Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4)(30)

“Started on what?” Piper asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“What kind of a surprise?”

“A surprise! Jeez!”

“The last time you surprised me was when we ran into each other in the middle of the night. I was going to the bathroom, you were sneaking out to a party.”

“I was fifteen!” Winnie tossed up her hands. “Give me some credit.”

Piper watched her stalk off, feeling the heat of humiliation on her cheeks as Cam and Emmitt moved to join her. “I can’t seem to engage with her without a fight.”

“The only thing that ever worked on Rowan was not reacting,” Cam said.

“Advice you didn’t learn from your mom,” Emmitt said dryly. “Her favorite thing was reacting. Usually overreacting.”

“True,” Cam admitted. “I learned in the Coast Guard. Sometimes the guys in my unit act like a bunch of middle-school boys.”

“Don’t you mean girls?” his dad asked.

“Nope. Middle-school girls are smarter than middle-school boys. And that doesn’t change with age, by the way.”

Which gave Piper her first laugh of the day.





Chapter 9


Choose your own adventure!

Cam stood by while Piper checked his dad’s vitals, noting that his dad looked good.

Piper looked exhausted.

“She takes better care of everyone around her than she does of herself,” Emmitt said.

Yeah, Cam was starting to get that. He waited until his dad had hugged Piper and walked off before turning to Piper.

Who’d also started to walk off, toward her house.

“Hey,” he said, gently catching her hand, pulling her back around to face him. He bent his knees a little to look into her face. “You okay?”

“Of course.”

Of course. He shook his head. “You’re the only person I know who could work the long shifts you do day after day, and then come home to put in some time fixing up your place, and say of course you’re okay.”

“But I am.”

He ran a finger along her temple, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, not missing the little shiver his touch gave her. “You hungry?”

“No.”

“You tired?”

“No.”

“Okay then,” he said, knowing she was lying on both counts. “Do you trust me?”

She slid him a look. “I mean . . . maybe situationally.”

He laughed at that. “Blunt. I like it.”

“Most people don’t.”

“I’m not most people.”

She stared up at him. “You might be right.”

“You think you can turn off your mistrust enough to come with me somewhere? You won’t have to think or do anything other than enjoy.”

“Is it a one-way trip to a deserted island? Because that’s on my list.”

He smiled. “I thought Alaska was on your list.”

“I’ve decided to become more adaptable.”

He studied her. “Would you actually get on a plane with me right now?”

“No.”

“Would you get into my truck if I promised you less than a thirty-minute drive, and then an amazing time?”

She arched a brow. “You think you’re an amazing time?”

He laughed. “It’s possible I have my moments. You’ll have to come with me and decide for yourself.”

She snorted, but some of her exhaustion seemed to lift away as she nodded. Smiling, he sent a quick text, then took her hand and started for the truck he’d rented while in Wildstone. On the way to the destination he had in mind, he stopped and got Mexican takeout, which, in spite of claiming not to be hungry, Piper inhaled.

“Oh my God,” she moaned around her grilled-chicken-and-cheese burrito. “Amazing.”

“I like that you’re easy to please. It bodes well for me.”

She laughed, as he’d intended. “You can’t make me buy that you’re not cocky as hell,” she said.

“With you? It’s actually the opposite.”

She bit her lower lip. “For the record, ditto. But you always seem so sure and confident.”

He shrugged. “You know how it is out there on the job. You’ve got a decision to make, sometimes many decisions all at the same time, and often with less than a second in which to make them. You’ve got to think fast, and own your actions. Sometimes, I guess that ability wrongly comes off as cocky.”

She took another bite, chewing while she studied him thoughtfully. “To be fair, you’re the only one of the two of us putting your life on the line every single second of the day you’re on the job.”

“That’s not true. As a first responder, you put your neck out there, just like I do.” He glanced over at her, taking in the fading bruise along her jaw.

When their gazes met, hers was warmer now, no wariness to be found, and he felt like he’d won the damn lottery.

“Thanks,” she said quietly. “So where’s home base for you? Near your mom back East?”

“Yes, but she’s gone now.”

Her eyes flew to his, stricken.

“About ten years ago,” he said. “Accidental overdose.” At least that had been the official verdict, but he knew the “accidental” part was up for debate. She’d not been able to manage her mental illness, and she’d suffered so much that he wasn’t sure she hadn’t just given up.