Preston

After stopping by Harmony’s place so she could pack a small bag, we headed out of Boston and to my parents’ house.

“So you grew up out here, huh?” Harmony said as a few curls whipped around her face. She had insisted we drive with the windows down. It was an unusually warm day for November in New England. Sixty-five degrees and Harmony acted like it was a heat wave.

Sticking her hand out the window, she took everything in. Harmony gave me a sweet smile.

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you like growing up in a small town?”

Letting out a laugh, I nodded. “Yeah. There wasn’t a whole lot to do so we got in trouble a lot.”

Smiling, she kept her eyes on me as she asked, “What kind of trouble?”

Taking a quick peek at her, I shook my head. “Oh no. You’ll pump me for information, then my parents will pump you for any dirt that you have on me. This is a no-win situation for me.”

Laughing, Harmony dropped her head back against the headrest of the car. “I promise not to divulge any stories that you tell me.”

Reaching my hand over to her, I held out my pinky. “Pinky swear?”

Giggling, Harmony wrapped her pinky around mine. Shit. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way her touch makes my stomach drop. I’ve never had that happen with any girl I’ve ever dated.

“I pinky swear.”

Taking in a deep breath, I slowly blew it out. “Well, once we cut the tail off of a skunk and threw it up under the seats of the school bus.”

“Gross! That had to have smelled terrible.”

Smiling, I nodded. “Yep. It did. It was my brother Weston’s idea. We all got kicked off the bus for the rest of the year. My mother was pissed because she had to take us to school and pick us up after.”

Shaking her head, Harmony laughed. “Tell me another one.”

I loved seeing Harmony smile. She seemed so relaxed and carefree. Like an almost twenty-one-year-old should act. Her eyes were beginning to get the light back in them and I was surprised by how much I wanted to make that happen.

“Let’s see. There was the time I talked my brother Finn into scaling down the wall of an old well.”

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?”

My mouth dropped open as I barely shook my head. “How do you do that?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she gave me a wink. “It’s a gift.”

She wrapped her arm around my waist, and we made our way toward the house. “Patience is the key, Preston.”

Nodding, I replied, “I’m trying, Mom. I really am.”

Stopping before we reached the front door, my mother stood in front of me. “My biggest piece of advice to you, Preston, is to always follow your heart. Sometimes that is harder to do because our mind wants so desperately to lead the way.” Placing her hand on my chest, she smiled sweetly. “Your heart will never lead you down the wrong path, Preston. You just have to learn to listen to it.”

Leaning over, I kissed my mother on the cheek. “How did you become so wise?”

“Experience, my dear boy. Experience.”

Sitting at the kitchen table, I watched as my mother and Harmony peeled potatoes at the sink. Angie stood next to Harmony as she rolled out a piecrust and talked about how amazing the winter formal dance was that she’d gone to that past weekend. Harmony’s laugh moved through my body and filled it with something I had never experienced before. It was a feeling of pure happiness. Almost as if I needed her near me just so I could breathe.

“So, what kind of nurse do you want to be, Harmony?” Angie asked.

“Neonatal nurse, I think,” Harmony said as she set a peeled potato on the cutting board.

My mother turned to Harmony and smiled. “My best friend is a neonatal nurse.”

Harmony’s posture perked up. “Really?”

With a smile, my mother replied, “Yep, we met in nursing school.”

Harmony’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a nurse?”

Laughing, my mom shook her head. “I was a nurse. Operating room.”

“Oh wow! I didn’t know that.”

Nodding, my mother turned to me and said, “That was before kids. Once I had my children, they became my everything.”

Harmony’s face softened. “I bet.” Her voice sounded sad, yet I thought there was a bit of happiness trying to make its way out. Setting the last potato down, Harmony turned to me and smiled.

“Do you want to take a walk?” I asked.

“Oh, Harmony, you’ll love it here! Preston, be sure to take her to our secret spot!” Angie said as she dropped the rolling pin and frantically texted someone. My sister’s attention span was short to say the least.

Harmony pushed off the counter and turned to my mom. “Did you need me to do anything else?”

Waving her hand, my mother shook her head. “Go have fun, sweetheart.”

Standing, I motioned for Harmony to go first. As we walked out the back door, Harmony took in a deep breath. “The air is so…clean!”

Letting out a chuckle, I agreed. “Yeah, it is. I love coming home to Charlton. Something about being out of the city is refreshing.”

As we walked along, Harmony reached down for my hand and my stomach did about ten flips. Does she even realize how much her touch affects me? Things felt natural with Harmony and I was almost positive she felt the same way.

“Would you want to live somewhere like this? I mean, you know, when you decide to settle down and raise a family?”

Smiling, I looked straight ahead. “I couldn’t wait to get out of here when I was younger. Now, all I want to do is come back.” Peeking over at Harmony, I couldn’t help but notice she was walking with a huge smile on her face. Looking straight ahead again, I continued talking. “So, yeah, I could totally see myself living on a piece of land here, building a house on it, and raising a family.”

Bumping her shoulder with mine, I asked, “What about you?”

“Oh yeah. I could totally see myself living in the country. Trey wanted to live in the city. I wanted to move farther out so that TJ could have a place to run and play. I grew up close to Boston, but we still had about seven acres of land. My father had to be close to Boston. I think my mother would have rather been in a four-story row house on Comm Avenue. I loved it, though. I would find myself walking around the gardens for hours just lost in thought.”

We walked along the trail for a few minutes in silence. “How many acres do your parents have?” Harmony asked.

“Twenty. My father lucked out and got it for a great price. Built the house for my mother with his brothers and father. My mom says we will have to take her out of the house in a pine box.”

