Read If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) Online
Authors: Mary J. Williams
If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3)
IF YOU ONLY KNEW
HARPER FALLS BOOK THREE
MARY J. WILLIAMS
Copyright© 2015 Mary J. Williams
Want to know how to motivate yourself to write a book? Have
your favorite football team lose the Super Bowl. On the last play. With an
interception. The next day I was so depressed I tuned out all media. No TV, no
internet, no newspapers — nothing. And I started to write. I’m still writing.
As you can see, a little motivation can do wonders. Football will play a big
part in my next series of books due out next year. And since I’m writing the
ending? No interceptions. Guaranteed. Happy reading everyone.
Mary J. Williams
Please visit me at these sites and leave a message or ask a
question.
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Harper Falls Series
If I Loved You
If Tomorrow Never Comes
If I Had You - Christmas in Harper Falls (Coming In October)
More Books by Mary J. Williams
TYLER JONES HAD a secret. Not easy when you lived with two brothers
who wouldn’t understand the word private if it kicked them in the rear. Then
there were her two best friends and the honesty pact they made the year they
turned eleven. They pledged to tell each other everything and up until now,
Tyler happily complied. However, sometimes something came along that was so
big, so special, you had to keep it to yourself, at least for a little while.
She hid her bike behind a large group of rocks. It still
amazed her that anyone in Harper Falls could at this very moment be looking her
way and would have no idea she was there. The small cove was a haven, isolated,
and all hers. Finding it had been a fluke. One of those happy accidents that
when it happened, could change your life. That was how it had been for Tyler.
Sometimes she needed to get away by herself. Rose and Dani
understood. They witnessed firsthand the family drama that seemed to be a daily
occurrence at the Jones house. Her father had turned into a bitter,
discontented man. Life hadn’t played out the way he planned and he had no
problem taking it out on his family. If he wasn’t angry and sullen, he just
wasn’t there. He used his job as an excuse to be out of town as often as
possible. Her mother had no backbone. She was sweet and quiet, and her husband
and sons treated her like a doormat. Tyler could only stand up for her so
often. As much as she loved the woman, her complete lack of fight could be
wearing.
When Tyler reached her breaking point, she would get on her
bike and ride. It seemed only natural that one day she would ride across the
bridge towards Harper House. Her father would have been livid if he’d known,
her mother horrified. Nevertheless, Tyler thought of it as having an adventure
in a town that too often offered few surprises.
It was on one of those outings that she found the path down
to the beach and
her place.
She didn’t go there often but when things at
home got so unbearable not even Rose and Dani could talk her down, she came
here.
Today wasn’t about getting away. Today, she wasn’t going to be
alone. In fact, for the past few months, her alone place had become something
else altogether. Tyler Jones, outcast, rebel, nonconformist, was in love. It
was her secret and she was ready to burst. She wanted to shout it to the sky,
the trees. She wanted everyone to know. But for now, she would be happy just to
tell him. She hadn’t, not yet. Neither of them had spoken of feelings, though
she was certain he had to feel the same; how could he not? The way he looked at
her, the softness of his touch. And his kisses. Only someone in love could kiss
like that. So today was the day. She couldn’t keep it inside a moment longer.
“Tyler.”
She spun around, her face lighting up, her every emotion
there for him to see. There he was, the man she loved — Drew Harper.
TYLER JONES HATED what ifs. It never helped to live in a world
where you fantasized about how life might be — if only
.
If only
I
hadn’t eaten that entire chocolate cake, I wouldn’t have gained five pounds.
What
if
I’d turned right instead of left and not hit that parked police car?
There was no going back. You did it — live with the consequences. However, she
was only human. When her best friends found love and made it work, it was hard
not to indulge in a bit of
what if
self-pity.
Hanging out with Rose O’Brian and Dani Wilde used to be
about making a simple phone call and meeting up wherever hit their fancies.
Three single women free to go where they wanted, when they pleased. Now, there
were men to consider. Rose and her Jack, Dani and Alex. Three had become five.
Not that they ever made her feel like she wasn’t welcome. Sometimes though,
like today, being around so much happiness made her long for something she’d
once had — love.
She’d had it, reveled in it, and lost it. Or rather, had it
ripped from her grasp in the cruelest manner possible. It was hard to forget
when it had once seemed so perfect — especially when the source of her
heartache stood across the room. If Drew Harper had never come back to town…
God, how many times over the past year and a half had she started a sentence
like that? He was a nagging ache that had never gone away, but that had been
bearable — manageable. She learned to live with it, often forgetting it was
even there. But how could she do that when he now seemed to be everywhere she
turned?
Today was a perfect example. Rose had invited her to an end
of the season cookout. The house she now shared with her fiancée, Jack Winston,
was an entertainer’s paradise and the couple loved to have their friends over.
Dani and Alex Fleming, newly engaged themselves, stood with Alex’s sister,
Lila, and Boyd Stevens. Boyd worked for H&W Security and looked none the
worse for his recent run-in with a mad man bent on killing Dani and Alex. Tyler
shuddered whenever she thought about how close they had come to losing Dani.
