by Ann Carver
“Yeah, well, I have a lot to make up for. I treated her like nobody else probably has. It’s going to be hard, and I hope like hell it’s worth it in the long run.”
It was true. Everything that went wrong was because of him. He’d been planning how to win Harper back for the last few days and it started with apologizing to his brothers and then the decorations in her yard. Though the next phase of his plan was going to take place the following day, he had to add to it.
After getting home, he made several calls and then relaxed on the couch, satisfied that his plan was coming together…at least he hoped.
A couple of hours later, Harper heard a knock on the door. It startled her. She had no idea who would be visiting her. Even though she had a couple of friends in town, the only person she cared to see was Joey. But that wasn’t going to happen.
She opened the door and a pizza delivery guy was standing there with a box of pizza and a bag on top. “Um, I didn’t order pizza,” she said as her stomach yelled at her that it was starving.
“It was a call-in order. All paid for,” he said as he handed over the goodies. “Have a good night,” he said and turned to go down the steps.
“Wait,” she called after him. “Let me see if I have cash for a tip,” she said, hoping like hell she had a couple of ones stashed around the house somewhere.
The man put his hand up and waved. “All taken care of. Have a good night,” he said as he jogged to his car.
“Who’s it from?” she hollered after the guy, but it was too late. He was already in his car and halfway down the driveway.
Perhaps it wasn’t for her. Maybe the delivery guy brought it to the wrong address and one of her neighbors were wondering where their food was. The warm smell of pizza crept up to her nose and her stomach growled again. This time, angrier. It wanted food and it knew she was holding it.
“Shut up,” she said to her stomach. She looked down at the receipt and saw her name clearly written on it.
Instead of standing there puzzled, the overwhelming need to feed her belly took over. She padded her way to the kitchen, opened the box of pizza and pulled out slice. It was hot, but she didn’t care. It was way better than peanut butter and jelly. The first bite had her groaning. Almost as good as sex…almost!
When the first slice was down, she opened the bag and found a Styrofoam container. When she opened it, her eyes grew big and her nose filled with the sweet scent of waffles. Another container housed buttery syrup and it took point five seconds to dive in. Nothing had ever tasted better…except Joey’s kisses.
Joey! It had to be Joey. He was the only one that knew her obsession for waffles and buttery syrup. But why? Why would he do this after not talking to her for a week?
She’d think about that later. Right now, the smell of the delicious food had her preoccupied and she ate until she couldn’t eat anymore.
Feeling like a cow, she packaged up the rest of the food and put it away. She was thankful she wouldn’t have to eat peanut butter and jelly again tomorrow. Thanks to someone. Joey? Maybe. Or maybe she’d never find out.
She made her way back upstairs. She brushed her hair and brushed her teeth and then put her red, wavy locks into a bun on the top of her head. Plopping down on the bed, she pulled her phone out.
After hovering over Joey’s name, she finally typed a message: If it was you, thank you. There was a whole lot more she wanted to say. Why are you an asshole? Why did you break up with me? I love you! But she couldn’t bring herself to type those. It was easier on her heart to stay simple.
Laying on the bed, she waited for a reply. Maybe there was a simple misunderstanding and they could work things out. Maybe he’d been busy and didn’t have time to talk to her all week. Maybe she needed to stop making excuses for him. So, she just waited for a reply.
It never came.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Joe grabbed his phone the moment it lit up his dark room. It was Harper. Good, she’d gotten the food he sent. He couldn’t imagine her going hungry if she hadn’t had enough money to pay Vinny. She was very simplistic in her reply. If it was you, thank you. It saddened him. Not that he was expecting an I love you or anything. After all, he was the ass and he ought to be damn lucky she even texted him.
However, no matter how much he wanted to reply, he didn’t. It was part of the plan. Tomorrow was going to be do or die for him. Either she’d forgive him or he’d have screwed up the best thing in his life.
He held his phone close to his heart, hoping tomorrow would go in his favor.
The following morning, Joe woke up well rested. He was surprised. He didn’t think he’d be able to fall asleep with his nerves all jumbled up. He hopped in the shower and pulled on his favorite jeans. The weather had cooled considerably, so he pulled on a dark grey sweater, splashed on some cologne and left the house.
His first stop was his grandpa’s house. His brothers were leaving today and they all got together for a breakfast farewell until the next year. He’d apologized to Tristan the day after he punched him. He even apologized to Andy even though he’d never accused him directly. Luckily for him, he had great brothers and they forgave him easily.
“Today’s the big day, huh?” Tristan asked Joe.
He nodded with a big grin.
“Sure you don’t want us to go with you?” Tristan teased his brother.
“Leave the boy alone,” his grandpa interrupted. “He don’t want you two watching him beg and grovel, hoping red will take him back.” He winked at Tristan and Andy who stifled a laugh.
“Thanks, Grandpa,” Joe said solemnly.
Tristan slapped him on the shoulder. “Just be honest and get down on your hands and knees if necessary,” he harassed him further.
Andy gave Joe a hug. “You’ll do great. I know she loves you. It was evident while we were camping,” he said.
