Chapter 16

Harmony

At Nolan’s instruction, Harmony flipped the open sign to closed and pulled the blinds shut. Her shift had been busier than she’d expected, but she’d fallen into a nice rhythm with Jolene and ended up with a handsome wad of tips in her apron by the end of the breakfast rush.

“Oh, hold the door!” Jolene called, hurrying toward her just as she was about to flip the lock. “Thank you, sugar. See you tomorrow!” And she was out the door before Harmony had time to question it.

When she turned back toward the dining room, she found Nolan wiping down the warming shelf and staring daggers—or more accurately, hearts and flowers—her way. “I told her she could go on early. Carolina—that’s her daughter—is home from college on winter break, and I know Jolene wants all the time she can get before she has to head back. Besides, it gives the two of us time to talk.”

Harmony scratched at her elbow and glanced around the emptied out space. “You sure do like to talk,” she mumbled just hardly above a whisper, but Nolan heard her anyway and let out a boisterous chuckle in response.

“As a matter of fact, talking is my favorite. You did a great job today. The customers loved you.” His eyes fell to her mouth as if he wanted to say more but didn’t know if it would be welcome.

Harmony scowled at him, but Nolan didn’t seem to get the message.

“I thought about it all day, and I do remember you from our school days. You were the cool girl that didn’t care what anybody else thought of her. I liked that about you even though I was probably too young to register on your social radar.”

Harmony turned her back to him and let out a deep breath. He really had no idea. Of course she had cared what others thought of her. She was a teenaged girl, for crying out loud! And it was Nolan’s own sister who had made her days in class almost as difficult as her nights in foster care.

Once Harmony had managed to catch the movie Carrie playing on a cable news channel in one of those very rare occurrences where she had a house to herself for the evening. After that, she had spent months praying to God that He’d gift her with the same psychic abilities with which she could defend herself.

Granted, Megan Murphy and her lackeys had never gone so far as to shower her in pig’s blood, but she suspected that was because her wild, wicked tongue made them just a little bit afraid of her. However much they were or weren’t afraid of Harmony then, it was enough to avoid any physical altercations and—quite thankfully—expulsion, too.

She turned back around and offered Nolan a gracious smile without saying anything. She didn’t trust herself with words just yet.