Page 73 of Capture The Moment

“Jackson sounds like an ass,” Harper said, and her sister smiled. “However, that doesn’t excuse you from your part in this. You could have said no or at least waited until you went out to lunch!”

“I know, but he smelled so good, and he had a fresh haircut, and well, never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”

McKayla realized her mistake a few seconds too late. Harper shot off the couch, punched her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes at McKayla.

“Why wouldn’t I understand? Because my husband is dead? Do you think that because I’m a widow, I no longer have feelings? That I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be attracted to a man? Well, you’re wrong, McKayla. Dead wrong.”

McKayla looked shocked. They’d reversed roles. It was usually she who lost control of her emotions, not Harper.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” McKayla said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

And that’s exactly why you get into trouble all the time, Harper thought but didn’t say. Suddenly exhausted, she dropped back down on the couch and bent her head into her hands. “I’m sorry too,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me.” When she looked up, McKayla was staring at her quizzically. “What?”

“I’m not sure. Something you said made me wonder. Are you…seeing someone?” She’d asked the question hesitantly, as if she were afraid Harper would blow up at her again.

“This isn’t about me, Kay,” Harper said, averting her eyes.

“You are, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“So what if I was? What would be wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. Who is he?”

Oh boy. How had the topic turned from McKayla’s screwup to her relationship with Finn? She wasn’t ready to go there yet, but this was her sister. And since she’d already told Julia…

“It’s Finn,” she blurted out.

“Finn O’Brien?”

“Do you know anyone else named Finn?”

“Wow! Finn O’Brien.”

“Ok, then. Now that we’ve established who it is, I should be going.”

“Hold on, sis,” McKayla said, clamping a hand around Harper’s wrist. For being so petite, she was impressively strong. “When did this happen?”

“Very recently. Too recently to make a big deal out of.”

“But it is a big deal. It’s huge!”

Who else had said that? Oh, right, Julia.

And then McKayla’s face fell. “Wait a minute. Does Blake’s family know?”

There it was again, that sneaky little monster, Guilt, rearing its ugly head. “Not exactly.”

“Spill it, sister.”

Harper sighed and then proceeded to tell McKayla about her last few interactions with Blake’s family.

“Well, maybe if they knew it was Finn, they’d be more accepting. At least he’s someone they know and trust.”

“Or they might think that we were having an affair when Blake was still alive.”