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A tear slowly made its way down her face. “I feel so guilty, Preston.”
Reaching over, I wiped her tear away. “Why?”
There was a knock on my window and Harmony and I both jumped. Quickly wiping away her tears, Harmony smiled as she put up her guard to protect herself. She quickly opened the car door.
Angie was standing there, jumping up and down. The moment Harmony stepped out of the car, Angie was running over to her.
“Oh my gosh! Another girl! You have no idea how happy I am!”
Grabbing Harmony’s hand, Angie dragged Harmony into the house. Glancing over her shoulder at me, Harmony gave me a frightened expression as I laughed and shook my head. “I’ll get the bags!” I called out.
Turning, I saw my mother walking toward me. “Hey, baby boy,” she said as she kissed my cheek. “That looked like a pretty deep conversation your sister busted into.”
Inhaling a deep breath, I smiled and shrugged. “When are Finn and Wes getting here?”
Narrowing her eyes at me, my mother smiled. “Smooth change of subject.”
Reaching into the backseat, I grabbed the bags as I tried to make sense of everything—the emotions running through my mind, the feelings racing through my heart, and the way my body felt whenever Harmony touched it.
“Harmony’s been through a lot, Mom, and she’s still so young. I’m just trying to be patient with things. Take it slow, but—”
Kicking the car door shut, I stood in front of my mother.
“But you want more than friendship and you’re not sure how Harmony feels?”
My mouth dropped open as I barely shook my head. “How do you do that?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she gave me a wink. “It’s a gift.”
She wrapped her arm around my waist, and we made our way toward the house. “Patience is the key, Preston.”
Nodding, I replied, “I’m trying, Mom. I really am.”
Stopping before we reached the front door, my mother stood in front of me. “My biggest piece of advice to you, Preston, is to always follow your heart. Sometimes that is harder to do because our mind wants so desperately to lead the way.” Placing her hand on my chest, she smiled sweetly. “Your heart will never lead you down the wrong path, Preston. You just have to learn to listen to it.”
Leaning over, I kissed my mother on the cheek. “How did you become so wise?”
“Experience, my dear boy. Experience.”
—
Sitting at the kitchen table, I watched as my mother and Harmony peeled potatoes at the sink. Angie stood next to Harmony as she rolled out a piecrust and talked about how amazing the winter formal dance was that she’d gone to that past weekend. Harmony’s laugh moved through my body and filled it with something I had never experienced before. It was a feeling of pure happiness. Almost as if I needed her near me just so I could breathe.
“So, what kind of nurse do you want to be, Harmony?” Angie asked.
“Neonatal nurse, I think,” Harmony said as she set a peeled potato on the cutting board.
My mother turned to Harmony and smiled. “My best friend is a neonatal nurse.”
Harmony’s posture perked up. “Really?”
With a smile, my mother replied, “Yep, we met in nursing school.”
Harmony’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a nurse?”
Laughing, my mom shook her head. “I was a nurse. Operating room.”
“Oh wow! I didn’t know that.”
Nodding, my mother turned to me and said, “That was before kids. Once I had my children, they became my everything.”
Harmony’s face softened. “I bet.” Her voice sounded sad, yet I thought there was a bit of happiness trying to make its way out. Setting the last potato down, Harmony turned to me and smiled.
“Do you want to take a walk?” I asked.
“Oh, Harmony, you’ll love it here! Preston, be sure to take her to our secret spot!” Angie said as she dropped the rolling pin and frantically texted someone. My sister’s attention span was short to say the least.
Harmony pushed off the counter and turned to my mom. “Did you need me to do anything else?”
Waving her hand, my mother shook her head. “Go have fun, sweetheart.”
Standing, I motioned for Harmony to go first. As we walked out the back door, Harmony took in a deep breath. “The air is so…clean!”
Letting out a chuckle, I agreed. “Yeah, it is. I love coming home to Charlton. Something about being out of the city is refreshing.”
As we walked along, Harmony reached down for my hand and my stomach did about ten flips. Does she even realize how much her touch affects me? Things felt natural with Harmony and I was almost positive she felt the same way.
“Would you want to live somewhere like this? I mean, you know, when you decide to settle down and raise a family?”
Smiling, I looked straight ahead. “I couldn’t wait to get out of here when I was younger. Now, all I want to do is come back.” Peeking over at Harmony, I couldn’t help but notice she was walking with a huge smile on her face. Looking straight ahead again, I continued talking. “So, yeah, I could totally see myself living on a piece of land here, building a house on it, and raising a family.”
