Page 43 of Always My Love

ChapterFourteen

As much as he wanted to show emotion at Harper’s words, he held still and waited.

He’d witnessed a full-blown panic attack before. Several times, actually. He’d never expected her to have one seemingly out of the blue.

It wasn’t until she repeated his words back to him that he finally understood.

This was why she was running. This was why she was afraid of the law.

Harper had protected Hailey somehow and, in the process, had either hurt someone or killed someone.

Was she really worried he would think differently of her if he knew?

The truth was written all over her face.

Why had she revealed this now? Maybe it was because she’d just had a few moments of being unable to hide anything during her panic attack.

Whatever the reason, what he did next would mean everything.

He pulled her into his arms and held onto her.

“I’m here,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”

They were sitting on her bathroom floor, covered in a layer of dust and dirt, and she had finally opened up to him. For the first time, he had seen through her façade. He’d seen the truth about her past, whether or not she had meant to show him.

“Wow, this looks amazing,” Hailey said from the doorway, causing Harper to jump away from Nick.

Before her sister could see, Harper wiped her eyes dry and busied herself by standing up and dusting off her jeans while she recovered.

“Thanks, we’re not done yet,” Nick said with a smile. “But at least you can now brush your teeth in your own sinks.” He bent under the sink and finished connecting the drains. Then he turned on the faucet and smiled.

When he stood up, Hailey was hugging Harper.

“Thank you. I had no idea it could look like this,” she said before letting Harper go to walk through the new shower area.

“We’re going to start tiling tomorrow,” Harper added, sounding excited again. “Here are the tiles we picked out.”

For the next half hour, Harper told Hailey everything they had planned.

Hailey changed into a worn pair of jeans and a T-shirt and helped them for the next hour.

While he finished up with the plumbing and secured the new vanity to the wall, the sisters started painting the new walls a soft cream color.

“This is the last thing I can do tonight,” he said when Harper and Hailey’s conversation broke for a moment. “I’m going to head out. I’ll be back in the morning and we can start on the tile.”

“How long will that take?” Hailey asked. “I’m dying for a shower in this.” She tapped the new shower wall.

“About two more days. You can shower on the third day.”

Hailey surprised him by giving him a hug. “Thanks,” she said, pulling away suddenly. “Really.”

He nodded, then glanced over at Harper, who avoided his gaze.

“Blue,” he said as he stepped out of the room. His dog fell in step with him as he grabbed his coat and headed outside.

“Nick?” Harper called out to him. He stopped just inside the doorway as she rushed towards him.

“Thank you.” She lifted on her toes to kiss him briefly.