Windy City Romance: Boxed Set: Prequel - Book III

by Barbara Lohr

  But Harper wasn’t his sister. The clenching in his gut told him that much.

  Chapter 15

  Harper’s heart just about leapt right out of her chest when McKenna swung up the ramp at the Savannah Airport. With a wild whoop, she fell into her big sister’s arms.

  “Glad to see you too.” Pulling away, McKenna gave Harper a searching glance. Nowhere to hide with this woman. “What’s up with you?”

  “Just glad you’re here.” Harper linked one arm through McKenna’s.

  The days following the Telfair Ball had been a jumble. So hard to undo the damage Kimmy had done. Now eating even less, Bella had withdrawn. Not even promises of a visit to the park brought a smile.

  “We had such a row at dinner last Sunday.” On the way to the parking garage, Harper described the horrible incident with Kimmy.

  “And this woman is a psychologist?”

  “Pretty darn incredible.”

  Stopping at the BMW, Harper clicked open the back. McKenna stowed her bag. “Nice wheels.”

  “Just one of the job perks. Nothing can beat your jeep, McKenna.” They climbed into the front seat.

  Her sister’s gaze swept the console. “I’d say this is a close second.”

  Harper exited the garage and before long they were on the highway. She could feel McKenna relax as palm trees and tall cedars flew past.

  “Will you just look at this?” McKenna craned her neck. “And it’s at least thirty degrees warmer here than Chicago. I’m almost thrilled you had a crisis so I could come down again.”

  “Not a crisis. Nothing I can’t handle myself.” But she wasn’t so sure.

  “Ah, huh. So, tell me about your boss.”

  Too many words came to mind. “Ah, successful. Probably a Savannah mover and a shaker. Devoted dad but clueless sometimes.”

  “After all he is a man.”

  “Frustrating! And a good dancer.” The last came out on a chuckle.

  “Whoa. So you’ve danced together?”

  Heat flooded her cheeks. “Think I told you about the Telfair Ball. Yep, we sure did dance. Cameron has some, ah, pretty good moves.” Her stomach shimmied.

  “The way you talk about him, I didn’t know Cameron was that young.” McKenna’s tone had turned thoughtful.

  “He might act older than his age. But not that night.” She smiled, remembering.

  “Maybe losing your wife does that to a guy,” McKenna said thoughtfully. “Matures you fast.”

  “Especially if he has a little girl.”

  Thank goodness they’d reached Victory Drive. She wasn’t comfortable dissecting Cameron. Way too personal, even with McKenna. “He’s been a good employer.”

  “And Bella? Can’t wait to meet that little tyke.”

  “She’s really special, but I’m not sure Cameron’s girlfriend feels that way.”

  They’d reached the mansion and Harper pulled into the garage.

  “Wow.” McKenna eyed the stately brick home while she grabbed her bag from the back.

  “Pretty awesome, right?” Harper led the way through the garden.

  “And a fountain? Some people have it really tough.” McKenna gave Harper’s shoulders a quick hug. “I’m happy for you. Thanks for inviting me.”

  “Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. Most days this job really is work. Wait till you meet everyone.”

  As they mounted the back steps, muted laughter floated from the kitchen.

  Connie, Cameron, and Bella were sitting around the kitchen table when Harper pushed open the back door. “We’re home.”

  Home. The word had slipped out. Blushing, Harper introduced McKenna.

  Scraping back his chair, Cameron stood and extended one hand. “Glad you could visit. Harper gets tired of us, I’m sure.”

  She didn’t miss the widening of McKenna’s eyes. “Thanks for putting me up. I would’ve been glad to stay in a hotel.”

  Hands on his slender hips, Cameron shook his head. “Wouldn’t think of it. Bella and I rattle around in the place, don’t we, sweetheart?”

  But Bella wasn’t paying any attention to her father. She was too busy admiring McKenna. “You’re pretty. I like your red hair.”

  Squatting until she was eye level, McKenna said, “Well, Harper told me all about your pretty black hair. We gotta take what we’re born with, I guess.”

