The Rebel's Redemption

by Kira Sinclair

  The three women stood there, staring at each other. Mrs. Collins blinked owlishly. Her mouth opened and shut. Opened again, but no sound came out. Shaking her head, she tottered over to a nearby chair and dropped into the soft leather.

  Great. This wasn’t going to help the other woman’s recovery after being assaulted.

  Anger slowly welled inside Piper. This wasn’t okay.

  Kneeling in front of Mrs. Collins, she grasped the other woman’s hands and looked her in the eye. “Are you okay?”

  She cocked her head and truly considered the answer before squeezing Piper’s hand. “I’m a little shaken up, but I’m fine.” Her grip tightened and something sharp flitted across her expression. “Are you okay?”

  Piper’s lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile. “Yes.” Even if she wasn’t—and she wasn’t entirely certain whether she was yet—she wouldn’t burden a patient with the truth.

  Mrs. Collins apparently wasn’t having any of that. She cocked a single eyebrow, her gaze flitting down Piper’s suit and purposely lingering on the coffee stains that were starting to dry. “You know, it doesn’t do you or anyone around you any good if you’re not honest about how you’re feeling.”

  This time the laugh Piper let out was absolutely genuine. “I’m not sure how I feel about having my own words used against me.”

  The other woman shrugged. “Sometimes we need to hear the tough things from someone else.”

  “Very true. I’m shaken up. And I’m pissed. But I’ll be okay.”

  “Now that sounds more like the truth.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to deal with this.” Glancing up at Elizabeth, Piper said, “We need to reschedule all the appointments for this morning until I can get this taken care of. Please tell anyone we move that they’re welcome to call me directly if there’s anything they need to discuss before we can get them back in.”

  Nodding her head, Lizzy left to have it taken care of.

  “Mrs. Collins, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best if we reschedule your appointment, too. I’ll ask Anthony to take you out the back door and escort you to your car.”

  With a smile, she reached up and tapped Piper on the cheek. “That would be lovely. He’s such a sweet boy. Reminds me of my Douglas.”

  After getting Mrs. Collins squared away, Piper crossed the front room. Her office was a beautiful town house in a section of town that had been turned from residential to commercial several years ago. It was the perfect setting for her practice. Cozy and not clinical. Welcoming and comfortable. She’d carefully designed the interior.

  The front room was a cross between a parlor and a reception area. There was a sofa and a couple chairs, all oversize and leather. In the winter there was always a fire burning in the fireplace. Her office was located in the back. She’d knocked down a wall to combine two rooms to give her plenty of space.

  Right now she wasn’t worried about the decor though. Crossing the room, Piper pulled back the heavy linen drape covering the large picture window and frowned at the group of people milling just off her property on the sidewalk by the street.

  Had the group of them grown? Probably.

  Behind her, she heard the office door open and close. Lizzy strode across the room to stand at the window with her. She made a sound in the back of her throat, a cross between disapproval and irritation.

  “Right there with you,” Piper responded. It was about all she could say.

  Reaching beyond her, Lizzy pulled the curtain closed, blocking out the chaos on the street.

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  Lizzy nodded, but apparently wasn’t willing to take Piper at her word. “He’s handsome as hell.”

  “What?”

  “Anderson Stone. I’m just saying, he’s handsome as hell.”

  Piper frowned. “I guess I’ve never thought about it.”

  Lizzy’s eyebrows rose, silently calling her on the lie. “Please.”

  Piper shrugged. “We were just friends. Before. And now we’re nothing.” The words sounded off even to her own ears.

  “Uh-huh. That picture didn’t look like nothing.”

  And that was the problem, wasn’t it? The reason a dozen reporters were camped out in front of her place of business. The moment captured in that photograph was innocent, but beneath the layers of civility there’d been something more.

  There’d always been something more.

  And now everyone could see it, even her amazing but boring office manager.

  But the bigger problem was that she didn’t want there to be nothing. She wanted so much more, even if she shouldn’t. Even if wanting wouldn’t get her anywhere.

  Rather than respond to Lizzy, Piper pulled back the curtain again. At least this was a problem she could solve.

  Fishing her phone out of the bag she’d dropped by the door on her sprint inside, Piper called her stepfather. She’d never needed his security team’s help before, but she wasn’t too proud to ask for it now.

  Especially when her patients were being affected. This had to stop.

  * * *

  Stone stared out the large window of his father’s office. Below him, he watched as several trucks loaded with steel pulled away from the building. Behind him, he could hear the mundane sounds of an office at work even through the closed door. And if he took the time to walk across to the next building, he’d hear the clings and clangs of a working mill. He’d see the people who spent their lives supporting the legacy his family had built.

  And he felt guilty.

  Because he really didn’t want to be there.

  Nothing about Anderson Steel had ever excited him. But ten years ago, he’d been absolutely ready to devote his life to the company. Because it was what was expected. Because it was his legacy. Because he never wanted to disappoint his parents, who had taken the business and grown it into an international powerhouse.

