by Bo Reid
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea too,” I whisper, before planting a kiss on top of his head. I stand and walk over to his crib, laying him down on his back. I check that his night light is on before I turn off the other lights and close his door, leaving it open just a crack.
I return to the kitchen and glance around, but I don’t see Hartley. The lasagna dish is untouched, and the place settings are in the same place I left them. When I check the living room, I see Hartley lying down asleep on the couch. Walking over towards the living room, I look down and see Hartley is sound asleep, snoring softly. She has changed into a pair of sweats and a large hoodie from the laundry room.
“Hartley… Hart…” I nudge her gently, but she just wiggles deeper into the couch. I shake my head slightly and laugh lightly. She should have just gone to bed, well eaten and then gone to bed. Instead she came out here and fell asleep, I wrap my arms around her and lift her from her place on the couch.
She snuggles closer to my chest, and I hug her tightly as I walk down the hallway with her. Lightly kicking open the door to her bedroom, I walk over to her bed and gently lay her down. Briefly, she grabs my hand, but drops it as she settles into the mattress. I pull the blankets over her and tuck her into bed. Bending over, I plant a light kiss on the top of her head.
“Goodnight, Hartley,” I whisper softly before turning and walking out of her room.
Walking back down to the kitchen, I make a plate of lasagna before putting the leftovers away in the fridge. I put Hartley’s unused plate and silverware away before sitting down to eat.
When I’m done, I clear my dishes, putting everything into the dishwasher. Walking down the hallway I pause at Hart’s door for a moment before turning into my room. I close my door, leaving it open a crack.
Pulling the baby monitor from my pocket, I set it on my nightstand, double checking to make sure it’s on. I see Brooks sleeping soundly right where I left him.
Reaching behind my back, I grip my shirt and pull it off over my head, tossing it into the dirty clothes hamper. I kick my shoes off and strip out of my pants. Lying down on the bed, I rest my arm behind my head and listen to the soft sounds of the night filling the house.
Brooks’s snores drift through the monitor, and the wind outside whips through the trees. I’m only missing one thing, and she’s fifteen feet away in the room across the hall.
I’m woken up by soft cries drifting through the monitor at five in the morning like clockwork. I toss my covers off and get out of bed, making my way down the hallway before I push the door to Brooks room open.
“Morning, little dude,” I say quietly, making my way over to his crib and lifting him into my arms. “How did you sleep?” I ask him as I lay him on the changing table and get him ready for the morning.
“Brooks!” I hear Hartley yell from the hallway right before she bursts into the room looking like she didn’t sleep a wink.
“Hey, I got him,” I tell her softly as she looks around the room.
“Oh, god, thank you. I… I woke up and I didn’t have the monitor and I couldn’t remember falling asleep in my room. I…”
“You fell asleep on the couch,” I tell her, passing Brooks off to Hartley, who hugs him and looks him over. “I moved you to your room, but you were so tired that I kept the monitor. He slept all night, just got up.”
“Thank you, Kasen. You didn’t have to do that. He’s not your responsibility,” she says, bringing her hand up to cover her yawn before sitting down in the rocker.
“It’s fine, Hart. I don’t mind helping with him,” I tell her. I can see the argument forming on her face before she even opens her mouth. “I’ll start coffee,” I say, not giving her a chance to argue with me.
She opens and closes her mouth twice before smirking, “Thank you.”
I turn around and leave the room, going back to my room. I pull on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading into the kitchen. I start the coffee maker and toss two breakfast burritos into the toaster oven on the counter. Pulling down a coffee mug, I place it on the counter by the coffee pot.
I turn to head out the back door to the barn to get my daily morning workout in, but instead, I walk down the hall and peer into Brooks's room. Hartley is asleep in the rocking chair with Brooks cradled against her chest. I walk in and gently remove him from her arms, but she wakes up.
“I got him, I’m just going to put him in the crib,” I whisper.
“Okay.”
When I turn around, she’s already half asleep again. “Hartley, come on, let’s get you back to bed,” I whisper, grabbing her hand as she stands.
“Yeah, okay,” she agrees.
I walk my little Zombie Hart back down to her room and tuck her back into bed. She reaches up and grabs my hand.
“Are you... are you going to work out?” she asks quietly, but there's something in her face that I can't quite read; it's in the way she asks so softly, the way she grips my hand.
“What do you need?” I ask, sitting down on the edge of her bed.
She looks down for a moment before whispering, “Would you... umm, could you stay?”
“You want me to stay? Here?” I motion to the space next to her on the bed, and she bites her bottom lip but nods her head.
“Okay,” I whisper back. She moves over, giving me more room to slide in next to her.
I turn on my side to face her and stretch my arm out so she can lay her head on it. She moves closer to me, resting her hand on my chest. When she closes her eyes, she lets out a small sigh.
This isn’t the first time we have laid down like this, not even the first time we have fallen asleep like this. We end up like this almost daily on the floor of her office, but this feels different. In a bed, in her bed, it feels different. I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to my chest feeling nothing but contentment, and peace. This feels right.
