scones. His favorite.
Smiling, he sat down and broke one of the scones in half, giving half to Jiggs.
Half an hour later his phone vibrated with a response to his text from Piper. Get over yourself. I have BIGGER things to worry about.
Like hell you do, he thought. He scratched Jiggs’s head and said, “That’s our girl, Jiggsy. She’s stubborn as an ox, but one day she’ll get out of her own way and realize she loves us.”
CHAPTER FIVE
MOTHERS MUST HAVE superpowers. Piper had no idea how they had time to breathe, much less work. Not that she minded helping Harley with the girls, but the morning had been an eye-opener. She and the girls had fun on the way to school. Jolie was in a better mood and looking forward to soccer practice, and although Piper and Sophie had to make a quick trip to the grocery store while Jolie was at practice, Sophie was excited to go to Aurelia’s bookstore afterward. Being with the girls was a great distraction from the burly man Piper was trying not to think about naked.
Or at all, really.
But the minute she was alone in the truck, every one of her thoughts led straight back to Harley. She saw everything more clearly now, the pain in his eyes when he’d been laid out on the shower floor, the heat and sincerity in them when he’d said he didn’t want to cockblock her from himself, and his disappointment when she’d shut him down.
Her chest ached at that last part. Why did he have to say that crazy shit to her?
She struggled to push those thoughts aside as she drove to the job site. By the time she arrived, it was almost nine o’clock—two hours later than usual. She’d thought work would bring her solace, but from the moment she’d arrived right up until now, as she packed her tools to pick up the girls from school, her every move was shadowed by thoughts of Harley. She’d wrestled with the urge to call and check up on him all day. What if he fell again? What if he tried to take Jiggs out and was lying injured on the side of the road? She told herself that the shower incident was a fluke and he was a big, smart man who didn’t need her to babysit him. Cognitively, she knew that was true, and she had no idea why she couldn’t shake those weird feelings.
She was taking off her tool belt when Kase and Mike came outside.
“Working banker’s hours, boss?” Mike asked.
“I’ve got to get Harley’s nieces from school. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She tossed her tool belt into the back of her truck.
“Are you meeting us later for drinks at the pub?” Kase asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to see how much help Harley needs.” He’d made it up the stairs this morning on his own, and she imagined he’d made it down since he hadn’t called for help. Maybe he wouldn’t need her help at all tonight. An odd sense of disappointment washed through her with the thought.
“Look at Harley’s little homemaker,” Mike teased. “Guess Kase might’ve been wrong about you putting on an apron after all.”
Piper walked around the truck to the driver’s side and started to tell him to fuck off, and then remembered Bridgette’s suggestion to stop swearing so much. She flipped him the bird and climbed into the truck, considering that a win.
Two wins to one big, fat loss? She guessed they sort of evened each other out.
After school, Piper saw Jolie with her teammates on the field while waiting in the pickup line. She looked happy enough, and Piper hoped that meant she’d had a great day.
Sophie climbed into the cab of the truck in a mood as bright as her aqua top and white capris. “Can we get purple hair dye at the store?”
“That’s an interesting request.”
“It’s crazy-hair day at school tomorrow and all my friends are dyeing their hair.”
As Piper drove out of the parking lot, she said, “I think I’d better check with your uncle and make sure your mom won’t mind first.”
“Okay. Also, when we go to the bookstore, can I get my mom a book? I can pay you back. I have savings from my allowance.”
Piper’s heart warmed. “Sure, but you don’t have to pay me back. Do you know what she likes to read?”
“Mm-hm. Anything with a man on the cover. Her bookshelf is filled with them.”
“Okay, one hot-guy book