A Walk Along the Beach(9)

    “Am not,” she returned, waving a cookie at me. “Sean comes into Bean There every day. You should see the way he looks at her. He’s cute, too. I’d go for him myself if I thought I had a chance.”

“Harper,” I snapped, hating the way she went on about Sean and me. Nothing was there, although I secretly hoped that might change.

Lucas grabbed another cookie off the plate. “You two sound like you’re in junior high.”

“His name is Sean, spelled like Sean Connery,” Harper continued, all too willing to fluster me. “Come on, Willa, admit it. He’s delicious-looking.”

“Delicious?” I repeated and rolled my eyes. “You make him sound like one of my cinnamon rolls.”

“He frequently orders those, too.”

“Will you please stop?” I all but begged. This was highly embarrassing.

Kindly, Lucas took pity on me. He checked his wrist and announced, “Chantelle made us dinner reservations at the casino. I thought it would be good for Dad to join us.”

“Great idea.” Lucas was thoughtful like that. He wanted to make the most of his visit, and I was happy he’d wanted to include our father. My one worry was that Dad might be drinking. If that was the case, it would put a pall over the evening.

“He’s working tonight but was able to schedule his dinner break at the same time as our reservation.”

Chantelle was a natural organizer, and it made sense that Lucas would ask her to make the arrangements. We had discussed restaurants earlier, but this worked out much better.

“I thought tomorrow we could all visit Mom’s grave.”

“I’d like that,” Harper said, setting the cookie back on the plate. As the baby of the family, Harper lost Mom before she’d even had a chance to really know her the way Lucas and I did.

We made a point of taking flowers to Mom’s grave site whenever Lucas was in town. Our mother might be gone, but she remained a large part of our lives. We missed her. I hoped that our father might join us this time. For whatever reason, he rarely did, always coming up with a convenient excuse.

    “Now, what’s this I hear,” Lucas said, looking pointedly across the table at Harper. “A little birdie told me you plan on climbing Mount Rainier this summer.”

My sister’s eyes rounded, and she glanced at me. “You told him?”

“I might have mentioned it.” I shrugged, hiding how concerned I was over our sister’s plan. Climbing 14,411 feet was no small endeavor. Only those in top physical and mental condition would have what it took to complete such a challenge.

For the next ten minutes Harper spoke nonstop about all she was doing to prepare for the adventure. She mentioned the equipment she would be using, the team she was working with, and the friends she’d made in the process, including a young physician, John Neal, who currently worked at the University of Washington Medical Center, the very place she’d spent so much time while dealing with leukemia. Just the way she said his name told me he had caught Harper’s eye. Whenever she mentioned him, Harper became animated. It appeared the two had become training partners. My hope was that her interest in this physician would last longer than it had with other men. This climb was important to Harper, but I had to wonder if the challenge was as key as her budding romance with this young man.

“Sounds great,” Lucas encouraged her.

Hearing her determination and seeing her enthusiasm, I felt guilty that I’d made a fuss. Lucas was right, I tended to worry about Harper more than I should. She was doing great. Seeing the way her face lit up when she spoke about this new goal of hers was all the convincing I needed.

Lucas’s gaze connected with mine.

    “Did you hear I went bungee-jumping?” Harper continued. She took back the cookie she’d recently set down and bit into it, chewing appreciatively.

“What prompted that?” Chantelle grimaced, her entire upper body shaking as if to say bungee-jumping was the last thing she’d ever consider.

Harper leaned back in the chair and paused before responding. “I did it on a bet.”

“Someone dared you?”

She shrugged. “Sort of.”

“But you’re afraid of heights,” Lucas reminded her.

“I know. I was scared out of my mind, but I did it!” She beamed with pride. “When I stood on that bridge and looked down, I nearly lost my nerve. I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened in my life.”

“You jumped off a bridge?” Lucas asked, as if he could hardly take it in. This from the man who leaped out of airplanes!

“Yup! Crazy, huh?”

“You won’t get an argument out of me.” Chantelle placed her hand over her heart. “You’re a lot braver than me.”

“No worries, I don’t plan on doing it again. This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I survived to tell about it.”

“Thank goodness,” I chimed in. “If I’d known what you planned that day, I wouldn’t have let you leave the house.”

“You’re such a mother,” Harper teased.

What she said was true. It was the role I’d been cast into after Mom died. My teen years were lost to me. All three of us had to grow up quickly; we’d had no choice. I’d filled in for our mother, Lucas had enlisted in the Army, and Harper, although the most protected of us three, had faced leukemia. The only one to stumble had been our father.