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I shrug. “I wasn’t going to let him keep going, and definitely not with Eva. She was a good person.”
Adam clicks play again as Harper wipes a tear from her eye.
“Then Bryson arrived,” Eva goes on, “and he stopped the bad things. He stood by me. He made it so I could read and be at peace. He made it so I was the kind of person you’d want, Adam. Then I watched as he busted his butt working two jobs to put himself through medical school. I watched as he made something of himself.
“Throughout that, he’s never stopped being a good person. Grumpy, sure, and a little tough sometimes, but at heart, we know he’s a good man. So if he’s taken an interest in Harper, Iknowit comes from a good place. I know we can’t judge him as we might any other man who takes an interest in a younger woman.”
The wordinterestlingers in my mind like a joke, an impossibility. It goes so much deeper than the word could ever explain.
“I know it’s unusual, and you have to be careful. Who knows if what Harper feels is real or just a silly girlish crush? I get that, but I think it’s fair to give them a chance. I met you. I fell in love. I consider myself so lucky for that.”
Eva dabs at her cheeks, sitting up straighter as though refusing to give in to her tears.
Outside, rain begins to patter against the window.
Eva pauses, giving Harper time to look at me, her lips trembling. I meet her eyes. I silently tell her it’s going to be okay, even if I can’t know that.
“I think he deserves the same chance. If this illness takes me, don’t spend the rest of your life wondering what it would’ve been like if your best friend became your brother-in-law. There’s always light in the darkness. Good can come from this. Joy. Happiness. Ch-children.”
She stutters on the last word, reminding me of the problems she suffered, of the adoption process she and Adam had begun when the car accident happened.
“Nieces, nephews,” she goes on. “You’re a good big brother, the best. We both know Bryson isn’t a bad man. I love you, Adam. I always will, even when I’m gone. I’m watching you watch this video right now. I just know it. With a big, big smile on my face.”
Eva smiles at the camera as tears slide down her cheeks.
“Oh, God,” Adam croaks, hunching over, collapsing into sobs.
With a question in her eyes, Harper rubs his back in small circles. She’s probably only seen Adam cry a few times like me, and it’s difficult to know the right thing to say. So we say nothing. The video ends. The screen goes black.
We sit in pain with Adam, letting him cry into his hands as Harper makes circle upon circle on his back.
“I need a minute,” Adam finally says, rising to his feet. “Then we’re going to talk about a few things.”
Adam walks from the room up the stairs, probably so he can go splash cold water on his face. Harper returns to the couch, reaching out for me with a shaky hand. I hold her hand, savoring her warmth, the heat moving between us.
“Poor Eva,” Harper says, and then lets out a sob.
I know it’s probably not the best idea with Adam upstairs, but there’s no way I’m going to let my woman suffer alone. Raising my arm is enough for her to fall into my embrace, and then I hold her tightly.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Harper
The sound of my sobs must block out the noise of Adam returning. I only know he’s seen Bryson and me embracing when he walks in front of us, past the couch.
Distancing myself from Bryson, I rub at my cheeks, looking through blurry eyes at Adam as he sits on the opposite couch, running one hand over the other. He stares at us with red eyes.
“I need to know when and how this started,” Adam says. “Was it while you were still on the West Coast?”
“No,” Bryson replies. “It began the day of Eva’s funeral.”
Shock makes me gape at him, but Bryson only returns a hard stare, one which says he’s not going to lie to Adam or trick him to gain his approval. The time for deceit is gone, his face says.
Adam nods. “Everything Eva said is true. Bryson, you’re a good man, which is why this is difficult to accept. Of all the women you could choose.”
“I don’t want to piss you off,” Bryson says, “but nobody compares with Harper. Nobody has ever made me feel… hell, anything evencloseto what she makes me feel. I meant what I said. I want a family with her, a future.”
“And you?” Adam says, staring at me. “How does that sit with you, considering this only started at Eva’s funeral? Are you ready to throw yourself into marriage to have Bryson’s kids?”
