by R B Hilliard
Gage nodded his head. “Same here.”
“Do you think this is where they are right now?” Reyn asked.
“Not sure,” Bobby said, “but we’ll know soon.”
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Gage said. I grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed.
“Selina is MIA as well,” Garrett told us.
Crap! All of the sudden this was becoming very real.
“Selina has phoned me twice in the past two weeks,” Gage said to a room that went immediately silent.
“What?” I asked as I tried to process information that Gage had failed to share with me.
“Selina is using burner phones so I haven’t been able to locate her, at least, not yet. And before you get mad at Gage, Piper, I told him not to tell you.” I glared at Cas and was met with a shrug. A-hole.
“What are you thinking?” Max asked them.
“I’m thinking that Zip needs to call Buck and ply him for anything he knows about Dooley. At the same time, Bobby and Cas should talk to their guy on the force and fill him in. Piper and Reyn are here at the garage until I say different.”
“No!” I gasped. “Ellie’s baby shower is in four days and I am not missing it!”
“Me either,” Reyn said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.
“Hopefully we will hear something before that. Until then, can you do your prep from here?” Garrett asked with a pleading look. My resolve started to weaken as I knew that he was just trying to keep us safe.
“Fine, but there is no way in hell you are keeping me from that shower. Understand?”
“Understand,” he hesitantly replied.
“Good girl. I am sorry,” Gage whispered, kissing me on the side of my head. I didn’t feel like a good girl. I felt like a cranky, trapped girl.
Reyn and I spent the next two days working on the shower. Susannah was in New York meeting with her editors so she was no help. We had to ban both Ellie and Joss from the garage; Ellie because we wanted the shower decorations to be a surprise, and Joss because she had the stomach crud and we didn’t want to get it. This left both Reyn and I a lot to do.
Thursday afternoon we devoted to working on the party favors in the upstairs common room. The favors were taking longer than usual to put together because Pretty Woman was on the television and we kept pausing to stare at Richard Gere. Ellie had picked blue and green as the colors for the nursery, so each of the girls were going home with blue and green nail polish, blue and green striped pixie sticks, blue and green assorted gumballs and similarly colored M&M’s. All of these were placed in a blue and green striped bag and tied with a blue and green polka dotted ribbon.
All of a sudden Gage and Zip appeared. “Meeting downstairs in ten,” Gage announced and scowled at the TV. I held up my hand and he latched on, jerked me to my feet and pulled me into his chest. “I don’t like you looking at other men,” he grumbled.
I gave him a big eye roll. “Please. It’s only Richard Gere back in nineteen ninety when he was still a stud. He’s like my dad’s age now.”
“Why are we meeting?” Reyn asked.
“There is news on Dooley,” Zippo said.
“Good news?” I asked.
“That’s what we’re hoping,” Gage said as he pulled me toward the door.
I could tell by the relaxed body language and smiling faces as we walked into the conference room that the news was going to be good…for once.
“What’s up?” Gage asked.
“Zippo, why don’t you start?” Garrett directed.
Zippo cleared his throat. “I spoke with Buck this morning. He said that Dooley called him late last night and instructed him to ship five cases of wine and two cases of champagne to his house in Mexico first thing this morning.”
“Did Dooley actually tell Buck that he was in Mexico?” Cas asked.
“Uh, I didn’t ask. I just assumed that he was there because he wanted the booze.”
Bobby then jumped in. “I think that may have been a good assumption. One of my contacts spotted Dooley with Selina and Lester at Dooley’s house in Mexico late yesterday afternoon. They were lounging by the pool and drinking heavily.”
“What about Zeke?” Reyn asked.
“Zeke is running the ship in Texas while the rest are away,” Cas told her.
“Do we know where Gary is?” Gage asked.
“In Mexico,” Bobby confirmed.
Everyone let out a collective sigh.
“So does this mean that you’re calling off the guard dogs?” I asked, suddenly feeling a lot perkier.
