Andshe loved surprises.
There was no way on Earth I would cheat her out ofthisone, not if I could help it.
Two hours into the party, Joanna's cousin showed up to announce that he'd gotten the furnace running after all. The small crowd gave a festive cheer and began gathering up the stuff.
The last one to leave was Joanna, who gave me and Bryce separate hugs along with the promise to repay the favor if we ever needed it.
I smiled. "You can't. This is us repayingyou."
"For what?" she asked.
"For sending Gordy out to buy a mocha." I shared a look with Bryce. "Which in a way, brought the two of us together. So, do you know what this means?"
"What?" Joanna asked.
I was still smiling. "I'm pretty sure I still oweyou."
Chapter 33
Harper
The day after the house-cooling party, I was at my aunt's place hanging out with the cats when Lexie trudged into the living room looking tired and despondent.
I was petting Miss Lucy on my lap and had been watching her youngsters scamper up and down the Christmas trees to their hearts' content.
The scene was so festive that I'd been smiling until I'd seen my sister looking so glum. As she neared the sofa, I asked, "Is everything okay?"
With a half-hearted smile, she replied, "Everything's fine. Great, actually."
I eyed her with concern.She wasn't fine.Far from it.Without thinking, I looked toward the front windows, the ones facing the home of her old boss.
A knot formed in my stomach.Did this have something to do with him?
When I looked back to Lexie, she was staring in the same direction with an expression filled with so much longing, I didn't know what to think.
More softly now, I asked, "Are you sure?"
She yanked her gaze from the windows. "Am I sure about what?"
"You said you're okay but…" I studied her face. "You look a little down. If you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm here, right?"
Her mouth tightened. "I said I'm fine."
"But…what about C.J.?"
"What about him?"
"Well…if he makes you happy, you know that I'd be happy, too, right?"
She let out a bitter scoff. "Forget C.J. He's pretty heartless, actually."
"Oh." If she meant Cole Henster, which I was pretty sure she did, this was the same thingI'dbeen thinking for months.But what if I'd been wrong?
Hoping to get Lexie talking, I asked, "And what about your old boss?"
"You mean Cole Henster?" Sadness clouded her features."He'sheartless, too. But that's not exactly news."
Hoping to cheer her up, I tried for a joke. "If you want, I could still toilet-paper him."
