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“Well, he seems very happy with what you’re doing.” Adele reached over and touched Harper’s hand. “As we are. We’ll never be able to repay you.”
Harper smiled and turned her hand over, squeezing Adele’s fingers. “So you’ve mentioned a time or two.”
“Sorry. I know I probably go on a lot.”
“It’s okay.” Harper withdrew her hand and dipped her tea bag up and down. “I know you’re excited, and I want you to be a part of this pregnancy, every step of the way. It’s all good.”
Except Adele had a tendency to hover a bit, and Harper wasn’t sure how to deal with that. With understanding, surely. She’d rather bite off her own tongue than hurt Adele’s feelings. Adele was the sister she’d never had.
They took their tea back out to the deck. The sun had dipped behind the mountains, the air cooling. Once Harper and Adele returned to the table, the discussion morphed into things to do around town, and some of their favorite outdoor activities and spots.
“Of course, Harper has to be extra careful now,” Dan said, aiming a smile in her direction. “Precious cargo and everything.”
Harper shrugged. “I do, but the exercise is still important. I still love going out in the mornings and getting some sunrise pictures. I can do some cool things with the lighting.”
“Surely you don’t go alone, though,” Adele offered, sipping her tea. “I mean, anything could happen. The wildlife alone...”
Drew stepped in. “I’m sure Harper takes proper precautions. She’s not naive, after all. She’s been doing this a long time.”
She appreciated the support and it annoyed her at the same time, as if he felt he had to speak for her when she could obviously speak for herself. Still, she didn’t want to upset Adele and Dan. “I am careful,” she replied. “And there’s no reason why I can’t maintain my regular schedule for months. I do intend to work right up until the date.”
“Even wedding bookings?” Dan asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’ll book until I hit eight months. I don’t want to disappoint any brides. And once the baby is born, I’ll take a few weeks off to recover and then get back to it.”
Once the baby was born. It was a weird thing to think about. In reality, she was just the incubator. But there was no way she would come through this without having some emotions about it. She was going to feel the baby kick. Bring it into the world. She figured getting back to a regular schedule would be important.
“Still,” Adele said quietly. “You won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“Of course not.” She knew the stakes. She’d willingly accepted them when she’d offered to do this. “I’ll be careful, you know that.”
The mood had dipped a little, so Harper drank the last of her tea and stood. “And now, I’ve totally overstayed my welcome. I should get home. Thanks for having me over for dinner...again.”
“How are you getting home?” Drew asked.
“Oh, walking. It’s not far.” She laughed. “Nothing’s really far in Banff, you know?”
“I’m going back to the hotel. I’ll walk with you, if it’s okay.”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Harper’s place wasn’t exactly on the way to the Cascade, but it was only a small detour. She couldn’t really say no, not after the nice toast he’d given. But she wondered why he’d want to. She didn’t think it was to be gentlemanly. Drew might look all casual and laid-back, but Harper got the impression that everything he did had a purpose behind it.
Dan got up, too, and started gathering glasses. “Didn’t you rent a car, Drew? You usually do.”
“I did, but it’s being delivered to the hotel tomorrow. The one I wanted wasn’t available until today. Besides, it doesn’t hurt me to walk.” He looked over at Harper and smiled. “Not when the scenery is so beautiful.”
Harper wasn’t sure if he meant the town or if he was turning on the charm like he had at the wedding, so she ignored the comment and made her way to the door.
The night had cooled enough that Harper wished she’d thought to bring a sweatshirt, though her intention had never been to stay this late. Trouble was, Adele was a wonderful cook and Harper got tired of eating alone all the time. Now that she was pregnant, Dan and Adele tended to stay a bit close, but she understood. Adele was understandably living vicariously through Harper’s experience.
She hadn’t counted on Drew being around, though, or offering to walk her home. She put her hand on her tummy for a brief moment, wondering what he really thought about the situation. It might be a good litmus test to find out how the rest of his family would react when they found out.
She tucked her hands into her hoodie pockets and looked over at him. “So I guess you were pretty surprised by the news, huh?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I felt something was off, the way you and Adele seemed to talk in abbreviated sentences. So I came right out and asked Dan.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “This is a huge thing. I can’t believe they asked it of you.”
She smiled then. Was that his issue? In that case, she could set his mind at rest. “They didn’t ask. I offered. Actually, I offered on the night of their wedding, not long before you and I danced. Adele is the best friend I’ve ever had. When I found out that she’d left Dan all those years ago because of her infertility, I knew I wanted to help. I told them that this would be my wedding present to them.”
Harper herself was what her mom called a “miracle baby,” having been adopted since her mom couldn’t have children. Being able to help a family—particularly someone she loved—was fulfilling.
“Carrying a baby is a heck of a wedding gift,” he remarked.
She started walking again and shrugged. “It’s only for a few months out of my life, so why not?”
She saw him shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. “Not many people in this world are completely altruistic. But I can’t seem to come up with a way that this benefits you. I mean, it can’t be the money.”
