Page 37 of The Pilot

“You did,” Linc said with certainty. He made a mental note to tell her about the talk he’d had with Kash about bullies at some point, when the boy wasn’t around to overhear. Kash probably wouldn’t mind him telling Harper, but he’d still tell her in private . . . just in case.

“All right. I’m going to head up. Will you make sure he doesn’t stay up too late?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks. I feel like I’ve been the worst mom lately. Leaving so much to you.”

“I don’t mind in the least. I enjoy his company.”

“And he loves hanging out with you too. Good night, Linc.”

“Night, Harper.”

Linc watched as she headed for the stairs, his gaze glued to her ass as she went. She really was a beautiful woman, even tired, grumpy, and frazzled after a long day on her feet. All Linc wanted to do was pamper her, but he didn’t have the right to do more than give her some much-needed time to herself, while he looked after her son.

Which he supposed was pampering her, in a way. She hadn’t been able to rely on others for a while, and knowing Kash was safe and happy had to go a long way toward taking a burden off her shoulders. He felt good about that.

“So, kiddo, anything you want to watch tonight?”

“How the Universe Works.”

He wasn’t apologetic in the least about watching the series for the eight hundredth time in a row. It was pretty much all Kash wanted to watch, but Linc didn’t mind. It was good background noise, and he could read the next book from the huge stack next to his bed. He used to read thrillers, but they were a little too close to what he’d lived and breathed, and brought back too many memories, so he’d switched to fantasy. It was a nice change, escaping into the worlds of dragons, ogres, and other fantastical creatures.

He even found that he enjoyed the occasional “romantasy,” which was a fancy way of saying there was sex between the other scenes.

After going into his room to grab a book, and as he settled into his chair—a chair that felt too big without Harper in it—he heard the water rushing through the pipes in the walls as Harper started her bath upstairs.

Visions of her naked in a tub full of bubbles swam in his mind, and Linc did his best to turn them off. Harper was his houseguest, that was all. He’d never do anything to make her think her living here was contingent on anything he might want.

And Linc wanted a lot. Wanted to see if her lips tasted as good as he remembered. Wanted to know if their chemistry carried over into the bedroom. To see if maybe, just maybe, they could put their pasts behind them and forge a new future together.

It was cheesy and sentimental, but the more time Linc spent with Harper and Kash, the more time he wanted to spend with them. He was proud of Harper for how hard she worked, but also resentful of how much her job took her away from him.

Shaking his head at how pathetic he was being, Linc did his best to concentrate on the words on the pages of his book. As the narrator of the TV show spoke about dark matter, he got lost in a story of aliens intent on taking over Earth, and the one woman who might be able to save them all.

Chapter Eight

Three weeks. That’s how long it had been since Linc had kissed her . . . sort of. But he hadn’t attempted to do so again, and Harper didn’t understand why. Well, she kind of did, actually. Her hours were very irregular, and she was on edge from working in retail around the holidays. She wasn’t in any kind of mood to be intimate with anyone, barely had enough energy to make sure Kash was doing his homework and eating properly.

Thank goodness for Linc. He’d taken responsibility of watching over Kash as if he’d been doing it since the kid was born. He may not have wanted children, but he was doing a damn fine job as surrogate father to her son.

He’d even taken Kash to downtown Rockville to see the lobster trap tree the town put up every year. It was exactly what it sounded like: lobster traps stacked up in the shape of a giant Christmas tree, with lights wrapped around the entire thing. It was quirky and cute and something Harper remembered from her own childhood. The town had also put up a lobster buoy tree, stringing up the iconic buoys in the shape of a tree as well.

Harper loved Christmas in Maine, and loved that her son was getting to experience all the things she had when she was a kid. She just wished she could enjoy all of it with him.

The only positive thing about working so much in December was the way her bank account was growing. Harper had even been able to splurge and buy Kash a subscription to something called a Hack Pack, which he’d raved about at dinner one night.

He’d learned about it from other kids in his robotics club. It was a science-based box that came every other month, and it integrated engineering principles into programmable robots the recipient had to make, using components like an infrared receiver, an H-bridge, and a stepper motor.

Harper had no idea what those things were, but Kash did, and he’d been super excited as he’d described them during that dinner. And anything that got her son that excited about learning was something Harper desperately wanted to give him.

So she’d bit the bullet and paid the exorbitant—at least for her—amount of money for the subscription. Now she couldn’t wait to see the excitement on his face when he opened the first box, which had come earlier in the week and was hidden away in her bedroom.

She’d been able to get a few smaller things for his stocking, to open on Christmas Day, as well. It was going to be a very good holiday for mother and son. One like they hadn’t had in years. And Harper was proud that she’d been able to make things work.

Of course, she couldn’t have managed it without Linc. He’d taken her and Kash in when she’d been desperate for somewhere to go. And in the process, her relationship with her dad had improved by leaps and bounds. Apparently they were just a little too alike for living together to be viable.

Today was Chad and Britt’s wedding. They were having it out at Lobster Cove, and Harper had been touched and shocked when Britt had asked if she’d be part of the ceremony. They weren’t having bridesmaids and groomsmen, per se, but of course, Chad’s three brothers would be at his side, and Britt had asked Marit and Harper if they’d stand up with her.