CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE #2
Piper is on her hands and knees in the middle of the space, scrubbing the worn wooden floor with an enormous scrub brush.
The place is flooded with bright light, even more lights installed than the last time I saw her in here working.
She's wearing the same paint-splattered overalls over a Cloud Nine hoodie, her hair pulled back in two French braids.
She pauses, sits back on her haunches, and lets out a deep sigh. Her shoulders slump, and she buries her face in her hands. The sight of her makes my heart wrench.
"Piper?"
She startles, twisting to look back toward the door. When she spots me, her expression is guarded. Not hostile, exactly, but not welcoming either.
"Oh. It's you."
The coolness in her voice stings more than I expected. "Yeah, it's me. The guy you've been ignoring for three days."
She turns back to the bucket at her side, dipping the scrub brush in. "I haven't been ignoring you."
"Really? Because I've texted, called, and even stopped by your shop enough times to probably make Jerrica think I’m a stalker. And you’re always ‘unavailable.’" I step further into the barn, taking in the changes since the last time I stopped in. Despite how much progress she’s made, it still seems like the road ahead is endless.
"I was starting to wonder if you'd ghosted me again. "
That gets a reaction. She pauses mid-scrub, her shoulders tensing.
"I wasn't ghosting you," she says quietly. "I was trying to get my head straight."
"Away from me, apparently."
"Away from all the self-righteous opinions of the men in my life," she snaps, finally looking at me. "I need space to think. To figure out what I actually want and how I’m going to do it alone."
The words hit harder than they should. "You don’t have to do it alone."
"Don’t I?” She tosses the scrub brush into the bucket and folds her arms across her chest. "My brothers don’t support me. And I know you say it’s a maybe, but I see the writing on the wall. Kru, you’re not gonna stay here."
I open my mouth to argue, then close it.
"Look, I get it," she continues, her voice softening slightly.
"My brothers are unhinged. You got punched once already. They’ll probably never accept you.
Besides, the reality show wrapped up, and you've got investors interested in Columbus. Why tie yourself down to this small town and my ogre brothers?”
"That's not—" I start, but she cuts me off.
"It's fine, Kru. Really. I’ll come to terms with it eventually.
I've been keeping busy anyway." She gestures around the barn.
"I've been getting quotes from construction companies, applying for small business loans, really getting the road map nailed down so this thing can be ready by spring. I told you I’d figure out a way, and I will. Somehow."
I step closer, noting the exhaustion in her movements, the dark circles under her eyes. "How many hours have you been out here today?"
She pauses, seeming to calculate. "I don’t know. I did other things. But I started around five a.m.”
"Five a.m.? Jesus, Piper. It’s after midnight."
She waves a dismissive hand, which makes her sway slightly. "I'm fine. Just trying to advance while I figure out the financing. If I can get more stuff done on my own, then the construction company quotes might be more affordable. I’m doing this on a tight budget."
But as she gestures toward her work, I can see she's not fine at all. She almost looks drunk, a slight tremor in her hands that could be from cold or exhaustion or both. She’s running on fumes and sheer stubborn determination.
"When's the last time you ate something?" I ask.
"I had a sandwich earlier. Or maybe that was yesterday." She reaches for the scrub brush again, but she’s sluggish. Uncoordinated.
"Piper, you need to stop. It's freezing out here, it's late, and I’m certain you've pulled multiple twenty-hour days in row."
"I need to get this done for the last construction quote," she insists, but her words trail off. Her eyes flutter closed for a moment, and I see her body start to go limp.
"Piper!"
I lunge forward just as she begins to fall backwards, catching her in my arms as the scrub brush clatters to the floor. My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. What the fuck? I look down at her, arranging her in my arms carefully.
Her eyes snap open a moment later, confusion clouding her features. "What…what happened?"
"You fell asleep sitting up," I say, my voice tight with worry. "Or maybe fainted. I caught you before you cracked your skull on the floor.”
She blinks slowly, like she's trying to process this information. "Thank you. I’m awake now. I just need a minute." But she doesn’t move to leave my embrace.
"No, you need sleep. And food." I slowly get to my feet, hoisting her in my arms. I start to carry her toward the barn door. "I'm taking you to my place."
"No." She struggles weakly in my arms. "I can handle this on my own. Just drop me off at Griffin's. I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You just collapsed."
"I can take care of myself."
That's when something inside me finally snaps.
"Piper. Please. Why won't you just let me help you?" The words come out louder than I intended, echoing in the barn. "It doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to do everything on your own."
She looks up at me, startled by the intensity in my voice.
"You’ll get more done if you take care of yourself," I continue, my voice softening but no less passionate. "Let me help you. Let me show you how much I love you."
The words hang in the air between us. I hadn't meant to say it like that, but there it is. The truth I've been dancing around for weeks.
I love her. I'm in love with her. And I can't stand watching her kill herself trying to prove she doesn't need anyone.
I carry her out of the barn and across the parking lot to my truck, ignoring her weak protests. The drive to Griffin's house is short, but she relaxes into the front seat, eyes closed, exhaustion finally winning over stubbornness.
Griffin's living room light is on when we pull into the driveway. I carry Piper to the front door and kick the door.
Griffin opens the door, takes one look at us, and his expression shifts from confusion to concern. "What happened? Is she okay?"
"She's fine," I say, stepping inside. "But she needs sleep. She pushed herself way too hard today.”
I carry Piper down the hallway to her bedroom, setting her gently on the bed. She's half-asleep, but she manages to mumble, "I can take care of myself."