“It means that I am pulling Bobby temporarily off of protection duty while we know that Dooley is in Mexico. He can use the time to dig further into Dooley’s business dealings. However, I still want Cas to take you to the shower.” I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “I’m just being cautious, Piper. If it makes you feel any better, I’m taking you off of house arrest for now.” Reyn and I both looked at each other and smiled. “I take that as a yes?” he asked.
“Yes,” we both said and smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gage and I had dinner at Max and Ellie’s house the Friday night before Ellie’s baby shower. Joss and Kurt were supposed to attend, but Joss called Ellie at the last minute and told her that she needed the time to clean up the house before the shower. We both offered to help but she turned us down, so it ended up being just the four of us. After dinner Max and Gage headed out back to talk business while Ellie and I headed to the nursery.
“This is amazing, Ellie.”
Ellie had told me that she was having someone stencil and then paint the nursery but clearly I had no idea what she was talking about. Watercolor cars and motorcycles of all types covered the walls. Most of them were painted in variations of blues and greens. Silver accents were thrown in here and there for things like handlebars and spokes. The rug and bedding matched the walls. It was Shabby Chic meets Harley Davidson – a little boy’s dream room.
She let out a big sigh. “I know, right? I was afraid it wasn’t going to turn out like I had envisioned or that Max wouldn’t like it but it’s absolutely perfect isn’t it?” The dreamy quality in her tone made me smile. Someday this will be me.
Ellie eased herself onto the rocker and I parked it on the rug at her feet.
“And does he?” I asked.
“He loves it, of course.”
“I spoke with mom a few days ago. She wanted to be here for your shower, but can’t because she and dad are visiting the boys in California. She said to tell you that she sent a gift to Joss’s house and will see you when you are helping her with the wedding.”
“That’s okay. Sarah can’t be here either. She plans on coming in right before the birth and staying for a few weeks.”
“Does she have plans after she graduates?”
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t even get me started. My overprotective husband practically ordered her to come home.”
“He probably just misses her.”
“I know. I miss her too. I’m just afraid that if he orders her to come home she will run further away and then we’ll never get her back.”
“Explain this to her. She might surprise you and come home, especially if she knows that her butt-head brother is acting this way because he misses her and not because he wants to control her every move.”
“I’ll think about it. Enough talk about me, she said, flippantly waving her hand through the air. “Let’s talk about you and that delicious man of yours. I want to hear some juicy details about what has been going on with you two.”
I dramatically tapped the face of my watch. “I’m surprised you held out this long. It only took you two point three hours before beginning the interrogation.”
She scrunched her nose and gave me a little kick. “Ha-Ha. Seriously, though, are you sure you and Gage aren’t moving a tad bit fast? Take it from me, marriage, especially to a demanding, hard headed man, is not ea
sy.”
“You want to hear something sad? Even though I thought Gage cheated on me, I still wanted him. That’s how much I love him, Ells. Not a day went by that I didn’t think of him…miss him. Wrapped up in all of my hurt and anger was my love and, no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake it. When I found out that he was never with Selina, that it was all a lie, it almost killed me. I should have never doubted him and we should never have been apart.”
Her brief pause of silence got my attention and I glanced up to see what was wrong. Her exotic golden eyes stared into my blue ones and she smiled. “I am happy for you, Piper. Gage is such a good guy. He was kind to me when I thought that Max was cheating on me with Priscilla. He is exactly the type of guy I would choose for you. You know that you are my best friend.” She held up her hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Joss to pieces, but you…you are my family and I can’t stand the thought of you hurting.” The sound of her voice cracking shot straight to my heart. Way too much of Ellie’s life had been filled with sadness. I hated being the cause of any more. Pulling up on my knees, I crawled between her legs, wrapped my arms around her and lay my head on Bruiser.
“I love you Ellison McLellan and I swear, from the bottom of my jaded heart, that I am truly happy. Please be happy for me.”
