Page 66 of The Vet's Unconditional Love
"Yeah.Worried, of course, but they needed to hear my voice.They'll be better once they see me."
She nodded."Well, I was thinking I should get out of the way."
He frowned."You don't need to do that."
"I kind of do."She looked down at herself.
"Oh shit, of course.Sorry.You didn't have a change of clothes or anything, did you?"
"No, but we weren't exactly planning a sleepover, were we?"
He gave her a wry smile."No.Sorry about that."
"Don't be.I'm glad I was here and able to help.And I'll come back and help some more if you want me to.It's just with the girls coming home, they'll want you.And Blane's here.And Cash...You'll have everyone you need."
He met her gaze and held it."It's not about need, Harper.I like having you around."
She smiled."I like being here.And not just to be useful.But I really do need to go home, take a shower, get changed, and regroup.And you won't even notice that I'm gone.You need to reassure the girls."
"Yeah, I do.But listen..."
She nodded."I'll text you in a little while, see how it's going.If the guys need to leave before then, just text me and I'll come right back."
"Okay, thanks.But how about this...?Do you like pizza?"
She gave him a puzzled smile."I do.Why?"
"Because pizza’s Blane's thing, and if I know him, at the first chance he gets, he'll run up to the take-and-bake place in town and come back with supplies.If you want to hang out this evening, we can have pizza.You won't need to cook or anything."
"Then thanks, I'd like that.As long as you know that I don't mind cooking.I don't mind helping out.And you already know that the girls and I get along.We can figure things out between us."
"Yeah, I know that."
He held her gaze for a long moment, but when it seemed like he wasn't going to say anything else, she checked her watch."I'll get going then, before the girls arrive."
When she got back to the cottage, she closed the door behind her and leaned back against it, taking in a deep breath before blowing it out slowly.She'd left here twenty-four hours ago, thinking that she was just going for a horseback riding lesson.She still hadn't processed everything that had happened since then.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to start thinking about it now.She needed a shower and a change of clothes.Emmett was going to be all right.That was all that mattered.Well, that and the girls.
She kind of wished she could have stuck around, to be there for them, but she figured that she was one person too many.Cash and Blane, like Emmett had said, were family; she wasn't.
She pushed away from the door.She wasn't going to start down that road.Thatfamilyword had always haunted her.
She set her purse on the counter in the kitchen, deciding that she needed a shower before anything else.Just as she stepped away, her phone rang and she took it out, smiling when she saw Shelley's name on the display.
"Hey, Shelley Bells, how are you?"
"Never mind me, how are you?And what happened to you yesterday?I hung around at the hospital for a while, but you didn't answer my texts."
"Shoot, sorry.I didn't even think to check my phone.I silenced it while we were in Emmett's room."
"That's okay.I wanted you to know that I was there if you needed me."
"Thanks, Shelley Bells.I always know that."
"Trip said you were going to stay at Emmett's last night.Are you still there?"
"No, I came home.Blane's there with him, and Cash is bringing the girls back—they stayed at his place last night."
