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“All I did was run,” Nicole admitted quietly.
“All you did was survive, and you didn’t lose your kindness.You didn’t lose your ability to love. I’m worried I might have. I went throughsomething terrible, something I haven’t talked about with anyone except mybusiness partner.”
“Not even your parents?”
Harlow’s head shook. “No. I…can’t. But the point is I don’tthink I came out of it with a whole soul. Not the way you did. You were in aterrible position and you managed to still be kind, to be open when real lovecame your way. I don’t think I can.”
“But you want to.” It was plain to see.
“There’s a man at the club I go to.” Harlow placed themakeup bag in the suitcase and started to zip it up. “He’s been hanging aroundmy world for a long time, but I don’t have the feelings for him I have forJosh. That man is not my brother.”
“So you do have feelings.”
“Yes, but I won’t act on them,” Harlow admitted, pulling thesuitcase off the bed and settling it on the floor. “I’ll see him at the cluband maybe one night I’ll let him top me, but it won’t go further. I’m not goodfor anyone.”
“That is complete nonsense, Harlow Dawson.” Nicole felt likeAbigail Barnes-Fleetwood now took up space in her head. Her futuremother-in-law was rubbing off on her. “You have been excellent to me, and Iwould bet all your clients adore you.”
“The one who hired me to find out if his wife was cheatingdoesn’t. She wasn’t cheating, by the way, but he was, and I sent her pictures.The good news is there’s no like Hippocratic oath for private investigators. Wedon’t have to protect the assholes,” Harlow explained. “Might be why I wentthis way when all the cool kids were going into the military or worse. TheCIA.”
Harlow had some intimidating friends. “I’ll be happy here inWillow Fork with my fur babies and my new family.”
“I know you will,” Harlow said with a wistful smile. “Butcome to Dallas sometimes. I’m going to miss you when I go back.”
“I promise.” Nicole settled her backpack on her shoulder.“Now I kind of want to leave this place forever. I don’t think I’m going tohang around here anymore.”
“See, you’re already proving to be smarter than me,” Harlowadmitted. “I kind of want to hang out and see what happens. Like how many drugdeals happen here? Open the door and we can wait for Landon outside. We need toturn in the key.”
“I’ll go down and drop it at the office so you don’t have tohaul that suitcase around,” Nicole offered as she opened the door and walkedout. She would go home, see what Kim had found out, and then spend the rest ofthe day being coddled by her men. They would cuddle her and probably fuck her acouple of times and then cuddle her some more.
It was the perfect way to spend her first day of realfreedom.
“Not on your life, sister,” Harlow argued. “Look, it’s gotwheels. We’re sticking together. I’ll text Lan we’re waiting.”
The door to the room that used to be Nicole’s swung open.
And Nicole realized her freedom might be over before itbegan.
* * * *
The smell of baking bread hit Josh as he walkedthrough the door. The aroma took him right back to childhood when he and Oliviawould sit in the kitchen hoping for snacks. Later, when they were teens, Grimwas right there with them, telling their housekeeper about their school dayswhile she made sure to take care of their grumbling bellies.
The memories pierced through him. Likely because he’dstarted to think about a family with Nicole. A vision of their kids runningwild on the ranch made his heart clench.
He hung his hat up on one of the many pegs dotting themudroom. It looked like the mudroom might be getting some use this afternoon.
“Hey, Josh. You’re home early.” Benita Wells had been aroundlong before Josh had been born. She’d run this household before his mother hadcome on the scene. She’d taken care of his dads when no one else wanted to workfor them.
“Dad called and asked me to come back. Is that yoursourdough I smell?” Josh asked with a grin.
“You know it.” She no longer cleaned the house. They had aservice for cleaning, but Benita still cooked most of the meals and oversaw theupkeep of the house. “Nicole likes the sourdough so she’s getting thesourdough.”
Like the rest of his family, Benita had taken a shine toNicole. “Thank you for being so nice to her.”
“I’m nice to her because she deserves it. She’s a flowerwho’s never had any sun, Josh. You can make her come alive by loving her,”Benita said, moving to the sink. “Like your fathers did for Abby. I’m happy tosee it play out all over again with you and Grim. You treat your girl right.”
“I promise.” The idea that he was following in his fathers’footsteps made his heart soften. “I love her very much.”
“Not as much as I do,” a deep voice said. Grim walked infrom the mudroom. “Something smells heavenly, Benita.”
