Everything faded as Piper’s mind grabbed on to his “our Piper” comment. The two words shouldn’t make her hair stand on end, but they did. If she thought about it, the words solidified their friendship in the same pattern as the past, the way he and Davis let her and Chloe tag along like lost little puppies. Yet something in his tone as he said it had her analyzing it from every angle, replaying the words in her mind.
Obsessing over Rafe’s words was probably her mind’s way of protecting her from their current frightening situation. Next thing she knew, they’d stopped and a frigid blast of air startled her from her thoughts. Chloe took out her phone and made a phone call. When she said Chet’s name, Piper cringed. She should’ve thought about calling the band and letting them know what was happening. Great manager she turned out to be.
Chloe winced and peeked at Piper. Piper wondered just what Chet had said.
“Yeah, I have some interviews and stuff she’s going to try to coordinate from Glenwood. Plus, her brother would flip if we left her here alone.” Chloe shrugged and smiled at Piper.
Great, now Chet would also think of her as a child. Piper elbowed Chloe in the side and stuck out her tongue.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Listen, Chet, I gotta go. Could you let the others know that we’ll call later to work out Friday?” Chloe tapped the end icon and smiled at Piper in a way that made her stomach drop. “It seems your admirer is upset you’re leaving town.”
Piper groaned and rolled her eyes, guilt coating the back of her tongue. “I feel bad. Maybe I should’ve said yes.”
“What’s this?” Rafe turned in the seat and looked between the two of them.
Chloe had that look on her face that meant trouble. “My guitarist, Chet, has been wanting Piper to go out to dinner. She’s sparked his fancy, some would say.”
“You told him no?” Rafe’s eyes narrowed at Piper, and his voice had that big brother tone to it.
“Yeah, but I keep wondering if I should just bite the bullet and go. We’ve spent a fair amount of time with him lately working on songs and such.” Piper shrugged, not knowing why she told him all of this. “He’s nice.”
“But you’re not attracted to him?” Rafe’s question made her uncomfortable.
Why did it matter if she was attracted or not? It changed nothing. She was still her, and his interest wouldn’t last. But how could she say that out loud?
“It’s not that.” Piper rubbed her collar, cursing her cheeks as they grew warm.
“So, you are attracted?” He pushed.
“He’s hot.” Chloe smiled and nudged Piper, dropping her throat into her stomach. “Smoking hot.”
Rafe’s muscles tightened. “Why not go out with him then?”
Her cheeks went from warm to white-hot, and the stress and fear pushed words past her ability to filter. “Because I’m not going to get attached to someone who will see the light sooner rather than later, especially with the amount of gorgeous groupies always storming him at the shows.”
Why had she just said all that? She needed to go, get away from his scrutiny.
Rafe growled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Piper crossed her arms and looked out the window, hoping to shut down this embarrassing conversation. “I’m done talking about this.”
“Piper.” The vehicle door opening broke off Rafe’s words as Jake handed Chloe snow gear before going to check more things on the plane.
Piper took the opportunity to escape, opening her door to the freezing winter air. She didn’t get any satisfaction as she slammed the door closed behind her. She stomped around the SUV and leaned against its side. She hated that she acted like an emotional teenager. Hated that everything was overwhelming her to the point of imploding.
She closed her eyes and let the cold air whipping her face slap her back to reality. Chloe needed her to be strong, needed her to focus and take care of things. Chloe would never leave if she worried about Piper. Piper pushed back her shoulders and prepared to give her best smile as she pushed Chloe into the plane.
“We need to go.” Jake stalked to the SUV.
Piper threw her arms around Chloe’s neck before her emotions broke through her facade. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t you think you should come with?” Chloe hadn’t shown such hesitancy since she was first admitted into the hospital all those years ago.
“No, I need that information from the house.” Piper squeezed Chloe and stepped back, nodding in confidence. She pushed her mouth into a smile. “Besides, we’ll be right behind you. I say ice cream and chick flicks tonight.”
Chloe laughed, the tension easing from her. “That sounds perfect.”
Piper’s heart thudded in her chest as she glanced at the dark clouds forming at the top of the mountain. She turned her gaze back to the plane, dropping her wringing hands to her side. Chloe would be all right, and when Piper and Rafe got to Glenwood, Piper would have a plan to not only distract Chloe from not being in Steamboat, but to keep the momentum of Chloe’s career moving forward.
Rafe’s arm settled across her shoulder as he waved at the airplane. “Come on. Let’s get going.”
She let him lead her around the front of the SUV, but couldn’t help taking one last look at the small airplane. “Will they be all right?” Her eyes widened at the storm rolling in, and she grabbed his arm. “That storm looks bad.”
Rafe lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from her braid behind her ear. “Jake is the best pilot I know. He wouldn’t fly if he didn’t think he could.”
She nodded, and he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead like a child before guiding her into the front seat. Oh, dear Lord in heaven. If Rafe kept acting all sweet, she wouldn’t be able to keep her heart in check. Maybe driving to Glenwood with just him wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Five
“Piper, are you ready yet?” Rafe surveyed the living room again, making sure they left nothing behind.
