It took Garrek two hours to get to a rental car facility, secure another car and then drive back to Temptation. All the time there was only one thought on his mind: getting to Harper.
He’d tried calling and texting her, to no avail. He’d slammed his palms against the steering wheel of the car, yelled at other drivers on the road and cursed his own foolishness. Now, as he turned onto the road leading to the Presley farm, he was rehearsing what he would say to her. None of it sounded like it would make a difference.
How was it that they’d come to be invested in each other so soon? He’d never thought this could happen to him. Never even considered that he would fall so hard for one woman, let alone so quickly. Didn’t relationships take a long time to build? Real love a good amount of time to flourish? Maybe he wasn’t in love with her after all.
Garrek knew that wasn’t true. If it were, he wouldn’t be parking the car and preparing to get out and face whatever was necessary to make her understand. He didn’t see her truck, so Garrek checked his phone one more time. He’d turned the volume all the way up just in case she called him back while he was on the highway with the windows down to let in the light breeze today. Nothing, he realized with a heavy sigh.
Sticking the phone in his pocket, Garrek grabbed his keys and stepped out of the car. He headed up the steps of the Presley house and knocked on the door.
Arnold appeared.
“Half an hour earlier and I would have been watching those MAs arrest you,” he said before Garrek could even speak.
Garrek bit back a curse and shook his head. “It’s not what you think,” he told the older man.
Arnold gave him a brief nod. “You’ve got ten minutes to come in here and tell me what I should be thinking about this situation.”
When he stepped aside, Garrek walked into the house. Linus wasn’t there, which was a relief. It was going to be hard enough explaining this to the father of the woman he’d slept with last night. Having her grandfather there, too, might have required Garrek have a firearm for protection.
“I made a mistake,” Garrek began. “I was drunk one night and I slept with my captain’s daughter. She took the one night to mean something more. I told her it wasn’t. Repeatedly. Then she said she was pregnant. Before I could react, my captain was calling me into his office. He gave me a leave chit to figure out what I was going to do—marry his daughter or find a new career. I came here to figure it out.”
“And my daughter,” Arnold began tightly. “She was how you were going to figure out what to do about your unborn child and disgracing everything the navy taught you?”
He was taller than Garrek by a couple of inches, with broad shoulders and thick hands. An eagle, anchor, globe—honor, courage and commitment—Marine Corps tattoo peeked from beneath the short shirtsleeve on his left bicep. His face was affixed in a scowl, hands fisted.
Garrek stood tall, legs slightly separated, hands relaxed at his sides. He held eye contact and spoke in a clear and undeterred voice. “Harper had nothing to do with this. She was unexpected, and I never meant for any of this to touch her,” he told Arnold.
“And how did you think this was all going to play out? You get one woman pregnant and run away. Then you come here and start doing the same irresponsible things with a new woman. And don’t you dare try to hide behind your family troubles. You’re a grown man. I expect you to act like one, even when you’re under the gun,” Arnold said sternly.
He sounded like an angry father, something Garrek had never had the opportunity to hear in his lifetime. The times he’d seen his father had been so short and far between that Theodor wasn’t given any chance to speak angrily at any of his children.
“Yes, sir,” Garrek replied. “I understand your irritation at this situation. I can only reiterate that this was not my intention. Things just began happening between Harper and myself, and I should have said something sooner. I know that now.”
“You’re damn right you should have said something sooner. You stood right in my kitchen and told me there was nothing I needed to know about your position in the military.”
There’d been nothing Garrek had wanted to tell Arnold or Linus Presley yesterday morning. Now he wished that he could go back and redo the past.
“I just need to see Harper, sir. I really need to talk to her,” he said. “I know you’re angry with me and that I’m probably the last person in the world you want near your daughter. And I can understand that. Really, I can. But I need to see her. If she tells me to go, I will. But not until I see her, not until I try to explain.”
For endless moments, it seemed, Arnold simply stared at him. Probably trying to figure out which was the easiest way to kill him. Garrek didn’t care. At this moment he didn’t give a damn if the MAs circled back to find him here. He just needed to see Harper first.
“She’s not here,” Arnold told him. “Hasn’t been here all night. I thought that meant she was with you.”
Garrek cursed. “She was.”
“Then where is she now?”
“I don’t know,” he answered and turned to head toward the door. “But I’m going to find her.”
“You’d better hope you do, before the MAs find you,” Arnold said. “Garrek.”
He stopped at the door and turned back to look at Harper’s father.
“This is gonna hurt her. You’re the first man I’ve seen my ladybug with, so I know you mean something to her. You swore to me you wouldn’t hurt her. But you did,” he told him solemnly.
“I know, sir. And I’m so sorry for that. I’m going to try to fix it. I am,” Garrek said and then left the house.
