Page 33 of No Good Deed

“Thank you.” Her voice was soft and shaky, but Troy cared and that made all the difference.

“Tell me about them.”

Wow. No one ever asked that. No one wanted to talk about them. “Mom was an environmental scientist. She was bubbly and happy all the time. She loved her job, and it showed. Dad was quieter. He was the steadiest man I’ve ever known. He loved numbers and organizing things.”

“What kind of job did he have?”

“He was an accountant who helped small businesses. They made a good team and were always ready to help out others.”

Troy chuckled. “I can totally see how you became who you are. Some of your mom, some of your dad. Planning to improve the world, one splash park at a time.”

That made her laugh. “I do love a good splash park.”

“Do you have one in mind for Phail?”

She stacked her hands on his chest and looked at him. He rivaled her dad for his steadiness. “I do. I was planning to show you all of my ideas last night.”

His eyebrows rose, and his eyes sparkled. “But we got a little sidetracked.”

She laughed. “We sure did.”

He tapped her nose. “How about you show me those plans after we get sidetracked in the shower?”

Piper reached up to kiss him lightly. “Best idea ever.”

After the best shower ever, they moved to the living room, where they found Oreo sleeping on his dog bed. He lifted his head when they entered, and then stretched his little body before bouncing up to greet them. “Good morning, Oreo. Do you have to go outside?”

Troy headed into the kitchen. “I took him out a while ago. He’s probably good.”

What? “I slept through you getting up?”

He turned and grinned at her. “You were out cold when he barked. I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll make some coffee.”

For a moment, Piper could only stare. She would have never thought she would have been comfortable enough to sleep through Oreo’s bark or Troy leaving the bed, and then sliding back in. She lifted Oreo, kissed his nose, and kept her voice whisper soft. “We’ve got a pretty special guy there. Do you think we’ll be able to keep him?”

Oreo wiggled in her grip and licked her nose, making her laugh. “Good, we’re on the same page.”

She’d left her laptop open and on after she’d been distracted by Troy and his cooking. And then making love for hours. The battery was still okay, so she picked it up and moved to the kitchen to sit at the island, along with her Cloud Gate tin of USBs.

Troy had eggs and bacon in a big cast iron pan on the stove. “Is this good for breakfast? I’ve got Fiona’s homemade bread for toast as well.”

“Sounds and smells delicious. I can handle making the toast.”

Troy laughed and shook his head. “You’re going to have that chef’s hat in no time.”

She loved being able to make him laugh and smile. She’d never had such fun in regular conversations with anyone.

When breakfast was ready, they sat side by side at the island. Piper dumped the USBs out of the Cloud Gate and found the one marked with a P.

Troy picked up the tin. “This is pretty cool.”

She nodded. “It’s a replica of the real Cloud Gate in Chicago. It’s an amazing place.”

“Never heard of it. I assume the real one is bigger.”

That made her grin. “Yes. It’s huge. You can walk inside it and see the reflections from there too.”

Troy tilted the tin around, and then set it down with a smile. That changed to a laugh when he picked up a USB. “Cloud Goat? Seriously?”

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