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Digger
Liam and Lily both launch themselves at me like a couple of baseballs out of a pitching machine. I catch them, one in each arm, and pick them up, my heart spilling over with happiness at their reaction to me. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t even care. I feel pure joy seeing them again after so many weeks of believing this moment would never come.
“Hey, you two,” I say as Lily presses her cheek to mine. “I missed you.”
“Are you here to make pancakes because I really want to flip pancakes,” Lily tells me, pulling back and taking both my cheeks in her little hands.
“Well, that’s not specifically why I came, but I’m sure we can manage some pancakes while I’m here,” I tell her with a wink.
Crouching, I set them both down. Ruffling Liam’s hair, I say, “You went and got taller after you left.”
He smiles proudly, straightening his spine. “I’m pretty sure I shot up a couple inches.”
“Good thing you showed up in time because we’re moving out of this house and you wouldn’t have found us,” Lily says, grabbing my hand. “We’re moving to Ill Annoyed, but Liam and me want to move to Alaska instead.”
“It’s Illi-NOY, not Ill Annoyed,” Liam corrects her.
“Well, I don’t care. I’m calling it that because I’mannoyedwe have to move there,” Lily says haughtily.
I tuck my teeth between my lips so I don’t laugh. I lift my head to glance at Harper who’s just walked down the stairs. Her eyes are shining as she smiles at the three of us. We stand, staring at each other without saying anything for long enough that Prisha decides to take charge. “Listen Liam, Lily, your mom and Digger need to have a grown-up talk, so why don’t we go pick up Sheila and hit In-N-Out Burger now?”
Lily squeezes my hand. “I don’t want to go. I want to stay with Digger.”
Smiling down at her, I say, “How about if I promise to be here when you get back?” I hope like hell it’s a promise I can keep.
She screws up her face as though trying to decide, then nods. “Okay, I guess I do really want a milkshake.”
Prisha ushers them out the door, then turns back and says, “You two sort this out. There’s a happily ever after waiting for you, but I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you.”
Once the door is closed and the house is quiet, I’m torn between wanting to rush to Harper and taking her in my arms and knowing I have absolutely no right to do that.
I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been. It was one thing to hear about her Hollywood life, but it’s another thing entirely to see how she lives. She’s in a mansion with guards posted outside and all I can offer her is a modest cabin in the woods.
I open my mouth, then close it. Finally, I take a deep breath and just let the words spill out. “Harper, I am so sorry about what I said to you the day you left. It was cruel and … unfair of me, and I didn’t mean any of it. It’s been haunting me since you left. The last thing you are is selfish and you’re sure as hell not some princess. You’re an amazing woman, an incredible mom, and …”And just say it, coward. “And I want you to know that.”
Nope. I missed. Dammit, Digger. Say it.
She nods, tears filling her eyes. “I know why you said what you did. I hurt you. I made you feel like you didn’t matter to me, but you do.”
A lump forms in my throat, but I let her hear the emotion in my voice. “The last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt you or complicate your life. I … just want you and the kids to be happy and to have the life you deserve, but I can’t offer you this,” I say, pointing around at the enormous kitchen.
“I don’t want this,” she whispers. “This is … just … stuff. It’s a life that’ll wind up screwing up my kids permanently. I’m done with it. We need a fresh start.”
“I can do fresh starts,” I say, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Can you do happy endings?” she asks, smiling through her tears.
“Absolutely.” I finally rush across the room to her. Taking her in my arms, I stare into her beautiful blue eyes, and let the truth come out for the first time. “I’m in love with you, Harper. You’re the person I want to spend my life with. You, and Liam, and Lily. I want to be the man who takes care of you and protects you. I want to make you laugh and hold you when you cry. I want to build a life with you, wherever that takes us. If you don’t want to spend it in Gamble, I’ll happily go wherever you want to be, because if there’s one thing I figured out after you left, it’s that my future is wherever you are.”
Lifting herself onto her tiptoes, she plants a big kiss on my lips. I kiss her back. It’s a promise that I mean what I say that I will be there for her, wherever she is. Holding her tightly, our bodies feel like one as the entire world seems to melt away. Finally, I pull back and look down at her. “Is that a yes?”
Nodding, she says, “It’s a yes.”
I grin, love and joy radiating through me, then kiss her some more. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and I think we should take it slow. The kids’ll need time to adjust to having me around and the last thing I want to do is insert myself in your lives before you’re all ready to have me.”
“Agreed. We take it slow,” she says. “But let’s rush back to Alaska.”
“You sure?” I ask, afraid it’s too good to be true.
