town.
Something entered the old man’s eyes. Then he nodded, as if part of some internal conversation, turned back to his coffee, and took another sip. “Funny thing happened today,” he said to no one in particular.
Maggy ate her pie in silence.
“Thought I saw Nick Noble drive through town.”
If Piper could have asked fate for anything, it would be to not let Nick Noble accompany her into the middle of nowhere with the sun beginning to dip into the horizon and a lone bellow drifting from some forlorn place between the bluffs. She felt like she should be in the audience of a movie theater, her arms waving in warning as the victim drives away with the serial killer.
But at least this was better than sleeping in his bedroom. Talk about creepy.
What if Nick did recognize her? Not as Jimmy’s sister, but if he knew she’d staked him out in Wellesley only to appear here, that might start his detective wheels turning. Thankfully the little go-around with his sister had thrown him off. And good thing too, because just seeing those dark eyes had nearly stripped Piper’s thin veneer of courage.
Destroyed lives, huh? Apparently Jimmy’s life hadn’t been the first on the list of Nick Noble’s casualties.
And if she wasn’t very, very careful, Noble might have a chance at her. Not only did he exude a presence that unsettled her, but the way he watched her made her mouth turn to dust. As if he could see right through her, past her agenda, past her anger, and right to her scars and fear that lurked so deep she barely noticed them anymore.
Until, that is, she got around arrogant, bossy men.
Unlike Nick’s sister, Piper didn’t fall for his let-me-help plea for a nanosecond. So he used a voice that might make every woman within fifty miles want to believe him. Piper knew better—way better. She knew too much about men to believe a bully like Nick Noble might have a tender, even chivalrous, place inside him.
Okay, yes, something about the look of shame that crossed his face when his sister accused him of destroying lives had rattled her. As if . . . inside that intimidating exterior lived a man of honor.
In that moment Piper had felt like a snake. But she had only to remember that even her father had had his moments of tenderness to snap her back to her senses. She wouldn’t let her guard slip again. She could do this. Next time she got a glimpse of that shame, she’d turn it into an admittance of guilt, even a confession.
And she’d finally publicly brand Nick Noble an outlaw.
The pickup bumped at a slug’s pace as she followed along the rutted road to the lodge. The setting sun cast low shadows across the hills, and she felt a hint of chill creep into her Jeep and under her cable-knit sweater.
The hunting lodge sat in a hover of jack pines and a large honey locust. She felt an idiotic spurt of delight when she noticed its front porch, complete with a rocking chair overlooking a view of the Bighorn Mountains. Part of her apparently thought she might be on vacation instead of on a covert operation involving spatulas and cookpots.
But if she got near either, the jig would be up. She could barely make toast, and her oven in her two-bedroom condo hadn’t been used since the last tenant vacated two years ago. But she needed only a few hours alone with Nick to wheedle the truth from him. If he was a true cowboy, she’d simply bat her eyes and give him a c’mere smile, and he’d be running over himself to write her poetry and sing her a ballad. Two days, tops. No cooking needed.
She could fast for two days if she had to.
She pulled up behind Nick and got out of her Jeep. Nick appeared beside her to wrestle her duffel bag out of the hatchback and carry it into the house.
A light turned on, spilling out of the cabin windows in a welcome-home glow. Piper stood on the porch, debating her options. The last thing she wanted was to be in close quarters with this man, especially if any of his foul mood
Something entered the old man’s eyes. Then he nodded, as if part of some internal conversation, turned back to his coffee, and took another sip. “Funny thing happened today,” he said to no one in particular.
Maggy ate her pie in silence.
“Thought I saw Nick Noble drive through town.”
If Piper could have asked fate for anything, it would be to not let Nick Noble accompany her into the middle of nowhere with the sun beginning to dip into the horizon and a lone bellow drifting from some forlorn place between the bluffs. She felt like she should be in the audience of a movie theater, her arms waving in warning as the victim drives away with the serial killer.
But at least this was better than sleeping in his bedroom. Talk about creepy.
What if Nick did recognize her? Not as Jimmy’s sister, but if he knew she’d staked him out in Wellesley only to appear here, that might start his detective wheels turning. Thankfully the little go-around with his sister had thrown him off. And good thing too, because just seeing those dark eyes had nearly stripped Piper’s thin veneer of courage.
Destroyed lives, huh? Apparently Jimmy’s life hadn’t been the first on the list of Nick Noble’s casualties.
And if she wasn’t very, very careful, Noble might have a chance at her. Not only did he exude a presence that unsettled her, but the way he watched her made her mouth turn to dust. As if he could see right through her, past her agenda, past her anger, and right to her scars and fear that lurked so deep she barely noticed them anymore.
Until, that is, she got around arrogant, bossy men.
Unlike Nick’s sister, Piper didn’t fall for his let-me-help plea for a nanosecond. So he used a voice that might make every woman within fifty miles want to believe him. Piper knew better—way better. She knew too much about men to believe a bully like Nick Noble might have a tender, even chivalrous, place inside him.
Okay, yes, something about the look of shame that crossed his face when his sister accused him of destroying lives had rattled her. As if . . . inside that intimidating exterior lived a man of honor.
In that moment Piper had felt like a snake. But she had only to remember that even her father had had his moments of tenderness to snap her back to her senses. She wouldn’t let her guard slip again. She could do this. Next time she got a glimpse of that shame, she’d turn it into an admittance of guilt, even a confession.
And she’d finally publicly brand Nick Noble an outlaw.
The pickup bumped at a slug’s pace as she followed along the rutted road to the lodge. The setting sun cast low shadows across the hills, and she felt a hint of chill creep into her Jeep and under her cable-knit sweater.
The hunting lodge sat in a hover of jack pines and a large honey locust. She felt an idiotic spurt of delight when she noticed its front porch, complete with a rocking chair overlooking a view of the Bighorn Mountains. Part of her apparently thought she might be on vacation instead of on a covert operation involving spatulas and cookpots.
But if she got near either, the jig would be up. She could barely make toast, and her oven in her two-bedroom condo hadn’t been used since the last tenant vacated two years ago. But she needed only a few hours alone with Nick to wheedle the truth from him. If he was a true cowboy, she’d simply bat her eyes and give him a c’mere smile, and he’d be running over himself to write her poetry and sing her a ballad. Two days, tops. No cooking needed.
She could fast for two days if she had to.
She pulled up behind Nick and got out of her Jeep. Nick appeared beside her to wrestle her duffel bag out of the hatchback and carry it into the house.
A light turned on, spilling out of the cabin windows in a welcome-home glow. Piper stood on the porch, debating her options. The last thing she wanted was to be in close quarters with this man, especially if any of his foul mood
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