Joe glanced over at Tristan, sorrowfully, when Andy mentioned the camping trip. Tristan shook his head, indicating him to forget about it. He’d already apologized and Tristan had forgiven him.
“Thanks. I hope she’ll forgive me,” he said wishing for nothing more than exactly that.
They all took a seat and had their traditional goodbye breakfast. They talked about what lied ahead for each of them, but it was hard for Joe to pay attention. While their lives were going to go on, pretty much the same as it always had, his was about to change drastically. Either for better or worse. Only time would tell.
“We’ll be back next year,” Tristan said as he hugged his grandpa and then Joe.
Andy nodded his head. “Hopefully for something happier than the anniversary of Dad’s death.”
They all nodded in agreement.
The two brothers and his grandpa wished Joe luck as Joe bid his brothers a farewell and safe travels home. It was then that he got nervous. He had one more stop before going to Harper’s and hoping for the best change of his life.
The morning sun filtered into the bedroom and threatened Harper to open her eyes. She turned away from the sun and then opened them. She’d been fooled too many times by opening her eyes to the brightness and practically blinded herself. She wasn’t falling for it today.
She joyfully dragged herself downstairs to finish off the waffles from last night. Though they were her favorite and she could have eaten them all last night, she saved some for breakfast. It truly was a struggle, but she did it.
Sitting at the table, she smelled the buttery syrup dripping off a piece of waffle. They were the best. She could easily eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and she had before. She savored each bite because she didn’t know when she’d have them again. Her box of waffle mix had run out. It was the first thing on her list for the grocery store when she got paid…in a week.
She frowned at the thought of going a week before being able to buy groceries. But that frowned turned upside down because today was Halloween. Her favorite holiday of all times. Sure, she wanted to decorate a whole lot more than she did,
but there was always next year. Besides, if it wasn’t for a kind citizen of Harpers Ridge, she wouldn’t have any decorations at all. But, she did have candy for the trick-or-treaters.
After eating, she went back upstairs, took a shower and dressed in her most comfortable jeans and light grey sweater. She loved wearing sweaters. Mostly because it meant it was autumn and when autumn was here, so was Halloween.
Back downstairs, she put in her earbuds and hit shuffle. It was always less stressful to listen to music while she wrote out her list of bills and things she needed to do or buy. Her first list was groceries. She put a star by the first two things on her list. Waffle mix and buttery syrup. She added rice, chicken, and bread. The next list was her bills. She’d already added the five hundred dollars to Vinny and checked to make sure she had all the utilities on it. The next list was more of a wish list. She made it a point to add one thing a day. It wouldn’t be stuff that she’d buy all at once, but little by little she’d check them off when she got then.
Only, when she looked at this list, she frowned. The last seven items on her list were Joey. That was her wish…to have him forever. If only wishes came true. That prompted her to shuffle through her songs and play “Airplanes” by B.o.B.
She closed her eyes and let the lyrics run through her veins and rejuvenate her. If she didn’t have music as a vice, she didn’t know how she’d function. Her life was a mess right now and music was the only thing that took her somewhere else.
Mouthing the words as the artists sang, she bopped her head to the rhythm and lip synced her heart out. When the song closed, she nodded her head and slowly opened her eyes. Yeah, she could make it through another day.
She put her lists away and found the biggest bowl she could find. She emptied the bags of candy into it for her trick-or-treaters. Halloween had always been her favorite for as long as she could remember. She loved the decorations as much as she loved dressing up and seeing other kids dressed up. Sometimes she’d run the neighborhood to get candy and then race home so she could pass out candy at the block house because she enjoyed seeing other costumes as well.
It was barely noon when she took the large bowl of candy outside with her and sat on the porch. It was chilly, but the sun was beaming brightly and scared away the bitter coldness. It was a perfect day. The leaves were all shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. The only green to be seen was the pine trees that would soon be covered in snow.
She didn’t even bring her music outside. Nope, she didn’t need it. Sitting outside on her favorite holiday was therapy enough. Sure, she knew she was ridiculous for sitting outside already for trick-or-treaters, but she didn’t care.
Joe pulled into Harper’s driveway and wasn’t too surprised to see her sitting outside with a big bowl of candy next to her. Though he was excited, a feeling of anguish burned inside him. Harper was alone. As far as he knew, her only friend in town was Lila and she worked ridiculous hours at the law firm.
She didn’t turn toward him. He saw her glance up but it was obvious when she recognized the vehicle, she turned away. More guilt as he knew he was the one that made her feel like she needed to look away.
He got out and slowly made his way over to the porch where she was sitting. “Hi,” he said quietly.
She turned and looked up at him. Her eyes were shiny. Tears weren’t falling, but they were filling up. He’d done that. She was beautiful, despite the watery eyes. Her wavy, red hair was blowing in the wind. Her sweater hugged all her good parts, as did her jeans.
“Hi,” she spoke, almost a whisper.
Joey squatted down to her level. She looked away.
“Harper…” he started but then stopped. He’d forgotten everything he was going to tell her. He even wrote it down and memorized it, but at this moment, he forgot it all.