"I know you can," I say softly, brushing a paint-streaked strand of hair from her face. "But wouldn’t it be better if we take care of each other?”
I pop off her shoes, take off her socks, and get her down to bra and panties so she’s more comfortable in bed. Once she’s tucked in, I press a kiss to her forehead.
"Sleep in tomorrow, or I'm going to chain you to this bed next time, and not in the sexy way."
That earns me a weak smile before her eyes flutter closed.
Griffin is waiting in the living room when I emerge, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. The man looks like a guard dog—he’s truly a huge athlete, and I can’t help but think about the last time he and I were in this living room together. My left eye starts throbbing from the memory.
“What the fuck is going on?” Griffin asks gruffly.
"She’s been working on the barn," I explain. "Nonstop. Waking up at five a.m. and doing nothing else, not even eating.”
“Why are you letting her do that?”
There’s something in his tone that instantly grates on me. Thank god Piper wasn’t here to hear it.
“Are you fucking serious right now?” It’s too late and I’m too tired for cordiality. After the day I had, after what I just went through with Piper, I can’t school my voice in the slightest. “I don’t control her. And neither do you."
“Don’t you care about her?” Griffin steps closer.
“More than you even fucking know.” I match his step until we’re in the center of the living room, staring each other down. “I caught her tonight when she fell asleep sitting up and almost cracked her head on the floor."
Griffin's face darkens. "Jesus."
My frustration with the situation spills out of me. "She's going to kill herself trying to prove she doesn't need anybody. Because she thinks she has to do this alone.”
“What do you mean alone ?” Griffin asks. “She has her brothers and… you , I guess.”
“But she doesn’t see that,” I say. “And you and your brothers aren't helping. In fact, you’re making it so much fucking worse, and you don’t even realize it.
She's so desperate to show you guys she's capable that she's pushing herself past the breaking point. And all you guys do is tell her why she’s making the wrong decisions. "
"We're just trying to look out for her—"
"By making her feel like she has to prove herself every damn day, about every damn thing?" I shake my head. "Is that what you want? For her to work herself into the ground just to earn your respect?"
Griffin is quiet for a long moment. "No," he says finally. "That's not what we want."
"Then you need to ease up on her. Stop questioning every decision she makes. Stop treating her like she doesn’t know what she’s doing."
Griffin’s jaw ticks and I begin bracing myself for another punch. I don’t make it a habit to come into another man’s house and tell him how to treat his baby sister, but this is an important exception.
“I don’t think you have the right to comment on my family.” He steps closer again, energy crackling between us.
“I get it,” I tell him. “I’m the new boyfriend.
You all can shit on me if you want. But Piper is my girlfriend, and I’m going to support every last fucking thing she wants to do.
I believe in her. Her vision, her dreams, her future.
And the shit I heard you guys saying to her this week was really fucking disappointing. ”
Griffin is looming over me now. I wonder if he’s weighing his options: punch, or maybe just throw me out of his house by the collar.
But I can’t stop now. I’m not going to watch her shrink and fidget through another game night, terrified of what her brothers are going to say to her.
“You’re gonna lose her if you don’t back off,” I add, not breaking eye contact. I don’t flinch; I don’t retreat. I just hold my ground. Griffin might be like the attack dog who can smell fear, and if that’s the case, he’s not going to smell it on me.
Silence throbs between us, and finally Griffin says, “You think we’re too hard on her?”
A sarcastic laugh escapes me. “Absolutely.”
He props his hands on his hips, gaze dropping to the floor. “She hasn’t said a word to me since game night.”
“You might have a lot more of that to look forward to if you guys don’t start getting on her level.
She’s brilliant. She’s built something incredible with the shop.
And now she’s going to make something equally as amazing with the barn.
She needs support and recognition. Not well-meaning criticism. ”
Griffin nods slowly, and I can see him processing what I've said. I head to the door. I’m probably out of face-punching danger, but one can never be too sure.
"You and your brothers can do what you want,” I tell him, my hand on the doorknob. “But I think you all want a big happy family. And Piper hasn’t been happy. She’s been telling you all along, but none of you have been listening.”
“Oh, come on,” Griff says, following me. “You’re in her life for like five minutes and think you have something to say?”
I turn to face him. “I didn’t even need five minutes. I saw it after ten seconds. And yeah, I do have something to say, especially when it comes to making sure Piper feels supported and heard.”
Griff scowls at me. “Gonna be hard to see and hear her from Columbus, buddy.”
I take issue with the way he calls me buddy . But now’s not the time to invite a fistfight with this brute of a brother. “Good thing I’ll be right here in Bayshore then.”
“Oh. You backing out of the deal already?”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Man. You just can’t pass up a chance to make somebody second guess their plans, huh? Sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re her brother or her bully.”
His scowl deepens. “It’s time for you leave before I make you leave.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I let myself out of the house, my mind churning with thoughts. Maybe I went too far. Maybe I didn’t go far enough. Maybe Piper’s going to flip her shit when she finds out I talked about any of it with her brother.
As I walk back to my truck, something settles into place inside me.
Columbus is a non-option.
Not because it’s too much, too soon. Not because of what Griffin said.
But because I’m all in with Piper. With Bayshore. With the business I chose and built and am loving, right next to the woman I found and fell for and am crazier about every day.
This is not the time to walk away.
This is the time to dive deeper into my dream…and hers.
Because I’m not going to lose myself in it. I’m going to grow right alongside her.
Columbus can wait. Because I am expanding, just in a different way than I expected.
I was drawn to Bayshore for a reason. And now I’m staying for a reason.