afraid he was drinking again. That fear was always in the back of my mind.
Teresa nodded knowingly. I recalled she’d been married to a man with drinking problems. She understood.
“It is what it is,” I said, knowing Dad would eventually sober up. That was his pattern. He’d go days and often weeks without a drink and then something would happen to cause him to reach for a bottle. I didn’t need to guess what it was this time. He knew it was time for Harper to have her blood tested.
“I don’t know what your family would have done without you,” Teresa told me.
I chose to ignore the compliment. I’d done only what was necessary. Taking care of my family wasn’t a job I sought or even wanted. Given the opportunity, I would have done anything to escape the responsibility.
Thirty minutes later I left Teresa and Logan with the promise to return soon. Bandit walked me to the gate and then followed the fence line as far as he could as I left. Seeing the sadness in his eyes nearly broke my heart.
Harper wasn’t at the apartment when I returned. Snowball was sleeping on my bed. That cat refused to accept that she belonged to my sister, not me. I noticed that her food dish was empty and filled it.
The front door opened, and Harper called out, “Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I won’t come in until you turn around and close your eyes.”
“Why?” If she’d brought another kitten home, I was putting my foot down.
“You’ll see in a minute. Now do it.”
Grumbling under my breath, I followed her instructions. “Can I look now?”
“Not yet.”
She was giddy, almost as if she’d been drinking, which I knew she’d never do.
“Remember that I wanted to do something different with my hair.”
“I remember.”
“Okay, you can look.”
Dropping my hands, I turned around to find my sister had done something different, all right. Her hair was a silver/lavender shade. My mouth hung open with surprise.
“Well, what do you think?” she asked, and then added, “John likes it.”
I had no words and so I started to giggle.
“You don’t like it?” Harper was hurt.
“I do like it. Harper, it’s fabulous. I love it.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I knew you would. We should do the same for you as a surprise for Sean when he comes back.”
I waved my hands. “Not happening, but on you it’s perfect.”
Sean. He couldn’t return to Oceanside soon enough to suit me.
CHAPTER 12
Sean
My flight landed in Seattle and I couldn’t get back to Oceanside fast enough. Who was I kidding? This was all about seeing Willa. I should be thinking about sleeping in my own bed, taking a lengthy shower, and eating food that was digestible. I didn’t know that I would ever be able to look at guinea pigs the same way again. While the comforts of home certainly called to me, seeing Willa held far more appeal.
I hadn’t texted or phoned her when I landed in La Paz or when I changed planes in Atlanta before catching the flight back to Seattle. Any conversation was sure to include my past, and that needed to happen when we were face-to-face. The hours it took to return from Bolivia were sluggish. I couldn’t remember any twenty-hour period in my life that passed slower. I felt an urgency to explain myself, to clear the air, and prayed she wouldn’t hold my reluctance to share my past against me.
When I arrived back in town, my first stop was where I knew Willa would be. By the time I got there, it was only five minutes before closing at Bean There. I parked the car in front of the coffee shop and sat looking inside the window for several seconds, unable to move. My heart raced at the speed of a bullet to the point that I felt light-headed.
Although desperate to see her, hold her, I was afraid. If keeping my past a secret ruined this relationship, I didn’t know how I’d handle it. I needed Willa as part of my life. If I could explain how right I felt when I was with her, I would. Words escaped me. I was high on emotion, high on the sense she was the one for me. If I lost her due to my own stupidity, I would have no one to blame but myself.
When I could no longer stand to wait, I climbed out of the car and walked into the café. Happily, it was empty.