Chapter 39
HARPER
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Chase:
Anybody want a free meal tonight? My mom’s not above bribing you two to get you over there.
Levi:
What’s she making?
Harper:
He means we’ll be there in an hour.
After spending all afternoon on The Sparrow, part of it doing what I needed to do, and the other part enjoying myself far more than I thought possible, Levi and I docked the boat and walked up the hill toward Chase’s parents’ home.
“You guys got here just in time,” Chase said, jogging down the deck stairs to greet us. “Dinner’s just about—” He cut off, his gaze snagging on something behind me, and I turned around to see what he was looking at, but The Sparrow was the only thing in his line of sight.
“That’s how you both got here?” he asked Levi, brows raised damn near to his hairline.
“Looks like,” Levi said.
“It’s about damn time.” He grinned, hooking his arms around both our shoulders and leading us toward the house.
I narrowed my gaze at him, realizing the little shit had known this whole time—whenever we’d grabbed lunch or dinner or drinks anytime we happened to be in the same place. And not once had he mentioned it. “Exactly how long have you known Levi’s boat was named after me?”
He wiped his expression clean and shook his head. “Sorry, what?”
“Exactly how long?—”
“Oh, I think I hear my mom calling for us.” He turned toward the house, yelling, “What’s that, Mom?”
I rolled my eyes and elbowed him in the gut, basking in his sharp oomph. “You’re such an ass.”
“You gonna let her talk to me like that?” Chase asked, glancing at Levi.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s the truth.”
“Great, so this is what it’s gonna be like with the trio back together,” Chase said. “Both of you ganging up on me, as usual.”
“Do you want me to call your wife and have her swing by?” I asked. “Protect you from us?”
“I hate you both.”
“You love us both,” I tossed back.
He dropped his arms from our shoulders and turned around, walking backward as he split his gaze between Levi and me. “That I do. And I’m happy as fuck I don’t have to keep secrets anymore. That calls for a celebration. Did you bring something to toast with?”
Levi snorted. “Maybe if you’d given us a bit of notice. We came straight from the cove, man.”
“Damn. Well, I’m sure Mom’s got something,” Chase said as he opened the sliders to the house and strode inside.
“What does Mom have?” Marianne called from somewhere in the house.
The Lockharts’ home had been such a staple in my childhood that a pang of nostalgia settled over me as soon as I stepped inside. Levi reached down, linking our fingers together and squeezing as if he understood exactly what I was feeling. Though he probably would since this place was just as much a second home for him as it had been for me. More so. Especially after his mom passed away.
It must’ve been hard for him, coming here with so many memories seeped into these walls. A constant reminder of what used to be. Of what would never be again.
“Harper!” Marianne said, scooting around her son to engulf me in a hug. A mom hug.
Her familiar scent washed over me as I melted into her embrace. I wasn’t expecting tears to prick my eyes at that first squeeze, but a wave of emotion crashed into me as she held me tight. As if I were her own. It was a hug I hadn’t had in years. Not since her. Not since Grace.
After several long moments, Marianne finally pulled back to hold me at arm’s length. Thankfully, she’d hugged me so long I had enough time to get my shit together, so I hoped my eyes were no longer shiny.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she said. “We have a lot of catching up to do. Tell me, do you have any babies yet?”
“Jesus Christ, Mom,” Chase said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “She’s been here for ninety seconds. And you can’t say shit like that anyway.”
“Why not?” she asked, sounding affronted.
“Because it’s A) rude as hell, and B) none of your business.”
“Well, I was just curious.” Marianne sniffed. “Wondering if I had a place to put all this grandmotherly love.”
“You do have a place for it.” Chase rolled his eyes. “Or did you forget my wife is pregnant with our baby, aka your first grandchild?”
“No, I didn’t forget. But do you see any babies lying around here?” She held out her arms and looked pointedly around the great room and the decidedly baby-free space. “I want to love on a baby now, and I’ve gotta wait until March. Unless…” She looked back at me with raised brows.
I laughed and shook my head. “Sorry, Marianne. I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait for your son and daughter-in-law’s little bundle.”
She blew out a long-suffering sigh and hooked her arm through mine, tugging me toward the dining room. “But someday, yes?”
“Mom,” Chase said, sounding so much like the aggrieved thirteen-year-old I’d once known and loved that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hush now. Harper and I are having girl talk, and it doesn’t concern you.”
Chase grumbled under his breath as Marianne looked at me with an expectant expression, and I didn’t know what to tell her.
Kids had never been part of my plan. Not with the childhood I’d had and growing up as I did. Not considering the nonexistent relationship I had with my parents and the damage they’d done. And not considering my lack of any serious romantic relationships in the past…ever. Truthfully, I still wasn’t sure if kids were in my plan.
So then, why the hell did my stomach flip as I imagined a life like that with Levi, him and me with a little kid, each of us holding on to one of their hands and swinging them between us as the three of us strolled along the beach?
And why the hell did it flip even more when I slid my gaze to Levi, only to find his attention already on me?