Chapter Two
Harper
It had been a long slog of a day, and it was only barely eleven a.m. The mornings were always busy, but this morning had been exceptionally so, which was just typical considering one of her employees, Lee, had the day off and another, Jess, had called in sick.
It didn’t rain unless it poured. Harper forced a smile onto her lips as she served each customer, but underneath the facade she didn’t feel like smiling at all.
Because staffing issues were the least of her concerns.
She was worried about her brother. Yet again.
Jack had been a constant source of worry in her life since their parents passed away in a car wreck when Harper was nineteen and Jack just fourteen years old.
Harper had been about to go off to college, but she had put her plans on hold to stay home and take care of her brother.
It had been a difficult time for them both, but Jack had started skipping school and acting out within weeks of their parents passing and he’d only gotten worse with time.
Harper was terrified that one of these days she would get a call from the hospital or a visit from the police telling her that something terrible had happened to him.
It didn’t matter what she said to him or how much he promised her that he would change, and that things would be different.
They never were. He just couldn’t seem to help himself from getting into trouble.
Their parents had left them the house that Harper still lived in, and that Jack used as a bed and breakfast whenever he was in town.
They both got a small amount of money each too, although Jack’s had been kept in trust until he had turned eighteen.
As Harper’s college plans had needed to be temporarily shelved, she’d used her inheritance to buy the coffee shop, but it had been one of the best decisions she’d ever made.
For the first year she had worked incredibly hard to get the business up and running, but it had proven to be such a success that she’d been able to take on a couple of extra employees so that she didn’t have to work as hard and as often herself.
That had been a blessing not only because it meant she had been able to be there for Jack when he got out of school, but because when he finally turned eighteen and got his inheritance, Harper spent most of her time driving from one place to another, trying to get her brother out of trouble.
There was no way an employer would have put up with her taking so much time off work.
What worried Harper the most was that each predicament her brother got himself into was worse than the last. How long would it be before he messed with the wrong people and ended up laying in a ditch on some dirt road somewhere festering in the sun like roadkill? The thought made her stomach lurch.
Harper secured the lid on the coffee she’d just made then handed it over to the waiting customer.
“Caramel latte with an extra shot,” she said, smiling at Neil, one of her regulars.
He came in every day and ordered the same thing, smiling shyly at her when he paid and again when he took his drink.
“Thanks, Harper,” he said so quietly he was barely audible then he turned and rushed out of the door like his tail end was on fire.
She kept thinking he was going to ask her out, but he never did.
Not that it was necessarily a bad thing seeing as Neil wasn’t her type, and she’d only have to turn him down.
Not that Harper really had a type, really.
Still, it was nice to feel wanted. It had been six months since she’d last gone on a date and that had ended in disaster.
She’d had a panicked call from her brother halfway through dinner when he got himself into a bar fight.
Harper had regretfully made her excuses then left to pick him up from a bar three towns over.
She’d tried calling her date the following morning to apologize, but he wouldn’t take her call.
That had been the last time she’d seen him.
Harper heaved a sigh then forced a smile on her lips and lifted her head to greet the next customer in line when her gaze was pulled as if by a magnetic force to the customer who had just come in the door.
She sucked in a quick breath then her mouth fell open as her gaze raked over the man.
Harper might not have a type, but if she did, he would have been it.
He was at least six feet tall with dark blond hair that somehow managed to be scruffy and sexy all at the same time.
It curled up around the nape of his neck and she wondered how soft it would feel if she ran her fingers through it.
But it was the intensity in the man’s eyes as he looked at her that made her feel so hot under the collar.
He was the sort of man that would push a woman up against a wall in the movies and kiss her to within an inch of her life.
She shivered then tore her gaze away to focus on doing her job, reminding herself firmly that this was not a movie, and it was not appropriate to be looking at her customers that way.
Even if she hadn’t been on a date in six months.
As she served the next customer, a regular who always ordered a double espresso, her attention was irretrievably drawn back to the new customer. She glanced his way, trying not to seem too obvious, but there was something about him that kept drawing her gaze back to him again and again.
Finally, the man made it to the front of the line, and it was his turn to order.
He stepped up to the counter, a casual confidence in his posture.
“Just a black coffee, please,” he said, his voice deeper than she’d expected.
He met her eyes with a straightforward gaze that seemed to hint at layers she couldn't quite read. “I’m Toby, by the way.”
The simple act of exchanging money sent unexpected shivers up Harper’s arm as their fingers brushed. A strange electric sensation tingled through her, startling in its intensity. What was that? She was momentarily at a loss for words but managed to stumble her way through a reply.
“Um, Harper. Yes, it’s uh, nice to meet you, Toby,” she managed at last.
The attraction was immediate and bewildering, his presence somehow stirring something within her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. If ever. She certainly couldn’t remember ever being this flustered around a man before.
But then he continued, and the moment shifted. “Actually, I was wondering if you might be able to help me. I’m looking for someone. Jack? I’m an old friend of his from years back.”
The name dropped like a stone in her stomach, and Harper’s guard went up instantly. This wasn’t her first rodeo, after all. She had heard this kind of story before in relation to her brother and on more than one occasion.
“Jack, huh?” she said, her tone cooling a fraction as she handed him his change. “Well, Toby, that’s interesting because my brother doesn’t really keep in touch with his old friends much these days.”
Toby’s expression faltered for just a second, enough to confirm her suspicions. He was lying. A familiar disappointment crept in, tinting her initial attraction with a shade of cynicism. “So, what does Jack supposedly owe you then? Money? Or did he drag you into something else?”
Toby looked genuinely taken aback, his eyebrows lifting. “No, it’s nothing like that. I only wanted to catch up with him. It’s not important. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d say hello.”
“Uh huh.” Harper crossed her arms, her interest in him waning further as she reverted to the protective mode that she’d adopted too many times before.
“Look, Toby,” she started, her voice firmer, “I don’t know what Jack has gotten himself into this time, but I can’t help you. And honestly, I’ve got enough on my plate without dealing with whatever trouble he’s caused now. Do yourself a favor and forget you ever met him.”
He paused, his gaze steady on hers. “Look, don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s not important, really. I was…”
He frowned, clearly wanting to say more, but closed his mouth before finishing the sentence.
She wanted to believe that he was genuine. There was something in his eyes seemed sincere, desperate even. But years of dealing with her brother’s messes had taught her better. Debt collectors and thugs were better liars than most people gave them credit for.
…But they didn’t generally look as sincere as this guy, either.
“He hasn’t been back here in a few days,” Harper said, taking pity on the stranger. “I suggest you try finding him somewhere else.”
Toby nodded. “I get it. I’m sorry to have bothered you, Harper.” He took his coffee, holding her gaze for a moment longer, as if trying to convey a message she couldn’t quite grasp.
Then, with a resigned shake of his head, he turned and walked to a table near the window and took a seat.
Harper frowned, a mix of emotions swirling within her.
He was staying? What for? Did he think she was lying about not seeing her brother for the past few days?
Was he trying to intimidate her into telling him where Jack was?
Even though she’d only just met Toby, she didn’t want to believe that he would do that.
And there was a part of her that just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to him than met the eye.
Maybe she’d had been too quick to judge him and hold him to her brother’s low standards.
Right. And maybe he was a good, honest family man, too.
She swallowed a snort and turned to the next customer in line.