by Wendy Vella
“Bullshit!”
Her fiery friend stood now with hands on both hips.
“You’re the gentlest person I know. You’d never do something to cause someone pain.”
“Thank you, Maggs, for believing in me.”
“Where’s Grace?”
“In bed.”
“So what happens now?”
“Don’t know. I guess we wait to see if there’s enough evidence to charge me.”
“The evidence is there, it’s just not clear that it was you who put it in the donuts,” Joe said.
Piper watched him scratch his head. He hated this, hated that he couldn’t make it right for her. Joe was a fixer, especially when it came to those he loved.
“What happened to your knuckles?” She grabbed his hand and turned it over, examining it.
“Nothing.”
“Clearly it’s something.” Bailey came closer to inspect it too.
“He hit Dylan.”
“What? Why?” Piper looked at Luke.
“He doubted you.”
And it was that simple to them. No one should doubt her because she was clearly innocent.
“He has a right to his opinions,” the low-life rat. “It was his mother that was poisoned.”
“You care about each other, Pip, and don’t try and tell us otherwise,” Joe said. “Therefore he should know you well enough by now to realize you’d never do that.”
“We don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Plus, there’s this trouble going down with his family, and it could be related to that.”
“What?” She looked at Joe. “Surely not?”
But it was possible, she realized, especially if they’d been seen together. Piper gave in to the emotion that had built up inside her then, and laid her head down on her arms and cried. These people loved her, they’d seen her cry, so if she was going to do it, now was okay. Hands patted her, and she felt kisses on the top of her head.
“I-I’m g-glad you hit him. I wanted t-to.”
This made them laugh.
“That looks bad, so I’m guessing it hurts like hell?”
Dylan didn’t look at Fin Hudson; instead he kept his eyes on the water. He’d been standing out there leaning on the railing for hours, and all he could see in his head was Piper, and her eyes when he’d asked her if she’d attempted to kill his mother.
“I got you a tea and scone from Tea Total.”
“Go away.”
“Miss Marla said she saw you here two hours ago, and you were brooding so she left you, but when she came back to check the progress on the community center foundations, which in case you haven’t noticed have been laid to your right, she thought that maybe you had a deeper problem than just brooding. She was worried about you enough to call me, as you’re public enemy number one right now with the Trainers.”
Dylan stood upright, and his muscles protested after being hunched in the same position for so long. He then looked at the park ranger. Fin wore a knitted cap, and Dylan wished he’d taken the time to put one on.
“I put two sugars in that sucker, thought you may need them?”
Dylan took the cup, even though it was tea, and sipped. “Thanks.”
“If I’d known the jaw was that bad I would have brought a steak.”
Dylan grunted.
“Joe has always had a good right hook.”
“If I say thanks for the tea, now leave, will you be offended?”
“No, but then I’m not going anywhere until we have a chat.”
“I don’t want to ‘chat.’”
“Now that’s too bad, as I’m in the mood.”
“Look, I get it, okay. She’s one of yours, and I-I accused her....” His words fell away.
“She didn’t do it, Dylan, and you know that for the truth now, don’t you?”
“I don’t know anything.”
He turned to lean on the railing again, away from Fin Hudson’s knowing eyes.
“Okay, I’m gonna talk and you listen.”
He said nothing.
“First off, have you given some thought to the fact that whoever poisoned your mother is the same person who is coming after you?”
He had... a great deal of thought since Joe mentioned it. Before that all he could think about was that Piper had let him down badly.
“If they knew you liked Pip, then she’d be another target just like your family. Another way to hurt you, Dylan.”
“She baked those donuts.”
“Got that, but also got that she did so early in the day, and those donuts would have been sitting out back for a while—two hours in fact—to rise. Plenty of time for someone to put poison in.”
“A dozen of them? Come on, Fin, that’s not feasible.”
“Neither is someone targeting every member of your family. You told me at the lodge that whoever is coming after you is someone with smarts. This would take that.”
It would, Dylan knew that too. He’d stood in this exact spot and tried to work through this and come up blank.
“The staff at Phil’s, Piper included, would never let a stranger walk out back and into the kitchens.”
“Which is messing with my head, because that means that someone we know is doing this shit to you.”
“It also points to the fact it was Piper, as there are no other suspects. Sounds pretty incriminating to me.”
“You’re an FBI profiler. You of all people should understand that even though something appears bad, often there’s another angle to look at it from.”
He did, and saw it all the time in his world.
“Christ, I don’t want it to be her.” He exhaled loudly. “I really don’t want it to be her, but... hell, I freaked out when Mom told me, and I—”
“Put your foot so far inside your mouth you nearly choked on it?”
Dylan grunted his agreement. Everything Fin said, he’d already thought up. He of all people knew what an intelligent criminal could do, but he’d acted before thinking, accusing Piper.
“I saw Joe about an hour ago. He told me everything, and said he hoped that wherever you were it was a long way from him because he’s pretty sure he’s going for your eye next.”
