Chapter 31 Jj
Jj
No one is around and I jump out to open the gates myself. Leo said King, Warren, and Maxwell were left here but I don’t see them anywhere. I wait for everyone to ride in and close them back up and lock them.
Yelling comes from the houses and my gut sinks.
Harper hasn’t been answering her phone and my mom, and Alannah, have been cagey.
The ache in my shoulder intensifies and I jog around the bar to see the old ladies and the three brothers from Luca’s chapter crowded outside Shane’s house. I still don’t see my old lady.
“Where’s Harper?”
Holly turns around and melts when she notices Leo coming up behind me.
“She’s locked herself in the house, she won’t open up for us.”
She darts around me and throws her arms around her husband. Giving the house my attention, I ignore my mother and everyone else and climb the porch steps.
Since I haven’t seen anyone with my son, I'm betting he’s in the house with her. The windows are sheeted up and I pound my fist on the door.
“Harper, baby, I'm home. Come open the door!”
I don’t hear anything and bang again. “Baby, come on. I've been on the road for days, I wanna shower and I need to see you!”
Something is knocked over inside and then there’s a bump against the other side of the door. It doesn’t open and I rest my forehead against the wood.
“Baby, I haven’t seen you in days, you know how much I miss you when I'm away. Unlock the door, and let me in.”
“Jay? Is that you?” she calls out and I close my eyes. The fear in her voice reminds me of her darker days.
“It’s me, darlin’.”
“You left me, you didn’t come back.”
“I’m back now.”
I listen to the lock opening and I step back a little when the door starts to open. Her arm shoots out and she yanks on my sleeve until I'm pulled over the threshold. The air is stifling and the heat clings to me.
She slams the door shut and locks it again. Her hands pat down my body and land softly on my cheeks.
“You’re really here?”
Her eyes are brimming with tears, but not one drops.
“I’m here, baby. I'm home.”
Reaching up, she kisses me and that’s when her tears escape.
I return the kiss, needing her as much as she needs me, until I hear, “Daddy!”
Releasing Harper, I kneel to pick up Gunner as he runs toward me. I brace my shoulder for impact.
“Have you been looking after Momma?”
He nods but looks over my shoulder to Harper. “Mommy is sad.”
“I know, you go watch your cartoons and I’ll make you some dinner.”
Once he’s out of ear shot, I ask Harper, “What are you doing in Shane’s house?”
“It’s where we live now. I picked it when I thought you were dead, and I was left on my own. It's not like he needs it now.”
“Babe, a little harsh, no?”
“Still true.” She disappears into the kitchen, and I walk around ripping down the sheets and unlocking and opening the windows.
The cool breeze floating in is welcome and Gunner grins up at me as I ruffle his hair on my way to the kitchen.
“We’re running out of food, now you’re home, I'll run to the store. Not literally run, but you know what I mean.”
Her rapid speech and her frantic movements tell me she probably hasn’t taken a single pill since I left.
“Mom can make us something, I don’t want you out of my sight.”
She relaxes and smiles carefree. “I’m so happy you’re home, you don’t know how tired I am.”
“I’m pretty tired myself. I'm gonna take Gunner over to my mom, and grab us some food.”
“Don’t leave!”
“I won’t be long and then me and you are gonna have this whole house to ourselves.”
Her smile is radiant and she nods. “Okay, I’m going to take a quick shower. Don’t be long.”
“I won’t.”
My shoulder is killing me and the thought of carrying Gunner weighs on me. Standing the living room doorway, I say, “Come on, son, let’s go see grandma.”
He jumps off the couch and I take hold of his hand. Leo isn’t around as we step outside and I walk over to where Mom and Dad are stood with Cas and Alannah.
“Harper…”
Mom cuts in and tells me, “Hasn’t taken her medication because she reckons she’s pregnant. We’ve done our best but under the circumstances, we haven’t done a good enough job.”
Pregnant? That’s not possible. I got a vasectomy two months after Gunner was born. We both decided one kid was enough for us and I made sure a mistake wouldn’t happen.
“She’s still here and still alive, that’s good enough. I’m home now, I’ll take over.”
“How are you doing, son?” she asks.
“I’m good, Mom.” I smile. “I was hoping you could take Gunner tonight. I need to deal with Harper and I don’t want him around if she gets worse.”
“Sure. I’ll keep him as long as you need. Just let me know.”
I kneel down and tell my kid, “Be good for your grandma, yeah?”
He nods and takes her hand when she holds hers out for him. I go to walk off when Cas calls my name. I stop and he catches me up.
This shit has aged him ten years. The lines around his eyes are deeper and I swear he has more grey.
“I wanna say that I shouldn’t have stepped on your toes. The brothers were right, you wear the VP patch, I should have trusted you’d make the right calls, especially when it came to Leo.”
“Turned out, neither of us made the right call.” I snort. “I get it though, it would have been hard to let go when you were president for years and it was your son who was taken.”
“Some shit is engrained in you, but it won’t happen again.”
“It’s fine, Cas. Look, I’ve gotta get back to Harper. She shouldn’t be left alone for long.”
He nods. “Let us know if you need help.”
Once back at the house, I lock the door and take the key out, pocketing it so she can’t slip out without me knowing.
The water is still running upstairs and I kick my boots off and slip out of my cut, careful of my shoulder. I hang it up on the banister and head up the stairs. I dig the antibiotics out of my pocket and pop one into my mouth.
The bathroom is full of steam and I undress, slipping into the shower.
“I’m back, babe.”
She turns and smiles up at me. “You can’t ever die.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here.”
“No, I mean, when our time comes, I need to die first. I can’t live without you.”
I’ve always been selfish when it comes to her, and I’m selfish to know that I’m the one who couldn’t live without her. I keep it to myself and nod, giving her what she needs to remain calm.
“Babe, are we pregnant again?”
She frowns and then remembers something. “No, I told Alannah that so she’d get off my back. She’s getting worse with the nagging, I swear. Why? Do you want another baby?”
“No, we decided, didn’t we?”
“Yeah.” She sighs with relief. “We did.”
I run the backs of my fingers across her cheek and slide my hand around the back of her head.
I pull her against me and hold her close.
“Everyone is home. It’s over. We can go back to living our lives together.
We’re gonna shower, then we’re gonna eat.
You’re going to take your meds and we’re gonna get back on track.
I’m gonna love you every day, take care of you, make you happy, make you laugh.
I’ll wipe your tears when you cry, then kill whoever made you cry.
There’s nothing you have to worry about anymore. ”
She presses her lips agains my chest and winds her arms around my back.
“I like the sound of that.”