Seeing is Believing (Cuttersville #3)(66)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Staring up at Brady, her hands on his waist as they made a halfhearted attempt at dancing, Piper wanted to cry. After she’d broken things off with him so unceremoniously, in a five-minute conversation on the front porch, he still wanted to be with her. After two months apart, and countless flirty girls in the coffee shop, he was here, with her. Her counselor had told her that it was normal for her to doubt the sincerity of people’s affection for her, that she needed time to establish trust given her early years, and she supposed that was true. All she really knew was that she loved Brady, she missed him, and she’d have to be the stupidest woman on the face of the earth to say no to what he was offering.

“I don’t suppose there is any good reason why we can’t.” She felt a surge of love for him. God, he was so amazing. A man, not a boy. He had never once played a game with her or been anything other than totally honest.

“For real?” He looked astonished.

That made her laugh. “Yes.”

“Well, shit, that was easier than I thought. I still have a good two minutes left to this cheesy song. I was planning to use the whole thing to talk you into being with me.”

“I don’t need to be talked into it. I’m sorry I got scared.”

“It’s okay, babe. But the thing is, if you get scared of the dark, you don’t need to hide under the bed. Just tell me and we’ll turn on the light together, okay?”

Oh, now she was going to cry. She nodded furiously because she couldn’t speak.

“I don’t have to move into the house. We can take it slow. Gran is tolerating me well enough for now. When push came to shove and I was homeless, she gave me a room.”

“We can play it by ear, do whatever feels right.” Piper shook her head, in awe that it was that easy. That here they were. “This feels right. I was so miserable without you but I thought it was the best thing for you.”

“I know what’s the best thing for me, and that is you.” Brady bent over and brushed a soft kiss over her lips. “I’ve missed your lips. Let’s go behind the garage and make out.”

Piper laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. No one can see us back there.”

She surprised herself by saying, “Okay.”

She’d shocked Brady twice in two minutes. His eyes widened. “Hell, yeah. Perfect timing—the song is over.”

Pulling her by the hand off the dance floor, Brady led her past a half dozen people, who all noted their hands clasped together. Piper didn’t care. She didn’t blush or demur or feel like a teenager sneaking off. She felt like an adult, like a woman who made her own choices. Her mother was sitting on her father’s lap, looking a little drunk given all that hair flipping, but despite having his hands full, her dad definitely noticed who she was with, and he just nodded to them.

“I’m sure Danny is going to be thrilled about this,” Brady said.

“Actually, he probably will be just fine. We came to an understanding that I’m an adult.” He would be there for her no matter what. She knew that, trusted it. He just wanted her happy.

“Excellent.”

They cut around behind a jumbo pine tree and darted behind the garage. Only to almost run into a teen couple doing just what they wanted to be doing.

“Oh, shit, looks like someone beat us to the punch,” Brady said, clearly amused.

The teens sprang apart and Piper almost croaked. It was Shelby’s son, Zach, and Georgia, Charlotte and Will’s daughter.

“We were just . . .” Zach tried to feebly explain, before giving up. “Don’t say anything to my parents, okay?”

“We won’t say anything,” Brady reassured him. “Just remember that her daddy is sheriff, though. He carries a big gun.”

Even in the moonlight, they could see Zach’s face blanch. Georgia was staring at the ground, her hair disheveled.

“Got it,” Zach muttered, and the two shuffled off.

Piper shook her head. “Good Lord. I still think of Zach as being a kid, and Georgia even more so. I watched them both when they were babies.”

“Face it, Tucker, you’re old,” Brady told her.

Laughing, she smacked him in the chest. “Hush. And if I’m old, guess what that makes you?”

“Damn, you’re right. Old enough to know better.”

“Better than what?” Piper let Brady pull her into his arms.

“To know that I shouldn’t lure a girl off behind the garage.”

He kissed her, and Piper sighed. She had missed him more than she had even realized. The feel of him against her, despite her coat and his sweatshirt, was perfect. The kiss was deep, true, passionate, filled with all their pent-up emotions.

“You taste like whiskey,” he whispered, hugging her tightly. “Has my grandmother been fixing your drinks?”

As a matter of fact. “Yes. I had two sips and I swear I started slurring my words.”

“She should be banned from bartending.” Then he shook his head. “But what the hell am I doing talking about Gran? I brought you here to make out, yes, but also because I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

Piper sucked in a quick breath. Her heart swelled. Her lip started to quiver. His expression was so sincere, so earnest, so matter-of-fact. She had never heard anything more beautiful. Just three simple words that meant everything.

“I love you, too. I’ve always loved you,” she whispered. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve always known I was meant to be with you.”

Brady’s throat felt so tight he was going to need a crowbar to pry it apart to swallow. But he managed to say, “Damn, I wish someone had told me. Could have saved myself some trouble.” He was only half kidding. The path he’d taken to get here was more than a little potholed.

Piper smiled. “Where would the fun be in that?”

“Did you cut your hair?” he asked suddenly, realizing that whereas before her hair had skimmed the bottom of her rib cage, as he held her now it seemed just a little shorter.

She nodded. “Two inches. Nearly killed me. But I did it.”

“It always looks beautiful. You look beautiful. Why would you love me?” he asked her in all seriousness, having a moment of doubt. She was so . . . special. Why was he entitled to her?

Cupping his cheeks with her hands, she gazed into his eyes. “‘When he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine, That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun.’”