Finding Harmony (13 page)

“No.” Rick practically dragged Harmony toward the SUV and
opened her door for her to climb in. “Thanks, but no.”

Tiffany shrugged one shoulder and pouted. “We’ll see you in
a few days, then.”

Rick said nothing as he shut Harmony’s door and walked
around to the driver’s seat. He said nothing and just sat very still until his
father’s rented convertible had driven out of Cypress Corners. Then he started
the car.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Don’t be,” she said for lack of anything better.

He drove her back to her cabin. Resting his head on the
steering wheel he was gripping tightly, he closed his eyes. “Why? Why do I let
them get to me?”

She didn’t hesitate. She reached out and touched his rigid
shoulder. He softened a bit. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He lifted his head, his eyes red-rimmed. “It’s always going
to be like this.” He laughed harshly. “Since it’s always been like this, I
shouldn’t be surprised.”

She grabbed his hand and tugged. “Come inside.”

He followed behind her. A bit reluctantly by his plodding
footsteps, but he followed. She knew he had to talk about it, to get it out. Her
mother would cleanse his aura with crystals and get him feeling more like
himself. Well, Harmony only had one thing to help him. Her feelings for him,
whatever the heck they were. She only knew her heart was breaking to see him in
such a state.

She’d worry about herself later.

Harmony walked through her cozy cabin and flicked on the
small bedside lamp. It’s glow warmed the space but did nothing to the chill
inside him.

“Sit down, Rick,” she said softly.

He did so, folding his hands in his lap. She kicked off her
sandals and settled next to him. His stomach still churned. What a hell of a
night. He stared at the rag rug, tracing the patterns of colors in his mind as
he tried to block out the memory of yet another awkward evening with his father
and Tiffany, that bitch.

“I’m sorry I put you through that,” he said. “I was selfish.
I wanted you there as a buffer.”

Harmony placed her hand on his shoulder again, like she had
in the car. There was magic in that touch, something that had nothing to do
with crystals or whatever her mother might employ. He leaned toward her,
needing a compassionate touch. It was nothing like the moves his stepmother had
made on him tonight, stroking him beneath the table while his father
pontificated about something or other across from her. He’d been totally turned
off, but it had to hurt Harmony to see another woman act like she wasn’t even
sitting there on the other side of him.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” she said. “I know
they’re your family, but… Well, they’re not very nice people.”

He blew out a breath and faced her. “That’s putting it
mildly.”

She ran her fingers through his hair and he suddenly craved
the contact. He stared into those soft hazel eyes, feeling the tension uncoil a
bit inside of him.

“Tell me,” she said. “Tell me why you let them treat you
like that.”

“Like what?”

She shook her head. “I won’t touch what Tiffany was doing
all night,” she said.“That was wrong and a bit disgusting. But your father… ” 
She seemed to be searching for the right word, and he was almost afraid to hear
her opinion of Bill Chapman. “He treats you like an employee, Rick.”

Wow. She was right. He’d always known it but to have her
say it straight out like that punched him in the gut. He shrugged off his
jacket and hung it on the bedpost. God, he felt like a fool. A fool and a
lackey to his father. And now Harmony saw that as well. Nice.

“Bill Chapman made a place for me at his company, Harmony.”

“But why do you work there? I know you’ve got the
credentials to work anywhere. Dr. Robbins sang your praises to me almost from
the start.”

He looked down at the rug again. “I work there because… Ah,
it’s going to sound so lame.”

She leaned closer, unwittingly giving him some of her
strength. “Tell me, Rick. You can tell me anything.”

He faced her, looked deep into those gorgeous eyes, and suddenly
he knew he could tell her. “I do it for my mother.”

She sat still as he told her all of it, of Bill’s constant
cheating and eventual abandonment. Of his throwing money instead of attention
at him and Jake and Cassie. Of Rick’s inevitable overachieving and his promise
to his mother.

“That’s it,” he said at last, his voice harsh to his ears. He
stretched out on her bed and folded his arms over his eyes. “Pitiful, huh?”

Harmony sniffed and laid down next to him. “No. God, no. Rick,
you’re amazing.”

“Hardly.” He wiped at his eyes and turned his head to her. “Tell
me why your job is so important? I’ve never seen anyone as dedicated as you.”

