Chapter 19 Grayden
NINETEEN
Grayden
I’d barely slept a moment the last couple nights.
First, I’d scoured the old Landry house top to bottom, searching for the mystery box Danny had been looking for. Not because I wanted to help that waste of breath, obviously. But for Piper.
If there was something valuable in that house belonging to her mom, then I wanted Piper to have it.
No luck. Aside from some photos and mementos from Piper’s younger days that made me smile, I didn’t find anything worth ransacking the place.
Then I’d been on cleanup duty. Putting away all the stuff Danny had thrown around, the boxes he’d upended, my ink bottles he’d broken.
Thank goodness he hadn’t done any damage to items I couldn’t afford to replace. Like my tablet computer, which held all my digital designs, and my sketchbook.
Danny had broken the old lock on the back door to the house, which probably hadn’t taken much effort. So I’d replaced it with a nicer one. The house was pretty much back to normal now, and I was back to making progress on my various studio-prep projects.
But the other reason I hadn’t been sleeping? My mind had refused to stay quiet about the beautiful blond who’d become my obsession.
I’d been trying not to dwell on Piper, but it was hard. Part of me wondered what the hell I’d been thinking, turning down her offer of a no-strings hookup. It had been an impulsive move on my part, not just kissing her but wanting more. Wanting to try something real with her.
I could’ve spent some quality time getting horizontal with her that day. But no, I’d had to get a bug up my ass about dating her. On the very same day her ex had hurt her. Of course she’d shot me down.
We were beyond complicated, and I was hardly the picture of stability just yet.
There was exactly one person in Silver Ridge who believed I could deserve her. And that was me. Overconfident, perhaps?
But I didn’t regret anything I’d said to her that afternoon. It had been freeing to tell her the truth about my guilty plea, even if I hadn’t explained exactly why I would take the fall when I was innocent.
She’d listened. She’d believed me. That meant everything.
I’d kept my phone nearby the last two nights, just in case Piper called needing anything. Because I was a complete sucker for that woman. If Piper snapped her fingers, I’d probably start running.
And I didn’t even feel bad about it.
But Piper hadn’t texted or called. No news was probably good news, since it likely meant Danny hadn’t bothered her again. Yet it also meant I needed another excuse for seeing her.
Which explained why I was driving down Main Street right now, scanning for a parking space on this beautiful blue-sky winter day.
There were plenty of spaces near Silver Linings, so I pulled my truck into one. The door to the coffee shop flew open as I approached, and the tall blond of my dreams dashed out, running straight into me.
I caught her before she could stumble, my hands on her arms. “Whoa, Piper, what’s going on?”
“I can’t find Ollie.” She glanced back and forth with wide, frightened eyes. “He was inside a few minutes ago, and now he’s gone. His skateboard is too. Ollie has a basic phone so he can always reach me, but he left it inside. What if Danny—”
“Hey, don’t panic,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “Ollie wouldn’t just take off, even if his dad showed up, right? If he’s on his skateboard, he can’t have gone far. You think he’d go somewhere specific? The park?”
She pressed her fingers to her temple. “Maybe Main Street Market? Rosie always gives him candy.”
“You check there. I’ll walk around the block and see if I spot him.”
“I’ll text Rosie and some of the other shopkeepers. We have a group thread.”
“Sounds good.”
“If we don’t find him in five minutes…”
She trailed off, the rest of that sentence implied. She would call the police. Kids probably ran around half-wild in Silver Ridge all the time. Teller and I certainly had as kids, and so had my siblings.
But Piper and her ex had argued just days ago. I understood what she was afraid of.
“Five minutes,” I agreed.
Piper nodded and took off toward the market while I circled around to the side of Piper’s building. The alley was quiet except for the hum of an exhaust fan and the scrape of my boots on pavement.
Then I heard it. Soft whimpers.
I found Ollie beside the back door to Silver Linings, slumped against the wall with his skateboard lying a few feet away.
“Ollie?”
He rubbed his face with his arm, trying to hide his tears. His hands were scraped up, palms raw and bleeding.
He squinted at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Just stopped by for a coffee fix, and your mom couldn’t find you.” I pulled out my phone and sent Piper a quick text.
Found Ollie behind the building. He’s okay. Just a few scrapes. I’ll bring him inside
I approached and kneeled beside him. “Rough landing, huh?”
Ollie kept swiping at his face with the back of his wrist. He sniffled and nodded, not meeting my eyes. “I only wanted to skateboard around the building a couple times. I tried a trick and I fell.”
“Was it a cool trick?”
