Finding Harmony (5 page)

She nodded and watched him walk toward the swim center
across the square.  He rolled those broad shoulders and swung those strong legs
and she should have felt nothing but relief that she’d effectively ended any
association between the two of them. They were at odds, weren’t they? On
opposite sides of the issue? She had to keep her work for the Institute first
in her mind and he had to press Chapman Financial’s intentions. Well, sort of. He
wasn’t asking to bulldoze the buckwheat. Not really. He was seeing to his
company’s interests. She was seeing to the Institute’s. If those interests were
opposed there was nothing she could do about it.

For a fleeting moment she thought about what it would be
like to throw caution to the wind, to take a moment to feel something other
than duty and obligation. To the Institute and to her parents. To share a nice
dinner with Rick, maybe a real kiss afterwards…

No. She had to stay focused.

She jammed her helmet back on and started the scooter. As
she rode, her mind ran in circles.

Her life was fulfilling, despite anything Hettie said. She
was doing work she loved. She was slowly repaying her parents. She was putting
aside any foolish hopes and dreams that died when Adam broke her heart.

Rick Chapman had no place in her life or in her heart. He
wasn’t looking for anything more than idle occupation while the issue of the
worksite was resolved. Let him find it with Tammy at the Welcome Center. She
was more his type, Harmony was sure. Polished and perfect, cool and citified.

And if the thought of the two of them together made her
almost miss the turn-off to her camp? That was surely a coincidence.

Rick was at the fitness center again. Over the past week
he’d tried to put Harmony out of his mind. No luck.

Work didn’t do it. He was cooling his heels for the time
being, dancing to the tune the Cypress Institute played for now. Cooling his
heels and waiting for his father’s daily call. Bill wouldn’t be happy to hear
that he had nothing to report today, either.

Play didn’t do it. Swimming and golf only filled his time,
not his mind. The fitness center was packed with guys, but a few women worked
the machines in front of him. There was a nice view of the lush green trees and
shrubs outside the wide windows. The women on the bikes and stair-steppers in
front of those windows weren’t bad, either. Tanned and smooth, fit and healthy.
In spite of himself he pictured Harmony’s form again. She hiked and biked and
canoed, she’d said. Well, her body was better than the pampered women in front
of him. Lush and natural and… real. What the hell was wrong with him?

She was just a pretty girl with plants on her mind. She was
just different from the women in Boston, that was all. He’d asked her to dinner
again, a reasonable request which surprised him as it flew out of his mouth. She’d
turned him down without hesitation. Just drove away on that funny little
scooter of hers. Bouncing gently along as she hurried the hell away from him. He
let the weights fall and grabbed up his towel.

A glance toward the mirrored wall showed him a mess. His
hair was wet and stuck to his forehead in curls. Stubble darkened his cheeks. God,
it was the same way he’d looked when he ran into Harmony last week. Big
surprise she’d turned him down.

In Boston he’d never let himself be seen without being
clean and pressed and perfect. Bill ran a tight ship, a fact he shared with
anyone who’d listen. His son had to project the corporate image at all times. Well,
he wasn’t the golden boy today. No, today he looked tired and sweaty and
frustrated. Well, he was all that.

November loomed and there was still nothing on the site
location’s status. The Institute was dragging its feet on picking an
alternative site, as well. He felt like his skin was too tight. He itched to
get out of Cypress Corners for a while. To drive out to the coast and sit by
the ocean. To ignore the damn stars above his head as he sat on his too-cozy
front porch. Special street lights, Harmony had said. Yeah, right. Special
girl, but he didn’t want to think about her under those stars. He could almost
taste that near-kiss they’d shared.

He ended his workout session after about an hour. A steam,
then. Maybe that would bake Harmony out of his mind. He left the weight room
and turned down the corridor leading to the private steam rooms. He’d seen them
before, each one a little larger than a shower stall with a built-in bench and
a place to rest his bottle of water. He dug out his fitness center pass and ran
it through the conveniently-located drink machine opposite the row of opaque
steam room doors. The bottles held flavored water, infused with different plant
extracts. He chose one with lavender—to help you relax, the label said—and
turned to find a vacant room. One door swung open and a rosy and steamy Tammy
stepped out wreathed in moist air.

“Rick!” She flicked a long wet strand of black hair over
one bare shoulder. “If I’d known you were here I’d have waited for my steam.”

