Chapter 8

Harlen

WATCHING HARMONY HEAD down the sidewalk toward the double doors that will lead her into the hospital, I feel my scalp prickle. I look to the left and feel my jaw clench when I see the guy I spotted earlier with his eyes on Harmony. I clocked him sitting in his car when we pulled up, noted his brand new black Mercedes SUV is parked in one of the spots reserved for doctors. I also noted, even with the distance between us, his eyes are locked on Harmony and me through his windshield. Seeing that, I knew who he was without needing confirmation. I also knew that him realizing the fact that Harmony had a man, didn’t sit real well with him.

Locking my eyes with his, I lift my chin, watching his chin shoot back and his eyes narrow. Fuck but he’s gonna be a problem. Putting her car in drive, I take off toward the hospital exit and head across town to the shop. As soon as I arrive, I pull her car up and park in the lot out front, so I can fix her taillight at some point today.

I shut down the engine and get out, slamming the door and pulling my cell out of my back pocket. Finding a number I never thought I’d call, I hit send and press my phone to my ear, listening to it ring two times.

“Yo,” Nico answers, and my jaw clenches.

Fuck, I don’t want to talk to him, but I have no choice.

“You got time to meet me this evening?”

“Is Harmony okay?” he asks, and I wrap my hand around the back of my neck, thinking about the way she woke me this morning and the kiss she left me with when I dropped her off. She’s definitely okay, but I want to keep her that way.

“She’s fine.”

“Where do you want to meet?” he asks after a moment of silence, and I stare down at my boots.

“Skitter’s, at six.”

“See you then.” He disconnects and I shove my phone back into my pocket. Going into the garage, I pull a pair of coveralls on over my jeans and tee then get to work on an engine I’ve been rebuilding for the last two weeks.

***

Later that evening, I tag my cell off the top of my toolbox, pull up Harmony’s number in my phone, and put it to my ear as I head out the open bay door and away from the loud noise in the shop.

“Hey, honey,” she answers after the fourth ring, and I feel a smile twitch my lips. I never thought I’d like a woman calling me honey, but coming from Harmony, in her soft, sweet voice, I not only like it; I fucking love it.

“You got a second to talk?”

“Yep, just walked into the break room to warm up my lunch. Is everything okay?”

“Your light’s fixed.”

“That was quick. How much do I need to tell Gareth it cost?”

“It’s on me,” I say, knowing Gareth personally, and also knowing his ex left him over two years ago, abandoning him and his two boys behind. She also abandoned him with a mortgage and a shitload of bills, which is why he not only works full time at one of the local tattoo parlors, but also part time at a mechanic shop in town that his uncle owns.

“Are you sure?” she asks, and I can picture her biting her bottom lip—something she does when she’s indecisive or overthinking shit.

“Baby, he’s on his own raising two boys. He doesn’t need a hit to his pocket for fixing your taillight when it cost me almost nothing to do it.”

“So he is single,” she mutters, sounding far too curious, and I frown at my boots.

“Yeah, he’s single, but I’ll remind you—you most definitely are not.”

“I know that,” she grumbles, and I shake my head. Christ, I don’t know when I turned into the kind of man who gets jealous over petty bullshit. But with her, the word mine is constantly rolling around in my head, along with the urge to tattoo my name across her forehead.

“Since I got your car, I’ll stop by your place, grab Dizzy, and bring him with me to pick you up. We’ll stay at my place tonight. You good with that?”

“As long as I get to go to sleep with you and wake up with you, I don’t care where I actually sleep,” she answers, and my chest gets tight. She’s not just saying that shit to say it. She doesn’t give a fuck where she stays, as long as we’re together. Fuck but I’ve fallen for her, and done it hard. “Besides, I like your bed more than I like mine anyway.”

“You do?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah, it’s like sleeping on a fluffy cloud of marshmallow goodness,” she says, and I laugh, shaking my head. “Seriously, it’s awesome,” she adds, and I smile.

“All right, Angel. I’ll be there when you get off. Everything been okay today?”

“It’s been quiet,” she murmurs, and her telling me she hates when it’s quiet ‘cause the day drags and she’d rather be home with me filters through my head. Yeah, I’m falling hard for her. “But things should pick up. I have two patients coming in soon.” She quiets when the microwave on her end of the line dings.

“Okay, eat. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“See you when I get off.” She hangs up, and I shove my cell into my back pocket.

Going back inside, I head for the office, where I find Wes sitting at the desk, glaring at a stack of papers in front of him. “We need to hire someone to run the office, so you can get back to work,” I tell him, and his eyes come to me as I lean against the doorjamb.

