Piper took a deep breath as she unlocked the door to Mansfield’s. She felt sad, but she didn’t feel like she was going to cry, or about to turn around and bolt. And that was all because of the big man standing quietly behind her, lending her his strength without saying a word.
Walking in, she gazed around her grandparent’s store, vaguely aware of Jax shutting the door behind them, the snick of the lock engaging filling the air. A sense of homecoming enveloped her, wrapping around her like a hug. Yes, she always wanted to be an artist, but she never wanted it as a career. It was always supposed to be a hobby. This place, the bakery that had been in her family for generations, had always been her destiny.
And it still was, she realized as she gazed around her. Seattle wasn’t her home. It never had been, though she tried hard to make home. Eagle Creek was her home. This bakery was where she was meant to spend her days. And Jax… he was who she was meant to spend her nights with. Every night for the rest of their lives.
Their destiny was each other.
They’d taken a little detour because of Jax’s misguided attempt to protect her, but she didn’t blame him any longer. He did it because he wanted to keep her safe. And if she’d been in the same position, she probably would have done the same.
So she was going to put it all behind her, and start over with him. Glancing over at him, she watched as he looked around the shop. His ballcap was firmly in place, bill pulled low, and his sideburns transitioned seamlessly into dark designer stubble. His cheekbones were high, hinting at American Indian heritage, and those full lips… she wanted to bite that lower lip, suck on it until he moaned.
He was tall, thickly muscled, and intimidating, but with her, he was nothing more than a teddy bear. Something about that combination made her heart melt, and she finally yanked her gaze away as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
She swore that she would never again give her heart over to a man, and here she was, about to hand it over on a silver platter to the man who’d almost broken her beyond repair. She didn’t have to show her hand with him so easily, but she couldn’t lie to herself.
This man owned her, heart and soul, forever.
Exhaling, she walked around the lobby, going behind the counter and looking things over. “Did you help Grandma here, too?”
“I did,” he replied, deep smoky voice bringing goosebumps on her skin. “It wasn’t easy. Neither was working at the house.”
“Why? The work was that hard?” she asked, pushing open the door to the kitchen and walking inside.
He followed, shaking his head. “No, the work was always fairly easy. What was hard was being here when you weren’t. There are a lot of memories tied into these two places.”
“I can understand that,” she replied with a nod, squeaking when he grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her up and planting her on the worktable.
He stepped between her legs, murmuring, “And now we’re here together, and we can make new memories.”
Before she could protest, his mouth was on hers, and he was kissing her senseless. Body instantly catching fire, she moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he kissed the breath right from her body. Opening her mouth, she let him in, dueling her tongue with his as she tightened her legs around his waist and pulled him in closer.
When she finally pulled back, his erection was pressing against her center, and they were both breathing heavily. Fighting to catch her breath, she said, “I’m supposed to be taking inventory. And I’m sure this isn’t sanitary.”
“No one is cooking in this kitchen right now. It’s fine,” he replied, voice gravelly.
He was just lowering his head for another kiss when the ding of the bell over the front door echoed through the building. They both froze, and she pulled back to stare at him.
“Didn’t you lock the door?”
Nodding, a grim look passing over his features, he whispered back, “Wait here.”
Tightening her arms and legs around him, she shook her head frantically. “No. That’s not a good idea. I don’t care if you’re a fighter. I’m not risking you getting hurt. We should call the sheriff.”
“And what, hide in the walk-in until he gets here?” he answered sarcastically, both of them still whispering.
Glaring at him, she eased her phone out of her pocket and dialed Frank’s number, the digits still remembered from her time growing up here. Pausing as a crash sounded from the lobby, she stiffened, fury burning away the initial fear she’d felt.
First they fucked with her house and her dog. Now they were fucking with her family’s business. She’d had enough.
“Dammit!” came a curse from the front. “Can I get any clumsier?”
Another crash sounded, but Piper frowned, confused. That was Kelly’s voice. Why was Kelly in here looking for something? Had she forgotten something from when she worked here, and used her key to come get it? But why wouldn’t she call Piper and give her a heads up?
“It’s Kelly,” she told Jax softly. “Let me up.”
“You’re out of your ever lovin’ mind, Piper McCoy. I don’t care who it is. You’re not going in there.”
