Chapter 17 Now
Evie, and I were meeting at Harper's House today. She hadn't been inside yet, and since Cole had been running the place in Wes, and Zoe's absence, it wasn't hard to get inside. I decided to bring Rocko along to get him out of the house, and he had his own space in the building. As soon as I arrived, Cole came out of the building sporting a smile. The reason behind it, kind of scared me. He wasn't exactly the warmest person, and usually, a smile meant he was up to no good.
“Morning!” He said, shutting the door securely behind him.
“Cole.” I said warily. “What's behind the door?”
“You army guys.” He said, baffled. “Do you all have trust issues, or is it just you and Wes?”
“Did you ever ask yourself if you're the reason we have those issues?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Ha. Ha.” He said sarcastically, motioning towards the door. “Go ahead, go on in.”
Warily, I took a few steps forward. I slowly pulled the door open, and went inside. A quick look around told me that the place was still standing, so there was that. But a second glance, found exactly what he was hiding. There, sitting behind the receptionists desk was Harper Blue. The very woman the place was named for. I'd only ever seen her in pictures, and they didn't do her justice. She was a beautiful woman, with long blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. She sat quietly, staring at me, assessing me, before clearing her throat slightly.
“Hello.” She said, quietly. “You must be Jake.”
“And you're Harper.” I stated without question. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you. I mean. You too.” She stammered. “Sorry. I'm a little new at this socializing thing.”
“It's alright, but I'm sorry, Cole didn't mention that you would be here. Why are you here exactly?”
“Oh. I've been granted day leave.” She said excitedly. “It's only for a few hours, and I have to stay with Cole, but he really wanted me to see my name sake, and show me all the kids that he, and Wes have been helping. I hope that's okay. I don't want to intrude.”
“It's fine, really.” I smiled warmly. “My son, and his mother will be here shortly. She's a pediatrician. She's offered her time for the kids who can't make it to a doctor on a regular basis.”
“That's amazing. Everything Wes, and his wife have done here is amazing. I still can't believe it. That he would name this place after me. It seems so surreal.”
“I hate to ask, but does that mean you don't agree with your sister?”
“Jake!” Cole interuppted rather loudly. “Your baby mama's here.”
“Don't call her that.” I said, turning away from Harper, and heading back outside to help with Gabriel.
“What should I call her then?” He asked, seemingly innocent.
I flipped him the bird, and kept walking. I didn't lower my hand until I heard the door shut behind me. Maybe I was a bit out of line asking Harper about her sister. But that bitch terrorized my sister last year, and I wanted to know where she stood. What if she really had it out for Wes, and was using Cole to get to him? Or, maybe all my years in the army had me searching for conspiracies where their weren't any.
“Hola Hermosa.” I said, greeting Evie with a hug that felt all too familiar. “Sorry.” I said, pulling away. “I shouldn't have called you that. It just, rolled off my tongue I guess.”
“It's ok.” She smiled. “Gabriel's sleeping, but I can wake him if you'd like.”
“No. Let him sleep.” I said, checking to make sure his window was down, before taking a seat on one of the benches by the basketball court. “Sit with me?” I asked, patting the space beside me. She obliged, and I let out a breath I wasn't aware I was holding. “Wes, and Zoe will be home tomorrow, and I was hoping we could all get together for dinner. Call me selfish but I really want them to meet Gabriel.”
“He really loves you; you know. I was worried. I thought coming back here, uprooting him from the only home he knew was going to be difficult, but it's been just the opposite. I wanted to thank you for that.” She said, reaching for my hand. “Thank you for being you, and not hating me. A lesser man would have.”
“Like I said, I only want to move forward Evie. Even if that means doing it on our own.”
“Mama!” Gabriel's little voice yelled from the car, interrupting our conversation. Evie stood then, going to him, and unbuckling him from his seat. She tried to carry him over, but he managed to wiggle free, and run to me instead. “Daddy!” He said, with a smile.
“Hey buddy. Ready to go inside and play?” I asked, with as much excitement as I could muster.
“Yes! Play!” He said, jumping up and down.
I took his hand in mine, and together we entered Harper's House with Evie on our heels. We only made it a few steps inside before I was spinning Gabriel around to face the opposite direction. “I'm going to give you five seconds to fix your clothes Cole, after that I'm coming in to help.” I said, with fury. Evie blushed, scooping Gabriel up, and side stepping past me into the adjacent room. It just so happened to be her office/exam room.
“Sorry man!” Cole called out. “We're good now!”
“Are you? I'm sure the reason Wes gave you a key, and left you in charge of things was so you could use the place as a sex pad.” I said, with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
“Oh, come on. Just because you aren't getting any, it doesn't mean you have to rain on my parade. You gonna tell on me?” He goaded.
“Keep pushing me Cole.” I warned.
Putting his hands up, he grabbed Harper's hand, and led her outside. I ran my hands through my hair, letting out a deep breath, before joining Evie, and Gabriel. I found her sitting behind her desk, her name plaque already adorning it. Zoe had thought of everything, but that didn't surprise me. Running this place was her passion, and it was something she really had a knack for. She wined, and dined investors like she was born to do so, and Wes just followed her lead. He even let her auction him off a few months ago to raise money for a job skills teacher to come out.
“You look like you belong here.” I said, leaning on the door frame, and taking her in.
“It's perfect.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye.
“Hey.” I said, stepping towards her. “Why the tears Hermosa?” I asked softly, wiping another away.
“I just, I never thought I'd be on this side of things. The kids that I'll be helping here, I was one of them. Do you remember when I showed you the burns on my arms?”
“Of course.”
“There was no where to go. They would have called the police, and I would have been in more trouble. This place, what Zoe, and Wes have done. This place is going to save kids like me. Literally, save them, and the fact that I get to be a part of that is beyond anything I ever could have hoped for, and I owe it to you.” She sniffed, tears still falling from her eyes.
“Me?” I asked, framing her face with my hands. “No Hermosa, this is all you. You put in the work, and you made your dream come true. Not me.”
“You pushed me.” She said, placing her hands over mine. “Do you know how many times I almost gave up? And then you'd call me at two AM from some God for saken place, and you'd pick me up. No matter where you were, or what you were going through overseas, you were always there for me, and I was such a fool.”
“You're brilliant.”
“A brilliant fool, who should have realized how you really felt. I really messed up Jake.”
I don't know why I did, what I did next. My hands were on her face, and she was saying she loved me back then, wasn't she? I got caught up in the moment that we were sharing, and I kissed her. It was a quick kiss, a soft kiss, a kiss that I shouldn't have let happen. It was like history was repeating itself all over again. I finally had Evie back in my life. We were becoming friends again, and I had to push the envelope.. again.