Chapter Thirteen
It was late by the time Blane pulled off the road into Emmett's driveway, and as they approached the house, Harper inhaled sharply when she saw all the vehicles parked outside.
"What's up?" Emmett asked from the back seat, where he was propped up against a pile of pillows that Blane had "liberated" from his hospital room to make him comfortable.
"The gang's already here," said Blane.
Harper glanced over at him from her spot in the passenger seat. "You don't sound surprised."
He shot her a quick glance. "You must be more of a newcomer than I realized if you are surprised."
She settled back in her seat. She wasn't sure if he meant it that way, but his words felt like a put-down. She kept quiet while he pulled up right outside the front door.
When he climbed out, Emmett spoke from the back. "He didn't mean anything by that, you know," he said in a low voice.
She pulled herself together and turned around with a bright smile. "It's not a problem. And besides, he's right. What do you think? Should I go on ahead and see how things are looking inside?"
She reached for the door handle, but stopped when he said, "Yeah, but Harper, you're not an outsider.
Don't go getting it into your head that you are.
These guys have been like family to me since we were all kids.
And Blane's protective. That's all. They'll want to check on me, make sure that I'm all right. "
She nodded, thinking that he'd finished, and started to get out. She stopped again when he added, "But by tonight, they'll all have gone home. Back to their own lives. I'm glad that you're the one who's staying here with me in mine."
She turned to look over her shoulder at him, and he nodded. "I want to make sure you're all right, too. Don't think the smile is fooling me, lady. Today took its toll on you as well."
She was about to brush his words off, but the look in his eyes stopped her. And she nodded. "Yeah. But I'll be fine. I am fine."
She jerked her chin to where Blane was hovering outside Emmett's door, realizing that as blunt and abrupt as he was, he must have sensed that they needed a minute and was giving it to them.
"Want me to go make you a coffee?" she asked.
He smiled. "Don't tell anyone—they'll laugh at me—but there are some herbal teas in the cabinet. I could use one of those."
She let out a short laugh. "Done. And don't worry, I won't tell a soul. Your secret's safe with me. In fact, now that I know it, I have a stash of teas myself—I'll start sharing with you."
It was easy to stay busy in the kitchen while Blane helped Emmett inside and got him set up on the sofa. The house was crowded and Harper was able to move among them easily enough.
Travis and Ace pushed forward to help Blane get Emmett settled. Janey hovered over him, issuing orders, and shortly after they arrived, Ty and Tanner MacFarland showed up.
Harper busied herself making a pot of coffee. She found the herbal teas in the cupboard and smiled when she spotted the same brand of licorice and peppermint that she loved.
She steeped the tea and then checked the cabinets, smiling when she found a travel mug.
At least if she put the tea in there, the others wouldn't know what it was.
It was a quirky little detail about him that she loved knowing, and perhaps even more, knowing that he didn't share it with his friends.
She hung back in the corner of the room, watching Emmett get comfortable on the sofa, with the guys hovering over him, alternately asking questions, and joking around.
She waited for a moment of quiet before stepping forward to hand him the travel mug. He met her gaze and held it for a moment as he said thanks.
"What about you, Harper?" said Ty. "Are you all right? Don't you want to sit down?"
"Me? I'm fine. I'm just glad that I decided to be a pain in his ass and drop in on my way past."
Travis came to stand beside her and draped his arm around her shoulders. "From the way Deacon tells it, it's a damn good thing you were there. The damage to this guy might have been a whole lot worse if you weren't."
Harper didn't comment. Deacon had spent over an hour with them at the hospital, first taking Emmett's statement and then asking her what felt like question after question. She'd gotten the impression that he wasn't overly impressed with her.
"Come sit down," said Janey, patting one of the armchairs. "Just because you weren't injured doesn't mean anything. You've still had a shock."
Blane cocked an eyebrow at her. "Was that your first experience with a firearm?"
She stared back at him. She just couldn't figure the guy out.
She didn't know if she was being overly sensitive or if he just plain didn't like her, but everything he said to her felt like either a challenge or a put-down.
She knew she should just stay quiet and nod, but as usual her mouth got the better of her good sense.
She gave him a bright smile. "As a matter of fact, it isn't. Montana doesn't have a monopoly on bad guys with guns, you know. I had a face-to-face meeting with a pistol in New York back in the day, too."
