by Lynn Stark
“He seems a little shy,” her father remarked as he watched Mink hurry away.
“He’s much better once he gets to know you.”
For the first time in Piper’s life she saw her father as uncertain. He shifted restlessly and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Do you think he would want to get to know me?”
“I can’t answer that. Give him time to get used to you being in Silver. After that, you can try to get to know him. How long are you and mommy planning to be here?”
There was probably little point in encouraging a relationship between father and son if the father wasn’t willing to put in the time to do so. Douglas Barrows frowned and looked in the direction of his wife.
“Your mother and I have discussed the topic at length. We’re planning on spending at least the summer here. Then, if all works out, we may stay longer.”
Okay, Piper hadn’t seen that coming. But she nodded, pleased. Not only did she want Mink to get to know their father, she wanted to get to know him, too. Especially this new and improved version of Douglas Barrows she was seeing.
“That’s great. We’ll get to see a lot of one another, spend some time together. And you can get to know your future sons-in-law.”
Gray eyes moved over the men behind her. “Do you really believe this will work?”
Piper smiled up at her father, finally able to express complete confidence about one relationship she had. “Yes, Daddy, I do believe it will work between the three of us. Both Merck and Jace love me and I love them. It’s a good beginning.”
Douglas nodded, beginning to turn. He stopped and looked at her with surprisingly gentle eyes. “I like when you call me that. And I know your mother likes it, too. Men.” He acknowledged Jace and Merck before turning away.
Then he was gone, joining his wife at the table where someone offered him a plate piled high with food and a tall glass of iced tea. It wasn’t long before Douglas and Camilla Barrows were surrounded by the residents of Silver, unknowingly being assimilated, a term her father would use, into the heart of the community.
When Piper moved the men moved. She stopped, and then moved again. They followed and stopped when she did so. She turned to look behind her, a smile making her mouth twitch. She examined the space between her and them carefully, looking puzzled.
“What are you looking for, baby?” Merck asked, equally puzzled as he looked at the ground.
“The strings.”
“What strings?” Jace sounded more amused the confused.
“The strings tying us together. Every time I move, you two move. You’ve been doing it all day. I just figured there had to be strings.”
Jace chuckled. “They’re there. You just can’t see them. Where you go, we go. We’ve waited a long time for you, sweetheart. You’re not getting away from us.”
Piper smiled up at her men. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”
Merck plastered himself up against her, wrapping her tight in his strong arms. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be stuck to. Just try to get away from us.” Warm lips caressed her temple and her ear, making Piper shiver with pleasure. Her nipples beaded, poking at his chest. “I think someone is happy to see me.”
“Ya think?” She laughed and pushed away from him. “Let’s go see if everything is okay with Clarissa and Bliss. I want to be sure they have everything they need, including help to clean up.”
“Even if they do need help, which they probably don’t,” Merck told her as they walked toward the women in charge of the party, “anyone here at the end will do what they can. In other words, there’ll be plenty of people around to help.”
“That’s just one more reason for me to love this town. The list gets longer and longer every day.”
Plans to speak with the two women who had organized and executed the event were curtailed when Piper saw them speaking with their longtime lover Colt Redford. The women’s backs were to her, but she could see Colt’s face quite clearly. The expression on it was equally clear. The man was so in love that it was a mystery to her why he didn’t recognize it for himself. Bliss and Clarissa likely also saw it. What were they feeling? So far they seemed to treat the whole dating thing with humor and patience. But how long would that last? There would surely come a point when both women would need to hear the words, would need for Colt to finally acknowledge that he was in love with them and would make the final commitment. Marriage and children for Colt Redford was something she could easily envision, even if he couldn’t. She prayed it would happen soon, though she would support her friend’s decision whatever it was.
When the event finally ended hours after planned, and all was cleaned up, packed up, and hauled off, Piper found herself hustled away by her men. She had spent time with her parents and discovered that in the relaxed setting of a tent in Silver, they were very approachable. She even found the courage to ask her mother about her charity work and was surprised to discover that her mother had appointed a new head to her foundation.
“What are you going to do now?” Piper asked, curious. Her mother was always busy, leaving for the office as early as her father did and not returning until evening. “Leaving the foundation will leave a big gap in your day.”
Camilla chuckled and reached for her iced tea. “That is exactly what I’m hoping for.” She sighed and looked at Piper. “Neither your father nor I had our priorities straight. Your running away made us take a good, hard look at ourselves. I can honestly say neither of us was pleased. I’m only surprised you didn’t run away when you were younger.”
Piper had reached out to touch her mother’s arm. She couldn’t remember the last time, or if she had ever, touched her mother in such a manner. A peck on the cheek was about the only contact they had ever shared.
“It wasn’t so bad then. And I didn’t run away. I simply took myself out of an impossible situation. I knew daddy would figure out where I went. I wasn’t hiding.”
Her mother smiled smugly. “Actually, I’m the one who figured it out. I knew how much you loved Silver, how happy you were when we visited here.”
“I suppose daddy and Colt are still not speaking with one another?”
