In Tune (Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hadn’t even realized he’d forgotten his lunch.
    “Go on.” Tyler pushed him towards the back area of the shop where they had several picnic tables set up. They had enclosed a couple of them so that they’d have a place to eat at in the winter time. “Take lunch.”
    Cash grabbed Harper’s hand and lead her back to the picnic area. They had heaters set up in the enclosed spaces, and he quickly turned one on, knowing that it wouldn’t take very long for it to warm up.
    He had a seat on the bench and indicated that she should have a seat next to him. He looked into the bag. “You didn’t get yourself anything?” he asked as they got situated.
    “I figured I could steal some of your fries.” She winked.
    It had been a while since Harper had flirted with him, and it gave him hope that things were changing—and changing for the better this time rather than going in the opposite direction. “What’s mine is yours, sweetheart,” he told her as he poured his fries out on the bag and opened packets of ketchup.
    She reached over as soon as he had the ketchup out and grabbed a couple of fries before dunking them in the sauce and then eating them quickly. “How’s your day going?”
    “Not too bad. You know I’d much rather be here than at school. I’m glad it’s a school-free day. How was class?”
    She sighed. “I try really hard to believe we’re doing these classes and getting these degrees in order to improve our lives, but sometimes I wonder. I want to finish, I’ve started, I wanted to see it through to the end, but some days I get so bored.”
    He nodded, because he understood exactly where she came from. “I know; you sit there and think, ‘Out of all these hours I sit in class, I could be out there trying to make money—trying to make a better life for us.’”
    “Exactly, but then I remember that I want to work for myself, and I remember that I have to learn how to do things the right way, but damn if I’m not bored sometimes.”
    He ate the rest of his food in companionable conversation with her. As he took the last bite of his burger, he spoke again. “Thank you for bringing me this,” he told her.
    “Not a problem at all. It was nice to see you in the middle of the day.”
    He had to agree. It definitely was nice to see her. Walking her back through the garage, they had made it back into the parking lot when the loud sound of a car backfiring ricocheted off the asphalt, and Cash yelled, jumping.
    When he looked over at Harper, he was shocked to find she’d hit the ground like she’d been shot at. Her hands were over her head, and he could see her shaking from where he stood over her. It was then that he got it, understood what she was scared of. He could read the fear in the way she held her body, in the quickness with which she had hit the ground. His eyes immediately sought out Layne O’Connor, the member of the Heaven Hill MC who had struggled with PTSD after a stint in Iraq—Travis was helping him up off the ground. She was just as scarred from her experience as Layne had been from his.
    “Hey, you’re okay,” he told her as he leaned down and tried to pick her up off the ground.
    “What was that?” she asked, her voice trembling as she gasped for air.
    “Car backfired. You are perfectly fine,” he told her again, taking note of her wobbling chin.
    “I thought—” she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath. “I thought someone—” she started crying in earnest then. “I thought someone was shooting at us.”
    Cash saw the tears streaming down her face and did the only thing he could think of. He folded her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. “It’s going to be okay; you’re fine. I’m here.”
    She clung to him as if he were her anchor in a stormy sea. He held her tightly, telling her that he wasn’t going to let go.

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Chapter Ten

    C ash stood in the doorway of the bedroom he’d once shared with Harper, watching as she slept fitfully. He