Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story (33 page)

Re: Miss your face

My bag is already packed! Finn’s heading to the cabin with some friends and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to come meet your new friends, check out your house, and hug your dogs. Finn promises to have bail money ready if we need it. It’s going to be awesome!

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I
t was guaranteed.

***

F
riday night, Harper’s friends, new and old, crowded into the kitchen in their comfiest summer pajamas to launch the festivities with a drink.

Gloria was perusing takeout menus while Sophie mixed margaritas in the blender. Hannah was busy digging through the stack of movies on the counter that hit all the high notes that a girls’ night needed — romantic comedies, tear-jerkers, and a few full frontal man-part movies.

Harper let the dogs out the back door to romp around in the warm night air. “So, what fat-free, calorie-free deliciousness are we ordering tonight?”

“We were thinking pizza and chicken bites from Dawson’s,” Sophie called over the whir of the blender.

“What about dessert?”

“I brought cookie dough,” Gloria chirped. “We can either make cookies or eat it raw.”

“Best. Night. Ever.” Harper sighed with contentment. She tried to remember the last time that she did something like this. The last time she had a pack of girlfriends. In high school, she hadn’t been in one school long enough for lasting friendships. But now? With the roots she was planting, she had friends, family, and a future.

Sophie brought the blender pitcher over to the island and expertly sloshed margarita into four pink plastic cups. Gloria added a lime wedge, and Hannah plunked a straw into each cup.

“A toast, ladies,” Sophie said, raising her drink. “To the lovely Harper. May she know how lucky we all are to know her.”

“To Harper,” they said in unison.

“You guys! My turn. To all of you. Thank you for being my family. I love each one of you so much.”

They “aw-ed” as one and sipped.

“I approve you as a bartender,” Hannah nodded to Sophie.

“Well, let’s get this party started,” Harper said, dialing Dawson’s.

With the order placed, Hannah held up a movie in each hand. “So what do we want? Full frontal or rom-com?”

Harper groaned. “You guys have full frontal at your beck and call. Let’s not torture me with it when mine is on the other side of the world.”

“Oooh, let’s talk about boys,” Sophie said, clapping her hands.

“My ‘boy’ is your brother. Isn’t that gross?” Harper asked, wrinkling her nose.

“For tonight, I’ll pretend he’s someone else’s brother.”

“Actually, there is a relationship I’m curious about,” Harper grinned. “Gloria what’s the scoop on you and Aldo?”

Gloria choked on a gulp of margarita.

“What makes you think there’s anything to tell?” she asked innocently.

“I have eyes and a brain,” Harper teased. “I saw some patty-cake during the Fourth of July fireworks in the park.”

“Hmm, Gloria Moretta. It’s got a nice ring to it,” Sophie nodded.

Gloria blushed to her roots.

“You liiiike him!” Harper laughed.

“Who is this Aldo, and is he Gloria-worthy?” Hannah demanded.

“Aldo is a muscley Italian stud who’s had the hots for Gloria since high school,” Harper supplied.

“Luke’s best friend, right? That’s a long time be carrying a torch,” Hannah said. “You must be pretty great.”

“She really is,” Harper agreed.

“You guys,” Gloria laughed. “I’m still just getting used to the idea.”

“The idea of what?” Sophie demanded.

“Of Aldo ... and me ... dating.”

Harper whooped. “So it’s official?”

Gloria smiled and nodded. “Official. I’m trying to take things slow, but boy is he intense.” She fanned herself with the Dawson’s menu.

“I can’t believe our little Aldo is finally all grown up,” Sophie sighed.

“Do you have any pictures of this Italian stud?” Hannah asked.

Gloria blushed again and nodded. “I have some on my phone.”

They stuck their heads together over the screen and Harper winked at Sophie while Hannah whistled her appreciation for the male form.

Sophie’s hot pink phone rang from the table. “Speaking of hot studs, it’s the hubby.” She took it into the dining room to answer.

Harper hugged herself. Happiness all around. The only thing that would make it better was if Luke was home safe.

He would be in a few months and they would talk. And then she would know exactly where she stood. She knew what she wanted, the honest, mutual love that she saw Sophie and Hannah shared with their husbands. The kind she saw blooming between Aldo and Gloria. Would she really be willing to settle for less than that?

