The smile drops from her face, and I can sense that she’s already about to protest, but I fold my arms and give her a look. “If I can do it, so can you.”
“Where are we even supposed to perform?” she asks. “Is there another festival coming up or something?”
“We don’t need to wait,” I tell her. “You’re forgetting I partly own a bar where we can host an open mic night. I’ll sing and play guitar, if you sing with me. Maybe we’ll make it a regular thing. There’s a lot of local talent in this town that would love a chance to perform and show off their skills.”
Harper wrinkles her nose, clearly thinking it over. It’s funny that when we first met, she would have just said no immediately. No hesitation, no consideration. But now she’s actually thinking about it, weighing the decision like it’s something important.
“Let’s start smaller,” I say, seeing that she’s still unsure. “We can sing right here in the garden. See how our voices blend together, and you can see that it’s not so bad to sing with me.” I smile at her, hoping the teasing eases her thoughts a little bit.
Finally she sighs and dusts her hands off. “All right, all right. But if I sound bad, we’re not doing this in front of anyone else.”
“Deal.”
“And you don’t even have a guitar right now. What are we going to sing to?”
“What were you singing to before?” I ask her. “I know you have music inside you, don’t pretend.”
She makes a face at me, but launches into a popular song. Her voice is so sweet and clear, ringing out as she starts the first verse.“I took my love, and I took it down. I climbed a mountain, and I turned around…”
I pick it up immediately, joining her with my deeper voice. Her smooth soprano weaves around my warm baritone, and it sounds damned good.
There’s something about sharing music that’s more intimate than other things. Singing with her, it sparks a connection that goes deeper than what we did in the kitchen a few days ago. This is something more emotional than physical, and it sparks a warmth in my belly that has nothing to do with arousal and everything to do with feeling close and happy.
The song builds to the chorus and then the next verse, and Harper closes her eyes, swaying side to side as she sings. She’s giving herself over to the music, letting herself get lost in it, and it’s fucking beautiful on her. It’s a good thing I’m not playing an instrument right now because I’d be hard pressed to keep my mind on the notes considering how intently I’m watching Harper.
It’s almost a disappointment when the song ends. Harper blinks her eyes open, and there’s a little smile on her face as she glances at me.
“Guess we don’t sound too bad together,” she murmurs, ducking her head to hide the flush spreading over her cheeks.
“Not too bad at all,” I agree.
We’re interrupted by the sound of scattered applause, and I turn to see Everett and Lincoln on the back porch, standing with Cora. Cora is the one clapping, her face lit up like it’s Christmas time to hear her aunt sing.
Lincoln and Everett look impressed, obvious appreciation on their faces, but they’re too stoic to clap like Cora is, even thoughit’s clear they want to. Even if Everett is trying to hide it, I know him better than that.
“Been a long time since we’ve heard you sing,” is all he says, looking at me.
I shrug. “I had some motivation. What do you think about us hosting an open mic night down at the bar?”
He shrugs back. “Sounds like a you idea. You’re gonna run it?”
“Sure. And perform. With Harper.”
Cora’s eyes go wide as saucers at that. She looks at Harper, practically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. I have no idea if she knows what an open mic is, but she clearly understands the concept of Harper performing.
She makes an excited noise, clapping louder.
Harper laughs and steps over to her, leaning down to her level. “You’re excited about that idea, huh? You’ve been my only audience for a long time, baby. I don’t know…” But there’s something about the little girl’s enthusiasm that even Harper’s usual reluctance can’t stand up to. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
She tries to sound resigned, but I can hear the excitement and nerves in her voice.
I catch her eye and grin at her, letting her see the nerves I’m feeling too. It’s been a long time since I performed for anyone. Years at this point. I gave up that dream when my mom got sick, packed it up in a box and put it away to focus on stuff that mattered a lot more.
But things are different now, and if it’ll get Harper out there and get her over her fear of singing for people, then I’ll get over my own fears too.
Seems only fair to me.
Chapter 25