Chapter Ten
"Morning, Harper," Rocket greeted her with a grin when she walked into the bakery.
"Hey, Rocket, how's it going?"
"I'm doing great, thanks; how about you?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She looked around the bakery. "I'm meeting Shelley."
"She's not here yet. What can I get you?"
"I'll take an Americano, thanks."
"Do you want to take a seat and I'll bring it over or..."
"Hey, Harper," Candy stuck her head out from the back. "We don't usually see you in here on Monday mornings."
"No, I know, but I didn't manage to catch up with Shelley this weekend, so we're going to have coffee."
"Good for you. Look, here she is."
Harper turned to see Shelley pulling up outside.
"I'll let the two of you chat, but I might come and join you on my break later, if that's okay."
"Of course it is."
Candy laughed. "I know you don't mind, but I also know that the two of you have your secrets."
Harper rolled her eyes at her. "And I've told you, I won't be keeping them for long."
From the way Candy said, "Good, I'm looking forward to hearing all about it," Harper had to wonder if news of her eating at the diner in town with Emmett and the girls on Saturday had spread further.
Jim said that his friends had told him about it, but they hadn't been the only other people in the diner.
And when she'd thought about it, she realized that with Emmett being so well known and liked in the valley, people no doubt would gossip.
Rocket set her coffee down in front of her and waved to Shelley as she came in.
Once they were settled in a booth in the back, Shelley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she said, "So, how did it go? Tell me all about it."
"It was really good. The girls were so sweet, Shelley Bells. I was concerned that even though I get along so well with them, they might not like the idea of me getting along too well with their dad."
Shelley nodded. "I wondered about that myself, but they're okay with it, you think?"
She laughed. "They're so okay with it that they made a big deal about going upstairs to do their homework after we'd all eaten."
"Aw, that's sweet of them. And how did it go once you and Emmett were finally by yourselves? In fact, wait a minute, have the two of you ever actually been alone together?"
Harper had to think about that for a moment. "Well, there was the ride back from the airport, but other than that, not really."
"Well, that's going to have to change, isn't it?" said Shelley. "I mean, of course the girls are going to be around most of the time, but you two will need some time for yourselves as well. Maybe I should get Trip to invite them for a sleepover one weekend soon."
"No, you don't need to do that."
Shelley shrugged. "I like them, but I don't know them all that well. And I think that's why Trip hasn't spent more time with them. Apparently, he used to be very close with them when they were small, and they loved to come over to his place. They liked to dress up in his mom's old ball gowns."
Harper smiled at that. "Maybe they used to when they were younger, but I'm not so sure now, Shelley. Tanya's a bit of a tomboy, and Alana's beyond playing dress-up, I think. Although, maybe not, but I think she'd see it more as a costume."
"Whatever the reason," said Shelley, "I'm saying that the girls could come and stay with us for a weekend, so that you and Emmett..."
"I know, and thanks, but that'll be a while away. If we even get there."
"That doesn't sound very hopeful."
"Oh, I am, I'm just trying to be realistic, too. Whatever happens will be more about the four of us than the two of us."
Shelley studied her closely.
"What?" she asked with a laugh. "It's true."
"I guess so, but I think if there's going to be a four of you, then the two of you need to be solid in your own right."
"Yeah, I guess so, but it's early days yet, we'll see how it goes."
"Was there anything between the two of you yesterday?"
Harper had to smile. "No, but there almost was."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, like I said, after we'd eaten, the girls disappeared upstairs to do their homework. Emmett and I hung out and talked. We went and sat out on the back deck and had a glass of wine until it was time for me to go."
Shelley grinned. "Did you get a kiss goodbye?"
Harper laughed. "No, that's what I meant when I said almost. We were like a pair of teenagers ourselves; it was one of those awkward moments.
He walked me out to my truck, and opened the door for me.
We both lingered. We were both thinking about it, but it felt weird.
I couldn't, I didn't know why, but you know me, I told him that. "
"Oh no, was he disappointed?" Shelley asked.
"No, he was relieved. He felt it, too. And we both wondered if it was just us, but then he figured it out."
"What was it; what was wrong?" Shelley asked.
"We both felt weird because we both must have known on some level that we were being watched." She laughed. "I wouldn't have spotted them. But Emmett told me, without moving his head in that direction, that the curtains in Tanya's bedroom were twitching."
