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It took less than five minutes for the ambulance to arrive, but it might as well have been an hour. Harper was trying to stay calm, but it was more difficult than she would have imagined. Children got hurt all the time...but this wasn’t just any child. It was Layla.
Mason had refused to let go of her, so Harper had been pressing a cloth to the cut on the toddler’s forehead and fighting the instinct to hold her the same way Mason was. But she’s not yours.
The little voice in the back of her head was the only reason Harper was staying sane. She felt responsible for what had happened. After all, Mason had been kissing her when Layla had gotten hurt. They’d tried so hard to be good while she was awake, but the pull between them had been so strong...
Harper bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay, but now she had tears and a shredded cheek. “She’s gonna be fine,” Harper tried to reassure Mason, though the words fell flat. They felt like a lie, though Harper knew they weren’t. Layla’s life wasn’t on the line, the little girl would probably be running around within the hour, but somehow those words of reassurance weren’t enough.
Layla whimpered and Mason looked as if the sound gave him physical pain. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “Daddy’s got you. It’s gonna be okay.”
Harper’s tears picked up again. Her heart was breaking as Mason hurt for his little girl. It was amazing to see how deep their connection was in such a short amount of time.
The door opened and Harper jumped to her feet. “In here!” she called. “We’re in the kitchen.” She rushed to the entrance and a couple of first responders walked inside. “She fell from the chair and cut her forehead,” Harper explained, though it was unnecessary.
Staying back to give everyone room, Harper wrung her hands until her knuckles ached. She didn’t have the right to be closer, but all she wanted was to be in the inner circle.
“Hey, sweetheart,” the EMT said to Layla with a smile. She nodded at Mason before reaching out for Layla’s forehead. “I’m just gonna take a look at this, okay?” A tension-filled moment passed before the woman smiled again. “Yep. Looks like we’re gonna need stitches!” The EMT rocked back on her heels. “Why don’t you bring your daughter into the ambulance. We’ll get her to the hospital faster and she’ll be taken care of in no time. We can actually do stitches, but they’ll have better equipment to deal with a child. Plus, since it’s on her temple, they might want to watch her for a while.”
“You think she’s hurt more than with just the cut!” Mason shouted.
Harper started forward to reassure him, but stopped, forcing herself back. Right now she would only be in the way. Best to let the professionals handle this.
The EMT took out a flashlight and shone it into Layla’s eyes, humming. “Yeah...she might have a slight concussion. They’ll be able to study her a little further.” The EMT shook her head. “It’s gonna be fine. This happens to kids all the time.”
Layla shifted and let out another wail, stopping Mason from responding. “Fine,” he said tightly. “Let’s go.”
He stood and began to walk after the EMT’s. Harper rushed to his side. “Can I come?” she asked him softly. “I want to...” How did she tell him it was all her fault? She shouldn’t have kissed him. Shouldn’t have encouraged him! In fact, she should have just ignored his knocking in the first place! If she’d been focusing on her career, this would never have happened.
Mason made a pained face. “I...just...whatever. Just meet us there, I guess.”
Pain hit Harper’s chest. That wasn’t exactly the glowing endorsement she was looking for, but it was enough. She needed to see this through. Layla held too much of Harper’s heart for her to not make sure the little girl was okay. “I’ll be right behind you,” Harper said softly, though she was sure that Mason didn’t hear her. He was too busy climbing into the back of the ambulance.
Harper locked up behind them and grabbed her keys, rushing to the garage. The least she could do was be there to help. After that... well...Harper wasn’t sure what would be after that. How could she make this up to Mason and Layla? Mason would need some guidance, he’d never dealt with this before. Layla would need a mother’s touch.
Harper wasn’t her mother and Mason wasn’t her husband, but Harper could still help. She had helped before and she would do so now.
Just as she was getting in the car, her phone buzzed with an email. She started to ignore it when Harper realized it was from an art house she had sent her portfolio to. Taking the few seconds necessary, Harper clicked on it and her heart sank even further than it already was.
She’d been rejected. Again.
