IT HAD TAKEN ALL MY SELF-CONTROL NOT TO RIP OPEN THE DOOR, and hug one of my most favorite people in the world when she called me Chicken Butt. Harper Firecracker Collins is still the same after all these years. Of course, she doesn't look the same. The fiery red head with a flaring temper, has grown into an intimidating woman like I always assumed she would.
And it was like getting struck in the stomach.
A girl I've always seen as a sister, marched right up to my police vehicle and I enjoyed watching her marvelous legs do so in those short shorts. Last time I saw her was at her brother's wedding years back, but it was in passing. The once gawky, lanky girl is now a full-fledged woman that probably turns guys heads easily.
I chuckle and lean back in my chair at the police station.
Harper Collins...
I love that temper of hers, and I love egging it on even more. That shockingly enflamed hair of hers, matches her personality. Those daring Coca-Cola eyes outlined by full thick lashes, burned with irritation. Her eyes have always been a window to her soul. One minute there's pure joy, the next, watch yourself because she's nicknamed Firecracker for a reason.
I reminisce about how her hands sat on her well-rounded hips as she stared me down. I just leaned back and sipped on my straw and enjoyed the view of her curvaceous beauty. Her beautiful heart-shaped face splashed with freckles was adorably pinched in irritation with her very plush lips pursed to the side.
The minute her brother Matt Collins walks in, I kick my feet off the desk and throw my report on it abandoning all inappropriate thoughts of his baby sister. I get out of my chair and head straight to him.
"Well, if it isn't the Matt Collins, here to ask for an autograph?"
The more orangish red-haired friend of mine chuckles and we give each other a rough hug, ending with him smacking my shoulder. "I should be asking the same thing. I am the local hero around here, Officer Samuels."
My hand grips his shoulder. "That's right your kids won the little league world series. "
He clenches his jaw. "They came in third."
I raise my brows mockingly. "Oh, that's right."
Matt crosses his arms over his t-shirt. "So, what's the guy who turned down going pro in baseball only to become a hero cop... and also date an Argentinian model, doing here?"
Pulling up a chair for him, I motion for him to sit down as I lean back on my desk. "Dad's not doing great. My mom claims she can handle it, but I can tell she's getting tired."
Matt picks at my blueberry muffin. "How noble of you. If there's anything I can do let me know. Harp goes over there to help out when she can."
My brows lift in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, especially now during the summer. She has more free time with school being out, although we only have three more weeks until it starts. Momma Samuels always makes her those massive sugar cookies." He puts another piece of muffin in his mouth then leans back in his chair.
"What does she do there?" I ask.
Matt shrugs his shoulders, "Visits with them, helps around the house, especially with outside work like mowing their lawn and stuff." He flips through my calendar. Matt has always been the type who can't sit still. "I used to go with her, but my girls keep me busy now."
"Speaking of which, where are the little hellions?" I look around as if they're going to come out of nowhere wreaking havoc.
Matt glares at me. "Those are my daughters you're talking about."
I smirk. "Exactly, they're nothing like your sweet wife. I mean they look like her, but act like you."
His head tilts back. "I know. I kind of feel bad for my mom now."
"How's Elise doing?" I lean forward in my chair and finger through some files.
"She's good, super pregnant, but as sweet as can be. Kills her that she won't be working in the fall. And of course, worships the ground Harp walks on."
I chuckle at that. Elise met Matt through Harp because they both work at the elementary school together and Matt was applying for a job as the health/gym teacher. The two hit it off immediately and Elise pretty much adores Harp for that. I wasn't there for any of it, but Matt and I talked pretty much every day on the phone when I lived in Alabama. I remember cringing a little from the way his voice gushed about Elise and how she was the one.
"I swear sometimes she loves Harp more than me." He jokes.
"Speaking of your sister." My mind goes back to those dirt-stained, boldly freckled legs and I push back the memory knowing I'm sitting right across from her overprotective brother. "I ran into her today."
He tilts the chair back on its hind legs. "Already?"
"Yep." I pause and take a sip from my water bottle. "Pulled her over and wrote her a ticket."
His chair slams to the floor and he rubs his hand over his face. "Let me guess, broken taillight."
I cock a brow. "Why hasn't she fixed it?"
Matt shakes his head in frustration. "This whole independence thing of hers drives me nuts. She won't let any of us help out."
I cross my arms over my chest. "It's not surprising. This is the girl who got mad at us for trying to fight her battles for her."
Matt laughs at that. "Remember the time she came home with a black eye, and we had to sneak out and beat the crap out of the kid, just so she wouldn't catch us."
My laughter fills the office, but no one minds. This is my third day on the job and so far, it's a pretty relaxed place. "Yeah, she still found out though and got mad at us and took command of our treehouse. And, as she so lovingly put it, exiled us."
Matt gives a laughing growl, "She's ridiculous. Anyways, I'll make sure she gets it fixed."
We're silent for a little then Matt breaks it as he looks around my desk. "So, how's that Argentinian model coping with Michigan? Did you tell her about our winters?"
My brow raises to my hairline. "You mean Lina? Gosh, we broke up a while ago."
He gawks at me, "Good god man, why?"
I roll my shoulders back feeling them crack a little. All those years of baseball have done some damage to them. "She was way to high maintenance."
My thoughts drift back to Lina and her soft chocolate milk skin and tight spiral curls she would push back to reveal those striking green eyes. She was beautiful, but there was no fire, no spark.
Matt holds his hand out and gives me a duh look. "Of course, she is. She's a model."
"And she was boring."
And she was. A woman of no substance. Her personality was like writing with a dull pencil that barely got the message down on paper. The woman only ever talked about fashion and touring Europe. I'm a stay-at-home kind of guy, so trips to Europe aren't my thing. We were a bad match from the get-go. She never came to my slow-pitch softball games or other work events and I never went to her fashion shows.