He easily deflected her flirting today. It hadn’t been
difficult the first time and grew easier the longer he stayed at Cypress
Corners.

“Hello, Tammy,” he said. “I just worked out and need a
steam.”

Her eyes glinted as she ran her gaze over him. “Pity. Doesn’t
it seem so odd that we Floridians take a steam when all we have to do is step
outside.”

He smiled. “When does it cool down around here?”

“You should be here in July, Rick.” She pouted. “It’s
really not
so
bad, is it? Especially out by the lake?”

He shook his head. “The lake’s too crowded for my taste. Families,
kids.”

Tammy shrugged and adjusted her towel, which showed more
cleavage for the effort. “There’s always the other lakeshore. The one we’re
developing next year.”

He recalled seeing nothing more than a notation on the site
map he’d been given. With the trouble the recreation café was causing him, he
hadn’t given more than a passing thought to next year’s big project.

 “I didn’t think anyone was allowed out there,” he said. “It’s
pretty primitive, right?”

 “Not really. There’s electricity and running water but
only one tent-cabin. That girl from the Institute lives out there.”

His senses sharpened at the unexpected information. “Harmony?”

Tammy shrugged. “I guess that’s her name. She has the place
all to herself. For now.”

His mind quickly processed Tammy’s disclosure. Harmony
lived out there alone? Well, no wonder riding her scooter at night didn’t faze
her. Man, that girl never ceased to surprise him. Maybe he’d take a ride out
there—

“Rick?”

He glanced at Tammy to find her regarding him closely. “Hmm?”

She smiled. “I lost you there.”

He ducked past her. “My steam awaits. See you later,
Tammy.”

He entered the first available steam room and peeled off
his sticky shirt and shorts. Naked, he settled back on the contoured bench, draped
his towel over his waist and closed his eyes. He went over what he’d learned
from Tammy and what he’d guessed so far. Harmony lived alone, out by the far
lake. She was capable and self-sufficient despite the fact that her name
sounded a little flaky. She was intelligent, though her knowledge didn’t seem
to extend to finances and the bottom line like most of the women he’d dated. God,
she was gorgeous. Quirky and spirited. He thought of that near-kiss again. What
would she taste like?

He pictured her wrapped in just a towel, like Tammy had
been. Her skin glistening with sweat, her citrus and floral scent coming off of
her.

The room grew hotter and he let out a breath. Sweat
trickled down his chest to pool in his navel before making its way to the towel.
He had trouble breathing and drank some of the lavender water. It certainly
didn’t help him relax.

The rest of his body seemed to think blood was only needed
in one part right now, the one under the damp towel. Thankfully each steam room
was outfitted with a cool water spigot. He splashed some water on his face and
cupped his hands to drink. It felt like ice compared to the air. To his skin. To
his thoughts.

Maybe he’d ride out to Harmony’s camp. He had to know how
the Institute was progressing, right? He didn’t need to see her flushed cheeks
or her sparkling eyes. He didn’t need to hear her husky voice or throaty laugh.
No. He only needed to see the job finished and to get the hell out of Cypress Corners.

If the Institute wouldn’t give the information up, maybe
she would.

***

Why did she let him get to her?

Harmony pulled on a pair of boxers and a tank top as she
readied for bed. She sat and ran a brush through her hair, trying to wind down
after a busy day. She’d ridden over the property, but could find no other sign
of the buckwheat. The developers called the Institute almost every day, which
could only mean that Rick Chapman called the developers just as often.

Well, she could find them another darn place for their
snack bar. But she had to take her time if she wanted to do the job right. Identifying
other habitats for the buckwheat was her prime objective. Well, not the only
one. She thought of Ariel and Max. A lot more was riding on this assignment than
one endangered scrub buckwheat.

Adam and his slick words and sweet promises. She cringed as
she recalled how easily he’d gotten her into his bed. She’d been such a fool. What
did she know back then? She’d been just a stupid girl with no real girlfriends
to ask about the snake. Only after, when she was brokenhearted and her parents
were just broke, had she realized what an idiot she’d been. Well, it was up to
her to repay them. That goal wouldn’t change. She couldn’t let Rick get in her
way.

The night they had dinner he’d been almost relaxed. He’d
nearly lost that sharp city edge that clung to his pressed and perfect clothes.
When they’d looked up at the stars, when he’d nearly kissed her… Oh, she had to
stop thinking about him. He didn’t matter. She certainly didn’t matter to him.

