An hour later, Luke pulled up in front of the beige townhouse that Harper pointed out. “Do you want me to come in with you? I don’t want you moving anything heavy.”
“No, he should be at work. And I don’t have much to pack. It won’t take me long.” Harper opened the door and slid out.
“Just come out when you’re packed and I’ll carry the stuff to the truck.”
She hurried up the walk to the front door and let herself in. The beige carpet and off-white walls had never screamed “home” to her. And they certainly didn’t make her feel homesick now.
It was time to go.
She grabbed her purse out of the hall closet, double-checking that her wallet and phone were there before hurrying and upstairs to the bedroom. The sheets were still in disarray and she could see two head indentations on the pillows. Messenger Girl must have spent the night. Or maybe he’d ordered pizza after he was finished with Messenger Girl.
She turned her back on the bed in disgust and grabbed her suitcase and duffel bag out of the closet. She emptied her dresser drawers into the bags and then moved to the closet. In less than ten minutes, she had both bags packed.
In the bathroom, she hastily applied some cover up to her eye and dumped her cosmetics into a Ziploc bag. She muscled her bags down the stairs one at a time to the front door.
Luke was waiting for her on the porch. “I told you I would carry everything.” He took the bags from her and hauled them down the front steps.
Harper rolled her eyes. “I can handle a suitcase.”
“How many more bags?” He called over his shoulder on his way down the walk.
“This is it for the clothes. I just want to do a walk-through and see if I’m missing anything important.”
“All of your clothes fit in two suitcases?” He stopped in his tracks and looked at her like she had just grown an arm out of her forehead and asked for a high five.
“I lost a lot in the fire and haven’t really had the chance to replace the bulk.”
“The fire?” Luke blinked rapidly.
“Yeah, six months ago. My apartment building in South Side burned down. One of my neighbors was making a grilled cheese on a hot plate next to her drapes. Woosh!” She jazz-handed the air.
“Were you home?” He was covering his eyes with a hand now.
“Yep.” She turned back towards the house.
“Is that how you broke your arm and your ribs?”
“Nope. I’m just going to grab some paperwork. I’ll be right out.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m coming with you. Knowing you, there might be a gas leak or an escaped circus bear in there.”
“Aren’t you cute when you’re all protective?” Harper teased.
Luke shook his head and held the door open for her. “I can’t believe you’re still alive,” he muttered.
Three already-packed banker boxes of documents and knick-knacks later, Harper was ready to go.
“Are you sure this is it?” Luke asked, tucking the boxes in the backseat of his truck.
“That’s everything,” Harper said, working the key off of her ring. “I’m just going to leave this inside. I’ll be right back.”
Luke got back in the truck and started the engine.
One minute turned into five before Harper came back out, stumbling under the weight of a giant stuffed and mounted fish.
Luke jumped out of the truck and yanked it out of her grasp. “Damn it! Stop carrying shit!”
“You can just throw it back there,” she gestured at the bed of the truck.
He tossed it in the back before climbing into the driver’s seat. “What’s with the fish?” Luke asked casually.
Harper shrugged, securing her seatbelt. “He bought it at a yard sale and tells people he caught it himself. ‘It took me four hours to reel in that swordfish,’” she mimicked in a deep voice.
“I’m pretty sure that’s a marlin.”
Harper stared at him for a beat. “A marlin?”
Luke nodded.
She burst out laughing, dropping her head against the headrest. “What an ass.”
***
Harper insisted on buying Luke lunch halfway back to Benevolence. They stopped at a small family-run place that had excellent chicken potpie and even better fresh-cut fries.
She paused chewing long enough to text Hannah.
Ted’s dick not in pants. Moved out. Couch open?
Hannah responded within minutes.
Always hated his stupid douchey goatee. Be back Monday night. Couch is yours.
“Excellent,” Harper sighed with relief and jumped back into her potpie.
“All set?” Luke asked, snagging a French fry.
“Yep. Hannah and Flynn will be back Monday night and I can stay with them then.”