“There is no way I’ll let you drive home like this,” Austin said firmly.
She pinned him with a glare, unreasonably irritated with him. “If you weren’t here, I’d have to drive myself home.” Since it had been raining this morning, she had driven for once, instead of walking.
“Your point is moot because I am here, and there are enough volunteers to take care of every kid in your classroom, twice over. I’m taking you home, Harper, and that’s final. You can kick me out afterward.”
He grabbed her arm and led her out of her classroom. Without her permission, her body leaned against his for support. “I don’t need your help.”
“I’m not arguing with you.”
“Fine,” she snapped. Allowing him to lead her to his truck, it was all she could do to stay upright. Somehow, he managed to get her in the cab and then, into her house without much help from her.
“How did you get my keys?” she asked as he helped her undress and put on pajamas. “Why am I letting you do this?”
Austin scooped her up and placed her under the covers of her bed. “Your keys were in your purse. As for the other, you’re letting me do this because you trust me to take care of you.”
She buried her face into the pillow, so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “I don’t want you to take care of me.” Such a lie. Such an enormous, mountain of a lie. But she had to push him away before... Well, she couldn’t remember exactly. “I’m fine now. You can go.”
He smoothed her hair back. “You don’t have to push me away.”
Was he a mind reader now? Or had she become that obvious? “That’s because you’re not staying,” she said. “You have no plans to stay here.”
“I know.”
Another sweep of his hand over her head, and she opened one eye to glare at him. Why did he have to have such a great bedside manner? Or be so agreeable?
Gah.
She had to get him out of her house, so she could be miserable in peace. “All I want to do is sleep, so you can leave. Just let Libby out before you go.”
“Then who will let her in?”
She would crawl if she had to. “I’ll take care of it.” She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. “Please let me sleep.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
“Stop being so dang agreeable,” she grumbled.
“Yes, ma’am.”
If she didn’t feel so bad, she would have smacked him with a pillow. Luckily for both of them, he left the bedroom. She could hear him tending to Libby in the other end of the small house.
“Hey, cutie. Want to go outside?” he asked.
Harper could only imagine how hard and fast Libby’s tail would be wagging. Heck, her tail would wag if a man like Austin called her cutie.
The back door opened, and then closed. Cabinets opened and shut as well. The sounds of his heavy footsteps echoed in the house. Finally, he appeared in her room again.
“Sit up, darlin’,” Austin placed his arm behind her back to help her. “Brought you something to take for the fever and a glass of water to wash it down.”
“Stop being so nice to me,” she whispered right before she popped the pills and drank the water.
“You want me to be mean instead?” he asked, humor lacing his tone.
“I want you to leave,” she said in a flat tone.
For a moment, irritation flashed in his Lawson blue eyes, but then he smiled. “As soon as I get Libby back inside, I’ll be on my way. I have dinner plans tonight.”
Her stupid heart sank. “Have fun.”
“It’s with my brother and his wife.” He moved his arm away while taking the empty glass from her.
She flopped down on her pillow. “It’s not my business.”
“No, it’s not your business, but I wanted you to know,” he replied. “If you need me, text me.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
He stood, leaving her in bed. All alone.
She had to bite her lip to keep from calling out to him. A few minutes later, she was half-asleep, Libby had been let back inside, and Austin was shutting the front door.
With her bitchy tail, she’d be lucky if he answered her texts, much less came help her if she did, in fact, need anything.
She groaned, willing the medicine to work faster so she could get back to normal. Once she was, then so would the rest of her life. A life that was strictly professional when it came to a certain quarterback.
Or so she told herself.
Chapter Eight
Leaving Harper at home, alone and sick, hadn’t been easy to do. The woman needed someone to take care of her, and for reasons known only to God—and possibly every male Lawson before him—he felt a driving force to be the one to do it.
Until she kicked him out of her house.
Boundaries were something he respected, but when it came to something like this... he didn’t like them at all. Luckily, he’d gotten permission from Mason to come over earlier.
As usual, there was no traffic on the dead-end street Mason and Skylar lived on. However, there were multiple cars parked at the house where Skylar taught music lessons and held day camps. Although she had bought it before she and Mason had gotten together, she’d moved into the house next door with him and used it only for work.
Most likely this suited his brother, as he couldn’t stand to be around anyone who wasn’t Skylar or his dog. One day, Austin hoped his brother would move beyond this, and not just for Mason’s sake, but for his family’s as well. Honestly, it was now weird to have to deal with the brother who had been so much fun growing up. The one who’d taught him how to fish and swim.
Son of a gun. Why in the hell was he getting all sentimental? Probably for the same damn reasons that he had more than a little interest in Harper.
Austin parked his truck in the drive and got out, striding to the front door.
“I’m not inside,” Mason said from the shadows in the side porch. He sat in a comfortable chair that faced Skylar’s music house with Bomber, his support dog, at his side. Always the SEAL, Skylar’s safety was his number-one concern. Everyone knew it, even someone like Austin, who was hardly ever home anymore.
