Chapter Thirty-Four
Now
Barbara, Piper’s mother, bustled into the room as if she owned the hospital, overdressed in a lavender sundress and gold slingbacks.
“Piper, there you are! You know, disappearing from your hospital room after a week missing is not a nice trick to play on
your dear old mom.”
Layla trailed behind Barbara rolling a wheelchair and offered Piper an apologetic smile. So much for the strict visiting hours.
Piper lurched away from Wyatt so fast it gave her whiplash, an old force of habit. Was it obvious they’d been making out?
And if so, why did she care so much if her mom knew that?
As gracefully as possible, she slipped into the chair by Wyatt’s bed and smoothed her hair around her face, strategically
covering her scar. Barbara’s lips pinched together, but she said nothing about Piper’s flushed face or Wyatt’s rumpled bedsheets.
“I didn’t disappear. Layla knew where I was.” Piper winced in Layla’s direction. She hadn’t meant to throw the nurse under
the bus, but she felt like a teenager caught sneaking out of the house and didn’t want to be grounded. “I wanted to see Wyatt
before we left.”
Barbara nodded at Wyatt like she was making his acquaintance for the first time. “Wyatt, it’s good seeing you awake. I ran
into Molly downstairs in the coffee shop, and she said you’re doing well?”
“That’s what they tell me,” he said politely, but his eyes were as hard as concrete. “I’m stuck here for another day or two, though.”
She nodded. “Dr. Adams and I wish you a speedy recovery, and I told Molly I’d drop off a casserole when you get home. I assume
you’ll be staying with her for a few days once you get back on your feet?”
Why was her mom being so dismissive of Wyatt? She probably blamed him for the plane crash, for scarring her only daughter’s
perfect face.
“Yes, ma’am, and thank you,” Wyatt confirmed.
Barbara turned her attention back to Piper. “Piper, you’re officially discharged. Are you ready to go home?”
That question had never been more loaded. There was nowhere Piper would rather be than nestled back at her childhood home—except
in Wyatt’s hospital bed with him right now.
“Yeah, home sounds great, but can I meet you out front? Wyatt and I were in the middle of a conversation.” Possibly the most
important conversation of her life.
Barbara lifted one perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Honey, your father’s already gone to get the car. We should leave now to make
it home before dark.”
Piper glanced at the clock on the wall. There was plenty of time to make the eight-hour drive during daylight. “What’s the
rush? Can’t we wait a few more minutes?”
Her mom sighed. “You know your father gets cranky when he has to wait. And I’m planning a special dinner for you tomorrow
night, so I need to get back to prepare for it.” Food was her mother’s answer to everything.
“I don’t need anything fancy, Mom.”
“This was going to be a surprise, but you know I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Tag and his parents are flying in tomorrow to visit, so it’s only polite that we host them with a nice meal. You know he’s been so worried about you.” She turned to Layla, who stood in the doorway. “Tag is Piper’s boyfriend,” she explained. “They’re both studying to be doctors. Isn’t that the sweetest thing?”
Next to her, Wyatt stiffened, his hands clenched into fists. The vein in Piper’s head throbbed. So that explained her mother’s
bad attitude. She still had her heart set on the possibility of Piper becoming a Sinclair one day.
“Mom, Tag and I—” Piper began explaining that Tag wasn’t her boyfriend, that Wyatt was the one she wanted sitting at her
family’s dining room table, but her mother chattered on like she hadn’t heard her.
“Oh, that reminds me. I already booked us mani-pedis tomorrow morning.” Barbara looked Piper up and down. “Maybe we’ll make
a whole spa day of it. Get a haircut, too. So, like I said, we need to be on our way.” She snapped her fingers at Layla like
she was a bellhop, gesturing for her to push the wheelchair toward Piper.
“Mom,” she tried again. “I just need five minutes.”
Her mother’s bullying tactics may have worked on her once, but Piper refused to be railroaded anymore. Not after everything
she’d endured.
Barbara huffed and crossed her arms, not backing down. “Piper, please. Your father and I haven’t slept in days. I’m worried
about his health and I’m desperate to change into clothes that don’t smell like a hospital.”
Exhaustion darkened Piper’s mind like a shadow, sweeping over her. She’d been prepared to stand up to her mother but hadn’t
braced for a guilt trip. Fresh remorse over the agony her parents must have experienced in her absence colored her mood and
made the prospect of picking a fight untenable.
“It’s okay, Piper.” Wyatt interrupted her inner turmoil in a flat monotone that was far from reassuring. “You should go.”
His eyes glittered dark and dangerous.
Piper froze in place, like a butterfly pinned under a glass frame. She wanted to stay. Wanted to kick her mom out of the room and tell Wyatt the depth of her feelings for him. But her head hurt, and her stomach churned with unease. Maybe she wasn’t in the best shape to have this serious conversation with Wyatt, anyway. Waiting would be better. Or maybe she was still too much of a coward to defend what she wanted.
Piper faced Wyatt, willing him to read her facial expression, understand that Tag meant nothing to her, and see she wasn’t
ready to say goodbye and leave this hospital room. To recognize her deep love for him etched on her face, but Wyatt fixed
his stare on the door, his jaw clenched shut.
