She was readjusting her shirt when Marcy opened the door to the cabin, carrying a birthday gift. Alex and Gemma came after her, hand in hand.
“Where do you want the gifts?” Marcy asked, but she was already setting hers down on the kitchen counter.
“There is fine,” Daniel said, pointing to where she’d put it.
“So are we having cake or what?” Marcy asked, interrupting them.
“There is a cake,” Harper assured her, and went over to the fridge to pull it out. “I thought we could let people sit down for a minute first. ”
“There should never be a holdup on cake,” Marcy insisted.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Alex asked her. He stood off to the side of the kitchen, leaning against the counter with one arm around Gemma. “Got a hot date tonight?”
Gemma groaned. “No, Alex, don’t even ask. ”
“What? Why?” He looked down at her in surprise.
“She’s dating a ghost,” Gemma supplied.
“I am not dating anyone,” Marcy said defensively. “I’ve just been talking to Kirby a lot. We’re friends. ”
“So do you guys make a lot of pottery together?” Daniel smirked. “You know, like Ghost?”
Gemma shot him a look. “Don’t encourage her, Daniel. ”
“Shouldn’t Lydia be telling you that this is all dangerous?” Harper was putting seventeen candles in the cake, and she looked across the table at Marcy. “You shouldn’t be messing around with this kind of thing, right?”
Marcy shrugged. “As long as I’m not holding Kirby back from crossing over, Lydia thinks it all seems fine. ”
Harper turned back to Gemma and decided to change the subject. With the sirens out of the picture, she wanted to avoid talking about the supernatural as much as possible, and that included Ghost Kirby.
“Speaking of dates, how is Dad doing?” Harper asked.
“Good. He’s seen Sarah twice, and it all seems to be going well,” Gemma said. “I haven’t met her yet, but I told him that he better introduce her soon. ”
“Me, too,” Harper said, and hoped that she didn’t sound quite as needy as she felt.
Overall, she’d enjoyed the past eight months being at Sundham University. Now that everything with the monsters was over, and she was able to actually concentrate on school, it was going well, and sometimes, she even had fun.
With Alex’s arrival at Sundham for the spring semester, it had been even nicer. They had two classes together, which helped when it came time to study, and it was great being able to carpool back and forth from Capri. But honestly, Harper was happy to have a friend around, especially one who understood everything that had gone on this past year, and it helped make her slightly less homesick.
Thankfully, Alex and Gemma seemed to be handling their time apart fairly well, and Alex made frequent trips home to see her. Gemma came up to Sundham as often as she could, but since she’d taken up Harper’s old job at the library, it wasn’t as often as she would’ve liked.
Gemma and Alex tried to make the most of their time. Right now, she was sitting on the counter, and Alex was standing next to her with his arm wrapped around her waist. Every time they thought people weren’t looking, Harper would catch them out of the corner of her eye, kissing or whispering in each other’s ear.
They reminded Harper of magnets, drawn to each other so fiercely that nothing could ever really tear them apart. While Harper had had some reservations about Gemma and Alex when they first started dating, it was now clear to her that they were deeply and hopelessly in love.
Maybe she understood that better now because she felt the same way about Daniel. She looked over at him, getting soda out of the fridge, and she couldn’t help but smile. Being away from him at college was hard, but both she and Daniel knew it was the right thing to do.
Now, with their dad dating again, being away from him and Gemma felt even stranger. She called her dad and Skyped with him, but, Harper was still afraid she might miss something.
Brian had met Sarah at Pearl’s a couple of weeks ago. When she talked to her dad on the phone, he’d sounded so much happier lately, and Harper was pleased to see him finally moving on. Honestly, with Gemma talking about going to Sundham after high school, Harper had begun to worry about their dad being alone in that house, but now it sounded like he was finding happiness for himself outside his daughters.
Gemma was doing a fairly good job of keeping Harper apprised of their relationship. But she was chomping at the bit to meet the new woman in her dad’s life.
“Parents dating is so gross,” Marcy said. She reached over and tried to put her finger in the frosting, but Harper slapped it away just in time.
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“People putting their hands in food is even grosser,” Harper said, and Marcy stuck her tongue out.
“If our mom could date, she’d definitely be pining for some Cody guy,” said Gemma.
“Cody who?” Marcy asked.
Gemma shook her head. “I don’t know, but she took down all the Justin Bieber posters and replaced them. ”
“Personally, I don’t care who she’s into,” Harper said as she started lighting the candles on Gemma’s cake. “Just as long as she keeps doing better like she has been lately. ”
Gemma had finally confessed to using the siren song on Nathalie, which is why she’d started acting strangely at the end of summer. The exact words Gemma had used had been I want you to remember all the things you forgot. Everything about Harper and Dad and me. I want you to come back.
Nathalie had tried, and she had shown some improvement, but she’d never be able to come all the way back. Her brain had been damaged, and the siren song was powerful and seemed to encourage her synapses to fire, but it couldn’t make destroyed tissue grow back again.
But she had more moments of clarity than she’d had in the years since her accident. She remembered more things, and when Harper and Gemma made their Saturday visits with their mom, she seemed more contented within her condition. Gemma had also used the siren song, saying You’ll never feel a headache again, so Nathalie’s frequent migraines never came back either, and that certainly helped.
