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Harper nearly jumped out of her skin when the front door slammed open.
“Intervention time!”
Harper put her hand over her heart and walked out of her studio. “Aspen Edwards, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” Harper stopped and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Her hands came up to cover her mouth. “Ohhhhh...”
Aspen smirked and put her hands on her hips. “I knew that would work.”
Harper threw a glare at Aspen, then slowly made her way to Riley. “Where did they come from?” Harper cooed at the basket of adorable gray kittens. She reached in and picked one up. The tiny thing meowed angrily, but settled in against Harper’s chest as soon as it touched her.
Riley gave Harper a sympathetic look. “They were dumped in a field and we’ve been feeding them. Two didn’t survive, but the rest are doing great now.”
Harper frowned. “Who could do that to such sweet little things?” She picked up the kitten she held and put it in front of her face. “You’re much too cute to abandon. People are horrible, aren’t they?”
“Yeah...” Aspen agreed. “Like men. They’re horrible too.”
“You’re married,” Riley reminded Aspen.
“Oh yeah.” Aspen nodded. “All but one man is horrible.”
“Amen to that,” Harper muttered. “Come on in, ladies. Might as well take a break anyway.”
“It’s a break with kittens, though,” Aspen pointed out. “No one can turn that down.”
“I’ll bet people with allergies can,” Riley stated, setting the basket in the middle of the sitting room. She plopped herself on the floor and helped lift each of the five kittens out, allowing them to crawl over her and begin to explore the room.
“If you lost two, this had to be a big batch,” Harper said. She rubbed her eyes. They were still tired and gritty despite the fact that Mason had dumped her almost a week ago and she had stopped crying after forty-eight hours. It had taken her longer than expected to purge the emotions from her system, but after that Harper had thrown herself into her artwork...mostly.
“It was,” Riley agreed. “But we take them anyway. They’ll be ready for families in a couple weeks.” Her smile was far from innocent. “You aren’t looking for a housemate, are you?”
Harper gave her friend a sad smile. “I always wanted to get a pet when I had a family. I don’t think it would be smart to have one when there’s no one around to watch it.”
“You’re home all day,” Aspen pointed out. She tilted her head. “Though I suppose paint and cats aren’t really good friends.”
Harper didn’t respond. She sat down and put the kitten in her lap, enjoying the soft fur and the tiny rumble of a purr. Its whole body shook with the effort.
“Harp,” Aspen said, her tone much more serious. “What’s going on?”
Aspen already knew about the break up. There was no way to hide that from her best friend, but Harper had never shared everything else. “I...might be getting a job.”
“What?” Aspen leaned forward from her spot on the couch. “You have a job.”
Harper shrugged, still keeping her eyes on the cat. “You know as well as I do that my art doesn’t pay all the bills.”
“But you have your grandmother’s trust.”
“Wait, what?” Riley asked. “I feel like I’m behind.”
Harper sighed. “My grandmother was an artist, like me. She left me a trust when she died so I could pursue art school. My mom doesn’t think it’s a real career.”
“Ah...gotcha.” Riley nodded. “If it makes you feel better, my mom says I play for a living.” She scrunched her nose. “Though she doesn’t really give me grief about it.”
“Yeah, well...my mom isn’t just giving me grief, she’s threatening to cut off the money.”
Gasps filled the room, startling a couple of the kittens, who mewed their displeasure. Harper pulled the little one back up to her chest. Maybe she would feel better if she just shared it all. So she did. From the very beginning just like she had with Maeve. Everything about her mom, about Mason and even about Layla.
By the time she was done, Harper was exhausted, the kitten was asleep and Riley and Aspen both looked shell shocked.
“How in the world have you kept all this from us?” Aspen asked, her hurt evident in her tone. “What are friends for if not to help?”
“Aspen, you know I love you,” Harper said. “But there’s nothing you can do about this. My mother is my mother. You have no control over her decisions or my ability to sell my art.”
Aspen shook her head. “No, but I could have brought cake therapy. Or kitten therapy.”
“Last month it could have been puppy therapy,” Riley added. “They were cute too.”
