CHAPTER ELEVEN #2
Dammit. I sigh and head to the front porch.
The crisp morning air is a beautiful refresh as I soak in the fall sun and sweep the leaves off the front porch.
About halfway through my porch-cleaning project, I wonder about the Best of Bayshore results.
Seeing the voting results in real-time is not the most helpful thing for my peace of mind, but I can’t help myself.
I have the webpage bookmarked, and I quickly pull it up.
There are about fifty entrants in the competition, a wide range of interesting dishes and offerings from all sorts of Bayshore eateries.
I sink into one of the porch chairs as I scroll through the results.
I’m number five. Not great. But what’s an unexpected relief is that Kru’s restaurant is currently number ten.
Phew .
I’m at least beating him .
Now I need to beat dishes one through four and hold the lead.
The front door swings open. Griff sticks his head out and frowns.
“Piper! You’re supposed to be cleaning!”
I huff and get to my feet. “I needed a break to check the Best of Bayshore results.”
His eyes light up. “Are you number one yet?”
“Number four. But that’s better than yesterday, when I was at six.”
“I vote every day and you know the rest of the fam does too. We just gotta get more people on board. I’ll tell the team tomorrow at practice. Oh, I know, I’ll get my assistant to make a post on my public page about the contest too.”
“Griff—”
“Piper, you’re gonna be number one. Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it.”
I offer him a small smile, biting my tongue. He means well. I’d rather say nothing than get into the pulsating heart of the matter, which has my heart racing and my chest tight: nobody trusts me to be able to do a damn thing.
I tuck the feelings away deep inside. I don’t have time for them right now.
It’s easier to march forward with the day, to clean, to prepare for Bella and think about Kru in the periphery.
I get back to my subpar cleaning assistance: porch tidying, hallway sprucing, a quick bathroom clean.
We share an easy lunch of deli meat sandwiches, during which I try not to think about all the ways Kru would have made them exceptional, and then I head to my room to get changed.
While I’m pulling on leggings, Griffin shouts from the living room,
“They’re here!”
I rush to the door, taking a deep breath before pulling it open. A shiny black car is parked in the driveway, right behind Griff’s. I see Bella in the passenger seat, and I squeal.
I barrel toward the car, shrieking in lieu of a calm greeting. Bella turns and watches me with a bright smile through the passenger window. I am distantly aware of Jackson Bedd’s confusion in the driver’s seat as I arrive at the passenger door and begin knocking on the glass.
“Bella! Open up!” I demand.
She peers up at me through the window, acting like she can’t hear me.
“Oh, stop it right now,” I tell her.
She shrugs, looking over at Jackson like she has no idea who I am. I groan loudly, pulling at the car door. It doesn’t budge. I can see her cackling from inside the car.
“Come onnn,” I whine, knocking on the glass.
She continues taunting me from inside. I huff, crossing my arms.
“You’re mean,” I inform her, and then I stomp away.
The car door clicks open before I reach the porch, and I spin to look at her. “ Finally. ”
Bella leans against her car door, her warm, familiar smile erasing all of my annoyance.
It’s like no time has passed at all as she holds out her arms for a hug.
I zip back over to her, and we hug for a solid ten seconds.
I don’t care that her boyfriend is a famous rock musician and is probably wondering what the hell is wrong with this woman’s family. I need my Bella hug.
“I missed you, Pipe Cleaner,” she says.
“I missed you too, Sweet Pea.” I pull back and smile at her. And then I notice the towering, long-haired hunk just past her shoulder. I straighten, feeling my cheeks heat up.
There is a frickin’ celebrity in the driveway right now.
“Time for introductions,” Bella starts, just as Jackson comes up to her side. “Jackson—”
“Jackson Bedd. Yes, I know.” I hold out my hand, but quickly recoil it. “Do we shake hands? Or—”
“Can we hug?” Jackson offers in the same voice he uses to woo millions of women on the radio every day.
“Oh my god, let’s hug .” I throw my arms around Jackson. He feels solid and real, like a regular human, even though he’s also capable of playing to crowds of eight thousand people at once. “You’re family now.”
Bella laughs. “That escalated quickly.”
“Excuse me?” Griffin’s booming voice breaks through the reunion. We all turn to look at him. “You bring a famous rock star to my driveway and don’t even honk to let me know you’re here?”
I know he’s just giving them shit, since he’s been on Bella-and-Jackson patrol since nine a.m. He strides out to the driveway, pulling Bella into a hug. He and Jackson exchange hellos—and more hugs. I’m sure Jackson has more than realized by now that the Keegans are huggers.
“You’re a third of the way inducted into the family,” Bella informs her boyfriend.
“Not fully inducted until you meet the rest of the family,” I add.
“Is there anyone I should be concerned about?” Jackson asks, looking between me and Griffin.
“Well, my brothers are all kind of brutes,” I say.
“Hey.” Griffin elbows me.
