. I couldn’t. He has a reputation. He’s wild, and he has no staying power. Sorry if that offends.”

“If I got offended every time a woman said something about Rafferty, I’d live with my panties perpetually in a wad.” Jean took her by the arm and steered her away from the crowd and toward the back of the house. “I’m going to give you some advice about relationships.”

“I’m good, Jean. I’m not in a relationship and—”

“But you want to be.”

“Well…yes.” Harper had always wanted that.

“Then you need my advice,” Jean said triumphantly. She led the way into the hallway where a collage of framed photos hung on the wall. She touched each one as she spoke. “Here’s Rafferty parasailing. Boating. Mountain climbing. That’s him with his brothers helping to build homes in poor, rural areas.” Her voice softened. “This is Rafferty when he went with a volunteer team to help fight that wildfire that ravaged parts of South and North Carolina. Burned thousands of acres of forest.”

“He’s always willing to help. To risk his life,” Harper said, wondering how the girlfriends and wives of some of the firefighters coped with worrying about the danger their loved one was sometimes in.

Jean huffed out a breath and glanced at Harper. “You’re missing the point. The point, my dear, is that Rafferty isn’t afraid to take a chance on something he wants.”

Harper cleared her throat. “Jean—”

“You can’t be afraid to open up the throttle and just go for it. Rafferty might be a good-looking pain in the ass, but no one denies that he enjoys life instead of sitting it out.”

“Jean, there’s nothing wrong with living a quiet—”

“Safe life. That’s fear, honey,” Jean cut in. “I’ve got your number, gal. You’ve been scarred, and you think the best way to live is to not add any more scars to the ones you’ve already got.”

“You might be right, but I learned the hard way that men who live wild tend to be ones like my father, and getting left behind emotionally or physically—or maybe both—will happen eventually to their families.”

“It’s true that Rafferty’s a little wild and he does live fearlessly, but the day he falls in love, he’s gonna love that woman just as fearlessly. Can you imagine being loved that way, holding nothing back? And my grandson isn’t the kind of man who’d ever abandon his family.”

“I don’t know why you’re telling me any of this.”

Jean smiled. “All the years I’ve spent sticking my nose in other people’s business has made me an expert on recognizing couples who belong together.”

Alarmed at the conviction in Jean’s tone, Harper said, “I would never let myself fall for a man like Rafferty.”

Jean reached over and took her hands in hers. “There’s allowing and there’s can’t-help-yourself when it comes to matters of the heart. A great love is the kind where you just can’t help yourself.”

“Until recently, Rafferty and I weren’t even getting along.”

Jean laughed and said loudly, “Honey, that’s just verbal foreplay.”

“Shh!” Harper’s face reddened, and she lowered her voice, hoping Jean would follow suit. “I understand that your trying to matchmake Rafferty and me is because you love both of us, but I want a man who’s going to be in it for the long haul, and your grandson isn’t that man for me any more than my father was for my mother.”

“My mistake. I didn’t realize that you don’t find Rafferty appealing at all.”

“I wouldn’t say at all,” Harper said then cursed herself for falling into Jean’s trap.

“Then my pushing the two of you together isn’t a lost cause.” Jean pounced. “Even the smallest spark can turn into an inferno.”

That’s what Harper was afraid of. An inferno burned up everything in its path, not caring about the destruction left behind.

…

Rafferty didn’t know how he’d managed to keep his mind on the conversation with his brothers. He was acutely aware of Harper and the figure-hugging dress she wore. She’d done something with her hair to make it curly and piled it on top of her head, fastening it with a shiny clip that sparkled when she moved. He’d watched her discreetly, his heart pounding, mouth dry, his mind racing, feeling like he was coming down with the flu.

She’d passed by him on the way into the dining room, and in her wake, sweet perfume floated in the air. When she reached the doorway and glanced at him, their eyes met. She smiled a strange kind of pondering smile, and he was…rattled. Floating. Ten feet tall. Every second that he looked at her, she grew more beautiful.

Then he remembered they were colleagues and nothing more, and he was acting like an idiot. When he saw Chris, a fellow firefighter, trying to close the gap to get near Harper, Rafferty sprang into action, moving quickly to slide into the space between her and Chris.