Camilla shook her head. “Not yet. But I suppose they will get over it eventually. It’s not easy for your father to swallow his pride.”
“I never knew the reason behind their animosity, why we didn’t come back here.”
“It’s because your father refused to be pressured by Colt into accepting Melvin as his son.” She grimaced. “I do believe I prefer Mink. It suits him better.”
“That’s not right. Mink is a terrific guy.”
“We know that, dear. Your father had a lot of thinking to do when we left here almost five years ago. He wasn’t going to deny that Melvin was his son. He just needed time to get used to the fact. Once your father had done so he contacted Melvin’s mother. It gets a little complicated after that, but we are here now and we both hope that he can have a relationship with Melvin. Or should I say, Mink. Yes, I do prefer that. And you. You might not believe this, dear, but we have really missed you these past few weeks.”
“After a while I missed you and daddy, too, Mommy,” Piper said with stark honesty. On impulse she leaned forward and hugged her mother briefly. “More than I thought I would.”
When she pulled away and looked at her mother’s surprised face Piper thought she saw tears in her mother’s eyes.
What her mother had said all sounded good, but she knew Mink would have to get used to the idea of having his father in Silver. The two men had a lot of catching up to do and she prayed they both took the opportunity to do so. She doubted, however, that it would be an easy road to travel.
Chapter Thirteen
The sheriff showing up at their door just after they got home was not a good sign. It was not what any of them wanted after such an excellent day. Merck let Grayson in the front door then followed him into the living room where Piper and Jace were
relaxing on the couch.
“What’s up?” he asked, not sure he wanted to know.
Grayson didn’t speak at once. His handsome face was grim, his eyes hard. Obviously what he had to say wasn’t going to be pleasant for him either. “Piper, the brakes on your SUV didn’t just give out. They were helped along by someone. A very small puncture in the brake line was made by a tool similar to, if not, an ice pick.”
Jace launched himself off the couch, nearly dumping Piper onto the floor. “Fuck no!” He reached down to right their woman on the couch. Then he stroked her hair. “Sorry, baby.” Then he was focusing on Grayson again.
Only Merck beat him to the next obvious question. “Do you have any idea who did it?”
“Probably the same guy who broke into her house. We’ve been looking for witnesses but haven’t found any. The security cameras in the parking lot behind the hotel had been disabled. Again, there weren’t any witnesses. Whoever they are they got into the hotel’s security office without being seen and without leaving any evidence behind.”
“What do you believe would be the reason behind sabotaging the brakes?”
“There are two obvious possibilities. To either harm or strand Piper. Either one wouldn’t have been good, of course.”
“That settles it,” Jace growled. “You won’t be going anywhere alone. I’ll be with you.”
Piper snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “You didn’t do very well the last time.”
“This time I won’t be letting you out of my sight, smarty pants.”
“That’s a good idea. Don’t let her go anywhere alone,” Grayson agreed, then added to Piper’s teasing. “Just try to do a better job at being a bodyguard.”
“No one is ever going to let me live that down.”
Piper polished her nails on her shirt then examined them. “It’s not your fault you were outwitted by a mastermind. I’m not my father’s daughter for nothing.”
“You will tell me how you did it.”
She smiled. “I will never tell my secrets. I may have to use them again one of these days.”
Merck growled. “You won’t be sneaking off. You’re our woman and you’re staying here with us.”
“Geesh, calm down,” Piper told him. “I’m not going anywhere unless you guys turn into dicks. That’s one thing I won’t put up with. Then I’ll just walk out the front door. Now, Grayson, I want to thank you for coming to tell us about what happened to my SUV. Here I was thinking Merck was just a crappy driver.”
“You have a real potty mouth.”
Piper poked her tongue out at him. “Don’t make me get the pig. She’s already unhappy that I put her back in her crate.”
Merck threw up his hands, laughing. “Okay. Okay. Leave Sparkle where she is. I swear that critter hates me.”
Laughing, Grayson put on his white straw, Western-style hat and headed for the door. “I’ve got a deputy down near the end of the lane. They’ll watch the traffic coming and going along here, see if there are any unfamiliar vehicles. But before I go I need to ask. I know we asked you before, but can you think of anyone who would want to harm you?”
All three men looked at her. Merck could see the worry in her gray eyes, the stress tightening the lines of her beautiful face. His heart ached for her. He couldn’t believe anybody would want to hurt her. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and protect her forever and he knew Jace felt the same. They would do whatever they had to, to protect her.
Then she got a faraway look in her eyes and became very still. “There’s this one guy,” she said slowly, still focused on a point across the room. “He was one of my regular bodyguards until last fall.” She turned to look at Grayson. “He tried to kiss me. Truthfully, the guy had given me the creeps from the beginning, but I didn’t say anything to my father until he cornered me one day and tried to kiss me. I never saw him after that. My father fired him.”
“What’s his name?”
“Dennis Howell.”
Grayson wrote the name down on the small pad he carried in his pocket. He nodded in a decisive manner. “Good. We have a name. That’s a start. Now to find out where Mr. Howell is at the moment and see if there’s a chance he’s been anywhere close to Silver. I’ll speak to your father as well. He may be able to tell me something about the man, including giving me access to personnel records.”
