Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Harper
T he festival was much bigger than Harper anticipated, and her nerves came back with a rush. Her fingers shaking, she stood to one side of the stage with Isla, her sister’s presence the only thing stopping her from turning tail and running.
It was one thing to sing karaoke in a half-full bar. This was something else entirely.
Where had all these people come from?
The stage was set up in the public park next to the water, with chairs and tables filled with people eating food from what appeared to be an entire fleet of food trucks.
The late afternoon sun was warm enough that people who couldn’t get a table and chairs were stretched out on picnic blankets. There were families with kids running between the chairs and blankets, couples on dates, and a crowd of people strolled around, browsing the wares at the plethora of market stalls.
She’d gotten so used to the relative peace and quiet of Cape Wilde that seeing this many people was a bit of a shock. When they’d arrived Harper had gawked as soon as she’d gotten out of Logan’s truck. She’d stood frozen on the spot, her guitar clenched in her fingers.
It was only Logan’s comforting hand on her shoulder squeezing gently that had her relaxing enough to make it to where she would perform. He hadn’t said anything, just given her a small smile and that had been enough to get her moving again.
And now she was about to get on stage and perform her own music. For the first time. Alone.
Oh god.
This was a terrible idea.
“You can do this, Harp,” Isla said softly, bumping Harper’s shoulder gently with her own.
Harper inhaled sharply. “But there’s so many of them.”
“Just think of them naked.”
Harper let out a startled laugh. “That’s a little weird. Does it even work?”
“No idea, I never get past King,” Isla grumbled.
Harper smirked. “I’ll bet.”
Isla huffed. “You have a beautiful voice—you always have—and you’ve been working so hard. Do you want to regret not trying?”
Isla’s words echoed what Logan had said, and what she’d been saying to herself. What was the point of a life half lived? The first time doing something new was always going to be terrifying.
“No,” Harper said. “I don’t want to have any more regrets.”
She stepped onto the stage and settled herself on the stool in front of the microphone. Isla followed her and pulled the microphone from the stand, winking at Harper who gaped.
“Hello Cape Wilde!” Isla cried, drawing the attention of much of the crowd. “I’m Isla Holden?—”
A murmur of voices rose, and more heads turned toward the stage.
“—and this is my fantastically talented sister, Harper.”
Harper’s terrified gaze flicked from Isla to the crowd, many of whom were pulling their phones out and pointing them at the stage. Then Logan walked to the spot right in front of the stage and settled himself in a chair, legs splayed wide and arms crossed over his chest.
Just like he had that first time she’d sung karaoke.
Then Cassie joined him, then Rowan, until the crowd was no longer full of strangers but a gathering of friendly faces.
Harper let out a shaky breath. She could do this.
“Some of you may have heard things in the press lately about me. And possibly about my sister. Do you want me to set the record straight?”
A chorus of “yeses” answered Isla.
“Shall we set the record straight, Harps?” Isla turned to Harper and winked.
Harper just smiled and nodded her head, resigned to being dragged along in whatever harebrained scheme Isla had in mind.
“Harper is the songwriter of all my albums. The music we usually work out together. And I’m the performer… Or, I was the performer.” She took a step back to place her hand on Harper’s shoulder. “But today you get to see something very special.”
Harper’s heart was thudding so loudly she swore it would be audible over the mic. She focused on her breathing in an attempt to get her nerves under control. She should have known Isla would do something like this.
“The first time Harper Holden will perform in public. Give my little sister a hand, folks!” Isla put the mic back in the stand and took a step back, leading the applause.
Harper smiled and waited for the crowd to calm before leaning into the mic.
“And she wonders why I haven’t performed in public before.”
As the crowd laughed, Harper’s eyes settled on Logan. She imagined the smile he gave her was one of pride.
“I have a few songs for you. These were all written here in Cape Wilde. So it seems only fitting that’s where I share them for the first time.”
A cheer rose up, and Harper smiled, strumming her guitar and making a final nervous adjustment to one of the strings.
“This one doesn’t have a name yet,” she said, her eyes landing on Logan. “But it’s about finding peace amongst heartache.”
And then she sang like her life depended on it. Harper poured her soul into the words, closing her eyes and not focusing on being perfect but just being her. When she finished and the final notes drifted on the salty breeze, the crowd burst into furious applause.
A smile broke across her face so wide her cheeks started to ache. By the time she’d finished her set, the crowd had stopped looking at the market stalls and buying food. The people running the food trucks had stopped cooking and were leaning on the counters, transfixed.
“Thank you, everyone. You’ve been wonderful,” Harper said. She stood to more applause and left the stage.
The rest of the evening raced by in a mad rush with Harper sitting at a hastily set up table with Isla to sign a stack of postcards that someone had managed to find somewhere. Her sister had refused to talk to anyone until after Harper had finished singing, and there was a long line of patiently waiting fans ready to see her. But, more surprising to Harper, there were a lot who were interested in Harper. They wanted to know when she would be recording her music and when it would be released.
“See?” Isla whispered through the side of her mouth at one point. She leaned toward Harper and elbowed her in the side. “You have fans already!”
Harper shook her head in disbelief. “Wow.” She shared a grin with her sister. “Thank you.”
Isla scoffed. “For what? Taking the credit for years? I owe you a lot.”
“No, you don’t?—”
“Harps, please. Let me do what I can to help. You helped me, now it’s my turn to help you.”