Chris let out an oof sound then complained, “You stepped on my foot.”

“You have another one,” Rafferty said, not sorry at all.

When they reached the table, Chris beelined by him and pulled out the chair next to the one Harper had chosen. He sent Rafferty a smug smile.

“Excuse me,” Harper said and, getting up, skirted the table, coming around to stand beside Rafferty. She put her hand on the back of a chair next to the one he was going to sit in.

Rafferty quickly pulled it out for her, shocked that she’d chosen to eat dinner sitting near him. When he was seated, he sent her a sidelong glance. Was she feeling as upside down as he was? Did he cross her mind the way she did his? Had their kiss played over in her mind, too? Did it mean something to her? A dish filled with green bean casserole was passed his way, snapping him out of his thoughts. He took it and turned slightly toward Harper to offer it to her.

She took it and added some of the food to her plate. “Did you manage to set everything up with your chief for me to do the burn drill?”

Rafferty set the dish down and then passed the bread. “I did for tomorrow. I forgot to mention it to you. Is that good?”

“It’s fine. I’m glad he was okay with it.”

“He is, but he made it clear you’d be my responsibility.”

She frowned at that, and he picked up how she toyed nervously with her fork.

“Are you sure it isn’t dangerous?”

“It’s not,” he assured her. Not when he’d be right there with her, protecting her. He reached for a bowl of gravy.

“I need time to go on a date with you,” she said.

Oh no. The kiss did mean something to her… Rafferty jerked the bowl, sloshing some of the gravy out. It landed squarely in his lap. He leaped up, grabbed a napkin, and mopped at the hot liquid.

“Smooth,” Grayson said with a grin.

Rafferty shot him a look and excused himself, needing a moment to figure out why Harper had said that. If she was ready to change everything, he had to shut that down. He was attracted to her on the one hand, but on the other, he didn’t want her to get hurt. He was halfway down the hall toward his parents’ bedroom to borrow a pair of his dad’s sweatpants when he heard footsteps behind him. Thinking it was his brother, he turned, about to give Grayson hell.

“Are you okay? I wasn’t trying to be pushy when I said I needed to know the time of day to go with you for the burn drill.”

That’s what she’d said? Had he been so lost in thoughts of keeping her safe at the burn drill that he’d missed it? Smiling, hoping the confusion swirling around in his head didn’t show on his face, he said, “That’s not a problem. I’ll let you know the time as well as the address to the burn structure later tonight. I need to confirm it first.”

“Okay.”

“You look worried. Something on your mind?”

“Well…Ivy said that the rumor going around town is that at the rehearsal, you and I seemed awkward. She suggested a way that we can deal with it, which is by spending time together.” She stopped talking and put her fingertips against her lower lip.

He thought of brushing her hand aside and putting his mouth where her fingers were. He didn’t move, the thought having jolted him as if he’d been struck by lightning. This must be what it was like to turn into one of his boneheaded brothers. The first symptom was scrambled brain cells leading to an inability to think straight. “Uh…yeah. That’s cool. You and me. Spending time together.”

“Good. I guess I’ll go, then. Unless you need me…”

“I’ve been changing my own pants since I was a kid.”

She aimed a playful punch at his shoulder. “You know I didn’t mean that.”

He caught her fist, holding on. “I know.”

The noise of his family talking and laughing came faintly from the dining room. Somewhere in the house, a clock chimed, and in the backyard, a dog barked. All normal sounds in his parents’ home, but there was nothing normal about how fast his heart raced while he held onto her hand.

She tapped his wrist, eyeing him like he was deranged. “I’m going to need my hand to eat with.”

“Sure.” He let go. “By the way, why didn’t you want to sit next to Chris?”

“Because I saw the look he gave you. One of those I win kind. I figured it had something to do with me. I wanted to send a message that I wasn’t interested.”

“He’s not a bad guy, and he’s one of those settle-down types. In case you change your mind about being interested.”

She scrunched her face. “I don’t need you to fix me up with a man. I have your grandmother for that.”

He laughed. “Sorry about that.”

“Eh, she only does it because she knows I want to get married and have a family. I just need to convince her that I’m not desperate enough to want the dating king.”

