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"Hayden, you don't have to do that. The piece of the gutter is along the side of the house, and I didn't seal the window. Hunter did."
"Hunter? Who the fuck is that?"
"Father Hudgens."
"The priest? When did he do that?"
"Friday night."
"The same night you were snowed in at the church?"
"Yes. I left my phone at the church when Jimi came to get us out. Father Hudgens brought it back to me and happened to be here when the window shattered."
I don't want to give him any more details, but the way Hayden looks out for all of his siblings is scary if I decide to withhold information.
"Harper," he says my name low like he's ready to give me a lecture. "If you've defiled that priest, I…"
"You're going to what?" I prod him, wondering what he thinks he's actually going to do.
"I'm going to tell Mom, and you're going to hell."
I scoff at him. "At least I'll be going to hell with a big-ass smile on my face. I didn't call you for your approval. I only called to let you and Halo know what happened to the window and not to worry about it because Hunter's going to take care of it, just like he took care of me."
"Woah, woah. Stop. I don't want to hear anymore about you bringing Mom's priest to the dark side."
"Don't do that Hayden," Halo says in the background. "You have no idea what their relationship is like or where it's going. People have looked at you and me and have said?—"
Hayden cuts her off. "Who said what?"
The anger radiating from his tone tells me that he's ready to knock someone's head off. I try my best to defuse him before he gets Hendrix and Hudson riled up in the process. They're liable to hurt someone if there's any disrespect to Halo.
"Would you calm down and listen?" Halo says in a tone that has no sign of concern. Rightfully so because Halo's never on the opposite side of Hayden's temper. I hear her going to bat for me, which warms my heart. This is what having a sister is like, and I'm happy that I have them now, even if I didn't have them with me growing up.
Halo continues to talk Hayden down. "You're too smart to ignore that our age difference isn't noticeable and that you being a bounty hunter and me being the bounty look like you would take advantage of me. Yet, they have no idea that I support you and your business or the depths of our connection."
Hayden grunts, but Halo continues, "Have you seen Father Hudgens? Does it look like Harper can make him do anything he doesn't want to do? He's an adult and so is she. Thank you, Harper, for letting us know about the window. We're sorry if it caused any damage to your things. If Father Hudgens wants to replace it, that's fine with meandHayden."
"Thanks, Halo."
"You're welcome. Love you," she replies and I can hear her walk away from the phone.
It's a bit silent before I decide to test the waters. "Hayden?"
He grunts one of his grizzly bear kind of noises.
"Stop being grumpy. I'm okay. Halo is okay. You're going to be okay as soon as you calm down. Hunter is really good—protective and braved a blizzard to make sure I had my phone when he didn't have to."
"I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself because upsetting you over this is going to upset my very pregnant wife and Mom says that's bad luck. I love you Harper, and I will be on standby in case the priest isn't behaving priestly."
"I love you and Halo too. Rub my little niece or nephew. Don't worry about Hunter being priestly. Talk to you later."
I get off the phone and try my best to get the dispute out of my head. Hendrix is completely understanding. I think Hudson's more indifferent than anything, but I can't let my brothers stop whatever's happening between me and Hunter.
The words on my syllabus and notes glare at me, begging for my attention, but I want to see Hunter. I want to be in his arms so he can assure me that everything is going to be fine and that Hayden's overreacting.
As the afternoon rolls around, I'm happy when it's time for me to head to the church. Luckily for me, my Jeep is sitting in my neatly plowed driveway thanks to Hendrix. I shoot him a quick text, thanking him and purposely keeping the text short. I don't want another lecture about defiling the local priest. It makes me wonder what kind of woman my brothers think I am.
If anyone's being defiled, it's me. Well deflowered is more like it. That brings a smile to my face, a wave of memories crashing over me while I make my way to the church. There are a few cars in the parking lot, which saddens me that we aren't going to have the same privacy as before, but that's a good thing. There's actual work to be done.
