CJ stared up at him for a long beat and then pulled Gavin on top of him. “Then here’s to as few regrets as possible.”
And that was the last time they communicated, at least with words, for the rest of the night.
THE NEXT MORNING, Piper groaned her way out of bed at the crack of dawn. The new locks for the front doors on the cottages had arrived the day before and she wanted to get started on installing them.
And not because she hadn’t slept, thinking about Cam’s accusation that she was running scared. True, by the way, and she hated that.
She staggered into the kitchen seeking caffeine. She stopped short at the sight of Gavin and Winnie. “Seriously,” she said. “The two of you are starting to worry me.”
“I’ve got work,” Gavin said. “I’m working with Cam on the books. The job’s small, only a few hours here and there, which is great, but not enough for me. So I’ve also got a few other job interviews today.”
Piper blinked. “In Arizona?”
Gavin and Winnie exchanged a look. “No,” Gavin said. “Here. One in Wildstone, another in San Luis Obispo. Both IT entry-level positions with sucky wages, but they’re something. I want to be able to contribute to the household.”
“And I’m working too,” Winnie said.
“Oh? On another ambush?”
Winnie had the good grace to look a little contrite. “I was just trying to help.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Fine.” Winnie rose. “I’ve got to get to work too.”
“Where?” Piper asked.
“Here. And the good news is that I’m cheap. Free, to be exact.”
That’s when Piper realized her sister was wearing a toolbelt. And it actually had tools in it. The leather creaked and the tools clanked when she crossed the room to the toaster.
“You’re working here,” Piper repeated, confused.
“Why not? You’re working your ass off, right? And you can’t do it all on your own.” She pointed at herself, looking prideful and a little wan, which Piper attributed to her being up at this previously unseen hour.
“Okay,” Piper said. “Who are you two and what have you done with my real siblings?”
“I know, right?” Winnie put a piece of bread in the toaster. “Guess we grew up after all—”
“Wait!” Piper said before Winnie pushed the lever. “You’ll start a fire.”
“I fixed it.”
Piper blinked. “You fixed it?”
“Yeah. I keep telling you, YouTube’s amazing. Oh and the Wi-Fi—”
“—is crappy,” Piper said. “I know. I keep meaning to call—”
“Fixed that too.”
Piper stared at Winnie. “What?”
“Yeah, you had the wiring all screwed up, and also you weren’t password protected, so everyone and their dog was using your connection. Rookie mistake.”
Piper blinked. “Are you making fun of my tech skills?”
“Yes.”
“Just remember, I taught you how to use a damn spoon.”
Winnie grinned, and it looked so cute and carefree that Piper felt a burst of emotion. Happiness, she thought. She was so unused to it, she’d barely recognized it.
Winnie started to say something else, but went suddenly still, a hand on her stomach. Her color was way off. As in green.
“You okay?” Piper asked.
“Yep.” Winnie paused, then shook her head. “Nope.” And she went running out of the room.
Piper looked at Gavin. “The flu?”
Gavin shrugged. “Hey, do you think Mom and Dad would like the idea of all of us being back here together as adults?”
Her chest got a little tight in the way it always did whenever he tried to get her to talk about their parents. Just thinking about them hurt like hell, much less talking about them. But she managed a tight smile. “I do.” Then she left the kitchen and moved to the downstairs bathroom door, which was shut and locked. She knocked softly. “Winnie? You okay?”
“Go away.”
Ah. There she was. Piper went and got a can of ginger ale and a sleeve of crackers, and left them outside the bathroom door. Then she got one of the cottage front door locks replaced before she had to take off for work, where she spent twelve straight hours seeing the worst of humanity. But on the upside, she and Jenna got a whole fifteen minutes for a midday break, and they hit up 7-Eleven for hot dogs and chips.
Score.
After work, she drove home and climbed out of her car, taking a moment to just look at the lake and unwind. Other than that one bad storm, winter hadn’t been much of a threat. She hoped it stayed that way. Right now it was windy but a downright balmy sixty-two degrees. The sun was setting, casting the choppy lake and the surrounding rolling hills in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Grabbing her bag, she headed toward Emmitt’s house for her daily check-in. Halfway there, she caught sight of someone on the docks. A tall, built someone sitting with his feet hanging over the side, staring at the water the way she’d been.
Cam. He was in a wet suit that he’d peeled off his torso and shoved down to his waist. His hair was wet.
It was ridiculous how he could affect her mood. And her pulse. She’d told herself this was a bad idea, he was a bad idea, but there seemed to be some sort of disconnect between her brain and heart. Not to mention decidedly south of her heart.
Her life was chaos, always had been. But somehow Cam had become the calm in the storm. He was easy to be with. He was slow to anger, steady, determined, focused. And best yet, she didn’t have to take care of him. She could just enjoy him.
The knowledge felt . . . freeing and fun, a lot like the freedom she’d been yearning for and dreaming about. She’d like to keep things just as they were. Well, okay, maybe with a whole lot more nudity and orgasms. But other than that, just like this, no complications.
Complications continued to ruin her life.
It was then that she realized Cam’s shoulders were set with tension, and even from this distance, she could tell that something was wrong.
Emmitt was going to have to wait.
She got down to the marina and came to a halt just before the docks. Because of course Cam was on the longest one, which jutted straight out at least a hundred feet over the lake.
If she wanted to get to him, she’d have to walk it.
Oh, boy. She took a few more steps, but stopped right before stepping up onto the actual dock itself.
She was already sweating. “Hey.”
He didn’t hear her.
Damn wind. She drew in a deep breath and stepped up onto the dock. She swiped her clammy hands over her thighs and took another step. Suddenly she felt ill. Maybe she’d caught Winnie’s flu. Maybe she should turn around and go straight home.
Except Winnie had texted her earlier not to worry, she didn’t have the flu. Maybe food poisoning, but whatever it was, she was fine now.
Great. So Piper couldn’t even use “close to death” as an excuse. “Cam.”
He still didn’t turn around. Well, shit. She managed another few steps, getting past the sandy shore now. Which meant she was directly over the water, specifically the waves lapping at the beach. Perfect, and now she was starting to hyperventilate right on cue.