Page 19 of The Pilot

“And no one can ever take that away from you. What time do you work tomorrow? Kash wasn’t sure when I asked.”

“Not until noon. But that means I won’t be home for dinner. I get off at eight.”

“Okay. Depending on what time Kash gets up in the morning, maybe we can make you something to bring with you.”

“He’s an early riser. Which I am not,” Harper said with a small grin.

“Then you can sleep in, and I’ll make sure he eats a good breakfast and gets out to the bus on time.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll get up.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I’ll be up anyway. Sleep in for a change.”

“So you’re a morning person too?” she asked.

“You have no idea,” Linc responded before thinking. He didn’t think she meant two or three in the morning, which was when he usually woke up.

“We’ll see,” she said with a small shrug. “Is there anything I can do while I’m down here? Any chores? I want to do my fair share of stuff around here.”

Linc wanted to tell Harper that she did enough. Working her ass off, taking care of Kash, shouldering all the responsibility for him on her fragile-looking shoulders. But he wasn’t about to say that. Besides, he’d already told her that she could help around the house instead of paying rent.

“Sure. Anything you see that needs doing. Vacuuming or sweeping is almost useless with these floors, but there’s always the trash to take out and recycling. Maybe you can swing by the transfer station on your way to work some days with the big boxes I’ve broken down or with other trash. Lord knows with the amount of reno this house needs, I’ve got a lot of trash for the dump.”

“Of course. And I can cook. On the days I’m not working.”

“I’d like that,” Linc told her, meaning it. He’d never expect her to cook for him, but he wouldn’t turn it down either, if she felt like tinkering in his incredibly outdated kitchen.

“I’ll also do mine and Kash’s laundry.”

“He already asked if I had a washer and dryer and told me he’d take care of that for himself.”

“He did?”

“Yup. Mumbled something about not wanting you to mess up his new clothes?”

Harper chuckled, and the sound made Linc relax.

“Do you really think this will work?” she asked. “We don’t even know each other. Not really.”

“Yes,” Linc said firmly. “We’ve both got Kash’s best interests at heart. If that doesn’t make us a team in this, I don’t know what will.”

“Yeah.” Harper looked him in the eyes once more. “We should talk about what happened back in high school.”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

“Linc, I was awful,” she protested.

“It was decades ago. I hold nothing against you, Harper. I admit that having you living next door to my mom wasn’t something I was thrilled about at first. But you’re a different person now, as am I.”

“I am a different person. And I’ll do everything in my power to prove it to you.”

“You don’t have to prove anything. I know how different you are, because if you weren’t, Kash wouldn’t be the amazing, kind, caring kid that he is.”

Every muscle in her body seemed to sag at his compliment. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Not blowing smoke up your ass, Harper. Just stating facts.”

“I still appreciate hearing it. Being a single mom is hard. Some days it feels as if I’ve screwed everything up, and others I couldn’t be happier with how things have gone.”