Chapter 11

Harmony

STOPPING IN FRONT OF THE nurses’ station I look over the top at Mimi, who’s bent over a stack of papers with her head in one hand and a pen in the other as she writes. “I’m going to the gift shop to get a coffee before they close. Do you want one?” I ask.

She looks up then leans back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head. “Yes please, milk and three sugars.”

“Got it, can you keep an eye on my rooms?”

“Sure,” she agrees, and I smile.

“Be right back.” I head down the hall and out of the double doors. Stopping at the elevator, I press the down arrow, my ring catching my attention like it’s done every day for the last week. I love my ring; it’s perfect—more than perfect—I still want to pinch myself every time it catches my eye. Getting on the elevator when the doors open, I go down to the first floor, get off, and then head for the gift shop, smiling at people as I pass.

Glimpsing Dr. Hofstadter as he stands at the end of the hall talking to another doctor, I blink. His nose is swollen, there is purple and yellow bruising under his eyes, and there’s an ugly yellow-green bruise on the underside of his jaw. His eyes come to me, and as soon as our gazes lock, my stomach twists when I see the look on his face.

Ducking my head, I enter the gift shop, and then my head flies back up when I hear a woman ahead of me in line give her order. I know her voice. I know her voice, because she’s the woman I heard crying and talking to her friend in the bathroom. Placing my order, I wonder what I should do. Should I talk to her? Should I tell her I heard her talking about Hofstadter? Going to stand at the end of the counter, I get close to where she is, my heart pounding hard against my rib cage.

“Hi,” I blurt, and her eyes swing to me.

“Uh… hi.” She smiles a small, awkward smile, and I bite my lip when she looks away.

“Do you work on this floor?” I ask.

She looks at me once more. “Yeah, I’m in the emergency department.”

“Awesome. My dream is to work in the emergency room,” I tell her.

She smiles genuinely then sticks out her hand toward me. “Amy Sheldon.”

“Harmony Mayson.” I shake her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.

“Yeah.” She nods. “You too. Have you applied for the emergency room yet?”

“When I first applied at the hospital, yes, but I didn’t get accepted. Right now, I’m taking the trauma and critical care class here, in hopes to transfer to emergency when a spot opens up.”

“We’ll have to exchange numbers. I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” she says.

I stare at her. “You’d do that?”

“Totally.”

“Wow.” As I pull out my cell phone and she does the same with hers, my skin prickles, and I turn to find Hofstadter in line to get coffee, his eyes on us. Feeling Amy tense, my stomach twists, but I fight through it and return my attention back to her. “What’s your number?” I ask, and she gives it to me then shoves her phone in her pocket, saying a quick goodbye before taking off.

Picking up Mimi’s and my coffees when they are done, I take them to the elevator and up to the second floor. “Dr. Hofstadter has a broken nose,” I blurt out, and Mimi looks up at me, her brows pulling together. “He also has a few other bruises.”

“Yeah, I saw that a few days ago.” She grabs her coffee from me, taking a sip of it.

“Do you know what happened to him?”

“No idea. My guess: he pissed someone off.” She shrugs, and I bite my lip. The bruising looked a week old, maybe a little older. I told Harlen what I overheard a week or so ago, but would he do that? “I wish I knew who did it. I would walk right up to them and give them a high five.”

Mimi’s admission breaks through my thoughts, and I smile at her then look at the board when a ding starts and a light flashes. “Be right back.” I lean over the counter to set my coffee down then head for my patient’s room. After helping them to the bathroom and back to bed, I walk back out to the nurses’ station, seeing Hofstadter talking to Mimi when I get there. I slow my steps, but when he sees me, he doesn’t acknowledge me. He takes off.

“What was that?” Mimi asks as soon as I reach the station, her eyes on the door Hofstadter just left through.

“What?”

“As soon as Dr. Hofstadter saw you, he couldn’t get away quick enough. What was that?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter, but my stomach twists once again.

“Weird.” She shrugs, and I bite my lip. It’s not weird; I have a feeling I know what’s going on, and as soon as I get home, I plan on finding out from my fiancé exactly what he did.

