26. Piper
Piper
“Holy shit, she lives,” my sister says, smirking from the doorway with her oversized coffee mug.
“Oh, shut up and let me in already.” I shoulder past her, laughing until I catch sight of the living room. “You decorated without me, you absolute witch!”
“While you were off playing house with your ex-boyfriend’s dad and conveniently forgetting where you live? Yeah, I did. And I don’t want to hear a single word of complaint because, quite frankly, it looks fucking magical in here, and I killed it.”
She’s not wrong. It’s a full-blown Christmas wonderland—pine garlands wrapped in twinkle lights and candles flickering everywhere.
“Fine.” I sigh, collapsing onto the couch and kicking off my boots. “I forgive you. But only because I’m currently getting orgasms daily, and I’ve decided I don’t have the energy to be anything but happy and satisfied.”
“So that’s what it takes to get you to show your face again? You get fucked back into remembering you have a sister?”
“No, you demon.” I grin at her, grabbing a pillow and flinging it at her. “I missed you and wanted to talk to you about the holiday.”
“What about it?” she asks, eyeing me over the rim of her mug .
“Well… I was thinking maybe we could go to Cal’s bar this year.”
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Because Dillon will be there, and this is our first year not being a couple anymore. We’re in a good place, but I don’t do awkward.”
“Alright. Forget I said anything,” I say, watching as she tucks a piece of her choppy blonde hair behind her ear. “Just food and slobbing out all day. It’s gonna be awesome.”
“Are we doing gifts?” she asks, settling into the armchair across from me.
“We never do gifts.”
“We’ve got each other, I guess.”
“You don’t sound that thrilled about it.” I laugh, tossing a cushion at her.
“I’d rather have presents than my annoying-as-shit sister.”
“You lie.”
She sighs dramatically. “Fine. I love you. Even if you are currently screwing the second hottest Crawford.”
I blink. “Second?”
“I said what I said. And I hate myself for it, but apparently I have a thing for man buns. Sue me.”
“Holy crap, I knew you were into Callan!”
“I’m not into him,” she snaps, but her hazel eyes dart away just a little too fast. “I can’t stand the arrogant bastard ninety percent of the time, but…
” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Okay, serious question—how frowned upon is it to use your ex’s best friend as a human vibrator when you know he’d get the job done spectacularly? ”
“I’m literally sleeping with my ex-boyfriend’s dad. I have zero moral high ground here.”
“I couldn’t do that to Dillon. He’s a good guy, and he doesn’t deserve that.”
“You’ve got to start dating again sometime. And don’t act like it’s one-sided. You do realize Cal’s toeing that same line, right?”
She groans, dragging a hand down her face.
“God, I know. He looks at me like he wants to set me on fire and then walk away whistling. It was never this way when I was with Dillon. Like, yeah, I knew Callan was hot, but this whole hate-fucking attraction? It’s brand new and confusing as hell.
And if you tell anyone, I will end you.”
I hold my hands up. “Dead woman walking. You know I’d never spill your shit.”
“Life would’ve been so much easier if I just wanted the marriage-and-babies dream. But I don’t.”
“Mom really did a number on you, too, huh?”
“Or maybe,” she mutters, shrugging like she doesn’t care, “I just wasn’t born with that maternal instinct either.”
“Bullshit, you were the mom I never had, so don’t let her take something away from you that you were really fucking good at.”
She blinks down at her lap, and for a second, she looks heartbreakingly young—like the girl who learned way too early how to survive on her own. But because we don’t do feelings for too long without someone cracking a joke, I nudge her with my elbow and smirk.
“But hey, if you’re dead set on being a lone wolf, Cal’s your spirit animal.”
“Don’t.” She levels me with a death glare. “I genuinely don’t like him. He rattles me, but I’m not blind. When he shuts his stupidly perfect mouth, he’s fuckable—in a completely irritating,punch-his-face-straight-afterkind of way.”
“I know this won’t help, but I love Cal.”
“Okay, we’re done talking about him. Tell me how things are with you and Christian.”
“Well, I’m in love with him…”
Yep. There goes her coffee—right out of her mouth and all over her sweater.
“I’ll wait,” I say, watching her dab at her chin with her sleeve.
“You’re what now?”
“And he feels the same. In fact, he said it first.”
“Holy shit.” A slow smile spreads across her face. “As completely messed up as this whole situation is, I’m happy for you. He’s a great guy, and I know he’ll treat you right.” Suddenly, she sits upright. “Wait—no. You can’t marry him.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I refuse to call Callan family.”
I needed that tonight. Sprawled out on my sister’s couch, word-vomiting about falling for the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.
