Chapter Eight
Tag couldn’t wait to get up to his cabin and share the special picnic he planned for Piper and their friends.
Poor Sunny seemed to be uncomfortable on their hike, but she would never admit it.
He told her not to wear street shoes to hike in, but she didn’t listen.
Aaron wasn’t helping matters any—challenging Sunny to mini races up the mountain.
Sunny was never a girl to back down from any kind of challenge.
She would never let anyone know that she wasn’t up for a competition.
She and Aaron were two peas in a pod. If they didn’t pace themselves, the two would be lying on the side of the trail, dehydrated, before they even made it to the cabin.
Tag didn’t mind the alone time with Piper as their two friends raced each other up the side of the mountain.
“I think that Aaron might be into Sunny,” Tag said, reaching for Piper’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “He would never admit it, but he shows off around her.” Piper’s laugh was musical and filled the small canyon that they were hiking through.
“Well, I’m pretty sure that Sunny likes Aaron, too.
She wouldn’t run up the side of a mountain for just any guy.
I think that they have been circling each other for a few months now.
Aaron keeps showing up for donuts every morning.
From the looks of him, I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t eat that many donuts.
” Tag stopped walking and pulled Piper into his body.
“So, you’re looking at Aaron now?” he asked, cocking his eyebrow at her.
Piper looked confused, “No, why would you say that?”
“You said that he doesn’t look like he eats donuts. So, you’re looking at him?” Tag kissed her neck, adding a little distraction. It amused him when Piper was flustered.
“No!” Piper all but shouted her denial. “I don’t think of Aaron that way,” she insisted.
“Tell me that you think of me that way, Piper.” Tag felt as though his world stopped spinning while he waited for her answer. Piper searched his face, taking her sweet time.
“Yes, Tag. I think of you in that way,” she finally admitted. Her voice sounded breathy and hot. He liked the way she said his name like she couldn’t hold back her desire for him.
“Thank fuck. I think about you all the time, Honey. You are all that I’ve been able to think about this past year.” Piper pulled her hand away from Tag’s, and he was afraid that he spooked her. “Piper, I’m not trying to scare you off, just being honest.”
“I like honesty, Tag. But you also must know that I’m new to all of this.
My life was quiet and safe before you turned it upside down.
Now, I spend all my waking and sleeping hours thinking about you.
It’s just scary for me. I’m feeling a little out of my comfort zone.
” Tag couldn’t help himself—he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her.
He wanted to prove to her that being with him didn’t have to be scary.
He needed to show Piper how good they could be together.
“Hey, you two—aren’t we supposed to be hiking? I’m no expert, but that does not look like hiking to me.” Piper giggled at Aaron. Tag growled, finding his friend less funny.
“Why don’t you run along and try to catch up to Sunny? Piper and I were doing just fine without your help.” Tag reached out to Piper, and she took his hand. The three of them started back on the trail when they heard Sunny’s scream.
“Oh my God, that’s Sunny!” Piper took off running in her friend’s direction, leaving Aaron and Tag behind.
“What now?” Tag mumbled, following Piper up the trail to find Sunny sitting on the ground holding her ankle.
“Damn it!” Sunny seemed madder than hurt. “I hurt my ankle, guys. I was coming back down to find you all and tripped over that stupid rock.” She motioned back to a good-sized boulder behind her.
“How did you not see that?” Aaron teased. Tag removed Sunny’s sneaker and sock to check her ankle. She cried out when Tag tried to move her foot. He couldn’t see any bruising or swelling, but she needed to have it x-rayed, just in case.
“Sorry, Piper, but I think we need to get Sunny to a hospital. I’ll radio for help.” Tag pulled out his satellite phone to reach the store. He could have a rescue team up to them in less than an hour. He wasn’t sure that Sunny would be able to walk down the mountain.
“No! I won’t let my mistake ruin Pipe’s birthday.” Sunny tried to stand, only to fall again once she put pressure on her bad foot.
“You guys are so close to Tag’s cabin; you should go and have the picnic. I’ll give Sunny a piggyback down the mountain and have her foot checked out,” Aaron said, waggling his eyebrows at Sunny, causing her to laugh.
“Pipe, please go and enjoy your picnic. Tag has gone to so much trouble to make this day special for you,” Sunny said. Piper looked torn. Tag knew she wouldn’t want to leave her friend, but he hoped like hell she would agree. He wanted to be alone with Piper more than he wanted his next breath.
“I’ll still call it in,” Tag offered. “Search and Rescue will meet you on the trail and take Sunny from there.” Aaron agreed to Tag’s plan.
“Don’t worry, Piper, she’s in good hands. I’m a fireman.” Aaron puffed out his broad chest, making both women laugh. Tag could see that Piper was still torn.
“Honey, if you don’t want to have the picnic, we can do it another time. We can head back down with Sunny, no pressure,” Tag said.
Piper nodded, “I just don’t want to leave her.” She looked at her best friend. Sunny jumped on Aaron’s back with some help from Tag.
“Pipe, if you don’t go up to the cabin and have that damn picnic, I will never speak to you again.
” Sunny did her best to look angry, but she wasn’t very good at pulling that emotion off.
