by Wendy Vella
“He’s fat, and getting fatter because this entire town thinks it’s okay to give him his favorite biscuits every day.”
Fin dropped his eyes, and Mr. Goldhirsh whistled.
“Where’s the Robbins sisters?” Piper looked around the room.
“They had a date,” Luke said.
“They have a better social calendar than me,” Piper said.
Dylan had the urge to punch something as two Pissants fell all over themselves to disagree with her.
He stayed there pretending to enjoy his chili cheese dog and beer, while in fact each mouthful was now choking him as he watched Piper laugh and flirt with the Pissants and they with her. He wasn’t the jealous type, absolutely refused to give a woman that much power over him. This was just a reaction to the mind-blowing sex they’d just shared.
“Okay, so I’m out,” he said when his anger started boiling. “Thanks for the game and the meal, but I need to head in to see Dad now.”
“Laters,” Joe said, standing to do the fist grab.
“Thanks, Ms. Trainer, for the food.”
“Anytime.”
He gave the room a wave then left, not looking directly at Piper, who was deep in conversation with a Pissant.
Heading out of the Trainer property Dylan exhaled. Okay, so he’d scratched that itch, he could move on now. He was a man known for control, he could damn well control this. Maybe now they’d had sex he wouldn’t want her anymore?
“Yes,” he said loudly, “that’s exactly what will happen.”
He drove slowly, thinking, replaying what had happened between him and Piper in that bathroom. It hit him then. He hadn’t used a condom.
“Fuck.” He’d have to tell her, or maybe she’d remember. Whatever, he would need to discuss the matter with her. The thought of Piper pregnant made him sweat.
What the hell was the matter with him? He never took risks like that. He needed to get his head together.
He saw his little sister up ahead, walking along the road. Pulling up beside Ava, he wound down the window and tried to act calm.
“Hey, you want a ride, it’s cold out there.”
“No thanks.”
She wore blue jeans and a thick rust sweater and knitted cap. She looked small and vulnerable, and the thoughts that had been lurking at the back of his head intensified. Something wasn’t right with Ava; he just didn’t know what.
She would go to your room and lie on your bed because she said it made her feel closer to you.
Pushing Piper to the back of his mind, and the lack of condom, which was a bad and potentially a life-changing error on his part, he focused on his little sister.
“Where are you going?”
“Around.”
Dylan cut the engine and got out. They’d spent some time together, but usually Charlie was with them.
“Excellent, around is my favorite place. I’ll walk with you.”
“I don’t need your company, Dylan. Really, I’m good, thanks.”
“Too bad.”
“Go away.” She dropped the niceness.
“Nope. I thought things were getting better between us.”
She stopped, hands fisted at her sides.
“What do you want from me?”
Her eyes were tired, and her face pale. She looked a little lost and a lot angry. The look broke his heart.
“I just want to talk, nothing more. Give me a few minutes of your time.”
“Look, I tried to be nice with you. Went for polite, but you keep pushing for more. I don’t want any relationship with you, so back off!”
He deserved everything she threw at him, but he wasn’t giving up. She deserved more from him, had, and he’d failed, but not this time.
“It’s going to take you a few minutes to get to where you’re going, so give me those.”
“Go away, Dylan.” Her words came out on a sigh.
Wrapping his fingers around her arm, he urged her to the car.
“Let me go!”
“It’s warm in here, and you’re freezing. At least let me run you wherever you want to go.”
“I’m just walking.”
“In this weather?”
“It’s fine, you’re just soft after too much city living.”
He opened the passenger side, and lowered her inside.
“Please just stay.” Dylan shut the door and ran round the hood. Getting into his seat, he fired up the engine.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Home.”
He cranked up the heating and drove. Ava looked out the window.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I want a milkshake.”
“You won’t find one down here.”
He pulled up outside the art gallery Maggie Winter owned.
“That looks ridiculously healthy,” Dylan said, eyeing the store next door.
“My favorite is the spinach, dandelion greens, and beet greens, with coconut water and berries.”
“Why?” Dylan shuddered.
“It’s healthy.”
“I’m healthy, but I don’t eat stuff like that.”
“Whatever, I’m leaving.”
“No. Okay, I’ll try one if you’ll stay and spend some time with me.”
“Why?”
The eyes she turned on him were almost lifeless, like she didn’t give a shit about anything. A trickle of unease traversed his spine. He’d seen eyes like that before, he just hadn’t thought about where until that moment.
“Because leaving you and not making contact was wrong, and coming here made me realize what I’ve missed out on, and part of that is having a relationship with you and Charlie.”
Her laugh held no humor. “A little too late for that, don’t you think.”
“No, it’s never too late. I’ll have to leave soon, but when I do, I want to know that we’re good and will keep in touch.”
She didn’t respond, just got out of the car and headed into the store. Dylan followed reluctantly. He thought about the chili cheese dog he’d left behind at the Trainers’, and the beer.
