Seeing is Believing (11 page)

And sometimes the man in the flannel shirt who sat under the tree outside their trailer. He smiled at her and she knew he was what her mom called ‘good people.’ But he couldn’t help her because he was dead. He still had the rope around his neck.

He had never been in the trailer before, but today he was in front of the closet when she cracked it open and peered out. She gasped and fell back on her bottom but he just stood there, smiling until he turned into a woman, with a funny dress on and her hair wound on her head like the women who passed out church flyers, the ones her mom called ‘those goddamn Christians.’

Who are you? Piper asked her.

It scared her that the man was gone. Did all men leave? That’s what Mama always said. They loved you and they left you. Sometimes Piper wanted Mark to leave, but if he left, then she’d really be all alone with this lady who was frowning at her, her mouth moving like the fish down at the pet store. Her hands came out, bony and white, with torn and bloody fingernails, and reached for Piper’s neck. She swallowed a scream and tried to slam the door but it wouldn’t close and the fingers came closer and closer . . .

Piper sat up straight in bed, her heart racing. “Oh, my God,” she whispered out loud, sucking in air.

Rachel was standing at the foot of her bed again, and Piper wondered if that was why she had seen her in her dream, reaching for her. Curling her fingers around the sheet, she used her other hand to brush her hair back. She was covered in sweat, the fear still crawling over her skin like an army of ants. Why the hell had she dreamed about Mark? It had been years since he had invaded her nightmares.

Pushing back the sheet, she stood up on shaky legs, wondering what time it was. She’d been up late, wide-awake while Rachel had stared at her again and Piper had wished that Brady were in bed with her. She hadn’t fallen asleep until probably three in the morning. Normally she loved to stay at Shelby and Boston’s, but she was going to be happy to go home to the farm where there was no Rachel. Glancing at her phone, she saw it was after nine. The girls usually were up and running by seven.

Unnerved that no one had woken her up, she skirted Rachel without comment, yanked open the bedroom door, and rushed into the hallway in her pj’s. The smell of coffee brought her up short. She turned around and looked at the spirit, like she had any answers. Aware that she probably looked like complete ass, Piper jogged down the steps, worry clawing at her insides. The girls were her responsibility and she couldn’t believe she’d slept so late. The fear from her dream still clinging to her, she burst into the kitchen and came to a dead stop, stunned at what she saw.

Brady was in jeans and no shirt, flipping pancakes on the skillet. Coffee was brewing. The girls were standing on chairs on either side of him, hanging on to his every word and action. The smell of bacon sizzling on the stove mingled with the coffee, and it was a warm, cozy smell. The smell of family and lazy Sundays.

“Alright, now drop those chocolate chips there and it makes a pair of eyes for our teddy bear pancakes.”

Piper was speechless. Brady was making teddy bear pancakes for the girls. She’d swear she had never been so turned on by a man as she was right then, seeing his bare back and his tight butt, his voice sleepy, his words so cute and domestic.

“Sorry I slept so late,” she said, her heart rate finally starting to slow down now that she saw the girls were okay and now that the dream was receding.

Brady turned and smiled. “Looks like the lazy bum is up. Want some coffee?”

“Piper!” Lilly shrieked and almost fell off her chair when she turned to wave. “We’re making pancakes. And look—I’m taller than Brady.” She did a cheerleading routine that involved a heart-stopping leg kick. Heart stopping for Piper, anyway, when she pictured all the broken bones that might result from that chair flipping out from under her. Lilly didn’t seem concerned.

“Keep the cheers on the floor, okay?” Brady told her, expertly flipping a pancake. “No one wants to spend Sunday in the ER.”

Piper came over to the counter and gave Emily a hug as she peered around her at the pancake cooking on the griddle. Emily had carefully dropped her chips in. Lilly’s were crooked. But overall, they were quite adorable. “I’m impressed,” she told Brady. “You have hidden skills.”

“My stepmom used to make these all the time. You know, I think I owe her a big thank-you and maybe some flowers. She taught me everything I know about being decent, and I don’t think I’ve always appreciated her enough.” He pointed the spatula at Lilly. “Appreciate your mama.”

She giggled. “Duh.”