Rolling her eyes, she shoved Jax back, and when he stumbled, not expecting it, she jumped off the table. Before she had a chance to move toward the swinging door, it pushed open, and Kelly walked in, still muttering under her breath. She looked up and noticed Piper and Jax, freezing where she stood.
“What are you doing here, Kelly? If you’d called, I would have come with you and helped you look for whatever it is you’re here for.”
“Um, well, I just—” closing her eyes, Kelly shook her head. “I didn’t know you guys were going to be here.” She looked off to the side, avoiding Piper’s gaze. “So… I have something I need to tell you. But first, I just want to say how excited I am to see you two together. Really, Piper. I’m so happy for you.”
Frowning in confusion, Piper studied her friend, looking at the blush on her cheeks and the guilty look in her eyes. “What are you talking about, Kelly?”
Kelly pursed her lips and finally looked up. “Well, I was just trying to give you guys a little push, you know? Stir things up so that you’d need each other …” She stopped mid-sentence, guilt all over her face.
Piper looked to Jax and then realization dawned. “That was you messing with me? The house, my grandmother’s flower pots, feeding my dog chicken, when he’s fucking allergic to chicken—it was all you, this whole time?”
Gasping, Kelly’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh, God, he’s allergic to chicken? I didn’t know, I swear! Is he okay? I didn’t hurt him, did I?”
Disbelief and hurt mixed with fury, making Piper’s gut tighten painfully. So it was Kelly. This whole fucking time. Her childhood best friend had been the one behind this all along. How had she fooled Piper so thoroughly? And why the fuck would she do this?
“How could you, Kelly? Why would you? We’re friends, and you’ve been sneaking around, messing with me?”
“No! I wasn’t doing it to hurt you!” Kelly exclaimed, eyes wide and pleading. “That’s not what I was trying to do. I wanted to help. I want you to stay.”
“You have a fucking funny way of showing it,” Piper bit out, taking a step forward as Jax wrapped a hand around her arm, holding her back.
Licking her lips nervously, Kelly’s eyes flitted behind Piper to Jax before she looked back at Piper. “I wanted you to stay. And I wanted to get you back with Jax. You two belong together, Piper. You always have. I don’t know what really happened eight years ago, but I knew you two could work it out. I haven’t seen much of him since he moved back, but what I did see confirmed that he’d turned from a good kid into a good man. You never got over him, and I didn’t think he ever got over you.”
Taken aback, Piper stood frozen. Kelly did all this to get Piper and Jax back together? But… “And you thought this was a good way to go about it? You couldn’t have just told me what you thought?”
“I know you, Piper,” Kelly replied softly. “We’ve been best friends since we were six. You weren’t going to give Jax a chance. I could see it in your eyes at the bar. You would have kept yourself closed off from him, wrapped everything up here, and then taken off. And nothing I could have said would have changed that. I had to give you a reason to spend time with him. You never would have otherwise. And I knew if I made it look like someone was messing with you, you’d turn to him. I just wanted to give you two a chance to work it out.”
Some of the anger slowly drained out of Piper, leaving her feeling more hurt than furious. “I almost don’t even know what to say to that, Kelly. I get what you were trying to do. I do. But surely there were better ways of doing it. You broke into my house. You let my dog loose, and God knows what could have happened to him. You broke my grandmother’s flower pots. And then you break in here today. There had to be a better way of handling this.”
“Technically, I didn’t break in. I knew where the spare key was to the house, and I have one to the store from working here.” Kelly must have seen the look in Piper’s eyes, because she held up her hands. “Okay, okay. It was wrong, okay? But your dog was never loose. I dug the hole and lured him out with the chicken, yes. But I kept him with me, and as soon as you guys left, I took him in the house with me. And then when I saw you guys coming back, I put him on the front porch, and left out the back. Please tell me he’s okay. I didn’t know he was allergic, I swear.”
“He’s fine,” Piper said slowly, digesting what she told her. “And I feel a tiny bit better knowing he was never in trouble, but Kelly, at the time, I didn’t know that. Can you imagine the panic that ran through me when I found him gone? Whether he was safe or not, that was a fucking shitty thing to pull.”
