Eyeing her one more time, Frank turned to Piper with a smile. “I’ll get out of here. Call me anytime you need me. And it’s good to see you back, Piper.”
Watching as the sheriff made his way out of the kitchen, Piper felt Jax grasp her shoulders. Leaning into his warmth, she turned to Kelly, who was looking at her, her expression a mix of hope, sadness, and wariness.
“I can’t believe you didn’t have him arrest me,” Kelly said quietly. “I would have understood. What I did was wrong.”
“It was wrong,” Piper replied. “So fucking wrong. But I know you did it for the right reasons, misguided as it was. I’m not going to put you away for something you did because you wanted me to be happy.”
“And I did. I do,” Kelly said earnestly. “You and Jax have always felt fated to me. Meant to be. And I could tell by just looking in your eyes that you still loved him, even though you were denying it with every breath you took.”
She blew out a breath, shaking her head. “You’re very perceptive, Kelly. You’re clumsy as hell, and you have fucked up ways of doing things, but you see what people hide under the surface. That’s a good quality to have.”
“All that’s true,” Kelly replied with a smile that quickly faded. Twisting her hands together, she took a hesitant step forward. “Are you very mad at me? I’m so sorry if I hurt you, Piper. I truly am.”
Piper stepped forward, shivering as Jax’s hands trailed off her shoulders, leaving tingles racing down her spine. Shaking the feeling off and telling herself to focus, she took Kelly’s hands in hers, squeezing to encourage Kelly to meet her eyes.
“I’m not mad any longer. I’m not even hurt. I understand, Kelly. It was wrong, but I get why you did it. And I’m not going to throw a twenty-year friendship down the drain because you wanted me to be happy, even if you went about it all fucked up. I value you too much to let you go. You’re stuck with me.”
Eyes filling with tears, Kelly sniffled and pulled Piper into a tight hug. “How did I get lucky enough to have someone like you for a best friend? I’ll make this up to you, Piper. I swear it.”
Piper pulled back from the hug, trying to keep a tight rein on her emotions. Boss Bitches didn’t cry. Glancing at Jax, she looked at him before turning back to Kelly.
“You already have,” she said, tilting her head toward Jax. Smiling at Kelly’s instant excitement, she said, “But if you want to make it up to me more, you can be here first thing next Monday and help me get the store re-opened.”
Kelly gasped, a smile lighting her face. “You’re going to re-open? So you’re staying? It worked?”
Laughing, Piper shook her head. “Don’t let this encourage you to try it again with anyone else, but honestly, yes. It worked.”
Squealing, Kelly clapped her hands together. “Yes! This is amazing.” Smiling big at Piper and Jax, she said, “I’ll get the mess cleaned up in front, and then leave you two alone.”
“Don’t worry about the mess. We’ll get it later,” Piper told her.
“Okay. I’ll get out of here, then. But call me later, please.” Leaning in close, she whispered, “I need details.”
Lips quirking, Piper watched her friend leave, leaning into Jax as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. They were quiet as they listened to Kelly leave, and Piper basked in the warmth seeping into her.
Turning her around, he said, “I’m proud of how you handled that. I thought for a moment that you were going to go after her.”
“I almost did, until she explained herself. And then I realized this was a lot like what you did.”
Drawing back, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “What I did?”
“Yeah, when you broke up with me. As misguided as it was, you did it to protect me. And as misguided as Kelly was, she did it because she wanted me to find happiness again. You were both wrong with how you went about it, but you both meant well. And if I can forgive you, I can forgive her.”
Nodding, he leaned into kiss her. When he pulled back, his eyes were blazing green and gold. “So it worked, huh? You’re staying?”
Taking a deep breath, she blew it out as she nodded. “I think so. We still have some shit to talk about, but I think I’m ready to officially give us a chance.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go home and get to talking.”
Laughing as he grabbed her hand to pull her along, Piper tried to tamp down the nervous butterflies in her stomach. Part of her couldn’t believe she was really going to risk her heart with him again, but it was a very small part. The rest of her was ready to get on with living her forever out with him. Glancing up at him as he flashed a smile at her, her insides warmed. And this time, she knew, it truly would be forever.
Jax strummed the chords for Piper’s Fight Song on his guitar, humming the words. He kept a spare guitar in his truck because he never knew when inspiration would strike. Grabbing the paper he found, he wrote down the song, line for line, finally adding the final verse. The ending that had been missing since he started writing it. It was complete now.
Glancing up as Snickers wandered in, he put the pencil down and called him over. When he was near, Jax softly petted his fur as Snickers leaned into him, then scratched his ears.
“Now that’s more like it,” he told the dog. “This is how it’s always going to be. Me and you, we both love the same woman. But we’re both going to have to share. You need to get used to that now, pup.”
Smiling as Snickers snuggled in tighter, he glanced up, watching Piper come to stand in the doorway. Snickers obviously knew she was there, too, because he stiffened, growling at Jax before rushing to stand by her. Shaking his head, he watched as Piper leaned down to pet him.