“Just fine all things considered. It wasn’t a dream, was it?” she asked him abruptly, her eyes swinging up to his. “Last night, the three of us. It was real?”
“Yes. When we got here you were in bed wearing nothing but your underwear and suffering from, we suspect, being drugged with some kind of powerful aphrodisiac. You really left us no choice.”
&nb
sp; Piper couldn’t help returning his rueful smile. From what she was slowly remembering with more clarity, he was right, she hadn’t given them much choice. The fact that they both refrained from taking her under those conditions made her admire their integrity even if she couldn’t help but wish they hadn’t been so noble, especially given the fact Brody was still turning her down today.
“Why would someone drug me then leave me alone?”
Brody saw the fear in her eyes as she realized how vulnerable she had been and it made him even more determined to find out what had happened to her those two days and, more importantly, why. “That’s the million dollar question, darlin’, and that’s what we’re here to find out.”
Piper found herself wistfully wishing he was here just for her, that he had asked Sheriff Nolan to watch out for her because he cared, not because his case was still open, which just irritated her anew. She readily admitted she was in lust with the man, but she refused to allow herself to be drawn back into her girlish desire to be a part of a man’s life again. Finishing her beer in one last swallow, she rose just as Ian came out with a scowl on his face.
“Please tell me we’re having something with the fish for dinner.”
“Spinach salad and baked potatoes. If that’s not to your liking, feel free to go eat elsewhere.”
Both men watched her as she stalked into the house but it was Ian who said with a grin, “By the way she’s twitching that cute ass, you’d think she owned the place.”
“She does and she can twitch that cute ass anytime she wants.”
“No argument here. My only beef with the woman is the lack of beef in her kitchen.”
Laughing, Brody slapped him on the back. “You’ll live.”
To her surprise, both men followed her inside and offered to help and to her amusement, they both looked relieved when she turned them down. Piper worried she would be tense with embarrassment over dinner, but much to her relief both Brody and Ian kept up a light banter that vacillated between sports, politics and work. It soon became apparent that they had been both friends and partners for a long time and that they were studiously avoiding any mention of women or their current case, for which she was grateful. She had come to terms with Charles’s death a long time ago and she didn’t relish any reminders of that loss.
Piper knew she had been barely a year old when Charles had met her mother, and she couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t been in their life. He had never corrected her when she called him dad, and it wasn’t until years after her mother’s untimely death that she discovered he was no relation to her or that he and Christine weren’t married. After the grief and upheaval of being sent to Switzerland, she had drawn comfort from his regular visits and the undivided attention he had given her during them. It would be a crushing blow, even after all this time, if he were to be found alive and she discovered she had never been anything to him except an obligation.
“Okay, I’ll be man enough to admit it,” Ian said gruffly as he pushed back from the counter. “That was very good, Piper.” Taking his plate to the sink, he rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher before turning back to her and ruining the moment by saying succinctly, “But tomorrow I’m going to go find real meat.”
Smiling, Piper gathered both hers and Brody’s dishes, telling Ian, “Fish is better for you. I have work to do tonight, so you’re on your own.”
“Piper,” Brody called to her as she headed down the hall. “If you want to go out, do it by the front door and with one of us.”
And just that quickly, Piper found her ire up over this situation. Turning from him without comment, she shut herself inside her workroom and refused to think about either man for the rest of the night.
“You sure know how to get her dander up.”
Brody sent Ian a look that matched the one Piper had just given him. “She’ll adjust. It’s only temporary.” Piling the dishes she had left on the counter into the dishwasher, Brody resigned himself to another long, frustrating night under her roof.
After staying up late finishing up some online orders, Piper woke early to get them boxed up and to the Post Office in time for their only pick up today at ten. The spare bedroom door was closed and the shower was running in the bathroom when she came downstairs. Settling for a granola bar for breakfast, she loaded the six mail orders into her jeep then went back inside to tell the guys she was leaving. Unfortunately, her timing sucked because she spotted Brody heading into the woods and assumed it was now Ian in the shower as the bedroom door was open to reveal it was empty. Frustrated at the delay, she paced and muttered until she stopped in midstride as she realized that once again she was catering to a man’s dictates, putting her needs and wants on hold for theirs, just like she had done for years for Charles.
“Damn it,” she growled under her breath as she made a concession and pulled out a note pad. “I cannot miss that pickup.” The orders should have gone out two days ago, but due to the fact she had gone missing, she thought sarcastically, she was going to have some disgruntled customers as it was. Missing the pickup this morning would mean waiting until Monday, which was unacceptable. She justified her leaving without one of them by telling them she was in a hurry and would be fine on the short ten minute drive on a main road into Hope. God knows, Main Street on a Saturday would be busy and no one would dare accost her in broad daylight on a busy street.
Piper pulled up in front of the Post Office just in time to stamp and hand over her packages then watch them go right into the truck. “Cutting it close today, missy,” Fred, the postmaster teased her. “Frankly, I didn’t think I’d see you this week. You sure had us worried. You okay?”
“I’m fine, Fred, thank you.” Everybody knowing every one’s business was both the charm and the curse of small town living. Piper loved it.
“Good, and I’m sure those agents are going to get to the bottom of what happened. Don’t you worry none.”
One of them definitely got to her bottom, she thought with a smile as she left the Post Office and walked down to visit with Haley until she could break for lunch. Entering Haley’s boutique, she was surprised to find her friend in tears, the shop in disarray and Sheriff Nolan scowling at the mess. “Haley, what on earth happened?”
“Oh, Piper, I’m so sorry.” Haley tried to stop the fresh flow of tears, but couldn’t seem to help herself. Not only did she feel violated in a way all too similar to how she felt the first time her husband had backhanded her, but she felt awful that the worst of the vandalism had been the total ruination of Piper’s new additions. “I didn’t hear a thing until it was too late.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Piper, saves me a trip out to your place,” Gary Nolan said. Crime was rare in this small town, and when it was aimed at one of theirs everyone took it personally. “Where’re Agents Pearce and MacGregor?”
“I’m sure they’ll be along soon,” Piper told him. In his mid-fifties, the sheriff was a stocky man with greying hair and friendly blue eyes. He had been both kind and supportive of her when she had first moved to Hope, as over protective of his young new citizen as he was of the older, long-time residents.