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“Yes. Let me go first.”
Priscilla stepped through the doorway from Gray’s tiny bathroom into the living space.
“I’d like to introduce Harmony, the fairy of imagination.”
I stepped through the door and watched as Gray’s eyes took me in from head to toe and back again, growing more predatory with each pass over.
He didn’t have to say anything because I could tell he loved it, and he verified this for me when he said, “Wow. Just wow. I’m speechless.”
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without my lovely assistant.” I tapped P on the shoulder with my fairy wand.
“Thanks, Priscilla, for helping my lovely fairy prepare herself. We only have a few minutes before we call. We’d best go over your notes and do some breathing.”
“That’s my cue. Good luck, Harmony. Catch me up later, and don’t forget to talk to Daddy about the course.” She winked and was out the door before I could give her the stink eye. Betrayed by my new bestie.
“What course?” Gray inquired.
“Later, please. I can only do one thing at a time.”
He raised an eyebrow in a way that promised there would be no squirming out of later. He’d want to know, and I really wanted to tell him, but I was afraid. Everything was so new and most of the time my head was spinning with all the adjustments in me and my lifestyle since coming to Rawhide. I wanted to be calm when we discussed the future and where he saw me, or if he saw me as a part of his. The burning question for me was, would there be an us after a few weeks, when his temp position ended?
I sat down in front of Gray’s laptop. He would be beside me, but out of range of the camera. He’d only intercede if I needed him, and despite my history with them, his coaching had gone a long way to prepare me for this call. Being in a relationship with a lawyer had its perks.
I pressed the Zoom link and waited. It rang a few times and my hopes spiraled that maybe this wouldn’t happen, after all. But then their faces appeared on the screen. They had been beautiful once. I know because I’d seen photos from when my father courted my mother. Back then, they smiled. The two dour faces before me hadn’t done that in years, at least not real smiles.
Even now, I could see the strain behind the tight downward curve of their lips.
“Good Lord, Harmony, what on earth are you wearing?”
Usually, her comment would have sent me into a spiral and I would have offered to change so as to be more presentable for them.
“Oh, do you like it? I had some help, but the design is all mine.”
Below the camera, one of my hands gripped my rock, while the other fiercely gripped Gray’s hand.
“It is vastly inappropriate. Don’t think you can just prance around wearing whatever you want simply because you’re not in New York where we can control you.”
Beside me, I could feel anger pulsing off Gray in waves. He was right to be angry, and for the first time in forever, I was steaming mad, too, but no way would I lose it in front of them.
“Don’t think you have a say in my life, or an opinion regarding my clothing, or anything else I do. You cut me off, as I recall, and I’ve been making it through just fine. Thriving, in fact, without your insults or your money. Now, you called this meeting. I suggest you tell me what you want while you can.” I was literally humming with the confrontation. Every nerve in my body was on high alert. Gray had prepared me well, just like he would a witness, he’d said. I was blown away by how much easier it was to talk to people when I knew what and how to say things. And to be able to say what I wanted to my bullying parents for the first time in my life was mind boggling. A part of me was in movie mode with a bag of popcorn, wondering what would happen next.
My parents remained speechless, and I couldn’t help but dig the knife in just a little more. “Shock isn’t a good look on either of you, so why don’t you pick your jaws up off the floor and get to the point.”
The screen went blank. I was about to say something to Gray when he held his finger over his lips to remain quiet. They must have thought they’d hung up the call, but we could still hear them talking.
“Now what do we do, Henrietta? The little chit will inherit everything from your father, and we’ll have to go to her for an allowance.”
“I really don’t know, Charles, but I won’t beg.”
“Yes, you will beg, both of you, if you want anything from me and don’t be surprised if I won’t deem you eligible to receive anything unless you jump through my hoops to earn it!”
I ended the call and sat back in my chair, my heart pounding in my chest.
Chapter 17
Gray
A few days had passed since the call with Henrietta and Charles Carrington. After ending the call, Harmony reached out to the family lawyer to find out what was going on. Documents giving me authority to intervene for her were expedited, and we learned the truth about her family wealth.