Thea had told Gemma that, eventually, the effects of the siren song might fade, but so far, they’d held strong. Not just with Nathalie, but with Mayor Crawford and the police as well. Penn had used the song to convince the mayor not to look for his missing son Aiden. For a long time afterward, Daniel had struggled with confessing his role in getting rid of the body, just so the mayor could have some closure.
Eventually, he submitted an anonymous tip, telling the mayor where to look for his son’s body. But Mayor Crawford wouldn’t hear of it. He insisted publicly that his son was living on an island, happy, and if anyone tried to contradict him or suggest they conduct a search, he wouldn’t hear of it.
Daniel suspected that the mayor’s own denial might be feeding into that. It was much easier to live believing that his son was alive and happy than that he was dead.
For a while after the curse had been broken, Gemma had Lydia looking for Thea. She’d been hoping that Thea might still be alive, that the curse had only made her mortal again, but eventually she’d come to accept that Thea was gone. It was just as she’d said, and when the curse was broken, Thea had turned to dust. Only her memory remained, and Gemma and Harper would carry it with them for the rest of their lives.
“Okay,” Harper said as she lit the last candle on the cake and smiled at her sister. “Blow out all the candles and make a wish. ”
The birthday party went on the rest of the afternoon, with them laughing and talking. When the sun began to set, people started saying their good-byes. Harper stayed behind to help clean up. Still, she walked out to the end of the dock, watching Gemma and their friends float back to the mainland in Bernie’s old boat.
When she came back to the house, Daniel was already pulling down some of the streamers. She gra
bbed a stepladder to help him, but he stopped her.
“That can wait,” he said, taking her hand.
“Why?” Harper asked, giving him an odd look. “You were already cleaning up. ”
“I was just getting a jump-start while you were busy. But it’ll still be here when we come back in. ” Still holding her hand, Daniel took a step back, pulling her toward the door.
“Where are we going?” she asked with a laugh.
“Just out back. ”
The small island was covered in tall cypress and loblolly pines, so the setting sun left slivers of orange all over the ground. Wind rustled lightly through the trees, causing the branches to sway and dance, and other than the trees, the only sound was that of the ocean waves lapping against the shore.
It felt so quiet and secluded, and almost magical. When she was a kid, and Bernie McAllister had babysat her, he’d told her stories about fairies, and even as logical as Harper had been, she’d secretly believed some of his fantastical tales. The island made it so easy to imagine.
The pathway around the cabin was partially covered in Creeping Charlie, and as she stepped, it crunched beneath her feet, filling the air with the minty scent. But, very quickly, it was overpowered by the large roses behind the cabin. The sweet perfume of the flowers overpowered nearly everything on the island, and even though it was early April, they were already in full bloom.
Bernie’s late wife, Thalia, had planted the bush, and after meeting with Diana/Demeter last summer, Harper had come to believe that the rosebush was supernatural.
The roses were the most vibrant shade of purple Harper had ever seen. It was so early in the season, and they were already the size of her fist, but soon they’d be even twice that.
Daniel had made a bench, and it was posed right behind the cabin, facing the rosebush, which loomed over the rest of the garden. He motioned for Harper to sit down first, and once he joined her, she curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you,” Harper said as the last rays of sunlight broke through the trees, dancing on the bright flowers of the bush, and the sky darkened above them.
“For what?” Daniel asked.
“For suggesting we come out here. It’s really beautiful. ”
He turned his head slightly, so he could look down at her. “You’re really beautiful. ”
Harper laughed. “Stop. ”
“No, I mean it. ” He pulled away from her so he could turn to face her, and his lips twitched into an anxious smile as he took her hands in his. His hazel eyes met hers, but there was something in them she couldn’t read. “You’re so beautiful, and I love you so much. ”
“I love you, too,” Harper said hesitantly, afraid of what he might be getting at, and she sat up straighter.
He lowered his eyes and swallowed. “This last year, we went through so much, and there were some really terrible things that happened. But it’s honestly been the best year in my life because I’ve been with you. ” He cleared his throat. “I can’t really envision the rest of my life without you. ”
“Daniel, what’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. ” He smiled at her, but it looked forced. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to imagine my life without you. ”
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When he let go of her hands, he laughed nervously and dug in his pocket. Then he dropped to his knee, and Harper realized what was happening. Her hands started trembling, and her jaw dropped as he produced a small ring box and opened it for her.
She couldn’t even see the ring, though. Tears were blurring her vision as she stared down at him, and her heart raced in her chest.
“What I’m saying is…” He paused, swallowing uneasily. “Harper Fisher, will you marry me?”
She took a deep breath, terrified she might sob or scream, and when she finally spoke, her answer came out weak and shaky. “Yes. ”
“I mean, we don’t have to get married right away,” Daniel hurried on, apparently not having heard her whisper of a reply. “We can wait until you’re done with college or whenever you want. But I wanted to make it official—”
“Yes,” Harper said, louder this time, and she smiled down at him. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you. ”
“Really?” He laughed in relief, and with his own slightly tremulous hands, he slid a small diamond ring on her finger. “I was so afraid you’d say no. ”
“How could I say no?” she asked. “I can’t imagine my life without you, either. ”
He stood so he could kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Under the starlit twilight, Harper kissed him deeply, knowing that she’d never love anyone as much as him, and when he held her in his arms, she breathed in deeply, savoring the magic that was all around them.
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