Persuading Piper: Brotherhood Protectors World

by Susan Boles

  "This has been such a nice evening, Piper. Let's go for a ride to the lake for old times." He cocked his head, giving her that grin she could never resist.

  Maybe, just this one time. And she could use his mellow mood to try and pry out of him the secret he and her daddy were keeping from her.

  They slipped out the back door without telling the other two they were leaving.

  She'd forgotten tonight was the full moon. By the time they'd ridden out to the lake, it had risen high enough that it cleared the trees fringing the lake and cast an argent light across the water. A night made for romance.

  Her heart have a little flutter as Ian parked close to the water and killed the engine. She rolled down the window to catch the night breeze and cicada's sang into the silence.

  Her pulse slowed as she relaxed for the first time that evening. She hadn't realized how tense she'd been until the tight muscles let go. Reaching up, she released the clip holding her hair and let it spill across her shoulders. A light breeze stirred some loose strands across her face.

  Ian reached over, gently pushing them back, curving his fingers behind her ear to tuck the hair away. She sighed. Closed her eyes. And let her cheek rest ever so briefly against the palm of his hand. This felt so very right.

  "I'm sorry, Piper." Ian whispered. "For so many things. For never coming back. And for secrets that aren't mine to tell."

  He leaned in, his lips touching hers gently. Almost in question. As though afraid she would resist. She leaned into the kiss, opening her lips a tiny bit to encourage him. He didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss, shifting closer to her so that he could hold her in his arms. One of his hands fisted in her loose hair. She reached up, cupping her won hands behind his neck, pressing closer.

  He moaned just a bit. Or was that her?

  Secrets.

  Her eyes shot open. Too many unknowns were in play here. His secret with her daddy. And the secret she'd kept ten years ago when she'd let him walk away from her.

  She pulled back. He resisted. Trying to keep her in his embrace. She pushed harder and he eased back.

  "Take me home, please."

  He sighed. Cranked the car and drove away from the lake.

  Chapter 21

  As he watched Piper walk up the steps to her home, Ian cursed silently. These few days back in town had shown he he'd never gotten over her. As if he needed proof of that. The women he'd been with in these past ten years were nothing compared to her. They'd been kids when they parted. Not smart enough to realize they had something worth fighting for. But she didn't trust him at this point. And he could hardly blame her.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror, hoping to catch a final glimpse of her before she went into the house. A shadow moved along the front garden. A tree shifting in the moonlight? Or something else.

  He pulled the car to the curb just around the corner, reached up and flicked the switch to turn off the interior light. If this was an intruder, he didn’t want to advertise his presence. Opening the door, he slid quietly out, leaving it open rather than risking the sound of it clicking shut.

  Crouching low, quiet as a mouse, he moved from bush, to tree, to picket fence line cursing the moonlight he'd been thankful for earlier this evening. But, on the other hand, had it not been so bright, he might have missed seeing the intruder in the MacKenzie. And intruder it was. Not a shifting tree or bush. The man shaped shadow moved closer to the house, outlined in moonlight for a brief moment.

  Ian strained to make out features. Height, build, hair color. Anything. But whoever it was had on shapeless clothing and some sort of hooded shirt. He sprinted forward, tackling the shadow to the ground.

  The intruder yelped in surprise and Ian heard frantic barking from inside the MacKenzie house. Ham had heard.

  Ian got the intruder in a choke-hold, trying hold him to the ground. But the man fought like a maniac. Slipping around inside the loose fitting clothes so that he couldn't get a good grip. It was like trying to hold on to a sawdust scarecrow. The man bent and heaved, throwing his arms and legs around. Trying to head butt.

  Ian struggled to get a firm grip somewhere.

  At last, the man reached backward with both hands, clapping them over Ian ears. Hard. Momentarily stunned, Ian eased his grip as his ears rang. The intruder rolled free and then ran like a scalded cat just as the front door opened and Ham bounded down the steps, teeth bared to the full extent.

