Chapter Sixteen
Now
Piper twisted a wet T-shirt, wringing rainwater from last night’s storm into an empty bottle with a satisfying trickle. Residual
rain dripped from leaves, making everything dewy and new.
Wyatt walked up behind her. “Hey, thanks for talking me off the ledge last night.” He traded her a papaya half for a freshly
filled water bottle.
His hand brushed against hers, and her skin buzzed at the contact, a not-so-subtle reminder of how she’d woken curled once
again against Wyatt’s hard body, with him holding her close.
“Of course. How’re you feeling today?” She picked up the radio and followed him to their usual perches under the shade of
the palm tree grove.
He dragged a hand through his hair. “Tired, embarrassed, mostly hungry.”
Piper bit into her papaya, the juice exploding in her mouth like a water balloon. “Hungry, I get, but there’s nothing to be
embarrassed about.”
Wyatt shot her a grateful smile. “Thanks. I know, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult to deal with.” He carved out a
chunk of fruit with the knife and popped it into his mouth.
She nodded in understanding, not wanting to interrupt.
Wyatt scooped out another bite, his brow furrowing. “I’m one of the lucky ones. I know too many guys who struggled far more than I did. Including my dad.”
Piper stopped midbite. “Your father was in the army?” How had she not known that?
“Yeah, he joined up right after high school like me. He and my mom were high school sweethearts who lost touch when he enlisted.
They reconnected before he deployed to Afghanistan a few years later, and, well, I came just about nine months after that.”
“Is that why you enlisted, too?”
“That and because college wouldn’t pay for itself. My parents were engaged but didn’t get married in time to pass any benefits
down to me.” Wyatt averted his gaze. “I don’t remember him, but my mom told me how he’d go on long motorcycle rides at night
whenever he had nightmares. She took his death hard, and I became her painful daily reminder of him.” The crease between Wyatt’s
eyes intensified. “I don’t think she ever stopped loving him.”
Piper swallowed hard. That sentiment hit close to home. “He would be so proud of you. Your mom, too.” The tired cliché wasn’t
enough to convey how much she believed her words.
One corner of Wyatt’s mouth turned up, his dimple playing peekaboo. “I hope so. I think my dad would’ve liked what I’ve done
to support veterans like him. That’s how I got into work at this tech start-up.”
“Wait, you work at a tech company?” She couldn’t picture Wyatt behind a desk at a corporate job, but then again, she knew
very little about his day-to-day life. Suddenly, she wanted to know everything. “How’d you get into that?”
He took a swig of water. “I came back from my second deployment a mess. The sound of cars freaked me out so much I couldn’t drive. Just leaving my house scared me.” Wyatt shuddered, remembering. “A guy at my gym saw my army duffel bag and started a conversation. He, Roger, had been discharged four years prior and had gone through a similar tough transition back to civilian life. He took me under his wing. Set me up with a great therapist, gave me helpful books to read, and got me into meditation. Even connected me with my dog, Badger. It saved my life.” Wyatt’s tone was serious but not somber.
“You have a dog?” This tidbit delighted Piper more than anything. “You always wanted one.”
“Yeah, Badger’s my best bud. I miss him a ton.” Wyatt’s voice grew tight, but he kept talking. “Meeting Roger was pure dumb
luck, and I didn’t want other vets missing out on the mentorship or resources Roger gave me because they weren’t in the right
place at the right time. So, I teamed up with a coding buddy, and we created an app.”
“An app that connects new vets with seasoned vets?”
Wyatt nodded, his eyes sparkling as he talked. “Exactly. It helps those recently discharged connect with other vets and find
a mentor in their area to help them through the tough times. Connects them with a person who understands what they’ve been
through. It also provides trusted resources and even has a feature that provides instant support to someone struggling. Almost
like an emergency button. I’d like to think it’s saved a few lives over the past year.”
“Wow, Wyatt. That’s huge. I’m impressed.” Impressed was an understatement for the awe and admiration that lit up her brain.
Wyatt had done something truly impactful with his life and was miles ahead of her in the figuring-adulting-out race.
