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“What’s really bugging you?” her mother asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Harper.
“Do you ever wonder if you’ve made the right decision?”
Her mother laughed. “All the time. Should we have pot roast or lamb? What vegetables should we have? Maybe the mushrooms would’ve been better than the peas.”
“Seriously, Mom.”
Her mother smiled. “Darling girl, if you didn’t wonder if you made the right choices sometimes then you wouldn’t be human. But why don’t you tell me which choices you’re questioning?”
Harper shrugged. “I’m second-guessing my decision to come back here to Cedar Bluff. All the stuff I went through in New York, it’s not that different from what’s going on here. I still work for an ambitious, hard-driving politician whom I’m constantly cleaning up after. I still work too much, without getting credit for my hard work. What’s changed?”
“Your family and friends are near. You live in an amazing condo that I know you love. You are appreciated much more than you think by everyone in town. They know what you do and how you take care of so many things behind the scenes. I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.”
“Maybe.”
“Is it Astrid’s death that has you discombobulated?” Her mother put an arm around Harper’s shoulders. “I know it must have been very upsetting for you to see her like that.”
“Her death has thrown me, but that’s not it. I think I’m just tired of the politics of everything. There are so many lies and half-truths. People angling to get more power. Cedar Bluff is a small town and yet you have Jed playing hardball and not allowing us to hold the Halloween Extravaganza in the square without all kinds of silly rules because he’s angry at Susan. She insulted him and bent his ego.
“And Susan is always throwing Chief Clark under the bus because she needs someone to blame for the escalating crime rate and anything else she can pin on him. And he’s always trying to do the same to her. It’s like kids on the playground, I swear. I’m… I’m just sick of it all.”
“Is there something else you would like to do?” her mother asked.
Harper took a sip of her coffee. “I have no idea and I think that’s the problem.” She tapped her fingertip on the warm ceramic.
“Mornin’, Sunshine.” Her father blustered into the kitchen. “Look who I found lurking outside.” He moved out of the way and Jason was standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Harper. I just wanted to check on you. I swung by your place and you weren’t there so I thought I would stop here.”
Her mother greeted Jason with a smile. “Come in. Can I get you some coffee? I was just about to start making breakfast. I’m a bit slow this morning. You’ll stay and have bacon and eggs with us, won’t you?”
“That would be great, Mrs. Edwards.”
“Connie, please. You’re not in high school anymore.”
Harper’s skin chilled. Here he was, playing nice with her parents when he wasn’t nice at all. She wanted him out of her parents’ house and out of their lives altogether. Fuck this Mr. Roger’sit’s a beautiful day in the neighborhoodbullshit.
Her mother set the coffee down on the island and waved Jason over to a stool.
Harper stood up. “Why don’t Jason and I go have our coffee in the sunroom? It’s a beautiful view from there and we’ll be out of your way.”
Her mother smiled. “That sounds like a great idea.” She gave Harper a look that said she knew something was up.
Grabbing her coffee cup and wrapping her sweater more tightly around her pajamas, Harper led Jason through the house to the sunroom. They sat in the side-by-side rocking chairs that faced out toward the water. The view over the ocean was amazing and she used admiring it as an excuse to get herself together.
“How are you doing? Yesterday was a lot on top of…everything else.”
“Yes, it was,” she agreed.
“I’m sorry if I was a bit of a jerk. The stress of having two homicides was getting to me, I guess.”
Harper made a noncommittal noise as she pondered how to best confront him.Fuck it. She was done with playing nice. “Why did you break into my home?”
Jason froze, his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as he lowered his cup again.
“Fuck all the way off, Jason. I’m done with your bullshit. You broke into my place. It could only have been you. You unlocked the door when you stopped by and returned later, coming in that way to leave me the candle and the note while I was sleeping.”
He stared at her and then his brows drew down and his lips thinned out. “When did this happen? Someone threatened you? Why didn’t you tell me? We need to file a report so I can assign you some protection.”