Harper sighed. “The point is, there was nothing anyone could do. It wasn’t worth dragging you all into my drama.”
“Actually, there is something I can do.” Aspen put her nose in the air. “You can move into my room at the house.”
Harper frowned. “What?”
“Seriously, it’ll work,” Aspen insisted. “My room is big and completely empty. Why not move in there to save money until your art takes off? If your mom is cutting off the funds, then the best thing you can do is tighten the budget, right? This would make a huge difference.”
Harper smiled softly. “Aspen, as sweet as that is, it won’t work. I need an art room.”
“There’s a bonus space above the garage.”
“One that I can get messy with paint. Plus, a place to store my canvases.” Harper waved a hand around her cabin. “My type of work needs plenty of space, and a single bedroom in an occupied house won’t be enough.”
Aspen pouted. “I still think it’s a good idea.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, okay? I really appreciate the offer, but it really would be better to keep what I have.”
“I know, but the offer stands.”
Harper nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“So what are you going to do?” Riley asked softly.
Harper shrugged. “There’s not much I can do. So I’m working on finishing the piece to send to the competition. I won’t win, but at least I can say I tried. Meanwhile, I’ve been researching jobs.” She huffed a laugh. “There’s actually an opening for an art teacher about an hour south in an elementary school. I’m debating sending in my resume.”
“That’s a long commute,” Aspen said.
Harper nodded. “I know, but hopefully it will only be temporary. I really do want to make a full-time income with my art.” She pursed her lips. “Although taking on an outside job will slow it down, but...eventually, right?”
“Right,” Aspen said firmly. “It’s just around the corner. I can feel it.” She paused. “And just for the record...I think Mason’s the biggest imbecile ever. Even worse than Austin before we got together.”
Harper barked out a laugh that was quickly followed with tears. “Thanks,” she said through her hiccups. “This is exactly why we’re friends.”
Aspen and Riley both came over and wrapped their arms around Harper. “And because I bring kittens and cake,” Aspen whispered.
“And that,” Harper agreed. No, telling her friends hadn’t changed anything, but Harper had to admit that she felt better. Between the kitten and sharing her burden, the world seemed a little lighter, even if the path was the same. Somehow, she would get through this and as she cried in the arms of her besties, she was simply grateful she wouldn’t have to do it alone.
*****
MASON TRIED TO FOCUS on the email he was writing, but Crew’s airplane sounds were driving him crazy. Layla’s giggles always helped soothe his frustration, but all in all, Mason was just grumpy.
He had been for a week.
Ever since pushing Harper away, yet Mason still hadn’t gone after her. Talking to Mr. Thomas that night had made Mason realize he needed to wait a bit, but with each day that went by, he was growing more and more tense.
He knew there would be repercussions from Layla’s accident, but the question was...how bad? Their mom’s lawyer had sent word that they were working on a court date and Mr. Thomas had advised Mason to sit tight and not make any more stupid mistakes.
“Hey, Sasquatch!” Crew called. “You about done in there? The squirt and I are hankering for an ice cream cone.”
Mason sighed and shut down his computer. He walked out. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Maybe we should just stay home until we know what’s going on with Mom.”
Crew snorted. “We’re not under house arrest, Mase. We can go get ice cream.” He grinned at Layla and tickled her. “Besides, I’m probably going to have to go home tomorrow and I want to spoil her a bit before I go.”
“You’re leaving?” Mason asked.
Crew nodded. “I do have a job to get back to, you know.”
Mason rubbed his aching forehead. “I know. I just...”
Crew nodded. “I know. I was hoping to be here when it all went down, but...” He shrugged. “Duty calls.”
Mason nodded. “I get it. I’m glad you came for a while.”
“Me too.” Crew continued making faces at Layla. “I’m still not sure why Aimee kept her a secret.”
“I’m guessing she was afraid Mom would find out.”
“But she was a single mom,” Crew said softly, his smile falling. “We could have helped.”
Mason walked farther into the room and sat down on the edge of the couch. He leaned his elbows onto his knees. “I’m starting to think Aimee cut ties with all of us in order to cut ties with Mom. I don’t think things went well after we left.”