“Huh?” Ollie’s eyes scrunched up like he suspected I was making fun of him.
“I assume it was a cool trick. The ones that make you wipe out usually are.”
“I guess. Yeah, it would’ve been. If I’d made it.”
“Maybe next time. Need help getting up?”
“No.” He squirmed around. “But the back door is locked, and I didn’t wanna go around to the front because my mom would see what happened. Forgot my stupid dumbass phone inside because it’s boring. Doesn’t even have games or the internet.”
I forced myself not to smile at his cursing. “Come on. Time to face the music.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means you need to face your mom even if she might be mad.”
Grumbling, Ollie got to his feet. My fist rapped on the glass just below the Silver Linings Coffee logo. A familiar face appeared, one of Piper’s employees. Rina, according to her name tag.
Rina pushed the door open, looking past me at Ollie. “Dude, you ran off on me! I was supposed to be watching you!”
“Sorry.” Ollie shuffled through the back door as I held it open.
“Does Piper know where he is?” Rina asked me.
“Yeah, I texted her. She’s probably on her way back.”
Rina opened another door, revealing a tiny office space with a desk piled with papers. “Take him in here. I’ll grab the first-aid kit.”
Ollie went through the open door of Piper’s office and sat in a chair, cradling his hands. Piper appeared a moment later, out of breath and wearing a thunderous expression.
“I told you no skateboarding until later. I cannot believe you just left, Ollie.”
“I was bored. Rina was doing stuff, and you were busy, and I didn’t think anyone would notice.”
“Of course I noticed.” Piper crouched in front of him, her face a mixture of relief and frustration. “Ollie-bear, you’re all scraped up.”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Ollie said adamantly, glancing at me with his chin jutting out. Even as more tears were welling in his eyes.
Poor kid.
Rina popped her head in again. “Um, boss? I can’t find the first-aid kit.”
Piper sighed and got up. “It was right on that middle shelf.” She squeezed past me, going with Rina, and I realized how much of the space I was taking up in the small room.
I shifted my weight. “I’m going to head back out to the front and let your mom take care of you. Okay?”
“Wait.” Ollie’s voice was quiet. “Can you…”
I paused, studying him.
He dropped his gaze to his scraped palms. “My mom always puts hurty stuff on cuts. It stings, and I don’t…” His voice went even smaller, and the next few words came out in a rush. “Donwanna cry in fronofher.”
As soon as I figured out what he’d said, my chest twinged with empathy for him. He was trying so hard to be brave. “You can probably do the bandages yourself. You’re pretty grown up, right? I can show you what to do.”
He nodded, blinking the tears away.
When Piper came back with the first-aid kit, Ollie said, “Mom, I can do it myself.”
“Bud, I don’t think—”
“Grayden’s going to help me. I asked him to.”
Piper gave me a questioning look, and I smiled sheepishly. “I’ve got plenty of experience with bandages in my line of work. I’m happy to give him some tips.”
“Please, Mom? Could I have a hot cocoa? I know you’re mad, but I’ll pay for it from my allowance.”
“I’d love a double espresso,” I said softly. “I’ve been saving my allowance too.” I added a subtle wink, and a tiny smile appeared on Piper’s lips.
“Okay. Both of you can turn off the charm, because the drinks are on the house. I’ll put your orders in with Rina, and I’ll be back soon. Just call out if either of you needs anything.”
“Yes, Mom,” I said.
She smiled bigger and shook her head, retreating from the open doorway.
When I was a kid, my dad never would’ve patiently shown me how to clean my hands after a scrape, making sure I got all the dirt and bits of gravel out. Nah, my father had been the Shut up and quit being a crybaby type. Piper and Teller’s father had been the same way.
Made me wonder how Danny would’ve handled this, if he’d been the one to find Ollie instead of me.
Not that I was trying to be a father figure. But it took surprisingly little effort just to be kind and decent.
I pulled another chair up in front of Ollie and opened the first-aid kit. “Alright, let’s see what we’re working with.”
We started with the antiseptic wipes. Ollie flinched a few times, one tear rolling free. “You’re doing great,” I said. “That’s the hardest part.”
“I know.” He sniffled, dabbing at the cuts.
Ollie spread too much ointment over the scrapes, making a mess, and I held back a smile. I asked, “Why don’t you want your mom to see you crying? If you can cry in front of anyone, it should be your mom, right?”
He was quiet, and the hum of conversation between Piper and Rina filled the space along with the hiss of the espresso machine. “My mom has enough to deal with already. I don’t want to make her more sad or worried than she already is.”