AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Piper sighed and put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Kitty."
"What's going on? How can I help?"
"It's nothing?—"
"You little liar. I've had enough of that crap, and I'm not tolerating it from you."
Piper couldn’t help but grin. "What crap is that?"
"Not asking for help. For heaven's sake, Piper, women support women. Do you know how many women I've supported trying tomake it in the music business? I started my own label run by women and signing only women artists, because women need to support women. So, this isn't about Declan, or your pride. It's about you. Talk to me, and don't leave anything out."
Piper paused. "You started your own record label?"
"Of course I did. You think I'm going to sit around and be old and bored? No chance. Talk to me."
"I'm not trying to become a singer."
"One more smart-ass comment from you, and I'm coming over there and moving into your guest bedroom for the summer. You want that? No? Then talk."
Piper started laughing. Kitty had all the boldness and fierceness that Piper and her mom had always pretended they had. Her mom would have loved Kitty. "All right, but don't judge me."
"I've already judged you. Too late for that. And since I'm talking to you, you know what my conclusion is. So, what's up, buttercup? Give this old lady a purpose."
Piper felt hope for the first time in a long time. Kitty was everything she'd dreamed of being. A woman who had found her power, unapologetically. "All right, Kitty. Let's do this."
"Amen, girl. Let's go."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Two hours later, Declan was sitting at the empty bar at the country club, watching as Piper and his mom chatted over breakfast with some women that his mom knew.
It had taken his mom less than an hour to come up with a suitable potential client for Piper, as he'd expected. She'd brokered the intro, and now she was sitting back, arms folded, looking very pleased with herself.
His mom looked across the room at him, then winked. He grinned and raised his bottle of water to her.
At that moment, his phone rang. He pulled it out, and saw it was Dylan Hart. He immediately answered, watching Piper as he spoke. "Declan here."
"It's Dylan. I've sent people scrambling to track down Dick. His record is spotless. He may pay someone money to keep it clean, or he may be one of those guys who keeps his bastard side hidden inside his own family."
Declan relaxed his shoulders slightly. "You don't think he'll come after Piper?"
"I didn't say that. I said we can't find any evidence to indicate he will, but as we both know, some monsters hide in plain sightand no one knows. What about you? Did your contacts come up with anything?"
"I haven't heard back yet."
"All right. I'm going to send some folks to set up shop with Tori and Keira for the next few days so they don't have to stay in the hotel with Lucas and Maddie." Dylan paused. "If you bring Piper to our ranch, we can guarantee her safety."
Declan watched Piper lean in to speak with the bride and her mother. Piper's excitement was so genuine and infectious…and suddenly he realized that the wedding planner dream might have been the one created by Piper and her mom, but it was now fully in Piper's heart.
She cared so much about making these women's dreams come true. He could see it in every move of her hands, her smile, the way her face lit up. This was her zone of genius, her gift. She was gorgeous while she was talking, because her spirit lit her up.
Damn. She had to do this.
"Declan? You there?"
He forced himself to turn away so he could focus on Dylan. "Piper won't hide. She's in the middle of a crisis with her business. She can't walk away."
Dylan laughed softly. "I get that. You good to stay with her for now?"
