Chasing Trust: A Small Town Steamy Romance (Harper Family series Book 3)

by Nancy Stopper

Serena hated to interrupt her sister, especially since it seemed there were many days that she didn’t write, but she couldn’t be by herself the first time she saw the photos.

  “What are you doing here?” Alexis passed right by Serena, stepping into the kitchen and pouring herself a huge mug of coffee.

  She waved the package in the air. “They came.”

  “What came?” Alexis brought the mug to her mouth, waved it under her nose, and then drank a huge gulp.

  “The photos. The ones of the dogs. That the photographer took.”

  That was enough for Alexis. She sat her coffee down and rushed across the room, snatching the envelope from Serena’s hand. “Why haven’t you opened it yet?”

  “I was too nervous.”

  “Why?” Alexis stared at her a minute, realization flooding her gaze. “It’s that photographer, isn’t it? That Chase Foster guy. He wasn’t that boy, was he? Oh my gosh, he was, wasn’t he?”

  Serena hated to quash Alexis’s excitement. Especially since seeing her sister excited didn’t happen often these days. “No, he wasn’t Edward.”

  He could be. As much as she wanted him to be. The eyes were the same, but Chase’s were hardened, not like the warmth she’d seen in Edward’s. “The photographer’s name is Chase. I mean, it could have been him. So much about Chase reminded me of Edward. But I think that’s because they both had the same last name. And, the photography.” And because she’d wanted so much for it to be Edward.

  “So, if you aren’t daydreaming about the photographer—”

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t daydreaming about him.”

  Alexis squealed and pointed at Serena. “Ah, ha. You did like this mysterious man."

  Alexis didn’t know the half of it. Didn’t realize that Chase was the only thing Serena could think about in the ten days since he left. Or that she’d tried to superimpose her memories of Edward with Chase, but that it hadn’t worked.

  Chase’s chiseled features and his brooding gaze were quickly replacing Edward’s in her fantasies.

  But he didn’t live here. And that was a problem. Why couldn’t she be thinking about a man who lived in Cedar Hill? Who had an easy, boring job with no travel. Chase was the first man to intrigue her in forever, but she couldn’t be with someone who didn’t live here. Whose job took him out of town on a regular basis. Not after Dad and his many “out of town” trips that were nothing more than escapades with other women. “It’s not that. What if I don’t like the photos he sent? What if the publisher changes his mind and decides not to fund the calendar once he’s seen pictures of the shelter?”

  Alexis plopped down on the couch, Bandit following immediately behind her and curling onto her feet. She ripped open the package. “You know that isn’t the case. This man knew about your shelter before he offered to produce the calendar… Wow.”

  “What is it?” Serena squeezed on the other side of her sister so she could look over Alexis’s shoulder. Her sister was staring at a photo of Dax, his fur flying out from him as he jumped for the ball, a huge grin on his face. Serena saw the personality of each of the dogs that she placed, but few others did. They just saw an animal to love. But Chase had captured the essence of Dax in a single image.

  Serena snatched the stack of photos out of Alexis’s hand and started flipping through them. Each one was better than the previous, each photo capturing the heart of the animals that she worked so hard to protect. The images brought tears to her eyes. If only everyone could see what she did in these lost and downtrodden animals. If they would take a chance to let a little bit of that love into their heart, their lives would be more fulfilled. And her shelter wouldn’t be overflowing.

  One thing was certain… Chase was as talented as his web site showed. These pictures were brilliant.

  “Oh, my God.” Serena’s hands flew to her mouth as her gaze landed on… herself.

  She hadn’t seen Chase taking her photo. She’d been focused on playing with the dogs so she must not have noticed. He had captured her in profile, a huge smile on her face, as she bent down to hug Charlie, one of her newer residents, a border collie mix that had been left to the shelter when his owner died.

  Not only had he captured the personality of the dogs so perfectly, but he’d done the same with her. Loving on a dog that didn’t have anyone else in their lives.

