Page 9 of The Pilot

Hell, he’d had more than that when he’d lived on an aircraft carrier, and he’d bet his brother Zach did too.

“Is it too much?” Harper asked quietly, misinterpreting his continued silence. “We can leave the books here. I’m sure my dad won’t mind.”

“No!” Linc exclaimed. Then moderated his tone. “No, it’s not too much at all. I thought there’d be more, that’s all.”

“We really don’t need much,” Harper repeated with a small shrug.

The hell they didn’t.

Linc had no idea of Harper’s situation. He’d assumed she was the same spoiled girl she’d been back in high school. With tons of clothes, makeup, and other doodads that women and girls seemed to think were so important. Now he flushed slightly, feeling foolish.

Living in her car, being homeless, would’ve made it imperative that she narrow down her belongings to only the bare necessities.

“Right. It doesn’t look like I’ll need Chad’s help after all. I’ll get these moved out to my place, and they’ll be there when you get off work this afternoon.”

“Thank you so much, Linc. I mean it.”

“You’re welcome. And stop thanking me. It’s done. We’re moving on. All right?”

To his surprise, Harper smiled.

“What?” he asked. “What’s funny?”

“You remind me of my dad, that’s all.”

Linc’s eyes widened, which made her actually giggle. The sound was light, a little rusty, as if it had been a long time since she’d found anything to laugh about, which irritated Linc all over again.

“You don’t have to look so appalled,” she told him, still grinning. “Wasn’t it you a moment ago telling me that you thought my dad wasn’t as big a jerk as he shows to the world?”

“I have the right to change my mind,” he muttered.

Which sent Harper into giggles again.

The sound was carefree and happy, and nothing like he’d heard from this woman in the time he’d known her since he’d been back in town. He liked it. Liked even more that he’d been the one to make her feel that way, even if just for a moment.

“I can help you get these to your SUV,” Harper told him.

“I got it,” Linc reassured her, looking down at his watch. “You probably need to get going if you don’t want to be late.”

Harper looked at her own watch and gasped. “Shoot! Time got away from me.”

“You sure there’s nothing else you need me to take over for you?” Linc asked.

“You do have beds . . . right?” Harper asked with a smile, indicating she was making a joke.

But to Linc’s horror, he realized no, he did not, in fact, have beds.

He was an idiot. The invitation for her and Kash to move in had been so impulsive, he hadn’t even thought about where they were going to sleep.

“Of course I do,” he said as impassively as he could. He would never admit that he’d completely forgotten about freaking beds.

“Good. Although honestly, I could sleep anywhere. After you sleep in your car, which is the most uncomfortable place in the world to sleep, you pretty much appreciate any kind of couch or pillow to rest your head on.”

She was wrong. A car wasn’t the most uncomfortable place in the world to sleep. That honor would go to the cold, hard ground of North Korea while on the run from soldiers hunting you, while trying to decide if it would be better to head toward China or Russia.

Linc forcibly shook the memories out of his head. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now.”

“Th—Right,” she said, catching herself from almost thanking him again. “Well, I guess I’ll see you after work then. If something happens with Kash, if he doesn’t get on the right bus or something, I’ll let you know. And for the record, if you get tired of him, just tell him to go read a book and he’ll get out of your hair.”