Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
T alon couldn’t believe he was leaning against a tree, watching Piper from a distance as she struggled to mow her overgrown lawn. The mower she used looked like it belonged in a museum, not a farm. It was ancient. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand as the mower stalled for the third time in the twenty or so minutes he had been watching her.
She bent over to pull start the thing again, and his eyes automatically went to her ass which looked damn good in those cut-off jean shorts. It was hot for a fall day. Her cut-off t-shirt kept riding up, and he caught a glimpse of a lacey black bra.
Cursing, he forced his gaze away from her. Talon wasn’t happy with what he was about to do. He wasn’t a liar and didn’t like deceiving anyone, especially women. It’s not that Piper didn’t pique his interest. She certainly did, but this felt wrong, yet he knew it had to be done. He would do anything to protect the secrets of his kind.
Taking his attention from her, Talon noticed the property looked neglected. The old farmhouse needed repairs, and the yard had clearly been left unattended too long. The mower started with a puff of smoke, and she once again fought against the tall grass.
“What the hell?” he mumbled as a large turkey strutted around the corner, heading straight toward Piper and the lawn mower. She stopped, trying to shoo the thing away with her hand, but it was determined to attack the mower.
“Pecker!” Piper yelled over the mower. “Stop it! Get away!”
A smile tipped Talon’s lips. Did she just call the damn turkey, Pecker? His smile disappeared when the turkey started toward her. The lawnmower stalled as she took off with the turkey chasing her.
“Dammit, Pecker.” She squealed. “I got shorts on. Stop it! The last time you pecked me, you drew blood. I know you hate the mower, but I have to cut.”
Pushing himself away from the tree, he chuckled as he moved out of the shadows. Watching Piper run haphazardly around her yard while being chased by a surprisingly fast turkey was a highlight of his day.
“Need help?” His deep voice called out, causing Piper to scream. She stopped running and flapping her arms behind her, trying to keep the turkey away to stare at him with wide eyes. “Jeez, Talon! You scared the crap out of me.”
Before Pecker could draw blood, Talon reached out and pulled Piper behind him. He stepped toward the turkey before pointing away from them with a low growl. The turkey tilted its head, then gave a low gobble before quickly disappearing around the side of the house as if its ass was on fire.
“How did you do that?” Piper stepped from around Talon to stare up at him, then to where the turkey disappeared. “Seriously, how did you do that?”
“Must be my deep voice,” Talon replied, but he knew that the turkey sensed his wolf and wisely backed down.
“My Pops had a deep voice, and Pecker never listened to a word he said.” Piper frowned and then looked up at Talon. “Impressive.”
“Did you name him?” Talon couldn’t help himself; he had to know if she had named it.
She looked at him funny but then chuckled. “I wanted to name him Tommy as in Tommy the turkey, but Pop’s hated him and kept calling him a little Pecker, and it stuck. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized it wasn’t because he liked to peck at us. It was because Pop didn’t want to call him a dick in front of me.”
Talon chuckled. “I would have liked to have met your Pops.” He surprised himself at saying that. His feelings for this woman kept surprising him. The protectiveness toward her was off the charts, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it.
A sad look crossed her face as she smiled sadly. “He was one of a kind.”
Talon’s grin faded, his eyes taking in the yard before returning to her. “Listen, why don’t I help you get this place back into shape?”
“Why?” Piper questioned with a frown.
“Why?” Talon questioned back.
“I asked first,” She countered, her frown remaining. “Since my Pops died, not one person has asked to help me, and I’ve known them pretty much all my life. I don’t know you, so why would you offer to help me?”
“You don’t trust easily, do you?” Talon cocked his eyebrow, then sighed when she didn’t answer. “I’m staying with a friend of mine for a few weeks. I’m bored. Looks like you could use some help, and I’m offering it. Nothing more to it than that.”
“Obviously, I need help but can’t afford to pay much.” Piper looked embarrassed by that fact but kept eye contact with him. “I appreciate the offer, though. I’ve managed this long.”
“I don’t want money,” Talon replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Then what do you want.” Piper’s eyes narrowed slightly. “No one does anything for free.”
Talon felt his anger rise when he realized that not one man in this town had offered to help this woman after her grandfather died. One thing he appreciated and respected was Piper’s pride. She was a strong woman who had been dealt a shitty hand with neighbors.