Shame filled Kelly’s blue eyes, and she dropped her gaze, shoulders drooping. “I know. I know, and I’m so sorry, Piper,” she said, raising her gaze to look at Piper again. “Truly sorry. But I needed to get you out of the house so I could get in. That doesn’t excuse it, I know. I’m just explaining why I did it. And I didn’t mess up anything in the house. Just tossed some papers around, moved some books. I didn’t want to really trash anything. Just do enough so you’d know someone was in there.”
“And the flower pots? I’m assuming you did it before coming to the fights, since you knew I wouldn’t be there.”
“Yeah, about that,” she replied with a long exhale. “That was an accident. I meant to get in and mess with things a little again, ya know? I was hoping you hadn’t changed the locks yet, or maybe a window would be unlocked. I was searching the pots for the key, and someone honked a horn. I was nervous as could be, and it scared me to death. When I jumped, I knocked the pot over, and then tripped over it. It went crashing down the steps at the same time I fell against the other pot, and it did the same.” She held up her hand. “That’s how this happened.” She shrugged. “I got freaked out, decided that was enough, and left. I’m so sorry about your grandmother’s flower pots. I didn’t mean to do that at all.”
Nodding slowly, Piper absorbed that. “And now? What were you going to do here?”
Pink staining her cheeks, Kelly shrugged. “I actually didn’t have a plan, although I did make a mess out front. By accident. I—”
“Tripped,” Piper finished for her, a small smile trying to break free. Clumsy Kelly. Same as always.
“I really am sorry for the pots. And I didn’t know about Snickers. I wasn’t trying to really hurt anything. I just wanted to give you a reason to see Jax more,” Kelly said softly. “And… well, a reason to stay. I’ve missed you so much. That’s selfish of me, I know. And I’d never want you to do anything you didn’t want to do. I meant it when I said I’d support you in whatever decision you made. I just wanted to give you a reason to want to stay.”
Piper nodded again, going silent as she thought over everything Kelly told her. She could feel the rest of her anger, and even her hurt, flowing out of her. Kelly’s eyes and voice were totally sincere. She meant every word of what she said. And Piper knew her friend. Kelly didn’t have a malicious bone in her body.
She felt Jax lean in closer to her, and she shivered as his hot breath caressed her ear. “She’s telling the truth. All of it,” he whispered.
Giving a tiny nod, Piper took in a deep breath. He was only telling her what she already sensed, but it was good to have it confirmed. Having a built in lie detector in her mate might come in handy one day.
Mate? Startled, she pondered that for a second, deciding the word felt right. But she couldn’t think about that right now. She knew Kelly didn’t mean any harm, but could she forgive her? Could their friendship ever be the same? Those were the important questions she had to ask herself.
Looking at her best friend for over twenty years, she realized, yes, she could forgive her. What Kelly did was like what Jax did, in a way. One whose intent was to protect her, one whose intent was to give her happiness. Both misguided. Misguided, but with the best of intentions. And without Kelly’s actions, Piper wasn’t sure she would have given Jax the chance he needed to win her back.
The bell over the front door jingled, and she frowned as bootsteps sounded through the store. Before they could move, the door was swinging open, and Frank, the sheriff, was there.
“Frank? Why are you here?” she asked, confused.
“You called me,” he replied in amusement.
Following his gaze to where her phone was sitting on the table, Piper realized the call must have gone through, and she hadn’t even realized it.
“I’ve been listening this whole time,” he said with a frown directed at Kelly. “What do you want me to do here, Piper?”
Glancing over at Kelly, she took in the resignation in her eyes, the sadness and fear. She was just opening her mouth when Kelly stepped forward.
“You should take me in, Frank,” Kelly said, standing tall with a brave face. “I committed crimes. It’s only right. I assume you have your handcuffs handy?”
Frank’s hand went to his belt, and Piper rushed forward. “No! There’s no need for that. No one needs to get arrested here today. I have no desire in pressing charges. And technically, she didn’t break in. She used a key. Both times.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Frank asked, “You sure about that? Sure this is what you want to do? This is your call, Piper.”
Looking to Kelly, Piper took in the surprise and banked hope in her eyes. Nodding slowly, not looking away from her, she said, “I’m sure. Just forget what you heard today, Frank. But thank you for coming so quickly.”
“Of course. And I’m going to consider it forgotten, but Kelly,” he said with a stern look. “No more of these kinds of activities.”
