If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (7 page)

It did no good to replay the past in his mind. Eleven years,
countless memories. So many of them were good. No, not good. Amazing. He
savored those, the ones that brought him back to Harper Falls and the woman who
had stolen his heart when he was a teenager.

It was still hers.

Sometimes, when he was in one of his more optimistic
moments, Drew could believe that Tyler still cared. That she would be happy to
know he never stopped loving her. This morning he chose to embrace that
thought. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine her right now sharing his
thoughts. Picturing the two of them, so damn young. So sure that nothing and no
one could ever tear them apart.

TYLER TOSSED IN her bed, angry that sleep had eluded her for
most of the night. It was all Drew Harper’s fault. He entered her thoughts with
an increasingly alarming frequency. Grown up Drew. The memories she could deal
with — often welcomed. She didn’t know what to do with the man he was now.

She rolled over, closing her eyes and drifting. Back. Back
to the girl she was and the woman she became in the arms of Drew Harper.

ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER

TYLER HOPPED OFF her bike. The trail down to the river was
steep and rocky, with a drop-off that would have made the most intrepid rider
hesitate. She was a risk-taker, but she wasn’t stupid.

It had become an interesting summer. Usually joined at the
hip, she, Rose, and Dani were apart more than at any time since Rose had come
to Harper Falls. Dani’s aunt was sick, so she and her mother spent more time in
Tacoma than they had first anticipated. They came home every other weekend to
visit and make sure all was well at home, then back they went.

Rose had a musical to produce. The Harper Falls High Fall
Musical Extravaganza turned into a one-woman show. It seemed that either every
bit of help she had lined up dropped out because of scheduling conflicts or
they just couldn’t keep up with the musically gifted Rose.

Even Mr. Niles, the faculty advisor, found it hard to be
around a young woman a third of his age who outmatched him in both talent and
ambition. Imagine giving up on your dreams, becoming a teacher. Then along
comes Rose, bursting with drive and enthusiasm. Not to mention more talent in
the tip of her little finger than you could even dream about.

Must have been tough,
Tyler thought as she leaned her
bike against an outcropping of rocks. The result, in Rose’s case, was a bigger
workload and a less than cooperative in-charge adult. Luckily, Rose had
Principal Mona Harriman on her side. Tough as nails and as fair as the day was
long, Principal Harriman was one of the few authority figures Tyler truly
respected. Rose was no pushover. If she was working hard, it was because she wanted
to. The principal would make sure the others pulled their weight.

Tyler, because of her friends’ unexpected absences, spent
the summer working when she wanted, which was often — she still needed the
money. The rest of the time, she ran free.

She spied the path down to the river the other day, her
destination when she ran into Drew Harper. Not, it turned out, an unwelcome
occurrence. Her mild interest amped up, she finally admitted to herself she was
in the throes of a full-fledged, heart-palpitating crush.

That was the reason she wasn’t seeking him out. The thought
of Drew was exciting. The chance of making it a reality? Less than zero. A
little light flirting in a public place was the closest they would ever come to
each other. He was Harper Academy; she was Harper High. The two didn’t mix.
Never had, never would.

Tyler sighed. You couldn’t miss what you never had. She
reminded herself of that little bit of clichéd wisdom when she saw it.

The cove was hidden from view. If she hadn’t been right on
it, she never would have known it was there. Rocks acted like a wall, a narrow
passage opening just enough for her to squeeze through. What she found made her
grin.

A beach oasis. Smooth sand, as though no one had ever walked
there. The June sun touched half of the area, the rest shaded by the sheer
cliffs. She could sunbathe in the nude if she wanted to and no one would ever
know.

Tyler almost giggled at the thought. Naked just below Harper
House. Not that she would ever do it. Just knowing she could was enough. Heady.
Exciting. She already thought of this place as hers. She would come whenever
she needed to get away, be by herself. Eventually, she would share it with Rose
and Dani. For now, though, it was all hers.

“This is private property, you know.”