He climbed back into his car and tried to think of anywhere she would go, because nothing else mattered to him now. Not his career in the navy, not Rochelle, Captain Ainsley, the Adberry house or his father’s money.
There was nothing without her.
* * *
“I can’t do anything without talking to her first,” Garrek said as he stood in one of the front rooms of the Adberry house.
He’d been there for about fifteen minutes now, telling Gray everything that had happened in Washington.
“You need an attorney,” Gray said. “I called Phil, my lawyer, while I was waiting for you. He doesn’t handle these types of cases, but he can put us in touch with someone familiar with military law. If your captain approved your leave, but then sent the MAs after you, he’s gotta be in some type of violation. You definitely need representation before you think about going back to Washington.”
“I’ll go back and I’ll face whatever I have to there. But not until I see Harper,” he said earnestly.
“She hasn’t called you back since she left the hotel?” Gray asked him.
Garrek shook his head. “I know she saw that text message from Rochelle. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
“That sucks,” Gray said and shook his head. “But you know what else I’m going to say.”
“I don’t need you to say it,” Garrek snapped, cutting him off. “I know I should have told her sooner. I just didn’t think we were going to end up here. I didn’t know I was going to be in a position to owe her an explanation.”
“And what makes you think you are now?”
“Because I can’t breathe, Gray!” he yelled. “Standing here trying to tell you what’s going on while I’m worried sick about where she might be and what she’s probably thinking is constricting my chest as if a boulder were sitting on it. I want to punch something or someone. I want to yell in frustration over all the rum and Cokes I had that night, over the stupid condom that broke and the woman who couldn’t get it through her head that I was never going to marry her!”
Gray clapped a hand on Garrek’s shoulder. “Slow down. It’s going to be all right,” he said. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. When I told Morgan what was going on, she sent Harper a text.”
“What?” Gray asked. “Did she reply to Morgan? What did she say?”
“Just that she had to pick up the tile and that the master bathroom would be finished tomorrow,” Gray told him.
Then Gray was right. She was back in Temptation and she was all right. Or rather, she was physically okay. Emotionally, Garrek believed she was probably a mess. If she were feeling anything like he was at this moment, a mess would be an understatement.
“You gotta get yourself together before you see her,” Gray told him.
Garrek nodded just as his phone rang.
He hurriedly pulled it from his pocket and answered without looking at the caller ID. It was Gen.
“Hey. Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked immediately. “Gray said you were in some kind of trouble.”
Garrek looked over to his brother and frowned.
“Hey, Gen,” Garrek said, and Gray shrugged as if he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I’m not in trouble,” Garrek told her.
“Military police are looking for you, Garrek. That sounds like trouble.”
“I can handle it.”
“Sure. Just like you’ve been handling it so far.”
“I got this, Gen. Trust me.”
“No,” she said adamantly. “That’s what’s wrong with us now. We all have trust issues. And don’t deny it. If we knew how to trust each other, you wouldn’t have kept this a secret from the people who care most about you. Now Gray said he contacted an attorney for you. I’m switching things around on my schedule so I’ll be able to meet you in Washington when you get there.”
“Wait a minute,” Garrek protested. “I don’t need you coming to Washington. I can handle this.”
“Whatever,” she replied as if he hadn’t said a word. “Tell Gray I’ll be there when he gets there with you. And when I see you—after I hug you—I’m slapping you for making me worry. I told Gemma I’d get one in for her, too.”
Oh, damn, she’d called Gemma.
“You’re lucky she can’t get away to come, or she’d be right there, too. I’ll see you soon. Love you, big bro.”
He clenched his teeth, hating the fact that this crappy feeling seemed to be settling over him comfortably.
“Love you, little sis,” he said before disconnecting the call.
A few seconds later, he turned to see Gray leaning against the doorjamb.
“I can’t believe you told on me,” he said.
“Why? Because I’m the oldest and you’re used to everybody running to me to snitch?” Gray chuckled. “Well, since we’re all adults now, I figured it was good to start sharing the wealth.”
Garrek managed a small smile. He did appreciate his siblings. He hadn’t realized how much until this very moment. They were ready to rally behind him, even though he’d kept all this from them. They had his back, just like their mother had made them promise they would. Garrek wasn’t sure anyone even cared about upholding Olivia’s oath anymore. Since their father’s death, Garrek hadn’t been sure about anything where the Taylors were concerned. Now he was certain that his siblings would stand by him until the end, whenever that turned out to be.
Garrek only wished Harper would still be willing to do the same.
