25. Kiera
Kiera
“ I don’t understand,” Piper said as Officer Brooks – or more accurately, Garrett – went over and removed her handcuffs.
The cuffs had been two for ten dollars at a sex shop.
The kind that came with the police uniforms at the costume shop were made of cheap plastic and never would have been convincing.
The cuffs had to feel real or Piper wouldn't have fallen for the little con that Kiera and Hunter had planned to scare her straight.
Kiera walked past Lauren – new alias: Officer Hill – and shot her a grateful nod.
Kiera was lucky to have friends like these, willing to impersonate police officers on short notice in order to trick her girlfriend’s sister into reforming.
The whole thing seemed absurd when she thought about it, but from the tears on Piper’s face (and on Hunter’s shirt, and dampening the couch cushions) it looked like it had worked.
Kiera approached Hunter and Piper and once the handcuffs were off, she motioned for Piper to sit on the couch. Hunter stood up and joined Kiera in front of her.
She motioned to Lauren and said, “That’s my best friend. She’s not a cop, and neither is he. That’s Garrett from the teen center. You’re not under arrest, but if you ever do anything to hurt my family or the people I love, I won’t hesitate to call the police for real. Understand?”
Piper nodded, so Kiera continued.
“My grandmother and I let you into our home and you shattered our trust,” she said.
“You’re going to have to work hard to earn it back and I have a few ideas on how you can do that.
You’ll also have to pay back the money that I’m going to need to use to buy back all of Nana’s things from the pawn shop. ”
“I’m sorry,” Piper said. “I was desperate and weak. I’ll do whatever it takes to work off my debt.”
“My family means a lot to me,” Kiera said.
“And I can tell that yours does, too. I can respect that, but not the way you chose to provide for them. Did you know that you were going to be putting your sister’s relationship, as well as her livelihood, in jeopardy when you decided to steal from my family? ”
“I didn’t think about it,” Piper said. “I should have.”
“Hunter means a lot to me,” Kiera said, glancing over at her.
She was so strong and Kiera couldn’t imagine what this moment must feel like in her shoes.
She put her hand in Hunter’s and squeezed it, then turned back to Piper.
“She means too much to me to let you continue taking advantage of her good nature. So I came up with a plan that I think will benefit all of us. It’s the only way I can think of for you to regain my trust, not to mention your sister’s. ”
“What is it?” Piper asked.
“You have to go legit,” Kiera said. She gestured to Garrett, who was standing patiently in the corner with Lauren, and said, “Garrett and I talked about offering you a job at the teen center when the grant money came in. It would be a way for you to earn a better income, work better hours, and be less reliant on Hunter so that she could get her own life back on track. It even comes with free child care if the boys go there after school instead of coming straight home.”
Piper was looking from Kiera to Garrett and back again. Garrett was looking at her sternly and Kiera knew she was asking him to take a leap of faith here, too.
“I talked about it with him for a long time yesterday,” Kiera said. “Debating whether we could trust you, whether you would be a bad influence on the kids, whether Garrett felt comfortable allowing you to work for him given the circumstances.”
Hunter was squeezing her hand pretty hard now and Piper looked at her like she was afraid to take her next breath.
Then Garrett stepped forward and said, “We’re going to offer you the job. Full-time, starting in January when the grant money kicks in. You’ll have very restricted access at first.”
“Anything that needs to be done, no matter how tedious or unpleasant, will be your responsibility until we both feel that you’ve earned our trust,” Kiera added.
“We need to know that you’re not going to forget about today and go back to your old ways, and I need to know that you can support yourself so that Hunter can start to think about what she wants in life and not just what you need. ”
“I understand,” Piper said. “I accept your offer and I appreciate how generous it is. I understand that this is a risky decision for you but I won’t let you down. My heart broke completely when I thought I’d lost the boys. I will never do anything like this again.”
Garrett stepped in again and said, “The teen center’s philosophy has always been about giving people opportunities they might not have had otherwise, and second chances when it’s warranted.
Kiera and I decided that should apply to our employees as well as the kids, and if she says you’re worthy of a second chance, I trust her. ”
“Thank you,” Piper said. “I’ll prove to you that I am.”
“Okay,” Kiera said. Then she turned to Garrett and Lauren and said, “Let’s give them a minute.”
Hunter and Piper had a lot of baggage that they’d been hanging onto over the years, and a lot of damage that they’d sustained thanks to each other. Kiera wanted to give them a chance to work through some of it, so she walked Garrett and Lauren outside.
“Better take this off before the real cops see me,” Garrett joked, taking off his badge.
“Thank you guys so much,” Kiera said. “I know it was a crazy plan but I really appreciate you going along with it and helping us pull it off.”
“Do you think it worked?” Lauren asked.
“Only time will tell,” Kiera said. “She seemed genuinely remorseful though, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Lauren agreed. “Well, we better go return these costumes.”
She and Garrett got into his blue Subaru and Kiera lingered on the sidewalk for a minute or two, watching them drive away. Then she went back inside and found Hunter and Piper sitting on the couch together.
When she entered, Piper stood up and said, “Thank you, Kiera. I know you could have just called the cops and washed your hands of me. I am so appreciative that you’re giving me a chance to work off my debt to you and make things right with my sister.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Kiera said, glancing at Hunter. “But you’re welcome.”
Piper nodded and said, “I think I’m going to pick the boys up early. I can’t wait until the end of the school day to see them.”
“Clean yourself up first,” Hunter suggested. “You look like hell and they don’t need to know about all this.”
Piper agreed and went upstairs to wash her face, and Hunter pulled Kiera down on the couch, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. They waited in silence for a few minutes, then Piper came back downstairs looking more composed, if a bit puffy still.
She headed out the door, and then Kiera was the first one to speak once they were on their own. She asked Hunter, “Do you think she really learned her lesson?”
“I do,” Hunter said. “I’ve never seen her break down like that.”
“You were really brave,” Kiera said. “I think it’s sweet what you did for your sister.”
“It was desperate, but it worked,” Hunter said. After a long and thoughtful pause, she asked quietly, “Now, what can I do to regain your trust?”
Kiera pulled Hunter’s hand to her lips, kissing her knuckles. Then she said, “You never lost it. I was shaken when you told me everything that was going on, but I never doubted what was in your heart. I never once doubted you.”
“I love you,” Hunter said. The words came out in a blur and she looked embarrassed the moment she’d said them, but Kiera just smiled.
“I love you, too,” she said. “So much.”
Then she pulled Hunter by the lapels on top of her, into a deep kiss that she hoped would last forever.