Searching for Harmony (Boston Love 1)

Harmony sat up. “You did not!”

Laughing, I nodded. “Yep. We tied a rope around him and Wes and I eased him down into the well.”

“Preston, what if it would have collapsed?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “I don’t know. I guess we would have dealt with it. It was pretty stupid, thinking back on it.”

Punching my shoulder, Harmony said, “Ya think? My gosh, your poor mother. You boys must have worried her sick.”

“Thinking back to all the shit my brothers and I did, we probably were the reason our mother went gray early.”

Pulling down the driveway to the house, I noticed Harmony had been rubbing her hands up and down her pant legs.

“Are you nervous, Harmony?”

Nodding, she turned to me with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “I know it’s stupid. I’ve never been over to any other family for their holiday dinner. Well, besides Trey’s family. Before Trey, I usually spent the holidays with Berti.”

Pulling up and parking behind my father’s truck, I turned to her and asked, “Who’s Berti?”

“Our maid. She was more like my mother than my own mother.”

My heart physically hurt for Harmony. “You spent the holidays with the maid?”

Nodding, she whispered, “Yep.” Then she smiled. “Well, when Jake was still home he would take me somewhere to eat. He had a credit card in my parents’ name so he would take Berti and me out to eat. It was fun. Once he left for college, I was alone. Until I met Trey.” Harmony glanced out the window and stared like she was deep in thought. “Sometimes I wonder if Trey wasn’t just a substitute for Jake. Someone who was there for me when I needed him.” Looking back at me, she gave me a weak smile. “That’s terrible to say, isn’t it?”

“Did you not love him?”

Her eyes lost that light and turned dark and sad again as she chewed on her lip. “I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him, if that makes sense. I know he felt the same.” Letting out a gruff laugh, she shook her head. “He cheated on me, so yeah, I’m not even sure he loved me at all.”

Reaching over, I took Harmony’s hand in mine. “He loved you, Harmony.”

Smiling weakly, her eyes filled with tears. “We only got married because of TJ. We actually had broken up before I found out I was pregnant. I knew Trey wasn’t the one, and with us going off to college I wanted to start fresh.”

A tear slowly made its way down her face. “I feel so guilty, Preston.”

Reaching over, I wiped her tear away. “Why?”

There was a knock on my window and Harmony and I both jumped. Quickly wiping away her tears, Harmony smiled as she put up her guard to protect herself. She quickly opened the car door.

Angie was standing there, jumping up and down. The moment Harmony stepped out of the car, Angie was running over to her.

“Oh my gosh! Another girl! You have no idea how happy I am!”

Grabbing Harmony’s hand, Angie dragged Harmony into the house. Glancing over her shoulder at me, Harmony gave me a frightened expression as I laughed and shook my head. “I’ll get the bags!” I called out.

Turning, I saw my mother walking toward me. “Hey, baby boy,” she said as she kissed my cheek. “That looked like a pretty deep conversation your sister busted into.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I smiled and shrugged. “When are Finn and Wes getting here?”

Narrowing her eyes at me, my mother smiled. “Smooth change of subject.”

Reaching into the backseat, I grabbed the bags as I tried to make sense of everything—the emotions running through my mind, the feelings racing through my heart, and the way my body felt whenever Harmony touched it.

“Harmony’s been through a lot, Mom, and she’s still so young. I’m just trying to be patient with things. Take it slow, but—”

Kicking the car door shut, I stood in front of my mother.

“But you want more than friendship and you’re not sure how Harmony feels?”