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Meadow
IT HAD BEEN Afew weeks and we were still no closer to finding out when Jaron’s arraignment was. I understood that it took time but, in most cases, they were allowed to at least post bail. It wasn’t like his parents didn’t have the money. But this was different. He had been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Piper told us that he entered a guilty plea. That was a conversation I never wanted to experience again. Her cries and screams of anguish made me realize that what she and Jaron had, went far past just being a fling.
The mayor was out for blood. It didn’t matter that Brody was in the wrong and deserved everything that was handed to him. I saw Piper after the fact. I saw the results of Brody’s fists against her face and the aftermath of not getting what he wanted. Her torn clothes were a result of his rage.
It wasn’t fair that Jaron was put away because it was self-defense and he was protecting the woman he loved.
We didn’t know how long he was going to be in jail for but I just hoped that once he was out, both he and Piper could find that happiness they deserved.
It was a Friday night and Sunny and Shade allowed me to use their kitchen to get some baking done. I needed to bake a few dozen or so cookies for The Dove Project. Even though my mom had only requested the cookies, I decided to bake as much as I could. I was feeling strung out. Tanner hadn’t contacted me about coming to his club and for whatever reason that bothered me. It was like when the moment was right, he would strike, and I wouldn’t even see it coming. But he was right. Iwascurious and needed to know what he wanted but until he forced me to go to his club, the guys kept me within arm’s length.
Ringing jarred through my thoughts.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and saw that Piper was calling me. I hadn’t talked to her since that dreaded night. I only knew how she was doing after talking to my sister.
“Hey,” I answered, resting the phone between my ear and shoulder.
“Hi.” Her voice was hoarse like she had been crying for hours.
My heart thumped. God, it hurt for her. “This is going to be a really stupid question but how are you doing?”
“Honestly? I don’t even know. I feel numb. He saved me, Meadow. He saved me from getting…God, I can’t believe Brody almost…” Her breath hitched.
My eyes welled. I wasn’t an emotional person, and neither was she. I had been accused of being soulless before. Or having a black heart because nothing usually got to me. But this was different.
“I think all of us are shocked about that.” I leaned against the counter. “Have you talked to Jaron?”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “I was his first phone call.” She laughed lightly. “It’s funny because at first, I actually thought he hated me and now all of this happened.”
“Girl, that man loves you.” I scoffed. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Even when we were kids. Whatever you two have goes far beyond just love, Piper.”
“I…yeah, I don’t know. Listen, I should go though. I just wanted to keep you up to date. Or as up to date as possible anyway.” She quickly said goodbye and hung up after.
I stared at my phone, my heart aching for my friends. And Jaron’s parents. God, I couldn’t imagine what they were going through.
When I was about to go back to prepping some more cookies, a hard knock sounded at the front door.
Hesitating, I thought of just ignoring the visitor but when a knock on the door came again followed by the doorbell, I wondered if they knew I was there.
“Meadow,” a deep voice called out from the other side of the door. “I know you’re in there.”
Heading to the front door, I unlocked and opened it, finding my brother standing there. “Ryder? What are you doing here? And how did you find out where I was?”
“I talked to Gigi.” He pushed his way inside. “You’re baking?”
“Yeah.” I closed the door and locked it up before following him into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” As much as I loved my brother and I was happy to see him, this was random and odd, even for him. Ryder had been in the military for a while and was finally home on leave, but the military life was so ingrained in him that he was always on a schedule. And he definitely always contacted people before he made an appearance. Something was wrong.
“Ryder,” I repeated. “Not that I’m not happy to see you but you’re worrying me. This isn’t like you to just show up before calling or at least texting.”
Ryder pulled a beer from the fridge, popped the cap, and took a long swig. He finished off the whole bottle before tossing it in the recycling bin and grabbing another bottle from the fridge.
When he finished half of that one, he let out a hard sigh. “I’m sorry for just showing up. And I’m sure your guys are going to kick my ass, but something’s come up and I need your help.”
“My help?” I crossed my arms under my chest. “Why me? And not Dad?” It wasn’t like I could do anything. “And how do you know about my guys?”
“Gigi told me.” Ryder waved a hand in front of him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not a huge deal but I need you to pass on something to Mom.”
“What do you mean?” The sound of the front door opening a moment later, jarred through our conversation. “Stay here,” I told him and headed out into the hall.