Rolling back from the desk, he runs his hands over his head and sighs. “Ten interviews in one week, man, and swear to God every single one of the chicks who applied came in here looking like they just rolled off the set of a nineties rock ‘n’ roll video. I don’t know about your woman, but July would lose her goddamn mind if she came here and saw a chick wearing a tube top, jean skirt, and heels prancing around the office, playing secretary.”

“Maybe we can convince one of them to throw on a cardigan over their tube top,” I suggest, and his lips twitch.

“You can sit in on the next interview and suggest that shit.” He laughs, then asks, “You taking off?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting up with Nico at Skitter’s in about thirty minutes.”

“You having a beer to bond, or do you need backup?”

“No bonding, it’s about Harmony,” I say, and his eyes narrow.

“What’s going on?”

“Doctor at the hospital asked Harmony out. He makes her uncomfortable. Didn’t like it much, but figured it wasn’t a big deal. Then today, I saw him, saw the way he watched her, and I didn’t like the vibe I was getting from him. As you know, the Mayson name tends to bring drama, so I’m trying to prevent that shit from happening before anything actually does happen.”

“You didn’t like the vibe you were getting?”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “Don’t know what it was, just know I didn’t like the way he was watching her.”

“I’d never felt jealousy until I met July. It’s not a comfortable feeling, not even something I’d recognize before. Now, it’s an old friend, but at the beginning, I didn’t know what it was. Didn’t know what to do with it.”

“It’s not jealousy.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’ve accepted those feelings. This is different, and if she’s telling me that he makes her feel uncomfortable and there are rumors of nurses losing their jobs because of him, I need to make sure she’s protected.”

“That’s probably smart. With everything that’s happened with Dillon and Ashlyn recently, you can’t take a chance.”

“You’re right.” I lift my chin in agreement.

“You’ve fallen for her.”

“Hard and fast, brother,” I mutter, and he smiles.

“It’s a good ride. Hold on tight and enjoy it,” he murmurs back. He would know; him and his wife July fell hard and fast for each other. It wasn’t always easy and they had their own dramas, but things between them are solid and have been that way from pretty much the beginning. I’ve never seen my friend as happy as he is now.

“When did you turn so sentimental?”

“I do not fucking know. But it probably happened around the time I moved into a house and became the owner of a bird, a dog and a fucking cat.” He laughs and I smile. “I’ll go with you to Skitter’s.” He stands, but I shake my head.

“I’m good going alone. Go home to your wife.”

“I know you’re good.” He claps my shoulder. “But I also remember a time when you had my back when I needed it. I’ll never forget that. Haven’t had a chance to return the favor until now. So I’m going with you. Besides, I need a beer and some entertainment, and I figure I’ll get both if I go. I don’t imagine Nico’s warmed up to the idea of you with his daughter in the last week, regardless of what he’s told her.”

“You’d probably be right about that,” I chuckle.

“Let’s roll. Don’t want to make a bad first impression on your future father-in-law,” he says, walking through the door, and I laugh while following him out to my bike.

Parking in the dirt lot of Skitter’s at ten to six, I shut down my bike as Wes pulls up and parks next to me. Skitter’s is in the middle of nowhere, off one of the back-country roads in town. Three years ago, it was nothing more than a rundown cabin. Then a couple from Montana bought it and the surrounding fifteen acres. They put thousands of dollars into the renovations, with plans to turn it into a small winery.

They didn’t take into account the two well-established wineries in the area, both on hundreds of acres set on hilltops with views of nothing but open land, rolling hills, and pure beauty. Knowing they had no way of contending with the competition, they changed the name from Sovon’s to Skitter’s and started serving beer and bar food. The place immediately became popular with bikers, locals, and those just passing through.

Climbing off my bike, I tuck my keys into the front pocket of my jeans and head toward the front porch of the bar, where there are a few people standing outside smoking and watching the TV that’s chained to the wall. I enter after Wes and I scan the room. Even on a weeknight, the place is packed; every stool lining the bar is taken up, along with most of the tables on the floor.

“Gonna get a beer. You want one?” Wes asks, and I lift my chin in the affirmative then watch him head toward the bar while I go in search of a table. I find one in the back near the jukebox that’s playing some country song about a man, his pickup truck, and his dog. Taking a seat, Wes comes over handing me my beer and sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the table from me. “Was thinking on the way over here, man. We should talk to Evan about this, see if he can find anything out about the rumors and if any of it’s true.”

“I thought about that too. I’ll give him a call tomorrow,” I say at the same time I spot Nico at the bar getting a beer from the bartender. The second our eyes lock, he walks our way, his long stride eating up the distance quickly. It doesn’t surprise me that he tried to convince me to leave Harmony alone, and if I were anyone else, it might have worked. Even at his age, he’s fit with an air of intimidation that’s hard not to notice when you’re around him. It’s not his tattoos or piercings. It’s more than that. It’s how he carries himself, how you know just by looking at him that if you cross him, he will have no problem taking you out with a bullet between your eyes. What he didn’t account for when he came at me is I would have no problem doing the same, without even blinking.