  Bella giggled. McKenna could talk to a tree, and it would answer. Harper was used to comments about McKenna’s hair. Sure, she had some reddish streaks in her own caramel curls when the sun hit it just right, but McKenna was flaming all-out red.

  McKenna turned to Cameron. “Harper tells me you gave her some time off. Thank you.”

  “Trust me. She deserves it.”

  McKenna was leaving on Tuesday, and Harper had been relieved by Cameron’s immediate generosity.

  “Guess I’ll get McKenna settled in.” Harper led the way through the foyer.

  “Geez. I had no idea.” McKenna’s head swiveled as she took in the chandeliers, carved sideboards and gilded mirrors.

  “Tough job, but someone had to do it.” She’d never told her sister about her first trip to Cameron’s house. This weekend might be a time for revelations. They began their trek up the stairs.

  Connie had put McKenna in one of the rooms across the hall from Harper on the third floor. “You know, so you can do your girl talk thing.”

  “Not bad digs,” McKenna murmured, taking in the room that was a mirror image of Harper’s except McKenna’s was blue compared to Harper’s green. Both rooms felt like postcards from a past era. Somehow that suited Savannah with its southern comfort.

  After McKenna had unpacked, they drifted back down to the kitchen. Cameron was in the TV room with Bella. As usual, she was mesmerized by some galactic battle. Cameron was reading the paper. Sometimes Harper wanted to swat him over the head with that darn sports section.

  “You girls going out?” He lifted his blue eyes.

  “Gonna show McKenna around. We’re going to Back in the Day Bakery for lunch.”

  “Can I come?” Bella’s plaintive question stopped Harper in her tracks.

  “I don’t see why not.” McKenna looked at Harper. “Think I saw a car seat in the SUV?”

  Anything to get her away from the TV. “Why don’t you get your jacket, Bella?”

  Cameron put the paper aside. He hadn’t shaved and the stubble dusting his cheeks gave him a disturbingly rakish look. “Now, you don’t have to take Bella, Harper. Today is your day off, especially since your sister’s visiting.”

  “Of course she can come.” Harper tousled Bella’s hair. “McKenna and I are going out tonight. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just grab some lunch for her.” The delicious salads and sandwiches at the bakery wouldn’t tempt Bella, that much Harper knew. Working quickly, she mixed up some cereal in a plastic container. Lunch with Bella would make Harper’s challenges here clear.

  Cameron had taken Bella upstairs and she was back in a flash, dragging her jean jacket. Bella often insisted on dressing herself, and she was wearing a pink T-shirt with a pair of red pants. Her hair needed brushing, but Harper knew if she started to make changes there might be a scene.

  “Let’s ride,” she said, helping Bella on with her jean jacket.

  Cameron watched them from the kitchen doorway as they made their way to the garage. “You’all have fun now!” His voice carried on the early afternoon air.

  Looking back, McKenna muttered, “Kind of a lonely guy. Definitely hot, but lonely.”

  Lonely? Harper never thought of him in that way. She buckled Bella into the carseat and they were off.

  When they reached the bakery, she parked on the street and helped Bella out. The three of them trooped into the glass-fronted structure. Inside, the mismatched furniture added to the casual charm.

  “How kitschy and cute. I love this, don’t you, Bella?” McKenna asked. But Bella was too busy taking it all in.

  A section of an old-fashioned booth faced out
, and Harper placed Bella between them on the padded seat for a bird’s eye view. After scanning the menu, they both ordered the rosemary chicken sandwich with the ciabatta bread. By the time one of the girls delivered their order to the circular table, Harper had opened Bella’s cereal and had her sippy cup ready. But Bella had slipped out and wandered to the bakery case with McKenna right behind her. The two stood with hands on the glass, eyes fixated on the chocolate cupcakes smothered with jimmies. “Want one?” McKenna asked.

  Eyes solemn, Bella nodded. The clerk approached them.

  “Six blonde brownies, three Mexican hot chocolate cookies. Same for the lavender ones too. “ The list rattled on. “Oh, we’ll take that chocolate cupcake too,” McKenna told the girl. “Want one, Harper?”

  She shook her head. “Trying to lose weight before summer.”