Her work wasn’t the style they were looking for. Typical. It was an automatic response and Harper knew it was simply a polite way of saying she wasn’t good enough.
She shook her head and tossed her phone into the passenger seat. This had to be the worst day in the history of worst days. They say the night is darkest before the dawn, but Harper was starting to wonder if there was a dawn.
Her eyes blurred as she drove and Harper wiped the tears with the back of her hand, not caring in the least about her makeup. Was there anything in her life worth salvaging anymore?
Was her mother right? Did Harper need to simply give up and move on?
An image of Mason’s look right before he kissed her came to mind. Despite the torrent of despair in her chest, a slight warmth built as she recalled the intensity in his eyes. How his look made her feel like the only woman in the room. How she felt precious and adored, and how even the thought of Mason or Layla brought a smile to her face.
That’s worth salvaging.
A broken sob ripped itself from Harper as she realized she wasn’t just falling for Mason. She had already fallen. She loved him with every piece of her being and Layla was right behind him. Her art, which had taken such priority for so long, wasn’t enough. It didn’t even come close to helping her feel so fulfilled and satisfied as a lumberjack and a two year old did.
Harper knew she would always paint–it was part of who she was–but it could no longer be the most important thing. She had stayed back when the EMT’s were at the house because she didn’t have the right to be in the middle, but right here and right now Harper knew that she’d give up anything, even her career and art, to be granted that right.
She pressed down a little harder on the gas pedal, praying no police were close by. Mason was going to need her and Harper was going to be there. From now on, she would always be there. She didn’t even have to think about it anymore. She’d find another way to appease her mother or pay the bills, whatever life came down to.
But right now, Harper had a family to get to. One that she hoped would be hers permanently.
*****
MASON FELT LIKE AN elephant had taken up residence on his chest. He could barely pull in enough air not to keel over and suffocate. How could he let this happen? How could he have let himself be so distracted with something as stupid as a kiss?
A kiss.
He was so disgusted by his lack of control that for a brief moment in time, he’d thought of calling up Mr. Thomas and simply handing Layla over. How could he claim to be a fit parent if he couldn’t keep his hormones in check?
Harper hadn’t meant to distract him. She’d only been making them lunch and he had to go and turn it into something more. Where was Crew with a good punch to the face when Mason desperately needed one? Isn’t that what brothers were for?
The ambulance lurched to a stop and the EMT in the back pushed open the doors and climbed down. “Step down and we’ll bring the little one.”
Mason shook his head. He couldn’t stand the thought of letting Layla go. She was holding his hand and Mason didn’t want to scare her by letting go. She needed him right now and he’d already failed her once. He wasn’t going to do it again.
The woman looked at him sympathetically. “It’s going to be okay,” she assured him.
The words brought Harper back to mind. She’d said the same thing. Even when Layla had been screaming and Mason could barely speak from staring at the cut and all the blood, Harper had been cool and collected. She’d called emergency services, wiped Layla’s face and then pressed a clean cloth to the wound until the paramedics had arrived.
His angel was more than he could ever deserve.
“Sir,” the woman said again. “She’s going to be fine. Step down and we’ll bring her inside.”
Mason’s mouth felt full of sawdust. He couldn’t seem to swallow properly. He looked at Layla, whose dark eyes were droopy, but steady. “I’m just going to wait for you right there, okay?” he asked hoarsely.
Layla slowly blinked, but the paleness of her skin scared Mason and he scrambled down, desperate to get her inside and under a doctor’s care. “Careful,” he blurted out as the workers lifted Layla down.
“We’ve got her, sir,” the woman said patiently. “She’s gonna be fine.”
Mason nodded and took Layla in his arms when all was said and done.
“Right in here, sir.” The EMT waved him inside and they headed toward the check-in desk.
It didn’t take long before they were in a room with a nurse bustling about setting everything up. Mason tried to be patient during the process, but he felt as if his world was shattering. The fears and doubts that he’d pushed away when Harper had landed in his arms were growing stronger and right now he didn’t have the energy to fight them.
If only...if only...
