Almost Just Friends Read online

  “So that’s a yes, then,” Gavin said. He stood and turned to go.

  Shit. “No,” he said to the guy’s back. “I’m not going to break your sister’s heart.” She might, however, break his . . .

  Gavin turned around as if he couldn’t quite believe what Cam was saying. Frankly, Cam couldn’t believe it either.

  “We did not have this conversation.”

  Gavin nodded, respect in his gaze, attitude gone. He nodded toward the laptop. “I could definitely take over the bookkeeping. Shouldn’t be more than a few hours a week, and I could use the extra money.” He paused. “And if we’re divulging things that we haven’t said out loud and that are scary as fuck, you should know that I’m hoping to talk Piper into turning the property into a B and B. By renting out the cottages and using the bottom floor of the big house to serve breakfasts to guests, we’d all have some relatively easy income.”

  “Have this conversation with her soon, Gavin.”

  “I will.” He looked at the mess of paperwork on the desk. “Want me to start now?”

  “God, yes. But tomorrow’s fine.”

  They spent a few more minutes together, with Cam handing over everything Gavin would need, hoping he was doing the right thing by Piper. By all of them.

  After, Cam walked up the hill to his dad’s back deck and found a couple of steaks on the barbeque, which he knew for damn sure weren’t on his dad’s list of acceptable foods. He headed into the kitchen via the back door and found his dad making out with some woman up against the refrigerator.

  Cam slapped a hand over his eyes, which heightened his sense of hearing, and what he heard was clothing being quickly rearranged. “Are you kidding me?”

  Emmitt cleared his throat. “Son, this is Margaret. She’s a librarian. Runs the Books on Wheels van.”

  “Nice to meet you,” said Margaret, a pretty, redheaded, fiftyish woman who was flushed and breathless.

  Her blouse wasn’t properly buttoned but Cam would die before mentioning it. He did his best to hold eye contact as she offered him a hand to shake. “You too,” he murmured, giving his dad a look when Margaret scurried to the oven to pull out cupcakes.

  She smiled at Cam. “Honey, do you like cupcakes?”

  “My dad’s diabetic. He’s on a low-sugar, low-fat diet.”

  Margaret looked horrified. “So . . . you don’t like cupcakes?”

  Cam looked at his dad, who had the good grace to grimace.

  “Today’s a cheat day,” Emmitt said.

  “Dad, we need to talk.” Cam gestured toward the living room.

  His dad grinned at Margaret. “I think I’m in trouble.”

  “I love trouble,” Margaret said, and gave him a wink.

  In the living room, Cam rubbed the bridge of his nose where a headache was forming.

  “I just realized why kids are considered great birth control,” his dad said mildly, following him in.

  “Dad, you’re not taking your health seriously.”

  “Of course I am. Sex is good for you.”

  Cam squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re about to eat a whole bunch of red meat, and then have cupcakes filled with fat and sugar. And just to remind you, this baby that’s coming has already lost her dad.”

  Emmitt’s face went solemn. “Or he. He already lost his dad.”

  “Either way, they’re going to need you.”

  “So what the hell am I supposed to eat?”

  “You already know this,” Cam said. “You’ve got a list. You can eat anything we just bought at the store. Salmon, chicken, vegetables—”

  “Ugh. Fine.” His dad started back into the kitchen. “Oh, and you might want to wear earplugs to bed tonight. Unless getting lucky is also against the rules.”

  Cam just stared at him.

  “By getting lucky, I mean having sex. In case you needed that spelled out.”

  And to think, he’d left war zones to be here. Right about now, he’d prefer a good fire fight to this. “Dad, for future reference, I never need it spelled out.” Cam followed him back into the kitchen, nodded politely at Margaret, and then grabbed the gallon of ice cream from the freezer.

  “Hey,” his dad said. “That’s mine.”

  “You can’t have ice cream anymore, remember? We bought you coconut sorbet as a replacement.” Next Cam went into the fridge and took out the bottle of chocolate syrup.

  “I know what people do with that,” his dad said. “And, nice. You getting lucky too?”

  Margaret winked at his dad, and Cam threw up in his mouth a little bit. “It’s for dessert.”

  “Ah. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

  Cam decided walking away was for everyone’s safety. A few minutes later, he knocked at the house next door, but no one answered. Probably because the occupants were yelling at each other. Loudly. So he let himself in and followed the commotion to the kitchen.

  “It was just a charger,” Gavin was saying.

  “It was my last phone charger,” Piper said. “And you didn’t even ask.”

  “Remember that time I cut myself with the pocketknife you gave me for Christmas?” Gavin asked. “And the doctor thought I needed a blood transfusion? You were willing to give me your blood that day, remember? And now you can’t even give me a charger?”

  “I’d give you my blood and my charger,” Winnie interjected. “But I lost my charger. I also lost my phone, so . . .”

  Gavin looked at her. “Again?”

  “Do you want to die?”

  Piper growled at them both and tossed up her hands.

  Cam opened his mouth to announce his presence, but right then Gavin cleared his throat and spoke first, quickly and a little breathlessly, like he had to get it out fast or not at all. “Speaking of blood and chargers.” He looked at Piper. “I, uh, lied when I told you I was on vacation from the IT job. I’m not on vacation. I’m on extended leave.” He paused. “No, wait. That’s a lie too. Sorry, bad habit.” He shook his head. “After the DUI, I got fired. And then I went to rehab. I’ve been out for six months, but I haven’t been able to get another job that makes enough to support myself.” He spread his arms out a little. “So . . . here I am, and I realize I need to make amends to you. I’m sorry I lied. Or omitted. I’m sorrier than I can say. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Utter silence.

  Cam took a step back to give them privacy. Flying under the radar was definitely the way to go, and he turned to leave, but that’s when Piper saw him.

  So did Gavin, who seemed hugely relieved. “Oh, good. Someone not related to me, and you’ve got chocolate.” He turned to Piper. “Before you kill me, you should know that I’ve been hired by Cam to handle the marina books. So if you kill me, you’ll screw over Cam and Emmitt.”

  So much for flying under the radar.

  Chapter 13

  “Wanting to kill each other is sort of the definition of being siblings.”

  Piper was reeling. She was aware of Cam standing there, and that a part of her recognized him as both someone to be careful with and an ally, but she didn’t take her eyes off Gavin. Couldn’t. “What did you just say?”

  “That Cam hired me.”

  “Before that,” she said tightly. “What did you say before that?”

  Gavin lost the smile and let out a long breath. “Please don’t ask me to say it again. It was hard enough the first time.”

  “But . . .” She shook her head. “Rehab? For what?”

  “Remember when I broke my wrist a few years ago? They gave me a bunch of pain meds.”

  “Yes,” she said slowly, her mind doing the opposite and going a hundred fifty miles per hour. “The same ones Winnie had been given the year before for her appendectomy. And me for my sprained ankle.”

  “I know. I stole Winnie’s leftovers because I couldn’t find any more and I needed them.”

  Sadness and worry joined her fear and panic. “Oh, Gavin,” she whispered. “Two years ago? You’ve been tak