A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber Page 0,12

and he came about once a month, if that, because of his shifts at work.

“No problem,” I assured him. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze. He smiled back at me, silently thanking me.

Our time together passed far too quickly. Following dinner, Dad returned to dealing at the blackjack table. Seeing that we were in the casino, we lingered and played the slots, allotting ourselves twenty dollars each. None of us left as winners, but we had an enjoyable evening and that was what counted.

It was close to ten by the time we returned to the apartment. Lucas and Chantelle had booked a hotel room, and they left after dropping Harper and me off.

* * *

—

The next morning, Harper and I cooked breakfast and Lucas and Chantelle joined us. I made French toast and Harper fried the bacon. When we finished, I stopped in briefly to check in with Shirley and Alice to make sure everything was running smoothly at Bean There. From what I could tell, all was fine without me, and Leesa was a backup if Alice needed help. It felt good to take an extra day away from the business, although it was never far from my mind.

“Did Sean stop by?” Harper asked, making a point to mention his name in front of Lucas and Chantelle.

“Not today,” Alice said.

“Oh.” My disappointment showed before I could keep it in check.

“See,” Harper said, cocking her head toward Lucas. “She doesn’t want us to know she likes him, but she does.”

I could feel the color fill my face.

“I’m sure he’ll be back on Monday,” Alice assured me.

Embarrassed, I tried to pretend it was no concern of mine.

We stopped off at the local market to purchase a large bouquet of colorful spring flowers for Mom, along with a bottle of water so they would remain fresh. The mood was somber as we headed to the cemetery. Because of our frequent visits, we had no problem finding Mom’s grave site.

Lucas poured the water into the small vase and I set the bouquet inside. Then we bowed our heads and each said our own special greeting to the mother we so deeply loved and would always miss.

Harper looked up and her gaze drifted from me to Lucas. “I have something to tell you…I probably should have before now.” She paused and tears clouded her eyes.

I reached for her hand and she gripped hold of it so hard I nearly cried out.

“When I was the sickest, when I was sure I was going to die, Mom came to me.”

CHAPTER 5

Willa

“Mom came to you?” Lucas repeated.

Harper nodded and smeared the tears across her cheeks. “For a long time, I thought I must have been hallucinating, but the more I think back to that day, the more I realize she was there. Mom was with me.”

“You actually saw her?” Lucas asked, looking as stunned as I felt.

Harper hesitated before answering. “I…I don’t think I saw her as much as felt her presence. I knew she was there, although I don’t know how I knew…I just did.”

“You said she spoke to you?”

“I didn’t hear an audible voice, if that’s what you mean. It’s hard to explain. I was so sick and weak; everything hurt. Nothing seemed to make it better. Willa had been with me all day and refused to leave my side until you came,” she said, looking to Lucas. “You convinced her to take a break and go with you down to the hospital cafeteria, so for the first time I was alone.”

“What happened?” I asked, struggling to hold back my own tears. The fact Harper had managed to keep this to herself for this long shocked me. Not once since she’d gone into remission had she mentioned anything about this incident.

Harper nodded. “It was at a point where I didn’t care any longer if I lived or died. Sick as I was, I would have welcomed death just to make the pain go away.”

If memory served me right, it must have been soon after the initial treatments began. Harper was in the hospital twelve days for the first round of chemotherapy. She lost all her beautiful blond hair, but that was the least of her problems. The treatments left her violently ill, and to complicate everything, she developed an intestinal infection. We were told this was a common side effect of chemotherapy. In Harper’s case, it had almost been a deadly combination. Fearing we were going to lose