“He can try, but this time he won’t be so lucky. I was looking away, and he caught me off guard.”
“Hardly the act of a gentleman, but still something I would have done had I been there. Piper has always been special to me.”
She was special to Dylan too... or had been before he’d accused her of attempted murder.
“When I first came here to Ryker, she was only young and finding her way, a bit like me. We became friends and looked out for each other, because while we had the Trainers, we both needed a special someone to relate to, and she was it for me.”
“I should have waited before going to see her,” Dylan said. “But I was angry and confused.”
“It’s fair to say you messed up big-time, bud.”
Dylan exhaled loudly.
“I’ve met plenty of scumbags in my lifetime, Dylan, and believe me when I say she’s not one of them. Piper Trainer is one of the sweetest, most loyal, and loving women I know. And it’s lucky for you I’ve calmed down or I’d be blackening your eye about now for Joe.”
He drank more tea, enjoying the warmth.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Where?” Dylan straightened.
“Your friend Mickey is here, and I came to find you.”
“And you’re telling me this now?”
“I had a few things to say first. Now hustle it along, it’s cold out here.”
Dylan found himself following Fin to his car and getting in.
“You people are weird.”
“Not weird, just real.”
Mickey was waiting for Dylan at the lodge, in the room where he had played pool with the Trainers.
“Hey, man.” Tall and gangly, Mickey Taggart had genes that let him eat whatever the hell he wanted and not put on an
ounce of weight. His hair was blond and long, tied back in a tail, and he wore black-rimmed glasses. He was Dylan’s work colleague, and thinking about it now, likely the closest to an actual friend he had.
“Thanks for coming.” Dylan stepped in and hugged him. He felt the shock, but Mickey then hugged him back. He’d never got this close to him before.
Yet more proof he was changing. More proof that coming back to Ryker Falls had opened him up inside.
“You’d do it for me.”
“I would.” Dylan nodded.
He heard voices, and looking to the door, watched Charlie walk in, followed by the Trainers... all of them, including Piper. Cubby Hawker and Ted were last through the door.
“Are you okay?” Charlie came to his side.
“Yes. You?” He dragged his eyes from Piper.
“Yes.” She touched his jaw. “What happened?”
“Accident. I’m sorry I spoke to you the way I did earlier, Charlie. I didn’t mean it.”
She rose to her toes and kissed his cheek. “I know.”
He introduced everyone to Mickey. “Why are you all here?”
“Because we want to clear our cousin’s name, and to do that, we need to make sure that whoever’s after you isn’t using her for that.” Jack Trainer said the words. They were cool and calm, giving away nothing.
His eyes went to Piper again, who wouldn’t look at him.
They’d opened their arms and welcomed him into their lives and wanted nothing from him in return but friendship, and now they all stared at him like he was a stranger. Dylan would be lying to himself if he said that didn’t hurt.
“I’m sorry, I reacted without thinking.” He said the words to everyone in the room but it was Piper they were meant for.
“You reacted without thinking?” Mickey whistled. “I’ve never seen that happen in all the time I’ve worked with you. Then there’s that hug you gave me, and saying stuff like you just did out loud.” He shook his head, sending the blond tail swinging. “You should have come home years ago if this is the effect it has on you.”
“It hasn’t worked out so good, as it turns out.” Dylan still had his eyes on Piper.
“He cares for my cousin, but not enough to stop him believing she poisoned his mother.” Joe’s words had a cold edge to them, and Dylan remembered that hard, mean look in the eldest Trainer’s eyes from his youth.
“Cares?” Mickey frowned. “Poisoned?”
He didn’t care for people usually, as was evidenced by his colleague’s reaction, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that now.
Did love turn to hate so quickly? Looking at Piper, he thought maybe it did.
“So, Dylan. Let’s head on back to the whiteboard.”
This came from Cubby.
“We need to work this through, and while I don’t like not having your police chief here with us, as we’re kind of going behind his back, we need to get this as clear as possible before we approach him.”
Dylan nodded, and then felt a hand on his shoulder.
“I need to talk to you.” Joe nudged him across the room away from the others. “I’m not saying sorry for hitting you. You deserved it.”
“I don’t expect you to, and likely it’s me who should, but at the time I reacted without thinking.”
“Likely it is. My cousin is a good person, Dylan, and deserved your belief in her, especially considering what’s between you two.”
Piper’s eyes were on the whiteboard; he knew this because he hadn’t taken his off her since she walked in the room.
“She’s hurting, and angry, and if there’s one thing I know about my cousin it’s that she can hold on to anger better than most.”
“I’m not used to this, Joe.” Dylan went for honesty. “Coming back to Ryker has been like an emotional roller coaster for me, and I handled things badly today.”
“Yeah, it’s the whole friends-in-your-face thing here, and the harder you fight it the harder they push.”
Joe didn’t look quite so angry now.
“I really am sorry, for what it’s worth. You and your family have been nothing but kind to me since I arrived.”
