Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4)(58)

Winnie smiled and nodded. “I believe that.”

Cam did too. The Mannings were a force to be reckoned with, and he wouldn’t bet against them. But . . . “You guys need to talk to Piper. Tell her, all of it. She’d find a way to help you guys make this happen.”

“You think so?” Winnie asked.

“I know so. I realize neither of you are here for advice, but I’m going to give it to you anyway. You want to prove to her that you can handle things? Then show her.” He turned to the door.

“Where are you going?” Winnie asked.

“To find your sister.”

“Wait!” She ran to the door and stepped in front of him. “You’re not going to tell her about Rowan, right? Because remember, it’s my story to tell. You promised.”

He wondered if Piper felt this same pinch in the chest as he did whenever dealing with her siblings, like a thousand elephants had just run over him. He’d felt it with Rowan too. “And you promised you’d come clean. With everything.”

“I am. I will!”

“You do realize the position you’re putting me in, right?”

“But I’m the mama of your niece,” she said, going right for the emotional gut punch without remorse. “And you promised Rowan you’d take care of me.”

“Niece?” Cam asked, now feeling a different pinch in his chest entirely. This one came with an unexpected rush of emotion. “You’re having a girl?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, dipping her head, rubbing her stomach. “But I’m kind of hoping. I want her to have Rowan’s eyes.” She looked up again. “But also I want her to have my hair, because . . .” She waved a hand at it. “Well, look at it.”

Cam blew out a breath. “You’ve got to promise me you’ll tell Piper everything before I have to go back to the DEA.”

Winnie nodded.

“I want the words, Winnie.”

“I will. I just need a little more time to show her who I am, who I want to be. Then I’ll tell her everything. I promise I will.”

Cam looked at Gavin. “Look after her.” He left, crossing the properties to knock on Piper’s door. No answer. He walked past the cottages but didn’t see her working on any of them. But her car was in the driveway, so she was here somewhere.

He was quite certain that after finding out about the pregnancy, wherever she was, she wanted to be alone. She’d just had a big shock, and she was very used to dealing with those on her own. From a very young age she’d been responsible for just about everything. She’d buttoned herself up and kept her head down to make it all happen. She’d learned to be organized and type A just so Gavin and Winnie would make it to school fed and clothed, and the bills got paid. Frankly, he was in awe of her and all she’d done, and also proud of her.

But he wanted to be there for her, however he could. If she’d let him.

And that was a big if . . .

When he realized she was probably walking around the lake and that it’d be easier and faster to find her with the boat, he went back for it. He putted toward the north shore and caught sight of her from several hundred yards out. She was sitting on the tire swing, writing in her journal.

He understood. He hadn’t grown up here, but the sparkling water, the rolling hills, the trees, the scent of all of it gave him such a sense of peace.

Piper glanced up at the sound of the engine, and even from this distance he could read her. She was not pleased with his arrival.

He turned off the motor and drifted in close, beaching the bow, tying off, and then leaping to shore. “For a woman who’s deathly afraid of the water, you sure like to be near it.”

She didn’t budge. His favorite female badass just slanted him a long look. “Just because I don’t want to be in it doesn’t mean I can’t love it,” she said. “The scent and sounds of it make me happy.”

“You’re a conundrum.”

That got him a small smile. “So I’ve been told, and not as nicely.”

“I talked to your siblings.”

“Yeah? Did they raise your blood pressure with just their presence?”

He smiled, but it faded quickly.

She stared at him. “She told you?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she repeated the question, but without the question part. “She told you, just like that.” She shook her head. “Am I hard to talk to? Is that it?”

“No.”

She sighed. “You’re just saying that because I slept with you.”

“Technically, there wasn’t much sleeping involved.”

She tipped her head back to look up at the sky. “I’m not doing a good job at life-ing right now.”

“I disagree. You amaze me, Piper, every day.”

“So why do both my siblings go to you with their problems instead of me?” She looked confused and hurt.

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone with a little distance, who can look at things more rationally, with a different perspective.”

“Why are you doing this, Cam?”

“Doing what?”

“Getting close to them.”

“I like them,” he said.

“And me. Why are you getting close to me?”