I cock my eyebrow, shaking my head at the guy with a rubber band holding his bun together. "Who the fuck are you, and what've you done with Dax? That's the deepest shit I've ever heard you say."
He chuckles and finds his beer again. "This shit is from the heart, man. Just not mine. It's what Cara said to me when Shannon died, and I couldn't get out of my head. She saved me from myself, and the same advice is going to save you. Don't define-just live. Let life run its course without deciphering every second. You like sunshine and rainbows. End of story."
"I'm not sure it's that easy or exactly how having a thing for Piper will go down with Cara."
"Ha. I've know you for a long time, Lawless. Never have I seen you follow any rules but your own, and the SEAL code of honor. If Cara says something worth listening to, then go in with caution. She loves that girl. Took her under her wing the minute she walked into Lilyfalls. I think it's Piper's eyes-they go all voodoo when you talk to her."
I smack my hand down on the tabletop with a stinging vindication. "You see it too? Fuck, I thought I was the only one."
"I get it. Cute girl-smart, too. She runs that bakery like it's a million-dollar company-budgets, forecasting, inventory control. Hired Leah's little sister, Margo, to work the counter now that she's home from State. Cara may have had the idea, but Piper is the brains behind the business."
"She has piercings," I blurt, because I'm obsessed with them and someone needs to hear my confession. It might as well be Dax. He'll understand.
He contemplates the news with a long drag to his bottle. "Well, okay. I'm going to pass. Unless . . . no, keep it to yourself. I don't want to know."
"I shouldn't either. I think that's what's bugging me. She's Justin's girl, and I'm the shithead who's thinking maybe she could be something else."
He nods once and says, "You consider the guys you serve with your brothers?"
His change in direction confuses me as my admission weighs heavy on my thoughts. "Yeah, all of them."
"Why?"
"We work tight, trust our actions and intentions. Bonds form fast when everything is important to a successful mission and survival."
"And is that so different than being thrust into a situation with Piper?"
My mouth falls open to deny it. He's not so far off. Justin wanted me here; he wanted me to take care of her; he made me promise and told me to love her. I've been thrown into this thing with Piper as I would any other SEAL mission. It's no wonder my head is fucked with feelings. But it shouldn't be full of get-her-naked-and-on-my-cock thoughts. Justin wasn't giving me permission to make her mine. Cade, his voice whispers in my ear.
"Fuck your smart ass," I mumble to the friend constantly talking in my head and the one sitting in front of me.
Dax chuckles. "Anyway, what else do you need? I see the question churning behind your eyes."
I smile, and the pressure in my chest is lighter for it. "I need a team to finish my house. Can you get a work crew to start tomorrow?"
"You've been building that thing since you were nineteen. Why the fire all of sudden?"
"Piper's couch is killing me."
He smiles an I'm-onto-your-shit kind of smile, and I punch him in the arm. Dax has more money than he knows what to do with. A nerdy gamer turned dot-com millionaire, he can do just about anything and live anywhere in the world, and all he needs to be happy is my sister and Willow. He also knows everyone within three hundred miles of town.
"I'll call Milton Construction. His crew worked on our house. Good people and big enough they should be able to take on another project."
"Thanks. And one more thing, can you use your computer genius to do some research for me?"
"God yes. It'll give me something to concentrate on other than streamers and a signature cocktail. What do you need?"
"Can you dig up some info on Asil Marik?"
As I fill him in, we chill and get mended for newfound bumps and ailments by our four-year-old doctor until day gives way to the darkening hue of early evening. I escape an hour after Cara arrives and just as she dives into deep discussion about wedding colors and flowers. With a promise to come back tomorrow, I head home.
Home to Piper. It feels like the truth-at least, it's the only home I know, and taking on the house as a new mission lifts a small portion of my burden. I'm helping her and the kid.
A quick jog through town leaves me at the steps of the cottage. I rip my sweat-drenched shirt off, hanging it on the rail to dry before walking through the door. Piper faces away, looking out the window above the sink with her cell pressed to her ear. From behind you'd never guess she had a baby. Firm legs end at the oversized T-shirt that hits high thigh and hangs off one shoulder.