***

Walking out of the hospital four hours later, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I scan the dark, mostly empty lot. Since I started working here, it’s always dark when I leave, but I’ve never felt the way I do right now. Hurrying to my car, I get in and lock the doors, scanning the lot as I start the engine. I put on my seat belt, back out of my parking spot, and then see a car a few spaces down from mine pull out too.

Shaking off the weird feeling sitting in my gut, I turn right onto the main road and see the car do the same. Then I stop at a stoplight and look in my rearview mirror. Seeing the person in the light from the streetlamps above, my heart starts to beat strangely. It’s night, completely dark outside, and they have on a black beanie, which wouldn’t be weird normally, since it’s cold, but they also have on sunglasses, those also black, hiding their face from view.

Reaching over into my passenger seat, I search through my purse until I find my phone then drop it in my lap. The light turns green, and when it does, I make a last second decision, and instead of going left, I go straight, seeing the car’s blinker shut off as they follow me.

Okay, maybe they didn’t want to go left either. Driving straight, I bite my lip then pull into one of the turn lanes. The car follows, pulling up behind me. Panicked now, I wait for two cars to pass then turn and pick up my cell, dialing Harlen.

“Hey, Angel, you off?” he answers, sounding like I woke him up, and I’m sure I did. He probably fell asleep on the couch with Dizzy, something he does often when he’s waiting for me to get home.

“I think I’m being followed,” I whisper, wondering if I’m losing my mind. Looking in the rearview, I see the car still there, still close. Shit.

“What?”

“I just left the hospital, got a weird feeling. When I pulled out, a car pulled out with me. I turned; they turned. I don’t know, but I think they’re following me.”

“Where are you?” he asks, and I hear him moving around doing it quickly.

Looking at the streets as I pass, I answer. “Right now, on Main,” I say, as my breathing starts to turn ragged with worry and fear.

“Breathe for me, baby. It’s going to be okay. Just keep your speed, stay on Main, I’m gonna get on my bike and find you.”

“I want to come home,” I whisper, as tears start to blur my vision.

“I know you do, and you will. But right now, I want you to keep your speed and stay on Main. I’ll find you. Promise.”

Promise. Yes, he will find me.

“Okay.”

“I gotta let you go so I can get on my bike. Call your dad and tell him to notify the cops so they can be on the lookout for you.”

“Harlen,” I whisper, fear audible in my voice that’s now shaking.

“Angel, it’s gonna be okay. Stay on Main. Call your dad as soon as we hang up. I’m on my way to you now.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

“Love you.”

“I love you too.” I see the light ahead of me turn red, and with no choice, I slow to a stop as the line goes dead. With blurred vision, I pull up my dad’s number in my phone and press Send.

“Honey, what’s going on?” Dad asks, sounding like I woke him up.

“I think someone is following me,” I whisper into the phone once again, looking from the rearview mirror to the light ahead of me.

“What?”

“I think someone is following me,” I repeat, pressing down on the gas as soon as the light turns green.

“Where are you?”

“On Main Street. I just passed Veterans. Harlen is coming, but he will have to find me. He’s home, so it will take him a few minutes to get to this side of town. He said to call you.”

“I’m gonna call dispatch and let them know to be on the lookout for your car. Keep driving. Do not get off Main.”

“I won’t.”

“Is the person still tailing you?” he asks, and I look in the rearview mirror.

“Yes.”

“What kind of car is it?”

“It’s black and small. I don’t know what kind of car it is.”

“All right,” he says softly, then I hear him relay that information to someone else and I don’t close my eyes, even though I really want to. “Can you see the driver?”

I look in the rearview mirror again and see nothing but the same beanie and sunglasses. “Yes, but I can’t see their face, they have on sunglasses.”

“Okay, take a breath. People are looking for you,” he tells me, and I swallow over the sharp lump forming in my throat.

Then I see red and blue lights coming from the opposite direction. “I see lights, but they’re going the wrong way,” I say into the phone, watching two cop cars pass me before dropping my eyes to the side view mirror and watch them get further away. When my eyes fly to the rearview mirror again I see the car that was behind me is gone. Looking back over my shoulder, my stomach drops. They are gone. They must’ve seen the cops too and taken off, or they were never following me to begin with and I’m just paranoid.

