It Was Always You (Harpers Ridge Book 1)

by Ann Carver

  She sucked in the corner of her bottom lip. “Um, I’m really exhausted and I just need to get to the block house. Is there a cab -”.

  Shit, she wanted a cab to go home and sleep on the floor of the block house. Nope, he cut her off by holding open the covers to his bed.

  “Um,” she mumbled.

  “Just get in,” he said all husky and demanding. Not in a sexual way, but an exhausted way.

  His eyes were closed and when there was no movement in his bed he sighed. “I’m tired. You’re tired. Harper, just get in bed. We’ve done this a thousand times.”

  She didn’t say anything, but he felt her climb into bed. He let the blankets drop, fluffed his pillow again and concentrated on going back to sleep. “Night,” he said.

  “You mean morning,” she said with another yawn.

  “Harper,” he threatened in a nice way. He just wanted sleep.

  The movement in the bed quieted. He was extremely happy for that. He exhaled the exhaustion out and would have smiled if he actually could have, but he was exhausted.

  “Joey?” came a voice from hell.

  He knew it was Harper, but it pounded in his head like the depths of hell. He should have taken her to the block house. “Please, Harper.”

  “Okay, but I have to ask. Why are you going to bed in the morning? Didn’t you sleep last night?”

  A grown escaped his mouth before he said, “I worked last night.”

  There was a bounce in the bed and he knew she’d sat up even without looking. “What?” she asked. “The hardware store isn’t open twenty-four hours. Oh, unless you stocked, I guess.”

  “Harper, for the love of stars, I need sleep,” he growled turning away from her, hoping she’d get the hint.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she said sternly.

  The pounding in his head was getting worse. “You didn’t ask a question,” he replied.

  “Joey Russell,” she snapped. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll keep your ass up all day!”

  Without sitting up and yelling at her like he really wanted to do, he settled for yelling at her from his present position. “I’m an EMT on third shift.”

  “What about the hardware store?” she asked in shock.

  He growled at her. “I basically babysit my grandpa. He’s pretty forgetful now-a-days. Now shut up and go to sleep or get the hell out of my bed.”

  Finally, he thought, as Harper settled into the bed, he’d get some sleep. It meant nothing when she sidled up next to him, cradling his body with hers, and rested her arm over his side then letting her fingers settle on his stomach. They’d slept like this a thousand times.

  When Joe opened his eyes again, he saw the sun setting. He hadn’t meant to sleep so long, but last night had been a tough one. The next county over needed extra help and they responded to a major ten car pile-up. It took hours to help the injured and get them off to the hospital. The fire department that responded was short staffed and Joe helped them with the jaws of life and stripping large, heavy chunks of metal away to get to the injured.

  After that call, Mrs. Fargle, who was older than dirt, had stopped him and his partner to get her cat out of the tree. It wasn’t even remotely his job, but she’d been kind to him when his own father hadn’t been. He figured he could spend ten minutes to get her cat and be on his way. Only an hour later, he was still up in a tree with a flashlight at two in the morning looking for a cat.

  He raised a brow to Mrs. Fargle. “What color is your cat?” he asked looking down at her.

  Mrs. Fargle, in her crackly voice, said, “Orange.”

  Joe sighed. “Is it the cat in your arms?”

  She looked down and squealed, “I’ll be damned. Tom-Cat, where have you been?” She hugged the cat and went back into her house.

  “Don’t you feel like an ass?” Rebecca, his partner, asked?

  He groaned but didn’t say a word. When he got to the last limb before he’d have to jump down, he misplaced his foot and didn’t have to worry about jumping. He fell. On his back and knocked the wind out of himself.

  Rebecca stood over him. “Are you okay? Do I need to get an EMT to give you mouth to mouth?”

  When air finally filled his lungs, he raised a brow and said, “You are an EMT.”

  She nodded. “Yup, but I’m not touching that mouth. Been there, done that. I don’t do repeats,” she said with a giggle and walked away.