She slowly turned toward him and moved some windblown hair out of her eyes. “Yes?” she asked.
“I…” he started and then stopped again, shaking his head. He could do this. He needed to do this. “I’m so sorry. I was such an ass-” he started to say.
Harper interrupted him as she stood and put her hands on her hips. “Yes, you are. How dare you not believe me when I told you that I’d only be with you. I get that I slept around in high school, but I changed, Joey. People do change,” she spat at him.
Joe couldn’t help but chuckle. She went on how much of an ass he was and she was right, but he’d stopped listening to her. The way her hips swayed when she was mad and the way her mouth tightened when she was pissy was very distracting. Her hair blew in the wind and eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
He needed her to stop talking so he could apologize to her. Show her how much she means to him. So, he did the only thing he knew that would shut her up. He kissed her. He moved his lips along hers until her hands dropped from her lips. Her shoulders relaxed and her lips softened so he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth. The little noise she made when that occurred made him go instantly hard.
He pulled her closer until she wrapped her arms around his neck and fully kissed him back. That was his que to deepen the kiss. And, damn, did she taste good. He felt like dropping to his knees and begging her to forgive him right then and there…but she tasted too good to let go.
When they pulled back for oxygen, he didn’t want to waste his opportunity. He took her hand in his and said, “Harper. I wrote out everything I was going to say and even memorized it. And, would you believe, I can’t remember any of it. But I remember how I feel about you. Harper, I love you. You were my first friend. You were the first girl I kissed and the first girl I let into my heart. You were the first girl I made love to and the first one to show me self-worth. It was you who lit up my days when they were dark, and it was you that found me when I was lost. It was always you.”
With her hand still in his, he went down on one knee and pulled the little box out of his jeans with his other hand. He flipped open the box, revealing an intricate three diamond ring. Not just any diamonds. These diamonds matched Harper perfectly. The three diamonds huddled together in a gold band. The colored diamonds were in beautiful autumn colors. Red, orange and yellow.
She gasped at the sight of the ring and her watery eyes glistened more as her hand went up and covered her mouth. She whispered his name and then closed her mouth.
“Harper, I know you have a lot of questions and I’ll answer all of them, no matter the outcome of what comes next, but I have to do this first,” he said as he gently squeezed her hand. “I can’t live another day apart from you. I love you so much and I’d be honored if you’d spend the rest of your life with me. Harper, will you marry me?”
He gulped waiting for her answer, which seemed to take forever. He stared into her beautiful eyes and hoped like hell she’d say yes.
Harper wiped a tear away and went on her knees in front of him. She gazed into his eyes and nodded as she whispered, “Yes.” Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
There was no better feeling in the world than having Harper in his arms again. She kissed him so fiercely he knew just how much he hurt her this past week. But also, he knew how much she loved him back and that she’d forgive him.
He hated pulling back from the kiss, but he had to get that ring on her finger. “Here,” he said taking her hand and sliding the ring on.
“It’s beautiful,” she said through short breaths.
“You’re beautiful,” he said and pulled her back to his lips. He stood while still locking lips and pulled her close. Then he bent, picked her up and carried her up the porch steps.
She pulled off his lips with a big smile. “Wait,” she said exasperated. “What about the trick-or-treaters?” she asked.
Joe shook his head and laughed. “Trick-or-treating is hours away and besides, I have plans with you.”
She shuddered in his arms then wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and pulled him in for a kiss as she breathed, “I love you.”
Joe opened the do
or and carried her into the house, shutting the door with his foot. He carried her all the way upstairs and passed all the spare bedrooms until he reached her bedroom.
“Wait,” she said again. “There’s no bed in there,” she said to him.
He couldn’t believe it. Had she really been in the house for a week and not been in that bedroom? It was hard for him to believe. “Have you not been in here?” he asked.
Her lips turned down as she shook her head. “I couldn’t bring myself to go in there. I wanted it to be with you..and…well,” she said and then stopped.
The amount of guilt he had swallowed him whole. He was the biggest asshole he’d ever known. But he was going to fix it. He opened the door and carried her inside. She looked around and gasped. Her reaction was exactly what he was hoping for.
“Joey, when did you do this?” she asked as her eyes took everything in.
“Yesterday. You almost caught us. I was with Vinny.”
“Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed as he spun her around so she could see everything.
Vinny was a hero. He’d taken the day off work to help Joe shop for the perfect bedroom outfit. He settled on a Victorian, dark oak, four poster bed and matching accessories. He looked up on YouTube, thanks to Harper, and found ideas for decorating.
He hoped she’d like it and by the looks of it, she did.
“Joey, oh my gosh,” she said as she looked up at the sky-light window they’d installed when they finished the room.
“I wanted you to be able to see the stars every night,” he whispered in her ear.
She gazed into his eyes and said, “Joey, make love to me.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” he said as he rushed her to the bed and put her down.
She wasted no time attacking his clothes. Of course, he dreamt about making love to her slowly, lovingly. But he should have known better. Harper was taking control…and he let her.