With that, she sat down in the armchair and took a sip of her tea.
Travis chuckled into the awkward silence that had descended and came to sit on the arm of her chair. "Well, you held up better than a lot of folks would have."
"She was amazing," said Emmett, giving her an encouraging smile. "You should have seen her. She managed to divert his attention for long enough that I could get the drop on him."
Harper smiled at him gratefully but didn't say anything. When she dared glance at Blane again, he gave her a curt nod that she hoped might pass for something like approval in his world, but she wasn't entirely sure.
She wished that Shelley was here. Then she might not feel like such an outsider.
She kept quiet and listened to the conversation bounce around the room.
It was easy to see that, as Emmett had said, these guys had been friends forever.
Blane, Travis, and Ace, of the ones who were here, and, of course, Trip, Deacon, and Cash, who currently weren't. But even the younger MacFarlands—Ty, Tanner, and Janey—were, as Emmett had said earlier, more like family than just friends.
She pressed her lips together. Family wasn't a concept she had too much experience with.
As the time ticked by, she started to wonder if she should make some excuse.
Tell Blane that she didn't know if she could stay awake—didn't trust herself to be able to check on Emmett every couple of hours.
Of course, that would be a lie. But she didn't think she'd have any problem making Blane believe it.
Everyone turned at the sound of crunching gravel outside when a vehicle pulled up, and then a door slammed. Travis chuckled. "Clear a path to Emmett, guys. Brookie's here."
Harper watched with interest when Brooke appeared in the doorway, and only hesitated for a moment to take in the sight of Emmett before dashing over to him and kneeling on the floor by the sofa, grabbing his hand as she asked, "Are you okay? I heard you were shot."
Emmett smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm fine, Brookie. There's nothing to worry about." He pointed at his shoulder. "It went straight through. Trip cleaned it out for me. It'll be healed and forgotten in no time."
Janey let out a short laugh. "Unlike the cracked ribs. You have to remember, Emmett, I had a couple of those not so long ago, too, and I can tell you now, mister, you're gonna be off work for a while."
Harper held her breath. She hadn't had the chance to process much of anything yet. But of course, Janey was right. Emmett wouldn't be able to work. With cracked ribs and a useless right arm, he wasn't going to be able to do much of anything for a long time.
She watched his face with interest as he smiled and a mask seemed to come down as he said, "I'll figure it out. Don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you with all the work at the clinic."
Janey scowled at him. "That's not what I'm worried about, and you know damn well it isn't. I'm worried about you trying to do too much too soon. And you can't."
"She's right, you know," Blane said from his spot in the corner where he'd taken up his usual sentry stance.
"She always is," said Emmett with a smile at Janey.
Brooke got to her feet. "Well, I'm sorry I came running in like that. I just had to see you—had to know that you’re okay."
"Don't apologize, Brookie," said Emmett. He looked around at the others. "The rest of them are all doing the same thing. No matter how tough they're pretending to be about it."
Harper’s mouth fell open when Blane suddenly stepped forward, a genuine, wide smile breaking his stony face. "I don't mind admitting it—you scared me shitless, Mitty. I'm just glad you're all right."
He held an arm out to Brooke, who hurried to his side. Warmth bloomed in Harper’s chest as she watched the "Sentry" melt. Blane hugged his sister tightly. "When shit like this goes down," he muttered, "it makes you stop and think."
Travis chuckled. "Hey, Blane. Good to see you, old bud. I thought we’d lost you—thought you'd disappeared so far under that stony exterior we'd never see you again."
Blane lifted his head, still clutching Brooke, and grinned at Travis. "Fuck you. Love you too, bud."
~ ~ ~
Emmett was grateful to everyone for coming over, but by the time they started talking about leaving, he was struggling to stay awake.
He thanked Ty and Tanner. They were good kids. They'd wanted to check on him, but more than that, he knew they were interested in following up on the break-in. They didn't believe any more than he did that that one single kid was responsible for all the recent ketamine thefts.
Ace gave him a chin lift from the doorway. "You gonna be okay overnight?"
"I am." Emmett deliberately didn't look toward Harper. He felt bad that she wasn't completely at ease with the whole gang yet. He didn't want to embarrass her by explaining that she was spending the night.