A smile tilted her mouth. “You’ll think I’m making this up,
but I do it for my parents.”

This surprised him. “How do they figure into it? They seem
pretty self-sufficient.”

She nodded and fiddled with a button on his collar, the
touch nervous but comforting as well. “They are. But because of me, they lost nearly
everything. They were promised a string of organic food stores and sank all
their money into Adam’s… into the guy’s scheme. I make good money here and pay
nearly nothing in living expenses. I… I have to pay them back.”

Ah. Adam. The jerk in college. “They were ripped off, right?
By the guy who broke your heart?”

Lashes hid her eyes. “I never said Adam broke my heart.”

He didn’t know if he wanted to thank Adam for leaving her or
flatten him for hurting her in the process. “You didn’t have to say it,
sweetheart.”

The endearment caused her to swallow. Well, he was sick of
being so damn careful of everything he said to her. She was a sweetheart. She
was his sweetheart and his lover and it was too damn bad if that jerk Adam had
hurt her before.

He lifted her chin. “Look at me, Harmony. My story? Pitiful.
Your story? Fine and good. Amazing, even.” He kissed her, drawing her up
against him. “You’re amazing.”

She held on to him as he began his seduction, apparently
needing him as much as he needed her.

“There’s more to you than you let on,” she said softly.  

Was there? He felt things deeper than he wanted her to know.
Than he wanted anyone to know.

She kissed away the tears he hadn’t wanted, her lips tender
at the corners of his eyes. She stroked his shoulders as she held him closer.

“You’re so much better than they are,” she murmured. “You’re
a wonderful son.”

He gave a tired shake of his head but she wouldn’t let him
pull away. Somehow he knew tonight would be different, at least for him. For
her? He thought he could hear the emotion in her voice, feel the love in her
touch. And just for tonight he needed it.

Coming over him, she unbuttoned his shirt and dropped
kisses on his chest.  He held her hair up off her neck as she moved lower, over
his belly to his navel. She drew in the scent of him and he felt as if he were
opening up from the inside.

He was prone beneath her, his breath catching with each
kiss, each lick.   Unbuckling his belt, she freed him from his boxer briefs and
put her mouth on him. He moaned beneath her, moving against her as she kissed
and teased him.

“Harmony… ”

She seemed to act by instinct, mimicking those delicious
things he did to her when he had her completely in his power. If she was a
little awkward, a little tentative, it didn’t matter. He was hot and hard and
she licked every inch of him until he gently pulled her away.

“Not yet, baby.” He brought her face up to his and kissed
her. “Not yet.”

He rolled her over and soon he had her naked beneath him,
driving them both to an orgasm. Then he was deep inside her, his body showing
her what he couldn’t say as he drove into her again and again. She climaxed
around him, her moans as sweet as her caresses as she held him close.

He poured into her, hoping the condom he’d put on at the
last minute would hold. He’d never come this hard before, turning himself
inside out as he shouted to the ceiling. She stared up at him after, her eyes
shiny, and he almost lost it. He almost told her he loved her. Did he? Damned
if he knew. But she was more than he’d thought a woman could be. She was… his.

“Ah, Harmony.” He pulled out and she gave a delicate shiver.
She turned into his shoulder and he held her. “Let me stay here tonight, baby.”
He kissed her temple, her ear. “Please?”

She looked him square in the eye then, determination mixing
with the haze of passion there. “Stay. I want you here.”

He closed his eyes and wished he could savor this feeling
forever. This connection, this affection. It wouldn’t last. But for tonight,
he’d pretend he was just like everyone else, able to take love as it came and
give it back without hesitation.

They slid under the thick quilt and loved each other again
until she fell asleep spooned against him. Sweet and strong, his Harmony. Could
this last?

God, he prayed he could find a way.

***

In the morning Rick kissed Harmony and she rubbed against
him in her sleep. He stretched and reached for his watch. Damn. He had a
meeting with one of the contractors this morning, in less than an hour.

“Harmony.” He brushed her hair back from her face and
kissed her again. “Baby, I have to go.”

She stirred, nodding as she reached her arms over her head.
The sheets skimmed her body and he thought about bagging the meeting. He
couldn’t. Bill was in town.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said.

She nodded again and turned into the pillow. He threw on
some clothes and drove to his house to get ready. His cell beeped and he
clipped on the earpiece as he buckled his belt.