  It was amazing how losing your freedom could change your perspective. He’d taken the time to get the education he needed in order to be successful at stepping into his parents’ shoes. And, yet, he was less inclined to actually do it now.

  He’d already given up ten years of his life. Years he didn’t regret. But he wasn’t ready to commit the rest to doing something he didn’t love.

  The problem was, he had no idea what he did want to do, which made saying no very selfish.

  The door behind him opened, the office noise getting louder, but Stone didn’t bother turning. He already knew it was his dad. Mostly because the other man was issuing instructions to the staff that constantly followed behind him. “Make sure I get the report from Tokyo before the end of the day. I won’t accept any more excuses.”

  He’d heard that tone from his dad more than a few times in his life, gruff and with a tinge of disappointment sharpening the edge. It was never a comfortable experience and for a brief moment Stone felt sorry for whoever was late on the report. But that didn’t last when the door closed with a quick snick, muting everything beyond the office again.

  He was not looking forward to this conversation.

  His father didn’t bother saying anything as he crossed the room and came to stand next to Stone. Together, they watched the scurry of activity below them in silence.

  Finally, his dad said, “Stop, son.”

  Slowly, Stone’s head swiveled. “What?”

  A brief smile flitted across his father’s face. “I can hear your brain going like a freight train from here, son. I didn’t ask you to come in today to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, so stop worrying.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Shaking his head, his dad walked to the big chair behind his desk, spun it out and dropped into it. “You’re my son, Stone. And I’ve always known that taking over Anderson Steel wasn’t high on your
wish list of career options.”

  “What?” Was he a broken record today? “Then why the hell did you pressure me to pursue business at Harvard?”

  His dad shrugged. “When you were younger you didn’t seem to have another path that you preferred so I pushed you into business hoping you’d find whatever sparked your passion...and if you didn’t then you’d be prepared to take up the reins here.”

  “And why did you offer me a job when I got out?”

  “Because I wanted to make sure you knew that you had not only my full support, but the support of the company and board. Do you think they would have allowed me to bring you on if they thought you were going to be a liability?”

  No, now that he thought about it, he didn’t. God, he was so stupid for not realizing that immediately. He had an MBA for God’s sake. He should have been thinking through the implications of the offer, not drawn into a mental tailspin trying to decide how to respond. Yet another failure he could add to the tally.

  Maybe at the core of everything, he’d been so worried about giving his father an answer because he didn’t feel worthy to be part of Anderson. To help carry on his great-grandfather’s legacy.

  He’d gotten his MBA in prison for God’s sake. Not exactly the path most high-level CEOs would take. Not only didn’t he want to be here, but he didn’t deserve to be here.

  “You don’t need to have an answer today. Or even next month. The offer is on the table and I have no intention of retracting it. But I want you to take the time to get comfortable and figure out what you really want. Your mother and I have only ever hoped for your happiness, Stone.”

  Stone stared at his dad, unable to stop himself from comparing his own family to Gray’s, who had disowned him, even in spite of his repeated protests that he hadn’t been guilty of the embezzlement he’d been convicted of.

  And here Stone was, absolutely guilty of manslaughter and his parents were accepting him just as he was. Even though he’d never shared with them the extenuating circumstances surrounding Blaine’s death. They’d simply accepted he was the man he’d always professed to be and that he wouldn’t do something like that without justification.

  “I love you, Dad.”

  Warmth flashed through his dad’s deep brown eyes. “I love you, too, son.”

  Suddenly, overwhelmed and exhausted, Stone collapsed into the chair across from his father’s desk. Tugging a hand through his hair, he closed his eyes and just took a few seconds to breathe. The weight he hadn’t realized he was shouldering eased a little.

  The comfortable silence that had settled over the room was broken by the sudden buzzing of a cell phone. His dad leaned forward to check the screen resting on his desk. Grabbing it up, he answered, “Morgan, how are you doing?”

  For some reason, Stone’s body went tight.

  His father and Piper’s stepfather were more than neighbors. They’d been friends for years and had a monthly poker game with several of Charleston’s business elite. That friendship had continued through Blaine’s death and Stone’s incarceration. So there was nothing unusual about Morgan McMillan’s phone call.

  Except the expression on his dad’s face.

  “No, our PR team has been fielding all requests and declining them. Stone’s been purposely staying close to home so they wouldn’t have a target. I’m so sorry that’s left Piper exposed.”

  Stone shot out of his chair, the heavy wooden legs scraping loudly across the marble floor. “What?”

  His dad held up a finger in Stone’s direction. “Yes, I’ll have our team issue a warning to the media and I think it’s a good idea to give her some extra security. I’ll send someone from our team right away.”

  Stone’s hands ached. Looking down, he realized he was gripping the edge of his father’s desk, his knuckles bright white from the effort. Letting go, he shook out his hands.