Tyler almost jumped out of her skin. At least she hadn’t
screamed. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with Drew Harper.

Faced with their crush, some girls might have simpered.
Tyler did what she did best; she went on the attack.

“Do you always sneak up on unsuspecting women? What are
you, a creepy stalker?”

“You found me out.” Drew leaned a shoulder against
the cliff wall. “I waited on the off-chance you would come across the
river, go down a dangerous trail, and find this hidden spot that no one else
knows about. I should be put away as a threat to nosy trespassers
everywhere.”

Tyler felt her lips twitch. He was quick; she liked that.
Guys tended to be intimidated by her. Either that or she just pissed them off.
Drew gave back as good as he got. One more plus in his column. She needed to
find some minuses and fast before she was a complete goner.

“I don’t see any signs. As far as I knew, I was on a
public beach.”

“I watched you sneak across the bridge, down the path,
and in here. You know where you are and who owns it.”

He watched her? Was interested enough to follow? She didn’t
believe for a moment he was worried about her intruding where she didn’t
belong. If that were true, he could have stopped her before she came down to
the beach. He was interested; he had to be.

Tyler felt that fluttering in her stomach increase. So much
for shooting down her growing crush.

“No cute comeback?”

Drew straightened, his long, athletic body moving with ease.
He came closer, close enough for Tyler to smell a hint of tantalizing cologne.
Twice before, she had caught that fragrance. On the bridge and in the café.
Breathing deeply. Combined with the fresh, river air, she knew without a doubt
it was a scent she would never forget.

“I could report you to the police.”

Like that was going to happen,
Tyler thought with a
little smile.

“You think that’s funny? The Harper Falls police
department takes trespassing very seriously.”

“If you were going to rat me out, you would have done
it
before
you followed me.”

Tyler widened her smile. She wasn’t very experienced at
flirting; she wasn’t very experienced at all. No boy had ever interested her
enough to bother with more than a few experimental, fumbling kisses.

She once read that women were born knowing how to attract
the opposite sex. They called it an innate instinct. It seemed like a
ridiculous idea. She and her friends laughed aloud while reading the article.
How could you just know what to do? And what if you were gay? Did it work the
same way?

Suddenly, as Drew came closer, Tyler understood what the
writer was talking about. Her body naturally swayed towards his. Her eyelids
lowered, her chin dipped until she was glancing under her lashes. She licked
her lips, noticing how the movement centered his attention on her mouth.
Instinctual? Maybe. Or maybe it just took the right boy and girl. The right
combination.

“Are you going to turn me in?”
Where had that
voice come from,
Tyler wondered. Lower, almost raspy. She knew it had never
come from her before now.

“Maybe.” Drew let the words linger, as though he
was actually considering the idea.

Tyler was at a loss. Batting her eyes was one thing, now
what? She had no moves, no practiced banter. If this went any farther, it would
be up to Drew. He was only a year older, yet something told her he was miles
ahead of her when it came to this kind of thing.

Maybe he sensed her predicament, maybe he was working on
instinct too. The teasing light dropped from Drew’s eyes. He lifted a hand, his
fingers coming within a whisper of brushing her cheek before he pulled them
back. Bad idea. This had already gone too far. They both knew it. Stop now and
no one would get in trouble, no one would get hurt.

“I should go.”

Tyler went to move past him but found his body blocking her
way. She raised her eyes to his, a question in them.

“You can go. I won’t stop you if…”

“If?”

Tyler swallowed. Did he want what she thought? Was he going
to ask? She wanted him to, wanted to be right. She sighed with relief when she
was.

“If you kiss me.”

HARPER FALLS HAD been founded as a playground for the rich. It
was a getaway destination long before that term became chic.

Russell Harper founded the town with the idea of attracting
his wealthy friends and building a place of which America’s elite would clamor to
be a part. It had worked. Mansions sprung up to the north of town. Houses too
big to be practical. Only millionaires need apply.

