Chapter 48
H e spotted her as if his thoughts had conjured her in front of him. A flash of blonde hair and cherry red sweatshirt as she crossed the path a hundred yards in front of him.
Luke stumbled in his stride and stopped. Maybe his sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on him. Harper would never willingly be out of bed at this hour. Especially not after leaving the office so late.
Maybe he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.
He thought about turning around, running home. And then of catching up to her and just running next to her. She shouldn’t be out alone at this hour. Why didn’t she worry about these things?
He didn’t bother asking himself why he did. He just returned to his run and turned right where he planned to go straight.
He caught sight of her at the lake and tried not to notice that it was the same spot where he came home to her just a few weeks earlier.
She stood with her shoulders hunched against the cold, watching the slow rise of the sun.
It was just beginning to crest the trees, turning the grayed-out clouds a rosy pink.
He stopped just within the tree line. She didn’t want to see him. And he was half afraid if he talked to her, he’d end up asking her to come home.
So he stayed where he was. Even from this distance he could tell she was crying. Her shoulders shook, and she kept swiping her sleeves over her face.
He knew he was an asshole for putting her through this. He couldn’t help it, but he could feel good and guilty about it.
The sun broke through the trees, warming the lake’s icy waters with its pink glow. Luke watched her straighten her shoulders and take a deep breath and then another before she returned to the path and resumed her run. Her blonde ponytail swinging rhythmically behind her.
He watched until she was out of view before turning around and running home.
His mood did not improve when he arrived at the office and found newly drafted ad copy for an office manager job listing on his desk and instructions on how to use Craigslist.
Luke slammed down his coffee mug and barely resisted the urge to crumble the paper and throw it in the trash.
She was just doing her job. A job that she clearly excelled at, judging by the updated bookkeeping entries and the completed payroll awaiting his approval.
He shuffled the help wanted ad to the bottom of the pile and picked up a folder labeled Bonuses/Raises. Inside, he found a neat spreadsheet detailing the projected profit for the year and two breakdowns of potential bonus amounts and hourly rate raises.
She had remembered when he said in passing he wanted to look at the year-end books and see what he could give the crew. He stared out the bank of windows behind him, watching as the first flakes of snow began to fall.
Goddamn it. What was he going to do without her?
That night when Harper arrived at work, a familiar woof greeted her. Lola jogged to her with Max skittering behind her. She dropped to her knees and let the dogs wiggle and lick their greetings. Lola had a note on her collar .
Thought you might be missing them as much as they miss you. You can drop them off at the house or text me when you leave, and I’ll come pick them up.
Luke
P.S. Are you up for shared custody? Let’s talk.
Harper spotted two new dog beds under her desk. There was a basket of toys that had already been tipped over and dug through.
She handed the note to Lola who promptly carried it to her bed and shredded it. Shared custody? She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She had just assumed that when she left, the dogs would come with her.
Would they be like those long-distance co-parents who met in a fast food parking lot to switch the kids from one car to another, barely a civil word spoken? Ugh. No. She couldn’t do that. There had to be a better way.
She shot off a quick text to Luke.
Harper: Thanks for leaving the dogs. I’ll be done here at midnight.
He responded immediately.
Luke: They miss you. I’ll pick them up after you leave.
Harper: Thank you.
She shoved her phone in the desk drawer and went back to work.
It was their new normal.
Harper pushed her cart into the vestibule of the grocery store, enjoying the puff of heat from above.
The snow had brought with it an early winter, and she couldn’t seem to get warm enough.
But that was most likely due to the giant block of ice that had once been her heart and the fact that her winter coat was still at Luke’s.
She was clawing her way through the pain, but what lay beyond that didn’t seem worth the fight yet. Maybe someday she wouldn’t feel as if her smile was painted on. Maybe someday she would remember what it was like to laugh. Maybe someday the hole wouldn’t be so big.
For now, she had shopping to do. She had volunteered to pick up Joni’s groceries and even made a show of adding a few things to the list for herself. Fake it ’til you make it was her motto. Well, fake it until you can pass out exhausted in bed. She’d worry about making it later.
