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This will be over soon, and I’m not just talking about the interview. This chapter of my life is ending. And while I’m excited about what comes next, I’m also terrified.
Chapter38
Digger
Evie and Grandpa Jack are sitting on either side of me on the couch in the lodge, presumably so I can’t get up and walk away. Moira rushes in just as the interview is wrapping up. “Did I miss it? Edna was late getting to my house to watch the boys.”
Keeping his eyes on the television, Grandpa Jack waves her off. “Shh!”
Sophia Sato turns to the camera. “Well, there you have it, folks. When one door closes, another one opens. I’d like to thank our guest, Hollywood ex-pat and all-around wonderful woman, Harper Kennedy.” Then she turns her death stare into the camera, and adds, “Digger McKenzie, if you’re watching tonight, I think you better hurry up and walk through that open door!”
Evie squeals, Jack claps his hands, and Moira yells, “What open door?”
I sit, not daring to move a muscle while I watch the credits roll over Harper and Sophia, who are still chatting. As the show’s theme song replaces the audio from the studio, I have no idea what they’re saying. If only there had been a Boy Scout lipreading badge.
“Digger’s famous,” Evie tells Moira. “Like, super famous. Harper said he’s honest and amazing and that she fell in love with him.”
“And her heart’s in Alaska,” Jack adds with a huge grin.
My own heart pounds in my chest as I scramble to process what just happened. Did Harper just admit she’s in love with me on national television?
“Did she say she’s coming back?” Moira asks, looking like she might hyperventilate.
“No, she said the exact opposite,” I tell her, getting up and clearing the glasses off the coffee table.
Evie follows me toward the kitchen. “But that’s only because she’d be bringing unwanted attention with her.”
“Which she would,” I answer, pushing the swinging door.
Of course, the trio are right on my heels. “Are you nuts? We’re swimming in cash from her short stay. Imagine what would happen if shelivedhere?” Evie says.
“She said shewasn’tmoving here,” I remind her. “She was pretty damn clear about that.”
“I can’t blame her if that’s the attitude you have. The ball is in your court, mister. You need to go to LA,” Moira insists.
“I can’t just show up on her doorstep and say, ‘Hey, since you’re moving, why not move all the way to Alaska?’” I gently place the milk glasses in the sink.
“Why not? She said she loved it up here and she’s looking for a simple life for her kids,” Jack says. “What better place to do that than right here? With a man she called amazing, kind, and honest?”
“She also called you exactly what she and her kids need,” Evie makes sure to say.
“She said that?” Moira clutches her heart.
I shake my head. “She meant what she needed at that moment. Not now.”
“You’re not going to even try?” Jack wants to know. “What kind of knucklehead did I raise?”
“My showing up there will only complicate things for her. She needs to figure out her next move based on what’s best for Liam and Lily,” I say, even though my heart is begging me to go directly to the airport, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.
* * *
Autumn is short here. It comes and goes in a blink. One day, the leaves are just turning, then the next, winter blows in full force. It’s been ten days since Harper’s interview. Ten long days and nights with my stomach in knots. Evie, Jack, and Moira are so mad, they’re barely speaking to me. Evie’s taken to calling me “Inaction Man,” which she’s sure to tell me is much nicer than what she really wants to call me.
The rollercoaster of emotions never seems to stop. I constantly question what I should do. I spend an hour convincing myself I’m doing the best thing by leaving Harper alone and not putting any pressure on her, then the next hour, I’m absolutely positive I’m dead wrong. Every instinct is telling me to go to her.
I’m just heading out of the office for the day when the phone rings. “You got that?” I ask Evie, who rolls her eyes at me.
“Why? You heading to California to go get the love of your life or something?”