It hadn’t taken Piper and him long to pack up and load the SUV. He’d rushed around helping carry heavy suitcases like some whipped puppy. She’d even looked at him strangely once, like maybe he’d grown two heads or something, and he had to shake his brains loose so he didn’t make a complete fool of himself.
Why had Chloe said what she had in the car after Piper had gotten out? Chloe saying, “But she’s still hung up on her first love. Too bad the idiot never saw her as anything but his friend’s little sister,” kept playing on auto-repeat in his head. Now he’d spent the last forty-five minutes thinking about the past and if Piper had ever shown any sign she liked him how Chloe said.
He groaned. “Knock it off, Malone.”
“Everything okay?” Piper’s question heated his neck with embarrassment that she had heard.
He peered up the staircase to give some smart-aleck remark, but almost choked on his tongue instead. She looked stunning, though she wore a simple sweater and leggings. Her smile at him as she trailed her hand along the bannister had his heart thumping in his throat. Her long legs stepped gracefully from one stair to another.
It was like those corny chick flick movies the girls had forced him and Davis to watch where the high school sports star watches his date and stumbles like an idiot. He and Davis had always made so much fun of that, saying that would never happen in real life. They were wrong. Piper reduced Rafe to a teenage boy who couldn’t find his tongue. She laughed, and the sound tumbled like fresh water over boulders.
Reality slammed into him. Beyond the fact that she was Davis’s sister, she was too good for Rafe. He gazed down to his hands that shook and shoved them into his coat pockets.
“I swear, you’d think Chloe had lived here for months with the way her stuff had exploded across her room.” Piper held up a high-heeled shoe. “I found this behind the plant. I can’t even imagine how it got there.”
Rafe swallowed and nodded.
She cocked her head. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look
pale. Do you want to wait and rest or maybe I could drive?” She looked out the window at the snow that fell steadily.
“I’m fine.” Rafe yanked her coat up from the back of the couch and held it open for her. “Let’s get going.”
She shrugged and stepped up to him as he helped her into her coat. Her perfume assaulted his senses with pheromones that made his fingers tingle. He’d have to tell her to stop wearing it so he could concentrate. Wouldn’t that be an awkward conversation? Hey Pip, think you can stop wearing that perfume? It’s making me crazy with thoughts of snatching you into my arms and kissing you senseless.
His hands stilled on her shoulders. Kiss her senseless? His heart stuttered, then took off like a jackrabbit. He snatched his hands away and stepped back.
She turned her head and cocked it to the side. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Maybe we should wait and leave tomorrow.”
“I’m fine. Just ready to get out of here.” He stalked past her to the garage. “Everything’s locked up, so let’s scoot.”
“Okay, but if you start to not feel good, let me know. I can drive.”
Great. Now she thought he couldn’t drive? Snap out of it, Malone. This is Davis’s sister and one of your best friends growing up. Stop making things weird.
By the time he had the car pulled out of the driveway and headed through town, he’d talked himself back to normalcy. At least, he hoped. Maybe she’d refrain from doing something sexy that would draw his mind back to the freak-out zone. Not likely, since his stupid brain had decided everything she did was hot. He clenched his hands on the steering wheel. Stupid Chloe and her troubling suggestions.
“Let’s grab dinner. There won’t be any places to stop once we leave town.” Rafe clicked on his blinker and pulled into Dairy Queen. “I need a burger and you deserve chicken strips with an Oreo Blizzard.”
She tipped her head back and laughed. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
He glanced over at her. Her cheeks and ears had pinked with a blush and her lips had parted as they pushed into a smile. She touched the collar of her sweater, drawing his gaze to her slender neck and long fingers. He tore his eyes away. Nope. She wasn’t going to make it easy on him.
He shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “Pipster, do you think I could forget all that money I forked out so you could have your weekly reward for doing well in geometry?”
She snorted. “As if. I bought dinner each week to pay you for your tutoring, Rooster.”
Her use of his old nickname reminded him of all that they’d shared those years before he had followed Davis into the Army. If he could just keep all that past at the front of his brain, he could keep his focus off of how she’d changed. He pulled into the drive-thru and surveyed the menu.
“All right. Flamethrower combo and a large peanut butter shake for me. Chicken strips for you?” He turned to Piper.
She wrung her hands as indecision played across her face. “I should be safe and get a salad.”
“What do you mean ‘be safe’?”
She shrugged. “The chicken strips have so much gluten.”
“So? Chloe’s not here.”
“I know. It’s just I try to stay gluten-free, and I already bailed once on this trip.”
“You’re saying you’ve changed your entire lifestyle just because Chloe has to? Even when she’s not around.” Rafe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I understand wanting to be healthy, but it’s also good to cheat now and then. Don’t you want the chicken strips?”
“Well … yeah, but I want to support her, and scarfing down a bunch of stuff she can’t eat doesn’t make it any easier on her.” Piper crossed her arms.
“But she’s not here. She’ll never know.”
“But I will.”
He stared at her a moment as her words processed. How much had she given up to take care of Chloe? Instances from their childhood came flooding back. How much had she always done to take care of everyone else?
