Page 101 of The Keeper

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she composed herself, her hand darting up to cover the mark. “Oh, this? Just a little mishap with my flatiron earlier.”

Nails didn’t even bother hiding his grin, his gaze intense as he looked at her. “Yeah, I’ve heard those flatirons can be tricky,” he added, the double meaning clear in his voice.

I chuckled before standing with a stretch. “I’ve gotta get back to work before the boss lady catches me slacking. You two think you can manage Avery and avoid getting bitten by any more flatirons while I’m gone?” I asked.

“Think we can handle it,” Nails said with a wink, settling into the seat I’d vacated.

When I returned to the kitchen, Piper was deep in conversation with Ivy near the industrial mixers, her green eyes pinched with concern. Ivy had flown in for the grand opening yet had spent most of the day hiding out in the kitchen or Piper’s office, only venturing out front a handful of times.

It was hard to reconcile the guarded, withdrawn woman with the vibrant, outgoing Ivy who’d chased me down at a reader event two years before, wanting to introduce me to her friend.

The bright blue scarf around her neck concealed the scar left from the nearly fatal attack, but she couldn’t hide how profoundly she’d changed since.

I hung back, not wanting to interrupt, but I couldn’t help overhearing snippets of their conversation.

“I just don’t feel ready,” Ivy was saying, her voice barely above a whisper.

Piper squeezed her hand. “I know, but you can’t hide forever. Maybe just come out for a few minutes? GQ and Duke have been here all day, hoping to see you.”

“Don’t tell them I’m here, please,” Ivy insisted, the color draining from her face. “I’m not in the right place mentally to deal with…all of that.”

Piper pressed her lips together before nodding. “Okay. I’m gonna head back out there. Uh, just text me if you change your mind.”

I slipped back into the hallway, catching Piper’s arm when she emerged. “Hey, you okay?” I asked, nodding toward the kitchen.

She blinked rapidly before shaking her head. “No. I feel so helpless, Dane. She’s so closed off. I don’t even know how to reach her anymore.”

Piper snuck a furtive glance toward the kitchen before gesturing for me to follow her back up to the front, waiting until we were out of earshot before continuing. “And, to make matters a million times worse, Ivy’s parents convinced her to quit her job and sell her house. She’s moving in with them next week. Oh, and she didn’t even talk to anyone about it because, according to her, her parents know what’s best for her,” she said with an exaggerated groan.

I’d only had the briefest of interactions with Brian and Cheryl while Ivy was in the hospital. They’d seemed more concerned about controlling the narrative around what happened than they had with their daughter’s well-being, which was why they’d refused to let Duke or GQ anywhere near her.

“That seems like a recipe for disaster,” I said dryly. “What’s their plan? Keep her locked up in her old bedroom until she’s ‘normal’ again?”

Piper dug her thumbs into her lower back with a shrug. “Honestly?I have no idea. They’re two of the most uptight, emotionally repressed humans on the planet, and suddenly, they know what’s best for someone trying to work through the emotional trauma of her attack? Give me a fucking break. She’s gonna end up like Cheryl, strung out on benzos and booze, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

“What if she didn’t move in with them?” I asked, stepping in to work the tension out of her back. “What if she moved in with us for a while? Get her out of that environment and give her some space to heal without all the pressure.”

She raised her eyebrows, peering up at me with a questioning gaze. “You’d be okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? She’s your best friend, and we have a spare bedroom,” I replied, kneading her tight muscles. “Jesus, darlin’. You’re gonna need to soak in a hot bath when we get home.”

“As nice as that sounds, we’ve still got an hour before closing,” she said, glancing down at a notification on her watch before straightening.

A visible tremor passed through her body, and I frowned, instantly on high alert. “What’s wrong?”

Piper bit her lip, avoiding my gaze. “Just…don’t be mad, okay?”

“Can’t agree to that without knowing what the hell’s going on, darlin’,” I gritted out, searching her face for answers.

She took a deep breath, her eyes darting toward the front door. “I may have done something…”

Before she could answer, the bell above the door chimed. My whole body tensed as I turned, coming face to face with someone I hadn’t seen in over two years.

Teddy.

My oldest brother still carried himself like he owned every inch of ground he walked on, his long, dark hair pulled back in a low knot, beard streaked with gray. His eyes scanned the bakery before landing on me, and for a moment, I was that desperate little kid again, wanting nothing more than to make my big brother proud.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Two years of silence, of avoiding his calls and texts, and here he was, standing in my wife’s bakery on opening day.

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