by N. J. Young
Linzee looked up at her, her green eyes wet. “Trust me, I know that. I’m almost forty-one.”
Harper had learned through Luke that Foster was thirty-two. An eight-year age difference didn’t seem like that big of a deal to her, but it definitely seemed to be bothering Linzee. “Linz, I don’t think Foster cares one bit how old you are.” Harper reached out to curl her fingers around Linzee’s. “I’ve watched you two together. That man loves you.”
“I know,” Linzee said in a whisper as a tear fell. “I love him, too. I just wonder sometimes why … why me. He could have anyone, and trust me, there are a lot of beautiful women who fall all over him. It’s kind of annoying.”
Harper gave Linzee a reassuring smile. “But he doesn’t want them. He wants you. He loves you, Linzee. And he doesn’t seem to care one bit that you’re a little older than he is.”
A hollow laugh escaped Linzee. “A little older?”
“Yes, a little older. A few years. That’s it. He would be crushed if anything happened to you or this baby.”
Linzee ran a hand protectively over her belly and reached up to swipe another tear away. “I would, too.”
“Then stop running around, trying to prove something ridiculous. You may have a young heart, but you still have to take care of your forty-year-old body.”
Linzee blew out a shaky breath. “You’re going to put me on bed rest, aren’t you?”
Harper stood and adjusted the IV bag. “Well, that’s up to your obstetrician, and she’ll be here any moment. But I don’t think you need to be on bed rest quite yet. Your blood pressure is fine, and the baby looks fine, so I don’t see any reason to justify it. But, Linzee, I’m telling you right now, you need to dial it way back. You need to cut your shifts down at the restaurant. You can’t be on your feet for that long at a time. Hopefully that will also alleviate some stress. And if I see you trying to move another box out of that apartment, I’m going to call Foster and tell him to spank your ass.”
“Oh, you won’t have to call me. I’m not letting this one out of my sight.”
Harper turned to find Foster standing in the doorway. He had a menacing look on his face as he regarded at Linzee. She looked up from her bed, and her eyes widened. “How long have you been standing there?”
He walked slowly toward her and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “Long enough to know that we obviously have a few things to talk about.”
Linzee withered under his stare. “You heard all that.”
“Yeah, I heard.” He lifted a hand to her face and tilted her chin up so he could look into his eyes. “I love you more than my own life, Linzee. Do you honestly think your age means a thing to me?”
“Foster.” She said his name on a sob. He gathered her close, and she buried her face in his chest.
Harper backed away, not wanting to intrude on the situation. “I’ll be back to check on you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Foster said, casting her a grateful look. “For everything.”
Harper offered him a smile before walking out of the room. She leaned against the wall in the stark hallway and took a deep breath. This was not the way she’d thought her day was going to end.
She walked down the deserted hall and checked her watch. Nearly midnight. She’d gone from a great party to vandalism on her car, to the greatest sex she’d ever had, to a medical emergency. Turning into the corridor that led into the doctor’s locker room, Harper yawned and rubbed her burning eyes. Exhaustion was getting the better of her.
Voices rumbled from the waiting room down the hall. She knew Luke and some of his family were waiting for her, but she needed to splash some water on her face before facing everyone. In all the commotion, she’d forgotten one very important thing. She still hadn’t told Luke about the most recent letter. She’d meant to tell him earlier, but then he’d kissed her, and she hadn’t wanted him to stop.
He would be mad she had kept it from him, but she needed to tell him the truth before any more time passed. She shouldn’t have stayed quiet about it in the first place. It was stupid not to tell him. Now she needed to face him and tell him everything, and hope he would understand her lame reasoning. She’d just wanted a few hours with him when she could pretend everything was perfect.
She turned into the locker room and stopped short. A dark figure stood near her locker, startling her. The man stepped out of the shadow, and she instinctively stepped back. “Dr. Forrester? What are you doing here? Your shift ended two hours ago.”
The grin on his face couldn’t have been described as friendly. “Sorry, Harper. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Yet he stepped closer, making her nervous.
She stepped to the side to put more distance between the two of them. “No harm done. I just need to grab my purse. Long day, you know?” She laughed nervously and moved closer to her locker as Forrester continued to circle her. Her heart threatened to gallop right out of her chest, and beads of sweat started to form on her brow as adrenaline coursed through her system.
“So I’ve heard. Another date with Price?” Disdain dripped from his voice.
Harper’s eyes narrowed at the intern. “My personal life is none of your concern.”
He stepped closer, nearly backing her up against the locker before she could open it. “I disagree. Lately, your personal life seems to be of great concern to me.”
She swallowed deeply, wishing she could just get to her purse. She had pepper spray in her bag. Given, it would probably take her twenty minutes to find it in that giant suitcase she carried around—especially with the way her hands were shaking—but it was better than nothing. “You need to back up, Forrester.”
He reached out to touch her cheek. It was the same gesture that Luke always did, except he made her pant with need. When Forrester touched her, she flinched away in disgust.