He was here for his father, and he claimed to be just a
lackey. His words had been tinged with sadness no matter the careless way he’d
said that. Well, her parents might be quirky but they loved her. There was no
question about that. But it seemed like Rick actually worked for his father,
not with him. Maybe there was more there than she could guess. Maybe he wasn’t
the driven one.

She slipped her boots back on and left the cabin. It was a
beautiful night, clear and damp with that hint of coolness that meant autumn
was at last on its way. The animals around her—crickets, tree frogs and larger
night creatures—sang into the moist air. She headed for the dock and sat on the
edge. She felt no lure for swimming tonight, just a need to breath. To relax. To
puzzle through one problem at a time and get Rick Chapman out of her mind.

Stretching out against the planking she arched her back and
reached over her head. Tension pulled but she fought it, pressing until she
began to feel her muscles lengthen. Her legs pulled downward, her rib cage
opened and let in the fresh, fragrant air. She’d center her
chi
, as her
parents had taught her. She trained her energy on regaining her own strength as
she cleared her mind of everything but the breeze dancing over her flushed skin.

Breathing in slowly through her nose, she began to focus. Blowing
softy out through her mouth, she urged the tension and confusion to leave her. Her
mind fought, but soon wound its own circles. With each beat of her heart
thoughts came to her.

Adam. Rick. The buckwheat. The Institute. Her parents. The
money. Dr. Robbins. The money. Rick. Her parents. Rick. Rick. Rick. She gave up
and let her mind focus on his easy grin, his deep eyes. His amazing body. Oh,
what the heck.

“Mmm… ” she murmured. “Rick.”

***

Rick took the access road to Harmony’s camp and parked his
SUV where it dead-ended. The walk wasn’t long to her place but the two bottles
of beer he brought were sweaty by the time he reached it. The stars above his
head lit the way, that and the moon glinting off the lake’s surface. The
property around this lakeshore was yet untamed. Spanish moss dripped off the
canopy of trees overhead. He came to her tent-cabin, smaller than he’d
envisioned, and knocked on the thin wooden door with his knuckles.

“Harmony?” he called.

No answer. He peered inside. It was austere, but with
touches of hominess. A patchwork rug covered the floor and wind chimes hung in
each corner, tinkling softly in the breeze coming through raised window flaps. A
bed larger than the cot he’d expected was covered with a worn quilt, rumpled
like she’d just gotten off of it. Her notes were spread on the small desk in
one corner, pens and pencils scattered on the surface beneath the lone light
left on. He sniffed the air. He recognized that smell. Flowers and earth and
something more. That citrus smell that seemed to cling to Harmony’s skin.

He stepped outside again and glanced around.

“Rick.” The breeze seemed to carry his name.

He spun and looked toward the lake. Had he heard his name? Man,
he was losing his mind. He supposed lack of sex would do that. He heard it
again, soft and breathy. There was a figure on the dock. Slight and lithe. It
hit him then. Like the scent in the cabin, it could only be Harmony.

The sand beneath his boots muffled his footsteps as he
approached the dock. She didn’t hear him, just kept reaching over her head and
arching her body.

“Rick,” he heard her sigh.

Her incredible hair covered the wood, shining in the
moonlight. She wore boxers and the tiniest tank top, her breasts pressing
against the ribbed fabric. He watched her chest fall, hearing a soft breathy
sigh on the exhalation. Her eyes were closed, her lashes dark on her cheekbones.
A smile curved her mouth as she breathed in through her nose, pressing those
gorgeous breasts back toward the stars.

He’d suspected her body was nice when he’d seen her in her
khaki shorts and a camp shirt. But seeing her now in those low-riding shorts
and tiny tank top? Whoa.

Her shirt rode up to show a flat, sculpted belly begging to
be touched. Her arms and shoulders were as lean and strong as her legs. Her
skin glistened in the moonlight, so smooth he longed to stroke his fingers over
every delectable inch he could see. And several he couldn’t.

He got hard. He couldn’t help but picture her moving
beneath him and the lust he’d felt in the steam room came screaming back to him.
He sucked in a breath with each of hers, counting to ten as he willed his body
to grow as relaxed as hers obviously was. It wasn’t working fast enough.

“Harmony,” he said.

She jerked and sat up, flipping her hair over her shoulder
as she turned toward him. He could feel her apprehension and held up his hand
in a slight wave.