Chapter 21 Piper
TWENTY-ONE
Piper
I always felt a jolt of nostalgia when I stepped into Silver Ridge Elementary.
Maybe it was the aroma of cafeteria food mixed with that particular smell of construction paper. Or the motivational posters I could’ve sworn had been up since I was in school here.
Hang in there, kid.
“Hi Piper, you brought snacks?” another mom asked, holding the door for me. She was decked out in pristine yoga gear with her hair blown out. Meanwhile, I was pretty sure I had latte stains on my jeans and my hair was half out of its messy knot.
I shifted my tray of mini cupcakes, all gluten and dairy free, to my other hand. “It’s for career day in my son’s fourth-grade class. Our new baker does them.”
“Dillon Kirby, the cute one?”
“Uh, yep. That’s him.”
“I see his mother at yoga.” She nudged me. “Dillon’s grown up a lot, hasn’t he?” Her tone dripped with innuendo.
“Um, I guess. But I like my guys older, personally.”
“I sense gossip. Who’s the lucky older man?”
“Oh, no one. There’s nobody. Not at all.”
“Uh huh.” She did not look convinced.
Hopefully, I wasn’t blushing.
I said goodbye and took the hallway for Ollie’s class. Time to pick up my pace. I wasn’t late, but it was close.
I was here today to wax poetic to Ollie’s class about the joys of running my own coffee shop. Most of the kids had been to Silver Linings before, so my career day presentation would at least have some relevance to them.
Never mind the fact that the cozy atmosphere of my coffee shop sometimes felt out of step with the stresses of my real life. Especially lately.
But Ollie’s teacher hadn’t invited me to hear my complaints about bills or ex-husbands. Or my confusing feelings for handsome, older men with the last name O’Neal.
Nope, I was here to make owning a small business sound like never-ending fun. And if all else failed, bribing fourth graders with cupcakes certainly couldn’t hurt.
A hum of happy kid voices came from Ollie’s classroom up ahead. A handful of other parents waited outside in the hall, checking phones or chatting quietly.
I stopped so abruptly the tray of cupcakes almost went sideways.
Danny stood near the classroom door, leaning against the cinderblock wall and smiling his perfectly white smile. He was wearing pressed khakis and his typical polo with an expensive coat over his arm. Clean-cut and professional. Every inch the respectable dentist and the devoted father.
My stomach roiled, bile inching into my throat.
“Danny.” I kept my voice low as I approached, aware of the other parents watching. “What are you doing here?”
He straightened, offering that smooth smile that had fooled me completely, once up on a time.
“Career day, Piper,” he said patronizingly. “I was on the email list the teacher sent out, just like you. Thought it would be nice to surprise Ollie.”
“A surprise. Wow. Could I have a word, please?”
“Maybe you don’t mind being late, Piper, but—”
“Now,” I hissed.
My pulse was racing as I led Danny away from the cluster of parents and down the hall. When we were far enough, I turned on him, still keeping my voice to a harsh whisper.
“You can’t just show up with no warning. Not after what you did last week.”
“And what exactly did I do?”
Beads of sweat broke out along my sides. “You broke into my rental property,” I said through gritted teeth. “You choked me.” The last two words shook on their way out, and I hated how broken I sounded.
Danny grimaced. “God, Piper. I’m sorry about all that. Seriously. It was a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?” I repeated, still feeling his fingers at my neck. My own hands shook so hard I was afraid I’d drop the cupcakes. “You attacked me.”
He glanced back at the other parents. “Don’t blow it out of proportion. If anyone got attacked, it was me. By your criminal boyfriend.”
“Grayden is not my boyfriend.”
“I’m willing to forget about it, okay? I’ve already moved on. You should too.”
Bullshit, I wanted to shout. Danny was gaslighting me, and I wished it were the first time.
Yet that wasn’t even the worst part of his so-called surprise.
“This isn’t fair to Ollie,” I sputtered. “You can’t stand him up at Thanksgiving, make pathetic excuses, and then waltz in here like everything’s fine. It’s beyond manipulative.”
“I’m here now, aren’t I? I’m trying, Piper. I thought this would be a good opportunity to reconnect with him. And as his parent, I have every right to be here at a school event.”
Legally, he was correct. That didn’t make me any less furious.
“Fine. But after this, we’re going to have a real conversation about scheduling and consistency. Ollie deserves better than occasional surprise appearances.”
Danny nodded, his expression contrite. “You’re right. Absolutely. We’ll talk.”
I didn’t believe him. But there was nothing I could do about it now, not with a handful of other parents watching us from down the hall.
We headed back toward the classroom. The door opened, and Ollie’s teacher smiled at all of us. “Thank you so much for coming, everyone. We’re ready for you now.”
I walked in first, still carrying my tray of cupcakes. Ollie’s face lit up when he saw me. Then his gaze shifted past me, and his eyes went wide.
“Dad?” The pure joy in his voice made my chest tighten like a vise.
Danny grinned and gave a little wave. “Hey, champ.”
I pasted on a smile as the presentations began. Somehow, I got through mine, barely aware of what I was saying.
Seeing Ollie’s happiness crushed me, because I knew how much it would hurt later when Danny let him down again.
My phone felt like a lifeline in my purse. I could text Grayden. He’d asked me to let him know if Danny showed up again, and he’d been so amazing with Ollie the other day.
But I’d spent years dealing with Daniel Carmichael, and I would continue dealing with him for years to come.