* * *
Pat’s Bar and Grille was located on the corner of Bailey and Linden Streets, about six blocks away from city hall. It was a red-shingled two-story building with green windowpanes and a big light-up sign hanging from the second-story window, reading Pat’s. On the Linden Street side, an addition had been built three years ago to add more seating. Strands of Christmas lights hung around the border. On the Bailey Street side were more Christmas lights and a cartoon image of Patricia Ann Rhinehart, the bar’s founder, standing close to a grill with a beer mug in her hand, painted on the window.
The last time Harper had been here was for Jill Langston’s bridal shower a year ago. Jill had dated Marlon for a year while they were all in high school. If not for her and Jill being members of the debate team, Harper probably would not have been invited to the shower or the wedding. She didn’t usually drink or socialize, for that matter, so it felt a little foreign to take a seat at the end of the bar and ask for a martini. It was the drink her aunt Laura preferred, so Harper had tasted it at her house many times before.
Aunt Laura, who had immediately sensed something was wrong when Harper showed up at her house to drop the tiles off with Marlon earlier this afternoon.
“You all right, Harps?” she’d asked.
When Harper had said she was fine, Laura Jane Hilton Presley had taken her by the chin and stared at her.
“You’re not fine,” her aunt stated. “What happened?”
It would have been normal for Harper to insist she was okay and go off to lick her wounds alone. She’d done that all of her life. This time it felt dishonest, just like Garrek had been with her.
“I tried it and it didn’t work,” Harper said.
She’d moved away from her aunt then, going to stand near the fireplace in their living room. Framed pictures lined the mantel—the one of Aunt Laura and Uncle Giff on their wedding day caught Harper’s eye. They looked so young. Uncle Giff’s hair was thick and black, in contrast to the thinning, predominantly gray it was now. Aunt Laura’s hair was long, curly and blond, her blue eyes sparkling with laughter. Now she wore her hair chin length. The pair also looked as if they were madly in love, which was similar to how they still acted thirty-two years later.
“Why didn’t it work with Garrek?” her aunt asked.
Harper shrugged, not even bothering to ask how Aunt Laura knew exactly who and what she was referring to. Everybody in town had been talking about her and Garrek since the night he’d placed that bid on her.
“He lied to me,” Harper said, still too embarrassed to turn around. “I asked him if he was involved with someone and he said no.”
“And now you’ve learned that he is?” Laura asked.
“Yes,” Harper replied. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the message on his phone screen. So she didn’t close her eyes. But it didn’t matter; the pain was still as sharp.
“How did you find out?”
She frowned and ran her finger along a frame that held a picture of her and her grandfather.
“I read his text message.” Harper sighed. “I know I shouldn’t have, and it wasn’t intentional. But he wasn’t going to tell me. He was just going to continue lying until he left town.”
“So he’s going back into the service?” Laura asked.
“I don’t know. I guess. I don’t know anything about him, Aunt Laura. How can I feel so betrayed and so hurt over somebody I barely know?”
“Because your heart knows,” Laura said. “Sometimes it works that way. The heart leads, and then everything else follows. Did you ask him about the text message?”
Harper shook her head. She sat down on the couch and let her head fall back, closing her eyes even though she knew exactly what she’d see when she did.
“I just left,” she said.
“But you feel like he owes you an explanation?”
“No,” Harper said. “I don’t want to see him. I feel like he should have told me, and I’m pissed that he didn’t. But I didn’t want to ask him about it. I didn’t want to—”
Her aunt had come to sit beside her, placing a hand over Harper’s. “Were you more afraid of him telling you that you were wrong about the message? Or of confirming that he’d really lied to you?”
Harper didn’t have a chance to answer, because Marlon and Craig had come into the room talking about the tile mix-up. She’d left a half hour later and driven around until finally ending up here at Pat’s.
The bartender had just delivered her drink and a tentative smile when Harper’s momentary solitude was interrupted.
“I’ll have a vodka on the rocks, Jimmy,” Leah said as she dropped her Michael Kors clutch on the bar top and sat on the stool next to Harper.
“Drinking alone?” she asked. “Never mind, don’t answer that. I already know.”
Harper decided today was a good day to ignore Leah. She didn’t have much interest in what the woman had to say on a regular day, and right at this moment she could not have cared less. So she picked up her glass, took a sip and continued to stare up at the television. There was a baseball game on, but Harper was just as uninterested in who was playing or winning as she was in Leah.
However, the batter who had just struck out reminded her of little Jack when he’d been learning to hit a ball with his first baseball bat. Harper’s heart warmed at the thought. She’d loved that day at the lake. Even though it was unexpected, it had turned out to be a really fun day. It was also the first time that she’d thought she could be falling for Garrek.
It had happened so quickly, starting with the way he’d held Lily in his arms and talked to both the little girl and her doll. He’d explained to Susie, the doll, why it was important to listen to her mommy, and Lily had looked elated. Then he’d pitched the ball super slowly to Jack numerous times until Jack finally got a hit. After that, Garrek had celebrated with his nephew as if he were already a baseball pro.
