Page 77 of The Pilot

“Okay, Mom. Can we go? I’m meeting Abigail and Brad to make a few tweaks to our robot before classes start.”

“Right, we’re going. Give me a second to say bye to Linc.”

Kash rolled his eyes. “Don’t take ten years,” he warned. “You can smooch him when you get home after work.”

“Smart aleck. Go on with you. Go start the car and warm it up,” Harper said with a laugh.

Kash waved to Linc. “Bye, Linc. See you Sunday!”

“Good luck, Bud! Knock ’em dead!”

“That’s the goal,” Kash said with a grin, before snatching the car keys off the counter and heading out the door.

“I wish I didn’t have to work today or tomorrow morning,” Harper said, as soon as Kash was out of earshot.

Linc reached out and grabbed Harper around the waist and pulled her into him. He didn’t respond verbally, instead kissing the hell out of her. Every time he put his hands on her felt like the first time. He still got tingles, and his cock got hard. Linc wondered if that would ever change . . . maybe in twenty years or so.

When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard. “I love you. I’ll have dinner waiting for you. And maybe a bath. I can’t wait to have you all to myself starting tomorrow afternoon.”

“You aren’t making it any easier for me to go to work,” Harper complained.

Linc grinned. “Sorry.”

“No, you aren’t,” she countered, but she was laughing while she said it, so Linc knew she wasn’t really upset.

“You sleep all right last night? I didn’t get a chance to ask you this morning.”

“I did,” Linc said. And he wasn’t blowing smoke up her ass either. He didn’t exactly sleep like a rock, like she did, but he’d still gotten a respectable four and a half hours. And the best thing was that he didn’t have any nightmares. He counted that as a win in his book for sure.

He knew she wasn’t a cure for his insomnia and PTSD, but she helped him relax, which in turn helped him sleep. And slowly but surely, the bad memories from his accident were being pushed further and further to the recesses of his brain as new memories, with Harper and Kash, took over.

“Good. I’ll see you around three-thirty when I get home. I thought, since you’re going to be busy installing the floors in here today, maybe we could go to The Lobster Buoy and pick up dinner tonight.”

“You just want to try the lobster-mac-and-cheese-stuffed baked potato Zach said he was putting on the menu for this weekend,” Linc accused.

“No offense, but . . . duh. Your brother is an amazing cook. The things he can do with lobster are amazing.”

“No offense taken, because you’re right. Zach is a fucking genius in the kitchen. Fine. We’ll head out to his shack and get dinner. I’m going to miss you today. I want to spend every second I can with you and only you.”

Harper smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

“Good.”

The horn blared from outside.

Linc chuckled. “Sounds like Kash is getting impatient.”

“I think his teenager years are going to be the death of me,” Harper said with a sigh.

“Enjoy them, because they’ll go by really fast. The next thing we know, he’ll be headed off to college, and who knows when we’ll get the time to hang out with him after that.”

“I know. You’re right, but man, I’m dreading the time when his hormones kick in.”

Linc could only grin. He remembered those days. When he’d discovered girls and how much he liked them.

“Right. I’m going. See you later. Love you,” Harper said, kissing him briefly before pulling away.

Linc would never get tired of hearing those words. “Love you too. Be safe.”