Shaking her head, panicking a little, Piper cut her thoughts off quickly. No. Absolutely not. Nothing about their stories were similar. Yes, they both came to Eagle Creek to take care of a dead relative’s estate, but the similarities ended there.
Piper wasn’t falling in love with Jax. She learned her lesson years ago. He wasn’t to be trusted, no matter his reasons for doing as he did. What was to say he wouldn’t do it again? It made him no different than any of the other douchebag, good for nothing men out there.
Who the fuck was she trying to kid? No, she wasn’t falling in love with Jax, but only because she’d never fallen out of love with him. God knows, she tried. But through all the pain, her relationship with Scott, her marriage, turning herself into someone she wasn’t and then turning herself into who she really was—she never stopped loving him.
What a fucking disaster. Eyes on the fight, but not really seeing it, she tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do. It was clear Jax wanted to begin again with her, so it wasn’t like her feelings weren’t reciprocated. But would he pull something like he did eight years ago, thinking he was protecting her? She wouldn’t be able to handle going through that a second time.
“It’s kind of boring, isn’t it?” Amelia said low as the fight ended.
“Hmmmm?” Piper said, trying to shake herself free of the thoughts tumbling around her head.
“The fight,” Amelia said, giving her a probing look. “I mean, as far as humans go, I suppose it was a good one. But it’s nothing like the guys from Rocky River.”
“I thought it was okay,” she lied. In truth, she paid very little attention to it. “But I’ve never seen anyone like the guys from Rocky River fight before, so I wouldn’t know the difference.”
“Ah, I understand. You’re in for a treat then,” Amelia replied, a twinkle in her eye. “If you like this sort of thing, that is. But you look like the kind of person who would.”
Piper couldn’t help laughing. “I guess I do, at that.”
“Oh, bloody hell, I was rude, wasn’t I? I didn’t mean it like that,” Amelia said, a chagrined look on her face.
“No, no, it wasn’t rude. More like accurate. Don’t worry about it, really. How many fights are there?” she asked as another set of humans entered the ring.
“Four, total. These are the last of the regulars,” Amelia said. “The guys from Rocky River go up next, in two fights. Seth against Kian, and Jax against Ian.”
“Kian doesn’t live at Rocky River, does he?” she asked with a frown. She hadn’t seen him last night.
“No, he’s been staying at the hotel while he’s in town. But he’s kind of unofficially one of them, because of his connection to Shelby.”
Nodd
ing her understanding, Piper turned her attention back to the fight. Amelia was right, it was boring. Piper wasn’t all that knowledgeable about fighting, but it wasn’t keeping her attention. Looking around, she spotted Kelly standing by the entrance, scanning the bleachers. Piper waved to her, and Kelly spotted her, giving her a beaming smile as she made her way to where Piper was sitting.
Piper moved the sweater as Kelly reached them, and her friend sat down, surprising Piper by giving her a hug. “Hey, girl! You look hot.” She looked down and noticed Kelly’s hand was bandaged up. “What happened there?”
Laughing, she nudged Piper’s shoulder. “You look hot, too. And this?” She waved it off. “I fell leaving the house. You know me,” she said with a laugh.
Piper shook her head. “You have two left feet. Have you met Amelia?” she asked, gesturing to her other side.
“No, I haven’t,” Kelly replied, her expression curious.
“Kelly, this is Amelia. She owns the Anderson ranch now. Amelia, this is my friend Kelly. We were best friends growing up.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kelly said, sticking her hand out to Amelia for a shake.
“It’s nice to meet you, as well,” Amelia replied, shaking her hand.
“Oh, I love your accent,” Kelly gushed to Amelia. In a whisper to Piper, she said, “I like her already.”
Shaking her head with a smile, Piper turned her attention back to the ring as the fight ended. The announcer called Seth and Kian’s name, and the crowd around them went wild, cheering in anticipation. She glanced around in surprise. The response to the other fighters had been tepid at best, and she hadn’t been expecting this level of reaction.
“I told you. Even the patrons agree with me about the Rocky River fighters,” Amelia said when she caught Piper’s eye, smiling broadly as she turned her attention to Seth.
The fight began and Piper watched with growing shock. This fight was nothing like the two before it, and she winced as Seth landed a particularly brutal blow. The two fighters went at each other hard, and it was disturbing and fascinating all at the same time. If this was the level of skill Jax would be up against, how could he not get hurt?
“Oh my, this is hard to watch,” Kelly said, drawing Piper’s attention. “People are actually entertained by this? I’m having a hard time understanding why.”
She didn’t seem to expect a reply, and Piper was grateful for it. The fight was intense, brutal, and bloody, but she could absolutely see the appeal. She’d be here every Saturday night if she still lived in Eagle Creek.