Page 15 of Harmony Island Gazette
My heart squeezed at how small and fragile she appeared. The instinct washed over me to pull her into my arms and promise to protect her no matter what. Thankfully, I had enough sense to fist my hands and flex my muscles to force myself to remain rooted to my spot.
“Do you have a doctor you can ask?” I finally managed out. Grateful that my head was clear enough to actually process what she was saying.
She glanced over at me. “In Harmony? Ha.” She shook her head. “It’ll be front page news if I go.” She sighed. “The combined curse of living in a small town and being married to theroyalty.” She emphasized the last word with air quotes.
“So you’re just not going to go?”
She wrapped both arms around her stomach and turned her attention back to the coffee machine. Silence fell around us as I waited for her to respond. I didn’t know a lot about pregnancy and babies, but I knew not involving a doctor could have dire consequences.
Juniper blinked a few times before she turned and smiled at me. “We should go,” she said as she dropped her arms and made her way over to the counter to grab her purse. She slipped the strap up onto her shoulder. “We don’t want to be late.”
I watched her disappear into the living room. Her refusal to answer my question echoed off the walls. I thought about pressing her to find out what her plans were. I wanted her to be safe, and not involving medical professionals in her pregnancy wasn’t a safe choice.
But I also knew that pressing her wasn’t my place. I had a sinking suspicion that one of the reasons she was so eager to get her parents out of the house was to keep some anonymity. Who was I to take that away from her?
I pushed my hand through my hair as I headed after Juniper. This was her business, not mine. If she needed to take her time before going to see a doctor, who was I to say otherwise? I wasn’t her family. And I certainly wasn’t her husband or the father of her baby.
I was…nobody.
And I was pretty sure that was who I would remain.
6
ELLA
“Ella, can you come in here, please?”
Gloria’s voice snapped me to attention. I hadn’t noticed that I was leaning into my computer while editing my latest piece about the updates that Mayor Jorgenson wanted to make to the Harmony Island bridge that connected us to the mainland. I had been so lost in the words that my posture had taken a hit.
“Yes, Gloria,” I called as I pushed out my chair and stood. I smoothed down my pencil skirt and picked up the notebook and pen that I kept on my desk for these impromptu meetings.
Gloria was sitting in front of her computer with her glasses perched on her nose. She was staring at the screen as her hand moved the mouse around. I stood in the doorway, waiting for her invitation to enter. After a few seconds, she settled back into her chair and motioned for me to sit on one of the chairs in front of her. I nodded and obeyed, my pen poised over the notebook so I was ready for whatever she needed me to do.
She bounced a few times in her chair before she rested her elbows on the armrests and steepled her fingers. “I need you to take Elizabeth with you to Harmony Cove.”
I jotted downHarmony Covein my notebook. It was one of the oldest parts of town. The houses were small and dated but had the best view of the island. Most of the Harmony Island originals lived there. “Okay, I can do that.” Then I glanced up at her. “Any particular reason why?”
Gloria studied me as if she was weighing her words. Then she sighed and sat up. She started straightening things on her desk as she spoke. “Marcus Proctor has requested that we run a cover piece on the offers they are making to the residents of Harmony Cove. They are on their way right now to extend the offer to Barbara McDonnell and would like newspaper coverage.”
My pen hovered over the notebook as I processed what she was saying. As much as I’d wanted to put the mystery man from the day before behind me, hearing the Proctor name made that resolution fly from my mind.
It took me a moment to realize that Gloria had stopped talking, so I quickly jotted down what she’d said. “Sounds easy enough,” I said with a smile. I raised my eyebrows. “Anything else?”
Gloria was studying me. I could tell that she wanted to say more, but I was determined to get her off the scent. If she wasn’t going to sanction me looking into the Proctor family, then I was just going to have to do some digging on my own. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Gloria and Asher were right.
But maybe—and this was less likely—maybe they were wrong.
It’s a journalist’s responsibility to ask questions and seek for truth even if it made people uncomfortable.
“No,” Gloria said as she narrowed her eyes. “Just that story and nothing else.” Then she paused. “I’ll text you the address.”
I set my pen down on my notebook, hooking it with my thumb to keep it in place, and moved to stand. “Wonderful. I’ll go grab Elizabeth, and we’ll head out.”
I could feel Gloria’s stare on me as I gave her a quick nod and headed out of her office. Elizabeth was sitting behind her desk, typing away on her keyboard when I walked up to her. I tapped her desk a few times to get her attention. Elizabeth was the intern Gloria had hired. She had just graduated from Harmony High last year, and she did a lot of the grunt work. She was young but sweet and willing to do whatever she needed to do for Gloria. I enjoyed her company when I was asked to bring her with me.
“We’ve got a story to cover,” I said when she finally stopped typing and looked up at me through her glasses with multi-colored rims.
Her ears perked as she nodded. “You’ve got it, boss.”
