Page 57 of Always My Love

“Hailey was keeping it warm until you returned.” She waved towards her sister, who brought out their pizza and refilled her soda.

While they ate, it was obvious to Harper that they avoided talking about Fred and what had happened. Instead, the father-son duo talked about everything else. The town. The past holiday seasons. The coming Valentine’s celebrations.

“Valentine’s?” She focused on the conversation again.

“Yeah, it’s less than a week away.” Nick smiled. “I was going to ask you to be my Valentine date.” He took her hand and kissed it.

“Gross,” Hailey said as she refilled Sean’s tea.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked Nick, ignoring her sister.

“I’ll think of something.” Nick smiled back at her. “When I’m not sitting across from my father while your sister stands over us.”

She laughed and nodded.

When they returned to the house, she was relieved that nothing had been messed with. Maybe Fred had left town? Maybe he’d only destroyed the bathroom to scare them.

But why would he come all this way just to scare them? They were nothing to him. Just the daughters of a woman he’d killed with drugs. Two young girls he’d tortured years ago.

All this time, they hadn’t really been running from him. Harper had believed for so long that she’d killed her mother and somehow the police would find out and lock her up.

Those first years on the road, she’d feared that Hailey would be taken from her. After all, her sister had been a minor until three years ago.

Still, after her run-in with Fred at the club all those years ago, the fear of seeing him again played in her mind. She’d never imagined something like this though.

The man traveling across the country to do petty things such as destroy their property. Why? Control?

Surely, he knew that the sisters had grown up and outgrown the fear he used to instill in them when they’d been under his control.

While Nick and his father returned to grouting the tile, she cleaned the rest of the house, a nervous habit she’d gained shortly after she and Hailey had moved into the cabin.

They’d never had control of anything growing up. The small house they’d been raised in had always been dirty. Junk piled up everywhere. She doubted that their mother had ever swept or used a vacuum cleaner.

Because of this, both Hailey and Harper had become neat freaks when they’d moved out on their own. Seeing Nick’s place that first day, so tidy and organized, had been a huge relief.

There were so many things that drew her to Nick. Besides his kindness and the fact that he was the best-looking man she’d ever seen, they seemed to have the same sense of humor. They liked the same style of movies and music and even food.

She kept trying to talk herself out of feeling so much for him, but by the end of the day, when she stood looking at her perfect new shower, she had to face facts. She was in love with Nick. Full-blown love.