Page 7 of Protected By the Bikers Next Door
The unexpected sight that greets me in the kitchen is Harper, Jenny, Wolf, and Hawk all sitting around the kitchen table, eating homemade blueberry pie with cream. You wouldn’t know Jenny had been so sick yesterday as she giggles at something Hawk said, her lips stained blue from the pie. Even Harper seems changed. Her face is lit up with happiness as she watches her daughter proudly. The scene is so unusual, so out of place in our kitchen, that I stop in my tracks, momentarily thrown off balance.
“Ah, you’re awake,” Harper says with a smile. “I was worried these two were going to eat it all and I’d have to fight them to leave a piece for you.”
“Harper made pie,” Hawk says, shoveling a cream-laden bite into his mouth.
“I can see that…”
“Bear!” Jenny cries, hopping from her chair and running over to me. She wraps her little arms around my legs, standing on my toes and looking up at me. “Thank you for making me all better. Mommy made pie! It’s terrific!” she says.
“A thank you, and a peace offering,” Harper says shyly. “We started on the wrong foot as neighbors, and I’m hoping we can start afresh.”
“A fresh start sounds perfect,” I say, smiling back and patting Jenny on the head.
Harper smiles gratefully at me, and Jenny grabs my hand, dragging me over to the table. “I saved you a seat next to me,” she declares.
“Thank you,” I reply, enjoying the mildly jealous expressions on Hawk and Wolf’s faces.
Who would have thought we’d be competing for the favoritism of a five-year-old? Or perhaps it’s not Jenny we’re trying to impress but her smoking hot mom. I spot the soft look in Harper’s eyes as she hands me a slice of pie, and my heart pounds in my chest.
“I hope it’s not too rich,” she says, putting herself and her baking skills down before I’ve even had a chance to taste it.
“It’s perfect,” I say as I bite into one of the best pies I’ve ever had.
“Best pie ever. You could sell these,” Wolf says, and we all enthusiastically agree.
I love the way Harper’s cheeks flush from the compliment, even as she denies it and starts to list everything wrong with the pie. I wish she could see how amazing she is. I barely know her, and already I know I’d do anything to make this woman happy. To see her safe and content like she is in this moment.
***
With that in mind, later that day, I head over to Harper’s house.
“Bear, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Did you come to check in on Jenny?” Harper asks. She looks beautiful in a simple pair of pants and a plain t-shirt that strains over those incredible breasts. She has no makeup on, but she doesn’t need it.
“Yes, I thought I’d swing by to check in and see how Jenny is doing, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course, come on in. She’s having a lazy day on the sofa watching TV, she was still looking a little peaky,” Harper explains, seeming almost guilty for allowing her sick child to spend the day watching cartoons.
“That sounds like exactly what she should be doing today, she needs her rest.”
Harper’s relieved smile makes my heart do a little flip inside my chest.
“I got her a little get well soon present, I hope that’s okay with you?” I ask, showing her the gift bag in my hand.
She blinks, surprised. “Of course, but you didn’t have to do that.” I shrug in response, and she saves me from having to think of a witty reply by calling out to Jenny as we enter the room. “Sweetheart, look who came to see you.”
Jenny looks tiny, tucked up on the couch under a mound of blankets. She pulls her gaze away from the cartoons that she’s watching, and I feel stupidly happy to see the way her face lights up when she sees me. “Bear!”
She wrestles with her blankets, trying to get up to run over to me. “No, you stay there, I’ll come over to you,” I say, heading over to sit on the armchair beside her.
Harper hovers, watching us. Jenny’s eyes land on the bag in my hand, and she looks up at me hopefully. “Is that for me?”
“Jenny,” Harper begins to scold just as I reply.
“It sure is.”
She eagerly holds out her hands, and I pass it over to her.
“What do we say?” Harper reminds her.
