Page 131 of A Home for Harmony

“No. I did ask if Scarlet knew what was going on and she only said her father was upset and avoiding talking about it so she knew he messed up. Those are his telltale signs. Scarlet assumed Micah came here and lectured.”

“He did,” Erica said, grinning.

“Which is why Scarlet is mad. She told me she loves me and hopes I’ll forgive her father. That he means well.”

“You don’t need that pressure on you.”

“I don’t. I can’t let it sway me, but I will not walk away without trying. I need to know his true feelings and not what he felt in the heat of the moment.”

“Do you really want to continue to do this work online?” Erica asked.

“You heard that?”

“I wasn’t going to leave you alone. It was wrong of me, I’ll admit.”

She reached her hand for her sister’s. “I would have done the same thing. It’s fine. I love you and appreciate you being in my corner so much. I’m not sure where I’d be without you.”

“You’d be just fine,” Erica said. “I know it. I think you’re believing it. I’m angry that Micah made you doubt that.”

“I’m mad he did too. I let it get in my head. I don’t need or want to make money off of what I post and do online. I’ve never done it for those reasons.”

“It’s a nice benefit,” Erica said.

She smiled. “It is. And it’s allowed me to funnel it into my business. But I don’t want to cut back my messages. Yesterday was proof. The messages and support I got were astounding.”

“Someone needs to be a spokesperson,” Erica said. “It can be you.”

“I don’t know how much I want on my shoulders for that, but I want to help people even if it’s five minutes to take their mind off of something. Read this, it’s from Danielle.”

She turned her laptop toward Erica. “I was coming to see if you heard from her.” Erica read the long email. “Wow. She sounds really upset.”

“I believe she is. I have to figure out how to reply, but I will. I know she didn’t mean it, but my words made her realize that what she did wasn’t right. I can’t be her friend after this.”

“Were you ever?” Erica asked.

“We were friendly. Looking back on my life, I don’t know how many close friends I ever had.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Erica said. “You never had a lot. Everyone wanted to be your friend and you rarely let someone in close. Why?”

She shrugged. “I think many didn’t understand me. Or they wanted to get close for selfish reasons.”

She wasn’t trying to be cocky, but she knew she was attractive. She was funny and got along with everyone.

All the reasons that make someone popular, but not close to anyone.

The same way influencers got so large.

Most couldn’t say they had a lot of close friends to rely on and Harmony knew she wouldn’t want that.

“It’s funny for me to say this, but you’ve always been guarded. I don’t want to blame Mom and Dad for it, but I think you didn’t get what you needed from them.”

“None of us did. And you and Theo turned out fine.”

“But none of us have close friends,” Erica said. “Think about it. You’re my sister and my best friend. Daisy too. But we’ve never had a relationship with someone outside of family like Daisy has with Heather. Neither has Theo.”

“I didn’t think of that,” she said. “I guess I’m glad I’ve got you.”

“You’ll always have me. No matter where you or I live, we’ll always be there for the other.”