Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  “Piper! Is that you?”

  “Yes ma’am,” she called. She could hear her mother’s voice speaking to someone else as she hurried down the hall.

  “…can clear this right up.”

  Clear what up?

  Piper stepped into the living room, automatically assessing the situation for medical needs, despite her mother’s assurance on the phone that no one was bleeding or injured. Her father turned from the empty fireplace, his expression strangely flat. Her mom perched on the edge of one of the Queen Anne chairs, a half-full cup of coffee clutched in nervous hands. The sofa was occupied by a beautiful woman with perfectly coiffed white hair. Her deep purple suit was clearly tailored and expensive, made of excellent fabric. Piper recognized the sedate pumps on her crossed ankles as designer. Though the woman’s face had a few lines, it was impossible to tell whether she was sixty or eighty. She had that kind of gorgeous skin that spoke of years of disciplined care and privilege.

  “Mom? What’s going on? Where’s the emergency?”

  “This is our daughter, Piper,” Her mother offered.

  The older woman set down her own cup and folded her manicured hands, piercing blue eyes fixed on Piper. “I’m Suzanne Stewart. I understand you’re marrying my grandson.”

  Chapter 5

  “STATUS OF AD SPACE for Thursday’s edition. Go.” Myles hurled the Koosh ball at Wes Collier’s head.

  Wes snagged it out of the air with the practiced ease of a seasoned short stop, which was the position he played in the local softball league. “We’ve still got a half page open on page two, a couple of eighths available toward the middle and a quarter page ad empty in the sports section.”

  Myles’ phone vibrated and his fingers itched to pick it up, but he kept his attention focused on his staff.

  “Hit up Adele Daly to see if she wants to run any kind of specials for The Mudcat in honor of March Madness for the sports opening,” Myles ordered. “The weather’s warming up, so the Co-op may have some kind of sale going on with spring plantings. Call Abe Costello to check on that. Cam Crawford at the nursery, too. And Speakeasy might want to announce the weekend’s specials.”

  The phone vibrated again. Then again, dancing across the conference table, as what was apparently several texts hit at once.

  “Maybe you should get that,” Patty suggested.

  Myles turned the phone over and swiped it open to see what was going on. The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he read Piper’s messages.

  I don’t care what you’re doing right now, drop it.

  I need you.

  This is a serious emergency.

  Oh God, had she been in an accident? Before he could text back or call, another message hit.

  Your grandmother is sitting in my parents’ living room.

  “Oh my God.”

  “Everything all right?” Patty’s teasing expression shifted to one of concern.

  “No. No everything is definitely not all right. Meeting adjourned. I…I have to go.”

  “But what about—” Zach began.

  “Simone will decide. You’re editor for the rest of the day. Whatever you say goes.” He shoved away from the table, bolting for his office and his keys. By the time he hit the front door, he was running.

  What the hell was Gram doing here? How did she even know? As he slammed the door and started the car, he remembered their brief encounter with Mrs. Healy.

  Shit. Of course she used running into him as an excuse to call up Gram and catch up. But how had Gram found Piper’s parents? Or their address?

  The marriage license.

  It wasn’t filed yet, but they were public records. If she’d called the circuit clerk’s office…

  A litany of profanity and self-recriminations ping ponged through his head, cranking up in intensity as he screeched to a stop behind his grandmother’s Lexus.

  They’d been watching for him. The front door opened as he hurried up the walk. Piper stood in the doorway, face drawn and pale but for two flags of color in her cheeks. Her scrubs said she’d been called from work. Behind her, he could hear raised voices.

  Myles ran the rest of the way, reaching for her instinctively, wanting to put himself between her and whatever was on the other side of that door. He cupped her jaw, feeling the tension. “Are you all right?”

  She leaned into his touch. “It’s nothing a stiff drink won’t fix. Which would be expedient since I’ve all but been ordered to pee on a stick.”

  Absolute blistering fury ripped through him. Grabbing her hand, he pushed past her into the room. “Everybody quiet!” he bellowed.

  All three of them shut up. Piper’s parents looked shocked. The only change in Gram’s expression was a faint lifting of those patrician brows.

  Myles had to pause for several moments to rein in his temper enough to speak to her. “How dare you.” He sucked in another breath that did little to calm him. “How dare you show up here, without my knowledge, certainly without my consent, and interject yourself to interrogate my fiancée.”

  Gram had the grace to look at least mildly regretful. “You know it had to be asked.”

  “No, it goddamned well did not.”

  She made a face at his language. “But your brother—”

  “I am not Grady. And Piper sure as hell isn’t some gold-digging trollop who’d try to pass someone else’s baby off as mine. And not that it’s any of your business, but there is no possibility of a baby because we haven’t been sleeping together. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t decide to cancel the engagement and walk away from me entirely in the face of this assassination of her character. It’s appalling and unforgivably rude.”

  “What precisely was I supposed to think, Myles? With all this cloak and dagger sneaking around, eschewing all tradition and protocol. No one even knew you were dating.”

  “In case you missed it, Gram, I haven’t exactly let the family in on my personal life for the last decade. Why would I, when all of you have disapproved of ninety-nine percent of it since I dared to have aspirations that weren’t joining the family business?”

