14. Piper
FOURTEEN
PIPER
I stood in front of the main lobby entrance of The Sanctuary, hands stuffed into my pockets to guard from the blustery cold, shifting back and forth on my feet as I waited for an Uber.
Wondering what in the world I thought I was doing.
If I was actually doing this .
Taking steps to stay here the way Nelly had asked me to do.
Planting roots when I was sure there was zero chance of survival.
The only outcome was they’d wither and die.
Almost a week had passed since we’d been in Moonlit Ridge, and today, Nelly had finally coerced me into taking action.
Fear and anticipation buzzed through my being, and I swore that I could feel the tattoo on my forearm glow.
In sorrow we must stand.
It was time.
It was time.
Nelly was right.
I hadn’t seen my son so happy in all his life. His sweet little face aglow every time he woke up in the same place, as if this tiny cabin had become his happy place.
In it, my mind had begun to whirl with the possibilities I’d once thought inconceivable. Each morning as I drank my coffee, my gaze would drift out on the blue horizon that rested above the crisp, placid lake surrounded by the frozen forest.
Its peace murmuring that maybe…maybe if I just reached out beyond it and took it in my grasp, it could be ours.
A promise that we might be able to keep what this town hummed and whispered.
I stood in its promise now, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t completely shaking with trepidation at the same time.
That shaking gave way to an earthquake when the lobby door swished open.
His fierce, unrelenting energy swallowed me from behind.
I inhaled a shattered breath.
I’d halfway managed to avoid Theo Mallin for the last four days. I’d only caught peeks of him from out the windows as he continually prowled the vicinity, like he was one of the hired guards rather than the owner of this random motel that appeared to have more security than Fort Knox.
This menace of a man who never seemed to rest, stalking both night and day.
I couldn’t help but find some comfort in it. Resting within those cabin walls.
It was all I’d seen or heard of him other than the few texts he sent each day asking how we were doing. Reminding me constantly that he was the one to go to if I needed anything.
I’d felt his distance, too. As if whatever had happened on Sunday had shaken him out of the misguided pull that we felt toward each other.
But crap, how I felt that pull then.
The severity that thrashed as Theo came to a grinding stop when he found me there.
It took him half a second to gather whatever surprise he felt before he started to move again.
A landslide that swept up from behind.
There was nothing I could do but look over my shoulder as he strode my way.
All dark, deliciousness in the middle of the day.
“Hey,” he grunted.
His searing gaze raked over me where I stood trying not to tremble apart.
“Hi,” I returned on a haggard breath.
He glanced around like he was just realizing that Finn wasn’t with me.
“What are you doing out here?” The words were rusty.
A stir of anxiety rolled through me. How was I supposed to admit my intentions to him when I could barely admit them to myself?
“I…I’m heading out to run a few errands.”
His brows lifted, the contours of his rugged face flexing in what could only be construed as frustration. “Why didn’t you text me if you needed something?”
“Because while you might have missed it, I am capable of handling a few things on my own.”
I couldn’t help the sass from coming out. Not when he set me on edge and soothed me at the same time.
He rocked back on his heels, expression taking on a tone like he’d caught me committing a heinous act. “And what, you called a car instead of asking me to give you a ride?”
“Again, I’m capable of handling things.” My eyes narrowed. “Don’t you have a job to do around here or something?”
He stole forward, tattooed fingers roughing through the midnight locks of his hair, the man a shadow who came to stand over me. “My job is to take care of you while you’re here.”
“Is it?” I lifted my chin, fighting for any defense I could find. Because there was something about this man who made me want to surrender them.
He slipped closer—so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his flesh.
A rush of dizziness slammed me.
Senses filled with the aura of mossy woods and warm leather and that unmistakable insinuation of sex.
His words turned to grit. “You’re right, Piper. It shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t be thinking of you every second of the day and every long moment of the night. But there you always are, in the periphery of my sight.”
My pulse sped, and I tried to inhale a steadying breath.
The only thing I achieved was swilling the potency of the man.
“You shouldn’t think about me that way.”
He inched closer still. “No, I shouldn’t, should I? But knowing it doesn’t seem to change a damn thing.”
Attraction pounded.