  Ian dropped flat to the ground, face down and covered his head. He didn't want to tangle with a freaked out guard dog.

  "Ham! Anhalten!" He heard Piper shout.

  The dog went silent immediately and he risked a peek. Ham still had a gimlet eye on him, but wasn't baring his teeth.

  "Komm!" Piper said.

  The dog turned and trotted to her side.

  Ian rolled to his side, and seeing that Ham stayed by Piper, got to his feet.

  "What're you doing out here, Ian?" Piper asked.

  He glanced over her head to Matt MacKenzie who stood watching in silence. Matt shook his head very slightly.

  With an inward sigh, Ian improvised. "I was going to leave you a note on the porch but I tripped over something in the yard. I guess Ham heard me fall.

  "A note?" she asked in an incredulous voice?

  "Uh. Yeah." He shuffled his feet a bit. "I enjoyed your company tonight and wanted to say thank you."

  Piper glanced around. "So. Where's the note, then?"

  Crap. This just kept getting deeper. He made a pretense of looking around the immediate area and shrugged. "It must have blown away in the breeze."

  Piper narrowed her eyes. "Really."

  "Yes. Really."

  She put her hands on her hips. "Where's your car?"

  He glances at Matt again, who shakes his head once more.

  "And why do you keep looking at my daddy? Is he feeding you answers from back there?"

  Matt stepped forward, putting his arm around Piper. "Now, baby girl, you're acting like this is some kind of inquisition. Let poor, Ian go on home and let's go back in."

  Piper gives a low scream, setting Ham to barking. She puts her hand on his head to calm him. "You two are up to something and it's driving me crazy."

  Ian steps closer, placing a hand on her arm. Ham stares at the hand but remains quiet.

  "Look, Piper. This is really embarrassing, but if you're going to make this big a deal out of it, I'll tell you."

  He puts his hands in his pockets, giving her an embarrassed look. "I was going to climb up the trellis to your room the way I used to."

  "What?!" Matt exclaimed.

  Piper tucked her head down.

  "That's right, Mr. MacKenzie. I used to shimmy up the trellis when Piper and I were in high school."

  Piper puts up her hands. "Okay. Enough. Let's all just call it a nigh. Shall we?"

  Pulling her daddy by the arm, she managed to get him up the front steps even though he's giving Ian the evil eye over his shoulder.

  Ian's phone rang as he drove to his mama's house for the night.

  Matt MacKenzie showed on the caller ID.

  He signed. This night just would not end.

  He mashed the phone call button on the steering wheel. He'd synced his phone with the car after the last time he'd tried holding the phone to talk while driving.

  "What happened out there tonight?" Matt demanded.

  "I saw someone lurking around in your yard after I dropped Piper off. So I tried to catch him." He paused for a moment. "Like I'm supposed to be doing."

  "Well, you're doing a piss poor job of it, boy." Matt said.

  Ian's hackled rose. "With all due respect, Sir. You're not helping the situation when you make those remarks."

  Matt sighed. "You're right. Did you get a look at him? Will you be able to track him down now?"

  Ian turned down the dark street where his mama lived, noting that the lights were out in all the houses. No party animals in this neighborhood.

  "No." He blew out a brea
th. "The guy was dressed in loose, dark clothing with a hoodie of some kind. I couldn't get a grip on him. He managed to get away when he damn near burst my ear drums."

  "I thought you already have a burst ear drum and that's why you're not a Navy pilot any more."

  Ian winced. "You seem to be pretty well informed about my life."

  "Don't get yourself in a twist, son. I had a friend run background on you when I found out you were being sent in to protect me by that organization."

  That surprised Ian. "You didn't request me specifically?"

  "Hell, no. I didn't want you back here around Piper. Stirring up all that old mess."

  Ian heard water running in the background, then the sound of a coffee pot working.

  "It was your boss that decided it would be the best thing for you to come since you could be here undercover. Less suspicious than having a stranger come in and trying to pretend he's a business partner or some long lost relative."