  “Don’t pin your father’s disappointments on the rest of us,” Gram snapped.

  There was so much Myles wanted to say to that, but he wasn’t here to argue about old family conflicts.

  “I just don’t understand why you’d hide a decision this significant, unless there’s something you’re ashamed of.”

  His head was well and truly going to explode any minute now. Piper had been right. He should’ve introduced her first. “The only thing I’m ashamed of is your behavior. I’m proud to be able to call this kind, funny, beautiful woman mine.”

  Myles hoped, God how he hoped, that would still be true when they got out of here.

  “Then why are you in such an all-fired hurry?”

  Because I need you to sign off on the trust so I don’t lose my business. He was hardly going to say that.

  Myles looked at Piper beside him, standing resolute in the face of all the accusations that’d been hurled her way. Her expression said this was his call, and she’d accept whatever he decided to do.

  He lifted the hand he held and pressed it over his heart. Brain scrambling for something, anything to say. “Because she makes me smile. She makes me think. She makes me better than I am. Because I’m thirty-one years old, and until I met Piper, I didn’t even know my life was standing still. And now that I’ve realized it, I can’t wait another month to make her a permanent part of my life.” It’d started off a line, but by the time he finished, it felt like a vow. He didn’t have time to analyze that just now.

  Piper’s eyes were huge and luminous. Her voice, when she spoke, was thick. “Well, now you’re going to make me cry.”

  Myles brushed softly at her cheek. “Never on my account.”

  Someone—Piper’s mother?—sighed softly.

  “That’s lovely. But why wouldn’t you want to celebrate that with your family and friends?” Mrs. Parish a
sked.

  Piper looked at her mom. “Because I just got finished riding the crazy train that was Carrie Jo’s wedding. I went through all the hoopla for Leah’s. I’ve been through it for half my friends. I have zero desire to waste a year planning something, when we want to get married now. I knew that would offend you, so we just planned to elope and surprise everyone with a party after.”

  Mrs. Parish huffed. “Of course, you’d ignore tradition on this, too. It’s just like you.” She said it with a tone of disapproval that made Myles bristle on Piper’s behalf.

  “Yes, it’s exactly like her, and it’s one of the things I appreciate most about her. She’s not like anybody I’ve ever met.”

  Her mother seemed at a loss for what to say to that. Eventually she asked, “But why wouldn’t you even mention you were dating?”

  Piper closed her eyes and almost laughed. “Because—and I say this with love—you’re nosy. Ever since Leah got married, you’ve been on my case, pushing and pushing and pushing after every date I went on. Does this one have possibilities? Is he the one? I couldn’t even give any of them a legitimate shot because of all the pressure you were putting on me. I knew Myles was special the moment I met him. I wasn’t about to let anything screw that up.”

  “But—” she began.

  “I picked Myles. He makes me happy. That’s the only thing you actually need to know.” Her tone brooked no argument.

  “Well, if you’re dead set on eloping, I don’t see why we should stand in your way,” Mr. Parish said, with a look that suggested relief at not having to reprise whatever crazy he’d endured for his younger daughter’s wedding.

  “It’s absolutely out of the question,” Gram said.

  Myles tensed. “I swear to God, if you say one more word about—”

  “I was wrong to pry and imply things weren’t above board. I apologize for that.” She looked to Piper. “I really do, my dear. I’m sorry to have offended you. We’ve had some...difficulties in our family in the past, and I just want to protect him from making the same kind of mistake.”

  Piper inclined her head, a far more graceful acknowledgment of acceptance than Myles thought his grandmother deserved.

  Gram continued. “But you can’t elope, Myles. As a Stewart, there are certain societal expectations you have to meet.”

  “Hang the expectations. I’m not waiting.”

  “I didn’t ask you to wait. I’m asking you not to elope. If we can put together a proper wedding on the same timeline you were planning to fly off to wherever, will you agree?”

  Myles opened his mouth in surprise. This he hadn’t expected. “We’d need to talk about it.”

  Gram waved a hand. “Fine, fine. Go talk. But do it quickly. There’s a great deal to do.”

  Piper tugged him down the hall and into a home office, shutting the door behind them.

  “Jesus Christ, Piper, I’m so sorry. I—” He broke off as he noticed her lips twitching. “What on Earth do you have to smile about?”

  “How can I not be crazy about a guy who can work trollop into a normal conversation?”

  “I’m pretty sure nothing about that conversation was normal, and it seemed a better option than what Traci really was, which was a stone-cold bitch. But that’s a story for another day. You aren’t her. You’re nothing like her. And I’m sorry my grandmother treated you like you were. I should never have dragged you into all this.”

  “As I recall, I’ve been a more than willing participant.”

  Myles waved a hand in the general direction of the living room. “You didn’t sign up for that. I never—God. This is why I didn’t want to tangle you up with my family any sooner than I had to. I’ll understand if you want to pull out of the whole thing.”

  “You need me.”

  “Not at the expense of forcing you to deal with that.” He’d find another way. It wasn’t worth the risk of losing his chance of developing something real with Piper.

