Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(26)

“Calm down, Harl,” Lowell said, moving his hands back to her hips and holding her still on the counter.

“No! I need to make brownies for Morgan. It’s the least I can do after what she’s been through. Oh, I know—maybe I can make you and her dinner one night?” she asked Arrow. “I mean, if you tell me what she likes, I’m happy to make it.”

Arrow chuckled. “You don’t need to cook anything fancy. Morgan isn’t picky. Food is food for her at the moment. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as she gets to eat a full meal whenever she wants.”

At his words, Harlow closed her eyes and willed the tears that had formed not to fall. Her lips quivered, and she pressed them together, trying to stop herself from crying.

“What’s wrong?” Lowell asked gently. “Talk to me, baby.”

Inhaling deeply through her nose but keeping her eyes shut, Harlow croaked, “I just feel so bad for her. And all the women here. They’ve been through so much, and the hardest thing I’ve had to go through in my life is being burned out at my job and moving here without knowing anyone. I just wish I could do more to help. Like you guys do.”

She felt Lowell’s hands move up her sides until they were resting on her neck. His thumbs brushed lightly back and forth along her jaw. “You help more than you know, Harl.”

She shook her head in denial.

“Look at me.”

Sighing, Harlow took a deep breath, then opened her eyes.

Lowell’s face was right in front of hers, the look in his brown eyes intense. She didn’t understand what it meant. “What you do here is huge. You provide a healthy meal three times a day for everyone who lives here. You think most of them had that where they came from? Probably not. And Loretta tells me that you frequently stay past your scheduled hours to play with the kids. To teach them how to make sweets. To spend time with them. Time is precious, Harlow. Anyone can give twenty bucks to a charity organization, but very few give up their time to sit with a child and ask how their day at school was. Very few will spend their evenings off teaching a mother how to make meals so when she gets a place of her own, she can feed her kids. You’re helping, Harlow. No doubt about it.”

Harlow sniffed and, as a tear fell from her eye, blinked hard. Lowell was there to wipe it away.

“These women and kids will remember you long after the women I’ve rescued will remember me. They’ll remember your smiles and how good the food you made for them was. They’ll remember how you spent time with their kids without asking for anything in return. They’ll remember you as a light in a very hard time in their life. That’s gold, Harl. Pure fucking gold.”

She could read the sincerity in his eyes. Lowell believed every word that came out of his mouth. “If you think the women you rescue don’t remember you, you’re delusional.”

He merely shook his head.

“They do,” Harlow insisted. She turned her head to look at Arrow. Lowell dropped one of his hands, but kept the other on the side of her neck. It felt good there. Too good.

“I’d still like to make dinner for you and Morgan sometime . . . if she’d be okay with that.”

“She’d love it,” Arrow reassured her. “But I have to warn you, if you make dinner for us, you’re gonna have to make Gray and Allye and Ro and Chloe dinner too. And if you make them dinner, then you’ll probably have to make something for Ball and Meat as well.”

“Don’t leave me out of the dinner party!” Lowell complained.

Arrow smirked. “One thing you’ll learn about us is that we all love a good meal. Too many times we have to eat protein bars while on a mission. We’ll never turn down home-cooked food.”

“Deal,” Harlow said.

“Do you want to help us with the cameras, or would you rather stay here and make brownies?” Lowell asked.

Turning back to him, Harlow paused. She had a deep desire to do something for Morgan, but she also wanted to spend as much time with Lowell as possible.

He grinned and rubbed his thumb along her jaw once more. Harlow hoped that he didn’t notice the goose bumps that rose on her arms as a result of his caress.

“How about this? You come help us with the preliminary settings. We have to send the feeds back to Meat to make sure everything is where he wants it. While we’re doing that, you can come back in and make your brownies.”

“Are you sure?” Harlow asked. “I can help you guys with whatever you need.”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Harlow stared at Lowell, waiting for him to pull away or say something else. When he did neither, she furrowed her brows and said, “Lowell?”

“Yeah, Harlow?”

“Um . . . are we going to go test your camera thingies?”

He sighed. Then brushed his thumb once more over her jaw and finally took a step back.

Harlow missed the feel of him against her inner thighs immediately, but she managed to hide her reaction. At least she thought she did.

Lowell held out a hand. Without thought, Harlow took it in her injured one, and he helped her hop down from the counter. Then he led her through the kitchen without letting go. She didn’t miss the smirk that Arrow shot his friend’s way, but she ignored it, too busy enjoying the feel of Lowell’s calloused hand in hers.