“I can see that,” Austin said as he plopped down in the chair beside his brother. “How are things with you and Skylar?”
Mason flattened his lips. “If you’d taken the time to go on my Facebook group page, you’d know how we were.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“With Harper Bell.”
“Yeah.” Austin tugged at his ear, something he did as a child whenever he was nervous. Of course, his brother didn’t miss his tell.
“What’s the problem?”
“Not sure exactly.”
“Then I’m pretty damn sure I can’t help you.” Mason put his hands on the arms of his chair. “Good to see you.”
Austin grabbed the sleeve of his brother’s shirt. “She’s different for me, okay? I feel different around her.”
With a pointed glare at Austin’s hand, Mason settled into his seat again. Austin let go and leaned forward on his knees, looking at the rose garden behind the music house.
“Why does it bother you?” Mason asked.
Austin shrugged. “It’s new... Not sure how to handle it. Things. Her. One minute, she’s pushing me away and the next, she’s uh, not pushing me away.”
“Y’all have known each other for a total of what... five days? And she’s already got you twisted up inside.” His brother, the sadistic bastard, grinned. “Good to hear.
Austin didn’t have it in him to disagree. Besides, if he did, Mason was liable to stop talking. “Three dates, too. Plus, I drove her home from school today when she got sick.”
“Why aren’t you taking care of her now?”
“She kicked me out.” Austin looked down at his shoes. “I took care of her as best I could before I left though.”
“You let her kick you out?” Mason sounded incredulous.
Austin jerked his gaze to his brother’s. “What was I supposed to do—refuse?”
“Hell yes, you were supposed to refuse.”
“You taught me to respect boundaries, not run all over them. You said because I was so much stronger and bigger than most people, that I had to be extra careful,” Austin pointed out, remembering how often his brother would lecture him.
Mason stared at him, obviously nonplussed. “You remember that shit?”
As if he’d ever been allowed to forget. “Yes.”
His brother canted his head from side to side, stroking his jaw. “It was pretty good shit,” he said.
“That’s not helpful.”
“Fine.” Mason turned his attention back to Skylar’s house. “A woman doesn’t blow hot and cold without a reason. That reason had to come from you.”
“I haven’t given her a reason to be cold.”
“Have you given her a reason to be hot?”
Austin scrubbed a hand over his face. “Getting hot isn’t a problem. It’s maintaining temperate weather that’s the problem.”
“I stand by my assessment. You’ve given her a reason... and the only way you can fix that is to figure out the reason and do something about it.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
Mason gave him a sidelong glance. “Women are anything but simple, dumbass. Thought college made you smarter than that—or have you taken too many hits?”
Austin ignored his brother’s insult. “The problem isn’t finding a solution. The problem is that there is one in the first place. I don’t have problems with women.”
“Five million hits on YouTube makes you a liar.”
“I can’t help what Bianca uploaded to You Tube. It was her choice to make our private life public.”
“You looked like an asshole. I bet your PR person was out of her mind with worry over your sterling reputation...” Mason paused for a moment, “Shit. Brother, tell me you didn’t.”
Heat began to creep up his neck. “I might have, but... that’s the problem. I shouldn’t care this much.”
“Get the hell off my property.” Mason stood, intent upon leaving.
Bomber stood as well.
“Hold up.” Austin jumped to his feet, blocking his brother from going inside. “I actually do care about her, which is why I’m here. I don’t know what to do about it,” he blurted.
“You could let her off the hook. I thought you were better than that.”
“I am... I’m... shit.” Austin’s jaw began to clench. “I can’t stop seeing her and not because of what she could do...” Mason glared at him, and he quickly adjusted his words. “What she is doing for my reputation. I want to be with her.”
His brother studied him for a moment... or three hundred, and then began to rub his dog’s head. “I believe you.”
“Then can you help me?”
“No, not in this I can’t.” Mason slowly shook his head. “Either you come clean, or stop seeing the woman.”
Austin knew his brother was right, but he wasn’t quite sure how to break it to Harper. Besides, a selfish part of him wanted to keep seeing her. If he admitted the truth, she would bench him for good.
“Thanks for your non-help.”
“Fuck you, Austin. Do you think I like flapping my jaws for no reason?”
It completely amazed Austin how quickly his brother could make him feel like the baby of the family, despite having eighty pounds and three inches on Mason. “No idea. Should I ask Facebook?”
Mason scowled, and then shoved past Austin, Bomber trailing after him. “Go home to your momma, boy.”
With a chuckle, Austin walked to his truck, listening to his brother curse him up one side and down the other the entire way. “Great talking to you, big brother.”
“Fuck off.”
At that moment, Skylar and a group of her students walked outside. She shot him a glare and gestured sharply to her little group.
Austin glanced at his brother, who looked exactly like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Look who’s in trouble now.”
“You’re dead to me. I’m removing you from the Facebook group.”
“Praise Jesus,” Austin muttered.
