by Rayne, Piper
All these years of JP being a little asshole, I never once thought of what it was like for him after his sister passed away. And that’s fucking sad of me, since I know grief. I know how the loss of a family member can change your life. I’ve failed this kid.
“I know, but I told you to stand up to her. To fight her on it,” Elijah says.
“I can’t. You have no idea what it’s like. I can’t destroy her like that. If I leave, it will crush her.” He takes a deep breath and his jaw clenches.
“Why fuck with my life?” Elijah asks.
“Because I’m pissed. For the first time in twelve years, I won’t see you every day. You’re going to move on, and I’m stuck here.”
“But you’re ruining our last months together. It was inevitable, us parting.”
JP nods in my direction. “Look at Coach Bailey and Coach Jack.”
“Actually, I went to school in California and Jack stuck around here after high school. But he came down to see me, and I saw him when I was home on holidays. If it wasn’t for my parents dying, I probably would’ve never come back here.”
JP nods, seeming disappointed by my answer.
“You know what?” I dig out my wallet and drop a twenty on the picnic bench. “You two are going to the cages and dinner on me.” I drop another twenty.
They look at one another, assessing if the other wants to. I roll my eyes. They’re acting like teenage of girls.
Don’t go getting all offended at that. It’s common knowledge that girls hold grudges, guys don’t. We air our shit, then get over it.
They continue to sit there silently.
“Don’t make me tell you that you don’t have a choice.”
They stand, and each of them shrug.
“Thanks, Coach.” Elijah fist-bumps me, and I hold my fist out to JP.
“Thanks,” he mumbles and knocks his fist to mine.
I head to my truck, watching the boys follow one another out of the parking lot in their vehicles. Holly walks out as I’m about to pull out, so I stop and roll down the window.
“Want to start our secret rendezvous early?” I ask.
She stops at the passenger side of the Jeep. “I wish. I have to take care of something first.” Her smile is dim and doesn’t meet her eyes.
“Okay then, I’ll see you in a bit.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
She says all the right things, but something’s amiss. As I wait for her to climb into her small SUV and start it, my stomach churns. My mind tells me it’s none of my business though. Because if it was, that would imply there’s something more between us, and we both know that won’t end well.
Twenty
Holly
I sip my iced coffee, waiting in the last row of the parking lot, tucked between two work trucks.
“Will you please turn off your car and walk in there?” Dana says through the Bluetooth speaker in my SUV.
“No. I’m not ready.”
“Three months isn’t a long time.” I hear sheets rustling.
“Were you sleeping?” I ask.
“Not really. There was a five-car pile-up a while ago, and the adrenaline is still rushing through me.” Her voice lowers. “I’m warning you, I’m going to fly up there and drag you kicking and screaming into that man’s office if you don’t make yourself known soon.”
My eyes focus on the company sign again. He had time to start a company, but never to call me or send me a card or a gift. Not even write me a letter. He had time to start a family.
“I will. I promise.”
“Uh-huh.”
A lump lodges in my throat as my father steps out of the building with a woman. They say their goodbyes, her venturing in the opposite direction of him. I didn’t even know if he was here because that car with the stick figures on the back window isn’t in the parking lot.
“Distract me and tell me more about Jeep man.”
“Later. He just left the building.”
“Good. Now follow my directions. Open the driver’s side door, step out, walk over to him, and introduce yourself to him as his daughter.”
“Dana.” I sigh.
“Is he driving the family mobile again?” Her voice holds more than a note of distain.
“No, a sports car.”
“What kind of Alaskan drives a sports car?” Dana asks.
“I guess him. Maybe the minivan was borrowed?”
Dana blows out a breath.
A man who drives a sports car—which makes no sense in Alaska—this is who I expected my dad to be.
He starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. I wait for the woman’s car to follow him out before I do the same, remaining a little behind him so he doesn’t get suspicious.
“We’re on the move.”
“Good times,” Dana deadpans.
“Do you want me to let you go?” I ask.
She yawns. “No. Just keep me up and tell me about Jeep-boy Bailey.”
His name stirs the butterflies in my stomach.
“He’s coming over tonight.” I wonder if I should pick up condoms since I’m already far away from Buzz Wheel’s eyes and ears.
“So, you made a plan for him to come over?” She asks this as though it’s a bad thing.
“Yes.”
She laughs. “Only you, Holly.”
“What?” I turn right, following my father’s car, the other woman’s car still between us.
“The fact that you’re having a fling but scheduling it. It’s just so you, that’s all.”
“It’s spontaneous, okay?”
“No, spontaneous was the Jeep. This is not.”
“Hey, he came into my office this afternoon and kissed me.”
“And?”
“And we got interrupted.”
“Before or after you told him to stop?” She chuckles.
My dad’s car slows to a stop at the red light, and the woman’s car between us heads into the turn lane. The two of them wave goodbye through their windows, and suddenly there isn’t the buffer between us. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel.