“I didn’t realize you were raised by your stepmom. I guess we have that in common. I owe a ton to Amanda.”

“Auntie Amanda isn’t your real mom?” Emily looked horrified. “I didn’t know that.”

“Duh,” Lilly said again. “She doesn’t look anything like Auntie Amanda.”

Well, that was true. She was no tall, willowy blonde. Trying not to be insulted by an eight-year-old, Piper said, “My mom died when I was seven. I was lucky that my dad married Amanda and she loved me just like I was hers.”

“I’m sorry your mom died,” Emily said, looking appropriately sad.

“Thanks.”

“Did your mom die, too, Brady?” Lilly asked, not looking particularly broken up about the possibility, just curious. She was more interested in shaking her booty from side to side.

“No. She moved away when I was two.”

The twins looked suitably horrified at the prospect. Piper hadn’t realized that’s what had happened, and she felt sympathy for Brady. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He just shrugged and plated the bears. “I don’t even remember living with her. She popped in and out over the years, then disappeared altogether by the time I was ten. Her loss, not mine. Girls, grab the syrup and some forks. Food’s up.”

Piper pulled out two coffee mugs and filled them both, needing to feel useful. She just felt off from her lousy night’s sleep. Maybe coffee would help.

As the girls ran around being busy, Brady leaned over and murmured, “I would love to kiss you right now you know that?”

“I would like that myself,” she said. She took a sip of her coffee and sighed.

“You okay? You look tired.”

“Bad dream. And Rachel standing at the end of my bed all night,” she told him in a low voice.

He frowned. “You should have let me know.”

Piper shrugged. What was he going to do about it? “She’s tenacious, I’ll give her that.”

“I wonder why she’s suddenly so interested in you?”

“I have no idea.” And at the moment she didn’t really care. She just wanted her to go away. As it was, she found herself warily glancing towards the parlor, sure Rachel was going to appear in the doorway.

“I think we should do a little research on her, along with the original Brady Stritmeyer.”

The thought made Piper uncomfortable and she wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because she just wanted the spirits to leave her alone so she could go back to pretending that she was a normal person who didn’t see ghosts. Or maybe she was afraid of what she might find. Or what might be asked of her.

She was the first to admit she didn’t like change. She’d had so much change in her early years that she liked stability, the same, reliable routine in her life. Yet in the past two days her world had been shaken like a snow globe. Some of it she had initiated herself, like going into Brady’s room and calling Mrs. Stritmeyer about rentals, but Rachel suddenly getting aggressive was not her doing. Not in any conscious way. She didn’t like it.

“I don’t imagine we’ll find a lot out,” she said. “That article we found was probably all there really is.” For some reason, she hoped that was all there was, and then she felt guilty for being so wimpy. What did she think was going to happen? She did want to help Rachel, but at the same time, she wanted to be left alone. It didn’t make her feel particularly good about herself.

“Come eat!” Lilly demanded, a huge bite of pancake on her fork, her mouth already crammed full.

“We’re getting our coffee,” Brady told the girls mildly, but instead of reaching for his coffee mug on the counter, he moved closer to Piper. “What was your bad dream about?”

“I don’t remember,” she lied, not wanting to tell him about her stepfather.

“You’re lying,” he told her. “But I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Piper stared into his green eyes and suddenly she thought maybe she could share her feelings. That he wouldn’t think she was pathetic or weird or clinging to the past. That he could reassure her that it was normal to have a dream about ghosts when one was standing at the bottom of her bed.

But before she could open her mouth and say anything, a voice from the doorway had her whipping her head around.

“Well, isn’t this a cozy Sunday morning,” Shelby said breezily.

“Mom!” Emily yelled and shoved her chair back with a screech.

Lilly quickly followed and in seconds Shelby was getting squeezed by her pj-clad daughters.

Piper stepped away from Brady, conscious of how close they had been standing, and well aware of how lousy she felt about sleeping with him in Shelby’s bed. She didn’t do things like that. Ever. She wasn’t impulsive. She wasn’t selfish. She always put everyone else’s feelings before her own, and she felt confused and off-kilter by her behavior, even more so now that Shelby and Boston were home. Piper knew she must look guilty, and, good gravy, she wasn’t wearing a bra. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Brady didn’t look uncomfortable. He casually put his hand on the small of her back as he reached around her for his own coffee. “Hey, Shel, how the heck are you? You’re home early.”