The words were a harsh refrain. If only Aimee hadn’t died. If only his mother wasn’t so set on taking Layla. If only Mason had more self control. If only Harper wasn’t such an angel. If only...
“Sir?”
Mason snapped out of his internal scoldings. “Yes?”
“The doctor will be in soon.” The older woman smiled. “Can I get you anything while you wait?”
Mason shook his head. He looked down at Layla, who was still awake, though barely, and tucked into his side. “We’re fine.”
The woman patted his shoulder as she left. “These things happen,” she assured him. “Your daughter will probably end up with a few stitches, but will be fine.”
Mason nodded, but the words stung. Why wasn’t anyone more upset about the fact that there was blood dripping down Layla’s face? Was he the only one who wanted her well and safe? No wonder parents got all up in arms about the healthcare system! None of them cared! Layla could be bleeding out and the doctor was probably taking a break somewhere.
He grit his teeth and forced his runaway thoughts to slow down. Layla was okay. She was hurt but okay. Surely if it was dire, the nurse would have done more than tell them to wait.
“Mason?”
Mason’s head jerked around so quickly, something pinched in his neck. “Harper,” he said flatly. If only I wasn’t in love with Harper, this would never have happened.
Harper gave him a timid smile. “I’m so sorry it took so long, but I had trouble getting through the front desk.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not technically family, so they didn’t want to let me back.”
When her hand landed on his shoulder, Mason had to fight to keep from pulling away. If this experience taught him anything, besides the fact that Layla had to be watched at all times, it was that his initial worries had been correct.
He couldn’t have it all. He couldn’t have Layla and Harper. Not only was it not fair to Harper, it wasn’t fair to Layla. She was the one who had ended up hurt because of Mason’s inability to stay focused. No child should suffer like this. Mason’s love life would just have to be one of the things he would give up in order to make sure that Layla’s childhood was better than her mother’s.
“I’m assuming the doctor hasn’t been in yet?” she asked.
Mason shook his head. How was he going to tell her it was over? The hospital didn’t seem like a good place for it, but he really didn’t want to pretend things were okay when they weren’t either.
Harper scooted a chair closer and leaned into him, caressing Layla’s cheek. Layla whimpered and tried to sit up, then reached for Harper.
“No, Tiny,” Mason whispered. “I got you.”
“I don’t mind,” Harper said, moving to take Layla.
“I don’t want you to get blood all over your clothes,” Mason said, trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t hurt her feelings.
“Mason,” Harper said again. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. They’re just clothes.”
“It’s not alright,” he said fiercely. “She’s not yours to hold,” he blurted out before he could think better of it.
Harper jerked back. “What?”
The timing of the doctor’s arrival was a blessing or a curse depending on one’s perspective, but Mason decided it was better this way. He didn’t actually want to hurt Harper. She’d been nothing but wonderful, but he was going to have to. The only way to take care of Layla was to let go of Harper and either way he looked at it, it was going to hurt. But Harper was an adult. She could survive being hurt much better than Layla would.
“Well, little lady,” the doctor said with a smile, scooting forward on a stool. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
Layla leaned back into Mason’s chest and he held her close. “Is this going to hurt?” Mason asked.
The doctor smiled kindly, if not with some weariness in his gaze. “I’m sure it will hurt a little, but we’ll get her patched up in no time, and then she’ll be back to her normal self quickly.”
“The EMT seemed to think there might be a slight concussion,” Mason added.
The doctor nodded. “We’ll check that too.” He reached out again. “May I see her for a few minutes?”
It took all of Mason’s self control to hand Layla over. Layla was clinging to him and crying and it broke his heart even worse than it already was.
“Don’t worry, Daddy,” the doctor assured Mason. “You can stand right there and watch. It’ll all be fine.” The doctor laid Layla down and the nurse began chatting with her, helping calm Layla down so the doctor could inspect the wound. “Yep. A few stitches and she’ll be right as rain.”
Mason blew out a breath. “Okay. Thanks.”
The doctor chuckled. “Don’t worry. This happens all the time.”