Page 63 of The Pilot

“I love you too,” she whispered back with a smile. Then she lowered her head and kissed him. It was the first time they’d kissed since being in this bed. But Harper kept it short and sweet, didn’t let Linc deepen it like he longed to.

“I’m hungry,” she said. “And I want to check out those yard spinners like you said we would. And I need to brush my teeth. No more kissing until then.”

Linc couldn’t help but chuckle. “Woman, you took my cock down your throat and you don’t want to kiss me with morning breath?”

She blushed and nodded firmly. “Yes.”

“All right. I suppose if we don’t get out of this bed, we’ll end up staying here all day. And since I really do want to kiss you properly, we have to get up to brush our teeth. So, fine. Food, shopping, sightseeing, and then bed again.”

“Maybe we should stop at another pharmacy, just in case?” Harper suggested, with a sexy little smirk.

“Hell yes, we should,” Linc agreed. He suddenly sat up, wrapping his arms around Harper as he did. She let out a small sound of surprise but returned his hug.

Linc sat there with his face buried in Harper’s neck for a long moment, loving the feel of her naked body against his. Appreciating that they’d been able to overcome their emotional sharing of their pasts and been brave enough to tell each other how they felt.

This trip felt like a new beginning. Linc was putting his past behind him and looking toward the future. He didn’t know what it held for either of them, but he hoped it was devoid of any drama.

He’d talk to his doctor again about getting a vasectomy as soon as possible. He’d been thinking about it for a while now, even before Harper came back into his life. Kids simply weren’t in his future, and he’d wanted to do something to make sure it wouldn’t happen accidentally.

An accident he wanted to avoid even more, now that he was with Harper and they were on the same page as far as babies went.

Their future was looking bright, and he couldn’t wait to get on with it.

Chapter Fourteen

Two weeks had passed since the trip to Boothbay, and Harper had never been happier. She’d immediately told Kash about the change in her and Linc’s relationship, and as she’d thought, he’d been over-the-moon happy. He loved Linc just as much as she did, and he was thrilled with the thought of his mom finally having someone to lean on . . . other than him, of course.

She and Linc were still figuring out how to be in a relationship. He constantly wanted to pay for everything, but she’d put her foot down. There was still a part of her that needed to prove to the world that she could make it on her own. She didn’t want or need Linc swooping in to take over. She’d worked damn hard to build up her bank account, to prove to her father, to Kash, to herself, to everyone that she was a good mother who could provide for her child.

So things were still a little shaky as far as that went, what with Linc’s strong provider instinct. But she still brought food home from work and still continued to work on his house as much as possible, in lieu of rent. Gas was a hefty expense, since she drove herself to and from work and Linc didn’t exactly live close, but she continued to pay for that on her own as well.

But pretty much everything else was going exceedingly well, as far as being officially boyfriend/girlfriend. And the best thing was, Linc was still sleeping more than he’d been since he was medically discharged from service. Not eight hours, but at least a solid five each night, sometimes even a little more. Which was a huge step up from the two or less he was getting before Harper slept in his bed.

They didn’t make love every evening. Sometimes they were too tired, or she worked late, or they were worried about Kash hearing them. But when they did, it was always just as combustible as it had been the first time.

Today, Harper had taken a day off, and she’d made plans to spend the afternoon with Kash one-on-one for the first time in a good long while. They’d had breakfast with Linc, and then he went to Lobster Cove to put up new shelves in Evelyn’s pantry. Why she’d decided to completely redo the small room, Harper had no idea, but because Chad and Britt were busy, she’d asked if Linc could come over to help. And since he was an amazing son, of course he said yes.

When Kash begged to assist him, Harper couldn’t deny his request. She spent the time they were gone taking a long, leisurely bath. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to do something so decadent.

The boys got back to the house around two, and Harper made a snack for Kash, and lunch consisting of dill pickle chicken salad, biscuits, and potato soup for Linc. She felt as if he was constantly giving to her, so it was a good feeling to do something for him for once.

After promising to drive safely, and to call if she needed anything—anything at all—Harper and Kash left around three o’clock. They were going to have a late lunch / early dinner, then go to the Blueberry Pond Observatory. To say Kash was excited was an understatement. He would never be the kind of kid who’d like going for a hike or to a stuffy museum. But he could literally spend hours staring up at the night sky.

Thankfully in the winter it got dark early, so they could still get home at a decent hour. The observatory was about an hour and a half away, so it wasn’t exactly close, but this was one of Kash’s Christmas presents, and Harper was excited to see him in his element.

Not only that, but she wanted to talk to him. Felt as if she hadn’t had a chance to really sit down and have a good chat about how he was feeling, both about school and about things at home. They’d had a lot of adjustments in a short period of time, and she wanted to know where his head was at. The car ride was a perfect time and place to do that.

They stopped in Damariscotta at the Oysterhead Pizza Company. The pizza there was some of the best Harper had ever eaten, and Kash certainly seemed to agree. He ate almost an entire pepperoni pizza by himself. She wasn’t sure he’d even breathed after picking up the first slice.

Her little boy was certainly changing right in front of her eyes. He used to pick at his food, and there had been that point in time when he didn’t want to eat unless he knew she was too. He’d caught on that she was giving him their only food, and he wasn’t happy.

When they were on the road once more, Harper brought up the main thing she wanted to talk about. “Are you sure you’re okay with Linc and me dating?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Just yeah?” she pushed.

Her son gave her a look. “Duh, Mom. I like him. He’s awesome. He looks after you, and he’s nice to both of us. Why? Are you okay with him? You aren’t just going out with him because of the house, are you?”