“I can’t fuck him in my office. It’s all glass.”
“Hey, relax. I’m just joking with you. It’s you, so it fits, and that’s exactly why I’ll have an extra tub of ice cream for you when you return.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
There’s a knock on Dana’s end.
“It means I’ll have to piece you back together when you get back.”
Her words resonate, but she’s wrong. It won’t be because of Austin. It’ll be because of my dad.
“Yeah?” she calls. “Hold up, Hol.” I hear someone come into the room. “Yeah, give me five. I’m on the phone.”
The door shuts.
“Do you have to go?”
“Nah, it was just Caiden looking for a quickie between patients. He’ll come back after he’s done giving his patient a rectal exam.”
“Eww!” The light changes and I follow him, keeping a safe distance behind him.
“It’s not like he goes in there bareback or something. We wear gloves and—”
“You can just stop there.”
“Fine. But see, that’s how a fling should work. I didn’t tell him to meet me in the break room on Friday at nine.”
“Well, you have the luxury of sneaking off at work.”
My dad turns down a residential street and pulls up to a huge brick house. He parks in the driveway, exits, and rings the doorbell.
Huh.
“Maybe, but after my orgasm, I don’t think ‘when can we do it again?’ I just go back to work, and when the feeling washes over me again, I seek him out. I have a feeling that’s not the case with you and Austin.”
“Enough about all that. My father just arrived at a house and rang the bell. I’m driving by, trying not to be suspicious, but the mailbox says Edison. His last name.”
Is this a family house? An aunt or uncle I don’t know about? What about
grandparents? I never had any since my mom’s parents died when she was young.
“Big house?” Dana asks.
“Yeah.”
“Mansion size?”
I shrug. “It’s definitely big, but not a mansion.”
I turn around in a court and park on the other side of the street, one house down, before turning off my car.
A woman opens the door. She has dark hair and doesn’t look much older than me.
“The bastard has another daughter my age.”
“Now this is getting juicy. What if he’s one of those people who has, like, five kids by different women?”
He wraps his arm around the woman’s back and kisses her.
“Okay, never mind, it’s not his daughter. I think it’s a girlfriend or something.”
“Why?”
“Because he just squeezed her ass and kissed her.”
“Gotcha.”
A young girl, maybe six or seven, comes to stand beside the woman, wearing a puffy princess-style dress and carrying a little girl’s purse. He bends down and hugs the little girl.
Two boys barrel out the door and jump on his back. The dark-haired woman who answered the door pries them off of him, laughing the whole time.
After hugging the two boys and kissing the woman one last time, my father walks the little girl, hand in hand, away from the house.
My stomach knots. “Oh my god.”
“What?” Dana asks.
“It’s his family. He has a family.”
“I thought we already established this.”
“I thought maybe since he was driving a sports car and he rang the doorbell that I was wrong, but they’re here. They’re real.”
He opens the back door of his sports car and ushers his daughter in. I guess he was pretending to pick her up like a daddy/daughter date.
She hops in, a huge smile on her face, and he shuts the door.
“So, say something. Go now so you don’t regret it.”
“They’re already leaving,” I say.
“Do not follow them. Go somewhere else. Call Austin or that Francie girl.”
I start my car.
She must hear the ignition because she blows out a breath. “Come on, don’t do this to yourself.”
“I have to see. I’ll call you back, okay? Have fun with Caiden.”
I click End Call as she’s says my name in desperation. I appreciate her trying to keep me from being hurt, but it’s too late. The minute I saw the perfect family he’s made here, my heart broke.
A text comes through. I assume it’s from Dana, but I don’t bother looking since I’m driving.
I follow them to a small downtown area, much like Lake Starlight’s but a tad bigger. My father parks along the side of the street, and I park four spots over with the hope he hasn’t figured out that I’m following him. The father-daughter duo walk into a diner similar to Lard Have Mercy, and they slide into a booth by the window.
It dawns on me for the first time that I have half-brothers and a half-sister. The little girl and I look nothing alike—her with her mother’s features of dark hair and dark eyes.
He’s silly with her, making faces and acting goofy. They color or play something on the paper placemats with crayons. They share a sundae, but he only takes one spoonful, leaving the rest to her. At one point he leans over the table and kisses her cheek. His love and affection for her is obvious, and it tightens the noose around my heart.
I start my car, having seen enough.
Twenty-One
Austin
“What are you doing?” Rome asks as I rifle through his nightstand.
“I thought you were with Denver and Liam?” I look over my shoulder for a second then get back to what I’m doing.
“I was, but you said you wanted me home with the girls.” He plops down on his bed. “Which seems ridiculous, because they’re seventeen and about to graduate.”
“Well, Phoenix is testing the limits these days and Sedona and Jamison are getting closer, so it’s a precaution. You’ve been gone for years. You should appreciate a little family time.”
