The words hit me harder than my brother’s right hook. “You can’t.”
“I have things to figure out,” she says as she slices a thick piece of bread and slides it onto a plate. “Not just with you and me, but for myself.”
I want to argue, to tell her she can figure things out here with me, but something in her expression stops me.
“When I graduated college,” she continues, pouring a glass of juice and then taking a seat at the island, “I moved to Kansas City because a friend from nursing school invited me to live with her and got me a job at the hospital. I didn’t have to take care of anything. Then I started dating Bradley because I knew him, and it was easy. When my friend decided to become a traveling nurse, it was easy to move into Bradley’s house.” She pauses, worrying her bottom lip as she gazes at a place beyond my shoulder. “When the wedding didn’t work out, I moved back to Skylark, and Sadie transferred the deed of our childhood home to me.”
“Piper—”
“And when I found out I was pregnant and saw Bradley right after that, I ran away to this cabin.” She finally looks at me, and the determination in her eyes makes my chest ache. “Do you see a theme here, Barlowe? I let other people make things easy for me.”
“That’s not a bad thing?—”
“I’m twenty-three, and I want to stand on my own.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” The words slip out before I can stop them. “I forgot how young you are.”
“I’m not a baby.” Her eyes flash. “Even though I let people treatme like one.”
“I’m nearly a decade older than you.” That age gap suddenly feels massive, another reason I’m all wrong for her.
“So is my sister.”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t get you pregnant.”
“Can your premature midlife crisis take a backseat for a minute?” She rolls those gorgeous eyes, and despite everything, I feel my lips twitch.
“What about the baby?”
“He or she is tucked away for seven more months. We have plenty of time to work out an arrangement.”
An arrangement? I hate how sterile and detached that word sounds. “What about Ellie? I mean, I know you don’t owe her anything or?—”
“I was thinking I could take her with me.”
My jaw actually drops. “She’s my responsibility.”
“Yes, I know. I’m not trying to take your place.” Piper’s voice softens. “But I need to go back today. The book club is meeting, and I want to see my friends. I want to sleep in my own bed, even if it’s in a house that doesn’t truly feel like it belongs to me. This is La La Land up here.”
“Not exactly La La Land.”
“Maybe not for you. You’re training every day, working toward something. You have a purpose.” She wraps her arms around herself. “I need to figure out who I am outside of being someone’s sister or someone’s ex-fiancée or someone’s nanny and baby mama.”
Everything she’s saying makes sense, but I hate the idea of her leaving. Hate that I’m part of the pattern she’s trying to break.
“I’ll pay you,” I blurt out. “Double your nursing salary to stay.”
“Stop trying to buy me off.” Her voice goes sharp again. “It makes me feel cheap.”
I nearly laugh at that. Piper Hart has no idea what she’s costingme, and I don’t mean financially. But I’m smart enough not to say it.
“I’ll go with you,” I offer instead.
She scoffs. “You’ve got your whole setup here. You’ve got Tyler.”
“Tyler will go wherever I am. And Ellie’s staying with me, but she likes you, and I trust you. You can keep being her nanny while we both figure our shit out.”
She studies me for a while, and I expect her to say no. “Would you stay with Ian and Sadie?” she asks softly, and it feels so much like a victory that I nearly break out my end zone dance.
