by Wendy Vella
“Coffee, thanks,” he said when a waitress appeared.
Ava turned his way seconds later, and the smile fell from her lips.
“What are you doing here? Did Mom tell you where to find me?”
“No. It’s a pretty small town; chances are I would have run into you here at some stage.”
Keep it calm, Dylan. You’ve been trained how to deal with difficult people.
She’s not people, you moron, she’s your sister!
Her eyes were the softest blue. He and Charlie had often teased her about the baby Howard having baby blue eyes. Funny, he hadn’t remembered that until now.
“Hey, Ava, how’s it with you today?”
Dylan turned to watch Luke Trainer amble to the counter.
“Oh hey, Luke. I’m good, thanks.”
“Sweet. I’ll take a hot chocolate and the usual, thanks.”
Ava nodded and walked away to get Luke’s order ready.
“Hot chocolate?”
Luke settled next to Dylan on a stool. He was big like Jack, and there was no doubting they were brothers, but there was a softer edge to this Trainer. His smile was permanent, and although he’d only interacted with him briefly last night, Dylan was good at reading people, which came in handy in his line of work. He would lay good money down on this Trainer being a people pleaser too.
“I’m just not big on coffee.”
“Bet that’s a winner with the ladies.”
He flashed another smile.
“It is actually, they see it as part of my softer side.”
“How’s my favorite cousin?”
The kick to his gut, Dylan realized, was just something that was going to happen when Piper appeared, and something he had a feeling he’d never get used to. The trick was to ignore it and treat her like he did everyone else.
“She says that to all of us, but we like it,” Luke said.
“Yes, but I mean it with you.” Piper leaned over the counter and placed a smacking kiss on her cousin’s cheek, and Dylan had the urge to demand one too. He needed to stay away from this woman and her family. Seeing their bond was making his family look bad... really bad, which usually didn’t bother him, but today for some reason it did.
“You off today?”
“Yeah, I have four late shifts coming up,” Luke said, cradling the mug Ava placed before him. She ignored Dylan and walked away.
“I wanted to be a fireman once,” he said, watching his sister go back to the coffee machine.
“Never too late.”
Luke’s plate arrived loaded with bacon, eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, and toast.
“I’m coming here tomorrow for breakfast.”
“Best in town.”
“My mother tried to feed me oatmeal. I managed to resist, but the scone from Tea Total was pretty awesome.”
“Not enough to keep a man going though,” Luke said, shoveling a heaped forkful of food into his mouth.
“You want to order something?” Piper said, smiling, and it reached her eyes.
“That.” Dylan pointed to Luke’s plate. “Please, and coffee.”
“You just ate a scone.”
“Place the order, woman,” Luke said, then winked at Piper. “Man needs real food.”
She ruffled her cousin’s hair, then walked away.
“Hi.”
Bailey was the next Trainer to arrive.
“Oh hey, Bays, grab a seat.” Luke urged his sister-in-law onto a stool next to him. “You want coffee?”
“And a donut,” she said.
She wasn’t as tall as Piper, but she was definitely a looker, although Dylan didn’t get that little charge of energy from being near her. With silky black hair and smoky gray eyes, she would have broken a few hearts during the years she performed, was his guess.
“I saw you perform in New York. It was something.” He’d worked out who she was after hearing her play last night in Joe’s bar.
“Thanks.” Her smile was shy.
“You still ride, Dylan? I remember Joe telling me that was one thing you always did that he didn’t.”
“He’s lying if he thinks it’s the only one,” Dylan said.
Luke laughed softly.
“You know my brother, he has to be the best at everything, so we let him think he is.”
“That’s my husband you’re discussing, and he rides well now, FYI.”
“Sure, but you know what we’re saying is the truth, Bailey. Joe’s fiercely competitive.”
“The hell I am.”
Joe Trainer appeared at Dylan’s shoulder, looking down at the heaped plate that had just arrived before him. He stole a rasher of bacon, then proceeded to touch base with each family member. A squeeze of Luke’s shoulder, leaning over the counter to kiss Piper, then a lingering kiss on his wife’s lips.
It wasn’t possession, or a controlling gesture, it was as natural as breathing to Joe Trainer. I’m here, family, just letting you know.
The bolt of longing nearly had Dylan getting off the stool and sprinting back out the café. Why did he want to be part of something like that now when he’d stayed away from Ryker deliberately? He’d never wanted or missed close family connections before.
I’m worried about Dad, that’s all.
“You keen for a ride while you’re here, bud? I can keep up with you now.”
“Yeah, your wife was telling me how good you are, but your brother said you still suck at it.”
“The hell he did?” Joe punched his brother’s shoulder then took the seat next to his wife, who he kissed again.
“They always do that, it’s nauseating,” Luke said, still eating.
“I bet.”
“So, how’s things with you and Ava?” Luke asked quietly.
“Okay.”
“Sure looks it.”
“What is it with you Trainers? I’ve been back in town two days, and you all want to know my business.”
“It’s called being friendly, Dylan. You’ve been in New York too long to understand.”
“And there was me thinking it was called nosey.”