He rolls to his side and props up his head with his hand. “Why are you in my drawers?”
“When you were gone, I thought I left something in here.”
His forehead crinkles, but he doesn’t call me out on my shit. Since I’m coming up empty, I’ll have to point-blank ask him anyway.
“So, you’re really leaving, huh?” he asks.
“Yes.” I open the bottom drawer and move a bunch of papers out of the way. Still nothing.
“I’m kind of surprised.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just figured once you came back all those years ago that you’d left that life.”
I blow a breath, close the drawer, and flop down into his desk chair. “Of course, you did. You were a self-centered fourteen-year-old.”
He shrugs. “It’s just, is it really something you still want to do? I thought you were happy in Lake Starlight.”
“It’s not that I’m not happy. I just want more.”
He nods as though he understands. Maybe he does, but Rome didn’t sacrifice his dream like I did. “I can understand that. We’ll miss you, but the family isn’t going to say anything to try to stop you. We owe you and Savannah enough.” He sits up and gestures to the corner of the room. “Condoms are in my suitcase, front pocket.”
I chuckle. Little asshole knew the whole time.
“So, you’re heading to the principal’s office, huh?”
I get up off the chair and walk over to the suitcase that lays open in the corner of the room. “Don’t say anything, okay? It’s nothing serious, and I don’t want to have to deal with everyone’s questions when it’ll be over soon anyway.”
He shakes his head. “Your secret is safe with me, but you know you’re playing with fire, right? I just want to make sure you can see how this will go terribly wrong.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Fucking hell. Why does everyone think they can predict the future?”
He tilts his head and gives me a duh look. “Because it’s you, and I’m pretty sure she’s not like the girls I pick up.”
“What’re you talking about?”
He lies back down on his bed, lacing his hands behind his head. “The girls I pick up aren’t the serious types. They’re not looking for a future husband. I’m selective with the people I sleep with.”
“Really?” I raise a brow. With the number of women he’s slept with, I find that hard to believe.
He holds up his hand. “Not to mention half the time I’m Denver Bailey.” He laughs. “Best thing about being a twin.”
I toss a condom from his box onto his chest. “Do me a favor and make sure you’re using one of these, every single time.”
He sits up, sliding the condom around in his fingers. “Don’t worry, you gave a good birds-and-bees lecture back in the day.” He laughs again, and I leave his room, flipping him off.
I head to the garage to grab my bike. When I hop on, something feels off, so I look down and see both tires are out of air.
“I just rode it into town two days ago,” I grumble, climbing off and searching for the air pump. I scour the shelves and the locker with all the athletic equipment, then I search the basketball bin. Nowhere to be found.
I head back into the house. “Has anyone seen the air pump?”
Rome is the only who answers. “No.”
I let the door shut behind me as I go for option two—my Jeep. Screw it, I’ll park on Main Street, and if anyone asks I’ll make Jack be my alibi.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, I turn the ignition, but it doesn’t turn over. What the hell?
I get out and open the hood. Everything looks fine, but it’s dark outside, so who knows? I go back to the garage to grab a flashlight to have a better look.
I search everywhere, but it’s not where it’s supposed to be. Can no one put anything back where it belongs in t
his house?
I swear Phoenix probably did this herself out of spite. I’ll deal with her later.
Entering the house again, I scream, “Anyone have a flashlight?”
“No,” Rome is the one who answers—again.
The door slams behind me, and I push a hand through my hair. “Fuck it. I’ll run.”
I grab my headphones from my truck, hook them up to my phone, and stretch a little before heading off. The problem will be coming home tonight, but I’ll figure that out after Holly’s out of my system.
* * *
I’m panting on the back porch, waiting for Holly to answer since the door is locked.
She opens the door, and my gaze flows down her body. She’s stripped of makeup. Her hair is up in the messiest bun I’ve ever seen, and I’ve practically drowned in estrogen my entire life with all my sisters. Her sweatpants have paint stains on them. And yes, I notice the way her nipples poke through her oversized T-shirt.
“What are you doing?”’ she asks, not moving from the door.
“We had a date.”
She stays put. “I texted you to reschedule.”
“No, you didn’t.” I pull my phone from my sweatshirt pocket, and sure enough, there’s a text from her ten minutes ago. “Sorry, I had to run. There was no air in my tires and my Jeep wouldn’t start.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Are you gonna let me in?” My hands are on my hips and I’m doing my best not to bend over to breathe.
“It’s really not a good night. It’s just… something personal.”
“Can I grab a water and call Jack to get me? There’s no way I can run back right now.”
She’s apprehensive for a moment but steps aside.
I’m surprised that worked. I walk in with no plans of calling Jack. Holly did me a huge solid dealing with JP and his mom. She looks as though she needs a friend, and since she doesn’t have any locally, I’ll step up.
“Thanks.” I walk into the kitchen and point at the cupboard with the cups. “Mind?”
“Help yourself.”
