CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #2
“It’s so silly,” I say, tugging at the knife. It takes a couple pulls to get it dislodged—Kru has some force in those muscles. “I was up here looking through the spice cabinet and I accidentally stabbed my apron into the cutting board.”
His brows are now nearly touching in the center of his face. This is a really bad excuse, and we both know it.
“Do you always use the cutting board like you’re practicing for axe throwing?” he asks.
“I do,” I lie.
He nods slowly. “Okaaay. Cool. You might need to take some cooking lessons. Jussayin’.”
I slide off the counter top and scoff. “Not exactly the right thing to say to the woman who just whipped up five days’ worth of meals for you, Griff. Not to mention dinner for family game night.”
He softens, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “You’re right. What I meant to say was you are an absolute angel, I could not live without you, and maybe you should take some cooking lessons to learn how to properly use a knife.”
I snort. “Better…but could still use some work.”
My heart is pounding as I flit back to my patatas bravas. They’re ready for the oven, and I’m praying I am coming off unaffected and natural and not like I was almost spotted by my six four, 270-pound brute of a brother making out with my rival in his kitchen.
I’ll be honest—if Kru and Griffin ever had to throw hands, I’m not sure who would come out on top.
Actually, I am.
My brother.
I just pray I never see the day any of my brothers find out about this little fling with my landlord. Even though he’s so much more than that now.
Griffin wanders away, and I focus on finishing the cooking.
It’s my turn at the hospital tonight, but since it’s Wednesday, we’re bringing game night to Mom before I pull the all nighter.
I offered to make the dinner that we’ll all eat at her bedside.
Asher is bringing Dad in the hourglass, Dane’s got the disposable plates and silverware, Jett is bringing the cards, and Bella is bringing the rock star. I think we’ve collaborated nicely.
This is the type of healthy family dynamic I like to see.
There’s no room for someone like Kru here.
Something painful burns hot through my chest for a brief second and then dissipates. Yes, it stings to admit, but I need to be realistic.
There is too much going on in my life for a fling, much less a boyfriend. The fact that I am scampering around trying to hide the evidence of this infatuation should be sign enough that it’s a bad idea.
If it were a good idea, it would come naturally. Easily. Without so much stress.
Because the truth is I don’t have the time or energy to figure it out. I just have time for my family and my business. And that’s the bottom line.
Griff and I pile into his car with the food for tonight.
My thoughts turn darker as Bayshore Memorial comes into view, reminding me of all the unanswered questions that await us inside.
Mom has been in a coma for three days now, and while the doctors say she’s stable and things are within the realm of normal, it’s hard not to imagine the worst.
The hospital corridors are quieter in the evening. The fluorescent lights cast everything in a sterile glow as we make our way to Mom's room. Maybe today will be the day she wakes up. I repeat it to myself like a mantra as we wind through hallways en route to her room.
Asher and Dane and Lia are already there when we arrive, seated on either side of Mom's bed. She looks small and fragile against the white hospital sheets. The steady beep of the heart monitor provides a rhythmic backdrop to the quiet.
“Hey, guys,” I say cheerfully, lifting the insulated bag of food. “Dinner’s here. Any changes or good news?”
Asher shakes his head. “No change.”
“But at least there’s no bad news,” Dane adds.
I set the food down next to Dad’s hourglass then give Dane and Asher my standard-grade hugs, followed by an extra-long squeezy one for Lia. Then I move to Mom's side, carefully taking her hand in mine.
Jett breezes into the room a moment later, his handsome smile looking strained as he heads straight for the hospital bed to kiss Mom’s forehead. “Hey, fam. Got the cards. Sorry I’m late.”
“Where were you?” Griff asks as he pulls the crockpot of food out of the insulated bag. Dane works on setting out plates and silverware while Asher pushes together two small tables to create a sitting area.
“Out.” Jett flashes a cryptic smile that tells me he was probably hooking up with a new flavor of the week or something.
“That’s our sign not to pry,” I remind Griff. “Because when he’s out somewhere, it means he’s usually in someone.”
“Jesus, Piper,” Asher hisses. “In front of mom? And Lia?”