  Ian pulled into the driveway, turned off the engine. No lights on here either. Mama must've turned in for the night. Good thing she'd given him a key to this house, too. "Especially since you already have a long lost relative that turned up."

  Something that sounded like cutlery on plates came over the phone. Matt must be fixing a snack of some kind. "Right. Another one would be really hard to believe."

  "Where was he during all the ruckus tonight?"

  "He'd gone home. He was pretty unhappy when he realized Piper'd gone off somewhere with you."

  Ian snickered. "I know this is the south. And there's that whole cousins marrying thing, but they are first cousins."

  "Don't be disgusting." Snapped Matt. "And find that hit man soon!"

  Ian looked at his phone seeing that Matt had disconnected. No doubt annoyed that in the age of cell phones it wasn't nearly as satisfying as slamming down a handset on an old school phone.

  Chapter 22

  Ian headed over to the MacKenzie's barn to pick up the tow bar Matt had said should be inside somewhere. With that in hand he headed over to the home place. He needed to get the plane moved over to the MacKenzie land so that he would be over there without suspicion and able to keep a closer eye on Matt.

  The logistics of moving a plane that currently couldn't fly were his biggest issue. He had the tow bar, but needed a big truck. Plus, before he could ask someone to move the plane, he needed to map out the route. It would be a huge pain in the rear if they encountered a place too narrow for the wingspan of the plane. While it wasn't a jumbo jet, it was a bit wider than some of the country roads between here and his destination.

  He took a critical look at the pseudo landing strip he'd cut out of the tall grass and decide it would work fine to pull the plane out and onto the asphalt over gravel road that led toward town.

  With that decided, he got into his rental and began to map out his route. The road leading away from the home place was a bit narrow, but with pasture land on both sides and no trees close to the road, he felt sure the wings would safely navigate over the barb-wire fencing.

  Making the turn onto the state highway to get the plane would be a bit tricky. And, come to think of it, he probably needed to contact Sheriff Carter about moving the plane on a state highway. It wasn't a particularly busy highway because the interstate was so close by, but it might present a problem.

  He drove on making mental notes about places that might be tight, but felt that the plane could be moved without too much heartburn.

  Pulling into the open area by the barn, he sighed. The grass here had overgrown the landing strip just as it had at his own place. Better get to cutting that grass down to expedite the plane transfer.

  A hopeful look through the barn revealed there was no convenient bush hog inside. Or even a lawn mower. A scythe rested in one corner, and, with visions of the Grim Reaper dancing in his head, he proceed to cut the long grass old-school style.

  As he scythed the grass, he came across several areas where the ground had been dug up and replaced. Odd. Who had been digging out here? Or was it Ham, looking for old animal bones? Or burying news ones? He stepped around the red ooze coming from the holes. Tracking that mess into his mama's house would get him into more trouble than he wanted to deal with.

  He had cleared just over half of the way to the road when he stopped to take a breather, wiped sweat from his forehead and wished mightily for a bottle of cold water. He knew better than to be working this hard on a Mississippi summer afternoon.

  If he stopped now, he could drive home, grab some water and come back out here in an hour much better prepared to work this hard than he was now.

  He'd just reached the car when Matt's black Mercedes pulled to the side of the road and Matt got out.

  "You'd best get out of this heat, son. You're face is red as fire and your dripping sweat all over."

  Ian walked to the other man. "I was just about to do that. This turned out to be more work than I thought."

  Matt eyed him with grudging respect. "You should have called me and I'd've got someone over here to bush hog it out for you. No point in you killing yourself like this."

  Ian ran his hand over his wet hair. "I appreciate that. And I won't say no to some help with the rest of it." He motioned behind him. "Let me show you something I found. I'm not sure what it means. If anything."

  They walked to the section where he'd found the digging. "What do you make of this?"

  Matt walked around the area, looking at the disturbed dirt. Avoiding the ooze.

  "No idea." He shrugged. "Might be the dog's been out here digging. Or maybe local kids playing some kind of treasure hunt game."

