by Ann Carver
She held his gaze for a long bit before she finally relaxed. “Okay, then,” she said.
“Okay, then,” Joe repeated her words.
Another awkward silence fell over the room. Realizing he was standing there in a shirt and a towel wrapped around his waist, he said, “So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish getting dressed.”
Rolling her eyes at him, she started walking away as she said, “Not like I haven’t seen it before, but I’ll leave for Harper’s sake…not yours.”
He didn’t reply to her comment. But it didn’t go unnoticed that if he’d said something like that, she’d blow a gasket. He would let it go, just as he would the Harper comment. Talking about Harper with Rebecca was something he wasn’t going to do.
When he’d finished getting dressed and made his way to the front of the office, Rebecca was gone. Dylan was on his phone and only nodded when he looked up briefly. Joe made his way to his desk and rested his head on the back of his chair as he put his feet up on the desk. Maybe he’d take a nap now that Dylan was up.
As luck would have it, there was no time for a nap. They’d been called out four times. The first was a fender-bender on a county road. It was minor, but the mother of the driver who hit the other vehicle was worried about their infant and wanted to be checked out. The second call was a bit scary. A couple of teenagers had been hopping the railroad tracks when one of them fell and got their leg stuck under the tie. Luckily, they had responded before the next train came through. The third call was a deer accident. The woman hit a deer and then ran off the road. She was shaken up, but seemed fine. The fourth call was from Mrs. Fargle. Joe cursed himself for not taking a stool to her, because when they’d gotten there, the cat was on top of the fridge, again.
Extremely exhausted, Joe made his way home, took a hot shower and practically fell into bed. Even though he was tired and practically asleep by the time his head hit the pillow, he was sad that Harper was already gone. He knew she wanted an early start, but he’d hoped she would have been there when he arrived home.
Harper woke up before the sun made it’s shine onto their side of the world. She wanted to make sure everything was set up for the appliances to be delivered. She laid down bits and pieces of carpet remnants so they wouldn’t scuff the floors or dirty the new carpets.
After checking the floors off her list, she mowed the lawn. The grass was still wet, but she didn’t want to leave it over the weekend while she was on her rafting trip. When she was done, she brushed off the grass from her legs and shoes and made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water.
She reverently watched the time, hoping that the deliveries would come earlier than later. If they did, then she’d have time to go to the thrift shop and look for more décor. As she was moving stuff around the cupboards, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello,” she said cautiously.
“Hello, this is Gary from John’s Port-A-Potties. Is this Harper?” the man asked.
A moment of excitement crossed over her. “Yes, it is,” she replied.
“Well, we’d like to offer you to job if you’re still interested,” Gary said, cheerfully.
Her heart skipped a beat. She was actually going to be bringing in money again. “Of course,” she said, not wanting to hesitate.”
“Great. Be here Monday morning at seven,” he said.
Harper smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “I’ll be there. Thank you for giving me a chance.”
Gary laughed. “You’ve got spunk. I like that, but you’ll still need to have strength and a strong nose to do this job,” he said.
“I won’t let you down,” she said meaning every bit of it.
They disconnected and Harper couldn’t help but do a little dance in the kitchen as she said, “Hooray!” It immediately had her searching for the song “Hip Hop Hooray,” by Naughty By Nature. She turned it up and danced around the kitchen, singing along to the verses.
An hour later, after wandering room to room, making lists of things she wanted for each room, the delivery people showed up. They brought in the new refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher to the kitchen and the washer and dryer to the laundry room. It took less than two hours to get everything in place and hooked up with a simple rundown of the machines.
Shortly after the delivery men left, the granite countertops arrived. Harper watched, anxiously as they carried the heavy pieces in and secured them to the counters. They were beautiful. So beautiful she almost didn’t want to put anything on them.
After the men were gone, she ran the tips of her fingers along the countertops and giggled. Her foster mom would have loved them. A frown crossed her face. She wished she would have showed more affection toward them. Sure, they were busy with all the foster kids, but she’d been the first…the one that stayed the longest. The one they apparently thought of the most, considering they left the house to her.
“I’ll make you proud,” she whispered, wondering if they could hear or if, perhaps, they knew she would.
Just as she walked out the door to go to the thrift store, another delivery truck pulled up. It wasn’t either of the companies who’d been out earlier. If it had, she would have thought they forgot something, but this was a furniture company.
Harper met them in the driveway when they parked. She tapped on the window and the guy inside smiled and put the window down. “Hey, there,” he said, happily.
“Hi,” Harper said, puzzled. “I don’t have any more deliveries today. Do you have the wrong address?” she asked, thinking that must be the case.
The man pulled out the invoice and confirmed the address. “Nope, right place, but I do have a note for you,” he said as he handed over a sealed envelope.
Harper took the envelope and ripped it open. Inside was a note from Joey. He wrote that he wanted to do something nice for her and for her not to be mad. He also mentioned the block house had fond memories for him as well and wanted to give back to such great memories.
She wanted to be mad at Joey for doing this. He’d already been doing way too much and she’d never be able to repay him. However, she couldn’t be mad at him. Actually, it was quite the opposite. She felt her heart squeeze a little.
