Rescuing Harlow by Aubree Valentine

Chapter 17

Harlow had made peace with her father and now they were all gathered at the Clark’s about to have a family dinner with Shelby and his girlfriend, Danielle, for the first time.

Things seemed to finally be going in the right direction for everyone.

Anxious to me the first to meet Danielle, and see his furry nephew, Zane was waiting on the front porch when Shelby pulled up.

“Go any slower, and my nephew’s gonna take that window out for you,” Zane called out. As soon as Shelby turned the truck off, Zane opened the back door to get to Tater. “Aww, Unkie has missed you too, buddy,” he fawned over the dog while his brother took his sweet time getting out of the truck with his girlfriend.

“Hey, you must be Danielle,” Zane looked up and winked when they both finally joined him.

“And you must be Unkie Zane,” Danielle replied with her hand held out.

“Fuck...I mean...uh… None of that nonsense. We don’t shake hands with family.” Instead, Zane pulled her in for a hug knowing damn well it would drive his brother crazy.

Just like Zane knew would happen, Shelby started cursing and grumbling. “Christ, almighty. Lay it on thick, won’t you? Where’s your other half?”

“In the house helping Momma. They’re talking about planning the baby shower,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Has it been that long already?”

“She’s in her second trimester, but according to our mothers, these things take a lot of time to plan. I think they’re inviting half the damn town. And they’re looking at fucking wedding invitations.” It had only been a handful of days since Harlow reconciled with her father. Zane hadn’t even had a moment to speak to Finn about asking for Harlow’s hand. And he damn sure hadn’t mentioned a thing to Harlow about any of it either.

“I thought you said…”

Zane didn’t even give him a chance to finish that sentence, “I know they’ve been waiting on y’all to get here. Better get inside before they come looking.”

“Hey Ma! Shelby’s home!” Zane yelled as they crossed the threshold.

His mom rushed right out of the kitchen, ignoring both of her boys. “Aren’t you the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen! It’s so good to finally meet the one who’s caught my Shelby’s eye.”

Shelby looked at Zane and mumbled, “Here we go.”

Zane snorted, more than happy to let Shelby have all the attention this time.

“What’s all the ruckus?” His dad came down the stairs and spotted Lynn nearly smothering the other woman. “Ah. I see.”

“Okay, Momma. Let her breathe, please.”

“I didn’t even get a hug like that when I walked in,” Zane pretended to grumble about it only for Harlow to elbow him in his side. “What? It’s true. I feel unloved.”

“I’m so sorry.” Oh goodness, his mom was tearing up. “It’s been so very long since he’s brought someone home to us. Someone that makes him happy.” His mom shifted her focus to Shelby and patted his cheek. “My sweet boy. You’re glowing.”

“Thanks, Ma. Don’t you have a baby shower to finish planning?” And leave it to Shelby to try and change their mother’s focus.

“Nonsense. We’ve already finished with that for the day. Of course, if you’d like to look over wedding invites and pick a design while you’re here…”

“Lynn. We talked about this.” This time Gene was quick to jump in and save Shelby.

“That time I was only joking. I swear,” Lynn promised, hooking her arm around Danielle’s. “Come with me, sweet girl. Let’s let the men do their thing while we get to know each other.”

Let the men do their thing? What exactly did she think they were going to do?

Zane was no fool. His mother was totally up to something.

“Come on you two. Let’s take my grandpup out back. Zane’s got some home improvement projects he might need your help on,” their dad took Tater’s leash from Zane’s hand and headed through the kitchen and out the back door.

“Home improvement projects?” Shelby asked.

“Been a crazy few weeks, Big Brother. Lots to catch you up on.”

On their way past the women, Lynn passed them each a glass of sweet tea.

Tater took off to run around the yard.

Zane plopped down in one of the patio chairs and kicked his feet up on the porch railing. He took a sip of tea to wet his palette before filling in Shelby and instead ended up sputtering. “Holy shit. Mom spiked our tea.”

Gene and Shelby looked at each other and laughed before taking a long drink.

“Taste’s good to me, Baby Brother.”

“I hate you,” Zane shook his head.

“All right, out with it. What’s been going on?”

“The short version goes like this...Harlow and I are moving into a house in Alamo Heights. Not all that far from you actually. But we want to make a few changes to it beforehand. I hired a contractor for some of the bigger work, the rest - I’ll be honest, I hoped my family would help out, you know, give me some pointers since I pretty much know the bare minimum about any of this shit.”

“You bought a place? Damn. I know the last few weeks have been crazy, but you should have called me. We could have celebrated. Or I could have shown you around all the safest places.”

“Uhm. We didn’t exactly buy it. It was a gift. From Harlow’s father.”

“Finn? Finn Keller gave you two a house?”

“Nope. Not Finn. It’s a long story and you had enough on your plate with Danielle being in the hospital and all. Finn adopted Harlow when she was around two or so. Her birth father died when she was a year old.” He gave Shelby the much shorter version.

“So, wait. She just found out she’s adopted? And her birth father handed her a house? Are you sure this guy is legit? Dad, did you know about all this?” Shelby’s brows furrowed in concern.

“Give Zane a chance to finish talking, son.” Gene answered.