“Ouch. And where’d you hear that nickname?”

“It’s all over Morganville. And don’t worry. Spending time with me to help improve the show won’t be what dethrones you. You have my solemn vow I won’t date you even when you beg.”

“When I—”

“My food’s getting cold.” She grinned and turned to leave.

“Hey.”

She stopped, still grinning.

“You look amazing in that dress.”

Her smile faded, and soft pink flushed her cheeks. “Thanks.”

He nodded and forced himself to turn around and walk away, hoping that spending time with her wasn’t going to turn out to be a colossal mistake.

…

Later that evening, Rafferty borrowed Kent’s truck to take a load of lumber to Albert’s to help the old man replace his worn-out porch. When he finished securing the pile of wood, he slammed the tailgate and tossed his gloves into the front seat. He planned to put the wood in Albert’s garage tonight so as soon as the weekend hit he could get over there early and get started.

After double-checking the burn drill information, he started to text Harper about it then decided he’d stop by her house instead. It was on the way to Albert’s, so he might as well take care of two things at once. He was simply being efficient.

It didn’t have anything to do with wanting to see Harper or not being able to get her off his mind since dinner.

The drive to the two-story white farmhouse where she lived didn’t take long. Back when he was in high school, her mom had hired him to give the faded shutters a new coat of black paint, and it looked like they needed to be redone. The long wrap-around porch had ferns hanging along the front in between the columns now instead of the flower baskets that hung there when her grandparents owned the place.

Every time he saw the house, he was always reminded of hot summer days eating watermelon in the backyard when it used to belong to the older couple. To help them out, he’d started mowing grass for the family after her grandfather got sick.

With Harper and her mother running themselves ragged for the castle, he hadn’t wanted them to have one more thing to take care of. Shaking off the memory, Rafferty parked the truck, and as soon as he got out and walked around the hood, the screen door swung open.

Harper stepped out onto the porch in a red tank top and a pair of cut-off jean shorts over legs that were tanned and miles long. Her hair hung free and wet around her shoulders like she’d just come from the shower. She frowned at him.

He could have sworn standing right where he was with the smell of gardenias on the air and the sky painted in hues of pinks and purples, it was the most important thing in the world that he make her smile.

Rafferty removed his ball cap, feeling the need to have something in his hands. “Wanted to bring you the time and address for the burn drill.”

Her frown cleared. “Oh.” She patted her pockets. “I don’t have anything to write on…just come inside.”

He stomped the dirt from his shoes on the gnome welcome mat and walked into the living room, waiting while she grabbed a pen and a notepad to jot down the address.

When she was done, she asked, “You want some lemonade? It’s nice outside. We can sit on the porch.”

“Sure. Do you need help making it?”

“No, it’s already made.” She shook her head. “You go on. I’ll be right there.”

Rafferty walked outside and sat on the top porch step, breathing in the flower-scented air, wondering why the hell he’d come up with the being efficient excuse he’d given himself. Such a flimsy reason had all the makings of complicated, and he didn’t do complicated.

A few minutes later, Harper joined him, sitting close enough that their arms brushed. His heart thundered, and he felt like he’d fallen into an alternate universe. He’d thought he was an expert on how it went down between him and a woman. Some light flirting, mutual attraction, and everyone ended up happy. What he knew about women was blown to hell every time he was around Harper, and he felt like he was left scrambling for answers.

He took a sip of lemonade, hoping to corral his thoughts. It didn’t help. He wondered what she was thinking. If anything was bothering her. He put his ball cap back on then took it off. He hadn’t been this out of sorts around a girl since elementary school.

“The lightning bugs are out early this year,” Harper said, watching the insects light and ascend upward.

“It’s the humidity we’re having. They don’t normally come out until June.” Rafferty heard himself babbling on about the bugs and wanted to give himself a swift kick. Like she was interested in the fact that the male bugs flashed their light to attract the females.

“The quiet is one of the things I love about living here.” Harper inhaled deeply and set the glass of lemonade beside her on the porch. She leaned back on her elbows. “You can hear the sound of crickets and all the night life rather than traffic.”

“That’s because the town rolls the sidewalks up at nine every night,” he joked.