The town of Harper Falls became an offshoot of that. If you
had big, expensive houses, you needed people to care for them and their
residents. Maids, housekeepers, butlers. Some lived in. The others, those who
took care of maintaining the grounds and the upkeep of the homes, they needed
places to live.

Inexpensive housing was built, families moved in. The little
blip on the map of Eastern Washington grew. North of Spokane, it would never be
a city. That was never the goal. In a perfect world, Harper Falls would have
stayed filled with workers who served. One hundred years later, through wars,
economic ups and downs, deaths, births, the town survived, even flourished. But
it was no longer the town the founding father had conceived.

More than any event, the end of World War II gave Harper
Falls a new, and some would say, welcome influx of business people who were not
there to cater to the rich. They had bigger dreams. Grocery stores, dry goods,
restaurants. These were places that served all, not just those with overstuffed
bank accounts.

Many of those original mansions were gone. The Depression
had weeded out at least half. Others had moved away, some died with no direct
heirs. The luxurious houses on the north side still existed. Now, what they
lacked in number, they made up for in size. Per capita, Harper Falls could
boast more than its share of multi-millionaires.

Harper Academy, exclusive and pricey, gave their children an
excellent education. They supported the local merchants, allowing for highly
diverse cross-section choices when it came to your dining and buying pleasure.

If you couldn’t find what you were looking for in Harper
Falls, just wait. New stores went up all the time.

Tyler wasn’t in the mood to enjoy what her hometown had to
offer. A restless night with a trip down memory lane meant she had crawled out
of bed unrested and needing caffeine — lots of it. Rummaging through her
cupboards, she was horrified when her search for the high-octane stuff proved
fruitless. Her brain was a foggy mess. If she was going to get anything done,
it needed to be razor sharp.

After piling her hair into a messy bun, she grabbed her keys
and jumped into her car. She never ran out of coffee; it was her life’s blood.
She certainly wasn’t going to settle for the decaf stuff Dani always tried to
push on her.

She drove into the heart of town past the spot where her
sculpture would be permanently on display. Usually, she thought about that. In
less than two months, her creation would be there for the whole town to see.
This morning it didn’t register. Coffee and sleep. She needed them both. The
sleep would have to wait.

For a split second, Tyler considered stopping by to see her
mother. Anita Jones always had fresh coffee ready. There was a time when few
people visited the Jones home. It was too volatile, unpredictable. In the six
years since her husband’s death, Anita had come out of her shell. Neighbors
dropped by, women from the various clubs she had joined were always around.
Though she would never be a world-beater, she now had a circle of close friends
who valued her opinions and company.

The problem was that no matter how much progress her mother
had made, she still allowed her sons to take advantage whenever they needed
money or a place to stay. Tyler knew at the moment, M.J. and Kyle needed both.
Anita would never turn them away. If she didn’t give them money, they stole it
from her purse. Tyler visited her mother often but only when she knew her
brothers were far away.

Pulling to a stop in front of
Toro,
the newest coffee
shop in town, Tyler grabbed her purse and got out of the car. She waved when
she saw a familiar face but kept her head down, her eyes focused. No time for
small talk until she had something hot, strong, and black.

The smell of coffee and cinnamon filled her nose, making
Tyler want to float across the room like a cartoon character. Nothing like the
smell of fresh roasted beans and ooey-gooey pastry.

Toro
followed a long tradition in Harper Falls of
naming businesses clever, sometimes nonsensical names. No one knew where it
started or why it had caught on. Residents liked to see what name each new
entrepreneur would come up with. With few exceptions, they tried not to
disappoint. This was one of Tyler’s personal favorites.

The story went that the owner struggled mightily to find
something that wasn’t too cutesy.
Hot Stuff
? No.
A Hill of Beans
?
Hardly.
Toro
had been his contribution to the community. Distinctive, a
little obscure. It was a conversation starter. Even if the coffee and pastries
hadn’t been top notch, which they were, wanting to hear the story behind the
name would have brought people in.