She curled her fingers around his wrist and squeezed. “I’ll call you when I can and see you soon. Promise.”
His gaze flashed down at her fingers braceleted around his arm, his hand still locked into a fist, but he said nothing.
She and Wyatt had waited years to be together—they could wait a few more days, right? She would see him in person soon, when
he returned to Cedar Falls, where she’d be waiting for him, and they would start their next adventures together then. It would
all be okay.
It had to be.
Barbara cleared her throat, and Piper grudgingly let Layla help her into the wheelchair. She looked back at Wyatt as Layla
rolled her from the room, but he’d already closed his eyes.
Piper slept most of the eight-hour drive home, partly because sleep had evaded her for days but mostly because she wasn’t ready to answer a million questions about her time on the island. Plus, Wyatt’s love bomb still had her reeling, along with sweeping shame over chickening out about sharing her own feelings. She soothed her shame spiral by imagining everything she would say to Wyatt as soon as they could talk. Because now that they’d made it home in one piece, time had to be on their side. Right?
She’d expected to luxuriate in her bed, but now, hours after coming home, the pinching ache of missing Wyatt kept her wide
awake. She missed the curve of his body around hers, how his eyes glinted silver when he looked at her, and his ability to
make her smile, even in the worst situations. Thinking about him made every inch of her skin tingle—alert and pulsating like
a drug addict undergoing detox.
The long, restless night left her ill-prepared to deal with the force that was her mother on a mission. The second Piper appeared
in the kitchen, still wiping sleep from her eyes, her mom pounced.
Barbara wore an apron with French hens in chef hats and a manic smile that suggested she’d already had more than three cups
of coffee.
“Piper, you’re awake! Come sit. I made all your favorites.” She loaded up a plate with eggs, bacon, grits, and a stack of
pancakes and set it in front of Piper.
Her dad sat at the table, a medical journal open beside him. They both watched as Piper took a small bite of the scrambled
eggs.
“How is everything? Do you need me to reheat anything?” her mom asked.
Piper savored the buttery taste of eggs. “No, it’s great. Best thing I’ve had to eat in days.” She’d meant it as a joke, but
her mom blanched.
“Aren’t you guys going to eat breakfast, too?” Piper frowned at their empty place mats.
“Oh, we already ate.” Tears misted her dad’s eyes. “We’ve been up for a while. It was hard to sleep last night knowing you
would be here when we woke up.”
“It’s better than Christmas morning.” Her mom dabbed the corners of her eyes with a napkin. She squeezed Piper’s arm, then, as if that contact wasn’t enough for her, stood and wrapped her arms around Piper’s shoulders. Her dad jumped up and joined the family hug.
Gratitude that she could even hug her parents again filled her soul, but everything about this moment was surreal. How many
times had she eaten breakfast at this table? Only now, it was a brand-new experience that cast Piper as a stranger in her
own home. Like walking into class on the first day of school when you know you belong but don’t yet know everyone’s name or
where to sit. She struggled to articulate the overwhelming feeling of being present physically while her mind remained trapped
in survival mode. So she remained quiet and hugged them back. A deep rumble in her stomach saved her from having to speak.
“My goodness, we’re stopping you from eating your first real meal!” Her mom sat back down, aghast.
“We stopped at Subway on the way home,” Piper reminded her.
Barbara wrinkled her nose. “Like I said, your first real meal.”
Piper took a bite of pancakes, the sweet syrup bathing her tongue. Her parents continued watching her like she was the season
finale of their favorite TV show, so she followed up the pancake with a bite of everything else on her plate until the hungry
rumbling in her stomach became a distant memory.
“The Sinclair family will be here around five o’clock, and dinner’s at six,” her mom said, getting down to business. “I know
you only have clothes from high school here, but don’t worry, I already placed a Nordstrom order for some more options, including
some dresses for tonight, and new makeup, that we can pick up on our way home from the nail salon.”
Piper’s stomach flipped like the pancakes she’d just consumed. She’d forgotten about Tag’s impending arrival, probably because
readjusting to reality had completely preoccupied her mind.
“Mom, Tag and I aren’t in a serious relationship. We’ve been on a few dates, that’s it. Don’t you think it’s kind of weird that he’s flying down here?”
Her mom waved her concern away like a puff of smoke. “Nonsense! The Sinclairs have been family friends of ours for years.
And Tag adores you. I know you’ve been through a lot and are probably still processing, but I think you’ll be excited to see
him once he arrives. This will be a good thing, you’ll see.” She scooted her chair back and stood as if the matter were settled.
“Now go wash your hands and get changed so we can get you ready for tonight.”
Maybe clearing the air with Tag in person would be better, less awkward than a phone call or text, especially if he was already
on his way down. Because their parents were so close, he would be in her life one way or another, so she might as well do
what she could to salvage a friendship, even if her mother would be disappointed that’s all it would ever be. Besides, based
on experience, nothing would stop the Barbara locomotive once it was chugging down the tracks.