The fact that all three had walked away, living to tell the tale, was a
miracle. A miracle, and Dani’s ability to take care of herself. Her friend
might look like a frail, fairy princess, but under all that white-blond hair
and delicate features, was a warrior — the kick-ass kind.
“You look pensive.” Rose put an arm around Tyler’s
waist and squeezed.
Their friendship started when they were girls, all knobby
knees, and gangly bodies. Before dreams of the future had taken a firm hold and
everything was an adventure. They had weathered the storms of adolescence,
family dramas, and personal crises — coming out stronger. Not just friends
forever — friends no matter what.
Rose’s dark hair just brushed her shoulders, her brown eyes,
warm and welcoming. They were close to the same height though Tyler topped her
by an inch. Her friend’s body leaned more towards curvy — a walking wet dream —
some man had once called her and Tyler supposed that fit. Maybe it was because
Rose’s transition from flat-chested girl to heartbreaker had been so gradual.
She never acquired the ego some beautiful women possessed — which made her even
more stunning.
“I was just thinking what an eclectic group of friends
you and Jack have acquired.” Tyler nodded to the people assembled in the
large, open living room.
“Do you mean the twelve hulking bodyguards, Jilly
Underwood, or Regina Harper’s personal assistant?”
Where to start? The bodyguards were a no-brainer. Alex ran
that branch of Jack and Drew’s business. There always seemed to be one or two,
or, in this case, a dozen, of them at the H&W compound. They were either
being trained, retrained or just checking in. At one time, Jack and Drew had
considered dropping that area of their business. In their younger days hiring
themselves out as bodyguards had paid the bills. Once they’d made their first
million as software moguls, they kept the personal security side of H&W
going out of sentimentality, and a bit of superstition. Since Alex had come on
board, instead of scaling back, they expanded. As a result, more and more big,
brawny men appeared in Harper Falls.
Which brought her to Jilly Underwood. An annoyance on her
best day, the woman had always seen Tyler, Rose, and Dani as her chief rivals.
It didn’t matter that Jilly was pretty and smart. It didn’t matter that her
family had money and indulged her every whim. Or that Jilly went to Harper
Academy, an exclusive, private high school that neither Tyler nor Dani’s
families could afford. Rose went there for a few years before circumstances had
her finishing her education at Harper High. Yes, Rose had beaten Jilly out of
the lead in every musical production. However, was that reason enough for a
lifelong grudge?
Tyler gave a mental shrug. The fact was Jilly equaled mean
girl. They were twenty-seven years old, for Christ’s sake. Time to put any
slights, perceived or otherwise, behind them. Unfortunately, Jilly seemed
determined to hang on by her fire engine red acrylic fingernails. She would
resent Tyler and her friends until the day she died.
“Did we ever discuss why Jilly was here?”
“It seems it isn’t every day you find out your perfect
new boyfriend is a psychotic killer.”
“Which sent her running here for sympathy?”
“No. She jumped into the nearest big, strong arms she
could find.” Rose clarified. “In this case, Wally Arnot. She hasn’t
let go of him since they arrived.”
“You have to give the woman credit for her nerve.”
Tyler shook her head, amazed. “Why would she think she would be
welcome?”
“I made sure Jack let all the guys know they could
bring a date. Jilly was the last person I expected to show up. I didn’t want to
embarrass Wally, so I let it go. As long as she behaves, I think we can put up
with her for a few hours.”
If
she behaved. At the moment, Jilly was busy batting
her eyes at her date while simultaneously flirting with any man within range.
Tyler had seen men get into fights over less. She imagined Jilly would love to
have three or four muscled hunks throwing punches over her.
“All that bulk could do some damage.” Tyler looked
over at the piano. A gift from Jack’s mother, it was Rose’s most prized
possession. If it were damaged by three-hundred pounds of falling flesh, it
would be devastating all around.
“Maybe you should herd them to the backyard. How badly
can they hurt a pine tree?”
Rose watched as Jilly admiringly squeezed the arm of a man
who was not her date and decided Tyler was right. Walking across the room, she
pulled Jack aside and whispered in his ear. Whatever she said had him nodding.
Before anyone was the wiser, he and Alex had the party moved from indoors to
out — potential crisis averted.
“Jilly,” Dani said with exasperation. She came
over to join Tyler, offering a perfectly chilled glass of chardonnay. “She
isn’t happy if she’s not the center of the storm.”
“True.” Taking the wine, Tyler smiled at her other
best friend. “Just remember, the last storm was not of your making.”
Dani sighed. “I know. I still feel bad. She could have
been physically hurt by Pete Landry; the man was unhinged — to say the
least.”
Tyler felt a shiver as fear raced down her spine. She hated
remembering how close they had come to losing Dani; luckily, the lady could
take care of herself.
“As soon as Alex suspected anything was wrong, he had
one of his men watching Jilly. We both know there was no way to warn her. She
wouldn’t have listened if we’d tried.”