The Quiet One

26

"That is one thing I wanted to show you. Come." Regal helped her into his car and buckled her in before getting in on his side. She sat with him in the car talking about her day when they pulled up to her new home. Standing outside stood Mr. McAvoy, looking excited, Harper cocked her head to the side. The last time she'd seen him he had looked exhausted.

"Hello Mr. McAvoy, what can I do for you?" Harper asked, stepping out of the car. She noted he wore jeans and a plain t-shirt not the formal suit and tie of a lawyer.

"Actually, I came to express my apologies over the attack on your home. It has come to my attention you do not feel safe here and have not yet moved in. I wanted to walk you through some security features of the house to put your mind at ease."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, I haven't moved in because of my current living arrangement. Regal will move in with me at the same time once his lease is up in three weeks," Harper explained. Regal had suggested when her apartment had been destroyed, to move into the cabin and he would move in when his lease was up. She'd rejected the idea because she wanted the house to feel like theirs and not him moving into her personal space.

"Understandable, if you would follow me I can show you the security system and the garage." Mr. McAvoy led them up the stairs and into the main house using the key Harper handed him.

"If you look here, Ms. Talbot, I have had the highest grade security built into this control panel. You will need to set your own code, right now it is the house number. I suggest changing it to something harder to figure out. It needed to be six digits long and cannot start with a zero. Here are the directions for changing the code when you and Mr. Murphy have a private moment. I do not want to know the code to keep you and Mr. Hartford's books safe. When you have the code chosen, you can activate the system and it will turn on all the motion sensors attached to the doors and windows. The basement is meant to turn into a safe room should an intruder somehow get inside. It is kept on a separate electric grid and will work if you lose power. Each door also has a camera to capture any activity going on outside. You can access it easily through an app on your phone. If a breach is detected a silent phone call will be made to the police station, and they dispatch a deputy to check on you. Any questions?" Harper stared at the lawyer in disbelief. How could her small sleepy town of Black Wood Falls really be this dangerous?

"Are you sure all of this is necessary?"

"Yes, some books in your collection need to be protected, twice now you have been attacked because of these books. This security needs to be in place," he explained.

"I suppose, although I think some of George's collection should be placed in a museum and are too valuable to be hidden away from the world. Does the will say I cannot lend a book to a museum?"

"The will only states you cannot sell the collection to gain money. George said nothing about donating or lending books."

"Once I do a full inventory of his books and my grandfather's, I might donate some of the most precious ones to a museum to keep them well cared for and away from some intense collectors," Harper stated, Regal nodded his agreement.

"I think you should, it would put my mind at ease if collectors weren't forever trying to take a book from our home." Harper smiled at him, she loved the sound of our home from his lips.

"Understood, if you will follow me I can show you the garage." Harper held out her hand for Regal and he took it, folding her fingers with his. She felt his warmth spread through her body, he was her one and only.

"George wanted you to be fully taken care of, everything in this garage is yours and fully paid for," Mr. McAvoy explained, opening the door leading into the garage. Harper gasped when she caught sight of an SUV in her favorite color of blue. Sitting next to it was a minivan large enough to seat eight.

"George wanted you to have cars to cart around the girls from your tea time, and any children you have."

"This is way too much, George, and I were good friends and I looked up to him, but he didn't need to get me two cars!" Harper looked at Regal with tears in her eyes, she didn't deserve these cars.

"George loved you like his own. He wanted you well cared for after he was gone." Regal brushed her hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead.

"I don't feel like I've done anything to deserve this," she mumbled against his chest, letting him wrap her up in a tight hug.

"And that is why George loved you, you never expect anything from anyone and go out of your way to help. You hired Richard, when so many others had rejected him because of his past mistakes as a teenager. You are giving him a chance to prove he can help with the store and the girls at the orphanage know someone other than the workers care about them. Take Mira, she is fifteen and could be up to some less than appropriate activities and you've got her interested in knitting baby blankets. You, Harper help more than you know, you've given me the chance at a family and loved me even when I make mistakes." Regal rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. He always knew what to say to her, even after their fight earlier she still loved him more than anything and wanted him to mate her completely.

"I will leave you two, the instructions for changing the code are in the manual left in the kitchen." Mr. McAvoy let himself out a side door without waiting for their goodbyes. Harper let Regal hold her close for several more minutes, she didn't want to let him go.

"Harper, I love you. If you want we can move in sooner, the painters have finished painting all the rooms," Regal offered still keeping her close,

"What about your apartment?" She looked up into his fascinating hazel eyes and had to suppress a shiver racing down her spine.

"I can pay out the last month of rent without worry. If you want to live here I will gladly move in now." She couldn't contain her happiness and she kissed him.

"Can we start to move in?" She looked around the garage and then remembered the bedroom had no bedding.

"Well not tonight, the beds don't have bedding and it is nine at night. No store is open to get bedding." Harper frowned, she really wanted to spend the night in their new home.

"Come." Regal took her hand and walked her inside up to the master bedroom. To her surprise, there was a navy blue bedspread folded down to reveal crisp white sheets.

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