Dream of Me (Harmony Falls, Book 1)

by Gaelen Foley

  The slight scruff merely enhanced his masculinity—and made the contrast with his blue eyes all the more striking.

  God, this was confusing. Being this attracted to a man she couldn’t predict and probably should be careful not to trust too much.

  The two of them lingered there, quiet for a time, until she finally interrupted Harry’s trance. “Legend has it that once the Onatah’s water has poured over the falls, it takes on healing powers.”

  He glanced at her, the sexiest of half-smiles curving his lips. “Is that right?”

  She warded off a dangerously dizzy sensation in response, and nodded toward the plunge pool. “You’ll see people down there sometimes scooping it up in buckets, believing it’ll bring them health and good fortune.”

  “I hadn’t heard that,” Harry said, turning to her with a dreadfully serious expression all of a sudden.

  Her stomach flip-flopped as she turned to gaze up at him. His jaw was tight, his piercing eyes studying her. The look made her go very still, her pulse skipping.

  “What is it?” she asked, and held her breath.

  “Have dinner with me,” he murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear above the rumble of the falls.

  She blinked. “What?”

  A smile stole across his handsome face at her astonishment, and he reiterated slowly, purposefully, louder now, enunciating every syllable: “May I take you out for dinner tonight, Beatrice Palmer?”

  “You’re asking me out on a date?” she exclaimed, still processing. This was exactly what she’d secretly hoped for when they’d set out today, but this time, it didn’t seem set on the pretense of business.

  “Yeah. I can hardly believe it myself,” he retorted in amusement, dishing her own bluntness back to her.

  A small sound of dismay escaped her. She should not want this. It wasn’t wise. But she was so torn. Because the truth was, she adored being around Harrison Riley.

  He waited with an expectant twinkle in his eyes, as if he knew, and the butterflies in her belly fluttered around faster. Great. Now she could feel a blush starting, too. Damn you, Harry.

  She wanted to be stubborn, difficult; she wanted to be tough. But if she couldn’t even fight the smile tugging at her lips, it was pointless to deny the thrill of attraction between them.

  “Dinner, eh?” she echoed, unsure.

  “One little meal,” he said softly, holding up a finger.

  “I’m still not selling you my farm,” she warned, her eyebrows knitted, her voice firm—her cheeks, she suspected, about the hue of her tomatoes.

  “I won’t even bring it up,” he promised.

  Bea was suddenly nervous, jumpy. “Okay. That sounds fine. Um, we’d better get back. The shuttle is probably ready for us by now,” she added, nodding toward the path by which they’d come.

  Harry stepped aside and gestured toward it. “After you, Ms. Palmer.”

  Bea wasn’t sure her feet touched the ground the whole way back to the bottom of the trail. They strode along at a good clip, returning to the take-out at the river’s edge, where they found Jack, Finn, and Carlos half done eating their lunches.

  Finn stood up on the giant, flat boulder when he saw Bea and Harry emerge from the forest together. It seemed he had shrugged off the crisis and was back to his old self, for immediately, he started in on his typical kid-at-heart behavior.

  “Harry and Beatrice sittin’ in a tree,” he sang past a mouthful of sandwich.

  “Oh, knock it off.” Bea scowled at him, then spotted her lunch, and flew over to devour it. All of a sudden, she was starving, so, apparently, she had recovered from the crisis.

  “Seriously, Patrick.” She shoved a baby carrot into her mouth as she sat down with them. “It’s not the fact that you dropped out of Yale that shocks me. It’s the fact they ever let you in there in the first place.”

  “Hey, being a college dropout didn’t stop me from making my first million by the time I was your age, sweetheart,” he said, then tossed a grape and caught it in his mouth.

  “Wait, what?” Harry asked. “You made a million bucks in your twenties?”

  “Yeah, and the idiot gave most of it away,” Jack drawled. “Believe that shit?”

  “That’s just the sweet kind of sum-bitch I am,” Finn said, and took another large bite of his sandwich. “You gotta be able to give it away, man. Otherwise, you get corrupted. Me, you see, I’m pure o’ heart.”

  “Not too pure,” Carlos said with a grin. “You ever heard his dirty jokes?”