“We good to go, Miss,” the guy asked.
Harper nodded and the three men jumped out of the truck and began hauling furniture inside. They brought in a kitchen table that sat ten people, first. She had no idea why he’d buy such a big table, but once they’d placed it into the dining room, she saw just how perfect it was.
It filled the area with plenty of room to walk around and perhaps a buffet to be added later. The dark oak wood was beautiful with matching wheat-back chairs. It was more beautiful than some of the tables she had envisioned putting in there.
Next, the men brought in wrought-iron bed frames and mattress for the spare bedrooms in different designs, so no room would be exactly the same. As if that wasn’t enough, they brought in dressers for each of the rooms and a lounge chair.
When the men were all done, he handed Harper another envelope. Her eyes grew big as she slowly took it from his hands. He chuckled. “It’s not a bill, Miss. I was instructed to give you the other envelope first and this one when we’re leaving. Enjoy,” he said and then walked out to the truck.
Slowly, she opened the envelope, hoping he was telling the truth and it wasn’t a bill. It was another letter from Joey explaining that he didn’t get living room furniture or the master bedrooms’ furniture because he knew she wanted to personalize it to her own liking. He also said if she hadn’t liked anything, then she could return it and get something else.
Her heart squeezed a little bit more.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Joe woke, he didn’t feel rested. He’d missed having Harper sidled up next to him. After tossing and turning for over an hour, he gave up on sleep and slid out of bed. He dressed, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and drove to his grandpa’s hardware store.
As he walke
d in, all he could think about was Harper. Surely by now she should have received her surprise from him. He figured she’d be pissy about it, but he really did have fond memories of the block house. They’d spent just as much time there as they had at his place.
He put on his hardware apron and ran into his grandpa as he was tying the back. “Hey, Grandpa. Has it been busy today?” he asked.
His grandpa stopped dead in his tracks. “What’s wrong with you, boy?” he asked sternly.
Joe had no idea why he was talking to him like that. “Uh, nothing,” he replied.
“You look a mess,” he scowled at Joe. He held the scowl for a bit before breaking into a toothy smile. “Either you didn’t get much sleep or…you didn’t get much sleep,” his grandpa said while waggling his eyebrows and elbowing him.
Shit! There was no way his grandpa was teasing him about getting it on before coming to work. Of course, he wished he had, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. “Uh, no,” he said to his grandpa, matter-of-factly. “And stop waggling your eyebrows. You look weird,” Joe said as he stepped around him and practically ran away.
He heard his grandpa laugh, even though he’d escaped almost four aisles over. So much for checking up on him. He seemed to be doing just fine. Not wanting to make it look like he was checking up on him, he started stocking inventory.
When he’d stocked the electrical section, he moved onto plumbing, until a couple of hours had passed. He decided to call it a day and go see Harper and how she was coming along with the house. A part of him wasn’t sure he wanted to go there because she could be angry over the gift. But it didn’t matter, he still wanted to see her.
Joe put his apron away and searched for his grandpa. After checking the office and warehouse, he went out to the floor and found him by the front door. He was talking to two people. Not customers. Tristan and Andy.
Tristan caught Joe’s gaze as he walked toward them. “Hey, little brother,” Tristan said as he pulled him in for a hug. How the hell are you doing?”
Joe felt crushed by Tristan’s strength. He was in the logging business and while there were machines to do most of the work, Tristan felt it necessary to do some of the stuff the old-fashioned way.
“I’m good, how are you?” Joe said, happy to see his brother.
Andy joined in on the hug and when Grandpa joined, they were all entangled in a big group hug. Joe felt happy. It’d been a long time since they’d all been together again. While Harper was his best friend, when he was younger, his brothers were the next closest thing until they’d moved away.
“What brings you guys here?” Joe asked as they stood back examining each other with smiles.
Tristan frowned. “We always come up this week,” he said as if Joe should know.
At that moment, Joe remembered. “Right. Dad.”
Tristan nodded and hugged him again. When dad passed away from liver failure, from drinking to heavily, it had become tradition for the three of them to get together for a week. It was the only time he saw either one of them.
“I can’t believe it’s been three years,” Andy said as he held his military hat in his hands.
Joe couldn’t figure out why Tristan and Andy kept coming for the anniversary of their dad’s death. He’d been a mean drunk and that’s why they both left as soon as they could. Joe had been stuck in the same town with him. Though he’d moved out, right after high school, he was the one that had to deal with him. Drunken phone calls for rides which turned into his dad calling him names and showing disappointment.
Sure, he understood it was an illness, but he’d offered to put him through rehab, but he’d refused. Even when he was on his death bed, he’d managed to call Joey a screw-up. The only good thing that came from his dad’s abuse was the night that brought Harper to his bed.
The four of them nodded. And right after, the sorrow ended. Andy told us about his over-seas adventures and Tristan talked about his job and an upcoming opportunity. He’d been scouted out for a reality show. He didn’t have all the details, but it was about old style lumberjacking. It was in the beginning stages, but he was excited about it.
