knowing she held his heart. “I love you, Harper.”
Her lips curved and her eyes sparkled. “I love you, too.”
With that, he grinned, rolling over her, and bent to kiss her smiling lips. Smokey was going to have to wait a little while for his breakfast.
Weeks later, the two friends sat outside in the Adirondack chairs as they had so many times over the years. Long legs stretched out. Crossed-over booted feet with heels resting on the ground. Each holding a beer as their heads leaned back, the wide expanse of star-filled night sky spread out before them. He had easily spotted Gemini, as was their habit.
From the sounds coming from the house behind them, they could hear laughter, as familiar to them as the night sky.
Sean felt no guilt leaving Harper inside his parents’ house while he and Brock shared a beer outside. By now, she was fast friends with his sisters, liked by his brothers, and adored by his parents. And the same went for the Kings, who were all inside as well, along with Brock’s girl, Kallie.
“It looks good on you, man.”
Rolling his head to the side, Sean stared, waiting for Brock to say more. In typical Brock fashion, it was not a long wait.
“If I could have lined up a hundred women and picked the best one for you, it would be Harper.”
Considering he felt the same, he knew exactly what Brock was talking about. He had brought Harper back to his house after she got out of the hospital, their lives blending seamlessly together.
When he got called out in the middle of the night, she kissed him sweetly and sent him on his way with a travel mug of coffee and a promise that she would be there when he returned. When she came home upset about a displaced or injured family, he held her tightly, giving her a safe haven.
“I’ve got a ring in my pocket,” he confessed to his best friend. “I kept thinking that I wanted to wait for a perfect moment, thinking she would like that.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Sean. The only thing Harper wants is to be with you. Those are the only perfect moments she needs.”
“You always did cut to the chase.” He lifted his beer, taking another drink. “But, you’re right. That’s why I’ve decided that tonight when we get home, I’m going to give it to her.”
“Real happy for you, Sean,” Brock said, his head now rolled to the side, his gaze piercing Sean’s.
Almost in unison, the two drained the last dregs from their beers and leaned forward, propping their elbows on the arms of the Adirondack chairs. Clasping hands tightly, they grinned.
Another round of laughter came from the house behind them, and they both stood. With arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, they headed inside, instantly enveloped in friends, family, and love. Immediately catching Harper’s bright smile, Sean made his way to her, his arms banding around her tightly.
Epilogue
Carter
Young. So fuckin’ young.
“Hard to tell, Detective. Maybe not as young as you think.”
Realizing he spoke aloud, Carter Fiske looked up at the medical examiner as he squatted by the body on the floor. Natalie Bastion had only been working in Hope City for a few months but considering she came from the Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago, he figured she knew a thing or two about dead bodies.
He turned his attention back to the young man. Ill-fitting jeans. Well worn, black, long sleeved, thermal shirt. Heavy, scuffed boots. But his coat was new. Oversized, but new.
He stood, perusing the scene. The kitchen was gutted and not by the fire next door. The row townhouse was stripped to its bones, appearing uninhabited for God knows how many years. Water pooled in the dips in the floor and still dripped off the walls where it blasted through the broken windows.
“Not going to be much scene evidence in here,” he surmised aloud, as two more firefighters poked through the aftermath. The 9-1-1 came from a driver on the street, and once the fire Department determined suspicious burn patterns, the arson detectives had been activated. Then, when checking another unit and the body had been found, Carter received a call.
“I’ll push this up in my que… give you what I can, just as soon as I can,” Natalie said.
“Anything you can tell me about those?” He tipped his head toward the bag of pills that she had found in the deceased’s coat pocket. The reason he had been called in.
“Some appear to