Page 80 of Pining for Pierce

I don’t know how long I’ve been here, just staring, my body shaking, reliving it all, over and over, but suddenly, I feel a pair of arms come around me and Harley’s familiar body sliding down my back, her head resting against me.

“Pierce,” she whispers. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“No,” she says simply and I turn around, clasping her face in my hands, even as she blurs before me.

“I—I love you so fucking much.” I falter over my words, emotion getting the better of me.

“I love you.” Tears fall down her cheeks. “Take me upstairs,” she whispers, and knowing we both need to be elsewhere, I pull her to her feet, leaving the jackets and helmets where they are, lying on the floor, as I lock the garage door behind us.

Upstairs, she sits again, her feet up on the couch, and I cover her legs with the throw, sitting beside her for a while, just holding her in my arms. We both need this. We need to feel safe together, and this is the only way we’re gonna do that. Wordsaren’t necessary, and even if they were, I don’t think either of us is capable of speaking.

I remember I promised to cook something for dinner and sit forward slightly, which disturbs Harley.

“Where are you going?” she says, and I can hear the panic in her voice.

“To the kitchen. I said I’d cook.”

She nods her head and I lean down to kiss her before quickly fixing us a stir-fry, which we eat while watching a movie.

At bedtime, I clear away the dishes and tidy the kitchen, and then carry her through to the bedroom, undressing her slowly, my eyes never leaving hers, even for a second. We’re both too tired and in too much pain to make love, but we don’t need to. We have each other… and that’s more than enough.

Harley returned to work yesterday morning. We’d been to see Brady on Tuesday, which probably wasn’t a good idea. It brought everything back, and although Harley held it together while we were at the sheriff’s office, she fell apart the moment we got back to the apartment. I couldn’t blame her for that, and I held her for the rest of the afternoon, trying to reassure her.

Ideally, I’d have liked her to take the entire week off, even though I knew I ought to open the store, but I think we both knew we couldn’t hide away forever.

“Fridays are always the worst,” she said, when we talked it through on Wednesday afternoon. “I’d rather ease myself in by going back tomorrow. That way, Friday won’t seem so hard.”

I could understand the logic, and I called Reed Dodds to let him know. I’d been keeping him up to date each day, so he wasn’t surprised, and he told me he’d keep an eye on Harley, which I was pleased about.

I missed her when she went, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been on Monday. Sure, I wanted to hold her, and know she wassafe, but there wasn’t that underlying panic accompanying my thoughts. I knew where she was, and that we’d see each other for lunch… and I was okay with that.

She texted me a couple of times during the morning, but only to make sure I was okay, and to reassure me she was, too. And then she picked up some sandwiches from the deli and we ate them at the apartment. I texted her four times during the afternoon, which was fairly quiet for me, and when she got home, I locked up the shop and turned to her.

“You didn’t mind me contacting you so often this afternoon, did you?” I asked.

She flew into my arms. “No. I needed it, Pierce. I need to know you’re here.”

“I’m always here, babe.”

She smiled up at me, with a sparkle in her eyes, and reading that in the only way I could, I carried her up the stairs and took her to bed. It was the first time we’d made love since Sunday, and I think we both needed it. It seemed that way, as we stayed in bed for hours, ignoring all our aches and pains, but keeping it gentle… slow… and so full of love.

It was the perfect end to our first day of ‘normality’, and if that’s what forever is gonna be like for us, then I’m looking forward to every second.

We’ve agreed to meet for lunch again today, but rather than a sandwich at the apartment, we’re going to the coffee shop. Harley sends me a text message when the last patient of the morning leaves, and I lock up the store and rush to the doctor’s office, meeting her outside.

She greets me with a kiss, and I take her hand, leading her across the street to the coffee shop. Inside, we find a table by the window, and Seth comes over to take our order. He’s a few years older than me, and although we’ve never been close friends, he’s a nice guy. He used to live here, above the coffee shop, withEverly, who owns this place, but he left a while ago now, fueling a great deal of gossip…

“I didn’t realize you were back,” I say, looking up at him, and he smiles.

“Yeah. I came home a few weeks ago. Everly and I we’re… well, we’re back together.” I sense there’s something he’s not saying, but before I can ask, he murmurs, “I got lucky,” like he really means it.

I nod my head. “I know how you feel.”

I’m still holding Harley’s hand and Seth looks at her, and then me, his smile widening. “Are you two…?” He leaves his sentence hanging and I nod again.

“Yeah, we are.”

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