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I shake my head, embarrassed at first. “I just mean … You’re an amazing man, Harlan Calhoun. I’m so happy that I landed here, even if it was one more complication to my life. So grateful for you and your family.”
My eyes sting, but dammit, I’m going to get through this without crying.
“If I had crashed anywhere else… I don’t know what I would have done, but you, your family — hell the whole town — has been pretty amazing, and I’m so thankful that we landed here, in a safe place.”
“Sunshine.”
I step forward, and go to my toes, lightly press a kiss against his lips.
Harlan’s free hand comes to the back of my neck, holding me in place, and where it might have scared me two weeks ago — it doesn’t now. I’m safe with Harlan.
Harlan is safe.
He makes me feel safe. He lets me move at my own pace, and at this rate, a sloth moves faster than we have.
“Can we stay the night?” I whisper once I pull back, ready to take a chance and move forward. To fling aside the doubts and worries that I’ve had since leaving Tulsa in a panic.
I’m done with the fear. With running.
Harlan drops his forehead to mine, and our gazes lock. I love that too. That I can confidently meet his eyes and know that I’ll find affection and care there.
“Of course.” The husky timber of his voice hits me right in the gut. Goosebumps spread down my arms.
We climb the porch, the air still between us, and enter the darkened house to climb the stairs with my hand clasped in his.
He opens the door to one of the spare bedrooms, and I gasp.
“Harlan,” I whisper. “What is this?”
The far corner of the room has a cradle set up, fresh sheets covering the mattress and a fluffy blanket hanging over the rail. A mobile floats above it, shimmering in the moonlight, casting stars on the ceiling. There’s a bright pink rug on the hardwood floor and gauzy curtains hang at the window.
An old rocking chair is set next to the crib, and my hand covers my mouth.
“When did you set this up?” When did he have the time? I’ve been here every day over the last week, and I never could have imagined he’d be setting up a room for Audra.
Harlan steps forward and puts Audra down in the crib before covering her with her blanket.
He snags my hand again and switches on the monitor sitting on the dresser and flicks on a nightlight before pulling me out of the room.
Once we’re in the hallway, he says, “I wanted Audra to have a comfortable place to sleep. I wanted you to be comfortable here — if we ever got to this point.”
“But a crib? Furniture? The rocking chair?”
I didn’t have a chance to look at everything closely, but the chair, that’s old. Something that his parents would have used when he was a baby.
He shrugs. As if setting up a room so my daughter would be comfortable isn’t a big deal. But it is.
How could he know that we’d stay? That’d I’d be here tonight or that I’d need somewhere not only I was comfortable but that my daughter would be too.
Touched beyond words, I ask, “When?”
“The crib? Right after I kissed you the first time. The rest of it, my dad set up for me today while we were at the concert. Do you like it?” A little bit of doubt colors his question.
“I love it. Your dad set this up?” I ask.
“Yeah. He was happy to.”
“And he’s okay with … this. With us?” Hal was friendly at dinner, but what must he think that his oldest son is practically moving a woman in with him after a few short weeks.
