Beth Andrews - Caught Up in You

“I don’t like the sound of that. What did you do now?”

“Why does everyone insist on asking me that?”

“Because we know you?”

Harper loved her cousin like crazy but that didn’t mean she was immune to Sadie’s flaws. She tended to leap into situations feetfirst without looking left or right, laugh off the consequences of her actions and follow every whim that floated through her head.

“You know I only ever have the best of intentions,” Sadie said, laying her hand on her heart.

Her earnest expression sent a chill of trepidation up Harper’s spine. “Uh-huh. Why do I get the feeling those best intentions—” she used air quotes to mark the words “—somehow involve me this time?”

“Because you’re incredibly bright and intuitive.”

“You’re making me nervous, so why don’t you tell me what it is you have up your sleeve so we can both move on with our lives.”

“Actually, that’s what this is all about.” Sadie inhaled deeply and when she spoke, her voice was quiet, compassionate. “You moving on. And I know just the man to help you.”

Harper’s scalp tingled even as a laugh of disbelief escaped her throat. “No. No, no, no. And if that doesn’t cover it, let me add a no way, no how, not going to happen.”

“But Charlie is a great guy. He’s handsome,” Sadie said, ticking good ol’ Charlie’s traits off on her fingers, “charming, successful, funny—”

“Wow. Hard to believe such a man exists in this day and age. Or that he’s still single.”

“It is a shock,” Sadie said as if Harper had been serious. “Because he’s so sweet and really smart and—”

“Loves puppies? Takes his mother and grandmother to church every Sunday? Trained to be an Olympic gymnast but gave it up to become a neurosurgeon? Single-handedly stopped a busload of orphans from driving off a bridge and into a river?”

“He’s not a superhero, Harper.” Shaking her long, puffy hair back from her face, Sadie raised her chin and sniffed. “It wouldn’t hurt you to give Charlie a chance. I told him all about you—”

“Oh, Sadie, you didn’t.”

“And he was intrigued. Extremely intrigued. He’s interested in meeting you. It doesn’t have to be a blind date or even anything major. We could go out—you and Charlie, me and James—have a nice, casual dinner. If you and Charlie hit it off, wonderful. If not, no harm done.”

Irritation burrowed under Harper’s skin, rooted itself at the base of her spine. She did her best to ignore it, to keep her expression relaxed. To remind herself that Sadie meant well and was only trying to help Harper, to do what she thought was best for her.

But if she didn’t knock it off, Harper might very well smash the cake into Sadie’s pretty, interfering face. Except that would be a waste of a really delicious-looking cake.

“Look, I’m sure Charlie is as fabulous as you say.” Though Sadie’s track record with men before she and James became involved disputed that. “But I’m not in the market for any man. Besides, it would be greedy of me to snag Charlie after I already had the perfect guy. Let’s let some other woman have a turn.”

“I know it’s not easy, believe me, I know better than most how hard it is to get past losing someone you love. But if there’s one thing I’ve finally learned, it’s how important it is for those of us left behind to continue living. To move forward with our lives.”

Harper softened a bit—but only because Sadie had faced her own terrible loss. Her father died in a car accident when she was nine years old. She’d only recently been able to fully heal from it. “I am living my life.”

She didn’t have a choice.

“Yes, but are you happy?” Sadie asked gently.

Happy? The question, the word alone, gave Harper pause enough to make her realize she didn’t want to answer it. Not if it meant facing the truth.

“I’m not unhappy,” she hedged, sounding way too defensive and unsure for her own peace of mind. “I’m content enough.”

Yes, that was it. She may not have chosen her current situation, but she’d adjusted to it quite nicely. And even though she may not be ecstatically, blissfully happy all the time, there were still periods of joy in her life—hearing her daughter’s laugh, teaching the kids in her class, being around her family. Moments she treasured all the more now that she had firsthand experience of how precious they truly were.

Of how easily they could be taken away.

“I’m sorry,” Sadie said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“Hey, at least you got something right today.”

“And I hate that you’re mad at me—”

“I’m not mad,” Harper said, praying that one little fib wouldn’t mess up all the excellent karma she’d worked so hard for all these years.

Sadie clasped Harper’s hands. “You’ve been incredibly strong but I’m worried about you. I don’t want you to be alone.”

Harper’s fingers twitched and she tugged free of Sadie’s grasp.

And to think, she’d been so excited when Sadie had returned to town two months ago, thrilled when her cousin had moved in with James, settling down right here in Shady Grove after spending so many years flitting from place to place.

Maybe Sadie would get bored soon and go on another of her “life adventures.”

One could only dream.

“I’m not ready to date again.” Harper held up her hand when Sadie opened her mouth. “I promise when I am, I’ll let you know. I’ll even give you dibs on being the first person to fix me up. Until that day comes, I’d prefer if you didn’t bring this up again.”

She turned on her heel and walked out the door, stepping onto the small porch at the front of the house. Hugging her arms against the slight chill in the air, she sat on the top step and rested her head against the post.

Her chest was tight. Her throat scratchy and sore. She sniffed. She was fine. She was 100 percent, absolutely fine.

I don’t want you to be alone.

As if that would ever happen. Between her daughter, her family and work, she rarely had a moment by herself. Even as a kid she’d always been surrounded by people—her parents, her friends, teachers and classmates. She didn’t know what it was like to be alone.

But in the past year, she’d learned exactly what it was like to be lonely.

* * *

“HOW’S THAT HOMEWORK COMING?” Eddie asked Max, glancing at where his son sat hunched over his books at their kitchen table.

Max—for some reason standing to walk around and around the table—shrugged, a gesture Eddie recognized as one of his own. His brothers were right. It was annoying as hell, especially when he needed to get an answer and none was forthcoming.

Eddie popped a slice of carrot into his mouth then wiped his hands on the towel hanging from his belt. Checked the microwave clock. Almost eight. It would be another twenty minutes before they ate. And, if history proved correct, a good hour until Max was done with his math, reading and spelling.

He’d picked up Max from practice only to be three blocks from home before realizing he had nothing to make for dinner. They’d turned around and hit the grocery store—an errand that should have taken only a few minutes but had somehow dragged into half an hour thanks to Max racing all over the store.

Where the kid got his energy after skating around hell-bent for leather for two hours was beyond Eddie. That last time, when Max had taken off in the frozen food aisle, Eddie thought for sure he’d have to call the cops to hunt him down only to corral him—and the box of cupcakes in his hands—by the deli.

Max had been working on his math since they’d walked in the door twenty-five minutes ago. Eddie would like to blame the long time frame on the amount of work needed to be done but Harper only gave the kids a few addition problems to solve, told them to copy their spelling words and read from their assigned books.