Page 10 of Your Heart & Mine

Wyck nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that. She was always smart as a whip and always hated it when families around here let their old homesteads go to seed, or worse, turned them into barns."

Harper nodded. "And Brenna. Well, Brenna has done a lot of things. She did manage to get out of college last year with a communication degree, but I have no idea what she's going to do with it around here. I keep trying to get her to come to Raleigh with me and try to find something there, but I can't seem to wrench her away from Mama." She sipped her tea and averted her eyes again. "I guess that's a good thing at this point. Mama will need her in that big old house."

Wyck grimaced. He had wanted to keep the conversation light, but all roads seemed to lead back to damn Jonah Carrington and his inopportune death. "I'm sure your mama will take a lot of comfort in having her around. And, I'm sure Brenna will land on her feet. She's smart and everyone loves her five minutes after meeting her. Communications was probably a good choice for her. She couldn't be more than twenty-three. Plenty of time to find her calling."

"You're right. She doesn't know a stranger. Never has. I think she was talking about trying event planning last time we talked about it. She's always been a little flighty, you know, but she's the baby." Her mouth tipped up in a half grin. "Elizabeth and I were always so jealous! She pretty much got away with everything. It was so unfair."

Harper wrinkled her nose in amusement. Her voice pitched higher, and her accent got deeper as she imitated her mother's Mississippi drawl. "Now, Sugar, who ever told you life was fair? Go take your baby sister out to the swings and play."

Her eyes rolled as Wyck laughed. She had Mitzi down to a T. "Your mama could take anyone down a notch with that sweet voice and they wouldn't even know what had happened."

They grinned at each other remembering the different times Mitzi had given a bully what for and gotten her way before the person realized they had actually been insulted and given in to the little dynamo.

"I never did manage to learn that skill." Harper tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and picked up her bar-b-que sandwich.

Wyck's eyes locked on her lips where a dot of sauce remained at the edge. He desperately wanted to lick it off her mouth, but instead, he lifted his napkin to wipe away the sweet sauce.

"I can't take you anywhere." He tried to make it sound like a joke, but he heard the huskiness in his own voice when he spoke.

Harper quickly brought her own napkin to her lips. "Thanks. I love bar-b-que but it's so messy."

When she looked at him from under her lashes with a quick smile, Wyck had to swallow hard. This girl…thiswomanstill made his heart stutter in his chest with a simple look.

"Yeah, worth it though," Wyck croaked. And he wasn't talking about the bar-b-que.

Wyck watched Harper finish her sandwich and his heart warmed as they fell into easy conversation. It was almost like old times – he and his girl having lunch at Janelle's and basking in each other's company. All too soon their food was gone, and their words started stuttering to a stop.

"I'd better get back to the house," Harper said, draining the last of her tea.

Wyck worked hard not to wince. "Yeah, I imagine you have a lot to do."

They sat in the booth for another few beats, silent. The air became heavy around them. Wyck knew he had to figure out a way to see her again. He had to take a risk.

"So, if you're not too busy tomorrow, I have a property I'd love to get your opinion on. I'm thinking of buying it for a rental but I'm not sure it will work due to the location."

Harper glanced up at him then back down to her hands that had started shredding a napkin. "I don't know, Wyck…"

"Aw, come on Harp. It won't take long. I can pick you up about eleven o'clock and I'll have you back in a couple of hours. Maybe we can grab some lunch again."

She fell into his light grey eyes when she glanced up at him. Time stood still. Or, really, it flew backwards, and she felt a Strong sense of déjà vu with him in this place, him trying to get her to go to some secret rendezvous to while away the afternoon in each other's arms. She knew it was a bad idea, but somehow, she heard her own voice agreeing to go with him.

Chapter nine

I Remember

Thenextmorningafterbreakfast with her family, Harper spent an inordinate amount of time trying to decide what to wear.

"You're being an idiot," she thought to herself. "You're looking at a house and you're probably going to be in a coat the whole time anyway. What does it matter what you wear?"

Still, she discarded outfit after outfit on her bed until she settled on a pair of dark, skinny jeans, a long, hunter green sweater and short, leather boots. She was pulling her hair into a ponytail when Brenna knocked briefly and entered the room.

"What hurricane blew through here?" Brenna surveyed the clothes all over the bed and chair in the room. Harper was usually fastidious, everything had its place. She'd never seen her big sister's room in such an upheaval.

Harper's ears pinked. "I was just going through my closet trying to find something to wear. I'd forgotten how cold it gets here."

She turned away from her sister's suspicious eyes as she continued hanging up clothes and putting them back in the closet.

"What do you need an outfit for?" Brenna asked, not missing the fact that Harper wouldn't look at her.

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