“What’s happened now?” Piper asked resignedly.
All the joy and playful enthusiasm for the day had left h
er face and she looked at him as if she was bracing for a blow. “I’m sorry, darlin’, Haley found a badly mutilated rabbit outside her back door this morning with a note attached to it. It said stay away from your friend before she gets hurt next.”
“It sounds like he wants Piper isolated so he can get to her again,” Ian said, anger evident in his tone. He was not only thinking of the threat to Piper, but of Haley’s reaction when she found the rabbit. His sudden urge to go to her was uncharacteristic, but he wasn’t going to waste time analyzing his feelings for Piper’s friend. “I’ll go into town and talk to Gary and Haley,” he offered quickly.
“I’m sorry again, Piper, but I think it’s best if we stay here today…”
“Like hell I will! I am not going to let this jerk continue to run my life. I’m going into Hope and spending the day like I have the last four Fourth of July’s, socializing with my friends, eating and having fun. You can come or not, but I’m going.”
Tears of anger and frustration swam in her eyes and Brody could tell it was taking a tremendous amount of effort to hold them back. He simply didn’t have the heart to force the issue, and not only would he and Ian be there, but Gary, as well as Crack and practically the whole damn town would be out ensuring her safety. The man would have to be an idiot to try anything today.
“Let’s go then. I imagine Haley wants to see you, despite the threat.”
Haley was exiting the sheriff’s office when they pulled up front, her face pale and her eyes haunted and Ian’s first reaction was to turn her over his knee for backing away from him as he got out of the car and came towards her. He wasn’t accustomed to having such strong reactions to women, he had always been foot loose and fancy free with the opposite sex, dallying with women who wanted nothing more than a few good orgasms from him and generally avoided women who had hearth and home stamped all over them. Haley didn’t fall into either category, in fact, as far as he could remember, she was the only woman who didn’t want anything from him. Telling himself it was just his ego ruling his lust for this woman, he shoved it aside and tried to control his anger on her behalf.
“What’s it going to take to get you to trust us?” he asked her point blank.
Haley blinked at him, wondering where the anger was coming from. Her mind was still reeling from Sheriff Norton asking her when her ex, Tim Carlisle, was up for parole. As best as she could recall, he still had eighteen months before his first parole hearing and, since her attorney hadn’t notified her of his release, she assumed he was still imprisoned in Florida. Even though Gary had assured her he was going to check on him as a precautionary move in light of the threats against Piper, just talking about Tim had left her edgy and uncertain. She was struggling to keep from reverting back to that fearful twenty-four year old who nearly had a break down after testifying against the man who had beaten her so badly in a fit of drunken rage, she had to spend two weeks in the hospital. It had been six years since she had been too young and too stupid not to see the signs that she had married a man who was a ticking time bomb, but she had come a long way since then and refused to take any steps back. She admitted she was edgy since finding what remained of that poor tortured rabbit and was now worried even more for Piper, but why that bothered Ian, she had no clue.
“I do trust you. If I gave you the impression I don’t, I apologize,” she answered stiffly.
“Don’t apologize, just don’t back away from me. That just pisses me off.”
Haley hadn’t realized she did that, then again, the urge to distance herself from anyone threatening was an automatic move for her, and Ian definitely looked threatening when he got out of the car and moved towards her. “I’m…” At his scowl, she stopped from apologizing again and said instead, “I didn’t realize I did. Force of habit, I guess. I know your anger is because you’re worried about Piper.” Switching her gaze to Piper, she demanded, “What are you doing here? Didn’t they tell you about the threat in that note?”
“Yes,” Piper bit out, her chin jutting, determination and frustration etched on her face. “And I’m not going to let that bastard control my life any more than he already has.”
“Just be careful today, Piper,” Gary told her as he joined them on the sidewalk in front of his office. “I have my hands full with the extra tourists the holidays always bring in. It’s a big county and I have a lot of territory to cover, but I’ll try to spend most of my time close to Hope.” Turning to Brody and Ian, he added, “I’ve instructed my deputies to be vigilant, but we’re looking for a stranger in a crowd of strangers, so I’m counting on you two to stick close to both of them.”
Because Brody knew Gary’s anger stemmed from concern, he didn’t take umbrage at his glare or tone. He was right, it was going to be difficult spotting anything or anyone that could be construed as a possible threat against Piper, but he simply couldn’t try to talk her out of spending the day having fun with her friends after the stress she had been under this past week.