But now, lying in my own bed for the first time in weeks, the sheets feel too cold and too empty.
It feels wrong. My mountain man’s absence is a physical ache, and knowing he’s having that conversation with Travis tonight… well, my insides are twisted up tight.
I grab my phone, chewing my bottom lip as I type.
PIPER: Just crawled into bed, but it feels weird without you. Can I come back up to the farm tomorrow? I miss being beside you.
Barely ten minutes pass when I see my phone ringing from a number I don’t recognize.
Please don’t be Travis.
“Hello?”
“Piper, it’s Colton.”
Oh, fuck me, Colton Crawford is calling. Colton Crawford has my number.
“Hey,” I manage, forcing my voice into something that sounds almost normal.
“I hope you don’t mind me callin’, but Christian asked me to let you know Callan’s driving him to your sister’s.”
“Now?”
“Is that okay? I can call them and ask them to head back to Cal’s place, but Christian’s pretty set on seeing you.”
“No, it’s fine.” My heart kicks against my ribs. “Is he okay?”
“Shit went sideways with Travis tonight. He’ll tell you the details, I’m sure, but he came to Cal’s and we had a few drinks. Mostly him—the guy needed it. But he kept saying he wanted his girl.”
Swoon.
“How bad was it? ”
“Let’s just say it couldn’t have gone any worse.”
I swallow hard, already pushing the blankets off my legs. “Jesus. Okay… I’ll wait for him. Thanks for calling.”
“No problem. I’ll see you soon, Piper.”
We hang up, and I race downstairs, my heart hammering against my ribs as I pace the living room. Every second feels like an eternity as I wait, checking the window every few steps like that’ll make him appear faster.
When the knock finally comes, I practically sprint across the room. I yank the door open, and my cowboy storms in without a word, grabbing me by the waist and hauling me against him like he’s scared I’ll disappear if he lets go.
He buries his face in the curve of my neck, and I feel him take this deep, shuddering breath like he’s trying to pull me into his lungs.
“Easy there, big guy. She needs to breathe to live,” Callan drawls from the porch.
I catch his eye over Christian’s shoulder, and he widens them slightly, a silent Jesus Christ, it’s been a night.
“Are you okay?” I whisper into Christian’s chest.
“Yes and no,” he mutters.
“If you thought my nephew was a walking sack of shit before…” Callan says, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him, “Well, he just outdid himself. Royally.”
“What’s with all the noise?” Violet appears at the top of the stairs, her blonde hair a messy halo around her face, eyes still heavy with sleep.
She stops dead when she spots Callan, her face transforming from sleepy irritation to pure murder.
“Please tell me this is just some horrible nightmare, and I’m not actually seeing you in my house at midnight. ”
“Cute jammies, Lettie.” Callan smirks, cocking his head and dragging his gaze across her striped shorts and tank top. “Didn’t peg you for a candy-cane-print kinda girl.”
“Eat me, Crawford.”
He whistles low under his breath, biting back a grin. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, sweetheart. Though honestly, somebody probably should, considering you’re always so goddamn pissy.”
She takes a step down, barefoot, barely dressed, and full of fire, like she might lunge at him any second. It could be fists or teeth—hell, it could be both.
“God, you’re such a smug, arrogant, emotionally stunted?—”
“—urge you hate yourself for having?” he finishes for her. “Don’t worry, Lettie. I like women who don’t look like they want to stab me mid-orgasm.”
“Yeah, well, you’d have to actually get her there first for that to be a problem.”
“Never had a single complaint. But if you’re curious, I’d be real happy to show you exactly why.”
“Not even if you were the last dick in Rosewood.”
“Seriously, you two?” I snap, turning and looking between them like they’ve both lost their minds.
Christian’s chest shakes behind me, his silent laugh brushing against the back of my neck. Even he can feel the crackling, feral energy between the two of them.
“What are we, twelve?”
Violet flips Callan off with both hands, her eyes practically shooting sparks, and he looks as pleased with himself as ever.
“Okay, thank you for bringing him,” I say, tightening my hold on Christian. “I’ve got him from here.”
Violet mutters something under her breath before stomping back upstairs, leaving me in the hallway with my mountain man.
“Can I sleep in your bed?” Christian asks, looking down at me with the most heartbreakingly vulnerable eyes I’ve ever seen. Whatever happened tonight has wrecked him.
“Like you’d be sleeping anywhere else,” I murmur, threading my fingers through his hair, and his eyes flutter closed at the touch. “But let’s get some water in you first. Vi made mac and cheese earlier if you’re hungry.”