Page 36 of Redeeming Harmony

The car started with a groaning wheeze, and she glared at him as she reached for the door. “Go to hell, Nathan.”

“You first,” he snapped.

She slammed the door shut and drove away, leaving him in a cloud of exhaust and cold air.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

“That was a terrible comeback.”

He whipped around to glare at his best friend. “Are you fucking kidding me, Wyatt?”

Wyatt held up his hands before zipping his jacket. “All right, calm the fuck down. But, seriously, ‘you first’ is totally lame.”

“Fuck!” Nathan shouted again before jamming his hands through his hair. “I hate that chick.”

“Do you? Because for hating her, you had your tongue pretty far down her throat on the dance floor.”

“Not helping,” Nathan snarled before stomping toward his truck.

Wyatt followed him. “Tell me what happened.”

Nathan unlocked his truck. “She showed her true bratty colours again. That’s what happened.”

When Wyatt just stared at him, he sighed and said, “I didn’t know that she didn’t know her dad sold the house to me. I mentioned it, and she lost her shit over it. Talking about it being her house and questioning how I could buy it like I was leaving her homeless or something. Then she tried to say that I forced her dad to sell it to me. Same shit, different day.”

“Look, I get that Harper’s been a real pain in your ass since the minute she got home, but do me a favour?”

“What?” Nathan said.

“Try to see it from her point of view. She failed at her dream and came home to discover her father had sold his clinic and her childhood home. That’s a lot for one person to take in.”

“She could try being a little more mature about it,” Nathan said.

“Sure, but you could try being a little more understanding, too,” Wyatt said. “Harper hasn’t had an easy life, okay?”

“Bullshit,” Nathan said. “Her father has spoiled her rotten.”

Wyatt shook his head. “Her father loves her and has always tried to make up for the way her mother…”

“The way her mother what?” Nathan said.

Wyatt shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Obviously, it’s not nothing,” Nathan said.

“I’m not going to gossip like everyone else in this fucking town does,” Wyatt said. “Just cut her some slack, okay? These are big changes, and she needs time to process it. Harper is a good person who is fierce when protecting the people she loves. You two got off on the wrong foot, and while you don’t have to be friends, making her your enemy is a mistake. She and her father are well-liked and respected in this town, and you know how smalltown folk can be. You’re an outsider who hasn’t been treated the way outsiders normally are because of Warren. If they get wind that Harper - or even worse, Warren - has an issue with you, you’re up shit creek without a paddle, my friend.”

“Warren wouldn’t do that,” Nathan said. “He’s a good man.”

“Yes, he is. But he loves his kid, and if you’re talking shit about her, he’s not gonna let that stand.”

Nathan stared at him. “I wouldn’t talk shit about her to anyone but you, man. You know that. Do you think I’m that kind of asshole?”

“You know I don’t. But I also know that Harper pushes every one of your buttons, and I don’t want your clinic failing before it even starts.” Wyatt squeezed his shoulder. “You’ve worked hard for this, and you deserve it, Nathan. Don’t let a feud with Harper ruin it.”

“I won’t,” he said. “I doubt she’ll be at the clinic anymore, and by November, she won’t be living right beside the clinic either. My contact with her will be limited, and I can’t fucking wait.”

Wyatt squeezed his shoulder again. “Go home and get some rest, Nathan. Tomorrow is your first day as the new owner of Henshaw Veterinary Clinic.”

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