Page 27 of Seeing Harper

“Touchdowns?!” he exclaimed, knowing she was teasing him.

Keegan laughed so hard she was short of breath. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding, I know it’s runs.”

“Thank God! I kinda hope you at least know what I do.”

“I know. Believe me, I know. Take care of you.”

“I will. Take care, Keegan. Bye.”

“Bye, Kaiser.”

~~~

Harper sat on the end of her bed with her phone in hand, smiling to herself as she typed out a message to Clay to let him know she was home, just as he’d asked.

“I’m home. Pizza in the fridge for midnight snack. On the way to the shower so

I can get in bed without smelling like Miss Millie. Thank you for spending the day

with me. Best day I’ve had in a long time.”

Sitting at his kitchen table with his father still talking about his future plans, Clay’s phone buzzed. Clay picked it up and read the message, grinning like a loon.

“Harper?” Richie asked.

“Yeah. She’s letting me know she’s home, and thanking me for spending the day with her.” Clay looked up at his father suddenly. “How’d you know it was her?”

“Nothing else in your life has ever made you smile like that.”

Clay grinned and nodded. Then he started typing out his own message.

“Thank you for letting me know you made it. I was about to come looking for you!

I’ll be holding up my pizza in a toast to you at midnight. Thank you for letting me

tag along today. It was exactly what I needed, and the best day ever.

Sleep well Harper.”

Harper was still smiling to herself as she read his reply. She grinned even bigger when she thought about him forcing the waitress to respect her presence, and getting angry at the waitress coming on to him with her sitting right there. Then her smile slowly faded as she remembered their conversation about the reason it bothered him so much — he’d found his mate, maybe. She chastised herself for ridiculous wishful thinking as she put her phone down, and gathered her nightgown and undies to change into after her shower.

She left her room and went to the bathroom across the hall, and after a few moments stepped into the shower, letting the hot water soothe away the fatigue in her muscles from the day’s work. She leaned her head against the tiles and marveled at how much tiredness was washed away from her body with just a simple hot shower. “Shame it doesn’t wash away the heaviness, too,” she whispered. Shaking herself out of the wave of unexpected emotion, she grabbed her shampoo and squirted some in her hand. “What is wrong with me? I was happy! I was smiling twenty minutes ago!”

She scrubbed her hair, then rinsed it out and quickly washed her body. “I don’t want to be sad,” she whispered. “Why does he have to find his mate now?”

Go to mate, her tiger said, her voice raspy from never being used before.

Harper’s eyes popped open beneath the hot water and she looked around herself. Her Tiger had never spoken to her before. Gentle nudges here and there, sure, but never actually spoken.

“What?” Harper said aloud.

Go to mate.

“Are you finally speaking to me?”

In her mind’s eye she saw her sleek, pale orange and white Tiger glaring, sitting and waiting to be acknowledged.

“It’s you! Where have you been? Why haven't you spoken before?”