“Wes… Harlen.” Nico lifts his chin to Wes then me before taking a seat, resting his beer on the top of his knee. “What’s going on?”

“I need a favor,” I tell him, and he lets out a bark of laughter, tossing back his head and leaning back in his chair.

“You need a favor from me?” He lifts his head and his hand holding his beer, pointing at himself with his index finger.

Fuck.

My jaw clenches, and it takes everything in me to stay seated and to not walk away from him. If this didn’t have to do with my woman’s safety, I would walk away, but only after laying his ass out.

Gritting my teeth, I lean forward in my chair. “There’s a doctor at the hospital who makes Harmony uncomfortable. Rumor is he’s gotten a couple of nurses fired. I don’t know if those rumors are true, but I do know all rumors have a little bit of truth to them. He asked her out, and she turned him down. Yesterday, she got into the class she wanted to take. He got her in by giving a recommendation. She tells me that it’s not a big deal, but seeing how drama is constantly swirling around the Mayson family name, I’m ignoring her and following my gut. My gut says this guy is bad news.” I lean even closer. “I came to you, because you’re her dad and a cop. Personally, I don’t mind dealing with him myself, but I figured you might like me even less if I’m in prison for beating the shit out of a motherfucker. So yeah, I’m here asking you for a favor.”

“Jesus,” Wes mutters, but I ignore him and keep my eyes locked on Nico’s.

“He makes her uncomfortable?” Nico questions, and I lift my chin. “Fuck.” He lifts his free hand, running it through his hair. “Who is he?”

“Last name’s Hofstadter. He drives a G63 Mercedes. Besides that, I don’t know much about him.”

“Fuck,” he clips again, shaking his head. “She didn’t tell me about this.”

“She wasn’t exactly an open book when I found out about it,” I mutter, taking a pull from my beer, and his eyes change, causing me to brace.

“How close are you two?”

“Close.”

“How close?” he presses.

“What exactly are you asking me?”

“Do you love my daughter?”

Studying him for a long moment, I make a decision then lean forward once more. “No disrespect, but the first person who’ll hear that information come out of my mouth is not fucking you.”

“Fuck me.” He sighs, shaking his head. “I knew it. Fuck.” He looks away.

“Look at us, one big happy fucking family,” Wes mutters, and I fight back a smile.

“I hope you both have daughters one day, so you can experience the pain I’m feeling right now,” Nico says, looking between Wes and me, and an image of a little girl with lots of golden-brown hair and eyes just like Harmony’s fills my mind. Until Harmony, I never thought about the future. I always lived one day at a time, not putting much thought into where I was going. But with her, I want that. I want to make plans, I want her to be my wife, to have my ring on her finger, and my last name attached to hers. I want to have kids, at least a couple of them. I want to wake up early on Saturday mornings and run out for doughnuts then lounge around all day in our pajamas like I used to do with my parents before I lost them. Fuck but I want that with a hunger that is almost unbearable.

“You marry my girl, you better not even fucking think about taking her to the courthouse.”

I raise a brow at him, and ask, “You givin’ me your blessing to marry your daughter?”

“Would you even ask me?” he counters.

“Probably not,” I reply, and his eyes narrow.

“I see I should have laid off the kid she was dating a few years ago. At least he knew when to back the fuck down.”

“You’d want that kind of man for your girl?” Wes asks. Nico looks at him, and Wes shakes his head, holding up his beer in Nico’s direction with his finger out. “You wouldn’t. Him”—he points at me—“having your girl’s back means you don’t have to worry about her going it alone, carrying the weight a man should help her carry. And in the future, if I do have a daughter, I pray to God she finds a man who’s a man, not a fucking pussy that leaves her to deal with all the shit life throws her way on her own. Your daughter might be able to find someone you like more for her, but I guaran-fucking-tee you she won’t find anyone better than the man she has right now.” With that, Wes pushes back from the table and stands, not understanding the blow he just dealt. “Now, I need another beer. Either of you want one?”

“I’m good,” Nico says, and Wes nods at him then looks at me.

“I’ll take one.”

He lifts his chin and heads for the bar.

“He’s right,” Nico grumbles, and my eyes go to him. “I don’t like it, but he’s right.” He takes a pull from his beer, sets the half empty bottle on top of the table, and stands. “I’ll let you know what I find out. In the meantime, take care of my girl.”

“Always.”

“Sophie wants you two over for dinner on Harmony’s next day off. Make sure that happens,” he murmurs, and I lift my chin, getting the same gesture from him in return before he disappears into the crowded bar.

