Chapter 10
It was frustrating not to be leaving immediately for Phoenix, but Cora understood the men’s need to get as much information as possible before heading into what she thought of in her mind as a battle.
They might not think Lara was in danger, or that Ridge Michaels was holding her against her will, but she knew differently.
She just hoped they were ready for whatever waited for them behind the doors of the jail where Lara was being held.
It might be a fancy estate with a dozen paid employees waiting on Ridge hand and foot, but it was still a prison.
In the meantime, she was excited to get to see the place she’d read about and researched so extensively. Meeting Melba earlier had been a highlight. And the goats were just as hysterical as many guests said they were. After meeting them, they’d immediately started trying to chew on her pants.
Tonka’s dogs, Wally and Beauty, were well-mannered, if not spoiled rotten. It was amusing to see big bad Tonka carrying Beauty around as if she was a little princess…which she kind of was. The barn cats were friendly, and she’d even gotten to meet Mutt…Brick’s three-legged dog.
But it was Chuck who delighted her the most. The squirrel was missing two feet, and he lived with his squirrel girlfriend in a little condo Tonka had built against a tree behind the barn.
To her surprise, after she’d sat down with a handful of peanuts, the little guy had come right up and sat in front of her as he chowed down.
“He likes you,” Pipe said quietly from her right. He hadn’t said much while she’d met The Refuge’s other animals. Now, he sat beside her and simply watched as she remained entranced by the little guy.
“I tend to get along better with animals than people,” Cora told him, as Chuck nudged her hand for more peanuts.
It was adorable how he’d stuff one into his mouth, then take one into the little wooden hut Tonka had made him.
Cora mused that it was kind of sad this little squirrel took better care of his mate than anyone had ever taken care of her.
“It’s because they know you’re not going to hurt them.”
“They can’t know that,” she protested, looking over at him.
Pipe was sitting with his feet flat on the ground, his arms looped around his updrawn knees, and instead of looking at Chuck, he was staring at her.
Feeling self-conscious, Cora turned back to the squirrel.
“They can sense it,” Pipe told her.
They were quiet for a few seconds, before Cora blurted, “Your friends don’t really believe me.”
She winced at the blunt statement. Even if it was true, she probably shouldn’t have brought it up.
Pipe simply shrugged. “This is unfamiliar territory for us. I mean, when Alaska was in trouble, Jasna and Reese too, it was a no-brainer that we’d do whatever it took to help them.
No one messes with our loved ones. But we don’t know Lara.
It’s harder to get a read on a situation when you’re dealing with strangers. ”
Cora nodded. She understood that. Completely. And she respected Pipe all the more for being honest with her.
“And things could get weird really quickly if we rush in to help your friend…and it turns out she doesn’t need helping.”
“She does,” Cora couldn’t help but say as she turned to look at him once more.
Pipe’s lips twitched.
“Look, I know this situation is messed up. You and your friends are trusting me when I say that she’s not there of her own free will.
You don’t know me, you don’t know Lara, and like you said, you’re risking a lot to go to Arizona with me.
Your reputations, at the very best, are at risk, and getting hurt in the process at worst.”
Pipe snorted, and Cora couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her lips at the disgruntled sound.
“No one’s getting hurt,” he told her.
“You can’t know that,” she said with a shrug.
Pipe’s gaze bore into hers with an intensity that she thought was a little out of place for the situation. “No one’s getting hurt,” he insisted. “You stalked us. Did you miss the parts where it listed all our accomplishments and the medals we’ve earned?”
Cora frowned. “You’ve earned medals?” she asked.
Pipe chuckled. “Can’t tell you. That shit’s top secret. All I’m sayin’ is that when you set your sights on me and my friends, you chose well. It’s not going to be hard for us to figure out if Lara is there of her own free will or not.”
“Really?” Cora asked.
“Really,” Pipe said confidently.
“He’s not going to be happy,” she told him.
“Nope.”
Cora turned her attention back to Chuck, who’d stuffed four peanuts into his mouth and was desperately trying to add a fifth. “I don’t know what I expected when I went to that auction, but it wasn’t this.”
“This?” Pipe asked.
“Sitting here at The Refuge, feeding Chuck, and feeling so damn grateful that you were willing to listen to me that I can’t even put it into words.”
