Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls #3) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,137
before drinking some of the water.
“Are you all right, dear?” Belinda said.
“Yes,” he croaked out.
She and Clark sat down again and stared at him expectantly. “Well, what do you think? Would you consider giving our Addie another chance? She really is the most marvelous girl,” Belinda said.
“She obviously didn’t tell you I’m an ex-convict,” he said and then winced. Fuck, he sounded like an asshole, but it was better that her parents knew now than later.
“Oh, she did,” Clark said.
There was a moment of silence before Belinda said, “Addie has many wonderful qualities, Preacher. She’s the sweetest and kindest girl you’ll ever meet. She’s also creative and sensitive and amazing with children. Kids love her. She’s ridiculously good at her job, you know.”
“She is,” Clark said. “She’s a fantastic teacher. You really should consider rethinking your decision not to date her.”
“You want a man like me with your daughter?” Preacher said.
He was in the Twilight Zone. He had to be. There was no other explanation for it.
“We want a man who’s loyal and good to her. You looked after her when she was sick, you gave her your car to use, you just gave her brother a ride home when he was too drunk to drive,” Clark said.
“I’m not a good guy,” Preacher said.
“Nonsense,” Belinda said. “Addison adores you and has nothing but good things to say about you. That dirty dink Harrison aside, our girl has very good instincts about people and we trust her. She says you’re a good man, that you take care of her, and that she loves you. That’s all we want for our girl. Someone to be good to her and treat her the way she deserves.”
He swallowed hard. “I screwed up with her. She won’t want to be with me now.”
“It isn’t too late,” Belinda said. “You can fix this. One of Addie’s most admirable qualities is her forgiving nature. Isn’t it, honey?”
“Yes,” Clark said. “Our girl is very forgiving.”
Preacher stared at Addison’s parents. The weight on his chest that appeared the minute Addison walked out the door of the shop, lifted the tiniest bit. “You sure you want me in your daughter’s life?”
“Positive,” Belinda said. “Now, have another cookie, dear. There’s plenty.”
* * *
“Oh, Harper,” Addie said. “I’m so sorry.”
Harper shrugged before tossing another shirt into the suitcase. She adjusted her phone screen so it was pointed more toward her face. “It’s no big deal. Moving to New York and making it as an artist really was a long shot, right?”
“Are you sure you want to come home though. I mean, it’s only been a year.”
“I’m sure,” Harper said. “It isn’t just being a failure, you know? I’m really worried about Dad. He told me on Thursday that he’s selling the clinic to this Dr. Henshaw. They’re having the paperwork drawn up. I couldn’t talk him out of it, pinky pie. The most I could get him to agree to was to wait until I got home so I could look over the paperwork.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. If this asshole Dr. Henshaw thinks he can just take the clinic from my dad, he’s in for a big fucking surprise. I’m not letting some hotshot city vet destroy my dad’s life.”
“Honey, I get wanting to be there for your dad and protecting him, but you need to live your dream too. Leaving New York, not pursuing your art is -”
“The right thing to do,” Harper said. “Trust me, Addison, I can’t cut it here. My work is terrible compared to the others. I was stupid to think I was good enough.”
“Don’t say that,” Addison said.
“It’s true. Listen, I’ll be there next weekend and we can discuss in great detail why my dream failed, okay? Now, how are you doing? Have you talked to Preacher at all?”
“No, I told you he wants nothing to do with me.”
“The barbeque is gonna be real awkward tomorrow.”
“I’m not going,” Addison said.
Harper frowned at her. “So, Preacher just automatically wins our friends? That’s not fair. You’ve been friends with them your whole life. Preacher has only lived here for a few years. You win the friend war, Addison. Let Preacher find new friends.”
She shook her head. “He needs them, Harper. I’m worried about him. He’s all alone and he doesn’t even have a stupid stove in his apartment. He eats out all the time and he works too many hours, and what will he do the next time he gets a migraine?”