Page 32 of Your Heart & Mine

He nodded. "Happy to help. Tell Mr. Ward we're working hard on his new 'secret' project as well." He smiled, holding a finger in front of his lips.

Harper's brow furrowed but before she could question who Mr. Ward was, Brenna tugged on her sleeve practically bouncing on her toes. "Harp. Miss Lilah is here. She wants us to come look at the new windows and sign that just got installed at her shop."

Her puzzlement pushed aside, she followed her sister away from the clinic and across the street. Miss Lilah's shop windows sparkled and the turquoise of the new sign and trim popped against the freshly painted store front.

Miss Lilah met them at the door with a pleased smile. "I'm grateful to that young man of yours, Harper, for making this happen. The town is all abuzz with the changes going on." The older woman glanced down the sidewalk where empty storefronts were also being upgraded. "And your group for creating this space for people to live and work—we can't thank you enough."

Harper flushed happily at the praise for Wyck but refused to take any praise for herself. "I want to see the town happy again. Giving people a way to open their own businesses and have affordable places to live is the least we can do after all this town has given us."

Miss Lilah looked like she was going to say something more but Cam hailed her from across the street. "Oi, love!" He waved an arm and bags fell to the ground with a clanging sound. Harper and Brenna tried not to laugh at his crestfallen look as they rushed across the street to help.

"Did you find everything alright?" Harper asked, scooping up one of his dropped bags, knowing he was clueless about tools.

"Barely," he laughed. "Elizabeth made me a very detailed list. I'd be lost without it."

Brenna headed back to Miss Lilah's while Harper and Cam continued to stroll together toward the door that led from the street to the apartments they were renovating. After dumping everything unceremoniously at the top of the stoop, Cam stretched his back and smiled at the lack of squishy carpets and obvious signs of progress in the space. "Your man might not be a complete wanker. These projects do seem a dream."

Harper swatted him at the backhanded compliment, but laughed. "He was never a wanker."

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," she admitted, maybe he was a bit of a wanker. A long time ago."

"Has he ever explained himself?" Cam questioned, starting to remove items from the bags they had brought.

"No, we still need to talk about what happened, but I've been reluctant to bring it up. Everything is going so well."

Cam gave her a searching look. "All the more reason you should have the discussion, don't you think?"

They had avoided the hard conversations, enjoying being together again instead. But Cam's question stirred up old worries she'd buried.

Seeing her expression, Cam squeezed her arm reassuringly. "Don't fret, Love. Just don't ignore the past forever. You both need closure."

Harper headed to meet up with her sisters, a niggle of concern lodged in her mind that she and Wyck couldn't avoid their painful history forever.

A short while later, they gathered around the cozy kitchen table nursing mugs of hot tea against the icy rain that had started beating at the windows. Harper glanced at the thick rivulets running down the old glass hoping it wasn't a bad omen.

"Everything is going so great!" Brenna snagged a cookie off the plate in front of them. She beamed at her sisters. "I can't believe how fast it's all going."

Elizabeth nodded with a half-smile for her younger sister before turning to Harper. "The town projects have been going off without a hitch, but have you thought more about what will happen when the balloon payment on the house comes due?" Elizabeth asked Harper gently. "It's only a few weeks away."

Harper's shoulders tensed. With everything going on, she had pushed aside thoughts of the looming deadline and possible eviction. "I'm still hopeful we can get an extension or work something out," she said without conviction.

Elizabeth and Brenna exchanged a worried look. "And if we can't?" Elizabeth pressed. "As much as I love this old place, I need to know you've considered all scenarios."

Harper's anxiety rose at her sister's reasonable but difficult questions. The thought of leaving her family home brought tears to her eyes.

Seeing Harper's distress, Brenna rushed to reassure her. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out together. The bed & breakfast is a good idea. Won't the bank give us a new loan? Daddy kept them in business for years, after all."

Harper grimaced. Her father had owned half the town but he'd made his money on the backs of the townsfolk, not with their support for the most part.

Nodding bravely despite her doubts, Harper squeezed Brenna's hand. However, an uneasy feeling still gnawed at her. "I'll call Mr. Morton again."

Maybe Wyck would have some idea of what they could do. And there was the matter of Wyck's mysterious construction project the worker had hinted about. What wasn't he telling her?

Harper sighed, taking a sip of her cooling tea. She wanted to trust Wyck completely, to be his partner in restoring the town. But was he keeping something from her? A sliver of doubt she couldn't seem to worm out remained in her heart.

Wyck sat across from Davis at his little dining room table, a heavy tension filling the space between them. Construction plans and land surveys littered the desk, but neither man focused on them.

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