His face dropped the smile, and anger crossed over his eyes. “You should go out with me, Harper, not that…” He struggled for the words. “Construction worker. I know he’s rich, but Jesus Christ. Is that all you want? Someone with money? He’s not good enough for you, Harper.”
The fear she’d felt suddenly gave way to anger, and she put her hands flat against Max’s chest and shoved, sending him stumbling back. “How dare you. You don’t know anything about me. Or him. My love life is none of your business.” She jabbed a finger at him as she spoke. “And if you ever approach me like this again, or try to scare me, or send me another fucking letter, I will have you brought up on charges.”
But she didn’t get the reaction she’d hoped. Forrester stepped back and held his hands up in front of him, his eyes widening in surprise. “Letter? What are you talking about?”
“The letters.” She waved her hands frantically. “My car! You need to stop.”
“Harper…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Shit! She’d been so sure it was him, but he really didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. Or else he was acting, and she was pretty damn sure he wasn’t that good of an actor.
She turned quickly and yanked her locker open then grabbed her big purse before slamming the locker door shut. When she moved past Forrester, he reached for her arm, but she yanked it away. “Don’t! Just don’t!”
She nearly ran out of the locker room. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She raised a shaky hand to her forehead, her thoughts spinning out of control. She needed to get to Luke. Luke would hold her and make it okay.
But as she made her way down the hall toward the waiting room, the voices there became louder and louder. She slowed as she recognized Luke’s baritone. But he sounded unlike she’d heard him before. He sounded angry. Really angry. She turned the corner just in time to see him punch his fist through the wall.
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m going to go check on Linzee. I just can’t wait anymore,” said Foster.
Luke glanced up at his brother who paced back and forth in the small waiting
room. “Dude, Harper told you to wait until she was done getting her settled in her room. The ultrasound looked good. You know she’s going to be okay.”
Foster headed for the doorway. “I don’t care. I can’t just sit here.”
Sally Price sat next to Luke. Her eyes looked tired, and Luke knew how concerned she was for Linzee and her first grandchild. He also knew she would put on a brave face so as not to worry Foster any more than he already was.
“Foster, sweetheart,” she started. “Maybe you should—”
“No, Mom.” Luke put a hand on her arm. “Just let him go. He needs to be with her right now.”
She just nodded, and they watched Foster walk out of the room.
Luke sat back in the blue chair and looked up at the TV mounted in the corner of the room. A news reporter droned on about Memorial Day activities as everyone in the waiting room sat in silence. Ethan sat on the other side of their mother, and Tori sat next to him, her hand squeezing his knee in comfort.
Carly sat in the chair opposite her, next to Becca. His sister kept rising from her chair, walking to look out the window, then returning to her seat.
He knew they could all go home. Linzee was going to be okay. But he also knew that his mother wasn’t ready to leave yet, and no one was going to let her sit there by herself. The Prices stuck together. No matter what.
When Michael Grayson entered the room, everyone looked up. Luke didn’t miss the way Becca’s eyes flared at the sight of his friend, but she said nothing.
“How’s Linzee?” he asked to no one in particular.
Luke stood up. “She’s going to be okay. Everything seemed fine on the ultrasound, but Harper wants to keep her overnight and give her IV fluids. She was pretty dehydrated.”
Gray gave a quick nod. “Well, I’m glad she’s going to be okay.” He paused a beat. “Luke, do you think I can talk to you for a second?”
The detective’s stern expression did nothing to improve Luke’s mood. He followed Gray into the hall and around the corner. “What?” he asked when he was out of earshot of his family. “Did you get fingerprints from the car?”
Gray’s lips firmed a grim line. “We did get fingerprints, but not from the car.”
“Not from the car?” Could the detective be vaguer? “From what then? And if you have fingerprints, that means you know who this asshole is, right? You can arrest him.”
Gray gave a quick shake of his head and scrubbed one hand through his blond hair. “It’s not that easy. We have fingerprints, but they’re not in the system. They have to be the perp’s. They were the only set of fingerprints found. They’re not Harper’s, and they’re not yours.”
“Okay, so the guy doesn’t have a record.” Luke paused for a beat. “So, what aren’t you telling me? You’re holding something back.”
Gray let out a low curse. “Have you had a chance to talk to Harper? About everything that happened today? Everything that happened before she came to the barbecue?”
Luke could feel what little patience he had quickly slipping away. “What are you talking about?”
A sigh escaped Gray, and he looked up at the ceiling. Then he looked Luke straight in the eye. “Harper received another letter today.”
“Today? No, you’re mistaken. She hasn’t received one since last week.” That was ludicrous. If she’d received another letter, she would have told him.
But Gray gave a quick shake of his head. “No, Luke. She received another letter right before she came to your mom’s. It was left on her car.”
Luke shook his head the entire time Gray was talking. This couldn’t be true, yet he knew his friend wouldn’t lie to him. “No. She would have told me. She wouldn’t have come to the party and pretended everything was okay. She wouldn’t have lied to me.”
Sympathy lit Gray’s blue eyes, and he reached out to put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “No!” Luke shrugged him off. “You’re wrong.”