  Yeah, it’d been a rough night.

  The other thing Joe noticed, aside from sleeping all day, was that Harper was no longer in bed with him. He figured she’d woken in the afternoon, called a cab and went to the block house. He briefly thought about sleeping the next few hours before he had to go back to work, but he wrestled out of bed.

  As he walked to the bathroom, he noticed the light in the kitchen was on. Harper, he thought. She must have left it on before leaving. He took a long, hot shower and returned to his room before putting his EMT uniform on, then made his way to the kitchen for food.

  “Good evening,” Harper said as he walked into the kitchen. It startled him.

  “I thought you’d be long gone,” he said.

  A flash of hurt crossed her face before she turned away from him. “I thought I’d repay you, for taking good care of me, with dinner. It’s your favorite. Spaghetti.

  Spaghetti wasn’t his favorite anymore. When he’d gone to college, he couldn’t afford much for food except hotdogs, ramen noodles, spaghetti and pork and beans. He loathed them now.

  “Sounds good,” he said as he sat at the table. He wasn’t going to hurt her feelings. After all, he knew there was no way in hell he had those ingredients in the house, which meant she’d went out of her way to go get them.

  “Good,” she said a little more up-beat. “I’ll get your plate. I’ve been keeping it warm. I had no idea you’d sleep so long.”

  She rambled on some more, but he just took in the awe he had for her. She was beautiful. Always had been, but not his type. Not anymore anyways. After she’d taken him to his bed when they were sixteen, he fell in love with her. He loved her even though it was one night and he knew she shared nights with other guys before and after that. He’d hoped she’d always change, but she never did. Not even now.

  Harper placed a plate, heaping full, in front of him and sat across from him. She’d gotten herself a much smaller plate of spaghetti. He wished they could switch plates.

  “When we’re done eating, I’ll take you back to the block house. I’m sorry I didn’t take you earlier, I was just exhausted,” he said swirling the spaghetti around his fork, dreading it.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I actually only woke up a few hours before you did. I guess I drank a little too much.”

  “A little?” he raised a brow at her.

  Putting parmesan cheese on her spaghetti, she just shrugged her shoulder. She looked up at him and furrowed her brows. “Eat up. I can’t believe you haven’t inhaled it already.”

  Dreadfully, he raised the fork to his mouth and prayed it’d taste like steak. He chewed and then swallowed. Shit, didn’t taste like steak. He thought about the block house. “Harper, where are you going to sleep? I saw the block house. You can’t stay there.”

  Her feisty jaw twitched and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Why not? I’ll get a bed today. I’m not wasting money on a hotel when I have the block house.”

  Joe sighed. “Harper, there’s a dead animal in the living room. There’s a hole in the roof and there’s no back door. I’m sure there have been mice rampant throughout the entire place. It’s not safe or sanitary. You’re not staying there,” he demanded.

  That was all it took. The fire lit in her eyes. “You’re not telling me where I can’t stay. Who the hell are you?” She always got feisty when someone told her she was or wasn’t going to do something. Joe had always gotten a kick out of it.

  Crossing his arms, he waited for her to stop talking. When she did, he finally asked, “Are you finished?
”

  “No,” she said in a snotty tone, but she didn’t say any more.

  “You know damn well I’m not telling you that you can’t stay there because I’m being a macho jackass. I’m telling you because I’m concerned about your welfare. I don’t want to get a call that you’ve been murdered in the middle of the house. There wouldn’t be any breaking and entering because there’s no door to break. They’d just enter!”

  Her tone changed slightly as if she was coming around. “Well, I’m not paying for a hotel. Besides, I’ll have the door up tomorrow.”

  Arms still crossed and jaw squared. He smoothly said, “And the hole in the roof?”

  She crossed her arms as well. “Tomorrow. I can do both in one day.”

  He knew she couldn’t, but he’d push her a little further. “And the dead rodent and biohazard of rodent droppings?”

