It was close to ten that night when Garrek finally saw headlights coming up the road. Two hours ago he’d finally given up the hope of Harper calling or texting him. And since Morgan had sworn to him that she hadn’t heard from Harper again since the earlier text, Garrek knew there was only one other option.
He’d parked his second rental car about a mile down the road beneath some trees and walked back to where he now stood beside the barn on the Presley farm. The first few minutes he’d stood there, he’d felt foolish. Now, hours later, after seeing the headlights, he felt hopeful.
Tomorrow he would be leaving to head back to Washington. Gray was going with him, and his attorney was going to meet them at the airport, where Gray’s private jet would be waiting. Captain Ainsley was out of line with the AWOL accusation, and Garrek wasn’t about to take that lying down. He’d worked too hard for too long to get where he was, and he wouldn’t let a momentary lapse in judgment destroy him.
As for Harper, well, he didn’t think he’d worked hard enough where she was concerned. And for that he was profoundly sorry. He hoped against all else that she would let him remedy that situation. If not, Garrek would do exactly as he’d told Arnold he would. He would leave her alone. He respected her and himself enough to walk away without any further incident, if that was what Harper truly wanted.
She drove right past the barn in her truck, and Garrek immediately stood from the front porch steps where he’d been waiting for her. The instant their gazes locked Garrek knew this was worse than he could have ever imagined. Her eyes were full of hurt while the determined way in which she approached spoke of anger.
“Can we talk?” he asked when what he really wanted to do was go to her and pull her into his arms.
But touching her right now didn’t seem like a good idea, especially since she was already shaking her head as she stopped just short of the steps.
“I don’t think—”
“Please,” he said, interrupting her. “Just to talk.”
She seemed to think about it before nodding and Garrek breathed a sigh of relief. He walked down the steps and stood in front of her. She instantly backed away, the pain in her eyes palpable. He cringed inwardly.
Garrek began walking toward the barn, because at this point that was all he could do. He opened the door and waited while she walked inside. As he closed the door, he noticed that she’d turned on the lights but remained standing near the doors. He tried not to recall the last time they were in this space, because it only made him feel worse about what was going on now.
“First, I need you to know that I never meant to hurt you,” he stated.
“Let’s just start with what your true intention was when you came here, Garrek,” she said. “Remember, I asked you that question when we were at the Adberry house, and you said it was because your father left you that property.”
“That was the reason I came to Temptation,” he said and then held up a hand so she wouldn’t interrupt him. “I could have gone anywhere, Harper. Anywhere in the US to get away from my situation in Washington. My captain granted me a leave chit, and I thought it made sense to take the time to deal with the issues surrounding my father and his death.”
She looked at him like that explanation didn’t change one bit the way she thought about him at this moment. Garrek continued.
“I slept with Rochelle Ainsley one night after a group dinner and way too many drinks. The condom broke. The next morning I made it perfectly clear to Rochelle that our night together was a mistake. I apologized to her and moved on. Five weeks ago, I was scheduled to ship out for two years, taking a new post as department head. Three days before the ship-out date, Rochelle told me she was pregnant. I was called into my captain’s office, and he told me I had to figure out what to do about honoring his daughter and the commitment I made to her by sleeping with her. He gave me some time, which I took to think.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head as if she were growing tired of his words. Garrek continued anyway.
“That first night I came to Temptation, I just wanted a drink and to go to bed. I was tired from driving and wanted to finally clear my head.”
“You probably should have taken a hint from the party on the base and cut down your drinking,” she said.
“You’re right,” he said with a nod. “But I do not regret the misunderstanding that took place that night. No, I did not walk into that hall intending to bid on a date with a woman I didn’t know. But looking back on that night, I realize that was a pivotal moment in my life. It was as if it were meant to happen exactly the way it did to get us to this point right now.”
“Forgive me if I’d rather not be standing in a barn, a few feet away from someone who thought so little of me that he couldn’t even tell me the truth,” she said. “You had so many opportunities, Garrek. I didn’t push. I respected your privacy, because I had secrets of my own. But the moment things shifted between us, I wanted to know more about what happened on the base and why you were here. How long you were staying. All of it! I asked and you lied!” Her arms fell to her sides as she took a step toward him.
“I was scared!” he shouted back, and then clamped his lips shut.
She did not speak but blinked rapidly, as if his outburst had startled her. It had shocked him. This was not the way he usually acted. Then again, he wasn’t usually fighting for something as important as she’d grown to be to him.
“I didn’t really know what was happening between us,” he began again, his tone quiet even though his heart was thumping wildly. “I couldn’t understand why it was so hard to stay away from you, to not touch you, not want you. I’d been so sure about what I wanted my life to be and how I expected it to play out before. I just wasn’t prepared for you.”
His words seemed to echo in the huge space as she stared off toward the tractor. Garrek ran a hand down the back of his head.
“So is it your baby?” she asked.
“No. It’s not.”
“If you were granted a leave chit, why are the MAs here looking for you?”
“I don’t know. But I’m leaving tomorrow to get it all figured out.”
“You’re leaving?” she asked and immediately looked up at him.
“Yes,” he said, searching her face for any clue that she might want him to stay. There was none. “That’s why I needed to see you tonight. I couldn’t go without explaining to you.”
She started to nod. “Oh, right. Yes. You’re going back to Washington.”
“This wasn’t what I planned,” he started.
“Stop saying that!” she yelled and pushed her fingers through her hair. “Nobody can plan every aspect of their life, Garrek. Do you think I planned to have some drunk idiot at a frat party attack me?”
Anger simmered in him instantly. “This is not the same.”
“It’s not that different,” she continued. “We both got into situations that quickly spiraled out of control. I ran away from mine, you ran away from yours. The difference is, I told you. When I thought we were at a point where honesty needed to override my fear, I told you what happened to me. You backed away again. That seems to be your preference.”
He took a step toward her because not touching her was threatening his sanity. She took a step away and then pulled on the barn door before looking over to him. “Thanks for the explanation. I hope you get everything straightened out when you return to Washington.”
“Harper,” he said, not sure what to say next.
“You have a life to live,” she continued. “Hopefully it turns out to be the one you planned. As for me, I’ll move on. I did it before, I can do it again. Goodbye, Garrek.”
She stepped out of the barn, and he started to follow her. But Harper turned quickly, holding up a hand to stop him this time.
“Don’t. This is finished. You said what you needed to say. I listened. Now we both go our separate ways and do the things we need to do to survive this episode. That’s how life works, Garrek. The give-and-take while the world continues to spin around us. We keep going. That’s it.”
When she turned away from him this time, Garrek remained still. He watched her until he saw her close the front door of the house behind her. The sound of it slamming echoed in his mind and caused a thump in his chest.
She was gone and she was right—they needed to keep moving. He had things to do, a situation to fix. But as Garrek walked to his car he realized, now more than ever, that Harper was still mistaken about one thing: they weren’t meant to go their separate ways. He’d been at that hall, raising his hand for another drink at the exact moment he was supposed to be. That silly auction was meant to serve a purpose, and even if nobody else cared at this point, Garrek was listening. He was hearing and believing and ready to reach out for the future that he felt deep down in his soul was meant for him.
Yes, Garrek had believed there was a plan for his life, and now there was no doubt in his mind that the plan was never his to make. He wasn’t about to miss the blessing that he knew Harper was meant to be to him by walking away and never looking back—like his parents had done, because they never took the chance on coming back to each other. He was going to Washington in the morning, but then he was coming back for Harper.
No matter what, he was coming back to Temptation for her.