Harper laughed. “Mama always said nothing good ever happened late at night anyway.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. The lookout spot on the hill over the lake is nice. You can see clear across the whole town.”

“I know. Shelly and I snuck out when we were teens to meet some boys up there. They didn’t show.”

“Stupid boys,” Rafferty said.

“Shelly and I ended up skinny dipping.”

“Really stupid boys.”

She sat up and bumped her shoulder against his. “Mama caught us because Nellie Simpson ratted us out. I was grounded for a week.”

“I never pegged you for the skinny-dipping type.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me…because I never shared them,” she said, looking thoughtful. “Like when I was a teenager, I kind of went wild for a little while, and it scared me knowing I have the same kind of wild streak that my father had. I used to go over to a friend’s house and stay out into the wee hours of the morning then come sneaking back in my bedroom window.”

“I can’t imagine that went over well.”

“It didn’t. I was doing crazy things like jumping off the bridge over Bolton River just to see if I’d miss the rocks below. I started smarting off to Mom and ignoring her rules. That’s why I got shipped off to stay with my other grandparents one summer.” She sipped her lemonade. “I guess I was lashing out, trying to figure out how to handle all those teenage hormones and the hurt I carried from my father abandoning us and all my other losses.”

“Other losses?” he asked, wanting to know the hurts she carried.

“I told you about that. Losing the family home and having to give up my horse. I was a mess for a while.”

“I’m sorry about all of that.”

She shrugged. “I got over it.”

He could tell better than that. “Losing someone you love isn’t really a thing you just get over. That kind of heartache is something you adjust to living with, and because time passes, you think it doesn’t have any sharp edges left. Then one day, it goes and cuts you up inside again.”

“Wow. That sounds extremely wise.” She grinned at him then sobered, her gaze searching his face intently as she asked, “Or is that the voice of your experience speaking?”

“Maybe a mixture of both,” he said, pushing the memories back into the recesses of his heart.

“Hmm,” she said, still looking a little too hard at him.

“What happened to make you walk the straight and narrow like you do now?”

Harper sighed, her expression regretful. “My mama said she was worried to death about me, afraid she was going to lose me like she did my father. Then she cried like there was no tomorrow. I pulled myself together, dumped the wrong crowd I’d been running with, got on the honor roll in school, and became the good girl Mama had always hoped I’d be.”

“Harper Bailey as the good girl I’d believe.”

She laughed and scooted one of her flip-flop-clad feet against the porch step. “After graduation, I buried myself in college, finishing four years in three. Now I bury myself in work, and that’s my life.”

“All work and no play?”

“Pretty much.” She swatted at a mosquito trying to land on her leg, and he caught a whiff of something citrusy when her hair shifted. “I guess I’m afraid that deep down if I don’t stay busy and in control, I’ll screw my life up again. I am my father’s daughter.”

“I can’t picture you ever running away from responsibilities or being selfish enough to abandon the people you love.”

“No, I guess not.”

“But you know what they say about all work and no play?”

“So you think I’m dull?”

“No, but I think I got here in the nick of time to prevent that from being your fate.” He rose, holding out his hand. “Let’s go.”

She looked at his hand then swept her eyes up to his face. “Rafferty…”

“Forget work and forget control for a few hours. Show me the Harper who went skinny dipping. She’s still in there. Let her out.” He didn’t think she was going to agree, but then she put her hand in his, and he pulled her to her feet.

“Where are we going?”

“Horseback riding. Albert Hollings has some horses he’s always said I was welcome to ride any time.”

“Are you serious? I haven’t been on a horse since—”

“Since all that stuff happened in your life.”

“I don’t know…” She looked over her shoulder toward her front door.

He could just imagine she was thinking of a dozen reasons why she should stick to the familiar. “C’mon, Harper, a little bit of wild every now and then is good for you.”

She bit her lip. “You know what? I will. Give me a second,” she said and hurried inside her house. She was back a few minutes later with a pair of sneakers. She locked the door and pocketed the key. “I’m sure your idea of wild is a whole lot different than mine.”

“Just trust me.” He opened the truck’s passenger door and held it open for her. “I promise I’ll bring you back safe and sound. Would this Prince Charming lead his Cinderella down the wrong path?”