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Dylan nodded, and then felt a hand on his shoulder.
“I need to talk to you.” Joe nudged him across the room away from the others. “I’m not saying sorry for hitting you. You deserved it.”
“I don’t expect you to, and likely it’s me who should, but at the time I reacted without thinking.”
“Likely it is. My cousin is a good person, Dylan, and deserved your belief in her, especially considering what’s between you two.”
Piper’s eyes were on the whiteboard; he knew this because he hadn’t taken his off her since she walked in the room.
“She’s hurting, and angry, and if there’s one thing I know about my cousin it’s that she can hold on to anger better than most.”
“I’m not used to this, Joe.” Dylan went for honesty. “Coming back to Ryker has been like an emotional roller coaster for me, and I handled things badly today.”
“Yeah, it’s the whole friends-in-your-face thing here, and the harder you fight it the harder they push.”
Joe didn’t look quite so angry now.
“I really am sorry, for what it’s worth. You and your family have been nothing but kind to me since I arrived.”
“Do you still believe her capable of poisoning your mom?”
Did he?
“No, but you have to remember that I deal in facts, and the evidence suggests it was her, so it took me a while to believe otherwise.”
“My cousin’s important to me, Dylan, so when she’s hurting, I am. What you did today rocked her because she cares deeply for you, and she wouldn’t do that without believing you’re a good man. Today, in Pip’s mind, you proved her wrong.”
“I didn’t come here for this. I came to see my dad, and all the rest happened.”
“Well take my word on this, bud, there’s no going back now. So let’s get this shit cleared away, and then you can grovel to my cousin. But,” Joe raised a hand, “only if you’re serious about her. Otherwise, let her keep hating on you.”
Dylan watched as Piper flicked her hair behind her shoulder. He felt something strong for this woman, but was it love? It had to be, because he’d never in his life experienced the pain he did today when he thought she’d lied to him.
He loved Piper Trainer.The thought was so foreign he wasn’t entirely sure what to do about the knowledge. Dylan started walking in her direction.
“Piper, can I have a word, please?”
She turned to face him, eyes flashing. “No. I have nothing to say to you except that I’m retracting what I said to you, and now all that matters is getting my name cleared.”
“What did you say to him?” Jack asked, his eyes going from Piper to Dylan.
“Can you give us a minute?” Dylan looked to her cousins, who all nodded. Piper, however, shook her head.
“I don’t have anything more to say to you, and once this is done with, I don’t want to see you again.”
She walked away from him then to join his sister.
“You deserved that,” Luke said. “But my guess is that whatever is between you runs deep.”
“It does,” he acknowledged, because the time for hiding was done. Dylan just hoped when the smoke cleared that Piper would speak to him again, because now he’d acknowledged what she meant to him, he wasn’t walking away.
Chapter 35
Two things happened the day after Dylan had broken Piper’s heart... supposedly, because surely if you loved someone you’d forgive them, or at least talk to them when they tried to explain why they acted like they did. But not her, she’d cut him out completely. It was like he didn’t exist anymore as far as Piper Trainer was concerned.
Ava came home from hospital, and agreed to speak with someone about her drug problem.
“Zander told me it was the right thing to do.”
