Second Epilogue
AUSTIN
SIX DAYS AFTER HARPER AND CHASE’S WEDDING
The familiar, yeasty tang of Braden’s latest IPA experiment, something he was calling Hurricane Haze, usually settled easy on a Friday night. Tonight, though, even the expertly crafted bite couldn’t quite cut through the low-grade thrum of… well, I wasn’t sure what it was. Family, probably.
Family always came with a certain level of internal thrum.
I leaned back in the booth at Tidal Hops, nursing my pint, and studied my big sister.
Harper was across from me, radiating a kind of quiet, settled happiness that was still new enough to be noticeable.
She was sipping water, a small, almost secretive smile toying on her lips whenever she thought no one was looking.
Chase was a good man, dependable as they came, but Harper was still my sister.
That protective instinct, ingrained deeper than any fishing knot, didn’t just switch off because she’d signed a piece of paper at the courthouse.
I eyed the glass of water she was nursing.
Harper, who usually enjoyed one of Braden’s lighter ales or a glass of wine after a long week, had been clutching her water like it was a lifeline.
Eli, sprawled in the booth beside her, caught my gaze and gave me a subtle smirk before turning back to the diving story he was regaling Harper with. He was in fine form, clearly enjoying himself, and I had a sudden, suspicious feeling he was enjoying something at my expense.
“You off the good stuff, Harper?” I tried to keep my tone casual, though Eli’s eyes snapping back to mine put me on high alert. “Or did Braden finally brew something you can’t stomach?”
Harper’s cheeks flushed a telltale pink, and she suddenly found the condensation on her glass utterly fascinating. Eli, damn him, grinned at me.
It clicked then.
The quick courthouse wedding. The water. Eli’s smug expression. Harper’s sudden shyness. My own internal radar, usually reserved for spotting fish or ominous clouds on the horizon, pinged loud and clear.
“You’re pregnant,” I stated, not a question. My gaze softened as I looked at my sister. Underneath the usual general manager competence, there was a new, almost fragile shine to her.
Harper let out a shaky laugh, and her hand went to her stomach. “Okay, okay, you got me. How did you guess? I thought I was being subtle.”
Eli laughed. “Subtle as a hurricane, sis. My finely tuned shotgun-wedding radar went off the second Chase mumbled something about needing a best man. He looked like he’d just accidentally agreed to a timeshare presentation he couldn’t escape.
Austin here is just a little slower on the uptake, but he gets there eventually. ”
“Well, I wanted to wait a bit longer to tell everyone else.” Harper’s gaze met mine, a touch of apology in it. “At least another month, until we’re past the early stage. Things are just… a lot right now. So could you keep it under your hat for now?”
“My lips are sealed,” I assured her and meant it. A sharp wave of concern washed over me. She was taking on a hell of a lot. “You doing okay with it all?”
She gave me a genuine, if slightly tired, smile. “I’m fine, Austin. Really. Just a bit of morning sickness that seems to think all day is a better schedule. Chase is being incredible, though.”
I raised my pint. “Well, congratulations, Harp. To you and Chase. And your upcoming fleet expansion.”
She laughed, the sound clear and happy. “Thanks, Austin. And not a word to Mom or the others yet, okay? We want to tell them properly.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Braden swung by the table then, wiping down the smooth wood with a practiced swipe of his bar rag. “Everything good over here, folks? Austin, you look like you’ve seen a mermaid. What’s the big news I’m missing?”
Eli, Harper, and I exchanged a quick, conspiratorial glance.
“Just discussing Austin’s latest fishing tales, little brother,” Eli said smoothly. “Apparently, the one that got away was this big.” He spread his hands wide, nearly knocking over Harper’s water.
I took another long pull of my beer, warmth spreading through me and chasing away the earlier thrum. A baby. Harper was going to be fine. She had Chase. And she had us.
My thoughts, inevitably, drifted to the noise next door to my own place, and my good mood frayed at the edges.
“Speaking of things multiplying, that damn Heron House gets worse every day. The noise is already ungodly. A crew is making it hospitable, apparently. Less of a death trap, more like. I found out the new owner is moving in next week.”
Eli leaned forward, interest piqued. “Oh yeah, old Lady Lawson’s place? Heard someone finally inherited that mausoleum. Who’s the brave soul? Or the sucker?”
“Some woman from up north,” I said, the words laced with the accumulated annoyance of my recent shattered morning calms. “Holloway. Iris Holloway, according to Cameron down at the lumberyard. Who, by the way, is an idiot for even delivering materials to that place. The house is a hazard.”
Harper, ever the diplomat even with a baby on board, chimed in, “Iris Holloway? What a pretty name. She’ll probably be nice.”
I grunted in response, not bothering to justify that with a reply.
Harper leaned toward me. “Maybe she just needs some local guidance, Austin. Old houses in the Keys can be tricky. You know that better than anyone.”
“Tricky? That place isn’t tricky, Harper.
It’s condemned by common sense. And from what Cameron says, she sounds like she’s planning on fixing a century of rot with positive thinking and a Pinterest board.
” I took another giant drink in an attempt to calm down.
“He said this Holloway woman was talking about Bohemian whimsy for the porch. Bohemian whimsy. On a structure that’s probably held together by cobwebs and bad ideas. ”
Eli was grinning now, that familiar glint in his eye. “Sounds like a project for a capable, slightly grumpy neighbor with a knack for fixing things, Aus. Maybe she needs a consultant. You could offer your services. For a steep price, of course. Payable in silence, maybe.”
I shot him a glare that could curdle milk, which he was immune to. Of course. “She can hire her own damn consultants. My only service is going to be filing a noise complaint if that generator starts before seven. Sunny and optimistic isn’t going to stop the roof caving in on her head.”
“Well, be careful, little brother.” Eli’s grin widened. He knew he’d gotten under my skin, damn him. “Sounds like this Iris Holloway, whoever she is, might just be the hurricane to your calm harbor.”
Harper had a thoughtful, slightly mischievous smile twitching her lips now too. “You know, Austin, a little bit of disruption can be… invigorating. And anyone brave enough to take on Heron House must have some serious grit. Maybe she’s what that old place needs.”
I scowled at both of them, a united front of sibling amusement I did not appreciate. “Invigorating? Grit? I’d prefer peace. And how about not actively devaluing my property with questionable structural decisions made by someone named after a goddamn flower?”
Harper and Eli both burst into laughter, obviously tickled at the turn of events.
“Calm down!” Harper said. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
I finished my beer in one long swallow, the coolness a welcome distraction. “Whatever. As long as her idea of remodeling doesn’t involve any actual explosives before nine a.m. That’s all I ask.”
But I knew, with a sinking feeling that settled in my gut heavier than a waterlogged anchor, it wouldn’t be that simple.
Not in Dove Key. Nothing here was ever simple.
My solitude, the quiet order I’d fought so hard to build and maintain, was already under siege.
And I hadn’t even met the woman responsible.