Chapter 23
Iwas dozing when I heard my bedroom door to the deck ease open. Rolling to my back, I watched Harper’s silhouette as she closed it behind her and locked it, then tucked the key I’d given her into her shoe when she took it off.
With a sleepy smile, I let out a contented growl and pulled my blankets back for her.
For the two weeks since she’d moved, Harper had continued to come over most nights once she closed the studio for the evening. With my sister as her roommate, it’d become twice as complicated. Sometimes she waited until Dakota went to bed. Sometimes Harper turned in early, then snuck out once Dakota was in her own room. And there were a few times when the two of them went out together or stayed up late talking, and we had to skip a night.
I kept my mind occupied with a movie or an audiobook on those nights, trying not to admit to myself how much I missed her. I knew we’d gotten reckless by spending so much time together, but then I rationalized that we both had needs, we liked meeting each other’s needs, and this arrangement would end soon enough, so why not enjoy the hell out of it for now?
I was bothered that she had to deceive my sister, so a few nights ago, we’d talked about coming clean to her. In the end, we’d agreed that would put too much pressure on what we had, so we were keeping the secret. I wasn’t proud to admit how relieved I was.
Harper wore running clothes when she visited me in case someone saw her en route. Normally she shed them first thing, then joined me. Tonight I couldn’t help but notice she crawled in fully clothed. I pulled her against me anyway and kissed her hello.
“Everything okay?” I asked, getting the distinct impression something was off.
She sighed as she snuggled into me. “Cambria heard back from two different banks today about a small business loan. Both of them said no.”
“Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.” I kissed her forehead.
“She has a big loan on her property, I have almost no credit history, and Dakota’s is limited and not stellar. On paper, we look like a bad risk. They apparently don’t care that the business plan Cambria created—with Seth Henry’s help, I might add—is incredible or that our products are locally made and have the potential to sell like crazy or that the three of us are determined as hell to make this work.”
I closed my eyes, genuinely upset for her. “Have you had time to come up with a plan B?”
“That’s why I’m so late getting here. The three of us went out for drinks to discuss it and ended up closing down Henry’s, then continuing at our apartment. We’re going to keep trying until we find a way to make it work. There’re a million banks out there, credit unions, and we found some small business grants we could apply for. We talked to Holden Henry about finding investors, and he gave us a few tips from when they were searching for the brewery.”
“Those are good ideas,” I said, caressing her cheek with one finger, wishing I could do more to soothe her.
In a different situation, I would seriously consider investing. I’d heard some of their plans and wanted to see both Harper and my sister succeed. I couldn’t exactly offer up seed money to my secret fling. Maybe I’d get Dakota talking about it and see if she brought up the idea. There was a fine line between being supportive of my baby sister and being domineering. She’d accused me of the latter many times.
“Worst-case scenario, we could ask for a much smaller loan, and Dakota and I could continue our current jobs and help Cambria when we can.”
“That wouldn’t be ideal. It’s not easy to split your time or your brain between two different jobs.”
“I bet you know something about that,” she said. “It’s our last choice, but we want this. I want this to work out so much, Max. I was scared to death to say yes, but ever since then, I’m in it one thousand percent. I can’t imagine not opening Earthly Charm.”
“I know. I can see it in your eyes every time you talk about it, at least when the lights are on.” I smiled, because we did spend the majority of our time in the dark. “That’s the element these bankers don’t consider.”
“Exactly.”
“I believe in you, Harper. If you need help with something, let me know. I could hook you up with my financial guy and see if he has any advice.”
She kissed me lightly, distractedly. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She let out a big, tired sigh and cuddled in closer to my chest.
A few minutes later, her breathing evened out. She was obviously worn out and worried and in need of a good night’s sleep. I kissed her forehead lightly again, wanting her to have everything she wanted—the good night’s sleep and the financing for the store.
Her even breathing didn’t take long to relax me, and I fell asleep with her in my arms.
Harper’s alarm went off at four thirty a.m. like it did every night she stayed with me. She’d figured out if she left by five, she’d get home before the town came awake, as nothing opened until six or seven. Most mornings we woke and indulged in an extra orgasm or two.
Today she snoozed her alarm, then curled back into me. After a few rounds of snoozing, she bolted upright and rolled out of bed.
