She smiled, though it was forced. “Thank you, Carbon. I’m fine, really. I was running late and didn’t expect to run into King Kong in the barn,” she said, gesturing to me.
I chuckled lightly at her remark. I didn’t believe her for one second, but there wasn’t much I could do if she didn’t want the help I offered. We said our goodbyes and I went in search of Ember.
After checking her office and the organics farm, I doubled back through the stables. At a loss, I pulled out my phone and called Dash. He informed me that Ember wasn’t feeling well when she woke up and was probably still at home. It briefly crossed my mind that I should wait until she was feeling better, but I decided to let her tell me that herself and was soon knocking on her front door.
“Carbon? Is everything okay?” she asked, clearly surprised to see me standing on her front porch.
“Everything is fine, Ember. I wanted to talk to you about a new project of sorts. Is now a good time?” I asked.
“Sure, come on in.” She made coffee, and we took a seat in her living room. I explained my idea and the reasoning behind it. Just like the bleeding heart she was, Ember jumped all over it. “I think that’s a great idea, Carbon! I’m a little disappointed in myself for not thinking of it first…” she trailed off and started rubbing her palms together, her tell that she was nervous.
“What is it, Ember?”
“Well, if she says no, can I still do it?”
“Of course. But I don’t think she’ll say no. At least, I hope she won’t,” I muttered.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think she will either.”
***
The week flew by. I was busy busting my ass with Ember to get things moving. She already had over half of the resources we needed, so we were well on our way to achieving our goal. The next step in my grand plan was to get Harper on board.
When I arrived at her house on Friday evening, I was ready to burst with excitement until she opened the door. One look at her face had my elation deflating faster than an uncapped air mattress. Scooping her into my arms, I asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”
Females baffled me from time to time. This being one of those times. If I hadn’t asked what was wrong, she would have been pissed off and claimed I didn’t care about her. I did genuinely want to know what was wrong, so I asked, and that one question had her sobbing into my shirt.
Taking quick strides to the couch, I sat us down and held her tighter to my chest. “Harper, baby, you’re freaking me out here. Did something happen? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and mumbled, “No, nothing like that.” Then, she raised her head and said the words no man ever wanted to hear, “You know I love you, right?”
I froze, unsure of how to respond. She wouldn’t do this to us. She couldn’t do this to us. “Don’t do this, Harper,” I whispered.
Her eyes widened. “Do what?”
“What are you trying to tell me? Yes, I know you love me. Keep going,” I snapped. I was scared, and just like every man I knew, I used anger to hide my fear.
She took in a deep breath and sniffled. “I can’t keep doing the weekend only thing anymore.”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” I barked, sliding her off my lap so I could stand and move about the room, a vain attempt to keep my temper in check.
“It’s too hard when we have to leave each other every week,” she cried.
“So, you’d rather not have to leave each other at all?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Yes,” she answered.
I felt every searing slice as the metaphorical blade cut my still-beating heart from my chest. I stared at her, not believing the words that just escaped her lips. Reality slammed into me with the force of a train. “Fuck you, Harper,” I spat, spinning on my heel and stomping toward the door.
“Chase! Wait! Please!” she screamed, chasing after me. Fuck that and fuck her and fuck everything in the whole fucking world. I loved her with everything I had in me, but I would never, ever fucking beg and plead for anyone, not even her.
“Jason Chase Walker, stop and listen to me!” she yelled, seconds before launching herself into the air and landing on my back like a damn spider monkey. “I didn’t do a good job of putting it into words, and you misunderstood me. I was trying to say that I want to see you during the week, too, but I haven’t been able to find a job in or near Croftridge.”
I grabbed her by her ass and slid her around to the front of my body. “Are you serious?” I asked, unsure what to make of her at this point.
She smiled shyly. “Yes.”
“Then why were you crying?”