  She sighed quickly in disgust. “The day after that.”

  “And the plumbing and electricity?” He was bluffing. He wasn’t sure if they worked properly or not.

  She dropped her arms to her side and slumped into the kitchen chair. Placing her elbows on the table, she rested her head in her hands. “I have to put every penny into the house. I can’t pay for a hotel.” She looked up at him with promise. “I know, I’ll sleep in my truck. I can lock the doors,” she said nodding her head with a smile.

  Joe couldn’t help but smile at her. But it faded quickly. “No,” he demanded.

  “But -” her eyes widened.

  “No!” he said loudly, but then he relaxed and spoke softly. “You can stay here.”

  Chapter Four

  Harper loved Joey for always being there for her, but she was not about to stay in his home. She didn’t know if he had a girlfriend or even a wife. Though, she doubted he had either because he wouldn’t be the type to bring her back to his place if he’d had one. No, she’d be fine sleeping in her truck for a few days. She was confident she could put a door on by herself and at least cover the hole in the roof. Everything else would come in time.

  “I’m not staying in your apartment, Joey” she said mater-of-factly.

  She watched him play around with his spaghetti before he said, “Yes you can, and you will. Don’t fight me on this, Harper.”

  The apartment was small, but she knew she could handle it. “I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

  He slid her a look of reality. “Really? After all we’ve been through as kids, you think you’re burdening me?”

  “I’m not your responsibility, Joey. I don’t need to be saved,” she said quietly. But she did need to be saved. But saved from what? She wasn’t sure.

  “It’s Joe,” he growled at her. “I’m not trying to save you. Well, last night I was, but, Harper, I’m an EMT. I worry about people’s welfare. Besides, I work third shift, so you get the bed at night and I get it by day. We’ll hardly even see each other.”

  Harper thought about it for a minute. The block house really was a shit hole and she wanted all the money, her foster parents had left her, to go toward the house. It made sense they’d be working opposite shifts. Her only job was repairing the house. At least now it was.

  When she’d moved to Hagerstown, there was a reality shock. It was a much bigger town than Harpers Ridge…much bigger. She’d only graduated high school and with no real skills, there weren’t many good paying options. There were always the strip clubs she could have danced at, but even though she liked men’s attention, she didn’t want to go that route. Unfortunately, she ended up working at one anyways. Luckily for Harper, she landed a job as a waitress instead of a stripper. They’d tried talking her into it, but she didn’t budge. She got stuck in that job for the last seven years and thanked her lucky stars she was able to get out of the rut.

  “Okay,” she finally said softly. “But, I’m going to pay you to stay here.”

  He slid her another look and shook his head. “That would defeat the purpose of not wanting to pay for a hotel.”

  Damn him. “Then I’ll cook you dinner every night,” she said happy with herself for coming up with a compromise. She added quickly, “But not on the weekends. You’re on your own, then.” She smiled at him.

  “Should I be afraid of what dinner would consist of?” he asked teasing her.

  She picked up her fork and pointed it at him. “I’ll have you know I’m a great cook. You’ll just have to let me know what you like and don’t like…like spaghetti.”

  His smile went away and he just stared at her. “How did you know I don’t like spaghetti anymore?”

  Winking at him, she said, “You twirled it on your fork for ten minutes before forcing yourself to eat it. I saw the pain in your eyes when you swallowed it.” One more mental note to herself at how he’d changed. It wasn’t a big deal, she just wondered what else had changed about him. It seemed to be a lot.

  He winced at her words. “Sorry, when I was in college, I ate as cheap as possible. I can’t stand those things anymore.”

  “Don’t apologize. I should have asked.” She continued to eat spaghetti while Joey rummaged through the fridge to find himself something else.

  When he returned to the table, with a sandwich the size of Manhattan, Harper could only laugh at him. They both must have been starved because neither of them said a word until they finished their food.

