Page 106 of This Feeling

“Three hours?!” I repeated. “Jesus.”

She chuckled. “That walk up the steps must have tired you out.”

Slowly standing, I stretched. “Maybe. I’m starving. What is that I smell?”

“Roasted chicken, steamed broccoli, and a salad. Mom brought me some romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, and cucumbers from her garden.”

“Damn, that sounds good.”

Harper looked up and winked. “Itwillbe good. I hope you don’t mind, but James and Gavin wanted to stop by to see how you’re doing, so I invited them to dinner.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

I walked into the kitchen and slipped onto one of the stools at the island. “Need me to do anything?”

With a shake of her head, she turned and opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of water and handing it to me. “Be sure you drink lots of water.”

“Yes, Doc.”

Harper rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time.

“Do you know where I put my phone?” I asked.

“It’s right here,” she said, snatching it up from a nearby counter. “It was in your bag, and I took it out because it kept going off.”

I grabbed it from her and said, “Let me guess, my mother?”

Harper shrugged. “I didn’t pay attention to who it was. Just silenced it and set it aside. You were sound asleep when I returned from checking in on my mom.”

“Yeah, I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I hope this tiredness goes away quickly.”

“It’s your body healing, Declan.”

“I know. I’ve never been good with just sitting around, though.”

“What about in the Marines? Did you ever get hurt badly?”

I nodded. “I did, but nothing that required a hospital stay. And we didn’t have time to sit around and baby our injuries. We had jobs to do, so we had to get back out there and get after it.”

Her eyes lifted to meet mine. “Well, there’s no getting after it here.”

I blew out a breath. “My mother called five times and left six text messages.”

Harper giggled. “She’s yourmom, and she’s worried.”

“I called her when we were leaving the hospital.”

“She isn’t going to stop worrying about you overnight, Declan. You gave us all a scare.”

I nodded and reached for a carrot. I took a bite, and my brows flew up. “Damn, that’s one hell of a good carrot.”

“Freshly grown and all organic.”

Taking another bite, I glanced around the apartment before focusing on Harper. “She wants me to quit the force.”

She stopped cutting and looked at me. “What?”

“My mother. She wants me to stop being a cop.”

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