Page 19 of Always My Love

She snuggled under it and smiled when both dogs jumped up to cuddle with her as he pointed them back towards home.

“This was more fun than I thought it would be,” she said as the lights from Pride appeared in the distance. “I’ve never been out on a boat before. For some reason I thought it would be… scarier.”

“It can be. I’ve been out on the water during a bad storm. All I could think was that this is how Iian Jordan lost his hearing. And his father.”

“Right.” She nodded. “When you first asked me, that’s all I could think of. I heard that story the first month I worked at the Golden Oar. I’ve learned a few signs so I can communicate with him, but I’m still rusty.”

He smiled. “I took American Sign Language in high school. Most schools don’t offer it as a second language, but Pride does.”

“I guess having your sister be the mayor of the town pays off,” she joked. “Is it strange having your partner be your brother-in-law?” she asked after a moment.

“No, it’s nice. Tom and I have gotten along since day one.” He could tell she was thinking and waited for her to get out what was on her mind.

“His past… I suppose that’s why he decided to become a cop.” It was more of a statement than a question.

He nodded. “It played a big part,” he agreed.

“Does he talk about it with you? What he went through?” she asked.

He nodded again. “Some.”

She looked down at her hands. “We—Hailey and I—didn’t have the best childhood.”

He held his breath. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said when she didn’t continue.

Her eyes moved up to his. “Our mother, she was an addict.”

He took a deep breath. There. This was the reason they were afraid of cops.

He knew from experience that many addicts with kids taught them to fear authority, especially the police.

“That must have been hard on you two,” he said slowly.

She scanned his face. “We had each other. That’s all. I would do anything to protect my sister.”

He nodded, understanding the love between siblings. “I feel the same about Kate.”

Harper seemed to relax and then smiled. He cut the engine and coasted into his parents’ slip and then tied off the sailboat.

“How about we drop these two off at my place and head to Baked for some pizza?” he suggested once he was done securing his parents’ sailboat next to his smaller one.

“I’d like that,” Harper said, gathering her things.