“I want to say something, but I’m not sure if I should or not,” Pipe said.
Cora looked over at him. His gaze was still locked on her. “Please do.”
He licked his lips, and Cora’s attention was distracted for a moment.
He really was a good-looking man. She’d never been with a guy with a beard as full as Pipe’s, but she had a sudden longing to know what it felt like to kiss him.
To feel that beard on her face. She’d been impressed with all the things she’d read about him, but to meet him in person?
To see for herself that he was polite, protective, attentive, and committed to helping her, a stranger, her esteem for him had only gone up.
“I don’t want your gratitude,” Pipe said.
Cora blinked. “You don’t?” she asked.
“When I stood in that ballroom and listened to that bitch say those horrible things to you, I wasn’t happy.
I decided to walk you home to assuage my guilt for somehow letting her win the auction, instead of you.
Which I know makes absolutely no sense. I had no control over that.
But I still felt bad. And somehow, between the short time when we left the auction and reached that diner, my feelings about walking you home had changed. ”
Cora held her breath as she stared at Pipe.
“You’re the most down-to-earth and open woman I’ve ever met.
You didn’t blink at my physical appearance.
And don’t think I missed the way you stepped closer to me when we entered that diner back in DC, as if you were trying to protect me from the suspicious looks the hostess was giving me.
You respond to me like no other woman has, in fact.
Others either flirt with me because they think I’m a bad boy and they want a walk on the wild side, or they cringe away and cross the street so they don’t have to pass me on the sidewalk. ”
“I’ve learned over the years that someone’s outward appearance means nothing when it comes to what kind of person they are.
Look at Eleanor. She’s gorgeous. She could be a model, and probably has modeled before.
She’s close to what society deems to be the ideal image of beauty.
But she’s rotten to the core. All she cares about is herself, and she’ll walk on whoever it takes to get attention and to be in the limelight. ”
“I agree. And you are so far from that, it’s not even funny.”
Cora winced.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way. And if you think I’m saying you aren’t pretty, you’re wrong.”
Cora couldn’t help it. She laughed.
“I’m serious,” Pipe insisted.
“Pipe, I’m short and dumpy. I have boring brown hair and equally boring brown eyes. There’s nothing remarkable about me.”
“You’re wrong. Anyone who takes the time to look twice at you would see the same thing I have.
You have an inner light that’s so damn bright, it burns.
You’ve got walls, tall ones, but I’ve seen what happens when someone gets beyond them.
People like Lara. You’d do anything for her.
That kind of love and devotion is something people rarely experience.
Your friend is damn lucky to have you, Cora.
And in my eyes, that doesn’t just make you pretty, it makes you fucking beautiful. ”
To her surprise, tears welled up in her eyes. Damn, she wasn’t usually this quick to cry, but more than once since meeting Pipe, it had felt like she was two seconds away from bawling. She blinked, trying to clear the wetness, and looked away from Pipe’s piercing gaze.
“Too much?” he asked.
She heard the humor in his voice. Cora nodded.
“I’ll stop then. You sure about staying with me tonight? I can get you a hotel in Los Alamos if you aren’t comfortable staying with anyone here.”
Cora stared at him incredulously. “And give up a chance to stay at The Refuge? No way!”
Pipe chuckled. “Right.”
“You might not want my gratitude,” Cora said. “But you’ve got it anyway. I’ve had to work my ass off for everything good I’ve ever had in my life, and for some reason, you didn’t make me work for your help. I don’t really understand why, but I’m so thankful you’re helping me find Lara.”
“If you could have anything in the entire world…money being no object…what would it be?” Pipe asked.
Frowning, not sure what his question had to do with her thanking him, but willing to go along with his change of subject, Cora thought about it for a moment. Then said softly, “A family.”
Pipe made a noise in the back of his throat, encouraging her to continue.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted. As a kid, I thought if I was prettier, cuter, nicer, quieter, more outgoing, less outgoing, neater…
you name the adjective, I tried to be it, thinking maybe it would get me adopted.
It never worked. Family after family returned me to the state.
No one wanted to keep me, and I never understood why.
The more I was rejected, the more I tried…
for a long while. Until I eventually stopped trying altogether.