Sophie rushed into the back seat, bright-eyed and chattering as she crawled across the bench. “Hi, Uncle Harley. Hi, Piper! Why is Piper here?”
“Because she’s Uncle Harley’s girlfriend,” Jolie said flatly as she climbed in.
Piper’s head whipped in Harley’s direction, and she glared at him. “I am not his girlfriend.”
“Then why does he have two pictures of you guys on his fridge?” Jolie asked with enough snark to put Piper’s sass to shame.
“One of you guys dancing at Ben and Aurelia’s wedding,” Sophie added. “And one of you on his shoulders playing basketball. He said he lost the game but won the girl. Right, Uncle Harley?”
The shock on Piper’s face made him chuckle. Although, he was pretty high, so she could very well look annoyed, not shocked. He really couldn’t tell.
“Your mother gave my mother the picture from the wedding, and I asked for a copy. Can you blame me? We looked hot together.” He ignored her eye roll and said, “And your mother gave me the basketball picture. It was from—”
“The pickup game at Willow’s last summer. She gave me that one, too. I remember being on your shoulders.”
Harley looked at the girls and said, “See? I won the girl.”
Piper smacked his arm. “You’re going to confuse them.” She glanced into the back seat and said, “He did not win me. We were a team, and I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Whatever,” Jolie said, bored with the conversation.
Sophie bounced in her seat. “Guess what? I got an A on my math test.”
“That’s great, Soph,” Piper said. “Congrats.”
“Attagirl, squirt!” Harley held a hand up, and Sophie high-fived him. “Buckle up, peanut. How was your day, Jo?”
“Fine,” she mumbled. “Can we go?”
Piper looked over her shoulder at Jolie and said, “What’s up with the long face?”
Jolie rolled her eyes, and Piper glanced at Harley.
He shrugged. “You’re the queen of eye rolls. This should be right up your alley.”
“I think I’ve got competition for my crown.” Piper glanced at Jolie again and said, “Hey, Jolie. Do you need me to kick some kid’s butt?”
Jolie’s expression softened. She shook her head and looked out the window.
“Did you kick Uncle Harley’s butt? Is that why his ankle is wrapped up?” Sophie asked.
“Darn right I did,” Piper said as she cruised out of the parking lot.
When Piper stopped at the pharmacy to get Harley’s medication, Sophie went with her, skipping through the parking lot, while Jolie stewed in the back seat. Harley tried to figure out new ways to communicate with the females in his life. He was as determined to get through to Jolie and help her deal with whatever was bothering her as he was to prove to Piper that not all the Dutch brothers were destined to break her heart.
But the way his head was swimming, he was pretty sure none of that was going to happen today.
CHAPTER TWO
ON THE WAY to Sweetwater, a short drive from Harmony Pointe, Harley answered dozens of Sophie’s questions about his injury. He made up a story about hurting himself while rescuing a bear from a trap, and Sophie ate it up. Jolie, on the other hand, stared absently out the window. Piper adored Harley’s nieces, and while she worried about both of them, at the moment her mind was on Jolie, who was obviously struggling.
As she drove past the marina and pub, she spotted Harley’s truck in the parking lot and made a mental note to walk up and drive it back to his house. Harley lived only about a mile down the road, on three private wooded acres on Sugar Lake.
When they arrived at his house, the girls piled out.
Harley opened his door and said, “Jolie, take the keys.”
Jolie doubled back to get them. Piper grabbed the pharmacy bag, her mind spinning with lists of things she had to do for work and for Harley. The girls ran up to the door, and Piper had a feeling she’d be adding the girls’ needs to her to-do list. She helped Harley out of the truck and handed him the crutches. He took one and draped his other arm around her neck.
“You have two crutches for a reason,” she said as they made their way up to the porch.
“You have shoulders for a reason, too.”
“I can see it’s going to be a long night,” she said under her breath.
He tapped his head lightly against hers and said, “And you’re lucky enough to get to spend it with me and the girls.”
“You are three of my favorite people,” Piper admitted.
The girls opened the door, and Jiggs barreled out, barking and jumping up on Sophie.
“Jiggs, down,” Piper hollered.
“He’s okay,” Sophie said, giggling as she tumbled to her butt. Jiggs crawled all over her, soaking her face with sloppy kisses.
Jolie stepped around them and went inside.
“Jolie’s having a hard time processing what’s going on with her mom, huh?” Piper asked.
“Yeah. I can’t get her to talk to me. I don’t get it. We used to be so close, but now it’s like I’m the bad guy or something.”
“She’s at that age, but she’s probably scared, too.” She helped Harley up the steps, and Jiggs barked and ran over, knocking into Harley’s sore ankle and jumping up on him.
Harley clutched the railing and winced, but he bent down and loved up his dog, letting Jiggs lick his face. “That’s my boy. Daddy’s home, but you’ve got to watch my ankle.”
Jiggs whimpered and licked him again.
“Come on, Jiggsy!” Sophie yelled as she darted into the house.
Jiggs took off after her, barking up a storm. The happiness on Harley’s face told Piper there was no pain big enough to keep him from seeing that dog and those girls happy.
They headed for the couch in his living room while Jiggs and Sophie played chase. The sounds of Sophie’s laughter, Jiggs’s barking, and feet and claws dashing across the hardwood floors filled the room. Piper dropped the pharmacy bag on the coffee table and helped Harley down to the couch. She let out a breath and wiped her brow. The heavy tools she used and loads she carried at work were nothing compared to this. The guy was heavy.
“Uncle Harley, I’m hungry!” Sophie hollered as she ran past with Jiggs on her heels.
“Apples are in the drawer,” he said, waving a hand in the air.
Sophie and Jiggs bolted into the kitchen. Sophie pulled open the fridge and Piper said, “Soph, maybe you and Jiggs can play chase out on the deck. Jiggs hasn’t been out yet. I’m sure he needs to go to the bathroom.”
“In a minute!” Sophie called out as she ran through the kitchen.
Harley closed his eyes and sighed.
Piper was so used to seeing him take charge. He had to be either hurting or flying high as a kite to be so laid-back. She hoped it was the pills, because the thought of Harley in pain made her ache inside. She pulled the medical instructions out of her back pocket and said, “Okay, let’s see. We need to elevate your ankle.” She grabbed a pillow and placed it under his foot. “You need to rest it, as Felicity said, ice it three times a day for twenty to thirty minutes, keep it wrapped to compress it, and—”