A vibration that rippled and shook and nearly threw me off the path I needed to take. A stumble that would toss me straight into this man’s arms.
This man who I knew would absolutely devastate me.
The loneliness that ached inside promised that he would. I knew it with the way I wanted to be filled and touched and seen.
My spirit longing for something real.
Theo growled. “You shouldn’t be looking at me like that.”
“What am I looking at you like?” It came out raspy. A treacherous plea that begged me to betray every promise I’d made to myself.
His tongue stroked out to wet his plush bottom lip, his voice a rough caress that crawled across my flesh like the promise of what was to come. “Like you want me to take you back to my cabin and show you exactly what I’ve been fantasizing about.”
“That’s the last thing I want.” I barely managed it.
The man had the audacity to grin. “Little Liar.”
I finally jerked myself out of the stupor when a car pulled around the curved drive and stopped in front of us.
My heart rattled in my chest as I tore myself away, forcing out, “I have to go,” before I basically stumbled on unsteady feet toward the waiting car.
Head down, I opened the back passenger door, trying not to look back at Theo so he wouldn’t see how affected I was.
Only I could feel that dark gaze burning into me.
Eating me up.
Powerless, I looked that way.
He’d gone back to grinding his jaw, worry replacing the lust he’d been emitting a moment before. “You need me, Pipes, you call.”
I only gave him a slight nod before I jumped into the backseat of the car and slammed the door closed.
Knowing he was absolutely the last thing I needed and the one thing I’d come to want most.
Ten minutes later, the car pulled to the curb on 9 th Street in the busier part of Moonlit Ridge.
I mumbled, “Thank you,” as I opened the door and climbed out, and I inhaled a deep breath as I climbed onto the sidewalk.
Cold pressed in, and while the snow had begun to melt, it still clung to the awnings that jutted out over the cute storefronts that lined the street, and piles of it were pushed up against the sidewalk from the snowplow.
Even though it was afternoon, the white lights that had been strung from the eaves and windows for the holidays glittered and danced below the sun that sat directly above.
Every horizon was kissed in a bright, blinding blue.
The sky endless.
Like a promise that there were no barriers.
An urging that I didn’t have to live within the fortified walls that I’d erected for our life.
I just prayed I wasn’t being a fool trusting in it.
Nerves scattered as I glanced at the sign above the store.
Ivy Threads.
I’d seen an ad for it when I’d been searching through local businesses that were hiring.
It wasn’t like I would be designing any clothing the way I’d imagined and dreamed, but there was still something about it that stuck out to me.
Like I might be able to fit in.
Be a part of someone else’s vision of fashion.
An A-frame sign sat out front, and words were written in swirly, pastel letters on the black chalkboard surface.
Join us for our Grand Opening Tomorrow
Twenty-five percent off all day!
Anticipation buzzed through every cell in my body.
Though I froze in it as a creeping sense washed over me from behind. A prickling sense that something was there. That feeling I’d run from for so long. Afraid that one day he would catch up to me.
Warily, I turned to peek over my shoulder.
A ton of people moved along the sidewalks, everyone minding their own business as they dashed to wherever they were going.
My attention jumped in each direction, trying to fish out where the sensation was coming from.
Nothing.
There was nothing there.
How were we ever going to find peace if I was forever looking over my shoulder? But God, I wanted to try. I wanted to tap into what Nelly had encouraged.
So I sucked down all the fear, drew in a steeling breath, and tossed open the glass door that was framed in white wood.
I wore my nicest coat that was white with faux fur around the collar. I’d paired it with fitted jeans, a flowy, floral blouse, and heeled boots that came up past my knees.
I’d tried to find something that felt trendy and cute and like I might fit in at the clothing boutique.
A bell jingled overhead, and I stepped into the prettiest store I’d ever seen.
Decorated in every shade of pink and white.
A large, crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling, and it cast the boutique in an almost glamorous vibe, though the shelves and wood floors had been whitewashed, which tempered the space in a swath of coziness.
Plush velvet seating areas were situated around the different women’s and children’s clothing displays, and there were a ton of pink and white bouquets set on the counters and tables.
Everything about the store was so cute that a ribbon of peace slipped around me like a bow.
Then I nearly hightailed it back out the door when I realized what I stumbled on.