Page 6 of Kiwi

"Love you too."

The sun is starting to set as I pull into the driveway of my home. I smile when I see my dad standing on the porch, waiting for me. Promise is standing beside him with Jaxson on her hip. My heart melts at the sight of my baby brother. I park, and before I turn the car off, dad is at my door, pulling it open. And in the next second, I'm in his arms. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, Bean. You are determined to give your old man a heart attack."

I squeeze him back. "Good to see you too, dad."

Pulling back, dad flicks his steely gaze over me from head to toe, inspecting me. His eyes land on my hair with a grunt.

"What, you don't like it?" I give him a grin as I run my fingers through my locks.

"You're always beautiful, Bean." My dad's voice is soft. He leans down, kissing the top of my head.

"Oh my, god! Piper, you look fantastic! I'm digging the new you," Promise boasts as she comes bounding down the steps. Jaxson reaches for me, and I nearly burst with anticipation to have my brother in my arms.

"Come here, little man," I gush. Jaxson is the most adorable baby. "My goodness, you're getting so big!" I nuzzle my face into the crook of his neck, making him giggle. "I'm going to eat you up." I pretend to make chomping noises as I hold him up and blow raspberries onto his chubby tummy. All the while, my dad and Promise are looking at me with matching grins. "What?" I ask, smiling at them.

"You're a goof," dad teases. "Come on, let's go into the house and get ready."

I place Jaxson on my hip and follow dad and Promise. "Get ready for what?"

"We're takin' ya out to dinner."

"Okay. Let me shower and change first. I feel grimy after being on the road all day, and I have grease on my jeans from changing that tire."

I hand Jaxson off to my dad and don't miss the tick in his jaw at the mention of what happened earlier. I make a mental note not to bring it up again. I don't want him getting upset any more than he already is. What's done is done. At the end of the day, nothing happened. However, I'm not too fond of the thought of those men doing something like that to some other unsuspecting woman.

An hour later, I have showered and dried my hair, opting to wear it down in loose waves, and just finished applying a touch of mascara and my favorite red lipstick. Knowing dad will not take us anywhere fancy, I choose to wear a lacey, emerald green bodysuit, paired with skinny jeans. After slipping on some gold sandals, I make my way downstairs, where dad and Promise are waiting.

Together we load up into my dads' truck, and I climb into the backseat where Promise is strapping Jaxson into his car seat. I still can't believe how big he has gotten, and I feel like I've missed so much already. Sadness washes over me at the thought.

"I'm going to stop at the bar for a minute. I left some paperwork in the office," dad says from the cab of the truck as he pulls up in front of Twisted Throttle, the bar my Uncle Abel owns. My brow scrunches, wondering why the bar is empty. This time of night, the bar is usually packed.

Promise unbuckles her seatbelt. "I'm going to take Jaxson in and change his diaper real quick. Piper, do you want to wait in the truck, or come inside?"

I unbuckle as well and open the truck door. "I'll join you."