Changing Fate (Book 3) (Piper Anderson Series)

by Danielle Stewart

  As their waitress came back up to the table with their drinks she watched as Bobby and Piper craned their necks to see the singer better.

  “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” She pulled a pad from her apron pocket and readied herself to take their order. “She’s warming up for tonight. It’s pretty dead in here now, but by dinner time there will be a decent crowd, and most of them come now just to hear Willow play. That girl is going places.”

  “Her name is Willow?” Piper asked, stealing the words from Bobby’s mouth before he could speak them.

  “Yep, she lives here year-round with her folks, but she’ll be out in Hollywood soon I’m sure. She gives me goose bumps. Are you guys ready to order?”

  When Bobby stood, ignoring the waitress completely, Piper told her they would need just another minute. He walked toward the piano, forgetting he didn’t have a plan and was hoping one would come to him.

  He was just a few feet from the edge of the piano when he saw her face under the dim light and instantly flashed back to the day he’d seen her chained to the wall of her parents’ apartment. Unfortunately his face seemed to have the same effect on Willow. Her hands froze over the keys of the piano and her voice ceased in her throat.

  “It’s you,” she whispered, but it echoed through the restaurant, as she was still speaking into the microphone at her lips. Piper was by his side now, her hand steadying him, keeping his feet in his shoes, rather than floating away the way his mind was.

  The girl stood and called over her shoulder to the man behind the bar that she’d be back in a few minutes. She pulled her coat on and stepped out onto the long porch lined with rocking chairs. Bobby and Piper reached for their coats and joined her.

  “Holy shit,” she said, as they stepped out and she saw his face in the sunlight. She was a pretty girl, one you’d stop and give a second look. Her almond shaped eyes and dark skin reminded Bobby instantly of Jedda. Her face was painted with disbelief. “You’re the boy who came with Jedda that day.”

  “Yes,” he said, staring down at his feet as though he’d done something wrong.

  “What are you doing here? Is Jedda okay?” she put her hand over her heart, protecting it.

  “I think he’s fine, I haven’t seen him. I came to see how you were, what you were doing.”

  “Why?” she demanded, now appearing suspicious about her past finding her here.

  “I’ve spent a lot of my life wondering if I could have done more to stop Jedda from what he did to your parents. I became a cop. I’ve pushed people away, all in the pursuit of finding a better way to solve what seemed like an impossible problem. I thought finding you would help me understand what happened that day, and what more I could have done.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him and crinkling up her nose. “He saved my life, why would you have wanted to stop him? I’d be dead, or at least I’d want to be dead. My brother saved me.” She stormed to the other edge of the long porch and stared down toward the water. She picked at her fingernails and mumbled to herself angrily.

  “I’m not trying to upset you,” Bobby said tentatively, slowly making his way to her side. “I’m just wondering why everyone seems to think that murder was the only option. Couldn’t he have called the police? Maybe you two would be together now.”

  She spun to face him. “Which police should he have called? The ones my father paid to tell them about runaways so he could buy and sell them? I don’t know what you think that was, but I can tell you if you think you could have or should have stopped Jedda, then you don’t have a clue. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I have amazing parents, I’ve undergone years of therapy, and I don’t blame my brother. I owe it all to him. He sacrificed himself for me.” She jabbed her finger at his chest as she spoke and he took the blows as punishment for upsetting her.

  Bobby let her words sink through his skin, push their way through his tissue and muscle and reach the core of him. “Have you seen him?” he asked her, trying to disarm the stiffness in her back.

  “I’ve tried, he won’t see me. After the fifteenth time I went and was turned away, I just stopped trying. He wrote me a letter telling me to put it behind me, put him behind me.” She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one. As if the thought struck her too late, she offered them one and they both shook their heads in unison.

  “So what are you here for, some kind of forgiveness or something?” Bobby looked her over and realized her edges didn’t seem as soft now that she had a billow of smoke escaping her mouth. On closer inspection, the sweet-looking girl had a small, scrolling tattoo peeking out from the cuff of her white shirt where it wrapped around her wrist. Her ears had at least five piercings each. Her blonde hair had a small streak of purple running through it. She was an artist, Bobby reminded himself as he nearly passed judgment on her appearance.

  “I’m not here for forgiveness. I’ve just spent a lot of my life wondering if maybe things could have been different, if Jedda hadn’t killed your parents.”

  “Let me help you out there then,” she shot back as she flicked the ashes from her cigarette. “The answer is yes, things would be very different. But if Jedda hadn’t killed them, they’d likely be dead by now anyway. That tends to happen to people who sell children the same way you sell a used car. They double-crossed so many people it would have caught up with them eventually. The difference is, by my next birthday I would have been considered old enough to sell off to the highest bidder and I would have disappeared, lost to whatever evil lives out there in the night. Jedda would never have forgiven himself for that, and he likely would have landed himself in prison sooner or later. And you,” she pointed up at Bobby, her annoyance clearly growing by the minute, “if you would have told anyone—your parents, the police—all it would have done is gotten me punished in a way your brain can’t comprehend. And I likely would have been moved to a place where Jedda never could have found me again. These aren’t thrown together little enterprises. These are well funded, well protected human-trafficking rings. Jedda knew that. My brother was not a bad person. If there had been any other way to save me, he would have.”

