Chapter 2 #2
“Yes. Wouldn’t you hate to be responsible for having Mr. Deer die, and then his entire deer family is without the patriarch?” She stands tall, ready to dispute me. “If it’s a baby deer, then I’m sure that you’re going to hell, too.”
My lips press together before raising the corners of my mouth. “That’s, uh… some travesty. Yeah, I should definitely think of my life mistakes.” I feign concern as I bring my fingers to my chin to contemplate.
“Fine, don’t take me seriously. Still, pick up the apple,” she demands again.
“Harlow, why don’t you pull up your phone and literally type in ‘What do deer eat?’ I’m sure you will find that science is on my side here, and besides, you can’t live in Lake Spark without having studied the billions of deer crossing signs in the area and wonder why local people have not yet taken out the overpopulation of deer in the area with apples.
Reason one is apparently they love their apples, so unless we want to go fairytale magical fruit on those creatures, then sorry, but apples are a no-go for killing the deer. ”
“Fairytales? As in the poisonous apple? That’s a bit cruel.”
I cross my arms. “Search the internet,” I one-tone so we can wrap this up.
Her brows knit together before she hesitantly slides out her cell from her sweater pocket then types quickly. Her lips roll in, and she cranes her neck as she delays a response. “Okay… so it appears that deer may… eat apples.” Her face falls as she realizes her error.
I smirk from accomplishment. “Oh dear, look at us having our first quarrel.”
Harlow rolls her eyes and walks past me. “Fine.” She throws her arms up in the air. “You’re right.”
Walking by her side, I keep my cheeky grin fixed. “I like hearing that roll of your tongue. It’s a statement that you might be repeating often.”
She shakes her head ruefully. “I would probably push you into the woods if it wasn’t for the fact that underneath your exterior, I can tell that you’re not that cocky.” She shoots me a glance. “Doesn’t mean you should have littered in the woods, though.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “I shall obey.”
“Great.”
“Let me guess, you’re a vegetarian.”
“Let me guess, you eat a lot of meat,” she counters.
“I need my protein,” I respond.
“Well, there are other ways to get your protein.” Harlow stops again, and she winces when she realizes her word choice could be completely inappropriate, and because it’s me, then of course, I only heard the inappropriate version. “I mean oats, nuts, beans.”
“Nuts, hmm.”
She shakes her head, getting exhausted from me. “I don’t eat meat, okay… well, unless it’s a warm beef sandwich with melted cheese and this special sauce. But that doesn’t really count.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” I tease.
We continue on our walk and occasionally throw a look at one another, with light smiles on our faces.
This feels like an unusual day. Can’t exactly figure out why, other than the breeze feels different, lighter, new.
Harlow seems to play a part. That’s a little crazy considering we only just met, and we didn’t make a great first impression either.
However, as the day moves on, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe everything this morning happened for a reason.
Harlow intrigues me. And lucky for me, she’s someone worth looking at.
“See up there?” I point to where the row of trees ends. “Main Street isn’t far.”
“What made you move here?” She’s curious as we continue our stroll.
“I was living in Chicago, but I wanted a quieter life. I’ve been out here a few times, as there are a lot of hockey camps and training sessions at the sports complex in Lake Spark, and the Spinners train there. I may be retired, but I’m still very much passionate about hockey.”
Her face brightens with surprise. “A true loyalist.”
“Perhaps. Anyhow, when my brother became general manager for the Spinners, then he moved here recently, and we’re close, so it was a no-brainer. Not to mention that I have a baby niece now.”
Harlow looks at me with a soft fondness hinted on her face. “And wildlife too.” She nudges my shoulder with her own. “Winter this far north scares the hell out of me. I need sun, smoothies, and a beach. I’m an only child, and my parents moved down to the Virgin Islands when they retired.”
“Sounds lonely.”
She smiles gently. “Nah, I have my book boyfriends.”
I roll my eyes, and we continue to walk until we pass the gazebo on the grass along the lake and hit Main Street.
To my surprise, Harlow doesn’t want to stop inside any of the boutiques; instead, she follows me until I lead us straight to Jolly Joe’s.
They have great coffee and delicious ice cream, and perfect grilled cheese too.
It’s a Lake Spark essential, however the jukebox in the corner seems to be reserved for tourists.
When we walk inside, Harlow quickly excuses herself to use the restroom. It’s perfect timing, as I see my brother’s girlfriend waiting for something to-go.
“Hey, Isla,” I greet her as I arrive to stand next to her.
She looks up from her phone and gives me a warm smile. “Oh hey, thought you were at your writers’ retreat thing.”
“I am, but my partner for the day and I decided we should break a few rules, so here we are to order milkshakes.”
“You and rule-breaking. Sounds about right.” Isla hasn’t been with my brother Vaughn for long, but she gets me. “Vaughn is away at the game down in Dallas next week. Want to meet up for dinner?”