“It’s green,” he said, looking at the drink in his hand minutes later. “And she used leafy things that should go in salad or not in anything.”
Ava snuffled and then slurped hers. Dylan tried his, and was surprised. It didn’t taste as bad as expected, but there was still something earthy about it.
“I played ball for the Trainers’ team today.”
“Nice.”
She may not think she was softening to him, but she was.
“So, about Zander.”
“I’m not talking about him.”
“Okay then, how’s it living at home with Mom and Dad?”
“Okay, but I need to move out as soon as I get full-time work.”
“And you want to do that in a hairdresser’s is my guess?”
She shrugged.
They walked along the boardwalk, and Dylan stopped to lean on the railing. Before them was water, gray and choppy today.
“Zander lives there. I’m thinking of moving in with him.”
Dylan followed his sister’s finger to the group of cabins across the water. He and Joe had spent a bit of time there as teenagers.
“Mom’s gonna love that.”
“I’m old enough to not need her permission.”
“Just as you’re old enough to choose what career you want without her permission, so why haven’t you?”
Ava shrugged. “I don’t know; I guess there’s always that little thing inside you that seeks your parents’ approval.”
“Ah, that little thing.” Dylan took another mouthful and discovered something lumpy had traveled up his straw and into his mouth. Shuddering, he swallowed.
“She means well, I guess, but she’s so controlling. I wanted to leave again after I came back after law school, but I just haven’t found the courage yet.”
“You can come to New York with me if you want?”
“No, but th
anks. I like Ryker, I feel safe here, and I like the people. I’m not a big-city person like you and Charlie. This is home.”
“Ava, I really need you to know that when I left I was angry and hurting. I didn’t make contact because when I finally came to my senses I thought you and Charlie would be okay without me. I was wrong, and selfish for what I did, and I need you to know that and how sorry I am.”
“I hated you after I stopped missing you.” Her words were so quiet he had to lean in to hear them. “You were my hero, the one I went to when it got too much with Mom. Then suddenly you were gone. It was like you’d died.”
Dylan fought the urge to touch her. Wrap his arms around her, and hold her close. She wasn’t ready for that, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was either, but one day, he promised himself, he’d do that.
“I know you don’t trust me, and that we’re almost strangers, but I promise this time after I leave I’ll stay in contact, okay?”
“Okay.”
He knew it was a small step they’d just taken, but a step nonetheless. They fell silent, slurping their smoothies, and Dylan decided that before he left, if he did nothing else, it would be to see his little sister settled into a hairdressing apprenticeship. Even if it took several arguments with his mother to achieve that.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Piper hadn’t slept well again last night. Like the last five, she’d spent time thinking and dreaming about Dylan Howard and his hot body.
“Three weeks,” she muttered. “Why the hell is the man still here?”
The sex they’d had should not have made such an impression on her. Okay, so she didn’t have a great deal of experience, but Dylan had taken her places she’d never dreamed she could go, and had achieved that in a matter of minutes. It hadn’t been long, with sweetly whispered words; no, it had been anything but that. And it had been wonderful, amazing, and a million other words.
She’d told him it was a one-time thing, but she’d be lying to say she didn’t want more. The problem was, Piper didn’t think she could take more without getting emotionally invested in him. And that was a good enough reason to never go there again.
The man was turning out to be a royal pain in her butt. She could usually dismiss men as quickly as they came into her life, but not him. He was like something burrowing under her skin.
She’d woken early, gone for a ride today, then cleaned the house and was doing the afternoon shift now at the cafe in the hopes that she could forget about him. If he just left town it would make things easier. Then she wouldn’t have to see him.
Piper had avoided going anywhere Dylan might be after that one awkward conversation when he came into the café the day after they’d had sex. He’d told her they hadn’t used a condom, Piper had told him it would be okay, and if not she’d let him know. He’d apologized and muttered something about never being unprepared before, then left. Since she’d gone into hiding. The bar, the tea shop... she’d avoided them all. The man was turning her into a recluse.
Thankfully, he’d not come into the café, so perhaps he was feeling the same as her.
“I’ll start on the baking for tomorrow, Piper, seeing as we’re quiet.”
She ran Phil’s Place, and owned part of it with her cousins. She loved it here, loved the small empire the Trainers had built together, especially as they’d started with nothing. But lately... well, lately it had not been enough.
“Your family are all heading in.”
Sure enough, there they were. A smile found its way to her lips. She loved each and every crazy one of them.
“I thought you guys were leaving early for the thoroughbred sales in Bay Springs?”
“Jack had to take out a group, and I needed to do some stuff at the bar, so we’re heading there now. We need coffee and food to go,” Luke said around a yawn. He’d worked four late shifts at the fire department and now he had a few days off. “It’s a six-hour drive.”
“So you won’t be back till sometime late tomorrow?” Piper said as she began to make coffee. Bailey liked hers milky, Joe black, Jack white with two sugars, and Luke liked hot chocolate.
“When’s Aunt Jess back, Pip?”
“Three days.” Her mother was visiting friends.