“No, you’re right. It can’t. Legally they’re not allowed to pay me and since there’s no fee for health coverage... I’m not making a penny off of this, Drew. I hope you didn’t think I was.”
His brow furrowed. “It crossed my mind for a minute or two.”
“Then clearly you don’t know me very well.”
“I apologize,” he said quietly. Then he looked over at her as their shoes made soft footfalls on the sidewalk. “I still find it hard to believe you’d go through something as life-changing as a pregnancy out of the goodness of your heart.”
She laughed. “Life-changing as in the morning sickness, weight gain, swollen feet, stretch marks, and other things I have to look forward to?”
Drew’s voice was soft and hesitant in the semidarkness. “Well, wouldn’t you want to go through those things for your own kid, rather than someone else’s?”
“Maybe. Someday.” She couldn’t keep the wistful note out of her voice but hoped he didn’t hear it. Someday certainly wasn’t today and she wasn’t sure it would ever be the right time. She tended to go on first dates, but not so many second or third ones, and she’d never had a real long-term relationship—not that she’d ever admitted that to anyone. She was twenty-eight years old, had had exactly two sexual partners, and wasn’t confident that she’d ever have that life-partner-and-kid thing.
She had thought it—once. The attraction had been instant and had swept her off her feet. It had been a magical month of bliss on Caicos, an utter whirlwind that carried her away. Jared had pulled out a ring as they walked the beach beneath the stars, and she’d accepted, a 100 percent buy-in to the fairy tale. A week later he was gone, with nothing but a note explaining he’d gotten caught up in the moment and it had been “fun.”
She’d been falling in love and he’d been enjoying falling into bed until he got bored—or scared. Didn’t matter which. The end result was the same.
After that horrible pseudo-relationship, she’d vowed never to let herself get so carried away again.
She was far better off focusing on her business. So much so that she was considering using Juny as more than an assistant in order to train her up to take over a lot of the wedding and other photo shoot duties. The girl had a keen eye for balance and showed promise in creativity and innovation.
So she didn’t say it out loud but knew deep down that this wasn’t altruistic. In her heart she felt it might be her only chance to experience a pregnancy, and then when the baby was with Adele and Dan, she could be Fun Aunt Harper who got to run around in the mountains taking pictures of marmots and bears and elk and all kinds of things.
“You do want kids, then.”
His voice interrupted her thoughts and she realized they’d kept walking and were only a block and a half from her house. “Oh. Well, I suppose. If the right guy and the right time were to come around.” Standard response.
“How about you?” she asked, wanting to divert the attention away from herself. “Do you want kids down the road?”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. I don’t like being tied down, you know? I’ve got the business and that’s enough. And I can pick up and travel when I want. It’s not that I don’t like kids. I just like my lifestyle better.”
She got that. And she also understood what it meant to move kids from place to place all the time. Her dad had been in the air force and they’d moved frequently when she was little. More than anything she’d wanted to stay in one place and have the same school friends for more than two years in a row.
She rather respected Drew for owning his choice and not apologizing for it. They didn’t feel the same way about children, but then, they didn’t have to.
“Besides, I have nieces and nephews and apparently another on the way. My parents aren’t hurting for grandkids.”
Hers were. Though they never said a thing about it. She was an only child. Yet they refrained from any pressure to get married or start reproducing. Instead their conversations revolved around her studio and photography. She really appreciated that.
She paused and pointed at the little bungalow on a corner lot. “This is me.”
“Cute place.”
She laughed a little. “It’s tiny and I can hardly turn around in my bathroom, but it’s mine. I’d rather have a small spot to live and better space for my studio, so...”
“Cool.” They stopped by the walkway leading to her front door and the silence grew slightly awkward.
“I should get in. Thanks for walking me home.”
“No problem. I did have a question, though.”
“Oh?” She turned to look at him, his dark eyes nearly black in the twilight. One thing hadn’t changed about Drew. He was still delicious. There was no sense denying it. But she wouldn’t have to worry about any more propositions. Not while she was pregnant. What kind of guy wanted to date a woman pregnant with another man’s child?
“The next time you go out on a hike, can I come with you? I’m guessing you know some good spots off the beaten track that I don’t.”
She frowned a little. “You realize that when I hike, I go to a spot and then sometimes spend a crazy amount of time waiting, right? For the right light, or to get the right shot. It’s not really a heavy-duty workout. You might be bored.”
“That’s okay.”
“I’m off on Thursday morning and thinking of going to Stewart Canyon early, before the tourists go crazy. It’s not off the beaten track, so to speak, but it’s a nice walk with some good photo opportunities. Have you done the Bankhead trails on other visits? Bear in mind these are easy, popular trails. But they’re interesting.”
“I’m up for whatever. Just name the time.”
“Then I can pick you up at the hotel at six.”
“Perfect.”
He gave a wave and started back the way they’d come, whistling lightly. No long look, no hand touch, nothing to suggest this was anything more than platonic and based on mutual interests.
