Chapter 14 Piper
FOURTEEN
Piper
I pulled up in front of my mom’s old house and cut the engine.
It wasn’t my mom’s place anymore though, was it? It was Grayden’s now.
Grabbing the bag of pastries I’d brought, along with the to-go double espresso, I got out. The fizzy feeling in my belly increased at the thought of seeing him again.
The last time had been the night we had dinner at Hearthstone. Weeks ago. I had not been avoiding him.
I had just been…busy.
As I’d mentioned to Grayden, the holidays were always an action-packed time of year in Silver Ridge with all the festivities. Like brand-new holiday latte flavors, the annual toy drive Silver Linings hosted, and our obligatory Santa visit at the coffee shop.
Zandra’s grandfather, Manny Alvarez, had volunteered to play the big man this year. Which turned out to be a big mistake, after Manny made three kids in a row cry when he interrogated them about whether they were on the naughty list. Yikes.
Then Ollie and I jetted off to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with Teller and Ayla. We’d enjoyed the warm temperatures and the stunning views from Ayla’s house in Malibu. Ollie had loved playing in the Pacific Ocean, even though it was downright freezing, and Teller taught him to boogie board.
But now the holiday gauntlet was officially over, and it was way past time to pay my tenant a friendly visit.
I didn’t like the way we’d left things last time. That tension between us. Questions I wouldn’t ask and things he wouldn’t say.
But pastries and coffee would solve everything, right?
Approaching the house was a surreal experience. Grayden had lived here for three weeks, and it looked so different already. All the weeds were gone. The dry grass was trimmed back. The siding had been scraped in preparation for repainting, and the broken slats on the porch were fixed.
I noticed Grayden’s truck wasn’t out front, but didn’t think too much of it.
Until I knocked at the door and there was no answer. Dang it. But if he wasn’t here anyway, it wouldn’t hurt if I did a little more harmless spying, right?
The view through the front window revealed the inside of the house was transformed too.
The mess in the living room had vanished, along with the dirty old carpet.
Instead, planks of laminate covered half the floor, with boxes of more waiting nearby.
The new overhead light fixture was sleek and modern, and tasteful roman shades had replaced the ancient curtains.
Thankfully, Grayden had left the shade up for me to snoop.
I imagined him busy at work, kneeling as he laid the new flooring. Probably in a tight T-shirt, tattooed muscles flexing. Ass prominent in his snug jeans.
I might’ve fantasized about him over the holidays. Once or twice.
Strolling around the side of the house, I peeked at the carport at the end of the driveway, confirming Grayden’s truck wasn’t there either.
I had time before my next appointment, so I could stick around to wait for Grayden to come home.
No big deal. It was the friendly thing to do, since I’d brought him coffee.
Of course, I had a key, but I didn’t want to go inside without giving Grayden a heads up.
I was contemplating whether to text him when I heard a noise near the back of the house. It had sounded like a loud thump. As if someone had just dropped something heavy.
Was Grayden in there after all?
But as I reached the next window, which overlooked one of the bedrooms, it wasn’t Grayden I saw inside.
It was Danny. My creep of an ex-husband.
What on earth was Danny doing here?
Instinctively, I ducked back so he wouldn’t see me. Then inched forward to spy on him. Danny was pawing through the contents of a cardboard box. He tossed it aside and opened another.
I’d had no idea he was even in Hart County. And he had no right whatsoever to be inside a house that I owned.
Fury ignited in my chest as I marched to the back of the house. The door yawned open. Danny had broken the lock.
I stepped inside the enclosed sunporch, setting the coffee and pastries down on a side table along with my purse. It looked like Grayden had been sleeping back here, judging from the twisted blankets and pillow lying on top of a new futon.
His duffel slumped against a wall, clothing spilling out. It made me feel a brief pang of tenderness toward him.
But unless Grayden was a complete slob who typically left all his belongings strewn over the floor, Danny had been in here too.
My body went hot and then cold with mortification. Danny had been rifling through Grayden’s personal things.
