Chapter 7
PIPER
“So I'm at this bar last night, right? Drowning my sorrows because I can't get to you, and this guy sits down next to me.
" Mackenzie's eyes are sparkling as she leans against the kitchen counter.
"Tall, hot, the whole package. We start talking and turns out he's a park ranger. And not just any park ranger, but one who works on this mountain. Can you believe the luck?”
I'm standing across from her, trying to act normal. Trying to ignore that five minutes ago I was naked in her brother’s arms.
“That's... great, Kenz.”
She doesn't notice, too caught up in her story. “And Piper, the man knows what he's doing. We were up all night…” She stops mid-sentence, her eyes narrowing. “Wait. Is that a bruise on your neck?”
My hand flies up to cover it. The spot where Callum's mouth was yesterday.
“I fell,” I blurt out. “Outside. It's from that.”
“Ouch!” She winces sympathetically. “Are you okay? That looks nasty.”
“I'm fine. Really.”
Her expression shifts to concern. “Why didn't you call me? Or answer any of my calls?”
“No reception. The storm must have knocked out the cell tower.”
Mackenzie pulls out her phone, frowning at the screen. “Oh my God, you're right. It was working fine at the base of the mountain but nothing up here.” She looks up at me. “That's why my calls weren't going through. I thought you were ignoring me!”
I don’t tell her I was too busy kissing her brother. Having sex with her brother. Falling for her brother.
I'm a terrible person.
And I really need to come clean.
“Kenz, I have something else to tell you.” I take a breath, steadying myself. “When I fell outside... I was unconscious for a while. I hit my head pretty bad.”
“Oh my God! Should we get you to a hospital? I can call the hot park ranger.”
“I'm fine. But…” I pause, watching her face. “Your brother rescued me.”
She blinks. “My brother? What the hell are you talking about?”
“He's here.”
“Here? What do you mean here?”
“In the cabin. He's been staying here.” I watch her face change—confusion to disbelief to anger. “Please don't freak out.”
“Don’t freak out?” her voice rises. “What the fuck are you talking about? Callum is here? Where is he?”
“Kenz, wait.”
But she's already tearing through the house. “CALLUM!”
I follow her. This is bad. This is so bad.
She's shouting now, checking rooms. “CALLUM!”
The bedroom door opens and he emerges, fully dressed now. Jeans and a henley, his hair still messed up from sleep. From me.
Our eyes meet for just a second.
Mackenzie whirls on him. “What the hell? Does Dad know you’re here?”
“No.” His voice is calm, controlled. “And nice to see you too, sis.”
“Don’t.” She points at him. “Don’t you dare act like this is a casual visit. What are you doing in our family’s cabin?”
“Needed a place to stay. Figured no one was using it.”
“So you just, what? Broke in? Squatted here?”
“I have a key.”
“That doesn’t give you the right.” She stops, her eyes darting between us. “Wait. You two have been here together? Alone?”
I swallow down the guilt. She turns her attention to Callum.
“You better have been nice to my friend,” Mackenzie says.
Oh God. This is so awkward.
“He was fine,” I say. “More than fine. He took care of me when I fell. He probably saved my life.”
Mackenzie's jaw tightens but she doesn't respond.
I glance outside. The storm has finally passed, leaving everything buried in white.
“Is the mountain safe to drive on?” Callum asks.
“No. A ranger brought me up, but he was in an emergency vehicle. Roads are still closed to everyone else,” she says.
Callum exhales through his nose. “So we’re all trapped here. Together.”
We all stand there, not quite looking at each other.
The rest of the day is excruciating.
Mackenzie goes straight for the wine. She doesn't say a word to me, just pours herself a large glass and settles on the couch with a magazine.
“Kenz,” I try. “Can we talk?”
“About what? About how my brother is squatting in our family cabin?” She takes a long drink. “Sure. Let’s talk.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? Piper, he nearly destroyed our family.”
“I know. You told me. But he explained everything.”
“Did he?” She looks at me then. “Did he tell you about how he ignored our dad’s advice? How he signed away parts of the ranch without consulting anyone? How we almost lost everything because of his arrogance?”
“Yes. He told me all of it.”
“And you what? Decided he's not the villain I said he was?”
“I think maybe there's more to the story than just villain or hero.”
“Of course you do.” She pours more wine. “You always want to see the best in people, Piper. Even when they don't deserve it.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”
“It is when it makes you naive.”
The word stings. Naive. But I push forward anyway.
“Why don’t you just talk to him?”
“Why would I?”
“Because he’s your brother.”
“I don’t want to talk about this.” She turns back to her magazine, effectively ending the conversation.
I try again later, after she's finished her second glass of wine.
“Maybe you should talk to him. Just hear him out.”
“No thanks.”
“He's right in the next room. You're both trapped here anyway.”
“I said no. I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to see him. I definitely don't want to hear whatever sob story he's selling you.”
“That's not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Piper,” she mutters, tipping back the rest of her wine.
After her fifth glass, she curls up on the couch, tucking a throw blanket around her like armor. Within minutes, she’s out cold.
I head to the bedroom and knock softly.
“Come in,” Callum's voice.
He's sitting on the bed, reading a book. Or pretending to read.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey.” He sets the book down. “How’d it go?”
“About as well as you’d expect.”
“So… terrible.”
“Yeah.” I sit on the edge of the bed, careful to keep distance between us. “I tried to get her to talk to you. To at least hear your side.”
“I heard.” A small smile. “Thanks for that.”
“She wouldn’t listen.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“And now she’s passed out on the couch.”
“You didn’t tell her,” Callum says quietly. “About us.”
My stomach drops. “I couldn’t. Not yet.”
He reaches for my hand and I let him take it. His thumb traces circles on my palm.
“She’s already angry and hurt and if I tell her now…” I shake my head.
“And what about us?” His grip on my hand tightens. “Because there’s an us now. There’s been an us since you walked through that door.”
“Callum…”
His hand slides behind my neck, lips crashing into mine as he shifts, pulling me down with him. The mattress gives beneath us, his body settling over mine.
I gasp against his mouth. “We have to be careful.”
“I’m tired of being careful.”
“Then at least be quiet. We can’t wake her.”
A wicked smile curls at his lips. He dips his head, kissing along my jaw, down my throat.
“I can do quiet,” he says, his hand sliding under the hem of my shirt. “Can you?”
“Callum, we can't. Not with Mackenzie in the next room.”
“She's passed out. Drunk. Dead to the world.”
“Still.”
“Tell me you don't want this.” His mouth is at my ear now. “Tell me you don't want me.”
I should tell him exactly that. But I can't.
Because I do want him. Desperately. Completely. In a way that terrifies me.
“This is wrong,” I whisper.
“I know,” he says, nipping at my neck.
“What happened to the sweet guy from last night? The one who made me cinnamon toast?”
“He's not available right now.”
Then his hands are everywhere… in my hair, on my waist, sliding under my shirt.
“We have to be quiet,” I gasp between kisses.
“Then be quiet.” His hand covers my mouth as his other hand slides into my pants. “Can you do that for me?”
I nod, my whole body on fire.
“Good girl.”