Chapter 35 Harper
Harper
They’ve picked a beautiful spot to have an afternoon picnic.
It’s a quiet stretch of green near the edge of town, where the river cuts wide and slow through the trees.
The trees give off shade, keeping the worst of the sun off, but the dappled light plays on the water and across the grass, making it look almost magical.
By the time we get there, everyone else is already there setting up.
Blankets are spread out in the sun, there’s a cooler open with drinks, and folding chairs positioned like thrones in a half circle.
I see Cora before anyone else, a tiny ball of energy darting from one place to the next, tugging at Lainey’s hand with silent urgency. When she sees me and Everett approaching, she starts flapping around in excitement, and I have to smile.
She lets Lainey go so she can throw herself at me, her little arms wrapping as far as they can around my waist.
“I wasn’t gone that long, baby,” I tell her, smoothing a hand over her curls. “But it’s always good to see you too.”
She grins up at me and then pulls away and reaches a hand out for Everett.
It does something to me to see her want him like that. She’s already decided that he’s safe and now she wants him close.
It just proves the point I was trying to make in his office. If he was even half as bad as he worries he is, Cora would be keeping her distance.
Instead, she radiates joy as he scoops to pick her up with that effortless strength of his, tossing her lightly into the air and catching her with a soft grunt.
Cora squeals with delight, all limbs and eager happiness.
I watch Everett’s face, taking in the way it softens and how he smiles like he doesn’t care that the whole town might be watching their sheriff play with a four year old. It hits me somewhere deep down, and I keep my face impassive, so it won’t show.
When I look past Everett, I see that it’s not just Cash, Lincoln, and Lainey waiting for us.
There’s an older couple sitting together on a bench just off the blankets, and from the resemblance, I figure they must be Lincoln and Lainey’s parents.
When they see me looking, they wave, like they’ve been waiting for me.
Another man moves around, handing out cold drinks before pausing to talk to Cash. Something about his easy smile matches Cash’s almost perfectly, the quiet, easy one that’s always made me feel welcome. This must be someone in his family. Maybe the uncle I’ve heard a little about before.
“I hope you put sunscreen on that little girl!” a familiar voice calls out, and I turn to see Dolly coming across the grass.
Her ever-present apron is swapped out for a bright sundress, and her signature bouffant is still perfectly intact.
She’s carrying a pie tin and looking to where Cora is holding on to Everett.
“We did!” Cash calls back. “What do you take us for, Dolly?”
It’s an easy, relaxed atmosphere, but it’s definitely more people than I expected.
For a second, I hesitate, because it’s always a bit scary to meet people who matter to the people you care about.
I remember Lainey saying her parents wanted to meet me, and I have to wonder what they’re expecting. What do they already know?
But then Lincoln and Lainey’s mom gets up and comes over, smiling a version of Lainey’s bright smile.
“I’m Helen,” she says. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Harper. I’ve heard nothing but good things.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you too.” I hold out my hand for her to shake, and she smiles brighter.
“I’m a hugger, if that’s all right with you.”
Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be, but something about the day makes it all right now. So I nod, and she wraps me in a warm hug and then draws me over to the rest of the group.
Lincoln watches as I meet his dad, shaking his hand firmly, and then Cash claps my shoulder as he introduces me to his uncle Tommy.
“Cash says you have a hell of a voice,” Tommy says, and I blush.
“I do all right,” I say, and he laughs, but it’s a warm sound.
Dolly pulls me over to her, inspecting me from head to toe. “I haven’t seen you at the diner in too long,” she says. “Have these boys been feeding you?”
It’s funny to see her looking at them like a scolding parent, when she’s the one who was talking them up to me when I first got here. I assure her that Cora and I eat very well at home, and she backs off, patting my arm before going to get something to drink.
The awkwardness I was feeling fades quickly, replaced by the kind of easy warmth I’m not used to but am starting to crave more than I want to admit.
I end up beside Lincoln on the blanket as the food is laid out, and I lean toward him to murmur softly. “I didn’t think this is how I would be meeting your parents. I’ve been nervous about making the right impression.”
