“Harmony, I love you, but I really don’t wanna discuss this for the umpteenth time. I’ve told him to move on… to find someone else to focus his attention on,” Honor replied huskily, before she added bitterly, “He won’t.”
“I know. He’s never going to, either. It’s you or nothing for him,” Harmony said, watching as Honor began to rub her temples. “You feel another headache coming on, don’t you?”
“I’m fine,” Honor managed tightly, staring out the window. “I just wish… I wish things could be different, but they’re not. Besides, you need to stop worrying about me and focus your attention on that man of yours. Whether intentional or not, I know Zeke made you nervous, Harmony.”
“I’ve been nervous all along, Sis. Zeke’s right. I don’t know very much at all about Jake. Seriously, he could be an axe murderer for all I know.”
Laughing, Honor shook her head. “I think your head is safe from the axe, Harmony.”
“Yeah, but what about my heart?” she muttered. “You think that’s safe, too?”
“I think that like most of us, Jake has a past. He didn’t get to be the age he is without accumulating one. I’m sure he’ll share when he’s ready. Give him time. You know that most men make me anxious, honey, but Jake doesn’t. He’s solid. He might be a mystery, but I suspect he’ll let you solve it if you give him a chance.”
“You like him,” Harmony surmised with a slight smile. “He’s somehow gotten the Honor seal of approval.”
“I do like him.” Honor nodded. “The way he looks at you… that’s the way Momma and Daddy wanted a man to look at you, Harmony. They’d be pleased with him, I think.”
Harmony blinked back tears. “You really think so?”
“I really do, and I think they’d be happy for you and Heaven.”
“Okay, now you’re gonna make me cry,” Harmony warned as her nose started to burn. “Happy tears, but I really don’t wanna explain them to Zeke when he gets back,” she added with a shaky laugh.
Returning her smile, Honor clutched Harmony’s hand. “I want you to be happy, big sister. I want you to be happy enough for both of us. Jake is your second chance at that. Don’t let your past have control of your future.”
“Honor, honey, you need to listen to your own advice. I promise, I will try, but you need to start thinking about taking your first chance. You didn’t die that night everything went to hell. Neither of us did. It took me a long time to realize that, but we didn’t,” Harmony countered, squeezing her sister’s fingers. “Promise me that you’ll at least entertain the notion of looking at Zeke as something other than a thorn that got buried in your side.”
Honor huffed self-defensively. “Do you know how hard that man makes it for me to like him? He’s a domineering, dictatorial pain in my rear end. He’s not happy unless he’s tellin’ me what to do.”
“I know how hard you try to convince yourself you feel like that, but I also know that when things were the worst, only one person made your nightmares stop …. one human being on Earth brought you peace, little sister. It wasn’t me or Patience or Faith. It wasn’t even Aunt Orla or Uncle Jethro. It was him,” Harmony said with a nod to where Zeke now stood outside, locking his front door.
Following Harmony’s gaze, Honor’s face softened for a brief instant. “I’m not good enough for him,” she whispered.
“You’re wrong. You’re better than all of us combined, Honor,” Harmony replied gently. “Most importantly, you’re everything to him.”
“You’re still a romantic after everything you’ve been through,” Honor murmured as the Sheriff walked toward them.
“And you’re not as hopeless as you wanna believe you are,” Harmony said with a gentle smile. “But don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. For now. And in the meantime, I’m gonna hold out hope that each one of us McKinnon girls gets the man we deserve.”
This time when Honor looked over her shoulder, it was her eyes glimmering with tears. “You’re happy. Really, truly happy.”
“I think I am,” Harmony whispered as thoughts and images of Jake and Heaven played through her mind like a movie reel on fast forward. Jake swinging Heaven on her swing set. Heaven grinning proudly up at Jake after she’d caught her first fish at the pond at the back of the McKinnon homestead. Jake’s serene face when Heaven fell asleep against his chest. Jake’s smile when she’d excitedly informed him that she’d booked six more weddings in the next three months. His eyes, dazed and happy, after she’d made him come. Yeah, she could safely say she was happy.