Shelley laughed out loud. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I mean, it's not funny, but it is funny."
Harper laughed with her. "Yeah, it was funny. It's all good. And it might have been the wrong moment anyway."
"You'll figure it out," said Shelley. "But I think that just strengthens my case—that maybe you'll want the girls to come and stay with us one weekend."
Harper nodded. "Maybe I will. But the last thing I want to do is oust them from their lives to give me more time with their dad."
"Oh, but it wouldn't be like that."
"I know. But I wouldn't even think about doing it until it stops feeling that way to me, because if it feels like that to me, it probably will to them as well."
"You're so good with them," said Shelley. "You understand how they think."
"I don't know about that. But I can put myself in their shoes and imagine how I would feel. If I'd had my dad around after my mom was gone, I don't know that I would have been too happy to share him with someone new."
Shelley reached out to touch her arm, but Harper gave her a bright smile. "I'm not dwelling on my situation. Just using the little knowledge I have about families."
She felt bad when Shelley simply nodded—there was nothing she could say.
"Sorry, I wasn't going for the sympathy vote."
"And you wouldn't get it. I know better than that, you'd hate it. So, what else is going on with you? How's work?"
"It really isn't at the moment."
"Oh, no. Do you think you're going to be able to make it work from here?"
"I don't know. I've talked with some of my authors and they'll be coming to me when they're ready to publish again. But who knows when that will be?"
"Is it a problem? Do you think you'll have to go back to New York?"
"I would if I wanted the full-time work." Harper took a sip of her coffee. "But I'm not sure that I do."
"What else would you do then?" Shelley asked.
"That's the whole point. It's only dawned on me recently that I could keep on doing what I'm doing—just having a good time and enjoying myself.
I don't need to work anymore. Not if I don't want to.
I've invested well over the years." She smiled at her friend.
"Thanks to your good advice. And if I were to sell my apartment in New York… "
Shelley's eyes grew wide. "You'd do that?"
"If I want to stay here, I'd be crazy not to. I could buy a whole ranch and still have enough left over to live on with what I'd get for that apartment."
"That's true. New York real estate's crazy, isn't it?"
"Crazy good in my case," said Harper.
"Well, whatever you decide to do about your apartment will come later. For right now I want to know when you and Emmett are going to see each other again."
"I don't know yet. I might run into him if he's home in the evening, after I drop the girls off. But other than that, it sounds like his schedule's crazy busy this week. We said we'll talk, but I don't know."
They both looked up when Rocket loomed over their table and set a plate full of pastries in front of them. He gave Harper a knowing smile. "You could do me a favor if you like."
It wasn't like him to interrupt like that, but Harper thought the world of him. "Of course, what do you need? I'll be happy to help."
He chuckled. "You could make a delivery for me if you wouldn't mind."
She exchanged a puzzled look with Shelley. "Sure, I mean... Did you just hear me say that I'm not working much these days? Are you trying to keep me out of mischief?"
"No. What I overheard—and you can kick my ass for me if you like, I shouldn't be interfering, but I can't help it.
What I overheard was that you don't know when you'll get to see Emmett again.
" He pointed at the plate of pastries in the middle of the table.
"Those are for you, ladies. But my Janey was feeling a bit down when she went out to work this morning, and I thought a delivery of some cookies would be just the thing to cheer her up. "
"Aww. You might look like a big tough guy, but you're the sweetest, aren't you?"
He scowled at her and he probably looked formidable, even scary, to most people, but Harper could see the twinkle in his eye.
"Don't give me that," she told him. "You are, you're the sweetest. And I love what you're trying to do, but wouldn't you rather take the cookies to Janey yourself?"
"Honestly, I'd love to, but she wouldn't thank me for it. I don't go to see her at work too much because I always end up asking too many questions and playing with the puppies."
Harper and Shelley both chuckled at that.
"It's true. Don't laugh at me."
"I'm laughing because I can see that it's true, not doubting you."
"So, what do you say? Do you want to be my delivery person? I know Janey and Emmett are both in the office this morning. They do a clinic for people to bring their pets in. See, Janey’s as bad as me with the cats and dogs. Emmett only ever used to work on large animals, I think."