Chapter 19
Ian checkedhis slicked back hair in the rearview mirror making sure it wasn't ruffled into porcupine quills by the ride over with the windows down. Picking up the bouquet of mixed flower's he'd bought from the limited selection on hand at the small florist on the town square, he exited the car.
This should be interesting. He'd invited himself to dinner at the MacKenzie house. If the weird cousin could be here, so could he. After all, he was protecting the host. And if the host's daughter happened to be the love of his life…well, that was just the cherry on top.
Piper answered the door in a sweet little sky blue summer dress with narrow shoulder straps and silver colored sandals. She also had her hair pulled up into that distractingly messy topknot she'd sported previously.
She took one look at Ian and his flowers and called over her shoulder, "Daddy. Ian's here to see you." And left him standing on the porch.
He fumed in silence. So that was the way she wanted to play it. Well, he could play her game. Then, Matt MacKenzie stood in front of him, with the screen door between them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in an annoyed voice. "I thought I told you to stay away from Piper."
Ian'd had enough. "You hired me to protect you. Sir. And I need to be in close proximity to do that job well. That's why I'm here."
Matt looked at the flowers in his hand. "And you brought flowers to my daughter as cover for your mission?"
"Now that you put it that way, that's not a bad cover."
Matt's shoulders went back. "Now wait just a minute here. You arenotgoing to use my daughter for any cover story. I thought your cover story is you're visiting your mama."
Ian maintained his calm demeanor, but his voice had a hard edge to it. "If you keep raising your voice like this, Piper is going to know all about my real mission. So, if you want to keep it a secret, I suggest you let me in." He reached for the handle on the screen door. "I promise you I have no intention of hurting, Piper."
"Your promise means nothing. You broke her heart ten years ago."
Ian took a deep, calming breath. "Sir. With all due respect. Piper told me she wouldn't leave Mercy with me when I asked her to marry me ten years ago. So some of that falls on her shoulders. And I had to go. There was no way I could pursue my goal of becoming a Navy fighter pilot without leaving."
With ill grace, Matt stepped away from the door. "Come in, then. If you're hell bent on having dinner here tonight."
Round one to him, Ian thought.
As he stepped into the dining room, he saw that the cousin was already seated at the antique table. Ian placed the flowers he'd brought on the matching sideboard and seated himself on the opposite side of the table from Jason.
A worn antique Aubusson rug rested under his feet, covering most of the hardwood floor in the room. An antique chandelier dripped crystal from the ceiling. He remembered it all well from his days having dinner with Piper and her parents so long ago. Piper's mama had been a debutante and determined that her own daughter would grow up with the same rituals and manners.
He noticed Piper giving him a look down her nose. So much for classy manners. Apparently he was back on the shit list for some unknown reason. Two steps forward, one step back.
On the table sat a roast with potatoes and carrots on a platter along with a plate of dinner rolls and a cut glass pitcher of tea.
Piper silently handed him a plate she had sitting next to her own. He grinned. She must have known he would win his way in here tonight. Satisfied with this much for now, he waited for Matt to pass the platter with the roast to get serving started.
Helping himself to generous portions of all of it, he tucked in. The roast melted in his mouth.
"Did you cook dinner, Piper?" He asked.
"If you want to call it that, I did. I threw the meat and vegetables into the crock pot to cook all day and browned the rolls in the oven."
Matt said, "Piper's too busy with her work to do a lot of cooking. And it doesn't make sense for her to cook big meals regularly, anyway, since it's just the two of us now." He tucked into his own plate with gusto.
Ian ventured a look across the table at Jason who was sitting quietly, eating his food and observing the interplay between all of them.