“Yes?” he asked.

It was the tile contractor, making some noise about delays
and special orders.

“Look,” Rick said. “I need that floor installed by the end
of the week.” He stepped over to the window, looking out over the manicured
park and the wildness of the woods behind it. “Hey, bring a few more samples
today. Maybe something… different. Stone. Something more natural.”

The guy said something again in apology for the delay and
promised to bring several tiles he had on hand. Rick thanked him and broke the
connection.

 He thought about Harmony’s lake, and how the colors seemed
richer out there. He picked up one of the booklets of paint swatches spilled on
his counter and thumbed through it. Cool greens, warm golds and calm blues
caught his eye.

“It could work,” he said to himself.

The rec café was set in the nature walks, surrounded by Florida wilderness—well, tamed wilderness for residents and visitors to enjoy in small
doses before paying big bucks for rain forest coffee and gourmet treats. Hmm.

He nodded to himself and switched on his cell again. If he
had to meet Bill this afternoon, he’d better get on it.

For once he’d use Bill’s influence to make some positive
changes.

***

When Harmony woke up again Rick was gone. But by the clock
on her night table she shouldn’t be surprised. It was after eleven o’clock. The
sheets still smelled like him and she turned her face into the pillow. Mmm. Her
body still tingled from the memories of what they’d done. Well she couldn’t
stay in bed all day, reliving the most passionate night she’d ever known. But it
had been more than that. For her, at least. She knew she loved Rick now. There
had been no denying it after he’d spilled his story about his childhood, his
ambitions. It had seemed different for Rick, too. It seemed he changed there in
her bed. Opened up somehow as he gave her more than just his physical passion.

What a horrid man his father was. His stepmother? She
wasn’t touching Tiffany. She’d seen plenty of predators in Cypress Corners, and
that woman was as vicious as any. She didn’t know how Bill treated Rick’s
siblings, the brother who took dangerous risks for the fun of it or the sister
who was doing something or other in Europe. Bill must have left his mark on
them, too. Yeah, Harmony’s parents were strange. But she never doubted they
loved her. They never hesitated to show it, either.

Throwing back the quilt, she stretched and rose. She didn’t
have to go into the village until later today, and was surprised by the touch
of disappointment she felt. She’d come to crave the connection to the people
there, to Hettie and Dr. Robbins. Solitude wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Maybe
next year, when her tent-cabin was a memory and her spot on the lake teemed
with vacationers and residents, she’d find a house like Rick’s in the village. She
wouldn’t need anything as large, of course. Maybe a little bungalow.

So today she’d review her notes until she had to go to the
Institute, and work on the finishing touches to an upcoming presentation of the
effects of birds’ migratory patterns on seed distribution on property. As she
tied her robe and gathered her things for her shower, she thought about that
for a moment. It still surprised her that Florida birds flew further south to
winter. The northern birds repopulated the area for just a short time. A
thought struck her. Just like Rick.

He was here for only a few weeks, and eager to get back to
Boston. Or even further away, as Chapman holdings spanned the globe. She
wouldn’t think about it, not today. His ambition would take him all over the
world if he wanted it to. He made no promises and she wouldn’t press him for
any. Again she thought of the tenderness she’d seen last night. With a family
like his, he was lucky he could feel anything at all.

That afternoon, she nibbled on a piece of tofu cheesecake. It
was part of the care package Ariel had pressed on her after their Thanksgiving
dinner, along with soy brownies and organic coconut chewies. She closed her
eyes as she swallowed. Man, her mother could cook. Who needed those fancy desserts
she’d tried in Orlando with Rick? She certainly didn’t. He probably preferred
them. He liked everything the Chapman money could buy. Again Bill’s cold
treatment struck her.

“Stop thinking about it, Harmony,” she told herself. “Rick’s
a big boy. He’ll probably never talk about his parents again.” Or anything
remotely related to his heart.

She wiped her fingers and opened a bottle of water. As she
drank she heard a car skidding on the gravel road. Rick? She looked at her
watch. No. He was probably still tied up with his father and Chapman business. She
put the bottle back in her little fridge and peeked out the window. Her heart
sank as she recognized the flashy convertible with the flashier woman behind
the wheel.   Tiffany Chapman.