I gesture to our mother. “She doesn’t mind. Besides, I’m sure she agrees. And Lia doesn’t understand the nuance yet.”
“She doesn’t,” Dane confirms.
“When did you get so crude?” Jett elbows me, and I stumble from the brotherly shove. “You’re not wrong, though.”
A nurse pops in to check Mom’s vitals as we serve plates of the beef stew I made. By the time the nurse wraps up, we’ve all mostly slurped down dinner. Then Bella and Jackson stroll through the door, eliciting a raucous round of hellos and even more hugging.
“I’m glad you guys could make it,” I tell Bella as I squeeze her. “Maybe all of us being here together will help her wake up.”
“God, that would be incredible.” Bella’s eyes are shimmering as she pulls back to look at me. “I never expected to be sharing game night with you guys in a hospital.”
“Hopefully it’s the last time,” I say as she and Jackson squeeze into extra chairs that Asher rustled up from somewhere. “Because you’re ready to wake up, aren’t you, Mom?” I tap the end of her hospital bed, but she doesn’t respond.
Lia snuggles into my lap as my brothers get things set up for euchre. I smile into her berry-scented blonde hair, thinking about how even though this evening feels like we’re making the best of a bad situation, I also feel like something is missing.
Something I’m not ready to admit to myself.
Bella opts for the first game, with Asher as her teammate, playing against Dane and Jett. Griff, Jackson, and I watch as they trade shouts and barbs and groans.
“So you do you use the hourglass for euchre?” Jackson leans in to ask me, jerking his chin toward Dad on the table.
“Oh, no. You don’t need an hourglass for this game. We brought it along because it has our Dad’s ashes in it.”
His brows shoot up and he nods slowly. “Okay.”
“We like to have it on hand so he’s with us when we play. And game night isn’t always euchre, so we do sometimes use it. We go through seasons of games. We were stuck playing Taboo for close to a year, and you need a timer for that one. Dad liked that game.”
“Like, from the hourglass or…in life?” Jackson asks just as a swell of cheers erupts from Asher and Bella to match the groans from Jett and Dane.
“Both, I guess.”
“Grampa lives in there,” Lia adds helpfully, reminding me she was still listening.
“Yes he does,” I confirm.
Griff, Jackson, Lia, and I provide moral support as the game goes on. Asher and Bella euchre my brothers twice . Incredible. They pull off a ten to zero victory, looking especially smug as everyone throws the cards into the center of the table.
“Bella stacked the deck,” Jett grumbles.
“I only did it once in ninth grade,” she shoots back. “And never again.”
“Don’t be a sore loser,” Asher advises as his gaze shifts to me and Griff. “You guys next?”
“Fine. Griff, let’s show them what it looks like to really win.” I strut over to the seat that Jett had been sitting in and crack my knuckles. Griff slides into the seat across from me.
The game begins. Cards fly as Lia peppers Dane with questions about why the adults are laughing and groaning so much.
Mom lies unresponsive and quietly beeping.
It’s familiar at the same time it’s so strange.
Still, we make the best of it. Griff and I don’t pull off the spotless victory that we imagined.
We’re tied seven-seven when Jett comments, “I swear I saw Mom’s hand twitch just now.”
We all swing our gazes to the bed.
“Maybe game night is good for her,” Griff says.
“We should do this around the clock then,” Asher says in his I-mean-business voice.
“We could make it work,” Dane says. “I’ll do it if it means Mom wakes up quicker.”
“Piper, you’ve already got an employee, you can start giving her more hours,” Asher says, already planning things out. We went from game night to all of us living at the hospital in two seconds flat. My head is spinning.
“Or hire another one,” Jett offers.
In my head, I’m groaning. Here we go again.
“I’m not going to hire another employee just so we can have endless card games at the hospital,” I say.
“Even if it meant Mom woke up faster?” Griff asks, already agitated.
I can feel the boil of irritation building inside of me. Except I don’t think it ever fully goes away; it must be stuck at a low simmer, ready to kick into gear whenever my brothers think they can decide what I do or how I do it.
