by Ann Carver
Harper noticed Joey stiffen. She turned toward him. “Have you decided to come?” she whispered to him.
He shook his head. “No, I have to work.”
“Rafting, huh?” Tristan said as he considered it. “Sure, I’m in. I need to find something to do while I’m stuck here for a whole week.”
“What about you, Andy? Please say you’ll come,” Lila pleaded.
Andy took a moment before he spoke. “I don’t know,” he said as if he wasn’t sold on the idea.
Lila gave him the puppy eyes. “Come on, what else do you have to do?” she asked, putting pressure on him.
He thought about it for a bit before answering. “Yeah, maybe it’ll be fun. It’s been a long time.”
Lila shrieked with excitement. “Oh my gosh, it’s gonna be so much fun.”
Harper was happy that Tristan and Andy were going rafting. It would be better if Joey was going. But there was no sense dwelling on it if he was scheduled to work.
Lila didn’t stay long. She’d come in to pick up food and left shortly after her order was ready. The four of them talked for a while longer before Tristan and Andy decided to call it a night. Joey had seemed disappointed that they hadn’t asked to stay with them. But they knew he lived in a small apartment, so they’d gotten a hotel for the week.
Harper and Joey made their way to the apartment. When Joey went off to take a shower, Harper laid on the couch. It’d been an early morning with lots of work and she was exhausted. She just wanted to rest her eyes for a moment, because she had a feeling that Joey’s burn was better and she wanted to show him how much she appreciated what he’d done.
Chapter Twenty-Five
When Joe got out of the shower, he dried off in record speed. He wanted to take Harper into his room and make love to her long and slow. Or fast and hard. It could go either way. He wrapped the towel, loosely, around his waist. No sense in getting dressed if they were going to come right back off.
He made his way quickly to the bedroom, hoping Harper had the same idea. But, she wasn’t there, so he walked down to the living room. His heart stopped when she came into his sight. He couldn’t even be mad that she’d fallen asleep because she looked so beautiful. She was knocked out. So much that her mouth was open and her arm had fallen on the comfort of the couch.
Just before he was about to scoop her up and take her to bed, his phone rang. It was the EMT station and they needed someone to cover a shift due to an illness. Joe couldn’t turn it down. Rather, he wouldn’t turn it down. He always believed in helping out fellow coworkers and fellow human beings in a time of need.
He wrote a note to Harper and left it on the kitchen table, made himself a lunch for the night and left for the station. Being a Friday night, it was sure to be busy. He hadn’t prepared to go to work until the next night, so he was hoping to be able to get a nap in.
However, as luck would have it, there was no opportunity. The first call came in just as he stepped foot into the station. It was one after another. A deer accident, tractor-trailer and three car pile-up, a drunken man fell down a flight of stairs, a choking hazard with an infant, and Mrs. Fargle lost her cat at five in the morning.
On the way to Mrs. Fargle’s house, Joe stopped at his grandfather’s hardware store and let himself in. He found the sturdiest step ladder he could find and left money and note on the counter for the cashier in the morning.
He wondered if Mrs. Fargle called when only he was working. It sure seemed like it, but how would she know his schedule? After all, he’d been called in tonight. Of course, he asked her to check all the likely spots before they’d come out, but she still hadn’t found him.
Maybe he needed to buy her a tracking collar. Did they have such a thing for domestic cats? He didn’t know. Maybe a bell on the collar. But if he was sleeping or being still, that wouldn’t help either.
After searching for over an hour, their shift was technically over, but they couldn’t leave Mrs. Fargle in a frantic state.
“Did you let him outside?” Dylan asked her.
She looked up with her big, teary eyes, that her glasses magnified, and said, “I don’t remember.”
I’ll call animal control and see if anyone picked up a cat, recently,” Joe said.
She nodded as Joe called his friend, Juan, who was the animal control chief. It took a few minutes for Juan to figure out who patrolled that night and give him the number to Hank who worked that night.
