Page 59 of A Home for Harmony

“It’s not a problem. I don’t have to get up early tomorrow and you said you didn’t either.”

He had the day off since he covered for someone today who took his shift tomorrow.

Scarlet was staying with her mother, like she always had to do if he was working late.

He didn’t know what time he was going to get out of work, and he didn’t want her home alone.

She’d been with friends or at his house most of her vacation from school, so she should be home with her mother this weekend anyway and he reminded her of that.

“I don’t,” he said. “I have to work on Sunday, but tomorrow is wide open.”

“I like wide open too,” she said. “Take your jacket off. You’re standing here like you’re nervous or something. Why?”

He shrugged and removed his jacket, slid his boots off too. He’d run home and showered and changed before he came here. There was no reason to come in uniform. He had a change of clothes in his car, but they hadn’t talked about whether he was staying, though he wanted to.

“It’s a nice house,” he said. “Big.”

“It’s my father’s,” she said. “You know that. I’ve never had a home of my own. It’s my goal, but I’ve got time yet. I need to be more stable.”

“If you can stay here, why not?” he asked.

A house on the water was worth over two million easily. Though she’d said her father had it for years and property values had increased so much, it’s unlikely he paid that for it.

There he was, thinking older too.

“I can,” she said. “But it still doesn’t feel like my place. My father doesn’t visit often. Erica has the primary suite on the first floor, which is next to the office. I’ve got my old bedroom upstairs as my office and then Erica’s old room as my bedroom. Theo’s old room is where my father stays when he comes now. I’ll give you a tour if you like, but there isn’t much to see.”

They moved toward the back of the house and everything was fairly open. Nice and modern too.

He’d bet there’d been some work done on the place in the past few years.

“It’s nice in here. But it doesn’t seem to suit you.”

“Exactly,” she said. “Not that I’m complaining. Erica and I have put our touches on it, but there are things that aren’t my style or taste. The furniture, for one.”

“It looks like a man bought it,” he said.

She pushed her arm into his. “It looks a lot like yours.”

“And I’m a man,” he said.

“Do you want a drink or anything? Food? I don’t even know if you ate.”

“I’m good.”

She grabbed his hand. “Then we can go upstairs and I’ll show you my space.”

“I’d like that.”

He moved up the stairs and down the hall. “This is my office.”

There was a desk in one corner and then some video setup with lights and other things. He had no clue what they were in another corner.

“Nice.”

“Your eyes are glazing over,” she said. “It’s fine. I need that for the light, but I’d rather do most of my filming outside. It’s just not the best time of year for it and it depends on the products I might have.”

“Like what?”