By that evening, Brody was struggling to keep his temper in check and berating himself for giving in to a pair of pleading green eyes. Piper had spent the afternoon distancing herself emotionally not only from him, but Haley also, a hint of desperation in her actions and on her face as she participated in one activity after another until he was exhausted keeping up with her.
Hope City Park expanded over thirty acres on the lake and was filled with several hundred residents and tourists for the Fourth of July activities. An air conditioned club house held rows of tables laden with food both from the local restaurants as well as the townsfolk. The four of them had filled their plates, found an empty table and indulged themselves with fried chicken, corn on the cob, coleslaw, beans, and an assortment of salads and desserts, all the typical fanfare of summer cuisine. That was over five hours ago and Piper hadn’t stopped since. Piper and Haley had joined in the three legged sack race, despite Haley’s attempts to try to talk her out of including her before she enrolled them in the row boat races, tug of war competition, air golf in which they tossed brightly colored golf balls through small metal hoops dangling from tree limbs and the egg spoon race, which Piper came in last. It was hot and humid and when she talked them into a water balloon fight, it was the first time that afternoon the three of them didn’t complain.
Through it all, Brody sensed Piper’s gaiety was forced, that she was making a concentrated effort to forget about the threats against her and carry on as she usually did at these events, and Brody had tried to be understanding and patient, but when she squealed in delight and ran to greet a man Brody had never seen before, throwing her arms and legs around him so he had no choice but to grab her ass and hold on to her, Brody found himself just a hair trigger away from losing both his patience and his temper. And when she crushed her mouth to his, those lips he constantly imagined wrapped around his cock, he literally saw red.
Ian’s hand latched onto his arm in a tight grip and was the only thing that stopped him from pulling her off the stranger. “What?” he snapped at his friend.
Ian simply raised a brow, replying smoothly, “She’s obviously in no danger, so let it go. You’re the one who’s walked away from her more than once, so you have no right to butt into this happy reunion.”
“Who is he?” Brody asked Haley who was looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here right now.
“Cole Mason. He’s a wilderness guide and he and Piper have been friends for a few years.” When both men simply looked at her patiently, waiting for more, she rolled her eyes and added reluctantly, “Okay, the past year, year and a half, they’ve been more than friends whenever his work brings him this way. He’s a nice guy and wouldn’t hurt Piper.” Haley knew Piper, and she knew the false bravado and devil may care attitude she had shown all afternoon hid her anxiety, was a desperate attempt to put the events of the past week aside, at least temporarily, and she suspected her enthusiastic greeting to Cole was an attempt to put Brody aside as well. From the thunderous look on Brody’s face as he watched them, Haley didn’t think he was going to be as indulgent of her over Cole as he had been all day over her insistence on being so blatantly out in the open.
“Come on Haley,” Ian said as he took her hand. “I’m ready for some pie.” Ian decided to let Brody come to terms with his jealousy on his own and he had had about enough of this small town gathering. He couldn’t deny he had enjoyed watching the girls as they participated in the fun and games, but one could only take so much friendly chit chat with the neighbors without itching for a good, bare knuckled go around with someone who wasn’t so friendly and concerned about both Piper and Haley.
“You just had watermelon,” Haley sputtered on a laugh as he pulled her through the crowd, leaving Brody scowling after them. “You just going to leave him alone?”
“Yep, he made his bed, he can damn well lie in it alone.” The best part of the day had been watching Haley relax around him, drop that defensive guard she didn’t realize she carried with her like a shield. She had smiled, laughed and looked so damn sexy in a simple sundress and then had revealed a skimpy bikini that she wore underneath it when she stripped off the dress to jump in the lake that his cock had been semi erect all day. Hell, he found her sexier in a bra than he did all these young women bouncing around braless, and that was just plain wrong in his thinking. Still, he wasn’t about to let his own misgivings about his attraction to Haley mar what little time they had left here. Any day now, their boss was going to pull them away from Hope, and Piper, and order them to Atlantic City to back up Carlos, and he was going to make sure Haley knew she had a friend in him whenever she needed one, which was all either of them could be since he doubted she’d be agreeable to a few nights in the sack.
“Okay, I could use a piece of pie, especially if they have lemon meringue.”
Sweet and tart, he thought that described her as well as her favorite pie. He was aiming for chocolate anything. If he couldn’t indulge in one craving, he’d have to settle for another.
Piper was well aware of Brody glaring a hole in her back as she kissed Cole, but she didn’t care. She had decided this m