Chapter 28
“I Said ‘I Love You,’ Not ‘Start Your Engines.’” ~ Kai
Kai
T he front door opens and I rush from the kitchen toward it. Is Harper running away? Not on my watch. But by the time I’m on the porch, she’s already in her car barreling away.
“Harper!”
Her response? She floors it and the car rockets down the street. Fuck.
I run a hand down my face. I shouldn’t have love bombed her during sex. I shouldn’t have love bombed her, period. She’s not ready.
Now she’s panicking. I’m panicking. Everyone’s panicking.
I do the one thing proven to help when I’m panicking.
“Kai,” Mom answers on the first ring.
“I need help.”
“I don’t bury bodies. Call your brothers.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. It’s girl trouble. ”
“What did you do?” She growls, making it clear whose side she’s on. Spoiler alert. It’s not mine.
I can’t tell her I told Harper I love her and she ran. There’s not a hole small enough for me to crawl into.
“Harper’s upset. She drove away.”
“I’ll handle this. Where is she?”
“She….” I pause when I realize I have no idea where Harper would go when she’s upset. Not home. She’ll avoid her dad. And not to work. I think.
“I’ll message you.”
“I’m on standby.”
“Thanks, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you, baby boy.”
Great. I need to have another humiliating conversation today.
“What?” Henry answers.
“Hi, Henry. Hypothetical question. Where would Harper go if she was upset?”
“If you hurt my baby girl, I’m coming after you. Wheelchair be damned.”
I cringe. I don’t doubt Henry would accomplish his goal. He’s as stubborn as his daughter after all.
“I didn’t hurt her. I … ah…” Damnit. I have no idea how to explain myself.
“Out with it, boy.”
“I told her I love her.”
“Well, shit. No wonder she ran.”
“I didn’t say she ran. ”
“But you calling me tells me she did.”
I can’t argue since he’s right. “Where would she go?”
“Prohibition Beach. It was her mom’s favorite place. She goes there to speak to her mom.”
I should have known this. But every time Harper mentions her mom, she looks lost and I change the subject. That shit ends now. There will be no more holding back. That ship has sailed anyway.
“Thanks, Henry.”
I hang up and message mom. And then I start pacing. Should I go to the beach with Mom? Or should I let her handle this?
I snag my keys and make my way to my SUV. Mom can handle this, but I’ll be there when Harper’s ready. I’ll always be there. I will always wait for her. Be someone she can count on.
“Come in!” Henry yells when I knock on their door.
“Hey, Henry,” I greet as I walk inside.
He nods in approval. “You showed up. I knew I liked you for a reason.”
Carl strolls out of the kitchen. “Where’s Harper?”
“Boy scared her and she ran off.”
My cheeks warm at Henry’s loud declaration.
“You waiting for her here?” Carl asks and I nod. “Excellent. I need to quit early. My kid has a dance recital.”
“Go ahead.” I don’t hesitate to agree.
Harper can get mad at me all she wants. She needs to learn I’m here to help her. Not tell her what to do. There’s a difference. Her stubbornness gets in the way of telling them apart. Lucky her. I’m here to explain .
“Dinner isn’t made yet,” Carl says as he waves goodbye.
“What do you want for dinner?” I ask Henry. He opens his mouth but I wag my finger. “And don’t say Fruit Loops. Cereal is breakfast, not dinner.”
“Fine,” he grouches. “Spaghetti.”
“Holler if you need anything.”
He waves me away. “Shush. My show is on.”
I chuckle as I get to work. I’m scooping the fried rice into a container when the door opens.
“Kai!” Harper yells.
“Keep it down,” her dad grumbles. “The whole neighborhood heard you.”
I can’t hear Harper’s reply but she barges into the kitchen moments later.
“What are you doing here?”
I motion to the counter, which is now covered in dishes. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“I think you’re trying to take over my life.”
I scratch my chin. “By preparing a week’s worth of meals? You hate to cook.”
“And she sucks at it!” Henry yells.
“Stay out of this!” Harper yells back.
“Then, keep your voice down!”
“You need to stop pushing me,” she grumbles to me.
“I’m not pushing you.”
She rears back. “You’re not? You didn’t send your mom and brothers after me? ”
“Technically, I only sent my mom. She called my brothers. I didn’t.”
Did I know she’d call them? Yes. But I didn’t actually connect the calls myself.
“Do not get technical with me, Kai Raider.”
“You asked if I sent my brothers after you. I did not.”
She throws her arms in the air. “This is what I mean. You push, push, push.”
I prowl toward her. “And I’m not sorry. I had to be certain you were okay when you hightailed it out of my house faster than Zane runs to the bathroom after eating beans.”
Her face softens. I have a feeling no one’s made sure Harper is okay for a long time. Her dad loves her – it’s plain to see – but she’s the one caring for him, not the other way around.
Harper needs someone to care for her. I signed up for the job and I don’t plan to quit. Ever.
“I love you, Slugger.”
The hardness disappears from her eyes, and I dare to grasp her hand.
“I’ll wait forever for you if I have to, but I will take care of you in the meantime.”
She bristles. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
She blows out a breath. “It’s awful hard to argue with you when you keep giving me the perfect answers.”
I palm her face. “I’ll always give you the perfect answers. You’re it for me, Harper Poole. The woman I’ve been waiting my whole life for. ”
She sniffs. “You’re twenty-four.”
I shrug. “Doesn’t change what I said.”
She swallows, and I brace for a blow. Guessing by the stubborn tilt of her jaw, whatever she wants to say is going to hurt. “What if I don’t love you?”
I was wrong. It doesn’t hurt. It fucking kills. I let her words burn through me. They’re not true. I know it. She knows it. She’s just scared.
I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You care for me, Harper. You can’t deny it.”
“I can if I want to.”
I lean over and whisper into her ear. “Your body doesn’t lie, Slugger.” I kiss the skin below her ear and she moans. “I’ll wait forever for you if I have to.”
She arches her neck to give me more space, and I nibble her skin. She clenches the front of my t-shirt.
“What if I’m never ready?”
“Stop worrying about the future.”
“One of us has to.”
I sigh and retreat a step. I keep my hands on her hips – I can’t stop touching her when she’s near – but I give her the space she obviously needs.
“I’m not going to get cancer and leave you.” I guess at why she’s afraid.
She scowls. “You can’t promise you won’t get cancer.”
“Okay.” I nod since she’s right. “I won’t ever abandon you on purpose. I won’t find another woman and start a family with her and forget all about you. ”
“Your dad is an asshole.”
“Agreed. But there’s one good thing about dear old dad.”
“What?”
“I know how not to act. I will never leave you, and I will never give you a reason to leave me.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “Except pushing me and taking over my life.”
“Taking care of you is not the same as taking over your life and you know it. You’re just being contrary because I told you I love you and it freaked you out.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I did not freak out because you told me you love me.”
I bark out a laugh. “You didn’t race off like you’re the lead driver in the Indy 500 the second I confessed my love?”
“I put my clothes back on first,” she jokes and relief fills me. The danger is over.
We’ll have plenty more fights. Harper is a stubborn woman who can be as grumpy as her father. Fighting with her is unavoidable. But I will never leave her. No matter how much she fights me and my love.
She’s stuck with me.