Hard as Stone(102)

“I don’t know what happened with you and that man,” the old woman said softly, “But, Harmony, girl, that boy didn’t have the look of a man here to do harm when he gazed on you and Heaven. I saw the opposite. I don’t think there’s much he wouldn’t do for you. Don’t know what his story is, but I figure, it might be worth listening to.”

“He had his chance to tell it, Auntie,” Harmony replied bluntly, looking toward the other woman. “Lots of chances. Whatever he had to share, he could have told me any time over the last month. He chose not to do it.”

“Coulda been he had good reason to keep silent. Coulda been he was tryin’ to protect you,” Aunt Orla said with a wave of her aged hand. “You won’t know unless you ask. Think on it, darlin’. Don’t do anything hasty that you might regret. We’ve had way too many regrets in this family to add more if we can help it.”

Harmony began to shake her head. “Auntie...”

“Mark me, Harmony Pearl. I’ve looked in Jacob Stone’s eyes, child, and there were shadows swirling to be sure,” Orla shared with a stiff nod. “Any man that’s lived any length of time is going to have those, but I didn’t spot a speck of evil in his eyes. Saw a lot. Pain. Torment. Something eating at his soul. But no evil,” she noted firmly. “You think about all that before you try to cut the line loose.”

“Aunt Orla, you don’t know what I found,” Harmony tried to justify herself. “He had files on me… on all of us,” she whispered, keeping her voice low so Heaven didn’t hear them. “Pictures, Auntie. Pictures he had to look hard to come by.”

Pursing her lips, Aunt Orla tilted her head. “If’n he did, you might take a second to think on that. If he cares ‘bout you as much as I think he does, might be he had good reasons for that.”

Harmony’s head pounded as she closed her eyes. “The thing is, I’ve had enough drama in my life, Aunt Orla. I want some peace. I’ve earned that. It wasn’t just the papers I found; there were guns, too. A lot of guns. And I’m not talking hunting rifles, either. I don’t know what to think,” she admitted, opening her eyes and staring at her aunt.

“Then ask,” Aunt Orla directed sternly, propping one hand on an ample hip. “Neither your Momma or I raised you girls to be lily-livered cowards. Don’t bury your head in the sand, girl. You march right up to that mountain of a man and demand your answers. He’s the man I think he is, he’ll tell you.”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Harmony hedged, shrugging her shoulders as she moved to collect the ingredients to make her cookies. “I’ll think about it.”

“You do that, child. You think long and hard.” Aunt Orla nodded, reaching for her sweater on the coatrack by the door. “And you tell Honor that I went on home. You all need me, you know where to find me,” she said, dropping a kiss on Heaven’s bent head before turning to leave, the child oblivious to the whispered conversation of the two adults.

“Aunt Orla?” Harmony asked as her aunt reached the back door. Waiting until the elderly woman had turned her head, Harmony whispered, “You really believe he’s good?”

“I really believe that he’s not as bad as you seem to think he is,” Aunt Orla replied evenly. “I also think he could be truly good with you.”

And on that note, Harmony watched her aunt disappear out the door, her wise words ringing in her ears.





Chapter Thirty-three



Hearing the back door open and close a few minutes as she worked on mixing the cookie dough in her metal bowl, Harmony smiled faintly. “What’d you forget, Aunt Orla? Your pocketbook? I bet it’s under the counter upfront.” Her aunt was constantly forgetting things. Her purse. Her coat. Her glasses. Usually, she forgot at least one thing per shift. It was a fairly standard occurrence and they all teased her about it.

“Uhmmm…Momma? Who dat?” Harmony heard her daughter whisper in a nervous, slightly fearful voice that sounded nothing like her baby.

Turning, Harmony saw her daughter first, her tiny finger pointed shyly toward the door. Spinning completely around to see the person her baby stared at, she gasped and began to fly toward her daughter.

“Uh, Harmony,” Tanner Suarez chided, shaking his dark head as he casually pointed a gun at her. “I enjoyed watching your ass right where it was. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you at the table, long blonde hair flowing all around while you shook that ass. Now, you keep you and our girl quiet and this will be a quick conversation. You don’t, things…they turn ugly. You remember what ugly looks like, don’t you?”