CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
P IPER
The cat is officially out of the Keegan bag.
No, no. It’s more than that. The panther has officially escaped the high security Keegan zoo.
My entire family now knows that I’ve been secretly dating my usurper, and the texts just will not stop pouring in.
DANE: Are you fucking serious?
ASHER: Tell me this is a joke.
JETT: This is the guy that lives behind you right? Confirm the address because I don’t wanna fuck up the wrong guy.
Griffin was true to his word. He did not keep my secret for me, and good on him.
I’m tired of the secrets. I’m tired of it all.
I just want to live my life without having to explain myself every thirty seconds to four grown men who still see me as an eleven-year-old girl who can barely run a lemonade stand.
I spend all of Monday morning at the barn, ignoring my phone except for a few sweet messages to Kru. When he shows up to help me, wordlessly getting to work, I fall in love with him on the spot. No comments, no questions. Just support.
Then Monday afternoon, Mom is released from the hospital.
I see all of my brothers for the first time since the bombshell revelation, and nobody exactly knows how to act.
Thankfully we have Mom to distract us. She’s looking so much better than a few days ago, and she walks on her own to Asher’s car.
We all meet back at her house, helping her get things situated after the unexpected hospital stay. Luckily the burns on her legs won’t require much more than changing dressings and time. I bring out the first meal that I prepped, a breakfast casserole, and start warming it up.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Pipes,” Mom says softly. Her voice is still a little scratchier than usual.
“Just trying to be helpful,” I say with a shrug.
“She’s probably still mad about what happened last week,” Jett mutters.
I expect confusion from my Mom. We haven’t told her about Kru or the beatdown or anything. But she turns to me with compassion and says, “Honey, your brothers will get over it. They’ll accept him.”
A chill runs down my spine, and I slowly turn to face Mom. Tears are in my eyes for some reason. My brothers are looking at each other, confused.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Your man. The love of your life,” she says with a soft smile. “Herman.”
I stare at my mom with wide eyes. There’s no way in hell she could know his first name. I am so stunned I can’t form a response. Luckily, I have four very opinionated brothers to step in.
“Mom, what the hell are you talking about?” Griffin asks.
Mom turns to Griff, her brows knitting together. “Her boyfriend! Why are you guys acting like I’m speaking nonsense?”
“But… Mom . I haven’t even told you about him yet,” I say slowly.
“None of us have,” Dane adds.
Mom’s smile stretches wide, almost conspiratorially, as she drifts my way and pats the side of my face. “You didn’t have to. Bring him on Wednesday for game night.”
****
Kru is understandably hesitant to be in the same room as all four brothers on Wednesday.
“That’s eight fists,” he says, “all of which will likely land on my face.”
“They won’t touch you…in front of my mom,” I promise.
He smiles down at me, smoothing his hand along the curve of my neck. This is the first dinner service he’s leaving in the hands of his team, and it’s a big deal for him. A big deal for us . I recognize that sacrifice, as a small business owner.
“That’s not very reassuring. But you know what? I’ll risk it. Because you’re worth it.”
He bends down and we share a long, passionate kiss. When we’re together, it’s perfect. I’m falling for him more with every passing second. Meeting the full Keegan clan is the last step to really making this a thing.
“I appreciate you putting yourself in harm’s way for our relationship,” I tease. “Not to mention leaving the fate of your restaurant with Brady for a full two hours.”
“I think he can handle it. And if not, I’m just a short drive away.” He smiles, but I can see the tension in his face. It makes me nervous, too.
“Well, luckily they won’t expect you to be here every week. But making an appearance once in a while would be nice,” I add softly.
“You’re thinking long term,” he murmurs, brushing his lips against mine.
“I am. Are you?” I look up hopefully into his eyes.
“One hundred percent, Sandpiper.”
Kru drives me to game night, a gesture that seems so small but no one has ever done before in my family.
The only boyfriends I ever had were so short-term that they never made it home to meet my family.
And all of them were while I studied at Ohio University, hours from here, far from my brothers’ controlling gazes.
As soon as we get to the house, anxiety really sets in. My belly is tingling. I’m gnawing on my lip as we walk up the sidewalk.
“Listen, they’re probably going to be a little…unfriendly,” I warn him.
“I can handle it,” Kru assures me. “I could always tell them a food joke to break the ice.”
“Yeah,” I say, trying to imagine how my brothers might receive one of his jokes. “That could help.”
Asher opens the door before I can reach the handle. His dark gaze sweeps over the both of us. He sniffs.
