“His wife died in an accident, along with his son.” Harper smiled sadly. “He lived here alone for years. He was a bit of a recluse really, apart from work. And then we met and I got pregnant and turned his world upside down.”
“How did you meet?” Meghan asked. Harper was so easy to talk to. The fact they both had daughters meant they had even more in common.
“Rich hasn’t told you?”
“No. But now I’m intrigued. Is it some kind of secret?”
Harper laughed. “No secret. We met at a party at the Silver Sands Resort. I was living in LA at the time and we had a one-night-stand.” Her cheeks pinked up at the memory. “I didn’t even know his name. And then I found out I was pregnant and my whole world turned upside down.”
“I remember that feeling.” Meghan smiled with sympathy.
“Hold that thought. Because I want to know all about your daughter, too.”
“Okay. But first tell me how you tracked James down when you didn’t know his name.” Meghan leaned forward, her fingers clutching her wine glass.
Harper leaned her head against the chair, her blonde hair turned orange by the setting sun. She had pink tips in her hair that matched the flowers in her dress. She was so pretty and friendly, it was impossibl
e not to love her. “I bumped into him at the hospital. I was as shocked as he was. Then I told him what happened and…” she trailed off, her eyes heavy with memories.
“You lived happily ever after?” Meghan prompted.
“No, not at first. We agreed to co-parent. But then we started spending more time together and love happened. And now here we are.” She gestured at their house.
“It was obviously meant to be.” Meghan grinned.
“I think so. We’re very happy together. Now tell me about you and Isla. How old is she?”
“She’s eight.”
“Wow. You don’t look old enough to have an eight-year-old daughter.”
“Well thank you. I was pretty young when I got pregnant. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, especially doing it alone.”
“The father isn’t in the picture at all?”
Meghan shook her head. “He didn’t want to be.”
“Well, I think you’re pretty amazing for parenting solo. Seriously, I take my hat off to you.”
Meghan smiled softly. “Thank you.”
Harper glanced at the open back door from the corner of her eye, leaning forward as she lowered her voice. “And how about you and Rich? What’s going on there?”
“Nothing.” There was no way she was mentioning the kiss. “We’re just friends and neighbors.”
“That’s a shame.” Harper sighed. “I was hoping he’d finally met somebody. It would be perfect if it was you.”
Meghan shrugged. “I can’t see him wanting to settle down with a single mom.”
“Well, he has enough experience. He practically brought his sister up single handed when his parents died.” Harper took a sip of her wine. “He kind of reminds me of James when I met him. All work and no play. He needs to find a way to relax, otherwise the job will end up killing him.”
“I can’t imagine how stressful their job must be.”
Harper crossed her legs and stared out at the blazing sky. “I always think James has it easy compared to Rich. He knows what he’s going to be doing every day, apart from the rare emergency that comes in. He gets to build up a relationship with his patients, talks them gently through their procedures, then gets to see them living a better life when they’re through.”
“What does he specialize in again?” Meghan asked her.
“He’s a spinal surgeon. And don’t get me wrong, it’s still stressful. And he has days when he loses a patient. Those are always the worst. But Rich never knows what he’s going to be dealing with from day to day. He saves lives and never hears from them again. And of course he loses some.” Harper sighed. “I just can’t imagine it.”