"Yes, good thinking. Harper?" Ethan waited for her to look at him before continuing, his brow furrowed with concern. "I want you to take the rest of the week. You need time to process this and recover. I also don't think you should be alone right now. Do you have someone you can call to be with you? A friend or family member, perhaps?"
"Umm..." Harper started to panic again, her mind racing as she struggled to come up with a name. Her breath hitched, and her heart pounded in her chest as faces flashed through her thoughts, but the names wouldn't come to her.
"I know someone who'll watch over her," Jake said in a firm voice, his blue eyes flickering with determination. He placed a reassuring hand on Harper's shoulder, steadying her. "If I can take off for an hour or so, I can drive her over. I don't think she should drive, either."
"Agreed," Kelly nodded, and her brother concurred.
"I'll clean up this mess," Megan offered, her eyes scanning the chaos in Harper's office. She wrung her hands, looking distressed. "I feel guilty because I didn't do more to help. Not that there was anything Icoulddo, but all the same..."
"Same here," Amelia sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I'll help Megan. Between us, we can tackle the worst of it."
"It looks like there's plastic film under everything, that can simply be lifted off with everything on it," Kelly observed, leaning in to examine the desk more closely. Her brow furrowed as she noticed the monitor. "Except the wax on the screen. How in the world they even thought to do that is beyond me." She shook her head, lips pressed into a thin line. "Anyway, get rid of the film, and do your best to peel off as much of the wax asyou can. For the rest, I'll have a word with the cleaning service. They'll make sure it's spick and span when they come in tonight. We'll make this right for Harper, one way or another."
Ethan raised his voice. “All right. Let’s have everyone get on with their work now. Jake, you take Harper home. Kelly, when Lydia returns, the two of you get with that teller, Anna, and erase that reprimand from her employee file.”
Kelly affirmed her understanding with a nod, then turned to Harper, her voice softening with sympathy. "Harper, please accept my apologies for this entire situation. I assure you, everything will be smooth sailing from this point forward."
Harper ducked her head guiltily. “It’s hardly your fault, when you didn’t know. I’ll be good as new tomorrow, I promise.”
“Of course you will.” Kelly’s voice was warm. “ But we don't want to see you until Monday, understand? Get your purse, and go on with Jake now. We’ll see you after the weekend.”
Jake stooped, retrieving Harper's purse from where it had fallen when she first encountered the disarray of her office. The leather strap dangled from his fingers as he straightened, his brow furrowed with concern. He handed it to her, the weight of it seeming to ground her in the moment. Then, with a gentle touch, he tucked a hand under her elbow, urging her away from the open door to her office.
"Come on, let's get you home," he murmured, his voice low and soothing. The warmth of his palm seeped through the fabric of her sleeve, a comforting presence as they turned toward the exit. She followed him, not about to protest. All she, and her fox, wanted to do was to get back to her apartment, her den, and curl up in the dark, hiding away from everyone.
Chapter 27
The rideto her apartment was mostly silent, although Harper had to smile a little at Jake’s sideways, worried looks.
“I’ll be fine, really,” she assured him. “And at least I don’t have to wake up tomorrow with the dread of the coming day.”
He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening with each tap. The rhythmic sound filled the car, echoing his frustration. "I should have said something to Lydia, at least," Jake muttered, his voice tinged with regret. "You didn't want me to, and I respected that, but, dammit." He shook his head, jaw clenching. "It should never have gotten to this point. Those women had no right to treat you that way."
Harper slumped in her seat, her shoulders sagging under the weight of the day's events. "I was wrong," she sighed, her amber eyes clouded with a mix of exhaustion and self-reproach. She tucked a strand of foxy-red hair behind her ear, buying herself a moment to gather her thoughts. "At least, in retrospect. But, who would have thought it would escalate like this?" Her voice trailed off, barely above a whisper, as she gazed out the window at the passing streetlights.
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “I called Becca while I was watching that precious trio get their stuff. She’ll be coming to my place for dinner later, do you want to join us?”
Wrapping her arms around her waist, Harper shook her head. “Could I take a rain check on that? Right now, I just want to go into my room and hide,” she confided.
He chuckled. “Good luck with that. Becca wasn’t the only one I called.” He nodded toward the apartment building as they pulled into the driveway. She followed his gaze, and her heart leaped to see Nathan standing on the sidewalk, clearly waiting for her.
Home. Den. Mate.Her fox strained, wanting to go to him. Her fingers reached instinctively for the door handle as Jake slowed the truck to a stop. “You can just drop me here.” She wrenched her gaze from Nathan, to give Jake a smile of gratitude. “Thank you. Really. For helping me get through… that.”
“No problem,” he said gruffly. “Now go see your man.”
She needed no urging. Eagerly she opened the door and leaped down from the truck, running for the front porch. Nathan met her with open arms, pulling her close to him. She clung to him, allowing the comfort of his embrace to seep into her, calming the torrent of anxiety that still remained. She felt more than saw his wave to Jake, then he drew back to look down at her.
"How are you holding up? Jake said it was pretty rough in there," Nathan murmured, his brow furrowing with worry.
"It was," Harper admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. She swallowed hard, pushing down the lingering anxiety. "The worst I've ever experienced. But I'm good now. Being here with you helps."
He gazed into her face searchingly, his warm brown eyes dark with concern. His sensitive musician's fingers framed herface with a gentle touch, thumbs brushing softly across her cheekbones. The tender gesture sent a shiver of comfort through her. "Jake only told me the basics," Nathan said softly. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm here to listen if you need to get anything off your chest."
Harper shuddered, her shoulders tensing as a chill ran through her. She shook her head almost violently, auburn hair whipping across her face. "Not at all," she whispered, her voice tight with suppressed emotion. "I don't even want to think about it. It's too fresh, too raw." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I just want to go on, to push it all away and forget it ever happened. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"
"That's not exactly healthy," he observed, his brow furrowing with concern. "But it's okay. I understand." Nathan smiled at her, leaning his forehead to rest against hers as they stood together on the sidewalk. "Tell me what you want to do. Do you need some time alone, or would you prefer company? Do you want to come to my place? We could watch a movie or just talk about lighter topics if you'd like."
She could feel her fox shy away from the idea, its instincts urging her to retreat to the apartment. Harper hesitated, torn between the primal need for her den and the comforting desire to be with Nathan. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she wrestled with the conflicting impulses.
