Chapter 8 #2
Damien followed her to Bob’s Diner in the middle of the city.
He’d never been there, but he wasn’t opposed to new places.
He met her behind their vehicles and took her hand as they walked to the door.
He liked the feel of her palm against his, and she didn’t seem to mind that he was holding her hand.
He opened the door for her to walk in first. He was immediately hit by the scent of baked goods and fried breakfast foods. It was comforting in a way he never would have guessed.
“Sit wherever you’d like,” the server behind the counter told them.
Harmony started toward a booth toward the back of the diner, but she stopped when someone called Damien’s name.
Damien saw Pryce Murphy and his wife, Edie, in the next booth.
Harmony smiled at him and made a move to release his hand, but Damien held tight to hers.
“Morning. How are you guys doing?”
“Good,” they said at the same time. “We’ve never seen you here.”
“I’ve never been. This is Harmony—”
“Gibbs?” Pryce asked.
Harmony tensed beside Damien.
“Not everyone likes to be recognized before they can be introduced,” Edie chastised him.
“I apologize,” Pryce said.
“It’s fine.” It definitely wasn’t.
“Pryce works with Marcus. He went to Demeter last night to talk to the manager,” Damien explained to her.
The knowledge that he was a cop eased her posture just slightly.
“Marcus speaks very highly of you,” Pryce said.
Harmony nodded. “He’s been very kind to me.”
Edie grinned. “That’s how he is. He and his wife took me in when I had nowhere else to go. I’m Edie.”
“Edie Warren,” Harmony breathed.
Edie chuckled.
“I am so sorry. You were just defending me, and I go and do that.”
“It’s okay,” Edie assured Harmony. “I get it a lot. And yes.”
“I am so happy you’re safe and doing well. When I heard your story, it broke my heart.”
“Thank you. I’ve been very lucky to have an amazing group of friends, and this amazing man to help me heal.”
“A happy ending. Something you definitely deserve,” Harmony said.
“Thank you. I imagine your life has turned upside down a little lately.”
Harmony shivered and moved slightly closer to Damien. He wasn’t sure she even realized she’d moved. “Someone followed her after our date last night.”
“Last night?” Edie asked, her brows and smile both rising.
Harmony’s cheeks turned red.
Damien chuckled. “Unfortunately, Marcus can share more. A woman approached her and then followed her out of the restaurant. I spent the night on her couch to make sure she was safe.”
“I’m so sorry.” Edie reached for Harmony’s free hand.
Harmony smiled at Edie, a moment of understanding passing between the women. “Thank you.”
“Lean on the people you care about to help you. It takes a long time to feel normal again.”
Harmony shook her head. “I don’t really have anyone. I’m an only child, and my parents are gone.”
“You have Damien,” Edie said as if it were a given.
Damien squeezed Harmony’s hand, and she looked up at him. Her smile was soft and tentative. “You do,” Damien whispered.
“Thanks.”
“We’ll let you get to your breakfast, and we will stop meddling in your life. It was nice to meet you, Harmony. Good to see you, Damien,” Pryce said, giving Edie a look that had her making a face at him in return.
“Nice to meet you. Get my number from Damien and call me if you ever need anything. Please,” Edie told Harmony.
“Okay.”
“I mean it,” Edie said. “I hope to hear from you soon. Not because you need me, but because I think we could be friends.”
“Thank you.”
Damien tugged her to the booth and sat opposite her.
“They seem nice,” Harmony said as she grabbed a menu.
“They’re great. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”
“It’s okay. I think it’s going to be part of my normal for a while.”
“Not everyone cares about money.”
“Maybe, but most people do.”
“I care more about you than money, Harmony. I hope you know that.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I do.”
Damien smiled back, then turned to his menu.
They ordered breakfast from the server who seemed to be alone on a busy morning. She returned a few minutes later with coffee for them both and water.
Damien added sugar and cream to his coffee and stirred it. “Have you thought about what you want to do with the money?”
Harmony had her mug halfway to her lips but paused and shook her head. She took a sip, then set it down. “There are so many organizations that could use the money. I don’t know what makes the most sense.”
“What matters to you is what makes sense. And you don’t have to give it all to one place. You can donate as much or little as you want.” He took another sip. “You can also keep some for yourself. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if you did.”
“It feels wrong. Like the money wasn’t earned.”
“It seemed to matter a lot to Grant Pickens.”
Harmony tensed at the man’s name.
Damien didn’t miss it.
“Yeah,” she said absently, as though she didn’t agree with his statement.
“You don’t think it mattered to him?”
“I’m sure it did. I just… He gave me weird vibes.”
“Really? How so?”
She glanced up as someone walked into the diner. She stared for a few seconds, then focused on her mug. “I’m sure it was all in my head. I haven’t ever been around someone like him.”
“Like him how?”
“Rich. Successful. Generous? When you work in academia, you learn every dollar comes with a price. Not just that it’s a dollar, but research funding is limited.
If we get grant money, someone else doesn’t.
It’s hard to wrap my head around someone handing over that kind of money without there being someone else who could use it, or some kind of strings attached. ”
“Did he say you had to do something for him?” Damien asked.
“No. He was just odd. He said he hoped our meeting would be more enlightening. And that he would see me soon.”
“Was he threatening you?”
Harmony shook her head. “I’m sure I misinterpreted it. It was nothing. I’m fine.”
Damien opened his mouth to ask more, but the server came over with their food. She asked if they needed anything else. Harmony asked for syrup and more coffee, and the moment to press for more was gone.
But definitely not forgotten.