Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Piper sat in her Chevy Nova, the interior almost pitch black with the cover still over it, and gripped the steering wheel with one hand like her life depended on it, until her fingers felt numb.
She wanted the darkness to swallow her whole, to make this feeling inside her stop.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she groaned, biting down on her lip in an effort to hold in her sobs.
Her body shook, like she was in shock, even though the heat in the car was stifling.
She’d never experienced anything like this, not when her mother left, not even when her father had suddenly passed away.
This pain was all-consuming, bigger than she knew how to deal with.
Oh God. She’d ruined everything, destroyed Cole’s trust. Pushed him away.
This couldn’t be it. They couldn’t be over. She loved him, so much—for so long. Why couldn’t he see that? Why wouldn’t he let her in? He was so damn broken, so lost in his own guilt and pain he’d rather walk away from her than face it.
And that hurt, so damn much. “Come out, Piper.” Deke’s voice was gentle but determined.
She shook her head as if her brother could see her and stared at the screen of her phone. Cole still wasn’t answering her calls or texts.
Her body started to shake harder as she hit the call button again. It went straight to voicemail. The sobs she’d been holding back, burst from her lips, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She hit call again. Answer, please, answer.
His deep voice rang out, asking her to leave a message.
She sank back into the seat, heart aching. What the hell was she going to do? How was she going to get him to talk to her, to hear her out?
What if he cut her out of his life completely? What if he—
There was a scraping sound, her only warning before the darkness suddenly went away, light filling the car as the cover was dragged off.
She blinked against the bright garage lights, then a moment later Alex and Rusty filled her vision through the window.
They were beside her brother. He’d called in the big guns. Great.
Alex tried the door handle. “Open up, Pipe. Please.”
She reached over and lifted the lock. What was the point of locking them out? They weren’t going anywhere. Deke climbed into the passenger side, while Alex reached around to unlock the door behind him, then slid across so Rusty could fit beside her.
They all sat in silence for several minutes.
The leather creaked behind her as Alex sat forward. “Pipe…”
“Don’t,” Piper rasped.
They were quiet for another few seconds, then Alex cleared her throat. “So, this car looks a lot different than when your friend brought it in. It looks good. Really good.” Her friend squeezed her shoulder. “Did you get it running?”
Piper wordlessly twisted the key. The engine roared to life instantly, the deep rumbling growl echoing all around them.
Rusty whistled. “You rebuilt the engine?”
The knot in her belly twisted tighter. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were working on it?” Alex asked quietly.
She let out a shaky breath. Not a conversation she was in the mood to tackle, but it was a short reprieve from talking about Cole, from thinking about what she’d done. “Would you have trusted me to do it on my own?”
“What are you talking about?” Rusty said, sitting forward as well.
“I was trying to prove myself. Show you I’m just as good as the both of you. That despite what you think, I should be working on the restoration jobs…”
Alex’s hand wrapped around hers. “Piper…”
She shook her head. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I don’t want to talk about anything. I know you mean well, you always mean well, but I just want to be alone.”
“We know you’re just as good as us.” Rusty slid closer to Alex. “Shit, we’re sorry. We’ve been taking you for granted, expecting you to pick up the slack. Just because you’re the only one of us who’s good at all that office crap doesn’t mean we should leave it up to you, that wasn’t cool.”
She was hanging on by a thread. Hugging herself, Piper stared out the window. “Honestly, right now, I don’t…I don’t care. I just, I need some space.”
Alex squeezed her hand. “Piper…”
Deke turned to the backseat, speaking for the first time since they all got in the car with her. “Could you two give us a minute?”
Piper turned to her brother as the back doors opened and her sister and best friend climbed out. “I’m not in the mood for one of your lectures, big brother.” She watched the pair of them walk out the workshop door, leaving her alone with Deke. Traitors.
Deke squeezed her shoulder. “Talk to me, Pipe. Please.”
“I don’t need to talk to you about every damn thing. I’m a grown woman. You realize that, right? I don’t need you to look out for me. I don’t need you to fix my problems, and I sure as hell don’t need you to get involved in my love life.”
He frowned. “Love? Is that what it is?”
“Yes.” It always had been.
He sighed. “I know I can be a little…overbearing…”
She snorted. “A little?”
“Okay, a lot. But please, will you talk to me? Not as your idiot, overprotective older brother but as your friend? We’re still friends, right?”
She held his gaze. “Do you promise to ease off, to let me live my life, make my own mistakes?”
The muscle in his jaw jumped. “I’ll ease off.” His wide shoulders shifted under his jacket. He didn’t like the idea, but she knew he was finally listening to her. “Now will you talk to me?”
Her lids dropped, and she drew in a deep breath. She knew he was just trying to help. “Not much to say really. I’m in love with Cole, have been forever. You know that.” She shrugged. “I haven’t exactly hidden it very well, have I?”
Her brother shook his head. “You suck at subterfuge, sis.” A sad grin tugged up the corner of his mouth.
Wonderful. She rested her head against the headrest. “I had him for a little while, and now I’ve lost him. I pushed too hard and pushed him right out the door.”
Deke twisted to face her more fully. “Cole’s a troubled guy.
Has been since his accident. But seeing you two together…
Pipe, I could see the change in him when he was with you.
I can see that he cares for you a great deal.
He was right about one thing, though, you can’t fix him.
The only one that can help Cole is Cole.
” He reached out and slid her closer, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head.
“To be completely honest with you, I don’t know if he can… or if he’s willing to try.”
She clung to her brother, buried her face against his shoulder, and let the tears flow.