5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Piper
As I approach the cabin, my mother pulls into the empty parking space next to Weston and Charlotte’s rental. A part of me wants to stomp into the cabin and slam the door shut like I did back in junior high when I was pouting, but it’s not her fault.
I growl under my breath. It’s Asher’s fault. Why did I bare my soul to him? What did I hope to get out of it? Fucked and forgotten? That’s all it would be. He lives here, and I’ll return to Kansas City in less than a week. Not that Lexie’s idea isn’t a valid one.
The car door slams after my mom collects her gear and stands on the sidewalk, waiting for me to approach. It’s not worth it. I can’t have sex with someone that doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s too intimate. Maybe other people can drop their clothes, ravage each other, and walk away without a backward glance, but that’s not me.
“Hey, Mom.” I smile and wave. “How was the festival?”
“Amazing.” Her eyes glow as she walks toward me. Her orange skirt flows around her ankles.
When she began making pottery, I was happy for her. It was an outlet that gave her pleasure, and she deserved it. All my life, she worked two jobs while raising my brother and I, pushed me to recover after my accident and did everything in her power to make sure my brother’s dreams came true, all as a single mother with no support.
She deserved to find something that gave her joy. “I met the most amazing man today. He bought three of my pieces to give to his wife.” Her cheeks are pink as a blast of wind spins the dust in the parking lot into a mini tornado. “She owns a small shop in New York City.”
“That’s exciting.” My heart had sped up at the mention of a man but sunk again when she said he was married. I’d love to see my mom in a relationship. To have someone who treated her well and took some of the burden off her. But she’s never seemed interested.
For years, we thought she hated men because our father left. That wasn’t the case. She loved him so much she never found another man that could compare to him.
Her eyes dance as she wraps her arm around my shoulders. “Can you imagine having my work in a shop in New York City?” She shakes her head and laughs. “It’s crazy. It was a blast thinking about it on the drive here even if it never happens.”
I wrap my arm around her waist, and she does the same. “If that’s what you want, I have no doubt you will accomplish it.”
She squeezes me closer to her. “You’re a doll. Thank you.” Her eyes rake over me. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” I shrug and step back. “Everything is fine.”
Her eyes narrow into slits. “No, it’s not. Spill it.”
I groan under my breath. There’s no getting away with anything around this woman. Her spine straightens as she moves out of our embrace and slightly turns toward me. Fearless warrior mode enacted.
“Fine.” I wave my hand in front of me. “I met a man.”
Her eyebrows are raised in question. “And?”
“And…. Nothing. He works here. Or somewhat works here. His brother runs the resort.” I shrug as I try pushing the image of him out of my head. “He taught me to paddleboard and kayak.” I inhale and slam a black wall between his memory and my future. “But that’s it. It was nothing.”
“Piper,” my mother growls. “Spill it.”
God, she’s so frustrating. She won’t stop until I rip the entire Band-Aid off and everything spills out. “He’s attractive, and I felt a spark between us, but when I told him about my past and my plans for the future after he asked, not because I just decided to tell everything to a stranger, he provided nothing.”
That’s not true. He praised me for my strength and determination, appearing almost proud of me, and then, that was it. Not one word about his past, his present, his future. Nothing.
“Piper, I love you.” She braces against the wind, whipping at our clothes as the ominous clouds roll closer. The ocean waves beating harder on the surf fills my ears. “Someday, you’ll find a man who’s open and honest. Who doesn’t shy away from your past and looks forward to sharing a future with you.”
“Do you honestly think so?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, making me sound pathetic.
“Honey.” She grasps my upper arms as thunder rumbles, and a gust of wind whips at my braid. “I know so. You have too big of a heart for someone not to jump at the chance to be loved by you. Let’s go inside.”
As she travels the sidewalk toward the cabin, I trail behind her. No more pouting. It’s stupid and childish. I don’t need a man to be fulfilled. I’m a strong, capable woman who has an amazing family and a future career that will fulfill me.