He glances down at me, lips twitching into something soft. “There was no reason to be nervous. I knew they were going to love you. Everyone in town loves you.”
Cora runs by, catching our attention, and then stops short when she sees something in the distance. I shade my eyes and look in that direction, spotting what looks like a group of horses grazing in a field.
Her eyes go wide, and she moves to tug at Lincoln’s shirt, pointing at the horses insistently.
Before I can even say anything, all three of the men spring into action like it’s something rehearsed.
Lincoln looks at Everett, who knows more about property lines and all that. “Someone must have brought their horses over from a neighboring pasture,” he says.
Everett gets up and checks for posted signs, making sure it wouldn’t be trespassing to go over there.
Lincoln and Cash get up when it seems clear, and Cash takes Cora’s hand, helping her over the little ditch that separates our little grassy area from the fence line.
I can hear him murmuring to her about how it’s important to never touch a fence on someone else’s property until you know for sure it’s not electric. It’s unclear if she’s even listening, her eyes still trained on the horses.
The three of them tromp over to the animals with her, keeping their distance and holding her back until one of the horses trots over to investigate. Then Everett lifts Cora up again, giving her the boost she needs to be able to gently stroke the velvety muzzle.
I stay back in the shade, watching them with a little smile on my face. Dolly comes over and eases herself down beside me with a quiet sigh and a satisfied look.
“You know, if you had told me that hunted, guarded woman who came into my diner that first day would be here on a blanket watching those men with her kid, I would not have believed it.”
“Really?” I ask, even though I wouldn’t have believed it either.
“Of course not. You came in looking half wild and totally shut down. No offense.”
I have to laugh at that. “You’re not wrong. It feels like a long time ago now. I was scared out of my mind, but I didn’t want anyone to know.”
Dolly shrugs. “Well, I saw through that in about two seconds flat. I knew you weren’t a tourist or someone just passing through normally. I knew you were running from something.”
“How did you know that?”
“There’s a look people have, when they’re hoping not to be spotted. I’ve seen it a lot.”
“I guess you would, with the people who pass through here.”
“That, and I’ve been there myself.”
That catches me off guard, and I look up at her. “You, really? I thought you’d been here all your life.”
She shakes her head, a little smile playing around her mouth.
“I came through Silver Falls years ago, just like you. I had nothing to my name but a bag and a busted past I didn’t want to talk about.
And then I just… stayed. I kept telling myself it was temporary, just until I got back on my feet.
But then when I did, there was nowhere I wanted to run to, and Silver Falls did what it does best.”
“What did it do?”
“It made space for me. The people were kind and if they could see I was running from something, they didn’t mind. I made myself useful, and eventually it started to feel like home.”
Hearing that explains a lot about why Dolly was so kind to me that first day. She probably saw a lot of herself in me, and was paying forward all the kindness she experienced. Something about her story sticks, but she doesn’t press me about it.
Eventually, Cora’s hunger outweighs her love of animals, and she comes back with the men and plops down near me on the blanket. Food is passed around, and everyone takes their fill, stuffing themselves with sandwiches and fresh fruit and snacks.
Dolly’s apple pie is dished up for dessert, and by the time the sun starts to sink in the sky, everyone is full and happy.
It’s a team effort to begin packing everything away, folding up blankets and gathering plates and trash. I hand off a stack of plates to Robert, when I feel my phone buzz in my pocket.
I stiffen when I see the name—Julius, again.
This time I reject the call without answering it, breathing slowly through the familiar wave of unease. It passes faster this time, and I’m so grateful for that.
When I look up, I can see Cora, grinning and laughing her quiet laugh in Cash’s arms. Everett smiles lightly as he talks with Lincoln’s parents, and Lincoln and Lainey bicker in their way, standing close together.
Julius and my old pack will always represent a gross, toxic time in my life, but that’s in the past, where it’s going to stay.
This is my life now, and Julius has no part in it.