Bone tired, he knew he shouldn’t be driving, but with only a few miles to his home, he wasn’t going to stop now. A lonely two-lane in rural Georgia in the wee hours of the morning had no traffic, its isolation triggering thoughts of how he ended up in such a place after growing up in the bustling city of Atlanta. Initially, it was an escape, not unlike this drive, avoiding the people that had made his life uncomfortable....

“Oh, honey! That dress looks wonderful on you!” Sherry said as Harper twirled, her simple floral-print dress rising up as she did. “You’re very pretty!” Jake said with an uncharacteristic show of support. “I’m so nervous!” Harper confessed. All day, she tried to reel in her expectations, her lack of self-confidence a powerful negative force, but she hadn’t felt this hopeful for so long, so her hopes won out. “There he is!...

Sherry and Jake were watching for Harper to show up for work the following day, and when she walked in, her smile, like the one she gave Casey the night before, said it all. They’d never seen her look so happy, not with childlike glee, but with the satisfaction of something going right for her. “Oh, honey! I can see you had a great time last night!” Sherry cried almost immediately when she walked in the door and offered h...

Casey woke up knowing he’d be going to the diner again for breakfast; he just had to. He wanted her more than anyone before, and despite calling an early end to the night before, it made her even more appealing. He wondered briefly whether the fun was in the chase, where once he had her, the desire would fade as it had with others, but it didn’t feel like that. As he showered, he recalled the telling moment when she’d rea...

Harper woke with the disorientation one feels when you don’t wake up in your own bed. It was only a moment before a smile spread across her face, feeling the still-sleeping Casey lying behind her and remembering what she could truly call making love last night. She’d never experienced someone so giving, and while she’d given the men in her life a lot, it was always expected or even demanded, and barely returned. She could...

“Yes. I love you, Harper! More than I ever thought possible!” “Oh, Casey! Do you really?” she asked plaintively. “I do, Princess,” he said calmly, stroking her cheek gently. “I have for a while already, but I wanted to be sure before I told you. You are such a joy to be with, and you make me so happy whenever we’re together! I love doing things for you, and I love doing things to you,” he said suggestively, “and I really...