Crew nodded. “Yeah...me too. But she was our sister. We would have done anything she needed.”
“I know that, you know that, but somehow...” Mason swallowed hard. “Aimee didn’t know that.”
“I guess we get a second chance, huh?”
Mason nodded, though they both recognized the unspoken words in the room. As long as Mom doesn’t get her. “You know what? Let’s get that ice cream.”
Crew’s smile was back. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
Mason smacked the back of Crew’s head as he walked past. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Did you see that, Squirt? The big, bad Sasquatch hurt me! Don’t let him do the same to you.”
Mason rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And now he’s calling me names.” Crew stuck out his bottom lip and batted his eyes at Layla, pouting for all he was worth.
Layla squealed and whacked his face, causing Mason to chuckle.
“Even two year olds can see through your act.”
Crew pulled back from the swinging arms. “Guess I’ll have to work on that.”
A knock at the door brought all the laughter to a screeching halt. Mason looked at Crew. “Here we go.”
Crew nodded. “Here we go.”
Mason went to answer the door and just like they suspected, it was Mr. Thomas.
“Good to see you, Mason,” the lawyer said, coming inside.
“You too,” Mason replied. “I’m hoping you have good news for us.”
“I wish I did,” Mr. Thomas said softly. “Where’s the best place to talk?”
Mason waved toward the dining room table. “Let’s go here.” He looked over his shoulder. “Crew!”
“Coming!” Crew came in, carrying Layla. “Mr. Thomas.” The men shook hands. Instead of sitting, Crew stood, bouncing Layla.
Mason went ahead and took a chair across from Mr. Thomas. “Just say it,” he said. Between the lawyer’s greeting and the stoic look on his face, Mason knew he wasn’t going to enjoy this meeting.
“News of the hospital was exactly what they were looking for,” Mr. Thomas said bluntly. “They’ve got her records and testimony of the doctors saying it was a completely preventable accident.”
Mason bit back a curse word. His fists clenched on the table. “Okay...what can we do?”
Mr. Thomas opened his briefcase. “The character witnesses are even more important now than they were before. I never followed up... Did you talk to your girlfriend? One...” He looked at the papers. “Harper Woodson?”
Mason felt the blood drain from his head. “Um...no. Harper and I are no longer together.”
Mr. Thomas stared at him. “You’re killing me, Mason.”
Mason nodded, still feeling light headed. “I know.”
Mr. Thomas shook his head and searched through his papers. “How about Ethan Markle? You mentioned you two were friends.”
“Yeah...” Mason cleared his throat. “Ethan would be a great resource.”
“Any others?”
Mason nodded. “Jayden Gordon and Gavin Smith. I’m sure both of them would be willing to help out.” Jayden was Aspen’s cousin and a good friend. He’d been one of the first people to welcome Mason to Seagull Cove. Gavin was a firefighter and had arrived about the same time as Mason. Their similar age, size and quiet ways had drawn them together as friends from the beginning.
Mason’s group of friends included several other men, including the town vet and a school teacher, but these were the ones he was closest to, making them the best choice for a character reference.
“But no one closer?” Mr. Thomas pressed. “No one who’s been around you and Layla more than once or twice?”
Mason shook his head. The only person who fit that category was Harper and she probably hated his guts right now. He was hoping they could eventually be friends again, but until then? “No. No one else.”
Mr. Thomas’s sigh was longer and louder than last time. “Alright, well...the will is on our side and you’ve both added your own testimony about your mother’s...controlling attitude, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Do we have a date yet?” Crew asked, looking far too somber.
Mr. Thomas nodded. “I suppose I should have mentioned that, right?” He turned back to Mason. “This’ll all be over next Tuesday.”
Mason choked. “That’s only a week.”
Mr. Thomas nodded. “Evidently your mother’s lawyer has some pull because these things often take weeks or even months. But we’re on the docket for next week.” He shook his head. “Personally, I think they’re trying to avoid letting us have much time to build a defense. The longer you spend with Layla, the more examples you have of being a good parent.”
Mason pinched his lips. The end was finally close, but just as his mother hoped, he didn’t feel prepared. For better or for worse, his future would be decided next week, and Mason was terrified.