The detective let his hand drop. “I’m not wrong, Luke. She gave me the letter right before the party. It insinuated that the perp was going to take action.”
Luke couldn’t say anything as he tried to wrap his mind around what Gray was saying. He just stared at his friend.
Gray kept talking. “She was going to tell you, man. She didn’t want to ruin your mom’s party. She wanted to wait until afterward to tell you. I thought when her car was vandalized, she would have… Well, that’s neither here nor there. The important thing is that we have fingerprints from the letter, which is more than we had before. This is the first lead we’ve had.”
But Luke had stopped listening. If what Gray said was true, Harper had had every opportunity to tell him the truth, that she’d received another letter. He was pissed. He could forgive her for not wanting to tell him before the party, but after? She didn’t tell him when her car was vandalized, or when he drove her back to her apartment, or when he tied her up, or when he…
He’d misread her. He was falling for this woman, and she didn’t even trust him enough to talk to him. Maybe all she’d wanted him for was a good fuck.
“I don’t like that look on your face.” Gray took a step closer to Luke. “Don’t let your mind start spinning this. You need to talk to her.”
Luke gave a laugh that held no humor. “Talk to her. And what fucking good would that do?” His hands clenched into fists at his side. He had the desperate urge to punch something. “She obviously didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was really going on, did she?”
“Luke,” Gray hiss-whispered. “Keep your voice down. You’re in a hospital.”
Luke didn’t care. Emotions were coursing through him that he didn’t understand. Anger, confusion. And he didn’t know how to handle any of it. “Fuck!” He wasn’t thinking now. He was only reacting. He turned and punched the wall next to where Gray stood, his fist going through the drywall.
A gasp had him turning his head.
“Luke!” Harper stood there, her eyes wide in her pale face. A second later, his mother and sister came rushing around the corner. The commotion started all at once. But the voices fell away as he stared at Harper.
He realized at that moment that he’d fallen in love with her. He’d fallen in love with a woman who didn’t trust him. And if she didn’t trust him, then he knew what that meant. It meant she didn’t love him back. And he didn’t know what to do.
He took a step toward her, and she retreated, fear clouding her eyes.
“No,” she said softly. “No.” A tear leaked from her eye, and she turned and sprinted for the hospital exit.
“Harper!” Luke started after her. He needed to talk to her. He needed to figure this out, to make sense of it for himself.
But there were arms around him, stilling him. Dylan and Ethan held him back.
He yanked with all his strength. “Let me go!”
“No, man,” Ethan said. “You need to let her go right now. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to calm down before you talk to her.”
He strained against his brothers’ grip as he watched the front doors of the hospital swish closed behind Harper. And then she was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
The fact that she couldn’t stop crying really pissed Harper off. She was not a crier. When she’d cried as a little girl, it just made her father angrier, so she quickly realized that tears were the enemy. She had no use for them. Except now, she couldn’t get them to stop.
And as much as she didn’t cry, she really didn’t cry in public. She glanced around Quigley’s Bar. From her small table in the corner, she could see the rest of the bar. The clientele was at a minimum, so no one seemed to be paying her much attention. It was Memorial Day, so most of the town was either out on the lake or enjoying backyard barbecues, not holed up in a bar. They were with their friends, their loved ones, and she didn’t have any of those.
Chardonnay burned down her throat as she gulped it.
“More wine, Doc?” The deep voice startled her, and she looked u
p to see Q standing over her with a bottle of wine.
“Sure, why not?” She slid the glass over to him, and he topped it off. Her first half glass went down easy, but that was usually her limit. But tonight, she looked at those limits and gave them the finger. Good thing her apartment was in walking distance.
Instead of walking away, Q left the wine bottle on the table and sat in the chair opposite her.
“What are you doing?” Although the man was nice, he’d never struck her as particularly friendly. He certainly didn’t strike her as someone who sat down to hang out with customers.
He quirked a brow and studied her carefully before responding. “I’m just wondering why you’re here and not with Luke.”
Great. The town tough guy was a gossip. Just what she needed. “You obviously didn’t hear about the big blow-up the other night at the hospital.”
“Oh, I heard about it.” Q tapped his big fingers on the table. “I guess I just don’t understand why that has to keep you two apart.”
She gave Q a wary glance and let out a long breath. “I didn’t know you were in the market for giving love advice, Q.”
He chuckled, the slight smile making his scarred face quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. “I’m not. That’s Carly’s job, but unfortunately, she has the night off.” He paused, but when Harper didn’t respond, he continued. “I saw Luke earlier today.”
Just at the mention of his name, her heartbeat sped up. She’d almost called him a hundred times since Saturday. And every time her phone rang, she’d almost answered. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d sulked while staring at his name on caller ID.
The wine in her glass seemed utterly fascinating as she bit her lip and made a concerted effort to avoid Q’s piercing gaze. “He misses you, Harper.”
Her eyes jerked up. “He said that?” She could hear the desperation in her own voice and wanted to kick herself.
Q’s head bobbled to the side as he pondered. “Well, currently he’s only speaking in a series of grunts. But I’ve known him long enough that I can read between the growling.”