The Harper Family (Wattpad Version)

Let sleeping dogs lie

Odin

After the situation at the college, life returned to normal. For the most part, they did.

Grandpa JJ took over Val and his brothers' therapy sessions. Sage's uncle Evan buried the reports and files and sealed them permanently. It was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

We resumed work at Robert Haywood's house. With everything that happened, we stayed on schedule with the build.

I helped Bradley situate a bathroom countertop.

"So, anything new happening in your life?" Bradley wiggled his eyebrows.

I glanced at Bradly while securing the countertop in place. "My dad told you, didn't he?"

"No." Bradley shook his head and shrugged.

I stopped and squinted my eyes at Bradley.

"Fine." Bradley rolled his eyes. "Jordin mentioned something to Conner, and Conner told me."

"I'm going to hurt Jordin."

"It's not a bad thing that you met someone. Hell, I didn't think I would ever meet someone."

"What about Hazel?"

Bradley rolled his eyes. "That was before Hazel. If it weren't for your dad and Elias, I would still be single."

"What do you mean?"

We leaned against the bathroom counter with our asses on the edge of the countertop.

"I didn't have the best home life. My dad was a royal prick. If we didn't treat people like shit, we got our asses kicked. He was the main reason why Tori and I broke up."

"Wait. What?"

"Tori and I dated in high school. I didn't treat her well. She dumped my ass. But that's not the point." Bradley waved his hand in front of him.

"Okay. I'll take your word for it. So, what happened?"

"After I graduated high school, I left home and stayed in a homeless shelter while working and attending school. I stayed to myself and focused on woodworking. Then Kain Gray let me stay with him and helped me open a place to make custom cabinets. When I built enough cabinets, I called different companies to see if they would buy them. Everyone turned me down. So, I walked door to door, trying to sell my cabinets."

"Why didn't you ask my dad?"

"I did. Your dad told me Harper and Harper's construction had a supplier. So, I had a shop filled with cabinets, no girlfriend, and staying with someone. Then one day, Tori called me and said Elias ran into an issue with their house. They needed cabinets, and I had them."

"It worked out, didn't it?"

"Not at first. I found out Elias blackballed me and told no one to buy my cabinets."

"That doesn't sound like Elias."

"We didn't have the best relationships because of Tori. But Tori forgave me. When Tim died, Elias reached out to me. He offered me a permanent position as a cabinet maker and introduced me to my wife."

"When did you realize you were in love with Hazel?"

"When I helped Hazel remodel her bathroom. It was the first time we kissed. I wasn't sure if Elias and Owen would let me get involved with her due to a conflict of interest. But they did and gave Hazel a job as my assistant." Bradley wiggled his brows and grinned.

I chuckled.

"What about you? Do you love this girl that you're seeing?"

I sighed. "It's complicated."