“Buzz is staying with you down at the main house,” Joe told her.
“No worries, he’ll keep me company. Now you all go on and enjoy yourself.”
“Right then, family, let’s get moving.” Joe got to his feet. “You’re the only Trainer left in town, Pip, so don’t do anything to destroy our pristine reputation.”
“Ha ha.” She accepted the hug from Jack, kissed the others, and then there was silence once more.
The next few hours passed quickly, as customers came and went. At two Piper heard her cell buzzing.
“Hello.”
“Piper Trainer?”
“Yes.”
“This is Lieutenant Heath, Miss Trainer. I have some bad news for you I’m afraid.”
Her heart started thudding hard inside her chest as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“What news?”
“Your friend, Miss Prentice passed away this morning.”
“No!”
“I’m afraid it’s true, Miss Trainer.”
Piper heard the Lieutenant ask her to identify the body as there was no one else, and could she come to Rummer right away.”
“Yes, I’ll come now. Grace, where is she?”
“With Child Services.”
“I’m on my way.” Pip ran to get her things with the phone still stuck to her ear. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, please look after her until I arrive.”
“Problem?”
Jan looked at Piper as she dropped the phone in her handbag.
“I-I have to go, and I won’t be back until tomorrow, earliest. Can you run things for me, Jan, and call in whoever you need. Lock up, and take the day’s takings home with you. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”
“Of course.” Her waitress looked concerned. “Do you need me to call anyone for you?”
Her family were all out of Ryker. She would have to deal with this herself. The thought was a terrifying one, but she owed Joanie that much.
“I’ll call them, and thanks, Jan.”
Calling Maggs, Piper ran to the door. She told her friend what was happening, and asked her to take Buzz home for the night. Maggs was worried, but couldn’t accompany her as she had paintings arriving and her staff were on leave. Piper told her she’d stay in touch.
Hauling in a deep breath, she tried to think clearly. She’d walked in today, deciding the exercise would do her good. It would take time to get her car, but she should be heading out of town in under forty minutes.
Dear God, Joanie.
Piper fought back the agony of knowing her friend was gone. Her head felt weird suddenly, like it was spinning out of control, and she was starting to shake. Jerking open the door, she stepped out. Cold air was what she needed. She ran straight into a large, solid chest.
“Piper?”
Two hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her. Looking up, she encountered the ice-blue eyes of Dylan Howard.
“Sorry.” Piper tried to step back, but the hands simply held her in place.
“What’s the hurry?”
“I-I need to go. Bye.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just need to go, s-something’s come up.”
“You look upset.”
“No!” She hadn’t meant to shriek, but it had come out that way. “No... I’m fine.”
“Is Joe in the bar? Need me to walk you over there?”
“No, he’s out of town with the rest of my family.”
“Okay then, how can I help you?”
“Let go of my arms.”
“Normally I’d be the first to do that and avoid whatever is going on with you, but I’m trying to be a better person so my sisters start liking me, which in turn means I need to know what’s going on with y
ou.”
“Nice, but I don’t have time for you to use me as practice. So let me go, Dylan.”
The frown drew a line down his forehead, and he looked genuinely concerned. She’d kissed this man senseless days ago, and he’d kissed every part of her body, but right at that moment he was nothing to her. Her mind was someplace else, in Rummer.
Joanie, dear God!
“At least tell me what’s wrong?”
She was starting to shake, and her body felt cold from the inside out.
Piper needed to go, really needed to get in her car and head to Rummer. She couldn’t afford to delay that; Grace needed her as soon as she could get there.
“News... I had some news. I have to go to Rummer, and my c-car is at home. So let me go so I can run there and get it.”
“Bad news?”
“Yes, damn you! Bad news, the worst kind in fact! Jesus, will you just let me go!” Piper tried to breathe, tried to battle down the panic.
“Okay, simmer down, tiger, I just want to help. I need you to bend over for me now, Piper. Put that head down for a while, just until you calm down.”
The hand on the back of her neck forced her down.
“That’s it, sweetheart, take some breaths for me.”
Piper’s head started to clear. “Let me up now, Dylan.”
He did, his hand helping her upright.
“How about you tell me about that news you had now, Piper?”
“No, okay. Th-thanks for that, but I need you to back off or I—I’ll hurt you.” She couldn’t believe she’d actually said that.
“You could try.”
His face was a mixture of worry and amusement.
“This is important, Dylan, and I need to leave now.”
“Okay, sure, but you don’t look like you should be driving anywhere.”
Looking at his large chest encased in a thick gray wool, Piper thought it would be the perfect place to fall on right now and let go of the tears that were burning for release.
“I’m okay, I-I just need to get to Rummer fast.”
“Where are your cousins? Why can’t they drive you?”
“Out of town with Bailey like I said. Look, I-I need to go.” Piper tried to wrench free, but he wouldn’t let her.
“I’ll drive you.”
“What?” She shook her head. “I d-don’t need that. Just let me go.”
