“Were you just— Never mind.”
I’d been caught staring at her ass, but neither one of us wanted to admit it. Instead, I handed her the yogurts for the fridge.
“For Caleb,” I said, stating the obvious.
“Ahh, yes, he will probably love these.” Her cheeks pinked as she turned back around. I tried everything not to check out her ass, focusing on her linoleum floor instead.
We were quiet from that point on, neither of us saying much as we finished putting the groceries away. I did everything I could to get the blood flowing away from my groin area, but it was no use. I was hard as a rock and not going down anytime soon.
After a few minutes of silence, Piper said, “So, umm, what did Marcy say when she realized you were picking things up for me?”
I didn’t want Piper to worry about what this might mean for her reputation around town. People in Liberty could talk, and she probably didn’t want to be known for taking handouts. So I focused on the truth, instead.
“She seemed to think you and I were together.” I shrugged. “Said she’d keep her hands off your man, whatever that means.”
Piper surprised me by laughing, and I joined in too.
“I mean, how crazy is it that people think we’re together, right? We’ve been like family for as long as I can remember.”
As soon as I said it, however, Piper stopped laughing. She cleared her throat and something in her eyes made me think she was hurt. “Excuse me, I think I should check on Caleb,” she said, pushing past me toward the door.
Before she could leave the kitchen, I grabbed her elbow. She looked up at me with her serious grey eyes, and instantly, I was lost in them. I didn’t want to see an ounce of pain in her eyes ever again.
“Grant, I—”
Before she could finish her sentence, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. It had been so long since I’d kissed her, and ever since, I’d wanted to taste her lips again. They were as sweet as I remembered.
Piper opened her mouth to me, inviting me in and kissing me back. I let go of her elbow to wrap both arms around her, and I lifted her off the floor onto the nearby countertop.
My hands had yearned to explore her body for as long as I could remember, and I took every opportunity to do so. I slipped them up inside her tank top, cupping her bare breasts as we kissed. Her nipples were hard and standing at attention as my fingers slid across them. She whimpered, her legs tightening around me as I teased them.
I needed to do more than feel them. I pulled away from the kiss, lowering my mouth to her pink nipples. While staring up at her, I took one into my mouth, rolling my tongue over and around it. Piper bit her lip, her eyes rolling back into her head. She groaned softly, just a hint of the pleasure she was feeling.
I wanted to give her even more. I wanted to taste more of her.
I ripped off her yoga pants, pulling them down to her knees. I continued sucking her nipple, using my free hand to tease the sweet flesh between her thighs. She was so fucking wet and warm, my cock throbbed at the thought of being sheathed inside of her.
I parted her lips with my fingers, searching for her clit. I circled it, just like I was doing to her nipple, and stared up into her gorgeous eyes. She threw her head back and whimpered, “Yes, Grant, please—”
I teased her opening, sliding my hand up and down her slit. She shuddered against me, her body reacting to my every touch.
Her pussy was so tight, and she spasmed around my fingers as I slipped them inside her. Piper cried out, her nails digging in my back as I fucked her with my hand. I raised up, pressing my lips to hers to silence her moans. With my thumb on her clit and three of my large fingers sliding in and out of her wetness, Piper submitted to me - giving herself over to the pleasure.
Her body tensed against mine, and she bit my lip. She froze, except for the trembling of her thighs. Her lips pulled away from mine, and her head fell forward. She was softly crying out, “Yes, oh God, yes—”
I could tell by the contractions around my fingers that she was cumming, and from the look on her face, she was cumming hard.
I watched her face twist and turn as she rode the waves of pleasure, trying her hardest not to make a noise but failing, and I nearly exploded in my jeans. She was so fucking gorgeous, and knowing I was making her feel this good nearly pushed me to the limit.
I needed to be inside her, fast.
Piper went for my jeans, fumbling with the zipper with shaky hands. I began to help her when we both heard a noise down the hall.
A door had opened and shut.
With wide eyes, Piper hopped down from the counter and pulled her yoga pants up. I quickly put my hands behind my back, hiding any wetness that might be lingering on them. By the time Caleb walked through the kitchen door, we were both fully clothed and presentable, no sign of anything amiss.
He wiped at his little eyes and blinked up at the two of us, looking confused. His lower lip trembled. “I had a bad dream.”
“Oh sweetie,” Piper said, rushing to his side. Her legs seemed to be a little weaker than usual, still a little shaky, but she made it to his side and dropped to her knees, wrapping him in a big hug.
It was so damned sweet and cleared my head in an instant. What in God’s name was I doing? I mentally scolded myself for everything - for coming on to Piper, for fooling around in the kitchen with a kid in the house, even if he had been asleep in a room with a closed door. I hadn’t been thinking clearly, and I’d fucked up.
Piper excused herself to take care of Caleb, and that was my moment.
“I should go,” I muttered, heading toward the front door as Piper walked down the hallway with Caleb.
She looked at me over her shoulder, and I could see the pleading in her eyes. She wanted me to stay. Hell, I wanted to stay. But leaving was the right thing to do. Finally, she nodded.