He beamed. “Thank you. I got some grant money and government funding to launch it. Then the company I’m at, Invictus Tech,
bought it and hired me to keep working on new releases. It’s been a wild ride.”
“They bought your app? That’s unbelievable!”
Piper had always admired Wyatt’s steady determination to control his destiny. So many people had dismissed and underestimated him, including their high school guidance counselor, who had pushed for Wyatt to get his GED instead of graduating with the rest of his classmates.
“Bet you didn’t think this mediocre student would amount to much, did you?” Wyatt’s brow creased, misinterpreting her comment.
“No, that’s not it at all! I’m happy others see what I always did.” Piper paused, struggling to find the right words. Other
teenagers in his situation might have dropped out of school or given up, but Wyatt had studied relentlessly, working hard
to graduate with a handful of Bs and an A in history. She angled her body to face him. “I’m so proud of you, Wy.”
The tips of his ears reddened. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.”
His smoky eyes met hers with piercing intensity. Piper didn’t look away.
“Anytime. And I’m not saying that because I’ve got all the time in the world right now.” She’d hoped the lame joke would lessen
the effect of the butterflies raging in her stomach.
It didn’t.
“Enough about me.” Wyatt tossed his finished papaya peel into the water. “How’s med school? What’s it like living your dream?”
Piper puffed her cheeks up and looked skyward, willing a plane to appear overhead and save her from this conversation.
“That bad?” Wyatt asked.
She fidgeted with a strand of hair, twisting it around her finger and into a knot. “I keep thinking it will all click. That
I’ll wake up and get excited about operating on patients, or Morty the cadaver in our case, but the longer I’m in school,
the more I realize I’ll never be as passionate about medicine as my father. Or my classmates. It’s not my dream anymore.”
It was the first time Piper had put words to her emotions. She’d never talked about this with anyone, but Wyatt had the uncanny ability to extract the feelings swimming inside her and bring them into the light.
Saying it aloud released her, like a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon.
“So, what is your dream?” Wyatt asked.
Piper shook her head. “I’m not sure anymore. Is there a job that lets me sit around and read books all day?” She blew out
a breath. “All I know is that it’s not becoming a doctor.”
Wyatt frowned. “Why don’t you stop?”
“It’s not that easy!” Piper had asked herself that very thing every day for the last two years, but his question made her
defensive. “My parents worked so hard to get me here. It’s what we planned since I was little, and it would crush them if
I threw it all away without giving it a fair chance.”
Wyatt pursed his lips. “Do you want my advice?”
“Not really, but you’re probably going to tell me anyway.”
A smile flitted across his face. “Then feel free to ignore this, but being in the army and being in combat taught me something
fundamental but very true. Life is short, and you only get one, so you might as well live it on your terms.”
“That’s the clichéd advice you learned in the army?” Piper stifled a laugh.
“Don’t knock it. That motto has served me well.”
Wyatt sounded so confident that Piper had trouble blowing his advice off like she wanted to. She breathed the sea air deep
into her lungs. Maybe Wyatt had a point. Even stranded with little food, a head injury, and her ex, life on the island was
simpler than life back home. Here doubt about making the wrong choice or fear of someone discovering she was a phony didn’t
plague her. Here, she could be herself, perhaps more so than she’d been in years. There were no distractions—no TV, no Tag,
no social media, and no exams—to prevent her from looking inward. Nothing but the sand and the ocean.
And Wyatt.
Although she’d never get over missing Allie’s wedding, she felt more at peace than she had in years. That had to mean something.
“You deserve to live your life exactly how you want to, P. If that means doing something with books or reading or anything
else you love, you should.” Wyatt nudged his shoulder against hers. “Accept nothing less.”
She nodded, swallowing the unexpected lump in her throat, and laid her head on his shoulder. If her reaction surprised him,
he didn’t show it and responded by kissing the top of her head, then resting his cheek against her hair as they stared out
at the horizon together.
Last night, the wall of past transgressions and hurt had crumbled, replaced by a palpable shift toward peace. She liked sitting
beside Wyatt and talking to him. Liked laughing with him and loved falling asleep to his steady breathing, then waking up
pressed against his side.
It should terrify her, letting Wyatt creep back into her heart, but he was becoming harder and harder to resist.