Page 10 of The Sound of Harmony

His picture was on the first hit. She gasped and then quickly coughed to cover it. She’d been mentally constructing a face to go with the voice, assuming he’d be ugly, since no one was blessed twice like that.

But Kendrick Bell was. He had a high forehead, sculpted cheekbones, full lips, and the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. Emma stared, stopping herself from sighing into the phone.

“So.” Kendrick’s voice seemed to purr into her ear. “Are you interested?”

Emma’s older sister Gwendolyn had a lot of admirable qualities. She was curious and creative, and she had iron-clad integrity. She was the first to offer a hug when someone needed one. She could charm any animal she met. She had a practical approach to life that would be the envy of their pioneer ancestors, and she made a wicked pan of brownies.

But what Emma loved most about her sister was the way Gwendolyn made her feel safe.

When Emma’s marriage had imploded so violently, Gwendolyn had been there to pick up the pieces. She’d driven three hundred miles to Nashville, packed up Emma’s things in a matter of hours, and moved Emma into her one-bedroom apartment in Cannondale. Her sister had let Emma stay until she healed—not only her body, but her mind and soul too. When Emma stopped jumping at every sound, when she could smile again, when she could finally speak in her own voice, Gwendolyn had helped her find a job and a place to live. She’d played nursemaid and tour guide and best friend until Emma was strong enough to stand on her own.

And she was still doing it.

Emma’s sister was going to smother her with kindness.

“This one is perfect for you,” Gwendolyn said, sliding her tablet across the table. “They’re awarding a two-thousand-dollar scholarship each term to a non-traditional student, and it’s only open to women with business experience. That’s you.”

They were sitting at one of the sidewalk tables at Hotshot Coffee on Saturday morning, looking at what Emma had dubbed the scholarship of the week.

“Just look at it,” Gwendolyn insisted. “There’s no application fee and no essay. You can fill out the form online.”

Emma retrieved her sunglasses from her bag and slid them on, shutting out some of the morning brightness. Next week, the students would be back, filling every table and talking in their outdoor voices. Today was Emma’s last peaceful coffee date of the summer and she wanted to spend it talking about anything but this.

“It’s too late for this term,” Gwendolyn said. “But you could start second semester.”

“Only if I have to,” Emma said.

When Gwendolyn had co-signed Emma’s business loan, they’d made an agreement. If The Clutter Whisperer wasn’t in the black by January, Emma would finish her degree, either at Cannondale or by commuting the forty-five minutes to Ohio State. Neither of those options appealed to her.

Gwendolyn worked as an administrator at Cannondale University and was comfortable in an academic setting, so she assumed everyone was. But Emma didn’t want to upend her life again by going back to school.

“I want you to succeed,” Gwendolyn said. “I’m one hundred percent behind you.”

Emma nodded and took a sip of her iced latte.

“But most people keep their day jobs until the side hustle can pay all their bills.”

“Like Brooke?” Emma brought up their friend first, before Gwendolyn could, because Gwendolyn slid her into every conversation about work. She seemed to think Brooke was a good role model.

“Yes,” Gwendolyn said. “Why can’t you be like Brooke?”

Because Brooke doesn’t mind having two jobs. Because Brooke has twice the energy of ordinary humans. Because Brooke isn’t me.

“You could go back to working with Brooke at the library,” Gwendolyn said. “I know you liked that job. You literally spent your days putting things in order.”

“The library was too noisy.”

Gwendolyn snorted. “Only you would say a library was too noisy.”

“It was, though,” Emma said. Gwendolyn had never been at the library for preschool storytime, or teen game night, or the more lively book clubs.

“Weirdo,” Gwendolyn said. It had always been a term of affection between them, and Emma had long since come to accept that she was a weirdo. But wasn’t everyone?

Emma was happier than she’d ever been. And she knew that, deep down, Gwendolyn was happy for her too. But she also wanted Emma to have a safety net and the means to walk away from any bad situation.

“I’ve got a new client,” Emma said. “It’s a re-do of his entire house. That’s two weeks of work. Maybe more.”

Gwendolyn’s face lit up. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”