Page 64 of Redeeming Harmony

“That’s awesome. Congratulations,” Nathan said. He sounded sincerely happy for her, and she couldn’t resist telling him about it.

“I had drawn four coffee-themed sketches, and Hazel bought all of them. She paid me this morning and went and had them framed right away. She was hanging them on the wall of the shop when I left,” she said.

“I’ll have to stop in and take a look at them,” he said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve sold anything, and it feels good to be selling again. Especially after…”

“After what?”

“Failing so horribly in New York.” She’d might as well admit it. He may currently be the gossip of the town, but she and her failed art dream ran a close second.

He frowned. “Are you being hard on yourself? Because I can’t imagine it’s easy for anyone to make it in New York.”

“It isn’t,” she admitted, “but I didn’t sell a single piece of art while I was there and couldn’t get a single gallery to even look beyond the first couple of sketches, let alone book me for a show. It was a waste of a year.”

“Going for your dream is never a waste, regardless of whether you achieve it or not,” Nathan said. “Just being willing to take the risk is way more than most people do. You should be proud of yourself for that.”

She laughed a bit jadedly. “Yeah, well, that’s not what some people thought, including my mother. She died a few years before I left for New York, but she always said that -”

She made herself stop talking. Sharing with Nathan that her mother always thought she was a failure and a loser was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

“She always said what?” Nathan said.

“It doesn’t matter now.” She stood up. “We should get out of here. Otherwise, you won’t have time to shower and change before dinner. I’ll see you at the Whiskey Grill at seven.”

“Do you need a ride?” he asked. “I can swing back and pick you up if your car is still out of commission.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Preacher’s good with cars, and he looked at it for me on Sunday and did… something to it. He says it’s still a piece of shit, and I need to get a new one before it craps out completely on me, but for now, it’s a piece of shit that runs.”

He laughed, although she thought he might have looked a little disappointed. “Okay, well, I’ll see you in an hour or so.”

Chapter 16

“Fifteen minutes until the clinic doors open!” Rayna hollered out, her voice echoing in the gym. “I repeat, we have fifteen minutes, everyone!”

“Harper, we’re adding two more rows of chairs in the waiting area section,” Kira said as she joined her by the check-in table. “What do you think?”

“Do we need them?” Harper asked. “We already have eight rows of chairs.”

“The parking lot is full of people,” Lucas said as he and Wyatt walked by, each of them carrying a stack of three chairs. “You need the extra two rows.”

“Okay, let’s get them set up then. Thank you!” Harper called to them as Kira grabbed a chair from the stacks pushed up against the wall and hurried after Lucas and Wyatt.

Harper stepped back from the table and surveyed the gym. The Harmony Falls Community Center had a three thousand square foot gym, full commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, a racquetball court, and a weight room. She, as well as the other volunteers, had arrived at the center almost two hours ago. Working quickly, they’d set up a check-in table near one of the two exit doors that led directly to the parking lot, rows of chairs for people to sit while they waited, and a table with coffee and soda.

Separate cat and dog stations were set up, and her dad stood at the cat station with Allie. Hal was at the dog station with Nathan, and their most recently hired vet tech, Jade.

A table with their extra vaccines and paperwork was to the right of the cat station. Laila, the vet clinic’s office manager, stood beside it, organizing the vaccines.

“Oh my God, like, there are sooo many dogs in the parking lot.” A young woman with sleek dark hair, brown eyes, and perfect porcelain skin joined Harper. She wore leggings and an oversized sweater and had flawless makeup. “Rayna didn’t tell me there would be, like, so many dogs here.”

“Yes, I did, Arianna,” Rayna walked up to them, slinging her arm affectionately around the woman’s shoulders. “I said dogs and cats.”

“Okay, but I thought it would be, like, cute little puppies that I could get pictures of for my followers.” Arianna glanced at Harper. “I’m a social influencer. I have fifteen thousand followers on YouTube.”

“Congratulations,” Harper said.

A grin on her face, Rayna said, “Harper, this is Arianna Bosie. Arianna, this is Harper Brandt. She’s Doctor Brandt’s daughter.”

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