“I would be up for a threesome. However, I draw the line at pregnant women.” Gage casually observed from the doorway.
“A threesome sounds good, except the thought of doing your fiancé would be equivalent to doing my own sister and that just makes me want to hurl,” Max added.
I laughed into Ellie’s stomach and got a big whopping kick to the face. Thanks Bruiser.
Ten Hours Later…
“I promise I’ll be quick,” Gage said. We were lying in bed or more like he had me trapped underneath him.
“I have approximately two hours to get ready and be at Joss’s with all of the favors and our presents. I don’t have time for a quickie right now. Can I make it up to you later? Pretty, pretty please?” I bat my eyelashes at him.
“Fine. But only if you give me a kiss right now.” I craned my neck up and sealed my lips to his. Of course he took this as an invitation and swept in with some stellar tongue action. After a few seconds, I tapped him on the shoulder. Letting out a desperate groan he rolled off of me. “Come on, Princess. You’re killing me here.”
I gave him a big smack on the lips before I scooched off the side of the bed. “I love you, baby, but I can’t be late for a shower that I am hosting.” He rolled onto his back and huffed. I loved the playful pouty side of Gage. When we were apart, it was one of the things I missed the most about him. “What are you going to do while I’m at the shower?” I asked.
Pulling a pillow over his head he grumpily mumbled, “Sleep.”
In the shower, I ran over the list of things I had to do to get ready. When I got out, Gage was fast asleep. Quietly, I grabbed my clothes and shut myself back in the bathroom. Forty minutes later I was ready to go but I couldn’t leave Gage without saying goodbye. I tiptoed over to the bed, lifted the pillow from his head and stared down at him. The lines of worry were finally gone. He looked peaceful. With a happy sigh, I gave him a gentle kiss and placed the pillow back over his head. Then I went to find Reyn and Cas.
Ellie mentioned over dinner one night that she did not have a lot of the little necessities that she would need once Bruiser arrived. I later discussed this with Reyn, Joss and Susannah and we decided to throw her an accessory shower. Our contribution was a car seat and stroller.
I found Reyn and…Bobby… loading the favors and gifts into the back of a large black truck.
“Where’s Cas?” I asked.
“Something came up, so you’re stuck with me,” Bobby answered. “Hope you’re not too disappointed.”
Reyn and I both laughed. “Ecstatic is more like it,” Reyn stated.
Bobby opened his car door and paused, “Now, now. You two are way too hard on my man Cas.”
“Your man Cas has the personality of a toenail,” Reyn replied.
Ever since the night of the bonfire Cas and I had been getting along. However, he was still being a huge pecker head to Reyn. I can’t say that I blamed her for her harsh feelings toward him. As soon as I hopped in beside Bobby, he started the car and loud music blasted through the speakers. It took a second for the song lyrics to filter through my brain.
Before I could comment Reyn popped her head between our seats. “Is this guy singing about a donkey?”
Bobby laughed. “He is.”
“Why?” The perplexed tone in her voice made me giggle.
Bobby shrugged. “Because he can?”
“I think there’s an underlying meaning and it’s not about an animal,” she muttered.
He laughed again. “You may very well be right, young Reynolds.”
With a “Humph,” she sat back and listened to the remainder of the song.
We arrived at Joss’s with just enough time to set everything up. Max was due to drop Ellie off in half an hour and all the girls would start arriving shortly after. Kurt answered the door and I gave him a big hug.
“Where’s Joss?”
“Getting ready. She’ll be out in a few. I’m yours for the next half hour so put me to work.” We pointed him to the truck and Bobby.
Half an hour later we had everything set to go. However, Joss was still a no show.
“I’m going to find her,” I told Reyn. “You stay here and watch for Ellie.”
I found Joss alright. Only, she wasn’t getting ready. She was leaning over the toilet losing what sounded like her breakfast and possibly last night’s dinner.