“Fuck,” I whisper to myself, taking a pull from my almost empty beer. “Fuck.” That shit did not go as planned, but then again, I’m thinkin’ it went way fucking better. On that thought, I grin.

***

Lying on Harmony’s couch, Dizzy sprawled out on my chest, eyes pointed to the TV, I hear Harmony’s car pull up. Dizzy, who hears it too, jumps up to stand on my chest, bounces once making me grunt, and then hops off me and the couch, taking off toward the door.

It’s Tuesday, five days since I met with Nico. The day after I met with him, I spoke with Evan to see if he could find out any information for me, and this morning while Harmony was in the shower, he called. He was able to find out that there have been way more than two nurses at the hospital who got fired unexpectedly, but he’s having trouble finding out why. Still, he’s digging, and hopefully, I will know something soon.

Harmony’s told me that Hofstadter hasn’t approached her again and that she hasn’t seen him around the hospital, which could mean he’s either decided to back down or is trying to come up with a new game plan. I’m hoping for the first and preparing for the second.

Coming out of my head when the front door opens, I watch Harmony walk in carrying an iced coffee in one hand and two reusable grocery bags in the other.

“Angel, I just went grocery shopping yesterday,” I remind her, something she should remember, since she bitched about all the food in the fridge—like she’s done every time I’ve stocked it. She complains she won’t be able to order takeout and will have to cook, when she hardly ever cooks, since I do it most of the time.

“I know.” She smiles. “This is for Mom and Dad’s.” She heads to the kitchen, dropping the bags to the counter before coming to me.

“I thought we were going to their place for dinner?”

“We are, but I’m making crab cream cheese delight to take with us,” she says. I have no idea what that is, but I have no doubt it will be really fucking good. She hasn’t cooked much, but when she does, it always tastes amazing. Seeing she’s close but not close enough, I do a half ab curl, wrap my hands around her hips, and pull her down on top of me, kissing her hard and fast. I listen to her whimper before pulling my mouth from hers and lying my head back against the arm of the couch.

“How was class?” I question, sifting my fingers through her hair, and she rests her chin on one hand at my chest, her other hand curving around my neck.

“Good.” She shrugs. “Easy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I still wish I could have spent the morning in bed with you then been here when you got home,” she says quietly, while she studies her fingers that are lazily running down my throat.

Hearing her call this home, my hand on her hip tightens. “I’ll take Thursday off. We’ll spend the day together, maybe go for a ride on my bike, and then out to dinner.”

“Really?” she whispers, her eyes locked on mine, and her hand slides up to cup my cheek as her thumb skims over my cheekbone.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because I don’t know what to do with you,” she answers.

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs, glancing away before looking back at me and continuing. “I never knew I could have this with someone, this easiness, this kind of bone-deep happiness. But with you, I feel it everyday, and everyday, it gets better and better. So when you do sweet things like say you’re going to take time off work so we can spend time together, that better is way better.” She pulls in a deep breath before finishing quietly, having already knocked me on my ass. “And I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Fuck.” I sit up, forcing her to her back, then loom over her with my face close to hers. “How long is it going to take you to cook the shit you bought to take to your parents?” I ask, and she blinks up at me, looking a little stunned by our new position.

“I… wha— Why?”

“Because I want to eat you and fuck you, so I need to know how much time I got. Need to know if I got time to take you with my mouth, or if I need to just fuck you, leaving the eating you part for later.”

“Oh,” she breathes, then she turns her head and looks at the DVR player and the time there.

“Angel,” I growl impatiently, and her eyes come back to me. The raw, primal desire there, is hard to miss.

“I… I don’t think you have time to eat me,” she whispers, and fuck me, my mouth actually waters at the idea of tasting her.

“That’s all right.” I run my tongue up her neck, then whisper in her ear, “Means I get to take my time eating dessert when we get home.”

“Oh,” she moans, her hips lifting into mine. Raising my head above hers, I look into her beautiful eyes then lose sight of them as I slant my head and take her mouth in a deep, long, hot kiss before I fuck her on the couch. After we’ve both come, I watch her walk naked toward her bedroom carrying her clothes, and yank up my jeans.

“Want a beer?” she asks, coming out a few minutes later wearing no bra, a white tank, and sweats cut off as shorts, running her fingers across the back of my neck.

I tip my head back to look at her upside down. “Yeah, baby.”

“Kay.” She bends over, kissing me upside down, then leans back and smiles before heading to the fridge, coming back a second later with a beer. She hands it to me with another kiss before disappearing into the kitchen.

Sitting on her couch, bare feet up on the coffee table, beer in my hand, listening to her in the kitchen, I know without the shadow of a doubt that every single moment in my life led me right to her, that not only am I in love, but I’m in love with her in a way I will be until the day I die.