  “I admit that being accused of trapping you into marriage via pregnancy was not my finest moment this week. But it’s not enough to make me back out.”

  Relief weakened his knees. But nothing was as simple as she was trying to make it.

  “I want you to think about this. Really think. Because this changes things. If we go through with this now, it’s no secret. Everybody will know. We’ll be married on every level. Same house, same bed, same name. It won’t be as simple as you planned if things don’t work out.”

  She studied him for several moments before turning away to face the window. Myles felt his heart sink.

  “Did you mean it?” Piper turned back to look at him. “What you said about why you were marrying me?”

  He couldn’t lie to her. “Every word. I hope that doesn’t freak you out. I know it’s a lot and it’s soon and—”

  She crossed the room in two strides and pressed her lips softly to his. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one on this crazy train.” Her fingers combed through his hair. “I want to marry you, Myles. For real. I want to live with you and wake up with you and take your name. And while your grandmother kind of terrifies me, maybe we should take her up on her offer. It might pacify everybody, and we need her on your side.”

  “Sure?” He knew a full-blown wedding wasn’t what she wanted.

  “Positive.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “You’re aware you’re unleashing the kraken, right?”

  Her mouth quirked. “Yeah.”

  “Okay then.”

  The living room was strangely silent as they came back, still hand-in-hand. Myles sighed and worked up a smile for his grandmother. “Well, it looks like you’re planning a wedding.”

  What did a girl wear to meet her prospective in-laws?

  Piper stood in her closet, pondering that question, knowing she needed to pick something and finish getting ready for the engagement dinner.

  Yesterday had been hideous. Mortifying. Infuriating. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life as when Suzanne Stewart had calmly asked how far along she was. Her parents, rather than jumping to immediate denials or objections had just looked at her.

  Right, because she was that girl? Who would’ve thought that their silence could take a bigger piece of her than all the years of little jibes and digs. She’d always known she was a disappointment to them, but she’d never have imagined they’d believe that of her. It was a harsh blow to their already strained relationship.

  And Myles had come to her rescue like an avenging angel in flannel and jeans. No hesitation. She’d never seen him angry before. Seeing it, not because his own plans stood to be derailed but on her behalf, had been magnificent. But Piper wasn’t exactly in the mood for a reprisal tonight. As it drew near to time to go, her nerves began to jitter. Would the rest of Myles’ family be that...judgmental? In all their intensive getting to know each other the past week and a half, he’d been relatively close-lipped about them, saying only that he was the black sheep. If his parents and siblings were anything like his grandmother, no wonder he never went home.

  In two weeks, she’d be legally tied to these people. If this lunacy blew up in her face, there’d be no quiet extrication from the situation. She wouldn’t be just facing his family. She’d be facing everyone she knew, permanently marked as having failed. Divorce hadn’t seemed like that big a deal when it’d been on the down low, but now...

  Selecting a classic little black dress that managed to be both conservative and sexy, Piper slipped into it. She opted for the knee-high bitch boots. The three-inch heels would give her an extra boost of confidence, along with some height. Her pearls came next—the necklace and matching earrings from her own grandmother. Then the engagement ring Myles had given her in a blanket fort.

  Piper laid a hand on her fluttering belly.

  There’d be no easing into this. They were about to jump into the deep end of the pool in front of a very wide, very public audience. That’d seemed like a glorious, even romantic ide
a yesterday, in the wake of his admission.

  Until I met Piper, I didn’t even know my life was standing still. And now that I’ve realized it, I can’t wait another month to make her a permanent part of my life.

  It wasn’t love exactly. But it had the potential to be, and her romantic heart had wanted to take the leap with him. Because being with him helped fill in some of the chinks left by years of trying to fit in with her family.

  Now she wondered if she was in over her head. Was she making a foolish decision because she was carried away in that heady, new relationship infatuation? Was it a bad sign that she felt panicked when she wasn’t actually with her husband-to-be?

  Husband. Jesus.

  In two weeks—no, less—ten days, she’d be walking down the aisle to him. Why did that seem so much bigger than a little courthouse ceremony?

  Because having all her family and friends there made it real. Not a role. Not a sort of pretend, with the option to play house if they felt like it. A real marriage. That was absolutely terrifying. Not because she didn’t want him, but because she was afraid they wouldn’t survive it. They weren’t strangers. They’d been friends, co-stars. And now they were very definitely more. But would it be enough?

  The bell rang.

  Piper took one last look at herself in the bathroom mirror, cleaning up a tiny mascara smudge, and said, “Show time.” Then she went to answer the door.

  Myles took a deep breath and gave her an appreciative once over that made the angsting over her outfit completely worth it. “If I were a cartoon wolf, my eyes would be bugging out like telescopes right now, with a big horn going AHOOOOGAH.”

  And just like that, the knots in her belly loosened. She offered him a smile. “I do aim to please. But seriously, is this okay for meeting your parents?”

  “More than. Although you could wear a gunny sack, and I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

  “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

  “Nervous?” he asked, stepping inside.

  “A little. It was one thing to just show up after the deed was done. ‘Hi, I’m your new daughter-in-law.’ It’s quite another to go the more traditional route, albeit in fast forward.”