Quickly, I found a washcloth and wet it with cold water. Holding back her hair, I placed it across the back of her neck. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were still sick? We could have postponed or even relocated the shower.”
“I’m not sick,” she sniffled.
“Well you sure as hell aren’t well,” I snorted.
“I hate puking,” she whined into the toilet.
Trying not to puke along with her, I wrinkled my nose and said, “I’m still stuck back on the not being sick comment.”
“I’m pregnant, Piper.”
Digging my fingers into her hair, I jerked her head back so I could see her eyes.
“Really?”
She smiled. “Yes, but barely. I’m not telling anyone because I don’t want to jinx it.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “You do know that you’re going to have to tell people before your eighth month?”
“Don’t make fun of Granny! She hasn’t been wrong, yet, and of course I’m going to tell people. Just…not today.”
“Does Kurt know?”
“I told him this morning. He made me pee on four sticks before he would finally believe it.”
Squatting down, I gave her a hug. “I’m going to be an aunt twice over. This is awesome news, Joss.” She made a gagging noise and I swept her hair out of the way.
“I don’t remember Ellie puking this much.” Her whiney voice made me smile.
“According to Max, puking wasn’t the only thing she did. Whatever you do, stay away from Caribbean food.” I felt her back shake and thought she was crying. That is, until she snorted like a pig and I realized she was laughing.
“Kurt will divorce me if I fart in his closet.” Just the thought of this had us howling with laughter.
Wiping the tears from my eyes I told her that she needed to tell Ellie.
“I’ll tell her. I promise. Now help me up. We have a shower to throw.”
It took us a few minutes to get her cleaned up, but once we did, no one would ever know she had been sick because she absolutely glowed.
The shower was a huge hit, especially the favors. Joss only had to excuse herself twice and, thank goodness, Ellie was so caught up that she didn’t notice. She would have called Joss out on the spot had she figured it out. Out of the twenty invitees, sixteen showed. However, all twenty sent gi
fts. I surveyed the room and noticed that some of these items were rather large.
“I’m not quite sure how we’re going to get all of this to Ellie’s,” I noted. Ellie and Joss were at the front door saying goodbye to the last three people, while Susannah, Reyn, Polly and I were hanging out in the living room.
“I can take them,” Susannah offered.
“I would offer for Bobby to take them but Gage would probably flip,” Reyn told her. She was right. My overprotective man would not be happy if Bobby stepped out on his guard dog duty, even if it was only to deliver gifts to Ellie’s.
Susannah waved her off. “There’s no need for Gage flippage. If Bobby doesn’t mind bringing Ellie home, I’ll get Polly and all of the gifts and we can meet you back at Ellie’s.”
From where I was sitting, I could see the back of Bobby’s head. He and Kurt were watching something on television in the next room. “Hey Bobby!” I yelled, “Can we drop Ellie by her house and help her unload before going home?”
“No problem!” he shouted. Situation solved.
Forty minutes later we were loaded up and ready to go. Joss stood at the passenger side door seeing us off.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Ellie asked. “We could use another hand getting everything set up in the nursery.”
“Let me get things cleaned up here and then I might stop by.” I could tell by the unsure tone of her voice that she was hedging. Hell, if I felt like I could blow at any minute, I would hedge too. In fact, I would probably never leave the house.
Susannah pulled up beside us and rolled down her window. “Meet you at Ellie’s?”
“Give us fifteen extra minutes,” Ellie told her. “We are out of pickles at the house. I’m making Bobby stop at the grocery so I can grab a few jars.” I watched Joss’s face turn green at the mention of pickles. As we pulled out of the driveway, off Joss shot like an Olympic sprinter for the front door. Thar she blows!
“Do you have the donkey song on your iPod?” Reyn asked Bobby. “I think Ellie needs to hear it.”
“I love that song!” Ellie squealed. “Jerrod Niemann is one of Max’s new favorite country artists and he loves those lyrics!”