Chapter 80

JASPER

I woke up with the sun shining on my face, feeling blessed beyond measure. I had all night to let go of my past and start living for today. Harper was next to me, still sleeping soundly. Her head tilted to the side. Her dark hair splayed out on the pillow, lips parted slightly. A beautiful sight, more beautiful than words could ever describe.

She breathed in a calm, even rhythm. There wasn't a hint of concern or fear, and now and then she let out a gentle sigh. If she can move on from all the shit, she was put through then so could I.

She is my peace. She understands me and without her, I wouldn't have been able to see the good in coming here This weekend. I wouldn't have seen the good in closing this Chapter of My Life. She helped me to see that the memories I have left of my mother outweighed all the bad. And it was the good ones that kept me level-headed until I could take off and not look back. Those moments shaped who I am.

Harper started to stir awake rolling onto her side and reaching her arm across the mattress, searching for me. When her hand met my chest, she let out a sigh, and with her eyes still closed she yawned,

"Morning baby," she said nestling her head in the crook of my neck.

"Morning, Doll how did you sleep?"

"Mm great." She breathed in for a second yawn. I laughed then used my index finger and playfully poked her nose. She swatted at my finger and cracked open one eye to stare me down, it did nothing but look completely fucking adorable.

"Don't go back to sleep sleepy head, I have things planned for us." She opened her eyes excitedly and sat up. I have never seen her so excited for anything since I've known her. Usually, she rolls her eyes and starts complaining about things costing too much, which leads to me getting my way.

I smirked. "Are you excited?" she nodded and jumped out of bed.

"Where are we going?" she almost shouted. "What should I wear?" she said as she skipped to the closet.

"We aren't leaving the property so anything, maybe one of those sweaters you packed." A wide smile crossed her lips, she disappeared into the closet and came out holding a pink wide neck knitted sweater. It wasn't hard to see what the smile was about when she paired the knitted sweater with black stretch leggings. I love the way her ass looks in leggings and she knew it.

We barely finished breakfast when we started arguing about tidying up the kitchen. I was ready to let the cleaning crew handle it, but she wouldn't budge until we cleaned up. Once we wiped down the table and stashed the dishes, she was happy with our efforts.

I grabbed her coat from the coat closet and held it out for her as she put her arms in and excitedly zipped it up. Since it was the end of fall there was a cold wind chill. She refused when I insisted that she wear a hat and gloves, calling me a stubborn old brute, reminding me of our eight-year age gap.

As we left the house, I noticed Paul heading our way. He's one of the guards Luka assigned to the mansion for now. He seemed nice enough, but he was focused on his job.

"Morning Boss, should I pull your car around?"

Boss

I guess I was his boss for now, at least until I decided what to do with my father's empire. I couldn't keep Luka in his place because he never wanted the position, but someone had to be in it to prevent the Whitlock family name from appearing weak to the other crime families. Appearing weak caused too many opportunities to be overtaken. There were too many ruthless monsters to fill the space, who would do more harm than good.

As much as I hated my father, his empire was large and thriving. Despite his involvement in trafficking, drugs, and guns there was lots of possibility of taking over for myself. Many wrongs could be righted.

"No, we will be walking the property. If you have any problems, call my cell. Do you know if the arrangements I asked to be made have been taken care of?" He glanced in Harper's direction and quickly answered.

"Yes Boss, it's been arranged." I nodded, placing my hand on the small of Harper's back, and nudged her forward. We walked across the horse pasture, covered in brown and green grass. Winter was on its way and the grass wasn't as lush as it was in the summer.

"I would spend the whole day running around here, from sunrise to sunset," I recalled with a smile, thinking back on the days of youthful freedom and roaming the earth barefoot.

"Wow, there are so many hills and so much open field," she said staring into the distance, admiring the view.

"I could get lost in the view alone. It's so beautiful here." She whispered still in awe.

"Wait till you see the horses." I pointed toward the stables in the distance.

"Horses? Do you ride?"

"I do, my mother forced me to learn. I hated being forced to do things so I pretended to hate it but it is one of the most thrilling experiences." I answered excited to see my Steed Harrison. He's an old horse and he was mean and grumpy. The only person he ever allowed to ride him was me. He was originally my father's, but he gave him to me after he got bucked off him three times.

"Oh my gosh, I can't imagine you in riding gear." she stood laughing at the idea.

"Hey, I look good in anything I wear." I teased as I opened the doors to the barn.

Tomas met me at the stables that housed four horses. Harrison is one of them.

"Mr. Whitlock, Good afternoon. Should I prepare your horse for you and one for your guest?" he said in broken English. Tomas, an elderly Hispanic gentleman, had been employed by my father from my early teenage years. He became a familiar face as I often hid at the stables to avoid the training imposed by my father. I would hide out with the horses and Tomas was always the one to find me.

"NO sir, we are just passing through," I said as I noticed Harper's shoulder dropped.

"We can go riding another time. I have a surprise waiting for you elsewhere."

She smiled.

I walked her towards Harrison keeping her behind me shielding her with my body in case he got mean. When we got close enough Harrison started to huff and pace. I rubbed his snout and fed him some sugar cubes Tomas brought out for me. I placed one in Harper's hand and guided her to his snout. He licked it from her and then rested his head against her hand. She started to rub down his mane, and he stood still to allow her to do so.

Even Harrison knew she was good.