Harper swallowed and slowly nodded. “Alright.”
“Good.”
It took over an hour to see everyone who had lined up for an autograph from the famous singer and her talented sister, which is what one elderly man called the two women.
Isla, always gracious and polite to fans, refused to leave until everyone who had lined up had seen her. King stood behind her, like a guard dog, as she smiled and chatted with her fans. Harper marveled at how Isla seemed to genuinely enjoy the experience, whereas Harper found it exhausting.
When, at last, the final person who had patiently waited in line had been seen, Isla sighed and turned sideways on the hard plastic chair.
“Ready?” King asked.
Isla just nodded, visibly drooping in front of Harper’s eyes.
“How do you do it?” She asked.
Stifling a yawn, Isla asked, “Do what?”
Harper waved her hand to where the line had snaked away from the table for the past hour. “This. You actually like this, don’t you?”
Isla smiled a tired smile, flopping sideways to drape herself over the back of the chair. “Sure. Don’t you?”
She’d spent years by her sister’s side as she recorded, performed, and spent hours signing autographs just like today. But Harper had never been involved like this. It was entirely different.
And she was exhausted in a way she’d never been before.
The thought of doing exactly this over and over and over?—
No way. I can’t do this.
“I don’t know,” she said slowly.
Isla pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the hand offered by King. “You’ll get used to it.”
Harper wasn’t sure she would.
And that left her more confused than ever.
H arper didn’t get a chance to talk with Logan that night. Exhausted, King insisted on Isla getting to bed and Harper, barely able to keep her eyes open, was relieved. All four had poured into Logan’s truck and headed back to the house Harper had fallen in love with.
She hadn’t just fallen in love with the house, but that was a thought she wouldn’t dwell on right now. As tired as she was, if she started thinking about tomorrow and leaving Cape Wilde, she’d start bawling.
She’d rested her head against the glass and closed her eyes, only to wake up in Logan’s bed the next morning.
“Hey sleepy head. Time to get going,” Isla called from the ensuite bathroom. “You were out cold when we got back last night. I can’t believe you didn’t wake up when Logan carried you inside.”
Harper pulled a pillow over her head and groaned, not wanting to face the day.
Especially not this day.
“You know you still steal the covers in your sleep?” Isla laughed.
Oh god. She had to leave here. She’d thought she’d have more time, but weeks had turned into days, and now minutes. Her time in Cape Wilde—her time with Logan West—had run out far too quickly.
Surely that was a sign?
Isla ripped the pillow from her hands, the sunlight making her eyes hurt. She closed them and rolled onto her stomach.
“None of that. Come on, get up.” Isla ripped back the covers.
“Go away.”
“Nope. We have a long drive today and need to get going if we’re going to make our flight.”
Harper’s eyes flew open and she pushed herself up onto her elbows. “Flight?”
Isla was standing beside the bed in jeans and a cropped tee, an expanse of smooth stomach peeking from between the waistband and hem. She propped a hand on her hip. “Did you think we were going to drive back to California?”
Harper hadn’t thought much at all. She’d actively avoided thinking about this day.
Isla left her to shower, and in far too little time she was downstairs with her bags, standing awkwardly in the living room.
King was on the back deck with Isla, both nursing cups of coffee as they looked over the water, backs turned to the house. She appreciated them giving her some privacy to say her goodbyes.
Logan who was in the kitchen, another flannel shirt stretched over his back. He had rolled his sleeves up over his muscular forearms, his hands busy making coffee.
She watched as he moved through the space on bare feet. His sure movements so familiar to her now.
Would she ever see him again?
No. She had to stop thinking like that. What they had was short, but that’s what they’d agreed to. It wasn’t to be anything longer than this. They both knew what this was.
It didn’t matter how many times she told herself the same story though, it still hurt.
It would probably always hurt.
Harper slid onto one of the stools at the kitchen bench and watched him with hungry eyes, committing every part to memory. The way the dust motes danced in the morning light. The reflection of the sun on the water. The sound of Logan humming under his breath as he made coffee.
I will always love you.
That’s what he was humming, she realized.
He couldn’t mean…?
No. No way.
“Here you go.” He slid the mug across the counter to her.
She looked down. The perfect amount of creamer. He had made her coffee just the way she liked it. She smiled sadly. “Thank you.”
“I suppose this is goodbye,” he said.
She couldn’t look up. If she did, he’d see her eyes had filled with tears. She refused to cry in front of Logan. Not again. They both knew what this was. And now she was going, like they’d both understood all along.
“Yeah.”
“It’s been…” he trailed off.
What? It’s been what?
She wanted to scream. Just tell me! But she didn’t. She sat silently.
“Thank you,” she said, finally lifting her eyes to look at him.
His expression was shuttered. Unreadable. “Thank you for everything.”
He turned his head, watching as King and Isla opened the door from the deck and approached, hands gripping the edge of the bar. “You don’t need to thank me. Anyone would have?—”
“No, they wouldn’t. But you did. So thank you.” She reached across and covered his hand with hers. His fingers stiffened then his hand turned and gripped hers briefly, squeezing gently before pulling away.
It was that touch that she still felt as King drove them away from Cape Wilde. Logan’s hand on hers as her heart slowly broke.
She rested her head against the cold glass of the window, watching the trees as Cape Wilde disappeared behind her.