Sophie came back into the kitchen holding her phone out to Harper. She looked worried. “It’s Ty. He wants to talk to you. Sounds like he’s in full on cop mode.”

Harper raised her eyebrows and took the phone. “Hey, Ty, what’s up? I thought you had the night off.”

“Harper, listen to me. Glenn posted bail and was released today. He was supposed to go straight to his mother’s house, but hasn’t showed.”

Her stomach flip-flopped. “Do you think he’d come here?”

“It’s more likely that he would go to Gloria’s place, but you could still be a target.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Gloria’s here with me and Soph and Hannah. We were just waiting on pizza, which has no bearing on the situation at all. I’m just nervous and I’m going to shut up now.”

“Listen, I’m going to swing by Gloria’s and then her mom’s and check things out. I’ll let you know if we find him. Just do me a favor and keep your doors locked.”

Harper gulped and hung up. Her three friends were watching her expectantly.

“What the hell is going on?” Sophie demanded.

“Glenn’s out. Ty thinks he might be heading to Gloria’s.”

“Oh my God,” Gloria whispered, bringing her fingertips to her mouth.

“It’s going to be fine. Ty is heading to your place now to check things out. The police know he’s missing. They’re looking for him. He’s not going to get to you. No one is going to let that happen.”

Gloria took a steadying breath and nodded. “I think I’m going to text Aldo and let him know.”

“Good idea,” Sophie said, patting her hand.

They watched her as she took her phone into the dining room. Sophie’s eyes met Harper’s. Her voice was low. “So what’s going to happen if Glenn doesn’t find her at home?”

“He’s going to come here.”

“Crap,” Hannah sighed.

“Ty doesn’t think that we need to be worried, but maybe that’s his way of trying not to worry us. He told me to lock the doors. Just in case.”

Gloria’s voice sounded softly from the dining room. “Aldo must have called her,” Sophie whispered.

Harper nodded. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Aldo stopped by. Sophie, will you let the dogs in the back and lock the door? I’ll get the front door. Hannah, can you check the windows on the first floor. I’m sure it’s just a precaution. But I think we should be prepared just in case.”

She picked up her phone and dialed Mrs. Agosta just in case the kids were out late catching lightning bugs and made her promise to keep everyone inside and lock up tight.

“It’s probably nothing. We’re just taking precautions,” she told her

It was probably nothing, Harper told herself when she hung up. They were probably just overreacting. The odds were that Glenn had just gotten good and drunk and was passed out somewhere far away from here.

Her fingers shook as she twisted the deadbolt on the front door. Lola trotted down the hallway towards her, a rumbly growl in her throat. “It’s okay, sweetie,” Harper bent down to pat Lola’s silver body. “We’re safe.”

The dark outside the windows made her nervous so she reached over to flick on the porch lights.

And there he was.

G
lenn Diller peered at her through the cut glass of the side light window. The night shadows made his face look even more sinister. Harper’s heart jumped into her throat. 

Before she could shout a warning to her friends, he hefted the fern in the terra cotta pot and heaved it through the dining room window.

“Everybody out! Go to Mrs. Agosta’s.” Harper screamed, as his thick leg swung over the sill. Glass crunched under his boots.

Lola growled low at her side, her fur bristling into a mohawk down her back.

“Well, look who’s home.” His eyes were unusually bright.

Harper backed up a step and prayed that the girls made it out through the backyard.

“Gloria’s gone. She’s safe and calling the cops right now.”

“I’m not here for her.” He reached behind him and pulled out a hunting knife. The light from the kitchen glinted off of the four-inch blade. Glenn took another step toward her, and Lola’s growl became a snarl.

“Aren’t you gonna run?” He licked his lips, and Harper’s stomach churned.

“If I run, my dog is going to rip your face off, and I really like this rug.”

As if in slow motion, Harper watched Glenn lunge forward. He grabbed her arm in his meaty fist as Lola coiled and sprang, closing her jaws around the forearm of his knife wielding hand.

He shrieked and the knife clattered to the floor. Glenn flung Lola off of him into the wall. She landed with a sick thud and a yelp. Harper screamed and launched herself at him. Her fingernails raked his face.