  How had he done that? How did he know exactly the right moment to snap? Well, there was a reason he won so many awards.

  If only she had a picture of him. She hadn’t even thought to snap a quick one with her phone when he wasn’t looking. But she didn’t need a picture. She had the image of him in her mind.

  “I have got to meet the man that took such a great photo of my wonderful sister.”

  Serena had forgotten that Alexis was sitting beside her. She snatched the photo away and held it to her chest. “Oh no, you don’t.”

  Alexis grinned at her. “Why not?”

  “I never have a chance once someone meets you.” Alexis had something that drew people to her. Most of Serena’s high school years had been in her sister’s shadow… except the day she met Edward. Serena didn’t begrudge her sister the attention. She actually preferred it that way. But she wanted to keep Chase to herself a little longer. When he looked at her, it was like he could see deep down, to who she was beneath the front that she put on for everyone else.

  If that photo was any indication, he could.

  Both her and Alexis’s phones buzzed. Serena glanced at her screen to see a text from Izzy to the family. Impromptu cookout. Mom’s house.

  Serena glanced at her sister. Alexis didn’t want to go. That much was clear from her expression. Serena got that Alexis wanted some time by herself, but they had all been worried about her in recent months. That’s one of the reasons Serena fostered Bandit with her sister.

  “Let’s get going. You can ride with me.”

  “I don’t want to go. I have a lot of work to do.”

  “Oh, come on Alexis. Work can wait. It’s just a cookout.”

  “Nothing is just anything with this family, and you know that. Something’s up. Why wouldn’t Izzy give us more notice if she didn’t have a reason?”

  “I don’t know.” Serena linked her arm through Alexis’s and pulled her sister to her feet. It was a silly thing they’d done as girls, making sure they held onto each other when they went places that made them uncomfortable. “But I guess we’ll find out.”

  Alexis hesitated. “Maybe I should drive myself. Then you don’t have to come back this way to bring me home.”

  “I’m not letting you get away that easy, sis. Now come on.”

  * * *

  A few minutes later, Serena pulled up behind Mom’s house, a sullen Alexis slumped in the passenger seat of her car. In the time it took her to drive from Alexis’s to Mom’s, all evidence of the happier Alexis that Serena had glimpsed earlier today was gone. Replaced with the withdrawn sister that they’d all been worried about the past few months. Serena had hoped that dragging Alexis along would help with her mood… but no.

  Serena grabbed the envelope of photos Chase sent her, careful to tuck the photo of her with Charlie into the console. She wasn’t ready to share those personal photos, or the sexy photographer, with her family yet.

  Serena and Alexis rounded the back corner of Mom’s house and were bombarded by the entire Harper clan, her brother and sister, along with their spouses, as well as many of the animals that she had placed with her siblings. Blue and Freddie were dancing around in front of Hayley, Izzy’s step-daughter, as she dangled a hot dog above them… while Sofia, Justin’s foster daughter, and Aiden, his son, chased Pepper around in circles. The puppy could easily get away, but Serena appreciated how he stayed close enough for the youngsters to catch him—after a good bit of chasing, of course. That had been a good match when Aiden spied him in the shelter earlier this spring.

  Alexis hurried ahead of Serena, glomming onto Mom as soon as she could. Serena hated that Alexis
felt so out of place within their own family. If only she understood that Serena often felt the same. That they weren’t so different. Only how they dealt with those feelings separated them.

  Serena stepped up to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. “I didn’t realize this was a family reunion. I would have brought Rascal and Roscoe. And I was at Alexis’s and had to leave a sad Bandit behind.”

  “Is he still having a hard time?” Justin smiled down at her. Her brother could always make her feel better.

  Serena threw her brother a grin. “Not since I fostered him with Alexis.”

  Justin laughed and she joined in. Her entire family knew they weren’t safe when she had an animal in trouble. And in more than one case, the fostering benefitted the sibling as much as it did the animal. Her family were good sports about it, and she only put an animal in a situation where they would receive all the love they deserved.