“They’re gone,” I whisper into the phone, checking my mirror again.

“Pardon?” Dad asks, and I clear my throat, fighting back my relief filled tears.

“They’re gone. I’m not being followed anymore.”

“Got spooked,” Dad mumbles, as a whimper climbs up the back of my throat when I hear the sound of motorcycle pipes close by. “What is it?” His voice sounds worried.

“Harlen found me,” I tell him, looking behind me and watching one headlight get closer and closer. Relief, like I’ve never felt in my life, overwhelms me. I pull over into a gas station parking lot and put my car in park, rip off my seat belt, and open my door. Before I even have a chance to get out, Harlen drags me from my seat, and wraps his arms around me. Burying my face against his chest, I sob, my body shaking with adrenalin and fear. Lifting me into his arms, he carries me to the back of my car and settles me on the trunk, placing himself between my legs and wrapping his arms around me.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he whispers, his big hand running down my hair and my back.

“I was so scared.”

“I know, Angel but you’re okay. It’s okay.” He kisses my hair, and I wrap my arms around his waist as tightly as I can. Even as he shifts back to reach his phone when it rings, I don’t let him get far. “Yeah, I got her. She’s shaking, but she’s okay. We’re at the gas station at the corner of Main and Vermont,” he says, and I know instantly he’s talking to my dad. “Didn’t see anyone. Have someone check the tapes at the hospital. Yeah. Good. Right. See you soon.” He shifts again, and I look up at him when his fingers touch my chin.

“It’s gonna be okay.”

“Okay.”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” I repeat, dropping my forehead to his chest as a fresh wave of tears climbs up my throat. I don’t try to fight them; I let them fall. Hearing sirens, and seeing lights through my closed lids, I open my eyes and watch two police cruisers pull into the parking lot. Then I watch the officers start to get out of their cars.

Scanning the men as they get close, my eyes land on my cousin Cobi. He moved home about a year ago and joined the police force in town after being discharged from the military, where he was a military police officer. I haven’t seen him much since he’s been back; no one has. I watch his eyes come to me and his jaw go hard, and then I see his eyes go to Harlen as he lifts his chin while the other men stand back.

“Did you guys see anyone?” Harlen asks.

Cobi shakes his head. “After we knew you were with her, we spread out. Didn’t find anything,” he says, then his eyes come back to me. “You sure you were being followed?”

“I…” I pull in a breath then shake my head. “I don’t know. I thought so, but now I don’t know,” I admit, and his face softens.

“Someone needs to check the tapes at the hospital,” Harlen orders, his body going tense against mine.

“Already on it,” Cobi agrees, then he turns his head as my dad’s truck pulls into the lot and he parks.

As soon as Dad’s out his door, his worry-filled eyes come to me, and Harlen shifts, pulling me off the trunk. Before my feet even touch the ground, my dad’s arms wrap around me. “You okay?”

“Yes,” I whisper, hugging him back just as tightly.

“Don’t worry me like that again,” he demands, and I attempt to smile but it feels forced.

“I’ll try not to,” I agree.

He pulls back to look down at me before he presses a kiss to my forehead. Keeping his arm wrapped around my shoulders, he turns us and claps Harlen on the shoulder then looks at Cobi. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing,” Cobi replies, and Dad’s chest expands on a deep breath. “I’ll file a report, but right now, that’s all that can be done.”

“I’m gonna take Harmony home,” Harlen inserts, and my eyes go to him as he looks at my cousin. “Do you or your boys know how to ride?”

“Yeah,” Cobi says, and his answer surprises me.

“You mind getting my bike home for me?”

“Not at all.” Cobi grins, holding out his hand, and I watch Harlen hand over his key.

“You find anything, call my cell. Nico has my number,” he demands, and Cobi once again lifts his chin right before Harlen’s eyes come back to me and soften. “Come on, Angel. Let’s get you home.” He says gently and I look up at my dad.

