Page 22 of Grateful for You
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.” I hugged him back hard and pushed onto my toes, catching his lips in a kiss.
“I think I’m great.”
14
Piper
The rest of Thanksgiving went well… all things considered. Though the group was fully prepared to act as though nothing had happened, when I came back into the dining room, pies in hand, I immediately called out the elephant in the room with a shrug and a smile. “Oh, come on,” I said, cutting the apple pie and handing it to Wren. “It’s not like you all couldn’t hear us in there fighting. But… I’m sorry for ruining the meal.”
Carey’s eyes went wide. “You didn’t ruin anything! If anything, it was my fault for bringing him! I’m so sorry—”
“It’s not your fault! How could you have known?” I said, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “Seriously, Carey. Please don’t blame yourself for this.”
She smiled at me. “Only if you don’t blame yourself, either.”
“Deal.” We clinked our forks together.
We finished our pies, and the entire table stood to help clear the plates and do the dishes. Carey gave me a hug before she left. “Thank you for cooking,” she squealed. “It was incredible.”
“Seriously,” Wren gave me a quick hug, too. “You sure you don’t want to move here and take over orphan holidays for us?”
I laughed, biting my lip and gave a shrug. “Maybe. I do really love this little town.”Or rather, I love a certain someone in this little town.
“Well, I hope you do,” Carey said with a final wave.
As they all left, I peeked around, looking for Jackson, the only guest I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to.Oh myGod, listen to me.Acting as though Jackson weremyguest here. It was his brother’s home… if anything I was more of a guest beneath this roof than he was.
Through the window, I saw Jackson and Mason standing outside and I grabbed my coat to make my way out to say goodbye. The door was cracked open, and though it wasn’t my intention, I heard every word they said to each other.
“You like her a lot.”
“You’ve been sitting with us all day and you’re just picking up on that?”
“I just haven’t seen you with a woman since Jayme left. And I don’t even mean seriously… I haven’t seen you have a casual drink with a woman.”
I knew I should walk away. Or at the very least walk out there and make my presence known instead of standing here eavesdropping. “Your point?”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea? When Jayme left you, you said you wanted to sow some oats. Have a little fun. I’ve literally never seen you sow anything in all our adult years. And now… you look like you want to marry this girl after what… a few days?”
There was a rustling sound as Mason shifted his weight. “Oneday. We’re coming up on twenty-four hours in five minutes.”
“That doesn’t concern you?”
I smiled, biting my lip as Mason didn’t hesitate to shake his head. “It doesn’t. I think I love her. If she never moved out of this house, I’d be thrilled.”
My stomach jumped—it felt more like birds than butterflies flying around in there.
“But this is what you always do. You said the exact same thing about Jayme. And Stephanie. You thought they each were ‘the one’ and yet they both used you. They used you for your connections, the sense of safety, your money—”
“That’s how I know this is the real thing. What I felt for them pales in comparison to my feelings for Piper. And she’s not using me.”
“Maybe she’s not.” Jackson sighed and pulled his hat down further over his ears. “But… she’s going through a lot right now, Mason. Maybe for once, you don’t need to be the hero in some girl’s life. Maybe for once you just meet and fall in love with a woman who isn’t running from an abusive ex, or from her drug dealer, or from her terrible parents…”
“That’s not fair. I love Piper because of her strength in this situation. Despite what you seem to think, I don’t seek out women who are going through trauma.”
These words were like a punch to my stomach. The effect so hard, so visceral, my breath shortened, and I needed to step back from the door.
“I know. But … maybe just take a break from the rescue work, okay? I’m the EMT, that’smyjob.”
