Free Finding Harmony by Jomarie Degioia Page A

focus, suddenly sharpened. Harmony knew that look. Her mother missed nothing.
Harmony only prayed she didn’t wear her frustration on her face.
    “Something’s going on,” her mother said. She turned to Max.
“Max, don’t you think Harmony—?”
    “Harmony!” Rick called.
    Harmony nearly jumped at the sound. Oh, great. Just what
she needed when her mother’s radar was in overdrive. A visit from the very “something”
that was keeping her up at night.
    She turned as Rick crossed the street toward them. He
looked casual today, inn a light blue golf shirt and camp shorts that suited
him better than the creased clothes he’d been wearing. His hair wasn’t perfect,
either. It was curly and mussed. Oh, her stomach did that flip thing again.
    He looked expectantly at her parents as he joined them on
the brick walk. She watched him for any condescension as he ran his eyes over
the RV. Nothing but mild interest was on his face, so he’d probably gaped his
fill before he decided to join them.
    “Hello, Rick,” she said. At least her voice was even if her
pulse wasn’t. “Please meet my parents. Ariel and Max Brooks.”
    Rick shook Max’s hand. “Rick Chapman. Pleasure to meet you,
Mr. Brooks.”
    Max shook his head and smiled. “Call me ‘Max.’”
    “Max, then.” He turned to her mother who stared at him with
those too-sharp eyes. “Nice to meet you, Ariel.”
    Her mother’s light laughter joined the jingle of the tiny
bells encircling her wrist. “Very nice to meet you, Rick.”
    Her mother’s eyes settled on Rick’s face as she gripped his
hand. Uh-oh. Harmony silently prayed Ariel wouldn’t offer him a crystal, or
something for the indigestion he would get two weeks from now. Her mother had a
way of putting people on edge with her little “forecasts.” She didn’t want to
guess what Ariel saw in Rick’s future.
    Flames of embarrassment flooded Harmony’s cheeks as she
clearly envisioned the future that could happen if she was ever alone with Rick
again. She closed her eyes. She prayed her mother wouldn’t picture her and Rick
naked together.
    “You’ll join us for dinner, Rick,” Ariel said.
    She remembered to breathe. Whew. That wasn’t so bad.
    “In December, I think,” her mother went on.
    Great.
    Rick looked from one quirky parent to another, his brows
drawn together. “Okay… ”
    Her mother tilted her head to one side. “A bit cloudy. You
could use—”
    “We always get rain storms in the afternoon,” Harmony said
quickly. The last thing she needed was Ariel reading Rick’s aura there on the
street.
    “What about dinner tonight, then?” Max asked. “We can go to
The Boathouse, maybe? Killer fried clams.”
    Her mother still held Rick’s hand, so he gestured with his
left. “Oh, I think I’ll pass tonight.” He winked at Harmony. God help her, he
winked! “I don’t know if I’ve recovered from the last time I ate there.”
    She smiled. “I don’t think the alligator agreed with him,
Dad.”
    Her father looked genuinely confused by that, a look Rick
mirrored.
    “Oh!” Her mother released his hand at last and hurried
toward the RV. “I have something for you, Rick.”
    Harmony squeezed her eyes shut. Please. Not a charmed wedding
ring or a tie clip that once belonged to Ralph Nadar, please. The metal door
slammed and Harmony faced Rick, gauging his response. He seemed curious and
wary, a condition his parents easily incited in strangers. She wondered at that
wink. Was he putting on the charming corporate guy for her parents? Well, his
efforts wouldn’t win him the benefits that behavior in Boston might. Her
parents had learned as much from Adam as she had. At least she was
stronger now, darn it.
    Ariel bustled back from the RV, a familiar beige square in
her hand. “You can’t turn down my cheesecake, Rick.”
    He glanced at Harmony and swallowed. “Tofu?”
    Her mother handed him the package, which he took after only
a slight hesitation.
    “Of course,” she