Hartley
I’m pulled into a bright room, too bright, I can't see anything around me. But I can feel them grabbing at me, hands everywhere. I fight as hard as I can, pushing them away from me, trying to scream, but a hand is clamped over my mouth.
“You’re mine,” a voice growls from behind me. “You’ve always been mine.”
I fight back, thrashing around, trying to get him off of me, but more hands come out and grab me. Holding me down, forcing me to remain still. I scream and cry, I beg, anything to get him to stop.
But nothing I do matters, just like it didn’t matter then.
“I’ll show you who you belong to, My Hart,” he growls in my ear as I feel his fingers digging into me, bruising me, marking me, claiming me as his.
“No!” I yell, but it’s useless.
“Mine,” he growls.
“Hart… Hartley… Hartley wake up.” A voice calls in the distance, a kind voice laced with concern. I try with every bit of strength I have to fight against the hands that are holding me down. I try to go towards the sweet voice.
“Hartley, wake up, it's just a dream,” he calls out to me again.
I’m shaken awake. When my eyes snap open, I’m looking at Kasen next to me. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I sit up, leaning forward and bracing my elbows over my knees. Kasen runs a soothing hand down my back.
“You okay?” he asks softly. I nod my head.
“Yeah, just a bad dream,” I say, forcing my voice not to crack and biting my lower lip to prevent it from quivering.
“Is this why you’re so tired lately?” he asks. All I can do is nod my head yes again. I’m afraid if I open my mouth to speak, I’ll start to cry. That’s the last thing I need to try to explain.
“Okay. Here, lay back down, I’m not going anywhere, okay?” he murmurs softly, opening his arms and inviting me to lay back down next to him. I do, curling into his side as he wraps his arms around me.
This is just another reason why he is too good for me; too kind, too loving and I’m so ruined. I don’t think I can ever give him what he deserves, but I’m also
not sure that I’m selfless enough to let him go.
Chapter 17: Purple Roses
Kasen
After Hartley’s nightmare early this morning, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I texted Sol and told him we might be coming in late today because Hartley didn’t sleep well; he said that was fine, of course. I turned all of our alarms off and just laid with her in bed while she slept pressed up against my side.
When Brooks woke back up around seven in the morning, I was able to sneak out of bed and get him a bottle of milk from the fridge. He fought me for a good five minutes, but finally caved. When he was done, I brought him into Hartley’s room and laid in her bed with him on my chest. I watched over them both while they slept.
When Hartley finally woke back up without having another nightmare, she seemed to be feeling better. And the dark bags that were maring her pretty face for weeks were lighter. All I want to do is kiss her, hold her, and protect her. I’d do anything for her, absolutely anything.
“Damn it, this is bullshit!” I hear Sol yell from inside his office as I pass.
I turn to knock on his door, and when it opens, I look inside. “You good, man?” I ask.
“Yeah, it's just this shipment.” He sighs, motioning to his computer screen.
“Anything I can do to help?” I ask, stepping into his office.
“I don’t know, this shit was supposed to be delivered last week, and it’s nowhere to be found. So, I called the company, and they said it’s still at their warehouse, which is a six-hour drive from here.” He throws a pen across his desk, “We need them, because they’re already sold, but they won't deliver them until after we need them. Someone is going to have to go pick them up. Or we’re going to have to cancel and refund our orders,” he explains. I look over at the clock to see it’s almost closing time.
“Need someone to get them tonight?” I ask.
“Yeah. Someone needs to either drive up tonight, get them when they open, and drive back here in the morning; or leave early in the morning, grab them, and come back,” he explains.
“I can go,” I offer.
“You would do that?” he asks, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline in shock.
I shrug my shoulders, “Yeah, I mean, I doubt anyone else would want to do it. So that leaves you or Hart.”
“Yeah, okay. If you’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure, what will I be getting?” I ask.
“Long range targets. You’ll have to take one of the company trucks so you can fit them in the back. I’ll get you the keys,” he says, standing up and coming around from behind his desk.
He sticks his hand out and I shake it as he slaps me on the back.
“Thanks, man, this is a huge help for us. I’ll get you everything you need to make the trip. If you want to head home with Hart and pack an overnight bag, I can meet you over there with the truck in an hour.”
“Sure man, sounds good.”
Sol turns and leaves the room and I follow behind him. He turns to go to the back parking lot where they keep the work trucks, while I head towards the front of the store to find Hartley and Brooks to explain the situation.
When I see her, she's talking with Ace as he holds Brooks, bouncing him in his arms. My heart squeezes painfully. I know he’s married, and their relationship has never been like that, but it still hurts to see her and Brooks so comfortable with someone who isn’t me.
I shake my head free of those thoughts, she isn’t mine to be jealous over. She isn’t mine to get possessive over, I remind myself. But she is mine to protect, and I will always protect her.
“Hey, Hart, you about ready?” I ask her as I walk up and shake Ace’s hand.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Ace. Let's plan dinner soon with Ava, deal?”
“As long as you’re cooking, we’re there. Just tell us when,” he says, passing Brooks off to her. Ace bends down to kiss Brooks's head and Hartley’s cheek.
“Take care of my girl, Kingston,” he tells me, and I tilt my head to him.