  Bobby had nothing left to say. Every ounce of conviction and argument left his body as he let her points sink in. He felt like he was a wall being torn down. His mother had pulled away some bricks by shedding light on his parents’ marital problems, their own journey that was exclusive of what happened that day. Piper had pulled down sections of her own, pushing him to his limits while taking down Judge Lions and proving him wrong in the process. She’d taken down even more that day in the cabin, the day she asked him to put love before fear and duty. Now here, standing before a girl he’d spent his life picturing as broken and chained, he felt the remaining pieces fall away. As a boy he swore he’d never let anything like that happen again. Now he realized these events were never in his control. Doing everything by the book didn’t save you from the bad in the world. It was always there waiting for you, so, when given the chance, maybe it was right to destroy it first.

  He thought back to something Jedda had told him when they were children. Life isn’t some scale, perfectly balanced. If you walk around thinking just because you don’t plan to sting a bee it won’t sting you, then you are being naive. The world doesn’t play by that rule. You might never have intention of causing harm, but that doesn’t protect you from it.

  “Does he let you visit?” Willow asked, her anger seeming to subside slightly. She flicked the ashes off her cigarette again and leaned against the building.

  “He didn’t want us to when I was younger, but my parents have been going again recently. They say he’s doing well. They tell me he’s happy, no regrets.”

  At the sound of those words Willow lost the last bit of her steely composure and covered her mouth as the tears started to fall. Of course, Bobby realized, Willow may have been happy with the way things turned out, but she must have carried the burden that it came at the expense of her
brother’s freedom.

  “I was with him right up until he did it, Willow,” Bobby reached his hand out to her shoulder. “He would have given more than his freedom to save you. He would have died that day if he had to. There was nothing in the world more important to him than you. And my parents told me he wouldn’t change a thing.” She rolled forward into his arms and he welcomed it. He was a boy the last time they had seen each other and he didn’t know how to help her. Now, standing here all these years later, he’d given her the only thing he could, the same freedom from all of this he had come looking for. “The best thing you can do, Willow, is live the life he wanted you to have. You are a beautiful singer, you have a gift, go make the most of it.”

  “I’m going to school,” she said, pulling away from him and smiling with pride. “I wasn’t sure until right now, I’ve been ignoring the applications, but I’ve been planning to go to the Manhattan School of Music. I just haven’t been able to work up the courage to leave this island.”

  “Well when you go, my parents aren’t far if you need anything. They are going to visit Jedda next week. I’m thinking about going with them. I can let you know how it goes.”

  “Okay,” she reached in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. They exchanged numbers, as she tried to wipe the black mascara from under her eyes.

  “I’m sorry if I was kind of an ass,” Willow said, hugging Bobby before he stepped down the stairs and headed back to the ferry.

  “I’m sorry I just showed up. I didn’t mean to spring all this on you.”

  “Call next time.” She waved at them as they headed back down the dock. He felt physically lighter. This must be what people mean when they say it feels as if a weight has been lifted.

  The horn to the ferry blew, and Bobby and Piper headed back for the dock.

  “What?” he asked, knitting his brows together, trying to imagine what was making her smirk so confidently.

  “I told you so.” Piper’s smug expression dimmed slightly as she pulled him in for a tight hug, burying her face into him for warmth.

  “Really?” he asked, pulling her back slightly so he could get a better look at her face. “You’re going with I told you so, in this moment? You think that’s appropriate?”

  “You know I’m emotionally stunted. It isn’t my fault.” Her grin was wide now and she reached her hands up to his face. “It was either I told you so, or I was going to ask if we were back together yet. I flipped a coin.”

  “You have problems,” he groaned with a deadpan look on his face, his lips just inches from hers.

  “Just be glad I knew enough not to go back in and get my food to go, I’m starving. There’s a hotel across the street. We could stay the night.”

  “I want to kiss you right now, but I’m not going to.” He looked away from her and leaned back slightly. “I’m happy to have found Willow, but I need time to think about today. Let’s catch the ferry.”

  It was difficult for her to not show the disappointment she was feeling, but she did her best to hide it. “It’s all right Bobby. You waited for me, I can wait for you.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It wasn’t really necessary to send a whole group of people to the airport to pick someone up. But when that someone was Betty, and the image of her flying was a cross between comical and terrifying, it tended to draw a crowd.

  “Ten dollars says she had some pointers for the pilot when they landed,” Jules laughed as they all craned their necks to get a look at the crowds coming down the escalator, knowing Michael and Betty would be arriving soon.

  “I’ll take that bet and I’ll raise you that she refused to take her shoes off in the security line because ‘This ain’t the cornfield, and we aren’t savages,’” Bobby mused, giving his best Betty impression.

  “I’m sure she did fine,” Piper insisted as she dug her elbow into Bobby’s ribs. “Look, there they are.” She pointed to Betty and Michael as they stepped through the last security gate.