“Do you still believe her capable of poisoning your mom?”
Did he?
“No, but you have to remember that I deal in facts, and the evidence suggests it was her, so it took me a while to believe otherwise.”
“My cousin’s important to me, Dylan, so when she’s hurting, I am. What you did today rocked her because she cares deeply for you, and she wouldn’t do that without believing you’re a good man. Today, in Pip’s mind, you proved her wrong.”
“I didn’t come here for this. I came to see my dad, and all the rest happened.”
“Well take my word on this, bud, there’s no going back now. So let’s get this shit cleared away, and then you can grovel to my cousin. But,” Joe raised a hand, “only if you’re serious about her. Otherwise, let her keep hating on you.”
Dylan watched as Piper flicked her hair behind her shoulder. He felt something strong for this woman, but was it love? It had to be, because he’d never in his life experienced the pain he did today when he thought she’d lied to him.
He loved Piper Trainer. The thought was so foreign he wasn’t entirely sure what to do about the knowledge. Dylan started walking in her direction.
“Piper, can I have a word, please?”
She turned to face him, eyes flashing. “No. I have nothing to say to you except that I’m retracting what I said to you, and now all that matters is getting my name cleared.”
“What did you say to him?” Jack asked, his eyes going from Piper to Dylan.
“Can you give us a minute?” Dylan looked to her cousins, who all nodded. Piper, however, shook her head.
“I don’t have anything more to say to you, and once this is done with, I don’t want to see you again.”
She walked away from him then to join his sister.
“You deserved that,” Luke said. “But my guess is that whatever is between you runs deep.”
“It does,” he acknowledged, because the time for hiding was done. Dylan just hoped when the smoke cleared that Piper would speak to him again, because now he’d acknowledged what she meant to him, he wasn’t walking away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Two things happened the day after Dylan had broken Piper’s heart... supposedly, because surely if you loved someone you’d forgive them, or at least talk to them when they tried to explain why they acted like they did. But not her, she’d cut him out completely. It was like he didn’t exist anymore as far as Piper Trainer was concerned.
Ava came home from hospital, and agreed to speak with someone about her drug problem.
“Zander told me it was the right thing to do.”
Dylan was picking her up from the hospital.
“Can you tell me why you started using?”
Ava shrugged.
“I want to help, Ava.”
“I went to a party with some other law students, and it was there so I tried it.”
“Does Zander use cocaine too?”
“I’m not talking to you about him, so don’t ask me. None of this is his fault. He’s been there for me when no one else was.”
“Okay, but I need you to listen to me carefully now, because I have some stuff to tell you.”
He laid it all out for her, detailing everything, she didn’t speak until he’d finished.
“Y-you think whoever is doing this poisoned Mom, and not Piper?”
“I do now.”
“It almost seems unbelievable.”
“I know, but too many things add up. That’s why I was asking about why you started using. I need to know if that’s connected too. Did someone set out to get you hooked on the cocaine because of me?”
“No, Dylan, I did that all myself.”
“Okay, and we’ll get you help for that, and I’m here, and Charlie too, so you’re not dealing with that alone.”
D
ylan had spent time in that room at the lodge going through things with the sheriff and Mickey after the others had gone. The outcome had been they were all in agreement that these things had been happening to his family to lure him back to Ryker and keep him there, but why? Was the plan to kill him? Or torment him and his family some more? It was unsettling not knowing when or where he’d strike next.
“Did anyone approach you about me when you were at GGU?”
“No, why would they? No one knew I had a brother or sister.”
“You never told anyone?” Why did that hurt?
“No.” She shrugged. “It’s not like there was any chance of you coming to visit or anything. I gave up talking about you and Charlie years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know, but you wanted the truth so I’m giving it to you.”
“Sure, and thanks.”
Shooting her a look, he thought she seemed better. More relaxed somehow. Her face had a bit more color, and she didn’t seem as fragile.
“Did you get plenty of rest in the hospital?”
“Yes, and food, so stop being a hen.”
“Me, a hen? The Howards don’t worry about each other, remember?”
He felt her eyes on the side of his face.
“But maybe we could stay in touch some?”
“I think we could do that” was all Dylan said, when inside his chest felt warm and he was swallowing back emotion.
He was going soft, no other word for it. He’d come home for all the wrong reasons, but it had made him see what he’d lost. What he’d been missing for years... a relationship with his sisters.
They drove up the drive. He got her things and followed Ava inside.
“Here she is.” Dylan’s father was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with Charlie. His mother was making coffee. Allan Howard got out of his chair gingerly and hugged his daughter. “How you feeling, love?”
“Better, Dad, thanks. I’m sorry about the drugs, and I’m going to talk to someone about them.”
“That’s all we can ask for, then, and if you need help, your mother and I are here.”
“Dylan and me also,” Charlie added.
Their mother’s face was tight, lips pursed as she turned to face her family.
“It’s a disgrace, Ava.”