As we walk towards the parking lot, I place my hand gently on Hartley’s back and guide her to the Jeep. I take Brooks from her arms and strap him into his car seat, double checking his buckles before climbing into the passenger seat.
“You want to do something this weekend?” she asks as she pulls out of the parking lot of Wild Hart and gets on the freeway to head home.
“Actually, about this weekend, Sol is meeting us back at the house, and I’m going to leave tonight to go pick up a shipment of targets for Wild Hart,” I tell her.
“Oh, he figured that out?” she asks.
“Yeah, and I guess they won't deliver them in time.” I shrug.
“Why are you going to get them?” she asks.
“I offered. Figured it would be Sol or you, and I don’t want you making that drive tonight. and what if you needed Sol for something and he was that far away?”
“I mean, I guess I see your logic, but you live with me, so if I needed someone, you would be my first choice.”
You would be my first choice. Her first choice if she needed something; if she needed someone.
“Plus, that’s a long drive at night, especially alone. Why don’t I just go with you? We can take turns driving up and back tomorrow, and Sol can stay with Brooks,” she offers. I look into the back seat at Brooks, and I’m not sure how I would feel about him being without Hartley.
“I mean, if you’re sure, then I wouldn’t say no to the company,” I tell her. I see her pouty mouth turn up into a small smile.
“Deal,” she says, nodding her head.
When we pull up to the house, I grab Brooks from his car seat and sling his bag over my shoulder. Walking up the front steps, I wrap my arm around Hartley’s shoulders. She turns and looks up at me, the faintest smile on her face in the moonlight.
“I’ll get Brooks ready for bed if you want to pack a bag,” she tells me, reaching her hands out for Brooks. I pass him off to her and head towards my room at the end of the hall.
“There’s a duffle in the hall closet, would you mind grabbing me an outfit from my room? Just black pants and an extra Wild Hart T-shirt would be great.”
“Sure,” I say, and watch as she disappears with Brooks into his room.
I head into her room first to grab the clothes she requested before I head back out to the hallway. I open the hall closet and search around for the duffle bag. When I find it on the middle shelf, I pull it down, and a picture frame that was tucked under it comes crashing to the floor. I cringe when I hear the glass crack as it hits the hardwood.
I bend down and pick up the frame. Turning it over, I study the picture; it looks like a young Hartley and Sol with a group of kids their age. A guy with shaggy blond hair has his arm around Hartley and a grin across his face, but Hartley looks uncomfortable, to say the least. She isn’t smiling or touching him in any way, if anything it looks like his hand is digging painfully into her side.
When I hear the light pattering of feet from Brooks’s room, I close the door to the closet and turn around.
“Find it?” she asks as she steps into the hallway.
I raise the bag up, “Yeah, tracked it down and grabbed the clothes you wanted,” I say, giving her a tight smile. “But I broke this frame, I’m sorry. It was under the bag and I didn’t see if before I pulled the bag out.”
I hand her the frame and she takes it in her hand and stares at it for a moment before shaking her head.
“It’s fine, it’s nothing.” She says looking back at me but she doesn’t seem fine anymore.
“You sure? I’ll replace it.” I tell her.
“No really it’s fine.” She says with a little more authority.
“I’ll just grab my other stuff,” she says and walks past me down the hallway and turns into her room closing the door slightly behind her. I head down to my room to grab my stuff.
I open the duffle bag on the bed and grab a pair of sweatpants, extra black pants, and a Wild Hart Outfitt
ers t-shirt, when I hear a light knock on my door frame.
“Can I toss these in there?” Hartley asks from the doorway, holding up a small bag of additional things.
“Of course,” I tell her, pushing the bag across my bed towards her.
She tosses her stuff into the bag, and I zip it closed as I hear the front door open and close. I immediately go on high alert.
“Easy, Tiger, it’s just Sol, he doesn’t knock,” Hartley says, giggling. I relax a little at that, but I still don’t like the idea of the front door being unlocked so just anyone could walk in. I should talk to her about that.
Later.
I grab the bag off the bed and motion for Hartley to lead the way, turning off the lights as we go. We step out into the hallway and I close the door behind me. I reach my hand into Hartley’s room to flip off her bedroom light. When I look down I see the frame I broke inside her trash, with the photo still in it.
I shake my head deciding its none of my business, turn off the light and follow her down the hall.
“Did you already tell him you’re coming?” I ask as we walk.
“Yeah, I texted him.”
“Change my sheets before you leave in the morning, you smell funny,” she tells Sol, sticking her tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes in response.
“I’m going to have an orgy and not change anything.”
“Not if you want to keep all your parts,” she quips. I watch as Sol cringes and covers his junk with his hand; protecting all his parts from the imaginary damage Hartley threatened.
“You’re the worst,” he says as a shiver runs down his spine.
“You love me.”
“Like a hole in the head,” he tells her, but I see the smile pulling at his lips. They love each other and have a special bond, one I’ve never had with another person. The closest thing I’ve had is whatever it is I have with Hartley. If I’m being honest, I don’t know what it is we have.
“You ready?” I ask Hartley.