  “My friend Regina calls Finn the noble savage,” Bea said.

  “Nice,” Harry said, grinning at Finn. “I can see that.”

  “Hard imagining him in a suit, isn’t it?” she asked.

  Finn hissed at her, then told Harry: “Another lifetime.”

  “Hell, these days, we can barely get him to wear clothes at all,” Bea added.

  “Finn was a Wall Street asshole before he came here,” Jack explained to Harry. “But we don’t hold it against him. Bigshot day trader.”

  “That explains a lot,” Harry murmured. “You liked the thrill, eh?”

  “Oh, yeah. Pretty addictive. Who needs casinos? Well, it’s in the same vein as what you do, Harry. Making bets on winners and losers.”

  Harry stared at him.

  “But, man, I’ll tell you what. After a while…I had to get out of there. That shit was killing my soul. Life’s too short, y’ know?” Finn shrugged. “Gotta be free. Freedom, baby!” he roared without warning into the gulch.

  “Amen, brother,” Jack replied, unperturbed, dozing in the sun.

  Carlos shook his head at them in amusement.

  Once they’d all finished eating, they hoisted the raft onto the trailer and tossed their paddles, PFDs, and helmets into the back of the van, and easygoing Carlos drove the group back to town.

  On the return trip, Bea thought about the work she’d missed today. Her body felt beat up from her ordeal in the rapids, but she was eager to get back to the farm and check on things.

  When Carlos stopped the outfitters’ passenger van between the Knickpoint and the Sweetwater Inn, Harry slid the door open, jumped out, and then turned back to Bea. “I’ll pick you up at the farm at, say, seven o’clock?”

  Finn and Jack exchanged a look of surprise upon hearing they meant to see each other again tonight.

  Bea ignored them. “I’ll come to you instead. Chloe lives right around the corner from your hotel. I’ll just head to her place first, then come find you.”

  She didn’t want to seem too eager, after all.

  “I hope you’re not taking her to the Knickpoint?” Jack asked, only half joking, as he got out of the van.

  “No, that resort, Silver Oaks, has a few decent restaurants,” said Harry, taking his keys out of his pocket, toying with them.

  “Silver Oaks?” Bea exclaimed.

  Finn whistled when he heard that.

  “Do you like French cuisine?” Harry asked her.

  Bea propped her hand on her waist and cocked her head in skeptical amusement. “Uh-huh. But, Harry, if you’re talking about Apex, you don’t just waltz into a five-star restaurant out of the blue and expect to get a table.”

  “Why not?” He shrugged. “It’s only a Monday night.”

  “Yeah, at the height of the tourist season.” She appreciated his desire to impress her, but shook her head. “Nobody can get a reservation there on such short notice.”

  Harry twirled his keys around his finger with a nonchalant smile. “Wanna bet?”

  CHAPTER 7

  It was nearly six o’clock by the time Bea made it over to Chloe’s to get ready. After her raft trip with the guys, she’d sent out an all-points bulletin to her girlfriends to tell them that she needed something to wear tonight, stat, for her big date with Harrison Riley.

  They reacted, as expected, swiftly and heroically, and celebrated like it was a national holiday. All afternoon, her phone was blowing up as the girls crafted their plan.
Bea kept running back and forth to that one narrow floorboard on the corner of her porch that picked up reliable cell service to follow the exchange.

  Over a ridiculously detailed series of text messages, they agreed that Chloe, Reg, and Jules would each bring a handful of dresses from their closets, as well as some jewelry, scarves, and a few pairs of size-seven sandals for Bea to try on.

  With her friends’ help, Bea hoped she’d find something appropriate to wear to the ritziest restaurant at the area’s finest resort, because she sure as hell didn’t own anything passable herself. She located exactly one dress in her closet that she’d hung onto from her old going out-out days in college, but knew it wouldn’t cut it at a place like Apex.

  Everyone agreed that Chloe would host the fashion show. Though she and Jules both rented apartments in the same charming Victorian around the corner from the Sweetwater Inn, Chloe had more space on the first floor, while Julia roosted in her little third-floor garret in an attic-turned-efficiency.