Matt has nothing to say about that. He picks up a picture I have of me, him and Harp at my high school graduation. "Will you ever get serious about a girl?"
I lean back. "I like my bachelorhood, but when the right one comes along I will... maybe." I joke.
He puts the picture down. "Thank God Harp isn't your type."
I cup my hand around my chin and my fingers scratch my scruff as Matt gives me a warning look at my lack of response. "What?!" I ask raising my shoulders a little. "She's grown up nicely."
His eyes flash with that brotherly protectiveness. "She's been a sister to you for years."
I hold my hands up in mock surrender. "Matt, I'm just saying, she's gotten prettier. I promise I won't do anything. I don't see her like that at all. Besides, you must have your hands full with other guys."
He falls back in relief at my admission. "Luckily no, most guys are either afraid of her or want someone a little more... feminine."
He stands and knocks his knuckles on my desk. "Enough about Harp. I didn't come here just to chat. My mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight. She's making her world-famous London broil just for you."
My stomach jumps at that. "I'll definitely be there."
"Good! Dinners at seven." He shakes my hand roughly, but joyfully. "Good to have you back man."
"Good to be back." I smack his arm and he turns to leave waving as he does.
I sigh and sit back down. A cup of coffee appears in front of me, and I see Luke McCallister, my partner, sitting in the seat Matt just left. He's three years younger than me and went to the same high school as Matt and Harp. He was a rough kid back in the day, drugs, alcohol, and much... much more. But the kid before is now a completely different person, did a full one eighty and since working with him, I can tell he's a good cop. He's still a newbie but has the perfect stoniness and courage a man needs to become a one.
My hand grips the coffee and I cock a brow at him. "I'm guessing this comes with a favor."
Luke clears his throat, "Sam Schneider."
The name rings a bell. "The girl who disappeared. She went to your high school, right? What about her?"
I remember the girl, quiet, aloof, drop-dead gorgeous and star runner for the high school. Daughter of the Hospital's president, a girl who was going places and then all of a sudden vanished. I was away at college when it happened, as was Matt, but we had heard about it from our parents.
He shifts in his seat. "I'm good friends with the girl who was her best friend. She's been asking me to look into it."
"And you want my help?" The coffee steam wafts around me. "She's been gone for like, what...?"
He takes a sip from his cup. "Seven years. No police report was filed, and she just vanished without a trace, which is almost impossible to do with social media."
I give him a skeptical look. "We can't waste our time on this."
He nods.
"But... I'll look into it when I'm not on the clock. I'm guessing you already tried looking around on all the social media outlets?"
He puts his cup down. "Yeah, there's nothing. It's weird, her parents don't seem to care and never mention her, so I don't think she's dead."
The strong coffee aroma hits my nose when I lean the cup back taking a sip. "What was her home life like?"
"Not sure. Dee says she lived alone for the most part."
My cup stills. "She lived alone. She didn't live with her family?"
Luke shakes his head.
Both he and I grow quiet, our police minds on alert. I've seen situations like this before and when something seems suspicious, it usually means it is. I nod and take a big gulp of the hot coffee. But for it to be the hospital president's daughter? A man who seems nothing but humble and kind with his wife who is the sweetest most loving person.
"I'll see what I can come up with."
"Thanks." He pats my back and gets up walking over to his desk.
"Luke." I call out. He turns to me. "Sometimes it's just a dead end."
He nods and I go back to my paperwork. I look up at the picture Matt had picked up earlier. I grab it leaning back in my chair with my arm over my head. My mom had taken it. Matt and I are glaring at each other in a brotherly manner while Harp is between us, smiling widely in only a smile Harp can give with her arms wrapped around our shoulders.
She was such a skinny thing back then, but man could she hit a softball.
I used to go to her games as much as I could with Matt. When her dad had walked out, Matt and I promised we'd be there for her as much as possible. But, when both of us graduated we left her behind to the mercy of her mother. I moved to Alabama and Matt to North Carolina. We both got into the college spirit and kind of put her on the backburner, me more so than Matt.
Someone who had been a constant in my life, faded to the background and I never tried getting a hold of her. I always relied on Matt giving me the information. Even still, she's important to me, but those years apart are making me wonder if I really do only see her as a sister. Before I had left, I had been having problems with a growing attraction to her, only for it to come back in full force when she stepped out of the car today.
She is so organically stunning, with no makeup and a sexy ponytail. Those dirt stains on her legs killed me, I'm a man who likes a woman who knows how to get down in the dirt. It's insanely attractive to me, which was another strike against Lina. She was always flawlessly maintained. Men's eyes followed her everywhere, but my eyes never really did, but with Harp, I couldn't tear away. It's like they had a mind of their own and wanted to absorb every little freckle of hers.
I put the frame back down and rub my eyes.
What am I thinking?
Harp is like family. No, she is family. I glance at my watch and see that it's four. I get off at five today. I chuckle when I see the pink slip from Harp's ticket. An idea comes to mind and I get up, ready to do my next patrol.
"Hey Luke." The man looks up at me. "I'm going on patrol. Is there an auto store around my route?"
He nods, "Yeah Campbells, something wrong with your vehicle?"
I shake my head and pass by him. "No, a friend's taillight is broken and I'm going to fix it."
Luke chuckles, "About time Harper gets that fixed. I've pulled her over twice for it. You know what's wrong with it?"
My back pushes against the door, letting the warm summer breeze fly in. "Just needs a new bulb and plastic cover."
I step outside and enjoy the eighty-degree weather. Alabama was ferociously hot, so this is nice. Not looking forward to the winters though. I open my car door and smile.
It's good to be back.
So, what do you all think of Owen? Thanks for reading and please don't forget to comment & vote!