  “Go grab yourself something to eat. Tanner’s manning the grill and Mom’s got salads and sides up on the deck.”

  Serena popped a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Justin.”

  The Harper family was nothing if not efficient. The smell of fresh burgers drew the family in from where they had spread out around the back yard and a few minutes later, they all sat around the picnic table and several folding tables and chairs that had been lined up at the end. Their family had expanded to ten people and had long ago outgrown the simple picnic table that had seen many cookouts when she was growing up.

  Serena took a moment to observe what her family had become. At the far end of the table, Izzy doted on her new step-daughter while Tanner tried and failed to wrangle Blue and Freddie. Serena had seen something in Tanner the day Izzy brought him to the shelter. She ensured the dog he took home would get along with Izzy’s dog Freddie, suspecting that it wouldn’t be long before the dogs would be co-habitating.

  On the other side of Izzy, Justin wiped ketchup from his son Aiden’s mouth while Maddie leaned over and discussed something with their foster daughter Sofia. They hadn’t told anyone else, but Serena knew they had already started the process of adopting the precocious six-year-old who had lost her mother several years earlier.

  At the end of the table, Alexis had sidled up to Mom. Until the past year or so, Alexis would have been happy by Serena’s side, two peas in a pod like they’d always been. Not in recent months, though. None of them had been able to figure out exactly what had motivated the change, but Alexis needing the connection so much concerned Serena.

  Something else was going on with her twin, and she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “Hey, Serena. Have you gotten the pics back from the test shoot, yet?” Amidst the myriad of conversations filling the table, Justin’s voice rose above the others.

  “Oh, yeah.” She hopped up and grabbed the envelope that she’d laid on a table when she filled her plate. She split up the stack of photos and passed them around the table. “I think they’re great. The photographer really captured each of the dogs in a unique way. Almost like how I would have described them.”

  Hopefully no one would notice the heat creeping up her cheeks as she pictured the sexy photographer in her mind. She caught Alexis’s eye and her sister winked at her. So much for not being noticed. Alexis tilted her head and nodded. “Did you bring the other one?” she asked with her eyes.

  Serena shook her head. She wasn’t ready for the prying questions that were sure to follow. Her siblings would be able to see right through her feeble explanations to the attraction that she was fighting to ignore.

  It did her no good to swoon over a man she would only see once, maybe twice again before he jetted off to his next exotic location. No thank you.

  Serena eyed her mother, whose gentle smile and relaxed features revealed nothing of the betrayal she must have felt all those years living with an unfaithful husband. How did she put up with Dad never being home at night? Didn’t she wonder where he was? Did she suspect he had women on the side? Serena would have if it were her.

  Then again, those were the nights that it was calm in the house, because Dad wasn’t around to drink too much and take his anger out on his family. If those were Serena’s choices, husband gone or house a war zone, she’d probably make the same decision Mom had.

  But none of them had expected the bombshell news of a half-sister they’d never known until she reached out through their father’s attorney two years ago. Each of them had handled the news that Dad had fathered another daughter in their own way. For Serena, Rachel was as much a victim as they were, and she was excited, but wary, of the possibility of building a relationship with the sister they barely knew.

  Serena caught Alexis’s eye. Her twin hadn’t been handling the news quite so well. Each time all of them had met to discuss what they wanted to do about Rachel, Alexis had little to contribute. She had become withdrawn and, unfortunately, drank more.

  Serena had shared her concerns with Justin on more than one occasion. Their father had been an alcoholic and Serena was afraid Alexis was headed in the same direction.

  Serena threw Alexis a questioning look. Alexis lifted her glass of wine and finished it before shaking her head at Serena. Like she was challenging Serena to say something about the alcohol.

  “These are great, Serena,” Izzy said around a mouth full of Mom’s potato salad. Serena stared at her other sister. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Izzy with such a full plate, and certainly not eating like she was. A former professional dancer, Izzy had always struggled with the weight and body image issues that came along with such a competitive field. Tanner was good for her, especially if he had gotten her to put those concerns aside and see herself for the beautiful woman that she was.