“So how are things going?”
He’d forgotten that too, the personal questions and interactions that a small town community thrived on.
“You see her over here talking to me?”
“That bad, huh.” Luke shook his head. “I blame that dickhead Zander. She’s changed since he appeared.”
“He didn’t seem too bad when I met him.”
“He’s okay, I guess. I just can’t like the guy, and I’ve never been really sure why.”
“Ava’s been back five months, right?”
Luke nodded. “Zander arrived a few weeks after, and they pretty much hooked up right off.”
“I don’t like to think about my little sister hooking up with anyone, Trainer.”
“Sure, but then it’s not like you guys have a relationship, right?”
A direct hit, Dylan thought. He wondered if everyone in Ryker Falls knew about the dysfunctional Howards and how they worked... or in their case, didn’t.
Dylan ate a mouthful of food and watched his sister while he formed his next question for Luke. The asking worked both ways.
“Where’d Zander come from?”
“Don’t know. One day he just drifted into town and never left. Works in the garage, and does a good job from what I hear. Ted told me he performed a miracle on his car, and that apparently Zander’s waiting for an opportunity to work in one of the accounting firms, because that’s what he studied.”
“Ted?”
“Ted Hosking. Owns the lodge.”
“Right, haven’t seen that yet. But I guess a lot of these tourists are because of it?”
Luke nodded, his eyes on Ava. “Thing is, Dylan, I’ve known Ava for years, and I don’t think she’s happy, and she sure as hell is not right.”
“Right?”
Luke shrugged.
“Shrugging is not an answer.”
“It’s
not my business to tell tales, and anyway I don’t know everything, so I’d be guessing.”
Which was annoyingly vague.
“But one thing I do know is that she could do with a big brother about now.”
“What are you two whispering about?”
Piper appeared on the other side of the counter, and Dylan found himself smiling for no other reason than he could look at her, which was enough of a reason to drop his eyes and eat the rest of his food as quickly as he could.
This place was a temporary stop, and the people in it he was not likely to see again. Dylan needed to remember that and stop all this talking and friendly shit. He didn’t do that. It wasn’t something he’d had, so why then was he enjoying being part of a community again. When he was last here he’d been young and rebellious; now he wasn’t, but still, this place was digging something deep out of him, a longing to belong he hadn’t even known he had.
“So about that ride?” Joe asked him.
“Not sure how long I’ll be here, Joe. I’ll let you know. I have to go, so I’ll see you.”
Getting money out of his pocket, he dropped it on the counter and left without looking back. They were watching him, he was sure of that, just like he knew they’d get around to discussing him and his dysfunctional family. But Dylan didn’t care. He was only here a few more days... a week, tops.
Control, that was how Dylan operated. It made him strong, and stopped emotions from entering his life. He’d tried emotions as a child and hadn’t enjoyed the results, so this was how he’d handle things from now on. No more watching the Trainers and wanting what he’d never have. Dylan knew how things were, and he liked them that way... didn’t he?
CHAPTER NINE
“Biscuits.” Piper read the list in her hand. “She only buys those for Joe,” she added under her breath. Her mom always stocked his favorites, even though he didn’t live in the house, but in his own—granted, on the same land—with Bailey, who was more than capable of buying biscuits.
Something made her look up from the paper in her hand. A feeling she was being watched. Mary Howard stood several feet away, glaring at her.
“Afternoon, Mrs. Howard.” Piper made herself nod and smile. No way was that bitch getting the better of her. “Bet you’re happy to have your son back in town.”
“Just you stay away from him!”
“He’s a big boy, ma’am, he can stay away if he wishes… or not.” Piper shouldn’t aggravate the situation, but she was only human.
The woman opened her mouth to say something, no doubt vile, and snapped it shut again. She then lifted her nose in the air and turned away. Maybe Dylan’s warning to her had worked after all. Normally she would have continued with the insults until Piper was forced to walk away or punch her.
“Woman’s full of poison,” Miss Marla said, coming toward Piper. Nipped in with a wide black leather belt, her red dress had a split up the back and was teamed with black patent heels. Her makeup was as immaculate as her hair.
“You make the rest of us women in Ryker look bad, Miss Marla. How about coming out in your sloth clothes now and again, just to give us hope.”
The woman shuddered. “I don’t own sloth clothes!”
“Why am I surprised.”
“Getting back to Mary Howard, I’m about done with her rubbish, especially considering what I now know.” The woman then looked left and right before returning her eyes to Piper.
“You got gossip for me, Miss Marla?”
“I do, Piper, and you go on and use it however you wish.”
“Okay, shoot. I haven’t had anything juicy lately. This town is getting boring.”
“I played cards last night with Lisa Bicknell. Her husband Geoff used to be a bad one until she got hold of him.”
“His sons are pretty bad too.”
“Sssh.”
“Sorry.”
“Anyway, Lisa was telling me that Geoff had a few too many one night and started rambling about that horrid man Tim Trainer. Supposedly he and Tim were friends.”
“Not sure my uncle had friends, Miss Marla. More a pack of assholes is what I hear.”