  “Right. Me too. We’ll take three,” McKenna told the girl.

  They settled back into the booth with a huge box of pastries, and the food came right away. Twisting open one of the bottles of root beer from the self serve refrigerator case, Harper wished she could meet her sister for lunch every day. “I’m so glad you’ve come.”

  “Me too.”

  When Harper handed Bella a plastic spoon, the little girl dug into her cereal. She often seemed hungry but ate without any enjoyment. McKenna’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t make a comment. Harper loved that about her sister. She took life as it came. While Bella ate, the two sisters chatted about home. McKenna filled her in about Vanessa, a close friend who’d just scored a spot on the TV show Eye of the Tiger, where entrepreneurs begged for backing from a group of successful businessmen.

  “Randall Bakery is kind of the tipping point that could make or break them,” McKenna explained. “Vanessa thinks they have to go national with their whipped cream cakes.”

  “How’s Bo?” Harper asked. Vanessa’s little boy was such a cutie and McKenna was his godmother.

  “Terrific. Took him to the zoo last weekend.”

  “The zoo?” Bella piped up, eyes wide.

  “Maybe we’ll do that some day.” Hadn’t Cameron ever taken his daughter to see the animals?

  The conversation moved on. Harper had so many questions about her five brothers back in Oak Park and McKenna loved telling stories. Before they knew it, the salads were gone and they were munching on the fragrant bread. After Bella finished her cereal, she sat staring at the cupcake, tiny chin propped on her hands.

  Harper held her breath. “You gonna eat that?”

  Bella gave her head a solemn shake.

  “Would you like to taste one of those jimmies?”

  Bella shook her head again, but her eyes never left the mounded top. Harper and McKenna went back to talking about the sites McKenna wanted to see during her visit. From the corner of her eye, Harper saw the little minx dust the top of the cupcake with one finger. Lips parted, Bella studied the jimmies clinging to her hand as if they were stars dropped from the sky. Then she rubbed her fingers together with a frown and the bits of chocolate plopped to the table. Harper exhaled.

  “Can we take this home, Harper?”

  “Absolutely.” Harper exchanged a look with her sister as they cleaned up the table. Minutes later, they were in the car headed for Forsyth Park. After Harper found a parking spot, the three wandered over to the swings where children played.

  While McKenna lazed in the sun on one of the benches, Harper pushed Bella on a swing. The spring sun fell softly on the park, but it was breezy. The huge rhododendron bushes were beginning to open. So beautiful but pollen was thick in the air. When Bella began to wheeze, Harper stopped the swing and grabbed the inhalers from her bag.

  “Got a problem?” McKenna had wandered back to the play area.

  “Nothing we can’t handle.” Harper ruffled Bella’s curls as they both pulled on their inhalers. Maybe she was foolish to bring Bella here but sometimes Bella seemed so insulated from life.

  Five minutes later, they were back in the car and driving north. McKenna pointed to the Mercer House, the red brick mansion that had been featured in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. “Wouldn’t mind touring that mansion again.”

  “You’re on. Let’s go tomorrow.”

  “Can I come?” Bella’s voice came from the back.

  Looking in the rearview mirror, Harper hated to disappoint her little charge but the mansion held treasures and Bella always wanted to touch things. “I don’t think it’s something for children, okay? We’re going to the parade on Monday, and you’ll love that.”

  The momentary disappointment on Bella’s face lifted. “A parade?”

  “Did you go to the St. Patrick’s Day parade last year with your dad?” McKenna asked.

  Bella’s forehead wrinkled. “Maybe.”

  McKenna caught Harper’s eye. No child could forget a parade.

  When they got to Broughton Street they stopped at Leopold’s ice cream parlor.

  “This place reminds me so much of Peterson’s in Oak Park,” McKenna remarked after they’d placed orders for hot fudge sundaes.

  “Maybe that’s why I love it so much.” Harper looked around the antique wooden counter, soda fixtures, and the bentwood chairs in the eating area. “Sometimes I really miss Oak Park.”

  “You can come home any time.”