“I will have the store radio Tag when I find out what’s wrong with my ankle.
I’m in good hands.” Sunny wrapped her arms tighter around Aaron’s neck as if trying to prove her point.
Piper finally agreed, making Aaron promise to take good care of Sunny.
“If you change your mind, just say the word. I can have you back down the mountain in no time flat,” Tag said. Piper smiled up at Tag, taking his offered hand.
“Thanks, but I think that Sunny is happy about having Aaron all to herself. Did you see the way she wrapped her arms around him? She’ll be fine.” Piper giggled as Tag pulled her faster up the mountain. He wanted to show Piper that she was in good hands, too, and now was his chance.
It took another half hour to reach the cabin.
Piper loved the rustic feel of Tag’s place.
It was almost as if they stumbled onto a magical house in the woods.
He must have made his way up the mountain earlier because his truck was parked by the side of the house, and smoke was streaming from the chimney. He led her onto the front porch.
“Wait here, Honey.” He went into the cabin and came right back out holding a wicker picnic basket and a red tartan blanket. “You ready for our picnic?” Tag laid out the blanket and put the basket down.
“When did you do all of this?” Piper took his outstretched hand and settled next to him on the blanket.
“I ran everything up here early this morning and hiked back down the trail.” Tag shrugged as if it was nothing that he planned such a wonderful surprise.
“Tag, no one has ever done anything like this for me. The last time I was on a picnic was—” Piper froze at her own words, not meaning to talk about her past. Tag planned such a perfect day for her, and she didn’t want to ruin it with memories from her childhood.
“It’s okay, Piper. I know about your parents. I’m sorry that you had to go through that. You must have felt so alone.” Piper nodded her head, tears filling her eyes.
“The last time I went on a picnic was with my parents the day before they died. My dad planned the day, and we picnicked in Central Park—it was perfect,” she said.
“Piper, you need to hold onto those good memories and let go of the bad ones.” Tag held her hand, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. The connection felt comforting.
“I get that, I do. But I can’t let go of what happened to them. I was there. I should have died too, but I was too afraid to go into the store to help them.” Piper felt foolish that she was crying again, but she couldn’t help her fresh tears.
“Honey, if you went into that store, you would be dead too. You were just a little girl. What could you have done?” Piper didn’t know how much she could tell Tag about that day. At what point would he want to walk away from her?
“I could have tried. They died that day, and maybe I should have too.” Piper wiped her tears from her face. It was her birthday, and yet they ended up talking about the saddest day of her life.
“Piper,” Tag whispered, pulling her into his lap, stroking her back with his hands.
“I won’t pretend to know what you are going through, but I do know what it feels like to lose a parent.
My mother died when I was six. I wasn’t all alone, though—I had Torren.
” Tag kissed her forehead and rubbed his nose over hers.
Hearing about Tag’s mother, Piper felt his sadness as if it were a part of her.
He and Torren were only six—just babies.
She had twelve years with her parents —not enough to make her loss any easier, but enough to have some happy memories of them.
Did Tag have any happy memories of his mother?
“At least you had your brother,” Piper whispered.
“That’s true, I did have my brother. But you are forgetting the fact that you had Sunny and your aunt. I know it’s not the same, but you were not alone.”
“Well, it didn’t feel that way,” she whispered. “Tell me about your mom.” Piper needed to change the subject. If she traveled down the rabbit hole into her despair, there would be no salvaging their picnic. It was easier to focus on Tag and his loss than to wallow in her own.
“She was only thirty-two. She had breast cancer,” Tag almost whispered, making Piper regret her question.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered back.
“Yeah, me too. My dad couldn’t handle being left with two six-year-old boys, so he took off.
He left us both on my grandfather, Dane’s, doorstep and didn’t look back.
” Tag shrugged, and Piper wrapped her arms around him.
They sat there wrapped up in each other for a while. She cuddled closer into his body.
“Tag, I’m so sorry that you lost your mother. I don’t have any answers or great wisdom to share. Don’t you ever want to find your father to at least ask him why he left?” Tag shook his head at her question, seeming to stare off at nothing.
“He’s not worth the trouble. I don’t want to waste any of my energy on a man who didn’t care enough about my brother and me to stick around.
My grandfather did the best job he could, and the rest Torren and I filled in as we went along.
I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to let my mother’s death and my father’s shitty decision-making skills ruin my life.
You have to choose what kind of life you want.
You’ve been hiding all these years. It’s time to start living.
” Piper let Tag’s words sink in. He was right.
She just wasn’t sure how to move forward and let the past go.
“I’m not sure how to do that, Tag,” Piper admitted. He cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a soft kiss.
“I can help you with that, Honey. Let me help you forget.” He kissed her mouth again, this time with more passion than she had ever experienced.
She knew what he was asking; she just wasn’t sure if she was ready.
He was right—she was twenty-six years old and never really lived.
If she took Tag up on his offer, she would be opening herself up for more pain and hurt and possibly even loss.
But she wanted Tag. She needed him with every fiber of her being.
She wanted to lose herself in what Tag was offering—a chance at life, maybe even love.