We’ve been meeting up quite a bit lately, since my brother is away often, and Isla is alone with my baby niece. “For sure. We can do dinner and invite Nora, make it a long night with the three of us. The usual party you can expect with us,” I say with a bit of humor.
“Perfect. I’ll text you. Have to run to relieve the babysitter and attempt to shower in peace. Enjoy the retreat.” Isla grabs her drink from the guy behind the counter and touches my shoulder in passing.
“Talk later,” I say then turn around. I nearly run into Harlow who has a blank face and seems taken aback. “Everything okay?”
A sound cracks from her mouth. “Uh, yeah, totally, uhm, sounds like you’re in for a party.”
It takes a few seconds to try and figure out her train of thought, but then that sly grin takes over when I realize. “You have a very dirty imagination. I thought I confirmed it already, but this just cements it. What do you think you heard?”
She appears flustered now. “It’s none of my business. I’m sure you and your friend have an… eventful relationship.”
“Wow… have you not figured out that I’m single at any point today during your attempts to flirt with me?”
It gets a rise out of her. “Whoa there, Iceman, I was not flirting. You were.”
“Agreed.” I slip that in before continuing on my quest. “Yet just now, your mind conjured that I’m setting up… what is it?”
Her face doesn’t move an inch. “As I said, none of my business.” She darts her attention to the menu on the wall. “Oh, look at that, an array of milkshake choices.”
I gently touch her elbow to guide her sight back to me.
As amused as I am, an overbearing need to clarify hits me.
“That was my brother’s girlfriend, mother of my niece, local resident, Isla.
Most definitely nothing going on there. We meet up for dinner when my brother is out of town, and we do invite someone else to join us…
my baby niece, Nora. And because of my baby niece, then dinner can take a long time.
Who knew babies needed a schedule of bath time, milk, and a pajama routine. It all makes me dizzy.”
Harlow realizes what she mistook as probably my setup for a threesome. She smiles to herself awkwardly. “That does… make a lot of sense.”
My head tilts to the side as I observe her and rock my lips, getting comfortable. “You like to make a lot of assumptions, and you get kind of cute when you admit when you’re wrong. You easily find yourself at a loss of words, which is odd, considering you’re a writer.”
She bites her bottom lip, clearly enjoying the conversation that floats between us. “You seem to bring out this abnormal side of me. I’m normally a nice, clear-thinking human, I swear.”
“I’m not entirely convinced.”
“Hmm, what can I do to change your mind?” Her voice is 100% flirty, nearly sultry, which is why yet again she realizes the error of her ways. “Let’s just, uhm, get a shake, right?”
“Depends, is that before or after you change my mind in unusual ways?” I love teasing Harlow, it’s more rejuvenating than a smoothie.
Harlow studies the menu. “You’re trouble, Stone.” She focuses ahead. “Are we only partners today?”
“I might be able to bribe Gloria with my charm if you would like day two with me. Unless you really want to bond with Frank the sci-fi geek.” I join her in reading the menu, even though I know what I want.
“I think I might just be persuaded to insist you charm Gloria,” her voice slightly drifts.
Ah, so I’m not alone in feeling this connection that travels between Harlow and me. She doesn’t want our day to end, nor do I.
“I’ll shoot that promise straight into the net, even if it gets me sent to the penalty box,” I promise.
She stifles a sound. “I’m surprised we made it this long without a hockey reference.”
“Yeah, because you were too busy saying dirty things to me by accident and attempting to speak on behalf of the deer union.”
Harlow drops her face into her hands, entertained. “Can we just forget about all of that?” Her eyes draw back up to meet mine. “Oh, they actually have it. A spinach and banana milkshake please, with non-dairy milk. You’re buying.”
“Sure. Save us a seat, and I’ll be there in a sec.”
“Perfect.”
After ordering my usual milkshake of chocolate and cherry, I head to the booth where Harlow is staring out the window onto Main Street.
“Finding your creativity?” I interrupt.
She smiles as she brings her sight back to me. “Something like that.”
“Penny for your thoughts,” I pry.
Harlow rests her forehead against the glass and returns her gaze back outside. “I’m just thinking that this is the kind of small town that writers dream about. And all I seem to think is how wonderful that it’s light out and the people seem to be in a safe bubble, truly happy.”
I squint my eyes as I soak in her simple statement that feels as though there is more underneath the surface. She’s still a mystery.
Her attention zips back to me, and the corner of her mouth raises but weakly.
Until our eyes meet and the shift in the air brings an excitement inside me that, for once, isn’t just fueled by a need for temporary relief.
It feels as though she finds me thrilling too.
That’s what unexpected things do, right?
“Why do I feel like neither one of us have followed the assignment?” I softly say aloud.
We both marvel in this moment, with a gently giddy look on our faces, in agreement that we are acknowledging our start.
“Maybe because we found something better,” her voice is a whisper to herself, yet she doesn’t seem concerned that I heard.
I couldn’t agree more.
And I’m beginning to wonder if she’s the key to solving my own secret.