Laughing, Harmony stopped and looked over toward a large tree house that Finn and Wes had built years ago. “Is that a tree house?” Harmony asked as she made her way over to it.

My mind was flooded with images of Harmony sitting on a porch in a rocking chair, rocking a baby. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I followed. “Yeah, this is Angie’s secret place she was talking about.”

Harmony looked at me, confused. “But it’s right here along the path. How is that secret?”

Blowing out my cheeks, I exhaled and shrugged. “It’s Angie. I don’t question her anymore.”

Covering her mouth, Harmony giggled. “Is that a swing?” she asked in an excited voice.

“Sure is.”

The next thing I knew, Harmony was sitting on the swing motioning for me to push her.

Walking behind her, I grabbed the chains, pulled back, and let go. Harmony dropped her head back and closed her eyes as she smiled. “I feel like I’m flying.” Laughing, she said, “It’s freeing.”

Gently pushing her on her back, I asked, “So why did you buy a condo on Comm Avenue if you want to be outside of Boston?”

Her smile faded slightly as she brought her head up. “Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Closer to school and work and something different.”

Nodding, even though she couldn’t see me, I kept pushing. “Are you going to buy a place in Boston close to the fire station?” Harmony asked.

“Probably. I haven’t thought too much about it, to be honest. I’m not really sure where I see my future going right now.”

Harmony dropped her head back again as I continued to push her. “Harmony, may I ask you something?”

“Of course you can.”

Taking in a deep breath, I slowly blew it out. “Earlier in the car, you said you felt guilty. What do you feel guilty about?”

Harmony snapped her head forward and dragged her feet on the ground to slow down. She came to a stop and slowly stood up and turned to me.

Her eyes caught mine and all I saw was fear. Looking down, she whispered, “You.”

Wrinkling my brow, I pulled my head back. “Me? What about me makes you feel guilty?”

Harmony looked back up and into my eyes. “It’s how I feel about you, Preston, that makes me feel guilty.”

My heart dropped to my stomach and I was scared as hell of what she was about to say next. “H-how do you feel about me?”

A smile slowly started to form at the corners of her mouth as she dug her teeth into her bottom lip. Taking a step closer to me, Harmony placed her hands on my chest and slowly took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. “I’ve never experienced the feelings I have toward you before. They thrill me and scare me at the same time.”

My heart slammed into my chest and I fought like hell to keep my grin from growing into a full smile. “And that makes you feel guilty?”

Nodding, her forehead dropped to my chest and I wrapped my arms around her. “With the holidays upon us, I miss TJ so much, but you make me feel so alive. I’m scared, Preston.”

Holding her tighter, I placed my chin on top of her head and closed my eyes. “Me, too, Harmony.”

Pulling her head back, her blue eyes captured my green eyes. “You are?”

I placed my hand on the side of her face. “The feelings I have for you, Harmony”—I let out a small chuckle—“this is all new to me.”

“What about Sherry?” Harmony asked in a whispered voice.

Smiling, I leaned down and brought my lips to hers as we both began to breathe faster. Stopping short of her lips, I spoke. “My body feels so alive when I’m with you, Harmony. My heart feels…complete.”

Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Preston.”

Brushing my lips across hers, I kissed her gently. Letting out a soft moan that vibrated through my whole body, Harmony opened her mouth to me as I slipped my tongue in and moaned myself. She tasted like heaven. About to deepen the kiss, I heard someone clear his throat. Pulling away quickly, Harmony took a step back as she looked into my eyes. Her chest was heaving up and down as I attempted to get my heart rate back under control.

Her eyes were on fire and I wanted nothing more than to pull her back to me and finish what we had started.

“Preston?”

Turning my head, I saw my older brother, Wes. Smiling, I quickly made my way over to him. I hadn’t seen him since last Thanksgiving.

“Jesus H. Christ, look at you, Wes. Is that an expensive suit?” I said as I approached him. Laughing, he grabbed me and pulled me into a quick hug. Pushing me back at arm’s length, he looked me up and down.

“Shit, I always knew you were going to be the better-looking brother.”

Pushing on his chest, I laughed. Turning, I motioned to Harmony. She walked up smiling and stood next to me. “Wes, I’d like for you to meet Harmony. Harmony, this is my brother, Weston, but we call him Wes.”

Placing her hand out to shake his, Harmony said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wes. Preston has spoken very highly of you.”

Wes laughed and shook his head. “Really? That is a pleasant surprise. Usually he has some smart-ass things to say about me.”

Looking between Harmony and me, Wes glanced back at me and raised an eyebrow and said, “So, I interrupted something when I walked up.”

“It’s not what you think. Harmony and I…” Turning to Harmony, I looked at her as I pinched my eyebrows together. What were we now? I’d just kissed her. We’d admitted that we have feelings for each other. We had for sure moved past the friend status.

Giving me the sweetest smile, Harmony reached for my hand. “Preston and I are friends.”

Forcing a smile, I turned back to Wes. I wasn’t sure if I liked the fact that Harmony still thought of us as just friends. I’d certainly thought differently after the kiss we’d shared.

Holding up his hands, Wes grinned from ear to ear. “Hey, if that’s what you want to call it. Finn is about ten minutes out if you guys want to head back up to the house.”

“Sounds good!” Harmony said as she dropped my hand and headed back toward the house.

What in the hell just happened? Harmony acted like she wanted to be as far away from me as possible and all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and feel her lips against mine.

Standing there like an idiot, I watched Harmony taking off toward the house. Wes placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

“Dude, don’t overthink it. I saw the way she was looking at you.”

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out as I shook my head and said, “Yeah,” as I tried to push away the uneasiness I suddenly felt.