Page 130 of An Engagement for Erica

“He might, but I’ll make some excuse until he gets the hint. It’s not like I’ll see him around here.”

“And if you do or he is bothering you, you are to let Luke know. Right?”

Luke Remington was a State Trooper and married Daisy’s best friend, Heather.

“I will,” Harmony said. “I find it sweet that you and Tucker picked apples yesterday. I wouldn’t picture that from either of you.”

She decided to be honest with her sister about what happened this weekend. She’d have to tell her father and then it might be hard to keep it a secret.

“We hadn’t planned on it, but Friday night I got a migraine.”

“Are you okay?” Harmony rushed towards her, put her hands on her arms, ran them up and down, and looked her over as if she were a medical professional.

“I’m fine now. Tucker took really good care of me. I was embarrassed over it. Not when it was happening because I just wanted to lie down. He actually noticed the signs before me.”

“How is that possible?” Harmony asked.

“I was squinting. The lights were bright and I wasn’t even thinking that. He asked if my head hurt and then it got me thinking some. Within minutes I started to get a pain on the side of my head. He made me go lie down; he’d read up on what to do to help. He had an ice pack on my neck and had me sip some soda, shut all the lights off, got my pill, and then I fell asleep.”

“That’s so sweet,” Harmony said in a song-like voice.

“I’m not sure I could have gotten through it so well without him. It wasn’t this horrible throbbing pain like I was going to throw up and I’m not sure if it’s because I took the pill so quickly or he helped or not. I’m just glad I was able to sleep through it. I woke up at four. I slept like ten hours straight. I was starving and he went and cut a banana up for me.”

“Awwww,” Harmony said. “Like being a good father.”

“I guess,” she said, smiling. “I went back to sleep and when I got up the second time I felt pretty good. I didn’t want to sit around but didn’t want to go anywhere that might trigger it again. So we were outdoors in the fresh air picking apples and pumpkins and then carved them.”

“I wish you could see your face right now as you talk about this. I’m so happy for what you’ve got. Even if I find it odd about the whole engagement thing. But maybe that is part of it for you.”

She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“That things in your life are normally lined up and planned just right. This thing with Tucker never was. It isn’t now. And yet it seems like it’s exactly what you need in your life. So I’m sorry if I judged you on that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of changes in my life. I’d like to think this might be one of the best things coming from it. It just scares me.”

“Why?” Harmony asked.

“It’s fast and intense. Those things don’t always last.”

“They will and can if you want them to,” Harmony said. “We talked about that before. Maybe it’s just taken this long for you both to find someone.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But I’m going to practice what I preach and not worry or focus about it either.”

41

COME CLEAN

Two weeks later, Tucker answered his phone when his mother returned his call.

He’d reached out to her on Friday night, but she’d gone away for the weekend with Norman and he’d told her to just call when she was home.

“Hi,” he said. “How was your trip?”

“It was nice,” his mother said. “It’s always nice to get away for the weekend and we went with Norman’s brother and sister-in-law.”

“I’m glad you are getting out and doing things like that,” he said. “Did you see the money in your account?”

They’d closed on his father's house Friday. It’d been pushed off a few times due to the lawyer’s schedules and he just wanted it done and out of the way.

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