Almost Just Friends Read online

  “He’s Emmitt’s son.”

  Jenna looked confused. “Emmitt . . .”

  “My neighbor. The guy who runs the marina.”

  Jenna’s smile faded. “Rowan’s brother?”

  “Yes. He’s a Coast Guard Reservist and with the DEA, though he’s on temporary leave from that at the moment.”

  “Okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight. You’re boning a sexy DEA slash military hottie, who happens to be the marina owner’s son . . .”

  “Oh my God, you’re a child.”

  “Just tell me you got some,” Jenna said. “Wait, never mind. If you had, you’d be smiling.”

  Jenna was her best friend, but how Piper felt about Cam was complicated. But he’d definitely made her smile . . .

  “What aren’t you telling me? Wait a second, are you suddenly smiling into the window?”

  “You can’t possibly see that.”

  “Maybe not, but I can hear it.”

  “I’m not smiling.” But she wanted to. “Look, there might’ve been a kiss.” Or two . . . “But that’s all I’m telling you.”

  “Shut up. No, don’t shut up! Tell me everything! You buried the lede! Did he throw you down on the bed and jump your bones? Oh my God, I want someone to throw me down on the bed and jump my bones!”

  “If a man threw me down on my bed,” Piper said dryly, “it’d better be followed up with him telling me to stay put because he’s going to clean the whole house for me.”

  This was a big fat lie. If she had Cam in her bed, they’d absolutely not be talking about cleaning.

  “You’re ruining the fantasy. Back up and start at the kiss.”

  “We’re done talking about this.”

  “Are you going to sleep with him?”

  Piper tossed up her hands. “What part of ‘we’re done talking about this’ don’t you get?”

  “Come on. If he’s only here for a couple of weeks, you need to hurry up and blow off some steam. Or just blow.”

  Piper laughed; she couldn’t help it. “You did not just say that.”

  “Look, he’s perfect for you. He’ll be gone before even you can screw up any real relationship with him.”

  Is that what she did?

  “Yes,” Jenna said, reading her mind. “It is. See Ryland as an example. He wanted more, you bailed. Also, you put everyone’s needs ahead of your own, making yourself the lowest priority. You need to stop, by the way. And you should also put that in your journal under your ridiculous list of rules for yourself.”

  “Shh,” Piper said, and turned up the radio connecting them to the scene of the accident. “They’re calling for another unit.”

  “That’ll be Noah and Sonya.”

  They both groaned at the name Sonya. She’d gone to school with them and was Jenna’s nemesis because she was dating Jenna’s ex, whom Jenna wasn’t over yet, though she wouldn’t admit that upon threat of dismemberment.

  At the intersection ahead, police were already working on handling the traffic and blocking off the scene. CJ was one of them. He and Piper had been friends for years now. Ever since he’d had his heart broken by Gavin years ago.

  Noah and Sonya’s rig came up beside theirs and they all hopped out. The four of them grabbed their gear and were directed by CJ to one of what looked like a three-car pileup.

  “Toyota ran a red,” he said. “T-boned a semi, which got rear-ended by the Ford. The Toyota spun off the semi, rolled a few times, and then slid into a pole. The truck driver made the call, says he’s uninjured, but has blood pouring down his face from a head wound.” He pointed to the guy sitting on the curb, being watched over by another cop. “The driver of the Ford took off. We’re in pursuit now. Firefighters are attempting to extract the guy in the Toyota, who’s alert and very chatty.”

  “Like DUI chatty?” Jenna asked.

  CJ touched the tip of his nose.

  “Divide and conquer,” Piper said.

  “Be careful,” CJ said, and she smiled at him.

  “Always.”

  Noah and Sonya headed to the trucker sitting on the curb. Piper and Jenna jogged over to the firefighters at the Toyota. It was Ryland and Xander. She’d gone to school with Xander, and Ryland . . . well, they were both professional enough to leave their past where it belonged. Both firefighters were working the jaws of life, trying to get the crumpled and clearly jammed driver’s door open. Inside was a male, early twenties, hanging upside down by his seat belt. He was yelling and swearing and waving his fists at what appeared to be the semi and the Ford.

  Chatty indeed.

  Xander and Ryland gave Piper and Jenna a chins-up greeting and kept working to free the guy. Piper bent low and cocked her head to the side to try to assess their patient. One, the inside of his car, even with the windows busted out, reeked like a brewery. Two, no blood that she could see. Which wasn’t to say he hadn’t been injured. She’d seen people walk away from car accidents thinking they were fine, only to collapse and die hours later from internal trauma.

  “Hey there,” she called out. “What’s your name?”

  “Suck it,” he yelled. “I’ve got my rights, you know.”

  “And what rights are those, sir?”

  “To be treated professionally and not like a criminal.”

  “That’s all we’re trying to do here. Are you in any pain?”

  “No, but you will be if you don’t get me outta here.”

  Both Xander and Ryland reacted to this with barely perceptible body language suggesting they were ready to subdue the guy once they freed him if needed. But neither would interfere with Jenna and Piper getting their jobs done unless it was deemed vitally necessary. It was a respect thing, and though Ryland might not respect the decisions of her heart, he absolutely respected her on the job and she appreciated that.

  “Get me the fuck outta here now!” the guy yelled.

  Piper looked at Jenna, who gave a tight smile. They usually ro-sham-bo’d for the shit jobs, and this one qualified, but it was Piper’s turn and they both knew it. She squatted low to get eye to eye with the driver. “Sir, we’re going to need you to cooperate so we can get you out of here, or—”

  “Or what, you won’t save my life? I’ll sue your ass, dead or alive!”

  Nice. But before she could respond, Xander and Ryland finally broke into the car. It took all four of them to get the guy out and subdue him, because it turned out he was also high as a kite, and whatever he was on had given him some serious superhuman strength.

  She felt completely done in by the time she got home after her third hellish twelve-hour shift that week.

  It was habit to bypass her house and head across the property to check on Emmitt. She jumped over the creek that was thankfully small again and knocked on the back door. As she waited, she flashed back to the other day, when they’d all had dinner together like they were a unit.

  But it wasn’t the memory of dinner that had butterflies taking flight in her stomach, or why she was suddenly starting to sweat. Nope, she knew exactly what was up and his name was Cam.

  No one answered, but she could hear talking, so she turned and followed the voices down to the marina and the lake, where she found Emmitt and Cam on one of the docked boats.

  Along with Winnie.

  Winnie was talking a mile a minute, and laughing too, and Piper stilled, feeling a little left out. Of everything. How long had it been since she’d seen her sister looking happy like that? She honestly couldn’t remember, and she knew if she intruded now, she’d ruin it.

  So she started to walk off, but Cam called her name. With a grimace, she turned back and found all eyes on her. “Hey,” she said, as casually as she could.

  Winnie waved with great cheer, which from experience Piper knew was mostly guilt. But what the heck could her little sister be feeling guilty about?

  Winnie rose and brushed a kiss to Emmitt’s cheek. “Thanks for the tips. I’m going to go get started right now.”

  “Started