His interactions with the twins endeared him to her in a way that Harper hadn’t expected. Since she’d never thought of having her own children, it never occurred to her to pay attention to the way a man interacted with kids. Yet the entire time they were at the lake, she’d watched Garrek. From how he wiped Jack’s mouth after he’d eaten a piece of lemon meringue pie—because he’d gotten most of it on his face—to his adorable confusion when Lily asked him to retwist her hair and clip her barrette on the end.
That night Harper had known genuine trepidation. She’d already had sexy dreams about this man. Then he’d saved her life and followed that with a searing first kiss. The picnic had simply plucked away another layer of her resistance. Those first warning feelings should have been, she thought now, a sign of the disastrous end.
“I guess you would come here to drown your misery after all that’s been going on today.”
Harper hadn’t been paying any attention to Leah, hoping that would make the pain-in-the-butt woman leave. It hadn’t.
“I’m not drowning anything in misery,” Harper replied. “Just having a drink.”
“Right,” Leah said, nodding at Jimmy the bartender and then drumming her too-long and too-pink nails on the bar.
The sound was annoying, and Harper sighed heavily.
“Look, you don’t have to try to pretend with me. If I were banging a guy who didn’t have the sense to wrap it up to prevent getting his captain’s daughter pregnant, I’d need a drink, too.”
All the air drained from Harper’s lungs, and she turned slowly to face Leah.
“What did you just say?”
“Oh, come on, Harper. That innocent act you toss around town is getting so old. I know you’ve seen those fine MAs walking around today. They’ve been talking to everybody about Garrek Taylor and the trouble he’s in. They even went to see your daddy. You know, after I told them that Garrek had moved on to...well, to you.”
The last was said with a smirk.
But Harper was too busy replaying all the words the annoying woman had just spoken to notice.
“The masters-at-arms,” she said, hearing the words and hating the sound. “They’re looking for Garrek.”
“Of course they are, Harper. That’s what happens when you go AWOL,” Leah chided.
Harper gulped from her glass and set it back on the bar with a thump. Neither Aunt Laura nor Marlon and Craig had mentioned anyone coming to their house to look for Garrek. Their house was a little farther out than the farm, so maybe the MAs hadn’t gotten there yet.
“Look,” Leah continued. “I don’t know if there’s a punishment for being stupid, but if there were, you’d deserve it. What were you thinking, jumping into bed with a guy like that? You should have known he was out of your league, even if he did turn out to be a jerk. Now you have the entire town talking about how he paid all that money at the auction to sleep with you, just months after he got some other poor girl pregnant.”
Harper was going to be sick. She felt dizzy and warm and she knew she needed to get home before she embarrassed herself...again. But not before she attempted to verify Leah’s story.
“Who told you he got someone pregnant? The MAs wouldn’t divulge that type of information to civilians,” Harper said.
“Well, if you need all the dirt I certainly won’t hold back,” Leah snapped. “Rusty Baines was going into the gym just as I was coming out. You know he’s always had a thing for me. I gave him a chance once, but he didn’t cut it. And I swear, he has the hardest head in the world. Just keeps finding any reason to talk to me now. Anyway, Rusty immediately starts talking about the MAs hanging around town. He said his grandfather knew one of the MAs’ daddy from the navy. So he called him up, and that’s how he got the scoop about the captain’s daughter.”
Harper wanted to scream. Wasn’t anything private anymore?
She slipped off the stool and reached in her back pocket for some bills she then tossed on the bar.
“Where you going?” Leah asked. “He’s probably long gone. You know those military folk are relentless. They probably have Garrek cuffed and in the back of their shiny black car by now.”
Harper was already walking away, leaving Leah to shout after her.
“Get a spine, Harper!” Leah yelled when Harper reached for the door handle. “Say good riddance to that loser and go back to your dull and boring life with that hammer and nail!”
She was going to leave. It was what she needed to do, really it was. But not this time. Harper just couldn’t do it this time.
She walked back to the bar where Leah sat, grabbing a bottle from one of the tables on her way. Harper had no idea what was in the bottle. And before she could think better of the act, she was tipping that bottle over Leah’s head, watching as the red wine flattened the fresh curls on Leah’s head, down her carefully made up face and onto the tight white blouse she wore.
“If this is the only way to shut you up,” Harper said. “I guess I’ll have to oblige you. Again.”
When the bottle was empty Harper set it on the bar and tossed some more money over to pay for it. Then she walked out of Pat’s with her heart thumping wildly and her mind circling around the fact that Garrek had not been the man she’d thought he was. She didn’t know who he was or why she’d ever gotten involved with him. All she knew right now was that regret, mixed with that sickly emotion called love, was a bitter pill to swallow.