  “I think so, too. I can’t wait until we have the actual shoot with all the lights and everything else.” Including one sexy photographer. She waved her hands over the table. “I’m expecting all of you to help.”

  “Of course you are, sis,” Justin added. “And we’ll all hem and haw and in the end, we’ll all be there for you. Because that’s what family does. Speaking of family…” He stood and caught Mom’s eye. She nodded and he shared a smile with her.

  What was up with that?

  “If I can get everyone’s attention… although that is much harder with how much our family has grown.” He spared a smile for his wife. Serena didn’t envy the struggles her brother had endured over the past year, but his marriage seemed as strong as ever now and he and Maddie even had a new foster daughter to spoil. “Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been speaking with Rachel.”

  The few whispers that had lingered around the table stopped. Serena caught her mother’s eye and Mom smiled at her, a smile that told Serena that everything would be all right. The one she had looked for all those nights when she’d hidden under her covers and wished everyone could get along.

  And Serena knew this would be okay, too. She liked Rachel and didn’t really get a chance to get to know her better when she and her fiancé had attended Izzy’s wedding.

  Justin continued. “We haven’t had many opportunities to spend time with her. So, I’ve invited her to Casa Harper for a cookout. Actually, not just Rachel. Her entire family. Her brothers and their wives and kids, too.”

  Conversations immediately sparked around the table. Izzy leaned into Tanner and whispered something, Maddie wrapped her arm around Justin in support, but at the end of the table, Alexis’s expression had grown thunderous. She leaned down and whispered something to Mom, but Mom squeezed Alexis’s hand and leaned into her shoulder. It should be Alexis comforting Mom, the woman being forced to confront her husband’s daughter.

  No one was asking the question that filled Serena’s mind. No one had wanted to admit to themselves that bringing Rachel into their lives also had the potential of bringing the woman who had betrayed their mother’s marriage with Dad along for the ride. “What about her parents?”

  “Serena.” Alexis threw her an ugly look... and felt strongl
y enough to say something out loud instead of admonishing her with her mind.

  Justin smiled at her. “No, Alexis. It’s okay. It’s something we all need to be thinking about. I talked to Mom about all of this and we agreed that the invitation should include her parents.” A gasp escaped from Izzy’s lips. Her oldest sister had been accepting of Rachel, but this was an entirely different thing altogether. “But they declined.”

  A huge sigh fell over the table.

  “They were gracious and thanked us for the invitation, but thought it was enough that all of us kids get together.”

  The Harpers and the Bennetts together. That was going to be a sight to be seen. Serena’s heart raced at the thought. “Well, I think it’s great. And I can’t wait to meet her brothers, either.”

  Izzy laughed and that seemed to break the string of tension that had pulled across the group of them.

  Serena scanned the table. She didn’t know what she would have done without her family, her two sisters and brother that had been by her side during the toughest of times, their spouses that had become friends and their kids that were her nieces and nephews, regardless of their last names and how they came to join this big, rowdy family.

  Why then did Chase’s face flash in her mind? She’d only spent a few hours with him. She shouldn’t be imagining a future with him. Not yet, at least.

  Izzy stood and flicked her finger on her plastic cup, mimicking the pinging sound a glass would have made. It would have to do. It’s not like the Harpers stood on formality on anything. “It seems like today is the day of announcements. I have to apologize to you, Justin, but this is not a surprise to Maddie. I talked to her yesterday and asked her not to say anything to you.” Izzy directed her attention back to the rest of the table. “Tanner and I are pregnant.”

  “And I get to be a big sister.” Hayley bounced in her seat, like she’d been holding in this news for a long time. Everyone laughed. Tanner’s daughter from his first marriage hugged Izzy, or her S’mom, as she called her.

  “Congratulations, Izzy. I’m so happy for you.” Serena leapt up and threw her arms around her sister. That explained the appetite. And the secretive glances she had been sharing with Tanner throughout dinner. “You didn’t waste any time.”