Page 12 of Kiwi

5

Kiwi

I'm closing the tactical store early today. After my usual rounds, before locking up the store, I make one more sweep through the building before grabbing two bags of trash then walk out the front door. Dropping the plastic bags at my feet, I lock the door and set the alarm. Lifting the garbage, I stroll to the corner of the building, where my bike is parked, stopping briefly to toss the trash in the dumpster along the way. It's almost 7:00 pm. With my keys in hand, I swing my leg over my 1997 Heritage Softail Harley. The setting summer sun beats down on my back as I pull onto the street, ending the same as it began—hot. Figuring I should clean up a bit before heading to Nova's, I head home.

Thirty minutes later, I turn my bike down an old dirt road, lined with old pecan trees. I still find it hard to believe I pulled the trigger and bought a piece of land and a house. To be honest, staying in the States for as long as I have was never part of my plan. A couple of years at the least was how I imagined it would go after Riggs first offered me a haven. The cords in my neck tighten, thinking back at the reason I came to Louisiana in the first place. To this day, I think about the part I unknowingly played in my birth father's underground empire. The fact that his sorry arse is still alive, in hiding makes my blood boil. We still can't figure out how he managed to give Riggs and his team the slip during the nightclub's takedown that night. A few days after all hell broke loose, the FEDs raided his office building and his penthouse.

Rolling to a stop, I park my bike and head toward the front door. The moment it opens, a happy howl from Chance greets me. "How ya doin', boy." Kneeling, I give him scratches behind his ears. His tongue flops out the side of his mouth. "Who's a good boy?" Standing, I slap the side of my leg and head for the kitchen. Chance may not have use of his back legs, but he keeps a steady pace at my side. Tossing my keys on the counter, I lift the lid of the treat jar, then throw a peanut butter dog biscuit in the air. Catching it, Chance follows me on my way to the bedroom. He totes his treat to his dog bed, where he hides it under an old flannel shirt he confiscated the first week I brought him home.

About two weeks of being alone in this house, I decided what I needed was a dog. For the longest time, I laid my head at the clubhouse. For the years I've been in New Orleans, it was my home, and with the girls staying there and the other guys coming and going, I always had company.

Remembering the vet Piper worked for before leaving for college, I decided to swing by there first before hitting the local animal shelters. From what Piper mentioned in the past, Dr. Channing was always receiving strays. I chuckle to myself when I think back at all the times Piper tried talking Nova or one of the other guys into keeping yet another animal. Piper has the most caring heart. From the moment she started working at the clinic, Piper was on a mission. Birds, dogs, cats, turtles—you name it, she was determined to rescue them and find them all homes. Chance watches my every move as I strip from my sweat-soaked clothes. Once Dr. Channing introduced Chance and me, I knew I was taking him home. It was him being paralyzed, which made finding him a forever home difficult. Few people were willing to adopt a dog with special needs. I don't understand why. Chance's disability doesn't seem to slow him down. His perseverance and lovable nature were all I saw, and I couldn't ask for a better friend to come home to at the end of the day.

Walking into my small bathroom, I reach into the shower, turning on the water. It doesn't take long for steam to fill the room, fogging up the mirror over the sink. Chance settles down on the bathroom rug as I step into the tub. It's hot as hell outside, but the heat from the water as it pelts my skin feels good and begins to relax my muscles. Why did I agree to dinner? Why this time, out of so many others, am I finding myself reluctant to sit at my brother's table? Maybe because ever since Piper walked through the door of the bar, all grown up, I've done nothing but think about her. Not once in my life have I been consumed with thoughts of a woman. And, as much as I keep telling myself Piper is a woman, I'm also conflicted with the fact I have watched her grow from a child into the woman she is now. Not to mention, first and foremost, Nova is my brother, making her off-limits. Beads of water roll down my face as I replay how Piper looked at me and how her body felt against mine during our embrace the other night. I swear nothing has ever felt so right. Rolling my head, I try to work out the tension in my neck and shoulders.

My Mum's words come to mind as I battle my emotions. "Everyone's journey is different. Sometimes the road is long—sometimes it's not. Eventually, we end up where we are meant to be, and with the person we are destined to share our life with. Trust the journey, even when it doesn't go your way. Even when it hurts, the secret is never to give up."

I feel my soul grasping at her words now more than ever. In a perfect world, wanting Piper and having her be mine would be as simple as taking a breath of air. But perfection is not my reality. Pursuing Piper has consequences. Forcing those thoughts aside, I finish with my shower, take care of a few house chores, then get on my bike and ride.

A short time later, I'm pulling up outside Nova's home. The smell of food cooking on the grill wafts in the air as I park my bike. Pocketing my keys, I stride toward the backside of the house where music and laughter are coming from. I find Nova manning the steaks on the grill, Promise sitting at the patio table beneath the umbrella with their son Jaxson bouncing on her lap, and Piper swimming laps in the pool Nova had put in a few months ago. I force myself to look away.

"Hey, brother. I was beginning to think you decide to skip out on us tonight." Nova spots me as I walk onto the deck. Reaching down, he flips open the cooler at his feet and lifts a cold beer from the ice.

"Since when have I turned down a free meal?" I smirk as Nova hands the longneck bottle to me. "Thanks, mate." I pop the top off with the ring on my finger and take a long swig.

"Kiwi," the sound of Piper calling my name has me turning my head. She waves at me, smiling as she emerges from the pool wearing a crimson red bikini, showing off all her curves. Snatching a towel from a lounge chair, she walks in my direction.

I swallow hard, trying like hell to keep my cool around my brother. "How's it going?" I answer Piper.

"I almost didn't think you were coming." Piper mimics what her dad just said, then plops down in a chair beside Promise. Her baby brother instantly reaches for her, and she gladly takes him.

"I had to swing by my house first."

Piper looks at me, and her jaw drops. "Did you say your house?"

I grin. "Sure did."

"You never mentioned you bought a house." She seems shocked, and maybe a little hurt by the fact I never told her about it. Not even when she came home to visit did I tell her about it. I mean, she's been wrapped up in college life. Buying a house is no big deal.

"I closed on it almost a month after you left for school," I tell her.

"How are the repairs comin' along?" Nova asks.

I take a drink of my beer. "Slow. I swear I don't know what I was thinking when I bid on the place." I keep stealing glances at Piper, my eyes drinking in the curves of her breasts.

"Piper, do you mind helping me with Jaxson while I set the table for dinner?" Promise asks. Piper, who is staring at me, tears her eyes away to answer.

"Sure," she gives Promise a weak smile. With her brother in her arms, Piper follows Promise inside.

Nova reaches for a tray sitting on the patio table. "I've been meaning to ask if you've checked in on the Thibodeaux brothers." He takes the perfectly cooked ribeyes off the grill.

"I gave the old man, by the way, his name is Otis, a call early this morning. He says there haven't been any signs of the assholes since the other day."

"Good." Then Nova chuckles. "That was the first time in my life I've seen a broken dick." He shakes his head and closes the grill lid. "Never want to see one again."

"The fucker reached for his gun. Since I was told not to kill him, I stomped the fucker on the dick." I chuckle a little myself.

"Well, the bastard is goin' to be pissing sideways for the rest of his life." With the tray in his hands, Nova turns toward the back door. "Grab us another beer." He walks inside and I follow behind.