After calling Hank, he told Mrs. Fargle that he’d picked up a cat in the area that resembled Tom-Cat. He told her she could pick him up at the animal shelter when they opened at nine.
Mrs. Fargle broke down in tears and sobbed. She hunched over and held her hands to her eyes. “I can’t wait that long,” she cried out to them.
Tears from an old woman went right to Joe’s heart. He knew Mrs. Fargle loved that cat more than anything. He also knew that she’d be heartbroken if she didn’t get her cat right away, so he called Juan back and asked for a favor.
“Mierda,” Juan said under his breath. “How old is she?”
“Shit,” Joe whispered. “I don’t know, old.”
Juan laughed. “Because I love mi abuela, I’ll meet you there. But you owe me,” he said.
“Sure, put it on my tab,” Joe said thinking of all the owing he now had to do.
They disconnected and told Mrs. Fargle that he’d take her to the animal shelter and that Juan was willing to let her get him before opening. They took the EMT truck back to the station and then Joe drove out and picked her up.
She sat so frail and quiet as they drove to animal control. He’d never seen her this way. Even though she was old, she was full of life every time he’d seen her. They pulled into animal control and Juan was waiting outside for them.
“Okay, let’s see if your gato is in here,” Juan said as he opened the door.
“His name isn’t Gato, it’s Tom-Cat,” she said to Juan.
Juan looked at her and then at Joe as if everyone knew gato was cat in Spanish. Joe shrugged his shoulders and then mouthed the word “old,” to him. Juan simply led the way back to the housed animals.
Juan went in, followed by Mrs. Fargle, and then Joe. He knew, instantly, when she found Tom-Cat. Her shoulders went back and she stood straight. She clapped her hands together and called to her cat who responded with a meow.
She opened the cage and he practically lunged into her arms. As much as she loved that cat, it loved her back just as much. Even on the drive home, she smothered her face into the cat’s orange fur and he purred all the way home.
By the time Joe got Mrs. Fargle and Tom-Cat settled into their house, he drove home hoping to crawl into bed with Harper and burying himself deep inside her. It’d been so long and he didn’t think he could wait much longer.
Maybe she’d still be asleep on the couch and he’d take her there. Then carry her to his bed and take her again. Hell, while he was fantasizing, he’d take her in the shower afterwards. Yes, he felt sexually deprived.
When he reached his apartment, he took the steps two at a time. He was already hard and if he didn’t get to Harper soon, he was pretty sure he was going to pass out. His hands shook, making it difficult to get the key in the lock, but he finally did.
As quietly as he could, he opened the door and walked in hoping to find her fast asleep on the couch. He rounded the wall and spotted an empty couch.
Okay, he’d take her on the bed, then the couch, and then the shower. He started undressing himself as he made his way to his bedroom, but when he’d gotten there, the big grin he’d had, turned to a frown. She wasn’t in his bed either. He checked the bathroom and then the kitchen.
There was a note on the table from Harper saying that she’d already left for the rafting trip and that she’d see him on Sunday afternoon. Joe dropped his head. He felt like Mrs. Fargle did about Tom-Cat. As much as he tried to fight it, he loved Harper and his heart was broken that she wasn’t here.
Not that it w
as any consolation, but he took care of his throbbing erection in the shower, because he wasn’t going to have Harper for another two and a half days. It was going to be a long, agonizing two and a half days.
Harper had been woken up my Lila and Lily calling to ask if she wanted to start the morning out early with breakfast. She thought they were crazy for calling at six in the morning and she wanted to tell them no, but since she’d already been woken up, she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep.
The girls told Harper they’d pick her up in an hour. She figured that’d be enough time for her to jump Joey’s bones when he walked through the door in fifteen minutes. Then she could shower and be ready before the girls picked her up.
Unfortunately, Joey didn’t come home in fifteen minutes, or a half an hour, or even an hour later when the girls picked her up. She didn’t want to call him at work if it’d been a busy night, which was likely the case, so she left him a note instead.