  “No, I insist, Morgan. This is our responsibility. We knew there might be issues so my team is prepared... I’m just sorry Piper is taking the brunt of things right now. But we’ll keep her safe.”

  His father dropped his cell to the desktop and sagged back into his chair. “Goddammit.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Apparently, without another target handy, the paparazzi has decided to camp out in front of Piper’s office. Obviously, that’s a problem considering what she does. She can’t have media recording her patients coming and going from her office. It’s a major privacy violation.”

  Picking up his cell again, his dad started making phone calls. Stone paused long enough to hear him tell the head of security at Anderson Steel to send a team to Piper’s office, which was great.

  But Stone wasn’t about to wait.

  Six

  “I’m so sorry about this,” Piper said, listening to the voice at the other end of the phone and staring out the windows of her office. “Yes, of course we can schedule an extra appointment for next week if you feel it’s necessary. But, Margaret, I don’t know that you need it. You’re making such great progress. I have faith in your ability to handle the next few days on your own. And you know I’m only a phone call away if you need me.”

  Ending the call, Piper stood from her desk to get a better look at the street a story below. Yep, they were still camped out on her front stoop.

  Flipping her wrist over, she looked at her watch. It had been three hours since she’d called her stepfather. Some officers had shown up to clear the street, but once they were gone the reporters had returned. She was expecting a couple of his security team to show up shortly.

  And after spending the last couple hours speaking with the patients she’d had to reschedule, she was feeling a little restless and a lot impatient.

  There were two things that would scatter the vultures sitting outside. One, if a tastier story came along to distract them. Or, two, they got at least a small piece of something to satisfy their appetite.

  She’d never been the kind of person to sit and wait for someone else’s misfortune to save her and she wasn’t about to start today.

  Arms crossed, Piper stared down at the knot of people milling just off her lawn. One of the women was familiar. Not only because she was a local media personality, but also because she’d personally approached Piper several weeks ago when Stone’s release was announced. The woman had clearly been fishing then, so she’d been easy to dismiss.

  But maybe Piper could use their previous interaction to her advantage. Crossing to her desk, Piper dug out the business card she’d carelessly tossed into a drawer and flipped it over several times without actually looking at the information embossed on the glossy surface.

  Thoughts whirled through her brain. Images she tried not to think about merged with her encounter with Stone from the other night. Past and present melded together in a jumble that left her feeling off-kilter. Damn, she wasn’t sure this was the right move, but she didn’t have another idea right now.

  Picking up her cell phone, she dialed and quickly made an appointment. She was setting it down again when a commotion in the hallway startled her.

  A door slammed.

  “You can’t just barge—” Lizzy’s raised voice bounced down the hall.

  The door to her office burst open, slamming into the opposite wall before rebounding to smack against Stone’s tall frame standing in the middle of the doorway.

  Behind him, Elizabeth peered around his large shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Piper. I tried to stop him.”

  “It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but it was hardly Elizabeth’s fault Stone’s rough edges were apparently out to play again today. “I’ve finished calling all the patients. Please let everyone know that if they don’t have anything else pressing, they can take the rest of the day off. Hopefully, things will have settled down by tomorrow.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” Stone sniped under his breath.

 
Piper chose to ignore him. “Thank you for your help today and I’ll be in touch later to let everyone know about tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you,” Elizabeth asked. With a quirked eyebrow, she gave Stone a quick once-over before throwing Piper a pointed glance.

  They’d worked together long enough, and developed enough of a silent language that Piper knew exactly what Lizzy was asking.

  Was she sure she wanted to be left alone with Stone?

  If she was smart, the answer would be no. But that was hardly for the reason Elizabeth might expect.

  “Nope, I’m good. I promise.”

  Lizzy shrugged. “If you’re sure.”

  The minute she closed the door, shutting Piper and Stone into the office, she wanted to take it back. But she wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

  Sweeping a hand at the two armchairs she often used for sessions, Piper silently asked him to have a seat. Maybe she just needed to treat this—and him—like any other person she was attempting to help.

  Stone frowned, but dropped into the chair before saying “I’m sorry” in a hard voice that belied the words.

  “No, you’re not.”

  Tipping his head to the side, he studied her for several seconds before finally agreeing. “You’re right. I’m not.”

  “You’ve never lied to me before, no reason to start now.”

  That was the one thing she could say with absolute certainty about their relationship. They’d told each other the truth, no matter what. Although, obviously there were things then—and now—she’d simply chosen not to address. But she wasn’t willing to view that as lying by omission.

  Although, for the first time ever she began to wonder what he might have kept to himself...

  “What are you doing here, Stone?”

  “Morgan called my dad about the reporters outside your office.”

  “And you thought the best way to keep the gossip from blowing up even more was to show up here?” He’d never struck her as unintelligent, but that had to be the most asinine thing she’d ever heard.