He reached out to take her hand so that he could lead her to his truck, but she threw her arms around him and pressed her face into his neck instead, and he felt his heart skip a beat. He’d invited the girls to be nice but also because he was looking for a good excuse to procrastinate the task he’d set for himself today. He had to tell Harper about his past. Things were getting too serious between them to put it off any longer.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, her words muffled by his coat.

As he kissed her head, he prayed she’d be able to understand and forgive him, but he knew she might not feel as friendly toward him when they returned as she did now. “It’s good to see you, too.”

She grinned up at him when she released him. Then she took his hand. “Where are we going?”

He saw the curtain move and realized that Piper and Everly were watching them through the window.

He waved and both girls ducked out of sight.

“What is it?” Harper asked when he chuckled.

“Nothing,” he said as they walked down the small path from Karoline’s front door. “We’re going to the Los Padres National Forest. To the Piedra Blanca Formations Trail. It features a river, a little bouldering, some bird-watching. You’re going to like it.”

“How hard of a hike is it?” she asked, her expression a tad leery. “You’re pretty serious about this stuff, look like you could hike for days.”

“Don’t worry—it’s easy. You won’t have any trouble. It’s only two and a half miles in. And we can turn around whenever.”

He’d just helped her into the cab and was walking around to get into the driver’s seat when her Range Rover came racing around the corner so fast, it swerved and nearly smashed into a parked car.

“What the hell!” Tobias said as Axel brought the vehicle to a screeching halt right in front of his truck.

“Don’t you dare go anywhere with Harper, you son of a bitch!” he shouted as soon as he got out.

A rush of adrenaline swept through Tobias when he saw that Axel was carrying a baseball bat—one he must’ve just purchased because it still had the sticker on it. “You need to calm down,” Tobias said.

“Calm down?” Axel cried. “Calm down?”

Harper scrambled out of the cab and hurried to Tobias’s side. “Axel, what are you doing? Whatever it is, you need to stop.”

“Stay back.” Tobias shoved her behind him so that she couldn’t be hurt.

“You think you’re the one who’s going to protect her?” Axel said. “No, I’m doing that. Get away from him, Harper. He isn’t safe.”