Page 80 of The Pilot

Mom: Are you at the hotel yet? You were supposed to let me know when you got there.

Kash: Sorry, Mom. I’m here. Everything is fine.

Mom: Are you excited about tomorrow? Is your robot ready to kick some other robot butt?

Kash: Oh yeah! Can’t wait!

Mom: Good. Try to get some sleep tonight. If you can, let me know how it goes tomorrow.

Kash: I will.

Mom: Love you.

Kash: I love you too.

Harper smiled down at her phone. She’d just pulled into the garage at the house Friday after what seemed like a never-ending shift and was exhausted. She’d ended up staying an extra two hours for a coworker whose babysitter fell through, and it took her extra time to find someone to watch her kids. She understood how frustrating that could be, as she’d lived it herself when Kash was little.

Now, she was more than ready to relax in the bath Linc had promised. And eat lobster mac and cheese from The Lobster Buoy for dinner. However, she’d eat a cardboard box right now if that was the only option.

Happy that Kash was in Portland, safe and sound, she got out of her minivan and shivered. There was a cold front moving in that would drop the temps at least ten degrees tonight. It would stay chilly throughout the weekend, then start warming again next week. Not for the first time, she was relieved that she wasn’t living in her car. Winter nights had been the worst . . . then again, summer wasn’t great either. Basically, living in the car had been the lowest point in her life. And she was still ashamed that Kash had to experience it as well.

The front door opened as she approached, and seeing Linc waiting for her wiped all the bad memories from her head. She was here now. She and Kash were happy and healthy, and she had Linc.

“Food or bath first?” he asked, after he kissed her hello.

“Food. Definitely,” Harper told him. “It smells awesome, and I’m starving.”

“I thought since you had to work later than planned, we’d go to The Lobster Buoy tomorrow for the potatoes. Tonight, I made a simple chicken-and-rice stew.”

Harper smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate you so much,” she said in a soft tone. “It’s been a very long time since anyone’s taken care of me the way you have. The way you are.”

“Tomorrow I’ll take even better care of you,” he said with a small smirk.

Harper laughed and rolled her eyes. “Boys. All you think about is sex.”

“Who said anything about sex? I’m talking about taking you to work and picking you up so we can go straight to Zach’s lobster shack.”

She giggled. “Uh-huh, suuuuure you are.” But she wasn’t upset that her boyfriend—fiancé?—was so attracted to her. She’d taken her looks for granted for a very long time, and now that she was nearing forty, and no longer felt as if life was beating her down, she appreciated Linc’s attraction all the more.

“You hear from Kash?” Linc asked.

“Uh-huh. He’s good. In Portland. Ready for the competition tomorrow.”

“When is he supposed to get back to the school on Sunday?”

“They have a competition in the morning, then the awards ceremonies, then they’ll head back. So probably around three or so.”

“Awesome. We’ll have almost twenty-four hours all to ourselves,” Linc said, the satisfaction easy to hear in his tone.

Harper shivered. She was just as excited as he was. She hadn’t forgotten what he’d said about making love to her in every room in the house. It would feel amazing not to have to worry about what they said or did for a short while.

She stepped into Linc’s personal space and ran a hand up his arm to the nape of his neck. She was leaning forward to kiss him when a huge yawn came out of nowhere. She was blushing by the time she was finished, and Linc was grinning like a loon.

“Hold that thought until tomorrow afternoon, Harp. Tonight, let me pamper you. Food. Bath. Maybe a massage.”

“Be still my heart,” she said, only half kidding. She’d never had a massage before. Had always been leery of a stranger touching her all over when she was half dressed. But having Linc massage her from head to toe? Yes, please.

“I love you,” she told him.