Page 33 of Capture The Moment

Chapter 9

Despite the disturbing thoughts she’d had the night before, Harper slept better than she had in a long time. When she finally roused herself from the warm cocoon she’d created, it was already nine o’clock, and she couldn’t believe she’d slept that long. Stretching her arms overhead and indulging in a loud yawn, it suddenly struck her that Daisy was nowhere to be seen. Panicked, she flung off the covers and hopped out of bed, searching the room frantically. And then she discovered that the bedroom door was cracked open, just enough to allow a small dog to squirm through.

“Finn,” she called through the crack. He’d said he would be gone before she awoke, but he had to have let Daisy out. “Finn,” she repeated.

When there was no answer, she padded out into the kitchen, and there was Daisy, contentedly eating her dog food. Leaning against the counter with a hand over her racing heart, she breathed deeply. And then it dawned on her that Finn had to have come in her room that morning and she hadn’t even heard him. I wonder if I was snoring?

Turning toward the refrigerator, she saw a note that he’d taped to the door handle that read: Petunia was scratching at the door this morning, so I let her out. Hunter’s still in the laundry room. Call you later with a furnace update.

Harper laughed aloud at the new nickname he’d bestowed upon poor Daisy, and then she went to the laundry room and let out Hunter, who appeared relieved to see her. Scratching him behind the ears, she said, “Some owner you have, huh? Shutting you in the laundry room like that.” But Hunter appeared to be unaffected, and he happily trotted over to Daisy to sniff her in places that dogs do.

Daisy stuck her tail in the air and pranced into the living room with Hunter hot on her trail. Good thing he’s been neutered, Harper thought as she retrieved the phone from her purse, which she’d inadvertently left in the kitchen. Noticing that she had a missed call from the client she was supposed to meet with that day, she hurriedly called back, hoping that she hadn’t mixed up the times.

Her client, Nikki Branson Collins, answered immediately and sounded harried. “Hi, Harper. I’m so sorry to do this, but I have to cancel our appointment today. Max has a fever, and I’ve been up with him all night.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Would you like to reschedule?”

“Yes, of course. But do you mind if I call you back later? I want to check with Nate first.”

“No problem. Just take care of that baby.”

“Thanks. I will.”

After they hung up, Harper felt a flicker of disappointment. Nikki was a local real estate broker who had made news when she’d married a popular movie actor, Nate Collins. Harper had gone to high school with Nikki, and even though they hadn’t run in the same crowd, she’d always liked her. Nikki and Nate had had their first child, Max, almost a year ago, and Nikki had hired Harper to take Max’s one-year-old photo. They’d opted to have the pictures taken at their estate in Clarkston for privacy reasons. Harper had never been there before, but she’d seen pictures in the local paper, and she’d been excited to see it. And if she were being honest, she’d been anxious to meet Nate too. Not everyone had a celebrity living in their midst, and she was just as curious as the next person.

Aside from that, it didn’t bother her to have the day off, especially given the weather. Glancing out the kitchen window, she saw that the snow was still falling, although it had lessened somewhat from the night before.

She had just opened the refrigerator, intent on finding something for breakfast, when her phone rang.

Instead of a proper greeting, she said, “Petunia? Really?”

Finn chuckled. “Don’t like that one?”

“Not particularly, but thanks for letting Daisy out this morning.”

“You’re welcome. By the way, has anyone ever told you that you snore?”

“Blake might have mentioned it, but thanks for the reminder.”

“Poor Petunia probably thought the house was caving in!”

“Ok, wise guy. Enough of that. I assume you’re calling about the furnace and not just to point out my flaws.”

“What flaws? You don’t have any flaws!”

“Yeah, right. And neither do you.”

“Ha! Anyway, my guy can’t come over until Sunday evening. He’s booked solid up until then, and he doesn’t usually work on Sundays.”

“Crap!”

“I called around, and that was the best I could do.”

“I understand, but it still sucks.”

“Am I that bad to hang out with?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that it’s not my house, and I don’t have all my stuff, and…”