“Yes, we are,” Boston said from behind his wife, sounding less than happy about the situation. “Hey, girls.”

Shelby kissed the twins on the tops of their heads before they moved past her to hug their father. “I just missed home,” she said defensively. Walking over to Brady, she gave him a hard hug. “And I wanted to see you before you disappeared again for a decade.”

“It’s good to see you,” he said, tugging the back of her hair as he hugged her.

“Now put a shirt on for crying out loud,” Shelby said as she stepped back and looked at him.

“When did you get all prude?” he asked, clearly unperturbed.

“Don’t let her fool you. She’s not prude,” Boston said, cracking a grin.

“Honey!” Shelby didn’t deny it, though. “How were the girls?” she asked, turning to Piper. “I hope they were okay for you.”

“They were great, as always. We had fun on the farm yesterday.” Piper crossed her ankles, self-conscious in her pajamas. “I’m going to run upstairs and get dressed and give you all some time to catch up.”

“Did you eat? Sit down,” Shelby said, gesturing for her to take a chair. “Good Lord, you made teddy bear pancakes? I’m impressed.”

“Actually, Brady made them.”

“He did?” Shelby looked at her cousin in utter amazement.

“I’ll be back down in a second.” Piper bolted from the kitchen, wanting at least the protection a bra offered. She couldn’t shield herself entirely from prying eyes, but she could cover up her nipples.

As she headed for the stairs, she heard Lilly say, “Piper saw a spider and she screamed. We thought she was killed and we were
freaking
out.”

Piper had to admit she was freaking out just a little herself, and it wasn’t because of a hairy spider.

She felt like she had been playing house and Shelby had busted her.

Only once in her entire childhood had Piper taken more than she’d been told she could have. She had never been sneaky, had always been grateful for whatever she’d gotten. But her grandmother Willie was an excellent baker, and one time when Piper was about twelve, she had made a strawberry pie with the fruit from her garden. All morning Piper had been smelling the thick scent of ripe strawberries and sugar. When her grandmother told her she could have only one piece, Piper had inhaled it. Then sawed off a second sliver when Willie left the room to check on a napping Jack. When she had returned, Piper was caught with the piece halfway to her mouth.

She’d never felt so ashamed of herself, so ungrateful for everything she had, yet so mulish about it.

Until now.

* * *

BRADY DRANK HIS COFFEE, LEANING ON THE COUNTER,
and waited for the assault he knew was coming his way the minute Piper was out of earshot.

“Are you insane?” Shelby hissed at him, after telling her daughters to sit back down and finish their breakfast.

“What?” he asked mildly. “Since when does making pancakes qualify you for insanity?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.” Her eyes were flashing as she impatiently shoved her hair back off her forehead. “Why are you and Piper Tucker cuddling half-naked in my kitchen?”

Here they went. “You’re being ridiculous. We were not cuddling. We were making breakfast for your kids.” He, for one, was damn glad that Piper had come downstairs without a bra, though. It had been a hell of a view and made him all the more eager to get her alone in the house on Swallow Street. Though he’d just keep that thought to himself.

“Did you”—she made some frantic hand gesture—“with her?”

Brady smirked. “What? Play charades? No.” What had happened between him and Piper was not Shelby’s business.

“You know what I mean!”

Boston looked up from the table where he had sat down with the girls. “Leave it alone, Shel. This really isn’t the time or place.” His head tilted towards their daughters.

Shelby’s lips pursed as she clearly struggled to control her irritation. “You have some explaining to do later,” she told Brady.

There would be no conversation about any of this later. He didn’t answer to his cousin or to anyone. “I lost my job. That’s why I’m in town.” Change the subject. Dodge and weave. He’d learned that as a mischievous kid who was frequently in trouble.

Shelby drew up short. “What? Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

Brady shrugged. “It was a crap job anyway. The only regret I have is that my rent isn’t going to pay itself.”

“I’m sure you can find another job right away.” But she looked as doubtful as he felt.