Seeing is Believing (Cuttersville #3)(17)
Author: Erin McCarthy

There was a long pause then Shelby said, “Brady Stritmeyer. You keep your hands off Piper, do you understand me?”

Oops. A little late for that. But he could lie with the best of them. “What? God, I just said she was beautiful and you’re jumping to conclusions. You’re beautiful, and I don’t want to sleep with you.” It was a lame argument and he knew it, but there was no way in hell he was going to admit that he had nailed Piper in Shelby’s bed. Not only because he didn’t want to hear it, but because some things were private between a man and a woman. Special.

He winced again. Jesus. Different, that’s what he meant. Different. Not special, just not ordinary, not an everyday sort of one-night stand. Not a one-night stand at all. Not something selfish and crude, not about getting off and nothing else. About feeding the fire that had sprung up between them so immediate and so hot it was . . . special.

Holy crap on a cracker.

“I know you. You like women. But Piper isn’t just any woman. She’s Danny’s daughter. She’s special, you know that.”

Oh, my f**king God. There was that word again.

He did know that Piper was special to her family. He also knew that Piper knew it. And he suspected Piper would rather just be considered normal. “She’s also an adult. I can’t get over how much she’s changed.”

“People change when you’ve been gone a dozen years.”

There was condemnation in that, loud and clear. “Ouch. Point made. I should have come home once or twice, I admit it.”

“You should have. Your sister’s kids are in high school. When was the last time you saw them? When was the last time you saw your grandmother?”

Brady pressed the on button on the coffeemaker. If he was going to be lectured, he needed some coffee. “I’m here now.”

“Why no warning? Are you in trouble?”

That made him snort. “No, I’m not pregnant.”

“Very funny.”

He kind of thought so. “So, do you happen to know the name of the fiancé who was killed in your house?”

“What?” That caught her off guard. “What are you talking about?”

Hopefully, it also prevented a tirade.

“You know, Rachel’s cheating fiancé who did a head butt with a candlestick.”

“No, I have no idea,” she continued. “Why?”

“I can’t believe no one bothered to ever ask at some point.” That bothered him. A lot.

“It didn’t seem important to the story. He was a dog, clearly.”

“That dog has the same name as me.”

“What, Brady? Really? That’s a coincidence. How did you find that out?”

As the scent of the coffee filled the small kitchen, Brady looked around. He’d never felt unsafe in this house, ever. But suddenly he wished he could see what Piper saw. It was like walking around in a cemetery without headstones. He could be knocking into dead people left and right and he had no idea. “Piper and I found some papers in the basement, a photocopy of the original newspaper article.”

“Why were you in the basement?”

“Why are you not focusing on the relevant facts of this conversation?” he asked, exasperated.

“You’re staying with Gran tonight, right?”

So she was fixating on him being in her house with Piper. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her yet. Why?” He felt irritated with his cousin.

It was clear she felt the same way. “You really should have called and let me know you were coming to town.”

“Oh, for Chrissakes. I’m sorry. Next time I won’t call you at all,” he said petulantly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Can I talk to Piper before you hang up on me?”

“She’s not here. She took the girls to the farm.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good. That’s great. What a wonderful idea.”

Shelby couldn’t be more transparent if she were glass. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t want me around Piper. But if Gran doesn’t have a bed for me, I’m staying here tonight and you can just suck it.”

“You’ve always been a brat.” But there was no heat to her voice, just a begrudging affection.

“And your favorite cousin.” Brady grinned, jumping down so he could get himself a mug. “Admit it.” He and Shelby had always been close, despite the distance.

“You’re not so bad.” There was a pause. “Brady. I’m glad you’re home.”

He smiled. “You know what? I am, too. Who would have thunk it?”

* * *

SHELBY HUNG UP HER CELL PHONE AND TURNED TO her husband, who was looking damn sexy in his jeans, the river behind him. “We have to go home.”

He didn’t react at all. “Is someone bleeding?”

“No.”

“Broken bones?”

“No.”

“Then we’re not going home.” He took a sip of his beer and shook his head. “Shelby, we never leave the kids. Ever. It’s two nights total, and we’ve already managed one and nothing bad happened. In fact, we had some damn hot sex last night and I would like to repeat that tonight. There is no reason we need to go home early unless your grandmother died.”

That shocked her enough to smack him on the arm. “Don’t say that! Not even as a joke. You’re borrowing death. God, Gran can’t die.”

“And you’re borrowing trouble. What do you think is going to happen?”

“Brady is in our house with Piper. He’s always had a way with girls.”

“Piper is an adult. She’s not stupid.”

That was easy for him to say. He wasn’t a girl. Shelby knew what happened when boys talked you out of your panties. You wound up married and pregnant at eighteen with bad hair. Wait. That was her. “I know she isn’t. But I just have a bad feeling.”

“Honey. We’re at Oktoberfest. It’s a beautiful day. The only thing you should be feeling is a buzz from the beer.”

“I can’t believe I’m drinking a beer at eleven in the morning.” That did freak her out a little. She was having a hard time not being responsible. In fact, it hurt a little to loosen up.

“I think it’s awesome.” Boston leaned over and gave her a kiss that curled her toes.

Fifteen years and there was still toe curling. Shelby found herself relaxing.

“What do you think the girls are doing?” she asked, snuggling up close to her husband. She didn’t have to guess what Zach was doing. It would involve headphones in his ears at the neighbor’s house. But the girls were still so little. She worried.