The sheriff left then. As soon as he was gone Merck and Jace moved in on their woman.
“You’re safe with us, baby,” Merck told her in a husky voice, fear rising in him. He couldn’t even think of anyone hurting a hair on her precious head. “We won’t leave you alone until the bastard is caught.”
“If it’s Howell.” There was doubt in her voice. She frowned. “He was a jerk, but he didn’t seem the type to hurt someone. I find it hard to believe that he’s been thinking about revenge all these months. It would make more sense if he had done something much earlier.” She shook her head. “No, I just don’t believe it was him.”
“Well, Grayson will be making calls. He’ll run him down and find out where he is. Until then, you won’t be left unprotected,” Jace told her firmly, taking a step toward her. “Now, about that spanking I owe you.”
Merck chuckled as he saw the excitement flash in her gray eyes. Piper backed away from their lover, biting her lip as she eyed Jace warily.
“But I haven’t done anything to deserve a spanking. Give me a reason.”
“Because we’ll all enjoy it.”
Before she could move again Jace lunged with the speed of a rattlesnake, his fingers wrapping around her wrist. He pulled Piper close to his body then lifted her and carried her back over to the couch. She put up a fight, Merck would give her that. She wiggled and twisted, pushed, and pulled, but couldn’t break free as Jace opened the front of her jeans with one hand while holding her wrists together in the other. Once the zipper was down he pulled her across his lap.
“I’m warning you, Jace Hunter! Don’t you do it!” Piper shouted as she began twisting on his lap. He put a hand between her shoulder blades to hold her in place. Jace had her jeans and panties pulled down to her thighs now, so that her perfect little bottom was exposed to their lust-filled gazes. Merck swallowed hard as he stared at it. His hand went to press against the front of his jeans, trying to ease the pressure. “I’ll have your balls if you dare spank me!”
“There’s that potty mouth again,” Merck said, then went on to encourage the other man. “I think she should get two smacks for that.”
“Two? Sounds fair to me. That’ll be two smacks for the potty mouth, little girl.” Jace delivered the punishment, one sharp smack on each luscious mound. Piper howled, fighting once again to get away, legs kicking awkwardly in the jeans. “I think she should get two for telling us she would leave us.” The huge hand connected with soft flesh twice more. She protested, but the effect was ruined by the moan of pleasure.
“That’s if you’re dicks, you jerk.” Piper panted the reminder, now gripping Jace’s leg to steady herself across his lap.
With the silver-blonde curls hanging down he wasn’t able to see her face. It was a shame. He really would have loved to watch the different expressions crossing her face as she went from shocked and horrified to finding herself on a path to pleasure.
Merck laughed. “You should give her four for sneaking out in the middle of the night and putting herself in danger.”
“Thank you, precious. You’re very helpful. I’d almost forgotten that.”
Dark eyes roamed over him before returning to the sight of the glowing pink flesh. He wasn’t striking her as hard as Merck knew he could have. Having experienced a spanking or two from the man, he knew all about Jace’s abilities to deliver just the right amount of power with the punishing hand. His cock jerked and he wondered if he could have a turn. No, he decided at once, this was just for Piper. It would give her a chance to begin learning about all the erotic places they could go with their sex life. It would never be boring.
The moment Jace delivered the final smack to her ass, Piper came. She screamed, her body bowing, her fingers gripping Jace’s leg so tightly her knuckles turned white. When she fell limp across Jace’s powerful thighs Merck was there to lift her into his arms.
She made a face but didn’t open her eyes. “This is very undignified. Couldn’t you have pulled my pants up?”
“No. That would have hurt. Jace has some cream to rub into your skin. It’ll take some of the sting out.” As he carried her out of the living room he heard the light switch and knew Jace was closing up the house for the night. “Don’t forget to give the silly monkeys their treats,” he called to Jace.
There was a husky, masculine laugh which sent pleasure tingling down his spine. “I won’t.”
Once Merck had Piper in their bedroom he placed her on her feet and then began undressing her. Each inch of silky, golden flesh he exposed was a delight to his eyes. He dropped her shirt to the floor then reached behind her to unhook her bra. The scrap of fabric fell to the floor between them. Then he was kneeling so he could pull off her boots. She lifted one leg then the other, a hand on his shoulder, as he pulled them from her small feet.
“What if I do it wrong?” The voice was back to being the sweetest sound he had ever heard, not the scream which had threatened to rip the wallpaper off the living room walls. Merck looked up at her as his hands stroked the outside of her slender legs.
“Do what wrong?”
“Make love. It’s been a long time for me. You guys have been practicing.”
Merck shook his head and stood up. “Baby, you couldn’t do it wrong if you tried. How’s your butt?”
Piper grimaced but managed a smile. She reached up to put her hands on his chest. The tips of her fingers stroked it through the fabric of his shirt. “It was more fun than I thought it would be. You have too many clothes on, cowboy.” She began unbuttoning his shirt. “So, do I get to watch you guys make love tonight?”