  The hugs exchanged were hardy ones with tight squeezes and happy coos. Bobby and Piper froze as Michael leaned down to hug Jules. Would he notice the way she had changed? Could he tell something was different?

  If he did notice anything, his face didn’t show it. The only thing that passed between them was an awkwardly mumbled, “Hey.”

  “So, I’m here,” Betty said breathlessly, handing the bag weighing down her shoulder to Bobby. “Now what?”

  “You’re going to love it here, Betty,” Piper assured her, happy they were all together again.

  “Well I better since I risked my life to be here. What a ridiculous form of transportation that is. The whole idea of it is completely unnatural and I nearly lost my breakfast. Not to mention I was sitting next to the snootiest woman who ever lived. She didn’t want to chat at all. She had her nose so high in the air, she’d drown in a rainstorm.”

  “Thank goodness you had Michael with you,” Piper chimed back, trying to remind Betty that it could have been worse.

  “Yes,” Michael laughed as he pulled up his sleeve and exposed his forearm. “I’m not sure a stranger would have enjoyed your nails digging into his arm for two hours.” His arm was filled with multiple crescent-shaped indents, all in varying shades of red.

  “Well I didn’t make the plane bump all around like that. Every time we bounced I said the Lord’s Prayer, and thought we were goners.”

  “It’s done now,” Bobby said, herding the group toward the exit. “Let’s all go get checked into the hotel and you can rest for a little while. We have plans to meet up with Connie and Marty for dinner tonight.”

  As they walked out the doors of the airport and joined the bustling noisy crowd, Piper watched Betty’s body language quickly change. She pulled her purse closer to her body and knit her brows as she watched cars and taxicabs whiz by with almost no regard for pedestrians. Piper watched as Betty’s nose wrinkled at the smell of exhaust and that mysterious musk of the city. It was the mix of sweat spilled from hard-working blue-collar men and the blending together of the diverse foods found on every corner.

  They all moved through the parking garage and Betty jumped at the sound of every screeching tire and slamming door. Shouts rang out as a man hung out his window to curse another driver who had just stolen his parking spot.

  “I had every intention of at least pretending to like this place,” Betty said as she sat down in the backseat of the car. “I’ve changed my mind.”

  “There’s a lot more to see here, Ma. You’ll love Central Park, and we plan to see some museums this week. Just give it a chance,” Jules said encouragingly, as she patted her mother’s leg.

  As they entered the heart of the city, Piper found her eyes fixed on Betty. She watched her face pressed to the glass trying to crane her neck up to see the tops of the skyscrapers as Bobby weaved their car through them. They were headed to the exciting part of the city. Connie had sent them their hotel confirmation and, much to Piper’s surprise, they’d be staying at one of the most prestigious hotels in Manhattan. She had heard of it, walked by it, but never put a foot in the lobby before. The bill would likely be a fortune; three rooms for three nights seemed incredibly extravagant and added slightly to Piper’s growing skepticism of the Wheelers’ over-the-top efforts to keep her happy and close.

  As they pulled up to the hotel valet, she heard a long whistle come from Jules’s perfectly peach lips. “Well ain’t this the life?”

  “We’re staying at the Waldorf?” Michael asked, spinning in the passenger seat to raise a confused eyebrow at Piper. “Are you sure this guy’s a doctor and not a secret lottery winner or something?”

  “They want us to get the city experience for Christmas. There are hotels closer to them, but they thought we would enjoy our time more seeing the sights. They knew we would have preferred to spend Christmas back in Edenville, and they wanted to make it worth our while.” Piper could tell her voice sounded defensive, but she couldn’t help it.

  They all stepp
ed out of the car as a swarm of valets came to open the doors and take their luggage. “I think it’s lovely, dear,” Betty sang, clasping her hands together as she tried to take in the enormity and glamour of the hotel in front of her. “They must really care about you. And why wouldn’t they? You’d be a wonderful addition to any family.”

  And there it was, that small, hard-to-define quality that made Betty the best person Piper had ever met. If Betty had her own internal concerns about these strangers entering into Piper’s life, she wasn’t showing it. That’s not to say she may not have reservations regarding the situation, but what made Betty special was her ability to time that conversation, to weigh out what she’d want to say against what needed to be said. Betty didn’t pull any punches when it was needed, but she was wise enough to realize that timing was everything.

  Betty, Piper, and Jules all giggled as they were handed glasses of champagne and greeted by a sharply dressed concierge with deep green eyes and dark, warm skin. His smile was so bright their eyes couldn’t help but fix on it. The dimple that sat to the left of it made his face almost childlike, but the body, muscular and broad under his vest, reminded them quickly he was all man. Before anyone could speak he got right down to business. “You must be the guests of Dr. and Mrs. Wheeler. Welcome. We have your reservation ready. Rather than three separate rooms we’ve upgraded you to the Tower Suite. It has more than enough space to accommodate your group, and the view is one of the best in the city. In the room you’ll find a fully stocked refrigerator as well as a complimentary bar. You can feel free to help yourself to anything in the room, free of charge. Pierre will take your luggage up to your room and ensure everything is up to your standards.”