“Go on, get some rest.” Dad squeezes me into his side then kisses my temple.

Taking Harlen’s hand, I let him lead me to the passenger side of my car and help me in, then slam the door. I put on my seat belt then watch him in the mirror talking to my dad and Cobi for a few minutes before he gives them a chin lift and opens the driver’s door, getting behind the wheel of my car, pushing the seat back as far as it can go, and adjusting the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as he pulls out of the parking lot, and his eyes come to me.

“Sorry for what?”

“For this. I… I must have imagined it and freaked myself out.”

“Angel, you did or you didn’t. I’m glad you had the sense to call me,” he says, reaching over, picking up my hand, and bringing it back to his lap. “I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to your safety.”

I don’t agree or disagree. I stare out of the window, wondering if I imagined being followed then completely freaked myself out because of it.

As soon as we get home, I go inside and pick up Dizzy, who greets me at the door. I give him a cuddle then go to the bedroom. I change into a nightgown, go through my nightly routine, and get into bed. Resting my head on my pillow, I listen to Harlen shut down the house then watch him when he comes into the room, disappearing into the bathroom.

“You wanna watch something on TV?” he asks, getting into bed next to me wearing a pair of dark blue, almost-black boxers.

“No, but you can.” I scan his big beautiful body, his thick biceps, toned chest and abs. Once he’s in bed with the sheet around his waist, I look at his hands. His hands have made me feel beautiful, and cherished, have made me feel loved and sexy, and have been nothing but gentle with me. But I know without a doubt they could inflict pain on someone if he wanted them to.

“Did you beat up Dr. Hofstadter?” I ask, and his head dips down toward me, his eyes going guarded, his body going alert. “Please don’t lie to me if you did do it.”

“Angel.”

“Harlen,” I whisper, and he rolls until he’s half on top of me then tangles his legs with mine.

“Yes,” he replies, and my eyes slide closed. “I won’t apologize for what I did to him, Angel. He deserved to know how it felt to have hands on him that he did not want, that he did not like. He needed to know his voice would not be heard no matter how loud or how much he pleaded for help.”

Bile crawls up the back of my throat from his words. Hofstadter did that to at least one woman, and who knows if there are more? There could be countless more women who felt that their choice was taken from them, felt backed into a corner because of what he did, what he told them he would do.

“I won’t apologize,” he repeats.

I open my eyes and meet his gaze. “He deserved that,” I whisper, and his eyes slide closed while his forehead comes to rest against mine. “You’re right. He deserved to know how it felt.” I slide my hand up his side to rest against his neck, and his eyes open. “I… I just wish you would have told me.”

“I should have told you,” he agrees, touching his mouth to mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“Okay,” I say, hearing the honesty in his voice, and he pulls back to look at me.

“That easy?” His eyes search mine. “We’re not going to fight about this?”

“I understand why you did it. I’m not happy you did it, but I get it, since if I could have done it myself, I would have. I just…” I pull in a breath, letting it out while moving my hand to his cheek. “Next time, just talk to me so I’m prepared.”

“There better not be a next time,” he growls, and I hear the warning in his voice, that warning sending a shiver down my spine. I hope for Hofstadter’s sake there really isn’t a next time.

“You’re kinda scary,” I tell him softly running my hand up his chest to rest on his shoulder.

His hand comes up to cup my cheek, and his fingers glide softly across my skin. “I’d never hurt you.”

“I know.” And I do know that. I know it with every fiber of my being.

“I’d never let anything hurt you,” he adds, and I raise my head up off the bed and place my mouth against his.

“I know that too.” The moment our lips meet, I touch my tongue to his bottom lip and he takes over the kiss. Then he proves what I already knew to be true. His hands have the power to make me feel a million different things, all of them good.

***

“I’m not drunk. You are.” Willow laughs, pointing at me, and I shake my head, grinning at her.

“No, you are!” I giggle, lifting one of the pillows off the couch, shoving my face into it, and laughing so hard my sides hurt. It’s safe to say we are both drunk, but after drinking two bottles of wine, anyone would be. I needed this. I needed to eat junk food, drink too much and relax and laugh with my sister. I needed to forget about what happened last week when I thought I was being followed home. And I needed to forget about what’s going on at the hospital.