“It’s not my story to dive into, but Mila is her birth mother. Mr. and Mrs. Keller split up for a few years after Scarlett was born. They got back together when Landry, Harlow's birth father, passed away. Harlow was only a year old, so she had no idea about any of this. He left everything to Harlow, but it was in a trust. Now that she’s turning twenty-two, it’s all hers.”

Shelby took a sip of his tea, soaking it all in. “Okay. I think I understood all of that. And now you’re suddenly moving in with her? You sure that’s the right idea?”

Zane scowled.

“I’m only asking because it wasn’t all that long ago that you told me you had no idea what you were going to do. Remember that whole chat we had on the creek bank?” Shelby cocked his head.

“Yeah. I remember. Turns out I needed a little perspective and I found it.”

“No judgement here. If anyone gets it, I do.”

“Appreciate it, Shelby.”

“Where the hell is Hudson, by the way? I thought he was coming to dinner too?” Shelby asked.

Gene looked over at his two boys. “On the way. Got tied up at work last night.”

“He always misses out on the fun,” Zane teased.

“Back to this house thing. Tell me what all you’re thinking about fixing up. Got any pictures? I want to see this place.”

Zane sat down his drink and pulled out his phone, “yeah of course.”

They looked through the photos and Zane’s bullet list of projects until the ladies called them back inside for dinner.

After they finished eating and the guys cleaned up the kitchen, everyone moved outside where Zane played a few games of fetch with Tater, since Shelby refused to let Zane share his dinner with the dog.

Danielle and Harlow seemed to hit it off which made Zane happy. Harlow could use a few good friends and if they were going to be sister in laws one day, well the more they got along, the better.

Currently they were talking about the fire and the animals Danielle helped take care of.

“I’m really sorry if my timing is horrible, but the dogs that your rescue was taking care of...do any of them still need permanent homes?”

“I’m not really sure what P&C is going to do long term, but I’m pretty sure several of the foster dogs still need homes. The cats do too.”

“We’re not getting a dog,” Zane jumped in immediately. There was no way they were about to take on a dog with a baby on the way and home renovations happening.

“I...but...maybe a little dog would be good,” Harlow looked up at him with a face that he struggled to say no to.

“No. A newborn is enough work. You don’t realize what you’re getting into. I’ve spent enough time with this lug to know,” Zane patted Tater’s head then tossed the ball again, thinking nothing of what he’d just said.

Harlow’s heart sank. Zane’s words stung. A lot. She was well aware of what they were getting into. She also had a feeling that soon they would be getting a phone call telling them that Zane landed the FBI job and then she’d be spending a lot of time at home alone. Was it wrong for her to want a dog to keep her company and maybe even protect the house? “It really seems like a hardship to take care of him. Especially for someone who rushed out front and practically carried the dog in the house.”

“Maybe once we’re settled in the house after the baby is here. Okay?” Zane squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek.

“You could always get a cat, they’re pretty low maintenance, right?” Hudson piped in.

Everyone laughed when Zane sent him a death glare. “Not helpful, bro.”

“Depends on the cat, but they are more lowkey,” Danielle agreed.

“Yeah, Danielle, I thought we were friends,” Zane teased. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Oh, honey. You should probably get used to it. Us ladies always have to stick together.”

Shelby kissed Danielle’s cheek. “We should probably hit the road,” he added after.

Lynn jumped up and began fussing around like she always did. “Let me go make you both a plate of leftovers before you go. I’ll wrap up some dessert too.”

“I’ll send you both home with another bottle of that wine too,” Harlow offered, excitedly.

Danielle pulled her phone out of her pocket, “We should trade numbers! You can call or text me anytime.”

“Oh. I would love that.” How great would it be to have a new friend, especially one that lived close to where they were moving.

“So, it begins. They’re going to start plotting against us now man,” he looked at Shelby.

“Dude, they’ve been plotting and planning all damn day. I don’t know where you’ve been,” Hudson spoke up.

Harlow laughed. “You just wait. It’s your turn now, Huds. One more lady for the bunch and your Ma will finally have all the daughters she really wanted. Watch and see what happens.”

“An old man could get used to this,” Gene added. “It’s good to have you all here and happy. Now that the grandbabies are coming, I may retire after all.”

Shelby nearly choked on the air. “You’ve been threatening to retire forever. I’m not holding my breath on that one Pops.”

“Here you go. I put it all in this little cooler along with that wine Harlow said you could have.” She paused and laid a hand on Shelby’s cheek. “Are you sure you have to go so soon?”

“Ma, the sun is just about setting. I’d say it’s time.”

“Will you come back again soon? Maybe stay for the weekend? With Danielle, of course.” She already had Danielle’s hands wrapped in hers.

“We’ll see what we can do. Okay?” he said before kissing their mother’s forehead.

“Well, alright,” she sighed, clearly disappointed.

After a round of hugs, Shelby and Danielle were on their way.

“Can I get dessert for the rest of you?” Lynn asked.

“I should hit the road too, Ma,” Hudson kissed her cheek.

“Us too, I work the morning shift,” Zane said with a yawn.

“Can hold on to them forever,” Gene wrapped his arms around Lynn’s waist. “Let them go. You and I can have dessert alone,” he winked.

Zane and Hudson both made gagging sounds.

Harlow threw her head back and laughed. “Now I know exactly where your boys get it from, Mr. Clark.”