So why was she feeling as if she’d gotten herself into a whole lot of trouble?
CHAPTER FOUR (#u1056d76e-3b0b-50e2-ba74-71b9caf28572)
THE DAY DAWNED CLEAR, but the sun wasn’t quite up past the mountains when Drew stepped outside at five minutes to six. He was used to being up this early, either to work or get outdoors. There was a reason why he’d chosen to keep a condo just north of Sacramento. He loved the climate and the abundance of opportunities for outdoor activities in the Northern Californian forests and parks. Hitting the trail for a few hours before starting his workday was a common occurrence.
But he often hiked alone. Today he’d be with Harper, and she’d cautioned him that it wouldn’t be high on the physical exertion scale. That was okay. He could do that on his own time. Instead, he was interested in watching her in action—taking pictures, that is. Pretty as she was, he wasn’t interested in her romantically. How could he be, when she was carrying his brother’s child? He liked her. Had, ever since the wedding. She challenged him somehow, even while being sweet as pie and as unassuming as a daisy nodding in a summer breeze.
He bent to retie his boot and gave a chuckle as he remembered her informing him that she wasn’t a challenge or a trophy. That had been the moment, he realized. The moment he’d started to really admire her. The fact that she was also willing to put her life on hold for nine months to give Dan and Adele a baby only raised her in his estimation.
Though he expected if he asked her, she’d deny that she’d put her life on hold at all.
She pulled up in a tidy little SUV crossover, an all-wheel drive that would be handy in bad weather and rugged enough it would tolerate slight off-road situations. He opened the passenger door and slid inside. “Nice wheels.”
She was looking a little paler than the last time he’d seen her, her freckles standing out on her nose and her cinnamon hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Thanks. I bought a lease-back so I could get something I could carry equipment in and that would handle some bumps and dirt roads.” He’d barely buckled his seat belt when she started down the hill from the hotel.
“It’s nice. A little more cozy than my pickup.”
“You drive a truck?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I spend a lot of time in the outdoors, and needed something rugged. Plus, you know, I needed enough room to pack some of that gear that I’m selling.”
She made a turn and headed past a sign that said Minnewanka Loop. “Well, I’ll say this for you. You believe in your product.”
He laughed. “I like to think of it as walking the walk.” He looked at her again and frowned. “Are you okay? You look a little pale. We didn’t have to go this early, you know.”
She kept her eyes on the road. “It’s only a little bit of morning sickness. I’ll be fine by ten or so.”
“That’s four hours away.” And what exactly did a “little” morning sickness mean?
“Yep.” She exited off the highway and started up the left side of the loop. “I’ll eat some crackers, drink some water. It will probably only last another few weeks. At least that’s what the doctor and all the books say.”
He shifted in his seat. He’d missed out on the “peculiarities of pregnancy” conversations with his sisters, since he’d moved away from Ontario. He had no idea how long morning sickness lasted or anything else to do with having babies besides what he’d seen on TV, and that was terrifying enough.
“We could have waited to go later.”
She looked over at him briefly. “Oh, no we couldn’t.” She laughed a little. “In two or three hours the tourists will be out in full force, and I like playing with the early morning light. The nausea is an inconvenience more than anything, and I work through it.”
He was glad, too. He wanted to spend the majority of his time today looking around town. In particular, the property that had recently been listed. He’d contacted a real estate agent and was anxious to get a look inside.
He enjoyed the scenery for a few moments, but it wasn’t long until she pulled into a nearly empty parking lot. “It’s a bit of a walk from here to the trailhead, but it’s all easy. Another day I’ll take you to my favorite alpine meadow, if you like.” She smiled as she took the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the car.
She was still pale, but it wasn’t any of his concern if she thought she was good to go. She knew her body far better than he did, and he’d learned long ago not to presume anything when it came to women’s strength and capabilities.
He’d worn jeans and a light windbreaker over his T-shirt. Last night he’d had a quick look at the trail thanks to a Google search and knew he’d be fine without his customary pack of water and snacks. It was less than five kilometers total, and since Harper hadn’t mentioned going farther onto the other joined trails, he’d kept it to just the jacket, which he could fold and zip up if he got too warm.
Then he turned the corner by her back bumper and his jaw dropped.
“What the heck is that?”
She grinned up at him, a camera slung around her neck and with a huge zoom lens on it. It had to stick out eight inches, probably more like twelve, and looked heavy as hell. “It’s my camera. Wow. We really will be starting at the beginning.”
“Ha, ha.” He grinned and shook his head. “Seriously, how do you not have neck and back issues carrying that thing around?”
“I would if I did it all the time. And Banff isn’t exactly hurting for spa services. I do get a massage now and again.” She pulled another black padded bag out of the back and prepared to shift it onto her shoulders.
“No way. I’ll carry that.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I carry my own equipment all the time.”
“Sure, but seriously, I have nothing and you have a huge camera around your neck.”
“Maybe I use it for counterbalance.”
