“If Andi gets one, you should, too, Mom. It could keep you company if I went to summer camp.”
The pitch for a kitten had been going for several weeks now, with Harper standing firm on her no. But camp was new. Ever since he’d found out a few days ago that his best pal, Jeremy, was going, Nathan had been begging to attend. But it was two weeks away, on an island, with strangers. Three strikes, no camp.
“Nice try,” Harper murmured, shaking her head both at his ploy and at her quite possibly overprotective concerns. “Dinner is in a little less than an hour. Why don’t you go play until then?”
She knew his face as well as she did her own—better, actually. So Harper could easily read the struggle in his eyes as he fought the urge to push.
Then he shrugged.
“I’m seriously starving. Can I have something to eat before dinner?”
“An apple.”
“Thanks.” Nathan grabbed the apple and his baseball, then headed out of the kitchen. At the arched doorway, he glanced back. “Do you think kittens like stories? I bet I’d get a lot of extra reading done if I had to read to a kitten every day.”
Harper smiled as she got the glass pitcher down to mix the juices into Nathan’s favorite.
“He’s only seven, and he already knows when to push and when he’ll get more by simply walking away,” Andi murmured with an appreciative shake of her head.
“The rest of the time, he uses charm, guile and a golden tongue,” Harper agreed. In that respect he was so like Brandon.
Andi waited until they heard his footsteps fade up the stairs before giving Harper an arch look.
“How long do you think you’ll hold out against getting him the kitten?” Andi asked.
“Hopefully another year.” Harper blew out a breath. “If not that, then I’d like to at least get through this Little League season before he takes on that big of a responsibility.”
That she’d give in was a given. But she figured as long as Nathan didn’t realize that, the power balance was exactly where it should be.
“And camp? Why don’t you want him going?”
“The longest he’s been away from home is a sleepover. This is two weeks. And it’s not like it’s space camp or baseball camp, which I could understand, given his obsession with those. This is adventure camp. Rafting and climbing and sleeping outdoors.” Harper gave a mock shudder. “All of that aside, I can’t afford it.”
There. That sounded perfectly reasonable.
“He’d have fun. And wouldn’t it do him good to explore other interests?” Andi gave her a look that said she saw right through all that reasoning. “You always say you want to give Nathan as many opportunities as you can. This is an opportunity.”
“So is circus school. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be signing him up for trapeze lessons.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re in tiger mode.” At Harper’s blank look, Andi curled her fingers into claws on either side of her chin. “You’re like a momma tiger protecting her cub from danger.”
Before Harper could ask what was wrong with that, Andi straightened one hand to wag her finger in the air.
“Except this isn’t danger. It’s camp. Singing around the campfire and learning to tie knots. It’s swimming and tire swings and hikes. It’d be a great learning experience. After all, education isn’t found only in the classroom.”
“What’d you do, swallow their brochure?” Harper muttered, her words lost in the refrigerator as she pulled out berries for dessert. But Andi still heard.
“I served on a board for underprivileged kids a couple of years ago. We had to provide a study of the benefits of programs like this in order to get funding. It really does make a difference for some kids. The independence, the skills and the friendships can be priceless.”
Harper’s scowl was hot enough to rot the glossy strawberries, but she couldn’t argue any of those points.
“Besides, if you don’t start letting go, you’re going to end up with a wimpy momma’s boy.” She paused for effect before adding, “Like Matt. You know, the man who wanted to bring his mother along on our vacations, whose mother still bought his underwear and who after being kicked to the curb for cheating, moved home with Mommy, who now makes him breakfast every day.”
Cute at seven, iffy at seventeen. And at thirty-two it was definitely pathetic. Even as they shared a grimace, Harper knew she’d be poking through her bank account later to see if she could juggle the registration costs. Not that she was totally convinced. But she was teetering.
“I’ll cover the fee,” Andi offered, giving her that last push over the edge. “Call it my contribution to loosening your inhibitions.”
“What does one have to do with the other?”
“If Nathan’s safely away at camp, you can do more than reconsider having sex. You can have it.”
And that was supposed to convince her?
The doorbell chimed before Harper could do more than shake her head in dismay.
“I’ll get that—you start reconsidering. When I get back, we’ll find that perfect third-date guy.”
“I’d put money on Nathan getting a kitten sooner than that happening,” she murmured as Andi swept from the room.
“I heard that,” the other woman sang out, her words echoing down the hall.
Harper’s frown intensified. All of this dating and sex talk was stupid. All it did was stir up thoughts of Brandon, bad memories and hurt feelings. And like anything to do with Brandon Ramsey, the second one thought occurred, a million followed. He was the poster boy for taking a mile when an inch was all she’d offered.
No more, she ordered herself. He wasn’t a part of her now, and her past was over.
“Registered letter for one Mr. Nathan Ramsey, care of Harper Maclean,” Andi said, coming back waving a large envelope. “Who’d get his name wrong?”
The bowl of cleaned berries suddenly shaking in her hands, Harper set it on the bar with care and stared. Her chest hurt. She couldn’t think for the buzzing in her ears.
Ramsey.
Harper’s heart raced so fast, it tripped over itself. How was that possible? Why whould Brandon contact Nathan? As far as he knew, she’d followed his instructions to end the pregnancy. How did he know she’d had the baby? How did he know Nathan’s name? Had he always known?
The air locked in Harper’s chest, vicious and tight, cutting off her breath, sending shards of pain knifing through her.
Why was he contacting her? Contacting Nathan? Was he going to try to get custody?
Or had his parents gotten wind of unaccounted Ramsey DNA and tracked down their heir apparent?
Harper looked toward the stairs with a desperate gaze. She should get Nathan. They should go. Now.
As soon as she thought that, Harper squared her shoulders.
To hell with that. Nathan was her son. This was her home. She’d be damned if Brandon or his rich parents were going to screw with either.
Still, her hand trembled so much as she took the letter that she dropped it onto the marble countertop as if it were on fire.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Andi poked at the letter with one perfectly manicured nail. “It’s from a Dane Adams, US Navy, registered