Harper blew him a kiss. She saw his fingers close and smiled.
***
Harper climbed into the driver’s seat where Luke had sat barely an hour ago and pulled the door shut. She hid the tears that were starting behind sunglasses and waved to Luke’s family as she guided the truck out of the parking lot and back onto the road.
He was gone. The man who had her heart was forever out of her life and she was expected to carry on as if everything was normal. How did the people in real relationships with children and responsibilities do it? Wave stoically as their partners, their rocks, their hearts left them to live another life. One that could never be fully shared or understood.
A sob escaped her and she pulled over to the side of the road, her vision clouded with tears that scalded her eyes. The ache in her chest spread to her throat.
Her heart broke for the men and women separated by war and duty. The fear that clutched at the hearts of those at home, never quite dissipating. At least in their case, the ones left behind could work to build their lives and the lives of their family so the man or woman they loved could come home to it.
Harper’s life, as she had so quickly grown accustomed to it, was gone. Never to return. Even after Luke came back. He wasn’t coming home to her. Benevolence would no longer be her home.
She let silent sobs rack her shoulders until her head sank to the steering wheel. She loved him.
She loved him now and she knew for certain she would love Luke Garrison for the rest of her life.
From the truck’s console, Harper’s phone signaled a text.
She wanted to ignore it. She would rather wallow and wail on the side of the road for as long as it took to feel better. There was no room for the outside world right now. But shutting down wasn’t an option. It was never an option. She pulled her phone from the console and swiped the screen. It was a text from Luke.
––––––––
Stay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Harper shifted the tray to her left hand so she could plug in the order for table seven and close out table twelve.
She sidestepped a pack of giggling 30-somethings on their way to the ladies room and nodded at the couple at the pool table who signaled another round. Hustling to the far end of the bar, she started reloading her tray.
It was a busy Friday night. The warm May weather made it too tempting to spend the night at home. It seemed like a large portion of the town’s population had decided dinner and drinks were the way to kick off the weekend. Harper didn’t mind. The busier the better. If she kept moving her mind stayed quiet.
But the ache in her chest? Well, that never left her for long.
Not with Luke Garrison seven thousand miles away and one month into his six-month deployment commanding his National Guard unit in Afghanistan.
“Bank’s looking good tonight, Harp.” Sophie winked from her position behind the taps. “What kind of treasure are we spending our hard earned tips on?”
Harper tucked the back of her Remo’s polo back into her denim skirt before hoisting her tray. It was their favorite game to play at work. “Matching unicorn tattoos.”
“Love it!”
Her tray full of beer and her mind full of Luke, Harper spun back into the fray.
A month into it and she was still getting used to being in a very real, very long distance relationship. They had planned to go their separate ways, parting as friends. She had been trying to prepare herself to mourn their relationship while forging a new life alone.
But one word had changed everything.
Stay.
His text had arrived just as the full reality of saying good-bye had hit her. Sitting in his truck sobbing at the thought of a life without Luke. Her hands shook so hard she could barely reply to the text.
What??
I want to come home to you. Stay.
It wasn’t an “I love you,” but it was enough. His text had found its way through her despair and given her hope. He was offering her a life and a future. With him.