“Heard that, numbnuts.”
“Mason...” Skylar said with a scowl.
Austin started to laugh.
“Damn it all to hell. It’s not funny,” Mason all but growled.
It was funny as hell to him. “Nice to see you, Skylar,” he called out.
Her scowl gave way to a friendly smile. “You’ll be back for dinner, right?”
“He’s got other plans,” Mason answered.
Skylar crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not believing his brother.
“I really do. A friend of mine is sick, and I need to check on them. Possibly stay a while,” Austin said.
“Maybe next time,” she said, clearly mollified by his explanation.
Mason grunted. “Yeah, maybe next time.”
That was as close as his brother would willingly get to inviting Austin over again. He would take it. “Don’t worry. It won’t be any time soon.”
Austin didn’t wait for Mason to make a sarcastic remark. Instead, he got in his truck and immediately texted Harper.
Austin: What can I bring over?
After a few minutes, he got a reply.
Harper: Nothing.
Austin: Then I’ll just bring myself.
Harper: My momma’s taking care of me.
That put a wrinkle in his plans... unless she was lying to him. He didn’t put it past her at this point. Despite having the sweetest personality on earth, she could be stubborn as a mule when she put her mind to it.
There was only one person he could think of that would know for sure—his sister-in-law, Lemon.
Quickly dialing her number, he waited impatiently until she answered on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Lemon, this is Austin. Harper is home sick and her mom’s taking care of her, but I’d like to help out. Do you know Harper’s favorite soup?”
“Chicken noodle. She’s a classic type. And did you say her momma’s taking care of her?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Her momma’s down in Acapulco with Harper’s daddy, celebrating forty years of marriage.”
“Maybe she’s back.”
“Doubtful. They arrived this morning. My momma forwarded a couple of pictures of their hotel room’s bathroom.”
Just as he suspected. Harper Bell was lying her ass off. “Good to know. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra key to Harper’s place, would you?”
“No, but she keeps a spare under the front doormat,” Lemon replied, surprising him.
“You know she lied to me, right?”
“I do, but I also know you’re a stand-up guy, Austin.”
“At least someone does.”
“You’ve also made her happy.” Lemon sighed. “To be real honest, Harper thinks highly of you, but she’s more than a little intimidated by your life.”
If that wasn’t the simplest explanation for her extreme moods, he didn’t know what was. “I don’t want to hurt her. I only want to spend time with her.”
“And take care of her while she’s sick.”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t you think that’s going above and beyond simply spending time with Harper?”
Maybe it was, but he didn’t give a good damn. “No.”
Lemon laughed. “All right, then. Call or text me if you can’t find the key.”
“Will do.”
He ended their call and drove straight to Harper’s house.
***
Groaning, Harper fought to stay asleep. Waking up meant she was freezing cold and in pain, from her head to her toes. Unfortunately, a persistent voice in her ear was preventing her from falling back into oblivion.
She hated that stupid voice. It had alternately cajoled and lectured her
to drink something that tasted like bitter beer over what had seemed like days. Years. Eternity.
Perhaps she was being dramatic, but she wanted to choke a voice that sounded like pure sex, which meant she really was sick.
“C’mon, baby. Drink this. Promise it will make you feel better.” A cool hand slipped behind her neck, but she turned her head away. “Hmm. I think you are feeling better.”
She forced her eyes open. A familiar face came into focus, and then went blurry when she blinked. “Austin?”
He smiled. “Yeah. How are you feeling?”
For the first time, she actively tried to feel pain... or at least an ache, but came up with only the soreness associated with having slept too long in one position. In fact, she felt a million times better than she had Tuesday morning. Her stomach growled.
“Like I need to eat,” she admitted, a blush heating her cheeks.
“You can eat as soon as you take this next-to-last dose of antibiotics,” he said.
“You were the annoying voice, weren’t you?” she accused, narrowing her eyes.
His smile turned into a grin. “Guilty.”
“How long have you been here?”
He shook a small, plastic bottle at her. “Take your meds like a good girl and I’ll tell you.”
“I’ve got your good girl,” she muttered, but she dutifully opened her mouth. Quickly swallowing the vile stuff, she took the glass of water Austin handed her next and practically gulped it down.
“You’re adorable when you’re grumpy.” Taking the empty glass from her, he placed it on the nightstand and sat back in a chair that he had dragged to her bedside.
“I’m not adorable.”
“But you are grumpy.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been here for two days.”
“Two days?” Her mouth dropped open. “You’ve been here with me all that time?”
He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. You’d already gone to the doctor and had your prescription filled, so by the time I figured out you’d lied to me and was able to get a ride over here, you were passed out in bed.
“Left your keys in the door, by the way,” he added. “That’s not very safe.”
Belatedly, she realized that not only did she have pajamas on, which consisted of a tank top and a flannel pair of boxer shorts, but that her breath also had to reek as well.
Love So Perfect (The Lawson Brothers #5) Page 9