“I didn’t mean to snooze it so many times,” she said.
“You needed the sleep. I guess I did too.” Still dazed, I rolled over and hugged her pillow, watching as she pulled her hair on top of her head, preparing to leave. Before she headed to the deck door to sneak out, she came over to me, planted a thorough kiss on my lips, and said goodbye.
I inhaled her scent on my pillow after she left and let myself be lazy, knowing I had another half hour before my alarm would go off.
Just as I was about to doze off, a thought occurred to me and woke me right the hell up.
Harper and I were supposed to be fuck buddies, in this whole thing for the incredible sex, but last night we’d merely slept. No middle-of-the-night half-awake sexcapades. No morning oral. She’d never even undressed.
I hadn’t realized it until now. In fact, I’d been all on board. It’d felt natural to hold her when she was upset, to be there for her in a way that wasn’t physical.
That was a problem.
Wide awake, anxiety pumping through me, I sat up on the side of my bed, about to head for the shower when my phone buzzed.
I picked it up and read the message from Harper.
I just saw that llama between backyards near Fifth and Acorn. Aren’t you friends with Dr. Holloway?
“Ben Holloway.” My friend’s voice was groggy with sleep when he answered his phone.
“Ben, it’s Max. Your llama’s on the lam again.”
There was a pause, then, “Fucking llama. I checked on her at midnight, and she was fine. Where is she?”
“Last I knew she was near Fifth and Acorn in someone’s backyard.”
“What do you mean last you knew? Where are you?”
“At home.”
“How do you know she’s at Fifth and Acorn?”
Here’s where it got tricky. “A friend told me.”
“A friend.” He said it as if he knew damn well it was a woman who’d spent the night. “Anyone I know?”
“Don’t you have a llama to go catch?”
“Fuck. I’ve got a fever and so does Ruby. She’s in my bed and we’re both burning up and aching.” He coughed, and it didn’t sound like he had any business going out.
“You need to stay put. I can catch Esmerelda.” I’d helped Ben before.
“You’ll need the van.”
“I’ll come get it. I’ll have to take Danny with me.”
“I’d offer to keep him here, but you don’t want him anywhere near this crud.”
“No, I don’t. Toss the keys by the back door, and I’ll take it from there.”
He sighed and swore again. “Thanks, Max. I owe you one.”
“Just keep your phone on you in case I need llama-catching tips.”
“You got it.”
I’d seen Dr. Holloway’s llama from a distance before, but I’d never expected to be the one responsible for deterring her from downtown.
Max had called on his way to get the llamamobile from Dr. Holloway’s and told me our plan. Esmerelda was undoubtedly heading toward Sugar, the bakery on Main Street, for one of her favorite cookies, but the goal was to not let her get that far. If she got to the square, she’d draw attention, which made it harder to capture her. Not to mention, Max and I didn’t want attention. The llama’s safety and return to her pen took priority, of course, but it would suck to get outed by a llama on the loose.
I didn’t know much about llamas, but this one was no dummy.
The sky was starting to lighten in the east. We were about three blocks west of downtown, and I was between Esmerelda and the bakery, trying to get her to turn back. When I approached her from the east, holding my arms out like Max told me to, she indeed stopped her forward progression. Instead of doing a U-turn and heading home, however, she meandered to the north a yard or two and aimed for the bakery again.
There were enough trees and sheds and fences and garages that I couldn’t tell where she’d pop up next. I was fully entrenched in a game of hide and seek with a llama.
Even though it was serious business, I couldn’t help but laugh every time I found her. She eyed me with that expressive, judgmental gaze as if to say, Get out of my way, damn hussy!
We were a few blocks from where I’d originally spotted her, so I hurriedly texted Max an update, keeping an eye out for the white-furred fugitive. I was trespassing like a criminal to cut her off at the pass, dodging fences, setting off security lights, and arousing a dog or two.
As I made my way around some overgrown bushes in a blessedly unfenced yard, I looked up to find the llama mere feet away. I let out a short yelp of surprise, then slapped my hand over my mouth. Maybe I startled Esmerelda too, because she hoofed it away from me, then cut into another yard. I was blocked by a tall privacy fence, so with tears of mostly suppressed laughter half blinding me, I went in the opposite direction, looking for the next unfenced yard so I could cut her off yet again.