  Harper grabbed some napkins from the dispenser. She couldn’t admit her silent longing for home, not in front of Bella. Her need to hang in and try to help the little girl motivated her every day. But she wasn’t helping her. Lunch at the bakery had really brought that home.

  And since the ball, being around Cameron had become strained and difficult. But maybe that was just her.

  When they got home, Cameron was working in his office but he sprang down the steps, picking Bella up and whirling her around in his arms. “How’s my girl? Did you have a good time?”

  “Yep.” And she proceeded to tell her dad about the swings. “But I didn’t eat the ice cream.”

  “Maybe next time.” His gaze found Harper’s, as if commiserating.

  Resting her head on his shoulder, Bella nodded. “Maybe, Daddy.”

  That night, Harper and McKenna hit the town. They ended up at the brewery on Broughton, talking more than drinking. For a while, Adam joined them with some of his friends. McKenna had met Adam before and they picked up right where they’d left off. Soon, Adam and the guys drifted off and Harper took McKenna to Lulu’s Chocolate Bar for coffee and thick slices of key lime cheesecake on a coconut macaroon crust. No diets tonight.

  “Good thing they only weigh the luggage at the airport and not me,” McKenna quipped. “But I’m sure having fun.”

  “Me too.” Harper settled back with a sigh. Lulu’s usually had entertainment, and a guitarist was playing love songs in the corner. She wished he’d stop. This place reminded her way too much of Billy.

  “What are you thinking about all the time?” McKenna gave her a searching glance over the rim of her coffee mug.

  “Billy, sometimes,” she admitted on a sigh. And sometimes Cameron, she added to herself.

  McKenna set the mug down. “Don’t.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  “Harper, four years together and the guy dumps you long distance?”

  Harper snorted. “Pathetic, right?”

  “An adult conversation about why you’re breaking up would be nice.”

  “Guess he just got busy in California.”

  Didn’t look like McKenna was buying it.

  The vocalist’s rendition of “Unchained Melody” brought back so many memories. How many times had she sat here, Billy’s arm around her?

  Usually she felt worse, thinking about the past.

  Not tonight. The realization shook her.

  McKenna squeezed her hand. “Come on, Harper. Sometimes a guy’s just a habit. Don’t you think you’ve outgrown Billy?”

  “Outgrown him? McKenna, a guy’s not like a training bra.”

  Her sister narrow
ed her x-ray vision eyes. “You’ve changed, Harper, and you don’t even see it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re older. Wiser. Maybe this job has done it.”

  Flabbergasted, Harper almost reached for her inhaler.

  Her sister fanned out both hands. “Hey, I’m telling you straight. You are different.”

  She hated the tears swelling in her throat. “Maybe. Still, sometimes I want to come home.”

  “Fine, but are you running from something or to something?” McKenna asked with her maddening practicality.

  “Good question.” Did she want to leave Savannah just because Billy wasn’t here anymore?

  Or was she running away from someone else?

  The skin at the back of her neck prickled.

  When they reached the house that night, Cameron’s Porsche sat in the garage. Saturday night and he hadn’t gone out. The light glowed over the sink. Using her key, she pushed open the back door. Past midnight and the house felt quiet. They called it a night when they got to the third floor.

  The following day, they walked along River Row and visited the tourist shops. McKenna picked up a box of chocolates for her staff, along with some for Vanessa and Amy, her other close friend who had just gotten engaged. McKenna was going to be a bridesmaid in Amy’s wedding. Per McKenna’s request, they toured the Mercer house before trekking over to Zunzi’s for a takeout lunch.

  “You’re ordering a meatloaf sandwich?” McKenna asked after Harper placed her order.

  “What’s wrong with that?” The smell was so tempting.

  McKenna’s eyes softened. “You really must be homesick.”

  Wolfing lunch down in the park across the street didn’t make Harper feel better. City workers were setting things up for the St. Patrick’s Day parade the next day. Cameron was taking them. Last year, she’d gone to the parade with Billy.

  Tonight that didn’t bother her at all. She could hardy wait for tomorrow.

  Chapter 16

  Cameron was probably as excited as Bella about the parade. Although he’d offered to take out a room at the DeSoto Hilton along the parade route, the girls had howled.