A lightning bolt of frustration strikes through me. They don’t understand my business, my profit and loss statement, or my strategy.
“I’d only hire another employee once I launch the next phase,” I snap. “There’s too much that goes into training and onboarding someone to get a new employee just for a few days or even a week. Come on .”
I feel a few sets of eyes burning on me as I finish shuffling the cards. I ignore them all as I deal the next hand.
“What’s the next phase?” Asher finally asks.
Fuck.
“Can we just play the game?” I ask with a sigh.
“No, I wanna hear about the next phase,” Griffin says, pushing away the cards I just laid in front of him.
I dip my chin, sending him my best glare.
“When that look comes out, you know there’s something good she’s not telling us,” Jett says as he elbows Dane.
“Guys—” I try to protest.
“Now you have to tell us,” Jett says, elbowing his way into the table where I’m locked in alternating death stares with Asher and Griffin.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I begin, but the attention and pressure emanating from my older brothers is too intense. I already know the truth: I’m doomed. There’s no way out of this. I have no excuse at the ready, and they won’t let up until the truth pops out of me like a gross zit.
“There absolutely is,” Jett confirms with a maniacal smile, because of course he’s right.
I heave with a sigh, setting my own cards down. Bella has drifted closer, watching me with a worried look. My stomach is twisted, and my palms are sweating. This is a moment I’ve been avoiding for years.
And here we are.
“I want to expand Cloud Nine,” I finally say.
“Into what?” Asher’s brows are drawing closer together.
“Events—catering and planning.”
Bella gasps, her face lighting up. “Piper, this is a great idea—”
“Wait.” Asher lifts a hand, and Bella rolls her lips inward. “Tell us more. Because I don’t think any of us know enough to say whether it’s a good idea.”
Bella rolls her eyes, though Asher can’t see her do it. Bella’s always been on my side, but it’s never enough against my brothers.
“I’ve always wanted to get into event planning—”
“Event planning?” Dane enunciates, as if it’s a foreign language.
“Yes. I think I could really kill it with private events. Weddings, corporate parties, luncheons, all sorts of things. I’d cater all the sweet stuff and probably collaborate with a different business to supply a savory menu—”
“Not your landlord, that’s for damn sure,” Griffin mutters.
“ Probably collaborate?” Asher repeats my words back to me, his suspicion evident.
Some of my excitement dissipates in a puff of smoke. Maybe I could see Griffin writing off Kru as a potential collaborator as him accepting that my vision will become a reality. My feeble grasp at optimism doesn’t last long, because Dane cuts in.
“This is like, two whole other businesses, Piper.” He looks seriously concerned, as though I just told him Lia needed medical attention or something. “On top of the one you already run. That’s new concept development, investment, staffing, business planning…”
“Not to mention renting or buying a whole new building just for the event stuff,” Jett says.
“Do you have a place in mind for this…space?” Asher asks, crossing his arms.
I can’t tell them Kru offered up his barn. I haven’t even seen it yet. So I answer, “A couple that I’m looking into.”
“Have you signed anything yet?” Dane asks, his brows raising.
“No,” I blurt.
“Thank god. We need to approve anything before you do.” Asher’s jaw is flexing, his gaze heavy on me.
I scoff, crossing my arms to match his. “You don’t trust me to make my own decisions?”
The heavy silence in the room is my answer.
“God, you guys.” I push away from the table, coming to standing. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything.”
“You need to focus on what’s already working, and expand that ,” Asher says firmly.
“Yeah, you don’t need to get into a whole new industry,” Jett adds.
“We saw what happened when you started Cloud Nine. If you expand too soon…” Dane trails off, all of his doubts and hesitations ballooning in the empty space between us.
“You’ve got a killer business right now,” Griff says. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing,” I admit, while the tightness in my chest expands and eventually engulfs my entire body.
I’m too heavy and tired to defend myself or this idea that they haven’t even truly heard.
All I know is that the crushing feeling has returned to my chest. This suffocating smallness that’s been my companion since childhood, a place I so often find myself with my brothers.
So I do what I know best.
I swallow the frustration, and we get back to the game.