“See you tomorrow, Grant. Thanks for everything.”
She offered a smile, and it made me second-guess my choice to leave. But I looked at the little boy again, and I knew I couldn’t give either of them what they needed right now. Piper needed to take care of Caleb, and I couldn’t get in the way of that.
“See you tomorrow.” I stepped out into the cool, night air and closed my eyes, trying to regain my composure. There was a crispness in the air that made me think the first snowstorm of the season would be coming earlier than expected.
I had a lot to do to prepare for it.
Piper had a lot going on in her life.
Not the time to start a relationship, for either of us.
I hurried to my truck without looking back.
Chapter 8
Piper
What had I been thinking?
I scolded myself all night and into the next morning. Grant’s swift exit made it clear to me that he was as uncomfortable with what had happened as I was. His likely came from his unwillingness to see me as anything but the best friend of his little sister. Mine came from knowing he’d end up breaking my heart.
Grant wasn’t interested in settling down. He’d made that clear to everyone. He was exactly the type of man I could fall head over heels for, but he wasn’t available. I had to keep reminding myself of that – he was single, but he was not available. Mentally and emotionally, he wasn’t in a place to give his heart to anyone.
My entire morning had been a blur. I woke up, got Caleb ready, and headed into work like normal, but it felt like a dream. Like I wasn’t fully present. Thankfully, Tabby was coming in that day, so I had extra hands. And once I was at the daycare and surrounded by kids, I managed to push thoughts of Grant from my head and focus on what was important.
Until Grant walked in the door.
I was in the middle of a group activity, handing out crayons and sheets of paper for them to work on a project. I dropped the box of crayons I was holding when Grant stepped through the door, the crayons flying everywhere. I bent to pick them up off the floor and so I could hide my flushed cheeks, praying he might go t
o work on whatever he needed to work on without stopping to talk to me. But he bent down and helped me pick up the crayons.
Before I could ask him what he was doing there, he whispered to me, “I ran into Teddy at the cafe.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Did he have any news?”
All the crayons were in the box now, but we stayed low, talking in hushed voices.
“He wouldn’t tell me anything, but he said he’d give you a call later.”
My heart raced, not just from the news that Teddy might know something about Andy, but from being this close with Grant again. I finally managed to lift my eyes to meet his. He looked away, and so did I.
It was no place to talk about what had happened between us, so I dropped it. I stood up and cleared my throat. “Thanks for stopping by, but you should probably get going now.”
It sounded a bit cold, even to me, but I needed some space. There was too much going on, and we were moving at dangerous speeds, or we had been the night before.
My heart couldn’t take losing what I did have with Grant. But if we played with fire, I was bound to get burned, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever look at him the same again if that happened.
Grant’s face fell, but he didn’t disagree with me. In fact, he nodded and turned for the door. He was stopped when Caleb let out a soft cry. I recognized it instantly and turned to find the little boy. Grant seemed to do the same, rushing to Caleb’s side.
“What’s wrong, Caleb?” I asked, checking him over to make sure he hadn’t been hurt.
“Jacob said I have a disa… a dis—” He couldn’t get the words out, probably didn’t even know what they meant. But he didn’t have to say the word for me to understand the situation.
“Jacob, where did you hear that word?”
Jacob wouldn’t look me in the eyes and shrugged. Not that it mattered; the term disability didn’t have to be a negative thing, and I decided it was high-time I turned this into a teaching moment for both little boys. But Grant beat me to it.
He raised his pant leg and showed off his prosthetic. “What’s wrong with being disabled?”
Jacob looked at Grant with large eyes. “My daddy said we should feel sorry for disabled people.”
At six years old, he was older than Caleb, able to elaborate on his thoughts a bit more. It started to make sense now. And for once, I didn’t think Jacob meant any harm - he just didn’t know better. He was a child.
Grant continued, “Do you feel sorry for me? Do you think I can’t keep up with folks like your daddy?”
Jacob shrugged again. “No, sir.”
Grant dropped his pant leg. “That’s right. Because there’s nothing I can’t do, and there’s nothing Caleb can’t do either. He might have some problems with his feet for now, but like me, there’s ways we can work around it. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to keep up with him, I bet.”
Caleb was no longer crying. He smiled brightly at Grant, and I had to admit, I was smiling too. But there was still a lingering thought in the back of my head. As soon as I could, I pulled Grant away from the two boys.
“Thank you for that, but I fear it’s not completely true.” I hated to admit it out loud because it pained me to say it. “I don’t know if I can get Caleb what he needs. If Andy doesn’t do it, or—”
“We’ll get him what he needs.” Grant placed his strong hands on my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye this time.
My heart fluttered in my chest. God, he was so fucking hot, and compassionate too. I prayed he was right about helping Caleb, and from the defiant look in his eyes, I actually believed him.
He dropped his hands from my shoulders and went back to not looking at me fully. “I better get going. I have some work to do at the hotel. I just wanted to let you know Teddy will be contacting you soon.”
“Thanks, Grant.”
I watched his ass as he left the building. Such a tight, firm ass, and what I wouldn’t give to grab onto it while he was— I stopped my thought right there, my cheeks burning red again.
