“No need to be jealous,” he replied with a chuckle, enjoying the thought. “She’s like a little sister to all of us. She recently mat—married Alex. Seth helped build them a house, so she doesn’t live in the big house with us anymore. She and Alex live down that way,” he said, nodding toward a road that branched off from the driveway.
“Ego much? I wasn’t jealous. I was just wondering if I knew her,” she said, lie obvious in her voice.
Before he could reply, the front door opened and a loud whoop echoed through the yard. Turning his head, he watched Seth jump off the porch, his mate Amelia following down the steps more calmly.
“I knew it! I heard that distinctive rumble, and I knew there was a classic car pulling up to the house. Didn’t I say so, honey?” Seth asked as he walked closer to the car. He let out a low whistle as he circled Piper’s car. “What a beauty. ’69, right?”
Obviously taking pleasure in Seth’s admiration, she replied, “Yep. Mach 1. Judging by your enthusiasm, I’m going to guess that the ’68 Charger over there is yours?”
Seth’s hand hovered over the hood like he wanted to touch it, but then he pulled his hand back, grinning at her. “Sure is. Guess we share a love of the classics, huh?” he asked as Amelia reached him, shooting him an indulgent smile as she wound her arm through his. “Oh, I’m Seth. This gorgeous specimen beside me is Amelia.”
“I’m Piper. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at them.
Amelia’s returning greeting was drowned out as Seth said, “You’re Piper?” Turning to Jax, he said, “This is your Piper? Nice work, man. She’s got great taste in cars.”
Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Jax started walking toward the house, ignoring the look Piper cut him. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Your Piper? Been mooning over me to your friends, have you?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye, not seeming upset.
He shook his head, but his reply was cut off by Seth’s voice. “This is a Mustang, honey. Do you see the difference now?”
“Still say I was close enough,” came Amelia’s response, followed by Seth’s groan.
Smiling and deciding that was payback enough for Seth’s thoughtless words, Jax gestured Piper inside. He’d show her to her room, and then decide how best to tackle the night ahead. He couldn’t let an opportunity under his roof go to waste.
Piper wandered downstairs after making sure Snickers was comfortable in the guest room. He’d spent about an hour’s worth of rousing play with Shelby, Ian’s daughter, before they all sat down for dinner, and he was worn out. She, on the other hand, felt amped up. Between the break-in and the anticipation of sleeping under the same roof as Jax, even though they were in separate bedrooms, she felt twitchy and unable to settle.
Her mind turned to the break-in, and she really hoped it wasn’t Scott who did it, but she didn’t know who else it could be. He made some threats against her during the divorce, but it had been two years, and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. And she honestly didn’t think he had the balls to do something like this. At least, he hadn’t then.
But that left her out of suspects. She’d barely talked to anyone since returning to Eagle Creek. And it felt like this was targeted, like whoever it was, was looking for something specific. But she’d been gone so long, she had no idea how to know for sure if they found what they were looking for.
Her phone rang, distracting her, and she pulled it out of her pocket and answered as she entered the deserted kitchen.
“This is Piper.”
“Piper, hey! It’s Kelly. How are you?”
Smiling at her friend’s always chipper voice, she pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “I’m okay. I’m glad you called.”
“I was worried about you. I dropped by the house to say hey, maybe hang out, but you were gone. I waited for a while, and I got concerned when you didn’t show up, so I drove home to find the napkin with your number so I could call.”
“Yeah, I’m not staying there tonight. Someone broke in.”
Kelly gasped loudly. “What? What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t home when it happened. Someone dug a hole under the fence and Snickers got out. The house was broken into while I was out looking for him,” she answered, telling the short version.
“Oh, that’s horrible! I’m so sorry! Do you have any idea who it was? Do you think they’ll be back?” Kelly asked, voice concerned.
“No, no clue. And I’m not sure, but I won’t be letting my guard down again. I thought Eagle Creek was a thousand times safer than Seattle, but I guess it’s changed since I was gone. I’ll be using the same caution I use when I’m home.”
“This is usually a safe town. This is horrible, just horrible. Are you at the hotel? I’ll come over and hang with you a bit, so you’re not alone.”
“No, I’m not at the hotel. I’m at Ro
cky River,” Piper said reluctantly.
“What?” Kelly shrieked, causing Piper to jerk the phone away from her ear. “No. Are you and Jax getting back together?” she asked, excitement in her voice.