I’ve talked to Amy a few times since the first time we met and over coffee one day, I finally told her what I overheard her saying. She was visibly shaken as she informed me that she went to HR and filed a complaint along with three other nurses, who had similar things happen with Hofstadter, and none of them have heard anything back.

When I told Harlen this news, he was pissed… or more pissed than he already had been. He called Evan, my dad, and Cobi, and told them they needed to get in contact with Amy and find out who the other nurses were. I learned after his phone call with my dad that Dr. Hofstadter’s family is on the board at the hospital and that his uncle is CEO. That was news to me—big scary news. That information means that not only does Dr. Hofstadter have power because he’s a doctor, but he also has it because his family will no doubt look out for him.

“I miss this,” Willow says, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I pull the pillow away from my face to look at her, feeling my eyes get soft at her admission. “Me too.”

“We need to do this more often.”

“We do, and we will, especially now that I have a bed in the guest room.” A bed Harlen told me to pick out no matter the cost and have it delivered. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about using his money to pay for it, until he told me, “It’s not a private jet, Angel. It’s a bed for our home, a bed your sister will sleep in, and my aunt when she comes for Christmas. Pick something, or I will.” When he said that, I forgot about feeling weird about it and just ordered the perfect bed for the room, a double daybed that fits perfectly in the small space. While I was shopping online I also picked out rugs for the bedrooms and the living room since I had the money I saved up to use for the dog door.

“Even after you’re married?” she asks, and I focus on her.

“Yes, even after I’m married.” I smile then watch as she picks up my newest snow globe off the coffee table. When Harlen and I were coming home from the cabin two weeks ago he stopped at a small pompom-and-pop store to get gas. When he came out he handed me the clear glass ball with a cabin in the middle of the woods inside of it not knowing that it meant just as much as the ring he put on my finger.

“You’re so lucky,” she murmurs.

“You’ll find someone,” I tell her instantly and she looks up at me doubtfully. “You will when the time is right. It will happen. I didn’t expect to find Harlen. It just happened, and it will for you too.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs, putting the globe back down and picking up her almost empty wine glass before downing the rest of it.

Hearing the front door open, I look that way then smile when I see Harlen walk in. Taking him in, I fight back a girly sigh. He’s always handsome, but with the colder weather, he’s wearing his normal jeans and boots but adding flannel shirts and his leather jacket, he looks like he just walked off the pages of a magazine for bikers. In other words, he looks beyond hot. And he’s mine.

“Hey, Angel.” He smiles at me, and then his eyes go to my sister. “Hey, Willow.” He lifts his chin to her, and she grins as her eyes come to me, her expression silently telling me she really is happy for me.

“I’m gonna head to bed,” he says. His eyes go from me, to the empty bottles of wine on the coffee table, to the half-eaten pizza, and then finally the bags of opened Hershey’s chocolate. Moving his gaze back to me, he smiles, and I tip my chin back when he gets close, then feel his fingers curve around my jaw right before he softly touches his mouth to mine. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I grin, and his eyes search mine.

“Drunk?”

“A little.” I shrug.

His lips twitch. “All right, enjoy your time with your sister,” he says quietly.

“Thanks, honey,” I murmur, and his lips tip up right before he touches his smiling mouth to mine once more before he lets me go and starts to move away.

“See you in the morning, Willow. I’m making waffles,” he tells her over his shoulder.

“I can’t wait,” she replies, and I look at her and see her eyes on his retreating back, and she doesn’t stop watching until he’s down the hall and closing the bedroom door behind himself and Dizzy, who decided to go with him. “I’m so jealous that you have that,” she tells me, and I feel my stomach melt.

“I’m lucky,” I agree.

She smiles then looks at the mess on the coffee table. “We should clean this up and get to bed.”

“Are you tired?” I ask, looking at the clock. It’s not even midnight yet.

“No, but if I had that man waiting in bed for me, I would leave your ass quicker than you could say ‘Bye, Felicia,’” she tells me, and I laugh. “Plus, I want to enjoy his waffles, and I don’t think that will happen if I have a hangover. And I will have a hangover if we drink any more.”

