by Ann Carver
It Was Always You
A Harpers Ridge Novel
By Ann Carver
Chapter 1
Harper Fiore pulled up to the decrepitating block house. That’s what she called it when she was growing up. It wasn’t home, it was the block house. The two story, square house was in disarray. From what Harper could see from the outside, it needed a new roof, windows replaced, gutters repaired and a thorough cleaning. She shuddered at the amount of work that needed to be done just on the outside, she was afraid of what she’d see on the inside.
The heavy front door was reluctant to open. Harper peered around the door to find a dead raccoon as the reason it didn’t swing right open. She blew a breath out her bottom lip and it pushed her bangs up. Plugging her nose, she pushed the door all the way open and side stepped the decaying animal.
Cobwebs scattered from corner to corner. Some wallpaper was peeling but the drywall appeared to be good. When the mouse ran across the floor from the hallway to the kitchen, Harper didn’t shriek. Nope, instead she chased the thing down and caught it with an empty box she grabbed from the floor. She scooped it up and gently put it outside through the back door…that was nonexistent.
“This is going to be a lot of work,” she said to herself as she sat on the back steps and hugged her knees. The backyard looked as if it hadn’t seen a lawn mower in seven years. Probably since the last time she had to mow it. She never minded mowing the lawn. It got her out of the block house. She’d shove earbuds in and listen to Eminem without much care to the world.
It had been seven years since she’d been back to the block house. Harper had been a foster child and the Mitchell’s brought her into their home when she was nine years old. Thomas and Betty Mitchell were older foster parents. They were already in their late fifties when they brought Harper to the block house.
Harper hadn’t been mistreated by them. It wasn’t like the horror stories people have about foster parents. They made sure she was fed, had decent clothes, and gave her space. A few months later, the Mitchell’s began filling the house up with other foster children. There were fifteen in all. Harper was the oldest and figured she’d be the permanent babysitter, but it hadn’t been like that at all.
Even with so many foster children, Harper was the only one to have a bedroom to herself. Even though the Mitchell’s provided for them all, Harper never felt like she belonged or was loved. She’d heard her biological mother was barely sixteen when she had her and subsequently put her up for adoption. That was all she knew about her. Ever since she could remember, she was bounced from house to house until ending up with the Mitchell’s. They were good to her. She didn’t have the best of everything, but she didn’t go without either…except love, she thought. With fifteen foster kids, it was hard to give attention to all of them. Even when Harper got in a fight at school, she thought they would be mad, hit her, or send her off to another foster home, but they didn’t. They always pleaded the she’s-a-foster-child-who-hasn’t-found-her-way card. She didn’t know if the Mitchell’s used it as an excuse or if they honestly believed it. But the first-time Harper heard this, she used it as a get-out-of-jail-card for everything she did wrong in her life.
All the thoughts of her foster parents not loving her went out the door when she’d received a phone call after their funerals. Betty had passed away in her sleep and two days later, Thomas’ heart gave out.
Harper went to the funeral and saw many of her previous foster brothers and sisters. There was no dinner afterwards for further reminiscing. Everyone simply went home and went about their business. That was until a couple of days later when she received a phone call from an attorney. The Mitchell’s left Harper their house and ten-thousand dollars with a note.
Harper,
You were our precious daughter. The only regret we had is that we didn’t make it legal. We hope you get as much use out of the “block house” as we did.
It made Harper smile when they wrote block house. She knew they didn’t like when she called it that, but they never told her to stop. They let her be. She still wasn’t convinced they loved her because Harper wasn’t sure what love was, but she supposed this was close.
The little mouse that she had set free was trying to make its way back in the house but Harper shooed it away with her foot. She pulled a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket and pencil from behind her ear and started making a list of things she needed to do and in which order. First thing was a back door so no more Mickey’s would come in.
After surveying every floor, every room, she went out to her truck and drove to the local hardware store. Not much had changed in town. Harpers Ridge is situated near where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers come together in West Virginia.
For the most part, since the Civil War, population in Harpers Ridge had declined. Harper was one of them that left as soon as she possibly could. She hated the small town as a teen and couldn’t wait to get out.
Another reason she hated living in Harpers Ridge was its name alone. Her name was Harper and she lived in Harpers Ridge, not to mention, Harpers Ferry was just down the river. Kids teased her faithfully. “Harper’s a fairy, Harper’s a fairy,” they sang to her relentlessly. And, they hadn’t meant fairy as in Tinkerbell. No, they meant the derogatory word for fairy…gay…lesbian. When she was fifteen, she made good on her promise that she wasn’t a lesbian. She craved boy’s attention and she got it.
Harper pulled into the hardware store with her list and determination. Having grown up had changed very little in her. She was still the wild child. She liked men and she liked to party and have a good time. Some old habits were hard to break, but she found that she didn’t hate the small town anymore. Being away for seven years made her long for simple and quiet.
“Harper?” she heard someone call her name. She turned full circle before she finally set eyes on Mr. Russell. She was surprised to still see him at the hardware store.
