Hank crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s obvious you have something goin’ on with her.”

“Obvious to who?”

“Don’t know if it’s obvious only to me since I’ve known you forever, but I saw you two at the branding, tryin’ so damn hard not to notice each other’s every move.”

The branding. When Harper and Lainie had hung out. “She didn’t blab to Lainie or nothin’ about us bein’ involved?”

Hank shrugged. “She might have, but if so, my wife didn’t talk to me about it, so maybe you oughta talk to me about it.”

“Ain’t much to say. Harper’s leaving next week after Bailey graduates from high school. I knew that when I hired her.” Bran could claim he hadn’t intended to fall for sweet, sexy Harper, but from the moment she opened up to him, he’d been a goner.

Regardless what Les thought, Harper hadn’t insinuated herself into Bran’s life because she was trying to hook a husband. She needed the job. Neither of them had anticipated that things would grow and change between them so quickly. As much as he’d enjoyed getting naked with her, he’d enjoyed just being with her every day a helluva lot more.

“You’re just gonna let her leave?”

“It’s what she wants.”

“What about what you want?”

“That’s the thing, Hank. I don’t know what I want.” He clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Thankfully, I do know what you want. Me to get my ass busy so you and the lovely Lainie can move into your own place as soon as possible.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Harper was up with the sunrise. Because of the situation with Bran and Bailey’s continual avoidance of her, she hadn’t slept worth beans the last two nights anyway. She showered and scribbled a packing list as well as a to-do list as she waited for the brew cycle on the coffeemaker to end.

“Hey.”

She jumped, startled by Bailey’s appearance in the dining room. “Whoa. You’re up early. Or are you still up from pulling an all-nighter for finals?”

Bailey shook her head. “I got up at the butt crack of dawn to talk to you about some stuff.”

Finally. It’d been hard, waiting for Bailey to come to her, but Harper needed to ease up control now that Bailey was of legal age. The coffeemaker in the kitchen beeped. She stood, but Bailey grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Wait.”

“What’s up?”

But Bailey didn’t rattle off the litany of problems that plagued her teenage life for a change. She said, “I joined the army.”

Harper squinted, turning her head to hear better. “You’re joining Amy to do what?”

“I said I joined the army. I leave for basic training in Mississippi a few days after I graduate.”

A surreal stillness surrounded Harper. Maybe it was the sound of her world crashing around her. “You’re serious.”

“Completely. I, ah, have the official paperwork in my room if you want to see it.”

Coffee forgotten, Harper folded her arms over her chest. “When did you do this?”

“The day after I turned eighteen I drove to the army recruiter’s office in Cheyenne.”

“So it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing?”

Bailey shook her head.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it?”

“Because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.”

No kidding. This was a nightmare. Another sister going off to God-knew-where, risking life and limb. Bailey was a baby. Too young to go to war. Didn’t she realize that?

“Look, Harper, I didn’t—”

“Think it through? That is obvious. When did you plan on telling me?”

Bailey threw up her arms. “I tried!”

“When?” she demanded. “Because I definitely would’ve remembered that conversation.”

“When I told you to do what you wanted with your life and not to plan your future around mine.”

Harper’s eyebrows rose, as did her temper. “That’s what I was supposed to glean from that discussion, Bailey? That you wanted to blow off all the college scholarship opportunities you’ve worked so hard for . . . to become a soldier? Wrong. You could’ve told me and you didn’t.”

“I’m an adult now. I don’t answer to you,” Bailey shot back with typical teenage snark. “And besides, is this really about me going to college? Or are you living through me because you didn’t finish school?”

Anger and shame bubbled inside her from Bailey’s low blow.

“Shit, Harper. I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”

“You never mean it, but it never stops you from saying mean things, does it?”

Bailey broke eye contact.

“Did Liberty put you up to this? Tell you what an adventure it’d be to live in the barracks, shoot stuff, and see the world from the inside of a Humvee while you’re wearing full body armor?”

“No! And it pisses me off that you think I can’t make up my own mind about what I want to do with my life.”

The girl couldn’t make up her mind what shoes to wear most days. And she’d decided to wear combat boots in perpetuity? “Okay. What inspired this adult decision?”

Bailey paced. “The army is paying to put me through school. And while I’m in school learning a trade, I’ll earn a paycheck. How is that not a good deal all around? I’ll have a place to live, training, health care, and education. This is the perfect solution. One that I hadn’t considered until the recruiter came to school and talked to us.”