He grabbed for her again, catching her by the ponytail and they crashed to the floor. Harper scrambled forward on her hands and knees reaching for the knife, but he caught her by the ankle and yanked her back. His body ranged over hers, crushing her to the floor, and she saw his hand close around the handle of the knife.

She heard more screams and barely recognized that they were coming from her own throat. She wasn’t scared. She was enraged.

Harper threw an elbow over her shoulder that connected with his face, but he didn’t drop the knife.

Suddenly it seemed like every light in the house came on and Sophie and Hannah barreled in from the hallway. Sophie was wielding a baseball bat. Harper couldn’t see where the first blow landed, but the satisfying crunch told her it was somewhere crucial.

Glenn howled like a feral animal and brought the knife to Harper’s face. She froze. The tip of the blade trailed down her cheek. It scratched a shallow path in her jaw before coming to rest against the delicate skin of her throat.

She felt her blood pumping through her system. Saw Lola try to right herself. Heard Glenn’s snarl in her ear. Felt the blade prick her skin. This couldn’t be how it ended.

Then bare feet were sailing over the hardwood past her and there was a clanging crunch. Glenn’s weight went limp on top of her.

Everyone was screaming at once.

“Get him off me!” Harper groaned. “He’s crushing me.”

Lola crawled over to Harper and licked her nose. “My sweet girl,” Harper whispered. Lola’s rear end wiggled.

Gloria and Hannah shoved Glenn’s dead weight off of her and Harper could breathe again. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling as Lola nuzzled her ear.

“Tape him up!” Sophie ordered. Hannah straddled Glenn and wrapped camo duct tape around his wrists.

“Get it up higher into his arm hair,” Gloria suggested, her breath coming in short gasps.

Harper rolled to face her. Gloria was leaning against the staircase in her plaid pajama shorts clutching Luke’s cast iron skillet.

The first giggle slipped out and there was no stopping it.

It was contagious. Her friends slid to the floor in a loose pile, shaking with laughter and adrenaline.

Lola limped over, pausing to lick each one, reassuring herself that they were all okay.

The front door exploded off of its hinges and crashed to the floor, narrowly missing Sophie. Ty and Aldo tumbled through the opening. Ty’s gun was drawn and Aldo had blood in his eye.

“You could have come in through the window,” Harper said.

It was silent for exactly two seconds before the girls exploded in peals of hysterics again.

***

T
he pizza arrived at the same time the cops did. Harper took the food and sent the delivery guy back for four more pizzas to feed all the extra company.

Between the cops, the pizza, and the neighbors, Harper knew the news was all over town by now.

Glenn was once again cuffed and carted off to the hospital for what held the promise of a massive concussion.

No one wanted to leave Harper alone for the night so Aldo and Ty decided to join the sleepover, and an hour later, Hannah’s husband, Finn arrived with his sleeping bag and fishing gear.

“I can’t leave you girls alone for an hour without someone getting arrested,” he teased, wrapping them both in a bear hug.

Ty called an emergency vet from the next town over, and one of the veterinarians made a house call in her pajamas to check on Lola, who was deemed the hero of the night.

“She’s going to be sore for a couple of days, but there’s no breaks. She’s a tough little girl, aren’t you sweetie?”

Lola ate it up and rolled onto her back to bare her belly while Max danced in circles around them. The vet gave Harper a bottle of pain meds and told her to keep Lola away from any strenuous activity for a few days.

As the police were wrapping up their interviews, Frank and a full crew of Garrison guys showed up with plywood to cover the door and broken window.

“We’ll be back in the morning to get measurements and order new glass,” Frank said, wiping his hands on a napkin. “Thanks for the pizza. Try not to let any more maniacs in the house.”

Everyone made the necessary calls to the appropriate relatives letting them know they were all safe. Harper could imagine the story spreading like wildfire through Benevolence. Tomorrow there would probably be paparazzi from the high school paper on the lawn.

They traded versions of the break in.

When Harper had hung up with Ty, he had sped over to Gloria’s apartment. Finding nothing, he sent an officer to Gloria’s mother’s house and headed straight to Harper’s. He and Aldo had pulled in the driveway at the same time and bolted for the door when they heard the screams.