His eyes narrowed. “You’re getting the chicken fingers.”
He rolled down the window and placed the order. He ignored her sputtering and huffing behind him. When he pulled his head back into the SUV and rolled up the window, she jabbed him in the arm.
“Ow, Pipstick, go easy.”
She poked him again. “What if I wanted a salad?”
“Did you?” He lifted his eyebrow in a challenge.
“Not really.” She waved her arm. “Still, I’m never going to eat all that food.”
“So? I’ll finish what you don’t eat.”
“Right. The human garbage disposal.” She shook her head. “I’m surprised you’re not fat with the way you eat.”
“This is all muscle, sweetheart.” He motioned up and down his body.
Her eyes followed, and she visibly swallowed. His belly warmed at her perusal. What did she think when she looked at him?
“Meh.” She lifted her shoulders and turned her attention out the windshield.
What? Rafe would’ve deflated like a popped balloon, but her neck and ears turned bright red. Hmm. Interesting. A smile bloomed across his face as he turned to pay the cashier.
Five minutes later, he’d scarfed down his burger, and they were on the highway headed out of town. Piper made little noises of appreciation that kept pulling Rafe’s attention away from the road to her. Her eyes rolled into her head as she took her first bite of her Blizzard. She moaned and Rafe yanked his gaze back to the road.
“Wow, I forgot how good this is.” She took another bite.
Rafe’s eyes followed the lift of the spoon to her mouth. She licked her lips of the ice cream that stuck there. What would it be like to kiss those lips? Rafe swallowed and forced his gaze to stay on the road. Her kisses would probably be sweet, just like her.
“Maybe you should have them more often?” If he could just get her talking, he could get his mind out of places it shouldn’t wander.
She laughed. “No, I definitely shouldn’t. Not if I don’t want to look like I did in high school.”
“What do you mean? You looked fine in high school.”
“You were gone in high school, remember?” She pointed a fry at him.
“Yeah, but I came back to visit, and Davis kept me updated with pictures.”
“Nope, meals like these need to be limited to rare occasions. I never want to give anyone reason to call me a Wookiee again.” Piper cleared her throat. “Besides, I enjoy eating healthier. I like the way I feel when I do. Most of the time, I don’t even miss gluten.”
“What do you mean, Wookiee? When did anyone call you that?”
“Are you kidding me? How about since junior high? It became a favorite in high school among the jock guys.” Piper sighed. “I really don’t miss those years at all.”
“Why would they call you that? You looked nothing like that.” Rafe gripped the steering wheel. How had he never known?
“It started when I shot up in eighth grade and towered over all the preppy girls. Add that I didn’t get my hair under control until my junior year in high school, and I guess I made an easy target.” She ran her hand through her hair, pulling it over her shoulder. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had just been the girls, but our freshman year, the boys started making Wookiee sounds when I walked past in the hall. That kind of made things embarrassing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What would that have done? It just would’ve made things worse.”
She crunched into her chicken strip. The pause in the conversation filled the space in the SUV with tension. He hated that people had made her fun of in high school. She was right, though. Anything he would’ve said or done would’ve just backfired.
“I’m sorry, Piper.”
Could the apology of one man make up for years of torment? He shook his head. Probably not.
“It’s okay. You weren’t ever like that.”
“They were all idiots.” Rafe scoffed. “You’re a knockout. They al
l should have been scrambling to win your attention.”
Now, why had he just said that? He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and forced his eyes to stay forward. He felt her eyes on him, though, and the heat of her stare pulled his gaze to hers.
“I’m not a knockout.” Her strained whisper just about broke his heart.
“Yeah, Piper, yeah you are. You make it hard for a man to focus.” His voice felt stuck in his throat.
A gust of wind blew hard against the side of the SUV and yanked Rafe’s attention back to the road. The storm had settled in, making driving hazardous, just like the swirl of his new realizations pounding against his thoughts. He should’ve sent her on the plane with Jake and gathered up all their stuff himself. With the way the snow blocked out his vision, the two-hour drive would take double that, at least. Now, he’d dropped that bomb of truth out into the open with no foxhole to jump in for safety. He didn’t think he could joke his way out of this.
Six
Piper clung to the door as the vehicle swerved on a patch of slick road. The snow fell so thickly she didn’t know how Rafe could drive. Between the horrible road conditions and his words about her making it hard to think, her stomach had been in knots the last four hours of the drive. The wind hit the side of the car, and she slammed her eyes closed. She didn’t want them open when the car careened off the edge of the road.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stop somewhere and wait this out?” Piper squeaked as the wind pushed them again.
“Once we get through the canyon, we’ll be in Glenwood.” Rafe’s jaw clenched in the dim light from the dash. “I’d rather keep going until I get you safely home to the ranch.”
She’d tried to keep the conversation flowing for the last four hours, hoping to keep herself from worrying over the weather and Chloe, but also to keep the exchange from straying into the uncomfortable again. Why she had ever thought it’d be a good idea to bring up her high school torture was beyond her. She would have preferred him never knowing that little bit of humiliating history.
Of course, then he never would have called her a knockout.
Discovering Rafe Page 4