  Chloe’s hardwood floors, overstuffed antique princess chairs, elaborate oriental rugs, hefty, century-old wooden buffet tables and China closets, a chandelier fit for Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, and immediate access to the house’s wraparound porch—not to mention her incredible cooking—always made for the best parties.

  So, while her three fairy godmothers were taking care of her wardrobe situation, Bea was able to focus on all the work she’d missed while she was flailing around in the river this morning.

  Driving back to the farm, she had tried to think about anything but Harry, still unsure if she was a crazy person for agreeing to this, fraternizing with the enemy, or whatever he was.

  She shoved him out of her mind as she pulled up to the house, then jumped out of the truck, her body aching all over from her tussle with the river. Calling a quick hello to her grandparents through the screen door, she hurried out to the fields and, thankfully, confirmed that Lance and the dudes had followed her instructions exactly.

  The tireless high schoolers had carefully transplanted her lettuce seedlings just as she’d instructed. They had packed them into fresh soil and given them a good sprinkling in a freshly turned quadrant of the field, then turned over the last crop’s dirt to ready it for the next round.

  Whew, she thought as she inspected the kids’ work.

  “You guys did a great job today,” she said as Pap doled out their pay. “I’m really impressed. If you’re not too worn out, come back tomorrow. We have more greens and peaches ready to pick.”

  The boys agreed to return tomorrow at eight AM sharp. Bea took care of some much-needed weeding around the broccoli, then decided she’d better frost-proof her snap peas in case this freaky chill in what should’ve been a hot July day got any colder overnight. Then she glanced at her watch and realized she’d better shower or she’d be late for her date.

  She still couldn’t believe she was actually going through with it. But, wow, was Harrison Riley ever sending her the vibe. For a second there by the waterfall, she’d thought he was going to kiss her. She was still appalled at herself for the twinge of disappointment she had felt when he’d decided not to.

  Maybe she was being foolish. After the stunt he’d pulled, keeping his mouth shut about his true purpose in town once he’d seen her brochure, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to trust him. But she couldn’t help it that she liked the guy—somewhat in spite of herself. For all she knew, his asking her out could be nothing but another ploy in his charm offensive to get her to go along with selling the farm. It didn’t feel like that, though, and if they could resolve their differences over caviar and fine wine, all the better.

  Besides, the man had saved her life today. She could still feel his solid arms around her, pulling her to safety. She thought of the personal things he’d confided during their hike, and gave up trying to resist the pull she felt toward him. Must be those baby blues…

  Then she drifted off into a short but very deep nap before it was time to hurry over to Chloe’s, and now here she was, finally dragging her tired bones up onto her best friend’s porch.

  “Hey, honey. Come on in.” Chloe opened the creaky door for her, smiling, her sky-blue eyes glowing with affection. She was wearing one of her whimsical hostess aprons over her yoga clothes. “Excited?”

  “Mmm, kinda nervous,” Bea admitted as Chloe welcomed her in with a quick hug. “I haven’t been on a date in ages.”

  “Aw, you’ll do fine.”

  “There’s our enchantress!” cried Jules, skipping toward her, barefooted, but still wearing one of her sharp work dresses, as Bea drifted into the main room.

  Regina marched over right behind her, all business. “So you’ve showered,” the petite blonde began briskly, inspecting Bea’s wet hair and clean fingernails. “Did you shave? Down there?”

  “Reg!” Bea cried, instantly red-cheeked, though she couldn’t help laughing. “Trust me, he ain’t gettin’ anywhere near that zone tonight.”

  Reg cocked her head. “But it’s a five-star restaurant.”

  “Regina!” Jules shouted, scandalized. The librarian buried her face in her hands.

  “Oh, chill out, I’m kidding,” Reg said with a rascally wink.

  “Alrighty then, ladies, shall we?” Jules said, propping her fists on her waist.

  “Snacks: check.” Chloe glided into the adjoining kitchen and returned with a tray of bubbling artichoke dip and a basket of rosemary breadsticks, setting it before them. She had to move Julia’s makeup bag and Regina’s sweating glass of Chardonnay off the coffee table to fit it.

  “Hey—girlfriend—don’t go far with that,” Reggie said, eagerly reaching for her wine, nabbing it out of Chloe’s hand. She took a gulp, then handed Bea a freshly poured glass.