While climbing the wooden steps of the cabin, a figure in the parking lot catches my attention. Is that Asher? My gaze narrows as the man latches a chain through a bicycle. It’s Asher. A crack of lightning flashes behind the resort as sheets of rain are visible in the distance.
At least no funnel clouds are looming. The storm is probably fifteen minutes away, so he should have plenty of time to finish what he’s doing and return to the main resort.
My mom holds the door open. “Coming in?”
I glance back at Asher, who’s latching a second bicycle to the silver bike rake. There appears to be ten locks remaining to secure them all. Clearly, the last people who took the bicycles out to ride the trails didn’t secure them upon their return. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Her gaze drifts to the parking lot where Asher works. “Be careful.”
“I will.” I spin on my heel and race down the sidewalk. If we hurry, he’ll be able to get back to the resort before the rain hits.
By the time I’m within shouting distance of him, I’m slightly out of breath. My family is right; I need to get out more. “Need help?”
He rocks back on his haunches and watches as I approach. “You should go inside. I’ve got this.”
“It’s fine.” I ignore his dismissal, grab the closest 10-speed, and lift the chain off the ground. “If we work together, we’ll get it done faster.” I make quick work of securing the next bicycle to the rack.
“Thank you.”
As we work on opposite sides of the metal rack, I smile at him. “You’re welcome.”
We work in silence for several moments, and then he says, “I joined the Navy the summer after high school. I loved it. It was all I’d ever wanted to do. Serving my country. Making a difference.” His fingers work briskly, twisting the chain around the tire and securing a U-lock to the frame. “And I was good at it. Damned good at it.”
My heart slams in my chest as anxiety rolls in my gut. There’s only one reason a man who loves the military, who yearns for the service to be their career, comes home.
“I conquered everything they threw at me, which caught the attention of a SEAL commander. He recruited me, and the rest is history.” The next lock snaps into place, causing me to jump. “Until the end.”
“What happened?” My hands shake so hard that I drop the U-lock I’m working with, causing it to clatter to the ground as the first droplet of rain lands on my nose and rumbles of thunder shake the ground all around us.
“Years later, I was in a convoy returning to base after a successful mission.” His eyes are dark and unreadable, as if he’s here but not. “Unfortunately, the supporters for the other side of the mission were deeply unhappy that we caught their man and used a drone missile to attack us. My truck was closest and took a direct hit to the front tire. The force of the impact rolled the vehicle and pinned me under it.”
“Shit.” My stomach lurches into my throat as rain drops down around us and the sky darkens. “I can’t imagine….” The words trail off as a crack of lightning hits on the other side of the resort. Yet I could. When I passed out, the last thing I remembered after the car hit me was excruciating pain, screaming, and the sight of my leg under a tire. Then everything was black.
“That was over a year ago. That’s my past. And I don’t have a future.” He lifts his shoulder. “Or any future I have figured out.”
The squeal of tires on the pavement yanks my attention from him. I twist my head around to find a 4x4 pickup spinning in a large arch in the parking lot.
The driver has his window down, laughing hysterically as the passenger hangs halfway out his window, banging on the rooftop. “Closer!”
All around us, rain pelts the ground as the pickup veers toward us. My mind goes still. The oversized black tires spin on the pavement. Two boys laughing. Getting closer.
“I’ve got it!” The driver slams on the brakes, causing his passenger to launch forward, only managing to remain inside the cab by clasping the window’s edge.
“Asshole!”
My eyes are frozen in place as the kid yanks open the door and halfway falls out of the pickup, snatching something off the ground. A hat. A stupid fucking hat.
Seconds later, he tosses it to the other boy who stuffs it back onto his head and they zoom past, missing me by a couple of yards, but close enough to cause loose pebbles to pelt me as the tires kick up debris.
“Piper!” A voice yells at me, but I don’t move. I can’t move. “Piper!”
My brain is frozen like I’m under one of those massive tires. My heart pounds in my chest as I try and catch my breath. Not enough air. I can’t breathe. I clutch my chest and gasp as I land with a thud on the pavement.