“Consider this the end of my short-lived criminal career,” she rushed out fervently, relief stamped on her features.
Eyeing her one more time, Frank turned to Piper with a smile. “I’ll get out of here. Call me anytime you need me. And it’s good to see you back, Piper.”
Watching as the sheriff made his way out of the kitchen, Piper felt Jax grasp her shoulders. Leaning into his warmth, she turned to Kelly, who was looking at her, her expression a mix of hope, sadness, and wariness.
“I can’t believe you didn’t have him arrest me,” Kelly said quietly. “I would have understood. What I did was wrong.”
“It was wrong,” Piper replied. “So fucking wrong. But I know you did it for the right reasons, misguided as it was. I’m not going to put you away for something you did because you wanted me to be happy.”
“And I did. I do,” Kelly said earnestly. “You and Jax have always felt fated to me. Meant to be. And I could tell by just looking in your eyes that you still loved him, even though you were denying it with every breath you took.”
She blew out a breath, shaking her head. “You’re very perceptive, Kelly. You’re clumsy as hell, and you have fucked up ways of doing things, but you see what people hide under the surface. That’s a good quality to have.”
“All that’s true,” Kelly replied with a smile that quickly faded. Twisting her hands together, she took a hesitant step forward. “Are you very mad at me? I’m so sorry if I hurt you, Piper. I truly am.”
Piper stepped forward, shivering as Jax’s hands trailed off her shoulders, leaving tingles racing down her spine. Shaking the feeling off and telling herself to focus, she took Kelly’s hands in hers, squeezing to encourage Kelly to meet her eyes.
“I’m not mad any longer. I’m not even hurt. I understand, Kelly. It was wrong, but I get why you did it. And I’m not going to throw a twenty-year friendship down the drain because you wanted me to be happy, even if you went about it all fucked up. I value you too much to let you go. You’re stuck with me.”
Eyes filling with tears, Kelly sniffled and pulled Piper into a tight hug. “How did I get lucky enough to have someone like you for a best friend? I’ll make this up to you, Piper. I swear it.”
Piper pulled back from the hug, trying to keep a tight rein on her emotions. Boss Bitches didn’t cry. Glancing at Jax, she looked at him before turning back to Kelly.
“You already have,” she said, tilting her head toward Jax. Smiling at Kelly’s instant excitement, she said, “But if you want to make it up to me more, you can be here first thing next Monday and help me get the store re-opened.”
Kelly gasped, a smile lighting her face. “You’re going to re-open? So you’re staying? It worked?”
Laughing, Piper shook her head. “Don’t let this encourage you to try it again with anyone else, but honestly, yes. It worked.”
Squealing, Kelly clapped her hands together. “Yes! This is amazing.” Smiling big at Piper and Jax, she said, “I’ll get the mess cleaned up in front, and then leave you two alone.”
“Don’t worry about the mess. We’ll get it later,” Piper told her.
“Okay. I’ll get out of here, then. But call me later, please.” Leaning in close, she whispered, “I need details.”
Lips quirking, Piper watched her friend leave, leaning into Jax as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. They were quiet as they listened to Kelly leave, and Piper basked in the warmth seeping into her.
Turning her around, he said, “I’m proud of how you handled that. I thought for a moment that you were going to go after her.”
“I almost did, until she explained herself. And then I realized this was a lot like what you did.”
Drawing back, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “What I did?”
“Yeah, when you broke up with me. As misguided as it was, you did it to protect me. And as misguided as Kelly was, she did it because she wanted me to find happiness again. You were both wrong with how you went about it, but you both meant well. And if I can forgive you, I can forgive her.”
Nodding, he leaned into kiss her. When he pulled back, his eyes were blazing green and gold. “So it worked, huh? You’re staying?”
Taking a deep breath, she blew it out as she nodded. “I think so. We still have some shit to talk about, but I think I’m ready to officially give us a chance.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go home and get to talking.”
Laughing as he grabbed her hand to pull her along, Piper tried to tamp down the nervous butterflies in her stomach. Part of her couldn’t believe she was really going to risk her heart with him again, but it was a very small part. The rest of her was ready to get on with living her forever out with him. Glancing up at him as he flashed a smile at her, her insides warmed. And this time, she knew, it truly would be forever.