  Once the friends all settled in, they demanded Bea give them every detail from the river adventure. They were dying to know how this whole date had come about. Bea enjoyed regaling them with the tale a lot more than she had liked going through it, that was for sure. “So there I was, about to be impaled by a branch on this giant strainer, and out of nowhere Harry just plucks me out of the river. Like a damn grizzly bear hunting for salmon.”

  “Holy shit,” said Regina, her gray eyes wide.

  “I know, Reg,” Bea said. “I know.”

  “That almost sucked,” Julia murmured, brow furrowed.

  “Big time,” Bea agreed.

  Chloe just gazed at her in silent distress.

  “Harry saved my life, you guys. And I haven’t even told you the worst part yet. He has a phobia—of drowning. He never let on. But afterward, he told me he witnessed someone drown when he was a kid, and I guess it stuck with him.”

  “Wow,” Jules said, leaning back in her chair, her emerald eyes wide.

  “Yet he still paddled class-five rapids with you guys?” Chloe said. “And he saved your life?”

  “Yup.” Bea nodded slowly. “He never even showed any fear.”

  “So Porsche Guy is kind of a badass,” Reg remarked.

  “I guess so,” Bea said.

  Chloe stared at her, but Jules glanced around at them. “That’s seriously amazing. Phobias can be very debilitating.” Then the redhead frowned at Reg. Who wore a scowl. “What’s wrong?”

  The EMT shot to her feet and started pacing. “Don’t mind me. I’m glad you’re safe and all, but I could go ballistic right now.”

  “Why?” Bea asked.

  “One of these days, I’m gonna wring Finn’s neck. Where is that man’s brain? He never should’ve taken you guys that far downriver after I specifically warned him about the strainer.”

  “I guess he forgot.”

  Reggie’s ponytail swished back and forth as she shook her head. “Ugh, he drives me insaaaane!”

  “You just want his bod,” Jules taunted with a grin, nudging the medic in the leg with a toe as she passed.

  “That’s beside the point,” Reg retorted.

  “Well, the guys wanted Harry to be baptized,” Bea inf
ormed them.

  “Really?” Chloe asked in surprise. They were all familiar with Finn’s mischievous ritual of scaring the crap out of a few chosen newcomers with this prank.

  “Figures.” Reggie sighed and sat back down. Though only five foot two, she was really the only one who could ever put the fear of God into the noble savage, but while Reg continued fuming over Finn’s negligence, the others moved on.

  Chloe reached over and tapped Bea impatiently on the knee. “We’re all thrilled you’re safe, but hurry up and get to the date part.”

  Bea grinned. “It was after the trip. You know how you have to wait forever to get the shuttle back? We went for a short hike. It was weird. Harry got all quiet. Then, out of the blue, he asked me out. I’m not even sure why, but I’ve come up with a few possible reasons.”

  The girls leaned in, listening closely.

  “A, the obvious: He’s gonna try again to convince me to let my grandparents sell him the farm, even though he promised not to bring it up tonight. We’ll see.

  “B,” she continued, “he feels bad for messing with my head and then offending me last night at the Knickpoint with some of the rotten stuff he said about my business. Remember what a huge A-hole he was at the pub last night, Chlo?”

  “Oh, well…I don’t know.” Chloe seemed startled by the accusation, but wanting to accommodate. “Maybe?”

  Bea waved her off with a snort. “Look who I’m asking.” Chloe never saw anything bad in anyone.

  “He was pretty rude,” Bea informed the others matter-of-factly. “C,” she resumed, “he could be just showing off, because let’s face it, he didn’t get to be this investment capital bigshot without having a serious competitive streak. See, I didn’t charge him for his produce at the fruit stand because he handed me a hundred-dollar bill.”

  “You couldn’t make change?” Jules asked.

  “I didn’t like his attitude,” Bea said. “He was coming across all cocky, throwing his money around. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if some small part of him is feeling like he has to make up for it or something, for his ego’s sake. So he’s going totally over the top, taking me out to dinner at Apex.” She shrugged and leaned back in her comfy chair. “It could be just to soothe his own male pride. Of which he has no shortage, believe me.”