“Do you cook?” He asked, knowing that he was working for nothing and that his working for nothing wouldn’t fly with her.
“Yes,” she said, eyeing him warily.
“Good, I like to eat.” Talon gave her a nod. “You feed me a meal after I work, and that is payment enough for me.”
“You’re serious?” Piper’s mouth gaped as she stared up at him. “I said I cooked, not that I cooked well. What if my cooking blows.”
“Blows?” Talon frowned, not understanding.
“Yeah, blows. Like in sucks.” She replied, crossing her arms over her chest, which drew his eyes to her large breasts in the tight little shirt she was wearing.
“Does it?” His eyes rose back to hers. “Blow?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “No, actually, I’m an excellent cook. I won a baking contest at the county fair, but I don’t think a meal is a good deal on your end. This place needs work. The grass alone is a disaster, and my mower?—”
“Blows.” They both said at the same time, then laughed.
“Listen, my friends, mat—ah—wife isn’t the best cook,” Talon said with a grimace. He loved Wicked, but he didn’t know how the hell Thorne ate her cooking. Talon was actually starving for some good food.
“You’re serious?” Piper watched him closely as if she could tell if he was lying or not. He wasn’t. Wicked’s cooking... blew. He chuckled to himself at that thought. He had one good meal since he’d been there, but that was because she used her magic. He had no clue why Wicked didn’t use magic every meal, but he needed some good food. His wolf needed an edible meal.
“I am,” Talon replied, then waited.
“Well, I can use the help.” Piper bit her lower lip, her eyes dropping down his body and then back up. “And I hate to think someone is hungry.”
“Starved.” He said, honestly not knowing if he was talking about food at that moment. The way her eyes ran over his body made him want to pull her into his arms. Holy fuck, that was random.
Piper took her time. He could tell her mind was whirling and hoped she didn’t question him further. Talon did want to help her because, well, that’s just who he was. He liked Piper. She was funny, kind, and beautifully odd. He felt drawn to her in ways he didn’t really want to dissect at the moment.
“Deal,” She finally said, then stuck out her hand. He smiled, taking her small hand in his large one for the shake. Her skin was warm and soft; he didn’t want to release it, but he did. Guilt hit him hard, knowing that helping her wasn’t his priority. “What do you like to eat?”
“Meat,” Talon replied, then laughed when she rolled her eyes. “I’m not hard to please, Piper. As long as it’s edible, I will eat it. I’ll go ahead and start on this grass if I can get the mower going.”
“Meat,” Piper said, then smiled. “I can do meat, but we will have to start tomorrow.” She said, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and looking at it. “There’s a town hall meeting I have to attend in half an hour that I’m not ready for. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Talon replied, not wanting to seem too eager. “Do they have a lot of town hall meetings in such a small town?” He asked, not wanting to seem nosey, but wondered if this had anything to do with the developer.
“Funny you should ask that.” Piper looked up from her phone with a concerned frown. “This is the first one I know of. I had a flyer on my door this morning.”
“Hmmm, must be important,” Talon said, wanting to ask more but didn’t. Best he not seem too interested until he decided what to do.
“Yeah,” she said absently, then looked at her phone again before glancing up at him. “I work from home, so whenever you want to show up, that is fine. I’ll run by the grocery for some meat after the meeting. Any requests?”
“Nope, any edible meat is fine with me.” He replied, then turned to walk away. “I’ll see you tomorrow around nine.”
“That works. Talon.” She called out, causing him to turn and look at her. “Thank you.”
For the first time in his life, he felt that someone’s, thank you, had heart and meaning. “You’re welcome, Piper.”
Talon turned back around. He cursed, knowing that he was deceiving her, and it wasn’t sitting well with him at all. But he also needed to protect his kind, which was why he was going to that town hall meeting. If she saw him, then he would figure out something to tell her.
“Fuck!” He cursed, walking the short distance to their little town to scope out where this damn meeting was going to take place. He didn’t like lying. He wasn’t a fucking liar, and yet, he knew that he had no choice, and it pissed him off because he didn’t want to hurt Piper in the process of keeping his paranormal family safe from the outside world. He was surprised at his feelings toward the woman he just met. Talon wasn’t stupid; he knew precisely why those feelings for her were so strong, and in truth, it terrified him.