  He walked back toward his car. "Come on, now. Get out of the heat. I'll get someone over here to finish this up."

  He opened the door of the Mercedes, paused, then turned. "I owe you an apology for the way I acted the other night. You were in a difficult position what with not being able to tell Piper what you were really doing out in the yard."

  Ian nodded cautiously.

  "Come to dinner tonight at the house. I promise I'll behave myself and I'll ask Piper to fry up some chicken. Nothing fancy." He chuckled. "I know you'd get a better meal at home since your mama's one of the best cooks around, but I'll give you a reason to be around the house this evening."

  "Has their been another attempt on your life?" Ian asked. How the hell was he supposed to protect this man under these circumstances?

  "Nothing obvious." Matt assured him. "Just an uneasy feeling someone is lurking around. Watching."

  "You need to tell Piper what's going on." Ian fumed. "Don't you realize you're putting her in danger by keeping it from her? She's walking around like everything's normal instead of being on the look out for anything out of the ordinary."

  "You may be right." Matt admitted. "Come to dinner tonight. I'll let you know my decision then."

  Chapter 23

  Piper observed her daddy and Ian at dinner. Here we go again, she thought. Making nice over some fried chicken while these two exchange silent signals like smoke rings rising over the dinner table. A raised eyebrow here. A slight head shake there. Some fingers drumming lightly on the polished table.

  "How's the plane coming along?" Matt asked.

  "I got Jack Sanders to bring his Chevy diesel and tow it over to your barn." Ian laughed. "We had a few close calls on the highway. I forgot to get in touch with Sheriff Carter about blocking it while we moved the plane and a few people got stuck waiting for us to get out of the way."

  Mat frowned. "I'm glad you didn't have any bigger trouble than a few inconvenienced motorists. If you'd gotten stuck, the Sheriff would have had your hide. As it is, I'm surprised he hasn't already been looking for you to issue a citation."

  Ian shrugged, eying the fried chicken as though calculating whether or not to eat another piece. "Well. It's done now. Besides, he probably doesn’t know about it."

  Piper laughed, handing him the platter holding the fried chicken so he could get another piece
. "You're forgetting where you are, Ian. I bet he knew about it while you were still blocking the road and just decided to let it go since you were already out there."

  Ian's ear reddened. "No doubt you're right." He turned to her daddy. "I got the engine working. It's a bit persnickety. Turns over sometimes and sometimes not. I haven't tried to take it up yet. I'm waiting till it cranks every time."

  Piper saw Ham peeking around the doorframe, hoping for some table scraps. A habit she hadn't been able to break him from. "Go on, Ham. You know better."

  The dog's ears went from perky to dejected and he eyed Ian as though the man was at fault for the lack of treats. With a deep sigh and sad eyes to Piper, he turned away.

  "Was that German I heard you speaking the other night out in the yard?" Ian asked.

  "Yes." She said. "I use German commands because then he knows I'm talking directly to him. If I use English he could get confused about it."

  "I'm not sure I follow what you mean." Ian said.

  "For example, if I say 'sit', to you as a gesture of courtesy in my home, Ham might get confused because I’m not talking to him, but I'm saying a word he knows is something he should do."

  Ian forked up some mashed potatoes, then pinto beans. "That makes sense. I just never heard of it before."

  "I learned it at the rescue group. It’s a group of really wonderful people. Almost all of them are volunteers."

  Matt sighed from the head of the table. "Now you've done it. We'll be heard about the rescue group for the rest of the night."

  She could tell he was teasing her, though, from the twinkle in his eyes and big grin on his face. He'd been very supportive of her work with the group.

  He seemed a bit more friendly to Ian, too. As though he'd come to some kind of internal decision not to be so abrasive around him. Almost as though hearing her thoughts, her daddy pushed back from the table.

  "I've got to run into town to see an old friend. I won't be gone very long, but it needs to be done. You two go on with any plans you may have."