“Good point.” I get up off the couch, picking up the empty bottles while she grabs the pizza box. Once we have everything cleaned up, I shut off the lights and head down the hall, watching her disappear into the guestroom with a quiet, “Goodnight,” before she shuts the door.

Going into my bedroom, I find Harlen in bed with his back to the headboard, his eyes leaving the TV and coming to me when I walk in. I strip out of my clothes then dig through the dresser. I find a simple nightgown at the bottom of the pile, black cotton with thin straps and small details just under my breasts. I slip it on over my head and climb into bed next to him, tucking myself into his side.

“You didn’t have to come to bed, Angel.”

“I know.” I snuggle closer to him, resting my cheek to his chest and my thigh over his. Looking at the TV, I notice he’s watching one of his detective shows that I have never been able to get into.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, my eyes already getting heavy. “Tomorrow night, we’re shopping, going out to dinner then going to a movie—a really girly one,” I tell him, and he laughs.

“Glad I’m spared from that.” He kisses the top of my head, and I give his waist a squeeze right before I lose the battle with my eyelids and fall asleep.

***

Waking to the sound of laughter, I force my eyes open then roll to look at the clock. It’s already after nine. I slept in. Not only did I sleep in, I slept longer than I have in a while. Forcing myself to get out of bed, I get dressed, brush my teeth, and then tie my hair up into a ponytail. I leave the bedroom and stop dead, staring at not only Harlen, but also Willow, my mom, and my dad all standing around in the kitchen, plates and coffee cups littering the surface of the butcher-block island.

“Hey, honey.” Dad smiles at me, and I come unstuck, moving further into the room. “Harlen called and said he was making breakfast,” he tells me, and my eyes go from my dad to Harlen, who’s leaning against the counter near the stove with a cup of coffee in his hands, a small smile playing on his lips, his bare feet crossed at his ankles. I still haven’t gotten used to my dad and Harlen getting along, and I’m not sure I ever will.

Seeing Harlen’s eyes soften on me, I give him a small smile then go to my dad and give him a hug. I then do the same with my mom, getting a kiss to my cheek from her before she lets me go.

“You ready for a waffle, baby?” Harlen asks, as I tuck myself against his side, and he slides his arm around me, kissing the top of my head.

I look up at him. “You should have woken me up.”

“You needed to sleep. You haven’t had a chance to sleep in, in a while.” That’s not a lie; with class, work, studying, and spending every second I can with Harlen, sleep has been a rare commodity.

“Mom didn’t lie. Harlen is the master of waffles,” Willow inserts, and my eyes go to where she’s sitting at the island, an empty plate in front of her that still has remnants of syrup on it.

“They’re good,” Dad agrees.

“The best,” Mom counters, and I grin at her.

“Kiss me then let me go so I can make you one, baby,” Harlen orders on a squeeze.

I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him then let him go before I head for the coffeepot to make myself a cup. Taking a sip, I lean against the counter and watch him as he puts the batter into the waffle machine. I feel warmth hit my side, and I look at my dad as he wraps his arm around me, leaning into him as his lips touch the top of my head.

“So what are you and Willow doing today?” Mom asks, and I look at my sister then my mom.

“We’re going shopping, out to dinner, eating sushi, and then going to a movie.”

“That’s fun.”

“You wanna come, Mom?” Willow asks.

Mom’s eyes go to her and soften. “No, honey, you and your sister have fun. Your dad’s taking me to Nashville tonight to see a show.”

“Really? What are you guys seeing?” Willow perks up.

“The King and I,” Mom replies, and I look up at my dad and smile when I see he doesn’t exactly look as happy as Mom does. He’s going, because Mom wants to go, because he loves her. My eyes go to Harlen, and I feel my chest get warm and my belly dip. He’d do the same thing for me. He’d take me to a show, take me shopping, take me to the moon if I asked him to, and do it without complaint, because he loves me. If I had made a list of traits I’d want in a husband and checked each item off one at a time, Harlen would check every single box. Every single one of them.