“Hello, Mr. Russell,” she said with a smile. “How are you?”
Mr. Russell walked with a limp but still had a giant, toothy smile. “I’m well thank you. It’s been a long time. Sorry to hear about your parents,” he said heartfelt.
It was an odd feeling to hear the word parents instead of foster parents. “Thank you,” she said quietly, thinking how she was given the house. She had no clue.
“I hear you’re moving back to the area,” he said as he moved down an aisle full of power tools.
Harper followed him. “I am. I think it’s time to do something different with my life.” Where had that come from? She still wanted to party, have a good time and have the company of men. Didn’t she?
“That’s great, Harper. What’s your plans?” he asked curiously.
She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Long term? I’m not sure, but I’m going to fix up my foster parent’s house. They gave it to me. In their will.” It was awkward talking about it. She hadn’t really been given anything in her life, except a headache. Not something so big, even if it was a dump.
“Well, you came to the right place. Let me get Joey to help you. This old body can’t handle big orders anymore.” He smiled at her again with all his teeth showing. “I know you’ll need a lot of stuff for that house. A shame really, but I know you’ll make it beautiful.”
How was he sure she’d make it beautiful? She had doubts. Many doubts. “Joey still lives around here?” she asked with surprising curiosity.
“Yup, whippersnapper never left,” he chuckled and walked away.
Joe Russell raised a questioning brow when his grandpa told him Harper Fiore was in the store. He knew his grandfather was going senile for sure. There was no way H
arper would come back to town. She couldn’t wait to get out and as far as he knew, she hadn’t looked back. Ever.
He made his way to the sales floor and saw the back of a woman with a nice body and red hair. The red-haired Harper he knew from school was certainly a fire-cracker. The red hair suited her. But, he wasn’t convinced it was really her, until she turned around.
It was her. Memories flooded his thoughts. They’d rode bikes along the rivers, walked the train bridges, fought like cats and dogs, cheated off each other’s papers, got caught smoking together, drank together and even shared one night together. Then after high school, they didn’t share anything because she left for the big city.
“Joey!” she said with excitement and wrapped her arms around him for a hug.
Joe squeezed her shoulders, but didn’t give her a full hug. “It’s Joe now,” he said wincing at the name of Joey. It was a kid name and he was no longer a kid.
She pulled back and stared at him with a big smile. “Oh, okay,” she said easily. “It’s been forever hasn’t it?”
He stood there without a smile and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Her eyes lit up. “We should go out for a drink. Is Tristan and Andy around? They should totally come too.”
Joe winced at the mention of Tristan and Andy. They were his brothers and he’d heard that Harper shared a night with each of them as well. He wasn’t mad that he and Harper hadn’t made more out of their one night, but it was crossing the line if she’d slept with his brothers. That wasn’t acceptable. “Tristan moved down to Beckley and Andy’s in the Air Force,” he said with a set jaw.
“Oh,” she said almost saddened.
Yeah, she probably did sleep with them. “Anyways, my grandpa says you needed some stuff.”
“Um, yeah,” she said looking briefly into his eyes and then down at her list.
He almost felt like an idiot as he saw a hint of something in her eyes. Hurt? Sadness? He didn’t know and he shouldn’t care. He reached out and took the ripped-up envelope she had written stuff on. “What do you want to start with?” he asked.
“How about a smile,” she said softly.
“What?” he looked at her as if she were crazy.
She raised a brow herself. “Would it kill you to smile? Geez, we’ve been friends forever and you act like you don’t remember me.”
Yeah, I thought I knew you! “I don’t have time for this Harper. What do you want to start with?” he said firmly.
Harper yanked the paper out of his hands. “Never mind, I’ll go to another hardware store where the employees are much nicer. Really, Joey? What’s wrong with you?” she snapped. Like a fire-cracker.
Joe became furious. How dare she ask what’s wrong with him. What was wrong with her to sleep with him and then move onto his brothers? But, he knew he had to curb his anger. Though his grandfather owned the hardware store for many years, they still needed to bring in money. He knew the old house was badly needing repairs and they could do well from her order.
He put his hand in the air signaling a truce. “I’m sorry, Harper. And, it’s Joe. It’s been a long day and I guess you could say I’m a little grumpy.” He closed his mouth and ground his teeth having to apologize.
“A little grumpy?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“Okay, a lot grumpy. Now, can I look at your list and see what we need to get for you?” he asked much nicer.
Her mouth opened in a big smile and she hid the list behind her back. “Not until you say you’ll go out and have a drink with me. It’ll be fun, just like old times. You can catch me up on this old town.”
Joe needed to remind himself that he and Harper had been best friends back in the day. They were practically attached at the hip. Neither was particularly happy with home life. Harper felt like she never belonged and Joe had an alcoholic father who made life a living hell.
Harper held the note out and swung it back and forth in front of him like it was a big prize just out of reach. “Come on,” she teased. “You know you want to.”
He blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his five o’clock shadow. “Sure,” he finally said hoping he didn’t regret it.
She squealed like a little girl as she bounced on her toes. “Where should we go? When we were in high school, we couldn’t go to the bars. Remember we’d always steal your dad’s beer and go down by the river?”
The thought of drinking by the river actually brought a smile to his. He and Harper really had gotten along. He was even sad when she left, but then he’d heard about his brothers and he felt like it was a punch in the gut.
“We can go to the Dancing Pony,” he said conflicted. “It’s the only bar here.”
“That sounds great,” she said with a big smile. “It’ll be just like old times.”
The old times were pretty good, Joe thought. He really needed to get the chip off of his shoulder, but his life hadn’t exactly been easy. Only being raised by his father was difficult, especially when he was an alcoholic to boot. As soon as his older brothers were old enough, they left the house to get away from their father, leaving Joe to deal with the mess.
“Yeah, sure. Just like old times,” he muttered. He took the paper she had in her hands. “Now let’s see what you need.” As he scanned the list, he was impressed she wrote everything down and then had went and put numbers indicating priority. “So, you need a backdoor first. This way and I’ll show you what we have,” he said and started walking toward the back of the store.
After looking at every door, Harper finally picked one out and then moved onto the other things on her list until Joe asked how she was getting everything to the house. She told him she had a truck and that’s why she numbered things. Whatever she can fit in her truck is what she’d start with. Of course, by the time he’d asked this, she’d exceeded the capacity of her truck.
Harper paid for the items and pulled around the back where he was waiting for her. When he got everything loaded into her truck that would fit, he began loading the rest of the stuff in his truck.
“Is this everything then?” she asked as he loaded two by fours into his truck.
“It wouldn’t all fit in your truck, so I’ll bring the rest over.” He really didn’t want to, but something inside told him to get over it and move on. She’d been a great friend and something so stupid shouldn’t ruin their friendship. But he was stubborn.
Joe told his grandfather that he was delivering stuff to Harper’s house and he’d check in on him later. Devin, the high school part-time kid was there, so he didn’t have to worry about him too much.
He followed Harper even though he knew exactly where the house was. He’d been there a million times growing up. He remembered her bedroom on the top floor and the smell of food that always filled the house. Had to have a lot of food with all the kids that lived there.
“Where do you want all of this?” Joe asked as he got out of his truck. He eyed the yard which was in bad need of a mowing. The house had seen better days, but the warm sun made him drift back to his childhood. They’d go up in the treehouse in the backyard and talk about their crushes or sometimes just lay next to each other and stare at the stars.
“I think the garage is the safest place,” Harper said with worry on her eyes.
The garage had been added about five years before Harper left. By the looks of things, she’d been right in saying the garage was the safest. He got to work hauling all he materials to the garage. He wasn’t surprised at all when Harper started helping him right away. She was never a stand-by-and-watch type of girl. She wanted to be in the action no matter what it was for.
When everything was put in the garage he told Harper he’d pick her up around seven to go out for a drink. She thanked him for the help and gave him a quick hug before he went to go back and check on his grandpa.
Chapter Two
Harper shouldn’t have been too surprised that Joey unloaded everything so quickly. He’d grown from a scrawny, littl
e, mop-headed boy into a hunk of a man. He was tall with broad shoulders and the mopped hair had been trimmed nicely. The dark, brown hair wasn’t too short or too long. It was just perfect. Her girly parts shivered at the sight of him carrying an arm-load of two by fours with such ease. But they were friends. Always had been and she hoped they always would be.
They had slept together one night when they were in high school. She’d went to his house to see if he wanted to sneak out with his dad’s beer, but when she’d gotten there he was quiet. She’d never seen him so quiet before. They were the rowdy pair always causing trouble, but not that night. She’d asked him what was wrong, but he kept his mouth shut. Not knowing what exactly to do, she did what she knew most guys liked. She took him to his room, stripped herself down and then him. Without a single word between the two, she pushed him on the bed and gave him a good time.
A shower sounded like a wonderful time, but she didn’t have the time or the plumbing to take a shower in the block house. At least she only smelled like grass, she thought, considering she’d spent the last three hours mowing the lawn. Yup, that was three hours of cursing herself for not buying a ride-on mower instead of a push mower. At least it was self-propelled. Which she found out the hard way. When she finally paid a teenage boy, walking by, five bucks to pull the cord quickly because she couldn’t, the thing started moving away on its own. It startled her and got out of her hands which made it stall out. Luckily the teenage boy didn’t make her pay another five bucks to pull the cord again. She put her earbuds in and turned up some old-school LL Cool J.
She pulled the garage door closed and ransacked her suitcase for something to wear. After changing, she sprayed herself down with a fruity, raspberry body spray. She hated perfume, but body spray was a whole different ball game. Body sprays were fruity and even though she’d felt lost most of her childhood, she loved the smell of her foster mom’s pies. She loved baking pies and the foster kids equally loved eating them.
