support of her crew and for the hope that Marshall might try to prove her wrong.
The men followed her inside, talking loudly on their way to the kitchen. Piper kept her back to them, willing her tears to remain at bay. She heard Kase guiding them away from her and breaking up a couple of guys who must have been horsing around, giving her time to pull herself together.
“A’right, let’s get back to work,” Kase said loudly in the other room.
A few minutes later, the sounds of men working brought relief, and Piper felt a comforting hand on her back.
“You okay, boss?”
She inhaled deeply and faced Kase. “Yeah. Thanks for rallying the troops.”
“I didn’t do it. Mike did. We’ve always got your back.”
Mike, even after I reamed him. “I appreciate that.”
“Who was that guy?”
“Harley’s brother. He hasn’t been around for a while . . . and I might have gone out with him in high school.”
Kase’s lips tipped up at the corners, and he said, “Guess that explains it. You handled him well. Harley should be proud.”
“Thanks. I need to make a call.”
“Take all the time you need. I’ve got this.”
She headed outside and walked away from the building to call Harley.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey, Trig. What’s up?”
“Marshall was just here.”
“Son of a bitch,” Harley growled. “What’d he say?”
“He wanted me to talk to you for him, but I told him I wouldn’t and that he had to clean up his own mess. He may be heading your way.”
He ground out a curse. “Did he get into anything with you? If he said or did anything nasty, I’m going to kill him.”
“First, that’s inappropriately hot. Second, I didn’t give him the chance, and all my guys were behind me.”
“Good. Sorry you had to deal with that, babe.”
“It’s fine. At least you know he’s still around.”
Harley exhaled loudly. “Right. I need to call my mom and Dee, let them know he’s still in town.”
“Okay. Hey, Harley?”
“Yeah?”
“Whatever does or doesn’t happen between you two, I’m here. You’re not alone in this anymore.”
He was quiet for a beat, and she knew him so well, even in the silence she heard his gratitude.
“I love you, babe,” he finally said. “Meet me at my place after work?”
“Sure, but you’ll see me for dinner. After the day I’ve had, I need a double order of Dutch’s wings, a cold beer, and about a hundred kisses from the hottest bar owner in Sweetwater.”
“My lips are waiting.”
“Hey, man, I think that glass is clean,” Jasper said, breaking through Harley’s thoughts.
Harley looked down at the glass in his hands. He hadn’t even realized he was still holding it. The bar was closed, and they were getting ready to leave for the night when Harley had decided to have one drink to calm his nerves. He’d spent the evening in fluctuating states of anxious contempt and hostility. Marshall hadn’t shown up, and he hadn’t gone to see their mother or sister, either, which Harley was glad about. The only bright light of his evening had been when Piper had come by for dinner. She’d told him what had happened with Marshall, though neither one of them knew how he’d found her on the job site.
“You’ve been drying that thing for eight minutes,” Jasper pointed out. “Does that mean you’re relieved or angry that your brother didn’t show up?”
Harley put the glass away and said, “I don’t really give a shit either way.” He had no idea if that was true or not. That was how jumbled his thoughts were. All he knew for sure was that he didn’t want Marshall anywhere near Piper.
“I’m going to call that relieved,” Jasper said as he walked around the bar. “Want me to lock up on the way out?”
“No. I’ll be right behind you.”
“All right, man. Try to relax tonight.”
After Jasper left, Harley let out a long breath. What a fucked-up day. He’d held his breath, readying for a fight every time the damn door opened. He’d spoken to his mother around nine o’clock, and she’d sounded upset that Marshall hadn’t come by to see any of them. When he’d called Delaney, she’d sounded disappointed, too. Their conversations had tweaked his guilt, but their willingness to look past everything Marshall had done had just pushed his need to protect them into hyperdrive. He went into his office to shut down his computer, and his gaze fell to the picture of his parents on the corner of the desk. He picked it