They drove out of town and stopped at a countryside diner for breakfast. Lila was extremely excited about eating breakfast at the place, and Harper figured out exactly why when they walked in.
Donovan Holt was sitting at a booth and waved them over when he spotted us. Lila had been right. Donovan was a very good looking guy. When she’d heard he was a lawyer, she visualized a skinny, nerdy guy with nerdy glasses.
The glasses part was right, but he was fit and sported anything but a nerdy smile when he laid eyes on them. Donovan, in school, had been cute, but he grew out of that and into hunk, sometime after school.
Harper thought the smile was for Lila, but changed her mind when they got closer to the table and saw him sitting across from an equally gorgeous brunette. Harper’s heart sank for her friend. She was going to be devastated.
Donovan stood and smiled. “Lila, Lily, so glad you could make it for breakfast,” he said as he hugged each girl with a kiss on their cheeks.”
“You remember Harper, don’t you?” Lila asked with pink cheeks.
Donovan looked over at her and smiled, warmly. “Of course, how are you Harper? Lila tells me you’re back in town,” he said as he gave her a hug as well.
“I’m good,” she said, feeling awkward that she hadn’t seen him in years and he hauled her in for a hug. “Looks that way.”
He turned and motioned toward the table with his hand. “Please, have a seat. Adrianna and I will be finished with business, shortly, and then we can talk about rafting.”
They all took a seat and the three of them placed an order to the waitress. It was clear that Donovan and Adrianna had been there a while, because they’d had empty plates stacked in front of them and some sort of papers in front of them.
While Donovan and Adrianna were talking amongst themselves, Harper leaned in and asked Lila, “Who is this chick? His girlfriend?”
Lila stifled a giggle. “That’s Adrianna Schultz,” she said as if Harper should know who the hell she was.
“His girlfriend?” she asked more serious this time. How could Lila giggle at that.
Lila shook her head and whispered, “No, that’s his law firm partner.”
Then it dawned on Harper. She remembered Lila telling her the name of the law firm. Schultz and Holt. She had assumed that Schultz was a guy. But still, this woman was gorgeous.
“Have they had a thing?” Harper asked.
Lila shook her head. “No,” she said and then frowned. “At least not that I know of.” The frown easily went away. “She’s married, so I really don’t think so.”
Harper nodded and felt like a jerk for asking. She hadn’t meant to make Lila feel awkward about, so she didn’t ask any more questions.
The food arrived quickly, which Harper was grateful for. She was hungry and it prevented her from asking stupid questions. She plopped some butter on her waffle and then drowned it in syrup. A little piece of Heaven on a plate.
As they wrapped up eating, Adrianna packed her stuff up and stood. “Have a good weekend, Donovan,” she said with a big smile. She turned toward Lila. “Don’t let him get too wild,” she said with a wink. “He’s got a busy week ahead of him.”
Lila laughed easily with the lady she worked for. “I’ll try, but he always tells me I’m not his boss when I try to tell him what to do.”
Adrianna laughed. “Well, try anyways. Hope you all have a good weekend. I know I will,” she said and then left.
“She’s so lucky,” Lila said. “She’s going to Paris for the weekend. Who goes to Paris for the weekend?”
Donovan chuckled. “Apparently, Francisco and Adrianna. Anyways, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Lila perked right up. “Fun!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Joe collapsed into bed with a sad sigh. A month ago, if someone had told him that he’d fall in love, he’d think they were crazy. It wasn’t hard to love Harper. They kept each other’s dark secrets and were always there for each other. He remembered when she left Harpers Ridge. It was like another day for her. She packed up, said goodbye, and was gone. It had taken him a long time to stop missing her. Actually, he wasn’t sure he really had stopped missing her.
He adjusted his pillow a few times and arranged the blankets several times as well. Sleep wasn’t going to come too soon, even as exhausted as he was, until he talked to Harper. So, he reached over, grabbed his phone, and called her.
