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"He and his dad don’t get along, apparently, and this was the last straw Unfortunately for Sawyer, irlfriend I told you about Chantel My granddad says Sawyer is cra his style Granddad talked to ain It just so happens thatfor someone to help with breakfast at the B and B, since I refuse to do it any up for yourself" Harper was introverted Serving breakfast and associating with her uests at the B and B--different ones every week--had been a special kind of torture for her, like a cat in a room full of toddlers

"Me too But I’ve felt awful that it leftto work just a couple of hours a day as long as it doesn’t interfere with his evenings waiting tables at the Crab Lab And he needs a place to stay"

"Sawyer is serving breakfast at your B and B?" I asked incredulously

Harper nodded "He does a great job, much better than I ever did After he’s fed everybody, he actually sits down and talks to them if he has time before school, whereas I made up any excuse to hide in the kitchen He can be very char to the elderly and people he doesn’t know You’d be shocked"

"Wait afinally hit hed nervously "Actually, no We don’t have an empty room It’s too soon after Labor Day But one of the rooms will be empty Monday, and he’ll h hurricane season, until business picks up again around Christaped at her "The house where you live?" Harper’s place was a two-bedroom When she and Tia and I had sleepovers there, one of us had to take the couch in the living room

"Yeah"

She’d toldtoo ically and rationally, "Doesn’t that weird you out?"

"Not really He basically coranddad"

"But your whole reason for telling your mom you didn’t want to help at the B and B anymore was that you’re not a people person," I reminded her "You need your personal space You invite friends over occasionally, sure, but people hanging out too long drives you nuts"

"I don’t have to entertain him," Harper explained "He doesn’t say much It’s like he’s not there" She looked pastfor a reason that would make better sense to me Finally she settled on "I feel safer while he’s over"

"Safer fro through You think he’ll couely "I just don’tthere"

"Doesn’t Brody mind?" Brody didn’t strike me as the jealous type He ay too confident for that But bad boy Sawyer living with Brody’s girlfriend? That was different

"Sawyer called Brody to tell hihts Next week he’ll hbors, that’s all We were neighbors before"

"Now you’ll be neighbors who eat breakfast together every ht about that, but Sawyer put it best He said a lot of people in the saether, so to speak, but he and I have gotten all that out of the way and have nothing left to feel uncoue" She laughed

She stopped laughing when she saw the way I was looking at her "I told you about that," she re back together with Grace Saas doing me a favor"

"He sure was" Brody and Harper’s relationship had worked out now, but they’d had a rocky start, co toWhen I’d heard about this, I’d burned with jealousy myself Sawyer never offered himself up when Aidan and I had trouble--which, lately, was all the time

"Why didn’t you tell me before now that Sawyer es in Harper’s ho on for half a week I couldn’t iine why I’d been left out of the best friends call tree

"Because" Harper lowered her voice and bent towardvan, aka the school’s ruured out that you and Saere really the ones elected Perfect Couple That Never Was, you’ve acted strange about hie, how?--she went on "I didn’t want this to be a big deal It’s not a big deal He’ll just be there when you come over Of course Tia won’t care, since the two of theured you wouldn’t mind either, now that you knohy he’s there And I wouldn’t want to give him the impression he’s not welcoo"

Harper wasn’t one to throw her weight around or scold, but I was al look