“Sweet brutes,” I hurry to add. “Jett might be the wild card.”
“Is he the one I have to win over?” Jackson asks. “I can set up a private concert if needed…”
Griffin squeezes Jackson’s shoulder. “I’m suddenly very hard to win over. I want in on this private concert.”
“How about we go inside?” Bella suggests, glancing at Jackson, who’s watching some slowed cars on the street. “I’ve been dying to see how the house looks now that you two are roommates.”
“Significantly messier,” Griffin grumbles as we all walk toward the door.
“Listen, I’m running a business,” I snap. “I don’t have time to organize the shoe rack or whatever it is you wish I’d do every day instead of making marshmallows.”
Griffin holds the door open, and we all file inside. “I don’t need the shoe rack organized. I just need the shoes on the rack .”
I sigh dramatically, looking back at Jackson. “Never move in with your older brother, Jackson. It only spells trouble.” I elbow Griff so he knows I’m just poking at him. He knocks my chin and sends me a lopsided smile.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t dream of it. Though I did temporarily move in next to my brother, and that seemed to work out okay.” Jackson grins as he looks around the cozy bungalow. I’m sure he’s thinking how crazy Griffin is to call me messy, since this place is spotless.
Griffin leads us into the living room. Jackson and Bella sink into the couch; I curl up next to Bella, and Griffin opts for the armchair. “How’s Aunt Laura doing?” Bella asks us.
“She’s great,” I say. “Doing the same old thing, as always.” The same old thing sounds like not much, but really, it ’ s everything. Baking bread, loving on her kids, and holding down the fort for us.
Bella and I share a warm smile. She gets it. My mom—practically her mom too—is the cornerstone of…everything we’ve achieved. Bella’s amazing event management career, my marshmallow business, Griff’s professional hockey career, and on and on…
It’s all happening because our mom held the space for us to flourish.
“She’s expecting you for dinner this week,” Griff adds.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Bella says. “I texted her when we were close to Bayshore, but I haven’t heard back—”
An intense buzzing interrupts her sentence. Griffin’s phone. A moment later, my own phone starts ringing from in the kitchen. I scamper to my feet to grab it.
And then Bella’s phone rings as well.
Griffin’s eyes are on his phone as he announces, “It’s Asher.”
“Dane’s calling me,” I inform them once I grab my phone.
“And Jett’s calling me,” Bella says.
Jackson’s brows draw together. “Is this part of the Keegan connection, or…”
Something heavy forms in the pit of my stomach.
“This isn’t exactly normal,” Bella says. “They probably don’t know we’re all here together.”
Griffin answers his phone first, and then I swipe mine on.
“Dane?”
“Piper.” Dane’s voice cracks, and immediately my limbs are coated in dread.
“What is it?” I croak out, watching as Griffin’s face falls across the living room.
He lets out a ragged sigh. “Mom’s bakery caught fire. She was inside when it happened and—”
The words land with a sonic boom. Everything goes loud inside my head, and then eerily silent. I’m not even sure he’s still speaking. The world has slowed to molasses around me.
“Come to the hospital,” he finishes.
I’m not aware of saying anything. Of hanging up. But the phone is in my lap a moment later and I’m pressing a hand to my mouth. Bella is looking at me, nodding, as she says into the phone, “Yeah. We’re on our way.”
Bella’s face is grave as she turns to Jackson. “Aunt Laura was caught in a fire at her bakery. We need to go to the hospital immediately.”
“I can drive,” Jackson blurts. "Our car's right outside."
I don't argue. Minutes later, we're piled into their shiny black car, racing toward Bayshore Memorial while Bella instructs Jackson where to turn. In the back, I’m weak against the door, unable to stop my mind from cycling through worst-case scenarios. Dane’s voice betrayed Mom’s condition.
I’m worried we’re going to show up there and she’ll be gone.
I squeeze my eyes shut, tears escaping. This can’t be happening.
Griffin's jaw is clenched tight. He reaches over to squeeze my shoulder. I see all the same fears reflected in his brown eyes. “We don’t know anything yet, Pipes. Let’s hope for the best.”
The hospital comes into view, its emergency entrance bustling with activity. Jackson drops us off so we can find out what’s going on and promises to wait for us until we have news.
Inside, the ER waiting room is full of people, but I spot my dark-haired brothers immediately. Dane is pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair. When he spots us, relief flashes across his face.
"Jett! Dane!" I call, pushing through the crowd with Griffin and Bella in tow. "Any news?"
Dane’s face is tight with worry. "They're assessing her now. Smoke inhalation, some burns on her legs. Asher's trying to get more information from the doctors."
"They won't let us back there yet," Jett adds, frustration evident in his voice. "They’re working to stabilize her, and they say a doctor will be out to talk to us soon."
“But…is she…” I can barely finish the sentence. My throat tightens and more tears escape.
Nobody answers me. Because nobody knows. Bella wraps her arms around me and squeezes. For now, that’s the only answer I’ve got.