Harper navigated through the produce section, half-heartedly perusing the bananas and turnips. She was approaching the scale when Georgia Rae intercepted her.
“Well, hello there, sweetie! It’s good to see you out and about since… well, you know.”
She did know. Thank you very much, Georgia Rae. “Thanks, Georgia Rae. How are you doing? Ready for Christmas?”
Harper felt like a robot mechanically spitting out pleasantries. She walked alongside Georgia Rae as the woman chattered on, nodding and making um-hmm noises. They rounded the aisle to find Linc in conversation with Sheila from Remo’s and Luke’s neighbor, Mr. Scott, by the beverage cooler.
They all called out a greeting. This was why grocery shopping took forever in Benevolence. You knew literally every single person in the store and were obligated to talk to each of them.
Why hadn’t she gone shopping out of town?
Linc winked at her. “Hey there, sunshine. How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” Harper said, trying for positive and landing somewhere around morose.
She was saved from further interaction by Peggy Ann. The curvy cashier hustled down the aisle, frantically waving her hands. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said in the loudest whisper possible. “But Harper, you’re going to want to avoid who just came in.”
Harper felt her stomach flip-flop.
Georgia Rae peeked around the corner into produce and gasped. “He’s here!”
Panic careened through her system. Not here. Not him. She couldn’t see him.
While Harper froze to the spot, Georgia Rae took control of the situation. “Mr. Scotts, you and I will run interference. Linc, you take Harper here and stash her somewhere until it’s safe. Sheila, you run distraction if he gets too close. Everybody move!” She clapped her hands, and they dispersed.
Harper watched as Peggy Ann hurried back toward her register and Mr. Scotts steered his cart of frozen shrimp and canned dog food toward produce with Georgia Rae.
She remained rooted through the blur of activity until Linc took her by the arm and dragged her into the beverage cooler.
“Wait! My cart,” she hissed.
“Leave it,” he said, shutting the door behind him.
Harper put her hands over her face and bent at the waist trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay?” Linc asked, laying a broad hand on her back.
“If you offer me mouth to mouth right now, I’ll kill you.”
His laugh had her straightening.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to laugh, but I believe you. You look like you’ve been put through the wringer and are ready to come out swinging.”
“That’s actually kind of nice,” Harper said with suspicion.
“I’m a nice guy,” Linc insisted.
She shivered. Between the snow, the cooler, and the danger of coming face to face with the man who broke her heart, Harper didn’t think she could get any colder.
“Come here before you turn into an ice pop.” Linc wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to him.
She resisted for a second, but the heat coming off him was too comforting. Harper tried to hold herself stiffly against him, but when he shoved her head against his chest, she gave up the struggle and let herself be held.
“You’re not going to start crying, are you?” Linc asked.
Harper sighed. “No, I think I can control myself.”
“Good. It’s going to be okay, you know?”
“Really? Do you have some magic fireman crystal ball?”
“It’s more like one of those magic eight balls.”
This time she laughed a little. It sounded foreign to her ears.
“What does your magic eight ball say?”
“That you’re going to be just fine. You’re strong and smart and look really, really good in a bikini. You’re not meant for a life of misery and hiding in beer coolers.”
“That’s an oddly specific magic eight ball you have.”
Linc gripped her shoulders and made her look at him. “You’re going to be good. You’re a fighter. That counts, especially when life sucks.”
“Thanks, Linc.” The small smile felt good.
“And if that asshole out there doesn’t figure out what an amazing catch you are, you just come by the fire station and?—”
Harper clapped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t ruin this touching moment by being gross.”
“I was just going to tell you I’ll let you slide down my pole,” he said through her fingers.
This time the laugh was real. “And the moment is over.”
Linc grinned.
They froze when the door swung open. “That’s great, Georgia Rae, I’m just going to grab?—”
Luke stopped mid-sentence in the door of the cooler. His eyes going from confused to fury in the span of a heartbeat. Harper struggled to free herself from Linc’s grip, but he only pushed her behind him.
“Garrison,” Linc said, his tone cooler than the chilled air .
“Well, you don’t waste any time, do you?” Harper saw Luke’s jaw twitch when she peeked around Linc’s back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Linc said evenly.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”