Alec Jacobs, loving husband and father.
“Of course.” I let her go and move away, walking over to the treeline, keeping my eyes averted from her private moment. I’ve seen and touched every inch of Harley’s naked body. But watching her at her father’s graveside feels intrusive and wrong. Like I’m taking something that doesn’t belong to me.
And that’s something I could never do.
“Thank you.” She appears next to me five minutes later and wraps her arm around my waist again as we walk. “I don’t come as often as I should. But I like to keep him updated on what’s going on in my life. I feel like he can still hear me. Does that sound stupid?”
I stop and turn to her. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all, Harls.”
Her eyes flinch a miniscule amount when I say her name. It’s tiny, but it’s there. No one else would probably notice. But I do. I notice everything about her.
She takes a deep breath and nods as she looks up at me, as if steeling herself for what she’s about to do. “I miss him. He died suddenly of a heart attack two years ago, and I never got to say goodbye.”
“Harls.” I pull her into my arms, but she places her hands against my chest and steps back, waving me off.
“Do you remember the night of Paige’s party? When you found me sitting up because I couldn’t get to sleep?”
“Yes.” I brush the silent tears away that have run down her cheeks with my thumbs.
She nods, swallowing, before she continues. “I couldn’t sleep because it was two years to the day Brett was hurt. He was hit by a car walking along the roadside in the middle of the afternoon. It wasn’t dark. The driver hadn’t been drinking. But he still left him there, lying in the road, broken. Do you know why?” Her voice is a whisper as she looks up at me.
“He was rushing to get home to his wife and children. He’d been having an affair for nine months, and the other woman was on her way to tell his wife. He mowed my brother down and left him, not knowing if he was even alive, to save his own, lying, cheating ass.” Harley’s eyes burn with a silent anger. One I recognize all too well. One that’s deadly and destructive if you let it fester.
“That’s why you hate cheats.”
Harley nods. She’s never made a secret of how she felt. I thought maybe an ex betrayed her, or it was seeing what Suze went through with her ex-husband, Curt. But now that she’s told me, it makes more sense. A new piece of Harley I never understood before, but now I do.
“Harls.” I stroke her face. She leans into my touch and gives me a sad smile. “Is that why you started honey trapping? To catch out cheaters?”
Her eyes cloud over, and I instantly regret speaking.
“Not exactly, although it was an added bonus. Why people are so selfish, I’ll never understand. To cheat in the first place is vile. But to lie about something for so long, take advantage of the love and trust people have in you… He should have told his wife. Left her if he was that unhappy. He’s affected so many lives.” She sighs and her chest sags. “After Brett’s accident, there was a huge investigation. But it never went to court. We were told there was a lack of evidence. The man who hit him denied all knowledge. Something underhand went on, I’m sure of it. He had money, and he knew people. What happened to Brett was swept under the rug, like he was a nobody. Like him being unable to walk afterward was nothing. It changed his life, and it left our family unrecognizable. Dad took it hard, seeing his son, who was so strong and athletic have his life altered like that. The doctors said the stress probably contributed to his heart attack.” She sniffs and looks up at the sky.
“If only he knew how well Brett would cope. He’s doing okay, you’ve seen him. He still finds joy in life, he still dates… he dates a lot.” Harley laughs and the sound of it tugs at my heart.
“Dad started the guest house conversion for Brett, but then he… well, he got as far as you’ve seen before he died. Mom tried to get the money to finish it, but she’d already had to cut down her hours at work to help care for Brett. He’s independent now, but in the early days, he needed Mom a lot. It hit her hard, financially.” Harley raises her eyes to meet mine and I see the strength in them. The resilience. The love she has for her family.
And I understand.
“You’ve been helping your mom out with money? That’s why you needed it? Not for Manhattan rent prices?”
She snorts and her eyes light up. “Good cover though, right? Rent prices are crazy. I expect you to address it once you’re mayor.” She smiles at me, trying to mask the sadness that’s still held in her baby blue eyes.
“Harls, I would abolish them altogether for you, if I could. The whole city could live for free. Every man, woman, child, dog, sloth, caticorn. They’d all have a home.”
She laughs, and I break into a grin as she sighs and looks into my eyes. “You’re nothing like what I originally thought.”
I hold her face in my hands as I pull her closer. “No, I’m probably a much bigger jerk.”
She laughs again and presses a kiss to my lips. “Stop. You’re not.” She takes my hand from her face and wraps her fingers through mine as we walk again.
“Is that why Rose seems so withdrawn? She misses your father?” I ask gently as we head through the graveyard gate and out into the street.
“Rose is… Rose is complicated. She blames herself for what happened to Brett.”
“Why? I’m sorry… you don’t have to answer that. I’m being insensitive.”
“You’re not, Reed.” She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Anyway, I want to tell you. I don’t want there to be secrets between us.”