There were books thrown around haphazardly, papers with pencil and ink designs. Art supplies. Plastic bottles of tattoo ink. One was broken, with vivid red smeared on the tile.
I would not let my ex get away with this.
My fists clenched as I stormed into the bedroom where I’d seen Danny before. And there he was, dumping out yet another cardboard container, this one full of fabric. Probably stuff Grayden had carefully boxed up from the previous tenant.
“Danny,” I choked out. “Have you lost your mind? What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He had the decency to look ashamed for one split second. Then his mouth slid into a sneer. “You got rid of it, didn’t you? Just to spite me.”
“Got rid of what? What are you talking about?”
He brushed his sweaty hair back from his forehead. Danny’s cut was usually styled with enough gel to withstand a hurricane. I’d seen how long it took him to get that wave just right in the mirror. But today, his hair was as disheveled as his wrinkled polo and khakis.
“The last time I talked to you.” He jabbed an accusatory finger at the air as he spoke. “I asked you specifically on the phone about that box with your mom’s old jewelry in it.”
“My mother’s jewelry,” I repeated.
I did remember him saying something about a box in my mom’s basement. That was the day Grayden overheard my conversation. I also remembered telling Danny I wanted nothing to do with it.
“Yes, Piper. That’s what I said. How stupid are you?”
My insides shrank. Danny had always known which insults hurt me the most.
“What, you want her gold-plated cross necklace and her wedding ring with the fake emerald?” I asked. “You think that stuff is worth anything?”
“It’s not the jewelry I wanted. There was something else, and it’s fucking important. Like I told you.”
“This is your latest scheme? A box with my mom’s unwanted stuff?”
Danny was pacing, gripping his hair again and he glanced around frantically at the mess he’d made. “It used to be in the basement. The old crap you couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of. But it’s not down there, and it’s not anywhere else either. So where is it?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
Danny had done some twisted things for money over the years. Like selling gossip about Ayla Maxwell to paparazzi.
But this was just…bizarre.
A laugh started in my chest, sneaking up into my throat.
He went still. Slowly turned. “Are you fucking laughing at me right now, Piper?”
“Yes, because this is absurd! If this box of Mom’s junk is so important to you, maybe you should try the dump. I’m guessing that’s where Grayden has been hauling things.”
Danny’s expression went even harder. “So that’s who’s renting this place now? Grayden O’Neal? I heard he was back in town, but I had no idea you were so close to him.” He looked me up and down with disgust. “You’re so desperate for money you’d rent this place to a felon?”
“I’ve had enough of this, Danny. Time for you to leave.” I would ask him to clean up his mess, but since when had he ever done that?
“What else are you doing for money, huh? Are you screwing him too?”
My face flushed with heat. “You have no right—”
“Answer the question.” Danny advanced on me, and I backed up instinctively until I hit the wall of the bedroom.
“Stop. I’m not doing this with you.”
“The only reason I’m here, doing this at all, is for Ollie and for you. To make things better for you two, like you’re always nagging me to do. And now I find out you’re slutting around with a criminal?”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “You’re trespassing. I’m calling the police.”
I started to take a step away, reaching for my phone in my pocket, and he shoved me back hard. My head thudded against the wall.
Shock had me in a daze. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
His hand came up just below my throat, pinning me. “I’ve put up with a lot from you over the years.” Danny’s voice was cruel and spiteful. “The disrespect. The lies you’ve spread about me in Hart County. I’m sick of it, Piper. So fucking sick of you.”
Fear spiked through me. I’d never been afraid of Danny hurting me before. We’d had our fights, our ugly moments during the divorce, but he’d never gotten physical. Never.
Right now, standing here with his hand at my throat and fury blazing in his eyes, I was genuinely scared.
“Danny,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Let me go.”
“Not until you tell me where that box is. See, I think you know. You’re playing a little game, thinking you can outsmart me.”
“I don’t even know what box you’re talking about!”
“Liar.”
“Danny, stop—”
His hand pressed against my throat, cutting off my words.