Now isn’t the time for such thoughts, Piper. Behave yourself.
But it was so hard when he looked that good, and after he went outside of his comfort zone to make Caleb feel better. I could see myself falling madly in love with him. Which was even more reason to behave.
Ooo000ooo
Teddy called and asked when would be a good time to come by and talk about the case. Not knowing what he might say, I asked him to come over that evening after Caleb was in bed.
After tucking Caleb in for the night, I paced my small living room, wringing my hands. I had no idea what I’d find out, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to happen. Obviously, I wanted Andy to be found safe, but the idea of Caleb going back to live with his absentee father also filled me with dread.
When the knock came, I rushed to the door, my hands shaking as I let Teddy inside. The look on his face told me that this was not going to be a happy meeting.
“Come inside, have a seat,” I said, ushering the sheriff inside.
He thanked me and sat down in the chair, so I took the couch.
“I’m sorry that you have to find out like this, but I don’t know any other way,” Teddy said, speaking slowly. “We found Andy’s body, and he’s been positively identified.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. I let out a long breath, then felt like I couldn’t take in any more air. I leaned back against the couch, trying to relax and to stop the room from spinning.
Teddy continued. “It appears that he drowned, possibly in a boating accident. Parts of his boat were also found on shore nearby. It appears to have been a horrible accident.”
“Andy was always so good on the water,” I said, wiping at my eyes. “I don’t understand.”
Teddy nodded. “Yes, but it appears he’d been drinking. We found a lot of beer bottles in a cooler that had floated down stream and appears to have belonged to him.”
Had he been drunk and driving a boat down the river? It made sense. Andy drank beer, but what man in Liberty didn’t? As far as I knew, he’d always been safe and never overdid it, but it had been a long time since we’d spent any real time together. Maybe he’d developed a drinking problem over the years, or perhaps he didn’t realize how drunk he actually was.
I had no words for Teddy. I couldn’t even think straight. My mind was spinning - what would I tell Caleb? He was now, officially, an orphan. It didn’t seem fair. Andy was so young, only a couple years older than me. Sure, he was a dick sometimes, but I would never wish ill on him.
Teddy apologized, as many did when giving such news. He’d known Andy too, but like many in Liberty, unless you were in his elite little crowd, you didn’t really know the guy. Teddy was one of us, not one of Andy’s rich friends.
I stood up and walked Teddy to the door. He held his hand out.
“Be sure to call me if you need anything, anything at all,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone better suited for raising that boy, and if Social Services comes calling, I’ll be sure to tell them that.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Teddy. I appreciate it.”
Not like there was any other family for Caleb. Sure, he could go into foster care, but I wanted to believe Ashley had meant it when she’d said they tried to keep families together.
I held it together until I closed the door. Once I was alone, I slid down to the floor and placed my head in my hands. The tears started falling, and I couldn’t make them stop. I was exhausted, and now Caleb would have to find out that his father was gone.
How did you explain death to a three-year-old? In all my years at school, we’d talked about things like this, but it always seemed like something that happened to others, not to someone I knew.
I wasn’t sure I remembered any of it, at least not in the moment. Then again, I couldn’t even think straight. My thoughts were all over the place, random panic attacks hitting me all at once from all different directions, and I could hardly breathe from the crying.
I couldn’t be alone.
I reached for my phone, my hands shaking as I tried to figure out who to call. I needed to talk to someone. I considered calling Grant but decided against it. I couldn’t open myself up to him.
I called Leah instead.
Chapter 9
Grant
I knew something was wrong the moment I saw Leah. She looked exhausted, her eyes sunken in and struggling to stay open. She was leaning against the counter, resting her face in her hands, when I walked into the hotel lobby.
“You okay, sis? Matilda keep you up or something?”
She seemed surprised to hear my voice, as if she hadn’t been fully awake. “Uh, no, it wasn’t Matilda. It was Piper.”
My ears perked up. “Everything okay with her?”
“No, not really,” Leah sighed. “They found Andy’s body in the river.”
“Dammit,” I muttered. I didn’t care much for the guy, but I hadn’t wanted anything to happen to him. “I thought that might be the case when I ran into Teddy yesterday, but I hoped I was wrong.”
“Yeah, Piper’s pretty shaken up about it, not sure how to break the news to Caleb.”
“I bet.” I’d been planning to stop by the daycare anyway to see how they were doing and to tell Piper about what I’d figured out regarding Caleb’s need to see a specialist. But now I had no idea what to say. I wasn’t good in situations like this.
“I was going to take her out to lunch, but Phillip called in sick today and there’s no one to work the front desk,” she said with a sigh. “Figures, huh? I can’t even run over and check on her, just in case someone arrives or wants to check out early.”
I knew nothing about working at the hotel. I left all that to Leah because she was a people person - not me. I’d have run the place into the ground if left to my own devices.
“I’ll check on her.”
Leah smiled, as if she knew I’d offer. Sometimes it felt like she was pushing us together. If she knew how hard I was trying not to get close to her, for Piper’s own safety.
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