43

Ben held Harper in his arms for what felt like minutes but must have been closer to an hour. He assumed the muffled sounds pricking the quiet bubble he and Harper had created was Darcy returning home. Harper shifted and he clasped his hand around her wrist. “You don’t need to go.”

She smiled and stood. “I do. But I can’t thank you enough for listening, for helping me understand my own story a little better.”

Standing, he rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you for sharing.” The temptation to lower his lips and discover if the taste of chocolate and vanilla still lingered pulled at Ben’s reason.

“Can I stop by tomorrow? Check in on Mrs. Penhearst?”

“You only want to check in on Aunt Lulu?”

“Well…I…” Her words seemed stuck.

“Harper, I would love for you to stop by and see Aunt Lulu.” Squatting to her eye level, he locked his gaze with hers. “But I was hoping you might want to see me.”

“Really?”

Shifting her knit cap off her forehead, he pressed his lips to her smooth skin. Her spicy aroma floated through him. The invisible ribbon tying them together tugged him closer to her.

The creak of the back door opening quieted his ardor.

Darcy stood in the doorway, the light from the kitchen surrounding her in a hazy, yellow halo. He felt the pull from his sister. She wanted to talk, and for once he could do more than sympathetically nod.

“Darcy’s here.” Harper said.

“Yep, and I think…no, I know I have something I need to say to her. And tonight seems to be a good night for sharing.”

“That it does.”

“Until tomorrow, Ms. Jessup.”

“Until tomorrow, Dr. Langston.” Harper pressed a quick kiss to Ben’s cheek and pivoted toward the gate.

As Harper slipped into the late December evening, his sister closed the distance between them.

“Do you want to go first or shall I?” Darcy asked.

Ben turned to Darcy. One glance into her brown eyes and he knew she wanted to talk about Harper. Ben wanted to hear about Darcy’s burgeoning romance with Finn, sort of, but what really needed to be said between them might shatter the fragile peace they had found in the last week.

He believed what he told Harper about her dad’s forgiveness. His belief was less steady about how his sister would respond to what Ben was feeling.

He slung an arm over Darcy’s shoulders and guided her to the fire. His sharing would have to wait. “Tell me all about your oversized crush on Pastor Finn.”