Chapter Three
Shoot. What had she done?
As Harper checked her phone and saw she had another five excited texts from Kash, telling her all about what he and Linc were doing, she wondered if she’d made the right decision. Again.
It felt as if she’d made the wrong choices over and over throughout her lifetime. And this was possibly one more.
Moving in with Lincoln Young had seemed like a good idea last night.
When she’d been cold and exhausted. Not to mention irritated with her dad for once again telling her that she was never going to get anywhere working at Walmart.
But it was a job. And Harper was proud of herself for not being a mooch.
For doing what she could to change her and Kash’s situation.
But now, seeing Kash’s excitement in his texts, how thrilled he was about something as simple as paint colors for the room he’d be living in temporarily, Harper was worried.
Kash could easily get too attached to their benefactor.
Might not understand that they were living with Linc only in the short term.
That he wasn’t going to be more than a friend.
One more disappointment in her son’s short life.
Harper was very aware that Kash wanted a dad. He’d started asking about his own father around age five. He wanted to know why other boys had daddies and he didn’t. Then, when he was a little older, he wanted to know where he was.
Why he didn’t want a son.
And she’d had no idea what to tell him. How to tell him that his father was a piece-of-shit human being. No one she’d ever want to introduce him to.
Couldn’t introduce him to.
Now, Harper didn’t want Kash to hope for things that were never going to happen.
He already had a huge hero worship thing going on with Linc.
He was the first man to ever support Kash unconditionally.
To let him babble on about stars and planets and nebulas, and not cut him off and tell him he should be interested in more boyish stuff, like football or girls.
Hell, Harper had a little bit of a hero worship thing going on herself when it came to Lincoln. Partly because he was so kind to her son, but mostly because . . . he was Linc.
She’d heard all the talk around town. About how he’d crashed while on a mission in the Air Force and survived a week evading enemies before he was rescued . . . all while severely injured. But that wasn’t why Harper had a mild crush on the man. In fact, that side of him was intimidating.
It was because when she looked into his eyes, she saw a familiar isolation that she felt down to her soul.
She was surrounded by people all the time, and yet she felt alone. As if no one truly saw her. Some might admire her red hair and green eyes, or even her body—thank goodness for a fast metabolism—but very few seemed interested in getting to know her as a person since she’d moved back home.
At least, not until recently. Britt Starkweather and Marit Phillips, women engaged to two of the Young brothers, had recently begun texting Harper.
And she appreciated their efforts . . . but she hadn’t tried to deepen a relationship with either of them as of yet.
It wasn’t because she didn’t want to, or because the women didn’t seem interested in getting to know her better.
After years of caution, Harper was just used to keeping people at arm’s length.
She felt as if Linc was a kindred soul. She swore she saw the same loneliness in his eyes that reflected back in her mirror every morning.
But nothing could come of it. How could it?
She would forever be the girl who’d made his life miserable in high school.
If she could go back and change things, she would, but she couldn’t.
What was done was done. All she could do was atone for her mistakes and move on.
And move on, she would. As soon as she had enough money saved up, she’d find a place of her own for her and Kash. Get out of Linc’s hair. He was probably already regretting asking her to move in with him.
Today at work had been tough. The closer the holidays got, the meaner customers seemed to become.
If they weren’t able to use their twenty-cents-off coupon, they went off the rails.
She got it, saving money was important, she knew that better than most, but screaming at the person ringing you up, who has the unfortunate task of telling you the coupon is expired, doesn’t actually help anything.
Honestly, she needed about a week off to sleep.
To recharge her batteries. But that wasn’t going to happen for many reasons, two of which were that she needed the money and the holidays were practically upon them.
The busiest time of year for retailers. Which meant even longer hours for her and even more stress.
But at least now she was certain that Kash would be all right. She remembered holidays in the past where she’d had no idea where their next meal was going to come from, or whether or not they were going to be evicted.
Feeling way older than her almost forty years, Harper headed for home.
No, for Linc’s house. She hadn’t had a home in way too long.
Couldn’t wait to finally be able to settle into a place with her son.
She had no expectations on what that home would look like.
A trailer? An apartment? A tiny little house?
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it would belong to her and Kash.
A place where they could finally relax. Could decorate however they wanted.
The drive to Linc’s house was about the same distance as it was from work to her dad’s.
After she parked in the driveway, she took a moment to close her eyes and be thankful for Linc’s incredibly kind and generous offer.
She’d gotten to the end of her rope with her father.
She loved him, of course she did, and would always be appreciative that he’d let her move in with him to get back on her feet.
But the time had come for her to leave. He must’ve felt the same way, that had to be part of the reason he’d gotten even more critical recently.
Opening her eyes, Harper saw all the lights on inside Linc’s house. It felt . . . welcoming. The low temperatures were hovering around freezing, and as November turned into December they’d only get colder. The bright porch light was a beacon. It felt like a promise. A new beginning.
Just as she was about to get out of her minivan, Linc opened the front door and half jogged toward her. For a split second, Harper had the crazy thought that he was going to say he’d changed his mind and she needed to go back to her dad’s house.
“Is everything okay?” she blurted, as she remained frozen with one foot on the ground and still half in the driver’s seat. “Kash?”
“He’s good. I just came out to tell you to park in the garage,” Linc told her, pointing toward the detached building next to the house.
Turning, Harper realized one of the doors was already open. She looked back at Linc. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. Only have one car, Harper. There’s no reason for you to park outside, where your car will just get covered in snow and ice.
It’ll save you some time in the morning, not having to scrape your windows.
Kash and I have dinner waiting, so don’t take all day.
” He nodded at her before turning and heading back to the house.
Harper stared after him for a beat, her gaze glued to his ass.
It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed that Lincoln Young was damn fine looking.
They were about the same height at around five-ten, but that’s where their similarities ended.
He had dark hair where hers was a deep auburn.
His eyes were brown and hers were green.
He was muscular, and while she had a few curves, she was underweight.
He filled out the jeans he was wearing very nicely . . . both the front and back.
She felt ashamed for even noticing.
She shouldn’t be noticing the size of Linc’s dick.
It made no difference to her situation. Besides, it had been so long since she’d been with a man, she should’ve forgotten what that part of the male anatomy could do for a woman.
Not that she’d ever really known. All her sexual encounters had been . . . less than ideal.
Once again, her mind shied away from that topic. She wasn’t going there. Didn’t want a man, was doing just fine without one, thank you very much.
But was she?
The doubts began to creep in. From the moment she’d left Maine, she’d struggled. Maybe she should’ve just stayed here and married a hometown boy. Her life would be very different if she’d done that, for sure.
“Harper,” Linc called from the porch, sounding amused. “Stop daydreaming and go park! The food’s getting cold!”
“Sorry!” she told him, as she climbed back into the driver’s seat.
Out of all the things Linc had offered her, a parking spot in a covered garage was possibly one of the most exciting. It had been forever since she’d had the luxury of protecting her car from the elements overnight.
She needed a new vehicle, but for now it was holding on, thank goodness. She had a ton of dings in the frame, from other cars bumping into it, and from the weather and general wear and tear. But the engine was in good shape.
She pulled into the garage and climbed out of the minivan. She collected the three bags of things she’d picked up after her shift was over and headed for the house.
Surprisingly, her exhaustion seemed to lift the closer she got to the front door. Seeing Kash always had that effect on her, but she was also very aware that she felt a kind of . . . anticipation at seeing Linc as well.
Harper was too exhausted to analyze the complicated feelings she had toward the oldest Young brother. Of which there were many.