Grayden was… I didn’t know. Just a friend. He’d been there for me and Ollie more than once over the past week, but I couldn’t allow him to fight my battles for me.
By the time the career day presentations wrapped up, it was the end of the school day. After cleanup, the kids grabbed their backpacks and filed outside together, as they always did.
Danny walked beside me, not saying a word. I didn’t speak either. I was too busy stewing in my anger.
As we headed toward the parking lot, Ollie was practically vibrating with excitement. “Dad, I can’t believe you came!”
“Wouldn’t miss it, champ.”
A flicker of hesitation passed over Ollie’s features. “Are you staying in Silver Ridge for a few days?”
“For as long as I can. Yeah. Cleared my schedule.”
No mention of the fact that he’d been in Silver Ridge days ago. Had he been in Hart County the whole time? Or had he been driving back and forth? I had no idea what was going on with Danny’s new dental practice. If he’d driven it into the ground the way he’d destroyed his practice here.
Danny’s gaze moved to me, turning calculating. “How about the three of us grab an early dinner?”
Ollie stared at me with a worried frown as he waited for an answer.
“I can’t,” I said stiffly.
Danny shrugged like he hadn’t cared either way. “Hey Ollie, you’ve got a three-day weekend, right? No school tomorrow. That’s what the schedule said.”
Ollie nodded. “I guess.”
“I was thinking. How about we do a guys’ trip this weekend? Just you and me. We could head up to the ski resort, do some snowboarding. Have steaks in the fancy restaurant they have up there. Piper, Grace’s boyfriend is the owner, right? He could hook us up.”
“Really?” Ollie’s eyes went huge. “That would be amazing!”
“Absolutely not,” I snapped, then I softened my tone. “Ollie, you’re already going to Denver this weekend with Uncle Callum. Remember? The Broncos game?”
That was setting aside the fact that Danny expected Grace and Dane to arrange a free vacation for him.
Ollie’s face fell. He glanced between me and Danny, clearly torn.
“Oh, come on,” Danny said. “He can reschedule with Callum. This is father-son time.”
I opened my mouth again, but Ollie shook his head, beating me to it. “Sorry, Dad. I can’t do that to Uncle Callum.”
My chest lifted with pride. My kid already showed more responsibility and thoughtfulness at nine years old than his thirty-five-year-old father.
Danny’s smile tightened, but he recovered quickly. “Okay, I get it.” He crouched down to Ollie’s level. “How about you and I still grab dinner tonight. The two of us. We can hang out, catch up, get some burgers.”
Ollie barely seemed excited. Like all his happiness from earlier had deflated, and he couldn’t manage the effort again.
But he still said, “Can I, Mom? Please?”
And here I was, trapped.
If I kept saying no, then I would be the bad guy. I didn’t want to keep Ollie from his dad. I’d been begging for Danny to do exactly this for months. Be more involved. Spend time with Ollie. Make an effort.
Love him, dammit.
“Sure. But Ollie needs to be back by seven. I’m taking him to Callum’s in the morning, and he needs to have some quiet time before bed. I’d also like to know where you’re going, please.”
“What exactly are you afraid of, Piper? You think I’m going to kidnap my son?”
Cold fear sliced through my insides. You bastard, I thought. How dare he even joke like that after what he’d done to me the other day.
Danny gave me a pitying look. As if he was going out of his way to be reasonable for his hysterical ex-wife. “Fine, I’ll pick a restaurant on Main Street, if that makes you feel better. You can meet us in the park at seven. Usual spot.”
My jaw clenched, but I nodded. “Good.”
Danny clapped Ollie on the shoulder. “This is going to be great, champ. Just like old times.”
When we neared Danny’s Lexus, I caught Ollie’s arm before he climbed in. “Have fun, Ollie-bear. Text me if you need anything. Okay?”
“I will. Thanks, Mom!” He hugged me quickly, then scrambled into the car.
Not that I really thought Danny was going to take him away. My ex was capable of plenty, but if I’d believed he might cause Ollie harm, I never would’ve left our son alone with him. Visitation rights or not.
Yet as I watched them drive away, Danny’s Lexus disappearing down the street, the unsettled feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away.
I prayed that he truly just wanted time with his kid, but Danny had lost my confidence a long time ago.
As I drove away from the elementary school, I was still fuming. The audacity of my ex, showing up like that without warning, acting like father of the year in front of Ollie’s classmates and the other parents.
And now Ollie was with him, probably getting fed a bunch of empty promises over burgers and fries. Urrgh.
I’d meant to check in at Silver Linings after the school event, make sure everything was running smoothly. But I was too upset to be the boss right now.
All I could think of was talking to Grayden. I could tell him what had happened with Danny. Soak in the comfort of his presence. He always seemed to make me feel better, even when he wasn’t trying. Just being around him steadied me.
Maybe hearing Grayden’s voice would help me calm down, help me sort through this mess of anger and worry churning in my gut.
But when I grabbed my phone, I was still so mad I wasn’t sure I could articulate the words to describe it. Everything would come out in a furious jumble.
I just needed to see him.
And that’s how I found myself driving toward the opposite side of town.
Every day it got harder to ignore the way my heart lifted when I saw him, harder to keep myself from reaching for him.
I should stay away. Give myself some distance. Figure out how to untangle these feelings before they got any scarier. But I couldn’t seem to do it.
I turned onto his street.
And immediately saw a Silver Ridge PD SUV parked in front of Grayden’s place, along with two uniformed officers heading up the walk toward the house.