  “I’ll take you to your truck so you’re not stuck here,” he said grabbing his keys. “After tonight, I’m off for the next two days, but I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Harper shook her head. This was his place and she wasn’t going to intrude on his bed. “No-can-do,” she said. “I’ll sleep on the couch. Trust me, I’ve slept on worse.”

  “Harper,” he growled at her. “Why do you always have to argue with me? Can’t you just let me do something for you?”

  “You did,” she said moving closer to him and putting her hands on his chest. “Last night, you saved me more than you know.” She stretched on tippy toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek then grabbed her own keys.

  Joe only shook his head as they left the apartment and got in his truck. The sun was on its way down and Harper knew she wouldn’t be able to get anything done at the block house, but she could start planning out her next move. She definitely needed to call the electric company and have it turned on so she could see the extent of the damage in full. Once that was taken care of she’d put on the door.

  When Joe pulled up into the driveway of the block house, he put his truck in park and said, “You finally came back to Harpers Ridge, I’m glad you did. I missed you for a long time.” When he was done talking, he looked away from her, out the window.

  Harper’s emotions were stuck in her throat. Someone had actually missed her. Her best friend who’d been a party pooper and an ass when she first showed up just said he’d missed her. She turned and looked out her window for a long moment before opening the door and getting out.

  “Thank you, Joey,” she said quietly. “I’m glad too. I’ve missed you.” More than you’ll ever know, she thought. The city was rough. People weren’t kind, it was always busy and there was never enough money to move up in the world. She had been stuck in the worst kind of way.

  “I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” he said giving her a smile. “Oh, I guess I should give you my key.” He twisted a key off his key ring and handed it to her. “Just be there when I get home and tomorrow I’ll make a new key at the hardware store.”

  She took the key. “Thanks, I’ll be there waiting,” she said with a smile and then closed the door.

  She waved goo-bye to him as he backed out of the driveway and down the road. She turned and looked at the house. The sun was dropping low behind the trees and she didn’t feel like looking around in the dark with a flashlight. Instead, she retrieved her suitcase from the garage and put it in the truck.

  Driving back through town, not a whole lot had changed from when she left. Stores had different names and there were only a few new buildings. It was
late summer. The kids were all back in school and the tourist season was winding down. She knew she still had time to get the house fixed by winter, but with limited funds, she had to make it stretch. Once the house was at least livable, she’d find a job. Most likely she’d have to commute for a job because there weren’t many options in a town with less than three hundred residents.

  On her way back to town, she tried the radio to see if she’d get anything good. She doubted it. But when she heard Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” she turned it way up. Eminem was her favorite. Sure, she liked a lot of rap, but she liked the rhythm of Eminem’s music. Some rap was all words and beat, she wanted all of it combined and Eminem gave it to her.

  The lady next to her in the parking lot scrunched her face at her as she parked, then put her nose in the air and walked into the store. She understood that people may not like her type of music, but she didn’t judge them for whatever it was they listened to.

  Harper smiled at the woman even though she wasn’t looking. It was her choice to listen to whatever she wanted. One of the perks of being an individual. She went into the store and picked up some groceries for Joey’s house. If she was going to be cooking every day, she needed supplies. Cooking breakfast was her favorite, so she was going to surprise Joe with a great breakfast when he got home from work in the morning.

  Joe could only shake his head at Harper’s feistiness. She could be all piss and vinegar, then sweet as pie, then turn back to piss and vinegar in a heartbeat. She hadn’t changed. She was still the same Harper. Part of him liked that, but the part he didn’t like was that she didn’t value herself. She didn’t love herself. And that made him sad.

  When he got to work, Rebecca was sitting at the kitchen table eating. His stomach growled at the smell of whatever it was that she was eating even though he’d eaten a sandwich. “Mm, what do you have?” he asked peeking over her shoulder and reaching around to get her food.

  Rebecca smacked his hand. “Don’t you dare,” she snapped at him teasingly.

  “Oh, come on,” he said pleading with her. “You used to share with me.”