She Loves Me (Harmony Pointe #3) - Melissa Foster Page 0,134

Delaney meals after her surgery,” Harley said as Jiggs came to his side. He scratched Jiggs’s head. “I think she’s got the hots for him.”

“He’s a good guy,” Marshall said.

Harley grabbed his keys from the table where he’d left them and offered them to him. “Stay at my place.”

“Let’s not push our luck,” Marshall said.

“We can stay at Piper’s, give you privacy,” Harley suggested.

“No, really. I’m good. As you said, we have a lot to work through, and one of my issues is standing up for myself, not needing a savior. I appreciate you being there for me, but it’s healthiest if I find my own way, overcome my own obstacles.” Marshall glanced at Piper and said, “Thanks for giving me a shove in the right direction, Piper. I needed it.”

“You know how much I like bossing people around. You should put some ice on that shiner.”

“Nah. Battle wounds are to be worn proudly.” Marshall winked at Harley.

Harley called Jiggs from where he’d wandered behind the bar. He slung an arm around Piper, and they all headed out to the parking lot. It was a brisk, starless night, and as Harley locked the door, he said, “Why don’t we meet at Dee’s tomorrow morning around nine? The girls will be at school. That’ll give you and Delaney a chance to figure out how to talk to them about everything.”

“Can we make it eight? I’d like to try to do it as soon as possible, if you don’t mind. It’s hell trying to sleep these days with all of this on my mind,” Marshall said.

“Sure. The girls will be on the bus by then. I’ll text Dee and Mom.”

“I’ve learned to always try to say goodbye when given the chance.” Marshall looked tentatively at Harley and said, “Mind if I give your girl a hug?”

“Of course not.”

Marshall embraced Piper and said, “You’ve got the better man. Treat him well.”

Harley’s heart swelled, but now that he knew what Marshall had been through, he wasn’t so sure his brother was right. “I’d say we’re neck and neck.”

“That’s generous of you. Thanks for hearing me out. I won’t let you down.” Marshall opened his arms and waited for Harley to take him up on the embrace. When he did, Marshall whispered, “Don’t forget what I said. For once in your life, be your own hero. You deserve it.”

They exchanged phone numbers, and Harley tugged Marshall into another hug. “I’m glad you’re back. I love you, man.”

“I love you, too.” Marshall gave Jiggs a pat on the head and climbed on his motorcycle.

As he drove away, Harley filled Piper in on what had transpired, from the first punch to the deaths of Marshall’s wife and child, the Dark Knights, Marshall’s recovery, and every heart-wrenching detail in between. He got choked up again, and Piper’s eyes teared up as he answered her questions, and then he wrapped her in his arms and counted his blessings. His brother was back in town trying to rebuild a life he’d never known, his sister was healthy, and his mother was getting her son back. Harley had his pup by his side and his girl in his arms. He was on top of the world.

“I can’t get over all that he’s been through.” Piper rested her chin on his chest and said, “He’s lost so much.”

He thought of how much he’d already lost—his father, time with Marshall, time with Piper before—and he thought about how much the people he loved had lost, and the people Piper loved. In the space of a few fast heartbeats, Marshall’s warning magnified. Harley knew what he wanted, what he’d always wanted, and there beneath the starless sky, in the parking lot of his family’s pub, he went after it with everything he had.

He took Piper’s hands in his, gazing deeply into her eyes, and said, “We have all lost too much. I don’t want to risk losing anything else, Piper. I don’t want to wait another minute to tell you how I feel.”

He got down on one knee, and Piper’s face blanched.

“What are you doing?”

“Seizing the moment,” he said as Jiggs came to his side.

“Nonononono. Harley, you can’t do this.” Her warning was clear, but so was that smile tugging at her lips.

“Oh, I’m doing this,” he said playfully, trying to snap her out of her shock. “Piper, my sweet girl with a hair trigger, these last several weeks have been the best of my life. I was wrong when I said I’d be