“Piper, I will not have you using that word in a public setting.”
“Sorry, Miss Marla,” Piper said, chastened as Miss Marla pointed her schoolteacher finger.
“Anyway, Lisa told me that Geoff started on about it after all that bad business went down with Tim Trainer coming back to town and doing the dirty work for that horrid woman who wanted to hurt our Bailey.”
Piper made the appropriate noises to move the woman along. That time had affected them all, but they’d moved on, and she had no wish to revisit it… ever.
“Well, Lisa said that Geoff said he and Mary Howard used to be an item.”
Piper blinked, trying to work through what she’d heard. “Geoff and Mary Howard?”
Miss Marla tsked. “No, Mary Howard and your uncle. Pay attention, Piper.”
“I’m trying, but you need to elaborate.”
“You used that word perfectly in the sentence, Piper, well done.”
“It’s my word of the day. Now back to the story.”
“Apparently it was when Mary was in her late teens, which would explain the animosity toward your family a great deal more than what happened with Joe and Dylan. Lisa said that Mary was in love with Tim Trainer and wanted him to marry her. He refused, which probably only fueled the anger toward your family after Dylan left. Nothing worse than a woman scorned, dear. Then Tim got attached to the horrible woman who was the boys’ mother, and that infuriated Mary further, so Geoff said.”
“Well hell.” Piper whistled.
“I’ll let that slip,” Miss Marla said, patting her arm. “Must go now, dear, I need to get Mandy’s bread before it’s sold out.”
Holy crap, Mary Howard… or whatever the hell her maiden name had been, and Piper’s uncle.
“They’re beans.”
“What?”
Piper looked at Maggs as she approached, basket over her arm, looking like a candy apple in that pink dress, red curls pulled back, face perfectly made up as always. She was surrounded by people who looked like they’d stepped out of a glossy magazine. Looking down at the toe of her worn sneakers, Piper wondered if she should make more of an effort.
“Those cans you’re staring at, they’re beans.”
“Sure, and I was thinking maybe I’d try something new, you know, spice things up a bit, but Luke and Jack are creatures of habit.”
Maggs snorted. “They wouldn’t even know the difference.”
“I guess.” She randomly selected two cans, unsure why she wasn’t telling her friend the truth. Maybe because this was personal to her mom and cousins, and maybe because it was personal to Dylan and his sisters too. Whatever the reason, she kept it to herself for now, as she knew Miss Marla would.
Moving on to the dog biscuits with her friend chatting, Piper studied them. Buzz liked a certain type. The locals knew this and stocked up, hence there were only a few bags left on the shelf.
“What you up to?”
“That would be shopping, same as you, Maggs.”
“Right, but after I mean.”
“Nada.”
“Sweet, come hiking with us?”
“Us?”
“Me and Charlotte Howard. She was in the gallery earlier and I invited her to come for a quick hike, then we could have wine.”
“What? Why?” Piper frowned at her friend. “I mean, didn’t you tell me she had an attitude when last you met?”
“She does.”
“So why the hell would you go hiking with her?”
“Because it’s important to be nice to people, and when she walked into the gallery she looked like she needed a friend. We got talking, and hiking came up. Anyway, she said she wanted to take a trip up to the falls, and I said I’d accompany her.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” Maggs was looking at the shelves, avoiding Piper’s eyes.
/> “Why are you hiking, in fact exercising at all, when you loathe and detest it? In fact, the only thing you do is ride horses, occasionally.”
“I don’t loathe exercise, and I hike.” Her friend looked uncomfortable.
“No you don’t. And you hate that brand of mayo you just threw into your basket.”
“All right!” Maggs glared at Piper as she removed it. “I met this guy, and he hikes, and he’s in town for a month, and maybe I might have mentioned I do too.”
“Ah, it begins to make sense now.”
Her friend’s eyes narrowed.
“So are you coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. After all, I want to support my friend.”
“Good, because I offered you up as his friend’s partner for our double date tonight.”
“What? No. I meant I want to support you while you hike.”
“But you meant you’d come on the double date to support me too. So thanks, and see you.”
Maggs gave her a wave, then sprinted to the checkout, leaving Piper with a mouthful of insults and no one to deliver them to.
Piper walked beside Charlotte Howard up the small rise. The cold air was bracing. This had been just what she needed. Her head felt clearer, and thoughts of Dylan and his mother were now forced to the back of her head as she walked and focused on the countryside.
Piper hadn’t always liked exercise, but it got her through one of the hardest times of her life. Exercise had helped her fight her way out of the black hole that she’d dug herself into.
“Lord, this is steep.”
Maggie walked behind them, and while she was trying hard not to moan and pant, a few were slipping out.
“It’s a small incline, hiker girl, get moving,” Piper threw over her shoulder. “So Charlotte, what have you been up to since leaving Ryker?”
Cool and contained like her brother, the woman was dressed in black tramping boots, exercise leggings, and a navy windbreaker. After the initial greetings she’d not spoken another word.
“I’m in investment banking.”
“Excellent, do you enjoy it?”
Charlotte looked shocked at the question.
“Oh well… yes, of course.”