When I found a path through, I ran, thankful I was a runner, because this hairy beast was pushing me. I got to the front of this particular house in time to see a white blur across the street, ducking into yet another backyard.
I texted Max that we were crossing Walnut Street and wondered how long it could possibly take to load up Danny, drive a few miles to the vet’s house, transfer Danny to the van, and get his ass back here to help me. It was a small miracle I hadn’t been spotted by anyone yet.
On the other side of Walnut, I found an unfenced yard and ran through it, my eyes peeled for white. A dog started barking, but it was far enough away I wasn’t worried about immediate discovery. Esmerelda, however, was more concerned, as I found her about twenty feet from me, in a narrow alley, her head craned toward the dog. This might be the break I was looking for. Were llamas afraid of dogs? I could only hope.
Max had told me not to rush up to her no matter what because she’d take off, so I froze and tried to figure out what to do. Just then, my phone vibrated with a message.
It was Max, asking for my location. I replied, explaining about the alley and the barking dog, who still hadn’t shut up. Hopefully his people would assume there was a squirrel or a bunny.
When Max jogged up behind me, I was so relieved I wanted to tackle hug him, but I merely pointed at Esmerelda, who hadn’t moved.
“You stay here and extend both your arms so she won’t try to dart past. I’m going to approach her from the side, slowly. This could take a while, but slow is key.”
I nodded, still catching my breath. “Where’s Danny?”
“The van’s parked right over there.” He pointed at the street perpendicular to the alley. “I locked it, but we need to hurry. He’s engrossed in a video on my iPad for now.” Max handed me the keys for when he got the harness on Esmerelda.
I stood with my arms out as instructed, watching Max, keeping an eye on the llama, silently pleading with the animal not to take off again. Nearly ten minutes later, Max, the llama whisperer, had reached her side and was talking in a low, soothing voice.
Apparently she was as spellbound by Max Dawson as I was, because she merely stared at him, letting him touch her side. Eventually he was able to get her harness on, and from that point, he basically had control. He slipped a lead through the harness and told me to unlock the back of the van.
By the time he hit the street with Esmerelda, I had the back doors wide open, llama ready. I’d opened the driver’s door so I could keep Danny company. He was strapped in his car seat on the passenger side, still in his pj’s, engrossed in a kids’ show with talking animals.
Everything went smoothly until Max and his llama friend reached the back of the van. The animal refused to step inside.
“Come on, Esmerelda,” Max said patiently. “Ben’s been training you for this. You like the van.”
“She didn’t get a cookie,” I said from a distance, grinning.
“Hell, I forgot. There’s a Sugar bag between the front seats.”
“You stopped and got her a cookie?” I asked as I ducked across the driver’s seat.
“Ben stocks up for exactly this reason. I need you to open the side door, hold the cookie up so she sees it, then put it in that tray.”
I did as he said, and before I could get to the tray behind the passenger seat, the llama hopped inside and came after me, or maybe the cookie. For a second, I thought I was a goner, but she only wanted the rainbow-sprinkled sugar cookie, not my fingers. With a squeal, I dropped the cookie on the tray and ducked out of the way, my heart hammering, exhilarated laughter pouring from me, my shoulders shaking with it.
Once I was safely on the pavement, I remembered to close the door at the same time Max shut the back one, and we had ourselves one captured llama.
Max came around the van, a handsome smile on his face as he shook his head. “That wasn’t how I saw my Monday starting, but thank you.”
With a quiet laugh, I said, “Thank you for showing up when you did.”
He glanced in at Danny, who was oblivious to the llama just inches behind him, a mesh metal divider ensuring he was perfectly safe.
After a head shake of disbelief at his son, Max turned his attention back to me. “Mission accomplished. We make a good team.”
“We do,” I said. “A super-secret superhero llama-catching team.”
“I’d offer you a ride home but…”
“Your van is full, plus the secret part.” I smiled to show him I’d be fine.
After saying goodbye though, as I walked away from the van and made my way toward the square, his words replayed in my head.
We make a good team.
I wanted to be a team with Max. I’d tried to shove that desire aside ever since moving day when I’d first had the thought. But the more we were together, the more I couldn’t deny it.
I swallowed hard.
I was either going to have to work up the courage to tell him I wanted more or I was going to have to stop seeing him altogether.