Page 104 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

Chapter Thirty-Three

PIPER

Church-On-Sunday Silent

Rain pounded against the roof of my apartment like someone was dropping bricks from the sky. Wind screamed through the sliding glass door as I grabbed my waterproof coat and raced down the hallway and outside.

The P&P was only a block away, but my T-shirt and jeans were plastered to my body by the time I swept in the door a few minutes before we were due to open for the day. Tessa rushed toward me with one of the towels we used at the coffee bar. ‘Here, it’s clean.’

I ran it down the length of my dripping ponytail. A loud boom of thunder shook the windows.

‘Shit,’ Tess shrieked.

‘The sky is a pissed-off shade of black,’ I said. ‘That storm is growing angrier by the minute. As I was rushing here, the chalkboard sign in front of Followes Music got carried away in the wind, and the trees in front of the town hall were bent sideways.’

‘The store should be quiet today. No one wants to be out in this.’

I ran the towel down my hair again. A second later, Torran burst through the door. A black umbrella dangled from her fingertips, its frame snapped like an old skeleton.

‘Where have you been?’ I asked.

‘At the bridal shop.’ Torran shook out her wet hair and slumped into an oversized armchair. I handed her my towel and Tessa grimaced like she was sure her sister was going to soak straight through the upholstery.

‘Final fitting before the wedding this weekend, or should I say reconstruction considering this little nugget.’

The way she lovingly patted her stomach made me smile.

‘How about some hot tea to warm you up?’

I walked across the room to the coffee bar. Along the counter sat eight oversized glass jars containing various types of tea. Next to them were four large industrial coffee servers, one of which was always reserved for hot water.

‘I’ll make you peppermint,’ I said, sliding one of the glass containers across the antique hutch Manny had restored specifically for Tessa. It struck me what an incredible act of love it was. How before they’d gotten together, he showed her how he felt in small but thoughtful ways. It was hard not to think about Ford. How he’d been so gentle with me the day I’d had my panic attack on the bench outside the clinic.

If I closed my eyes, I could still sense the press of his fingertips against my back. The way his soft voice soothed the beat of my raging heart. His smile when he called me that ridiculous nickname that I now loved more than I could have ever imagined.

‘No, I want Earl Grey,’ Torran called out.

‘Ford told me you should lay off the caffeine.’

She shot me a look that said if I didn’t give her what she wanted, she’d stomp behind the bar and do it herself.

‘Speaking of Ford.’ Tessa sat on a leather stool at the counter. ‘He’s been gone for what, three weeks now? How’s he settling back in?’

I focused on the tea steeping in front of me. He’d texted me once to let me know he’d arrived safely. We’d tried to schedule calls or FaceTime but with our work hours and the time difference we kept missing each other.

‘Pipe, did you hear me? Everything all right with you?’ Tessa had a way of dipping her voice in a motherly way, which made it impossible to lie to her.

‘No, dammit,’ I said as more of a hiss than an answer.

She quirked a reddish-brown brow at me. Torran pushed off the chair and scrambled toward us. ‘This I want to hear.’

The wind continued to bellow outside, shearing burnt-orange leaves from the trees. Rain smacked against the windows in thick, repetitive thuds.

The two of them stared at me, waiting for an answer. May as well tell them what a dumbass I’d been.

‘Ford and I are complicated. When we started seeing each other, I made him agree to an iron-clad deal.’

‘What kind of deal?’ Torran said, awkwardly sliding her body onto the stool next to Tessa.