Joe didn’t have any grand stories of traveling the world or a TV show, so his update was quick and short. He was still an EMT and part-time at the hardware store. When they’d asked if he was seeing anyone, he stiffened.
When he didn’t reply, his grandpa spoke for him. “He’s shackin’ up with his childhood girlfriend, Harper,” he said with a big grin. “You know, the spit-fire redhead.”
Tristan and Andy’s eyes grew wide. “Harper Fiore?” Tristan asked. “Holy shit! I thought she left town.”
Joe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “She’s back,” he said, not wanting to talk about Harper to them…not when they’d slept with her.
Andy clamped a big hand on his shoulder. “Good for you,” he said with an assumedly, sincere smile.
Not wanting to say anything else, he just nodded, trying to think of something that would change the subject. But that was impossible when he’d heard a shriek behind him.
“Oh my gosh! Is that you, Tristan and Andy?” Harper screamed with pure excitement.
Joe turned and watched her run and jump into Tristan’s arms. As if that wasn’t enough, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Joe winced and his stomach turned.
“Damn, Harper,” Tristan chuckled. “You’re not a little girl, anymore, are you?”
Harper didn’t answer him, she just clung to him and hugged him. Then she looked at Andy and without climbing down Tristan, she lunged toward him. Of course, Andy caught her easily and hugged her back. Though it was more of a tame hug, it wasn’t brotherly to say the least.
“Harper, it’s been a long time,” Andy said as he wrapped her in his arms.
“Too long,” she said in a muffled voice because she was practically buried in his neck.
Joe’s gut twisted and turned. He couldn’t help the sour face it made on him. As much as he loved seeing his brothers, he’d wished they weren’t here at this moment. How could he possibly compete with Mr. TV and Mr. Travel-Around-The-World?
When she slid down Andy’s torso, Joe wished it was him she was sliding down. It had been noted that she didn’t jump into his arms. Damn, he’d been a fool to think that Harper would want to be with him.
“What brings you to the hardware store?” Joe askes after clearing his throat, as if grasping for her attention.
She turned and looked at Joe. “Oh, I came to get some stuff for the kitchen,” she said as if realizing, just now, that Joe was standing there.
Of course, she came to shop, not see him.
“And, to see you,” she said as she walked up to him and linked her arm with his. “To thank you for what you did.”
Joe let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. She’d come to see him. To thank him. He thought for sure she’d be yelling at him for buying the furniture for her. He unlinked his arm and wrapped it around her hips. He didn’t mean to do it possessively. Well, yeah he did. He wanted his brothers to know that she was off limits to them.
“No thanks needed,” he said with a smile on his lips. “You deserve it.”
Tristan and Andy looked at each other. “The boy bought her some furniture for her house,” their grandpa piped in.
The puzzle look continued between his two brothers.
“Her foster parents left her the block house and I ordered a few things for the place,” Joe said humbly. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He was still waiting for Harper to balk at the idea and throw her hands on her hips and spit fire at him.
Harper playfully elbowed him. “More than a few things,” she said, sliding him a get real look.
They stood there and talked for a few more minutes before agreeing to drive over to the Dancing Pony for dinner and drinks. They said goodbye to their grandpa who declined to go and drove over to the bar.
After placing their orders, Tristan and Andy gave the rundown on
their lives to Harper and she did the same. She hadn’t tried to glamorize her time away from Harpers Ridge, but instead, said it was a learning experience.
Joe felt more at ease. Harper sat close to him. Even though she waited on every word of his brothers, he took comfort that her knee clung to his and she never moved away. She seemed to never blink when Andy told her about some of the exotic places he’d been and what lied ahead for him. When Tristan talked about the reality show, her jaw seemed to permanently drop
Harper couldn’t believe all the exciting things that had happened to Tristan and Andy. She also couldn’t believe how drop-dead-gorgeous they were. Tristan was the epitome of an outdoorsman. He was tall, broad in the shoulders and rugged. His dark, wavy hair was a little on the longer side and his full beard made her want to tease him and call him Paul Bunyan.
Tristan and Andy were polar opposites. While Tristan was the rugged type, Andy was the spitting image of a gentlemen. Perfectly groomed, military-style haircut, and a gentlemen’s smile was what every parent would want for their daughter.
It was great catching up with them. She hadn’t seen them in years. The last time she’d seen Tristan was the rafting trip and she couldn’t remember when the last time it was for Andy. As they continued to catch up, Lila came into the Dancing Pony.
“Tristan! Andy! Has it been a year, already?” she said as she made her way over to the table. She gave them both a quick hug.
Andy and Tristan greeted her warmly and asked her to join them. She sat and caught up with them for a bit.
“Wow, sounds like you’ve been doing great things,” she said to both of them. “I’m still working at Shultz and Holt.”
“Still after Donovan?” Tristan chuckled with a wink.
Lila blushed and playfully pushed his shoulder. “You’re terrible,” she said to him.
Tristan laughed louder. “I’m not the terrible one. You were creative, I’ll give you that,” he said teasing her more.
“Hey, you guys should go rafting with us this weekend. It’ll be great,” Lila said, all smiles and excitement.