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What? Whoa. She thinks I’m doing this out of pity? That’s not the reason. I’m doing it because—well, shit. I don’t know why I’m doing it. I just want to help her. And I don’t ever want her to think I’m taking advantage of her. Especially after learning that she was one of Ralston’s victims. And that her ex was stupid enough to cheat on her. That’s something I truly don’t understand.
I hold up my hands. “Wait a minute,” I say. “That’s not what this is.”
She raises one brow in challenge. Why is that such a turn-on? It’s not. It isn’t.Look away!
“What is it, then? Why offer me such a high price for tools that we both know aren’t worth that?”
I sigh. She has a point.
“Fine,” I say. “Instead of the cash, what if I work for them?”
She looks instantly suspicious. “What do you mean?”
“I can fix your plumbing problem.”
Unsurprisingly, Harlow shakes her head immediately and begins to argue.
“No, Linc,” she says. “You’ve done enough by getting my electricity working again.”
“You know it still needs more work, right?” I ask her. “You might need the whole building rewired.” I don’t want to worry her more, but I want to be honest with her about what’s happening.
She sighs. “I know. But you’ve done enough already. You’ve spent your entire afternoon here with me when I know you’d rather spend it doing something else.”
I try not to let the guilt of missing this time with Ella eat at me, but it’s there all the same. I know she understands that sometimes I need to work on the weekends, but it’s hard not to feel awful about working instead of spending my free time with her. I tell myself I’ll make it up to her next weekend.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say.
“Yes, it is,” she says. “I know you usually spend the weekends with Ella. Instead, you’ve spent hours here at my shop, cleaning up my messes. You should go home. Be with your daughter while there’s still a little bit of the weekend left.”
I study her, wondering how she figured out exactly what I’d been thinking. I can see the guilt and worry in her eyes, and I hate it.
“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her. “Ella understands that sometimes I have to work weekends.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t let me be the reason a little girl misses out on spending time with her only parent.”
As soon as the words are out, she looks like she wants to call them back. She snaps her mouth shut as her eyes go wide.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” she says, clearly flustered. “I didn’t mean that. I don’t know your situation.”
“It’s okay,” I say, cutting her off. She looks like she’s worried I’ll be angry, but I’m not. There’s no way she can know the truth about my past with Ella’s mom. It’s not as if I advertise it.
“It’s been years since Ella’s mom had any kind of contact with me,” I say. “And even longer since she tried to be a mom to Ella. She left when Ella was a baby, and I didn’t try hard to convince her to stay. I didn’t want Ella to have a resentful parent. You’re right. I am her only parent. And I do try to spend as much of my free time with her as possible, especially on the weekends. I don’t want her to feel like she’s not important to me. But trust me when I tell you that I have talked to her about this, and she understands. She’s a good kid and I’m raising her to help others when they need it.
“Also yes, I’m a single parent. But I’m not the only family Ella has. Cole lives with us. He’s with her almost as much as I am. And my parents live 10 minutes away. Ella has plenty of people who love her and help take care of her.”
I smile. “Hell, lately she’s been wanting to hang out with Piper more than she does me. I think she likes having a girl around.”
Harlow smiles. “Piper loves her, too. She told me.”
I nod. “So, you see? I’m not neglecting her by helping you get your shop up and running.”
“I never thought that,” she says softly. “You’re a good dad.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I don’t say anything. The silence between us lingers for several seconds until Harlow finally nods as though coming to a decision. There’s still a hint of worry in her eyes though.
“How much to fix it?” she asks. “Properly, I mean.”
I smile. “As if I could do it any other way?”