“Joey,” Harper said, sounding excited.
Joe hoped she was excited it was him. “Good morning,” he said as cheerfully as he could. “Sorry I missed you this morning.”
Her voice quieted. “I waited for you, but then Lila and Lily came and picked me up.”
He went hard wondering if she waited to see him or waited to make love to him like he had. Her voice sounded like it was the latter. “I’m sorry, I had plans for us when I got home too,” he said in a deep, husky voice.
There was a little squeak in the phone. “You’re all better now?” she asked in a lustful voice.
His little fantasies filled his head again. Touching her, kissing her, and filling her deeply. Damn, it was going to be a long few days.
“Yeah,” he said as he closed his eyes, willing his dick to stop twitching, and wishing the weekend would go by quickly.
“I wished you would have come on the trip,” Harper told him.
He regretted not going now, too. “Me too,” he said with a sigh.
“Joey?” she asked softly.
“Yeah?” he replied.
“I can’t wait to come home,” she said, barely in a whisper.
Joe always tried not to read too much into things. She couldn’t wait to come home. Home. Did she mean, his home? Was this her way of saying she wanted a home with him. That she loved him? He needed to reign his thoughts in. More like he needed to shut that shit down, because when he was about to ask Harper to be his, right after high school, she’d taken off that day and never returned for many years.
“I can’t wait for you to come home, either,” he said in a sinful way. He needed to make it a light conversation, nothing too heavy to scare Harper away.
He heard her breath hitch and he knew he succeeded in keeping it light. When had things gotten so serious with the two of them? When she first returned to Harpers Ridge, he wasn’t exactly the nicest to her. He’d been snarky with her. And now he felt like an ass because of it.
He still needed to keep it light. “The weekend will be over before you know it. We’ll make up for lost time when you’re home,” he said with a chuckle.
“Or, you could come get me,” she said.
Oh, he really wanted to. “As tempting as that sounds, I’ve been awake for way to long to drive, safely. Not that I don’t want to,” he added.
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t want you to get in an accident.”
“Right back at you, babe. Be safe on the rapids,” he told her.
They talked for a few more minutes and disconnected just before Joe passed out.
Harper and
her friends stopped at the local Walmart for food and supplies. They loaded everything into Donovan’s SUV and then they followed him into the mountains for their fun filled weekend.
After talking with Joey, Harper almost asked Lila to take her back home. But that wouldn’t be fair to her. She’d told Lila she’d go on the weekend trip with her and she didn’t want to back out on a friend.
A couple of hours later, they reached the campground. Lila and Lily had upgraded from a tent to a four-person cabin to include Harper and Donovan. They walked into the musky cabin and took in their surroundings.
The cabin was bare-bones, rustic, without linens and a kitchen, but it did have a private bathroom with a tiny shower. It was better than nothing. On each side of the cabin were a set of bunkbeds. Lila took the top of one while Donovan took the one right underneath her. Lily took the bottom bunk on the other, leaving Harper with the top bunk above her.
After putting their bedding on, they all went outside and started a fire. That would be their energy source for cooking. Once the fire started, it must never go out. There were a couple of picnic tables, but everyone had brought a camping chair. Harper had to buy one for the trip.
When everything was done, they all took a seat around the fire, waiting for the others to arrive. Soon, there’d be several tents occupying the area around the cabin and when night fell, some serious drinking will occur.
But Harper wasn’t in the mood to drink. Lila and Lily stocked up at the store, but Harper didn’t buy anything. Having a beer with Joey was fine, but she’d given up drinking as a means to have a good time. Because, most of the time, it ended up not being a good time.
“So what’s really up with you and Joe,” Lily asked as she sipped on her drink.
Harper was surprised at her question. As much as Lila was the wild child, Lily was more reserved, but every once in a while, she cut loose and it was wild.
She shrugged her shoulder as if dismissing it. “Nothing,” she lied not wanting to talk about it.