Page 10 of Faith for the Cowboy
Dad smiled warmly at her. "You're welcome here anytime, dear. You're part of the family now." Harper's eyes glistened with unshed tears at his words, and Lawson felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him. Whatever happened next, he vowed to be there for her every step of the way.
He wanted to tell her that right then. But at that moment the front door loudly banged open as it slammed into the wall. Lawson knew that meant one thing. Tiny footsteps came pounding through the kitchen. Before he could look up, a small boy’s arms wrapped around him as his little body crashed into Lawson. Lawson chuckled as he put his arms around the boy. “Hey there, Dillon.”
“Hey, Uncle Law,” the boy yelled excitedly. “Wanna see my new trick? I can do a cartwheel.”
Lawson didn’t have time to respond as the boy placed his hands on the floor and kicked his feet high in the air and crashed down on all fours. “Ta da!” he shouted.
“Wow, cool,” Lawson said, acting very impressed.
Sawyer and Katie entered together. “Dillon, we don’t need to do cartwheels in grandma’s kitchen. Save that for outside,” Sawyer told his son. He carried their one-year-old daughter in his arms.
Katie was close behind him, her arms full of clothes. “Hey,” she said. “I brought these for your friend.”
Lawson stood and took the clothes from her. “Thanks. This is Harper,” he said, nodding in her direction. “I don’t know if you two met at the event.”
“Oh yes,” Katie said, “we did! I just didn’t put two and two together that she was the friend.” Katie, her arms empty now, moved forward and wrapped Harper in a hug. “I’m so sorry about your car and belongings. I hope the clothes will fit, and we will do whatever we can to help you out.”
Harper looked taken aback. “Thanks,” she managed.
Lawson moved down the hallway, his arms loaded with clothes. “I’ll take these to your room.”
Harper nodded and followed him down the hallway.
Lawson tried to watch her facial expression, but he didn’t know her well enough to determine what it meant. Was she normally this quiet? Maybe after she felt more settled, she would warm up to them. Then again, the Macklin crew could be a little overwhelming. It was the sheer number of them. Would Harper be okay with that? She had mentioned she was used to being on her own most of the time.
Lawson cleared his throat as he dropped the clothes on the bed and turned to face her. “Do you need anything else?” he asked. Even as the words tumbled out of his mouth, he wasn’t sure he could get whatever she needed. He didn’t have much knowledge about what a woman needed to shower and spend the night. But his mom could help.
Harper bit her lip as if she wasn’t sure what to ask for.
Suddenly he remembered something he had heard his mom say. “Mom keeps the bathroom stocked with shampoo and soap and stuff. There are towels in the cabinet under the sink.”
“I’m sure I’ll find everything.”
“Alrighty then,” Lawson said. “I’ll leave you to it.” His shoulder brushed hers as he walked by, and he paused for the slightest moment. He sighed before he moved again and walked out of the room. He wanted to reach out and put a hand on her arm, tell her everything was going to be okay. But the way she had responded to hugs from his mom and sister-in-law, he wondered if she would accept a touch from him.
And even more he wondered if, for her, everything really was going to be alright.
Harper stepped out of the guest bedroom and took a deep breath. She felt so much better after the shower. Katie’s clothes fit her perfectly, and she slipped into a pair of jeans and a button-down flannel shirt. At least Katie was a ranch girl, so the clothes felt like something Harper would own herself. She found a hair dryer under the sink and dried her long strawberry blonde hair. There was even some moisturizer in the drawer that she put on her face. She didn’t have any makeup to put on, not that she wore much of that anyway.
After one final glance in the mirror, she decided she looked good enough to walk out the door and spend the evening with a group of strangers. Especially when they knew she was here because she had literally been through a storm.
She made her way back to the kitchen, but she could already hear the voices from her room. Not her room. Just the guest room where she would stay for a couple of days, she reminded herself. But Lawson had called it her room. Maybe it was the same way he would say it was her room at a hotel, but his words made it feel like she was at a real home. Maybe even a home she could get used to. But that was ridiculous. She wasn’t going to be here long. She just needed to gather herself and get back on the road. She pushed all those thoughts aside as she entered the kitchen.
“There you are,” Lydia Macklin said by way of greeting. She gasped quietly as she put her hand to her mouth. “Oh Harper, that outfit looks lovely on you.”
Harper felt her cheeks burn as every eye in the room turned to her. She tugged on the end of the shirt. “Thank you. It’s Katie’s,” she said, even though she was pretty sure everyone already knew that.
“Well, of course. Katie is our resident fashion expert,” Lydia said.
Katie waved a hand in the air. “I don’t think I’ve worn that one since before my last baby. It looks great, Harper. You can keep it.”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I’ll return it as soon as I can get to a store and buy some new clothes. I’m afraid most everything I own lives in my car.” Her breath caught in her throat at the words. It was true. Now that her car was gone, so was everything else. How was she going to recover from this?
“I would love for you to keep it. But I’ll be happy to take you shopping tomorrow.”
Sawyer piped up. “Oh, well if you do, make sure you keep the shopping for Harper. The last time you went shopping with Grace, you came home with a new wardrobe for every member of our family.”
Katie smiled as she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I can’t help it if you still have shirts from your high school days. It was time for new clothes.”