Let the hazing begin.
“Hey, Asher,” I say brightly.
Kru waves. “Hi. I’m Kru.”
Asher stares at Kru for an uncomfortably long time. Then he holds the door open for us to pass through. “Asher.”
No nice to meet you or general pleasantries. Internally, I’m rolling my eyes. I guess I should be grateful we’ve made it this far.
“Can you not be a creep?” I hiss to Asher as we pass him by. Inside the house, Mom is seated at the dining room table, and all my brothers are there beside her. The air is tense.
Mom sends us a warm smile—aside from Lia’s sweet perma-grin, it’s the only smile to be found in the room. She stands, holding her arms out for Kru.
“There’s the chef I’ve heard so much about,” she oozes, like she been waiting to meet him for years instead of days. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Kru looks surprised but pleased as she pulls him into a hug. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Keegan. I'm so glad you're feeling better."
"Please call me Laura. And thank you." She pats his arm maternally. "Piper's told me wonderful things about your restaurant."
“I try to feed her every chance I get,” he says with a grin. “I think she’s tried the whole menu by now.” The comment makes my brothers scoff. I shoot them all a collective glare.
“Kru, I’d like you to meet my brothers ,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve already met Asher and Griffin—”
Griffin jerks his head into a nod, still sizing up Kru.
“That’s Dane, and Jett next to him. And this here is Lia, Dane’s daughter.” I ruffle her hair. “She’s three, and the cutest Keegan there is. Everybody, meet Kru.”
I wait for groans, scoffs, or backtalk. There is none. Instead, there’s something worse.
Four sets of eyes boring a hole into Kru.
Kru doesn’t let it faze him. “It’s really nice to meet you all. And to not be getting punched by Griffin again.”
My mom pales, turning to her youngest son. “Griffin! Are you the one that gave Kru that shiner?” Kru’s black eye looks better than it did, but there are still swirls of purple and yellow visible.
“I did,” Griffin confirms. “And I’d do it again.”
“ Griffin ,” I say while my brothers snicker.
“I’m sure it was a love tap,” Jett says.
“I didn’t have to go to the hospital,” Kru says as he eases into the chair my mom pulls out for him. “So that was a bonus.”
“Are we ready to eat?” I ask, eager to get the focus off of Kru and onto something resembling an easygoing rhythm. I know it will take time for my brothers to warm up to him.
“Let me help,” Kru says.
“You left your kitchen to be here. I don’t want you serving more people,” I say, playfully swatting at him.
“I can do it,” Mom says.
“Mom, you need to sit your butt in that chair,” Jett says. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Not you,” I warn Kru, gliding past him and heading into the kitchen to start serving food. Dane and Jett join me. Tension crackles between us. I can tell they’re dying to needle me about my new boyfriend.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I warn them in a low voice as we pull plates and collect silverware.
“I didn’t say a thing,” Jett says wryly.
“You didn’t have to. Just please, both of you— be nice .
” I send them a warning look before I begin plating tonight’s dinner, pork chops and mashed potatoes.
I carry two plates out, setting one down in front of Kru and the other for Mom.
Jett and Dane bring out the rest of the plates for the family, and soon we’re all digging in.
“Tastes pretty good, Pipe Cleaner,” Dane says.
“Thanks. I’ve gotten pretty good at mimicking Mom’s recipes.” I grin over at her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “But never quite as good as when you do it.”
“What do you think, Kru?” Jett asks, something glinting in his gaze.
Kru sweeps his gaze between my brothers, then over to me as though double checking he heard correctly. “I think it’s great.”
“Probably a little too plain for you, huh?” Jett goes on.
“Not at all,” Kru says, clearing his throat. “Piper’s an awesome cook. She’s got her own style.”
“You guys should see how he runs his kitchen,” I add, trying to keep the conversation light and interesting. “He’s a trained chef, so it runs like clockwork. They even do the ‘yes, chef’ stuff.”
My brothers look mildly impressed.
“You guys should come eat sometime,” Kru says. “On the house.”
“That’s very generous of you,” Mom says. “With how expensive it is to run a restaurant, especially.”
“A restaurant you had to renovate half of the building for, too,” Asher adds before taking a bite of pork chop.
“It was expensive, but necessary,” Kru says with a smile. I wonder if he can feel the air crackling. My brothers are gearing up for an attack. “The building is older, and everything was outdated. The reno will get us another twenty years out of it, easily. So that's something to be happy about."