Page 46 of Harley

“Harley, I like you. Honestly, I’m attracted to you. But I need to locate Aspen and Archer. We need a home, and I must redraw the plans for the turbine and log them into the patent office. There is so much to do.”

“Why do it alone? Let me support you, Oakley,” Harley replied.

“What about Aspen and Archer? They’ll need a home,” I argued. I’d no idea why I was putting up such a fight, but Harley needed to understand what he was in for. “Plus, there’s the mess. I like inventing shit, and so does Aspen. We’d be in our shed for hours, sometimes days.”

“The same as me when I’m creating a sword or weapon. Oakley, stop fighting what’s between us.”

“I don’t want to fall in love and be abandoned,” I finally whispered. “Everyone leaves Aspen and me.”

Harley’s eyes flashed with empathy. “Babe, I understand that fear. Trust me. Let me tell you about my childhood before Phoenix Michaelson found me…”

I listened as we walked, and my heart began to bleed. Harley’s childhood had been a nightmare, and it was a real blessing when Shutout and Ice had discovered him. Harley had experienced happiness before his dreams were snatched away once more. Listening intently, I didn’t realise where we were headed until we stepped through an arched tunnel and into a full baseball diamond.

“Wow,” I gasped, looking around.

Harley looked at his phone, checking something.

“I spent hours here. Before and after school. Carmine—Shutout and I would spend our lives here. Mom rarely saw us. If we didn’t have to eat, we’d have slept here too.”

“You’ve got wonderful memories.”

“Hell yeah. Funny, I remember when Mom bought this. Reading Hall was a wreck. But while the Hall was being fixed, Mom had teams building the stables, diamond, and the ice rink. She was determined that her children wouldn’t go without. Mom had the tennis courts repaired and made the two villages. Nothing was too much. Mom said that she remembered her childhood dreams; hers might not have happened, but ours would.”

“Phoenix is a good mother.”

“She is the damn best. Birthed seven and adopted the rest. Ain’t ever met anyone like her. Mom messes up sometimes, she’s human, but she has got a heart of pure gold.”

“Phoe’s also desperate for grandchildren, and Harley, I don’t want kids yet. Hell, I’m twenty-three. I want to enjoy being young.”

Better Harley understood where I was coming from. If that was a deal breaker, then we best know now.

“Mom can wait. She’ll have to because none of us want babies yet,” Harley said emphatically.

“Good.” A sound made me glance up. “Is that a helicopter?”

“Yes, I thought we’d go on a ride before the ball,” Harley replied with a smirk.

“Oh! Wow, I’ve never been in one before!” I cried, excited. “But it’s snowing. Can it still fly?”

“Yeah, as long as it doesn’t get any thicker, and it’s not meant to until the early hours.”

Harley moved to a wall and pressed a switch, and the baseball diamond lit up. Moments later, the helicopter landed, and we ran over. Harley opened the door and helped me up inside.

The pilot gave us some headphones, offered instructions, and then took off.

From above, Reading Hall looked beautiful with all the lights. The pilot flew us over the Black Hills and Rapid City before returning to the Hall. I held Harley’s hand all the way.

“That is amazing,” I whispered as the Hall came into view again.

“Yeah. And I live there,” Harley murmured.

The Hall was awash with Christmas lights, as were the woods and gardens. The copter circled the expansive gardens for a few minutes before heading back to the diamond. We landed, thanked the pilot, and headed for shelter as he took off.

I turned to Harley and threw myself in his arms. “Thank you! That was out of this world!”

Harley laughed and spun me around before hauling me close and kissing me. It was like a scene from a Hallmark movie. I stood on my toes, ignoring the slight discomfort, and returned his kiss as the snow fell around us. Harley was a damn expert at kissing.

“Come on,” he murmured, breaking the kiss. “We need to get back, or I’m going to fuck tonight off and spend it fucking you instead.”

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