“I know, I know. You’re just trying to help.” Emmitt turned a few pages in her journal, and before she could reach to take it back, his brows shot up so far they vanished beneath his hairline. “‘Top Secret Secret Bucket List.’ Nice.” He flipped another page. “And a list of personal rules.” He started to skim them, smiling.

Piper snatched the journal and shoved it back into her pocket. “You did not just see that.”

“What’s it worth to you? How about a day of skipping testing my blood sugar?”

“You’d bribe your medic?”

“I’d bribe God if I could.” He took in her expression and sighed. “Fine, I get it. And thank you. I’ll work on things, I promise.”

“You really need to, Emmitt. Your blood sugar has got to be more stable.”

“It’s not all my fault.”

“No? Do tell,” she said.

“I’ve been eating like shit for fifty-five years, and it’s a known fact that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“Can I teach the old dog to want to live for his family?” she asked.

Emmitt’s eyes cut to Cam. The two men exchanged a long look that had so many tangled emotions behind it, Piper couldn’t even begin to interpret it.

“I’ll work harder on it,” Emmitt finally said.

“Good.” She patted a kitchen chair and he sank into it. She checked his blood pressure, pulse, and blood sugar, all while avoiding looking at the elephant in the room.

The sexy, mysterious, and easy-on-the-eyes, dangerous elephant.

“He okay?” that elephant asked.

“He will be.” She locked gazes with Emmitt. “If he behaves himself.”

“Well, now, where’s the fun in that?” Emmitt asked, flashing another of his charming grins, and in that moment Piper knew exactly where Camden Hayes had gotten his irresistible charisma.

Chapter 3

“Fear isn’t a productive emotion.”

It wasn’t all that often that Cam Hayes mentally thanked the Coast Guard for his training, and given that he’d been with them since he was eighteen, being pushed to be the best he could be, there’d been a helluva lot of training. It wasn’t just weapons and physical fitness either, though that was a big part of it. Reading a situation quickly and efficiently was as important, and as ingrained, as breathing.

Piper was clearly off-balance. He attributed this to the storm, but also to him. This wasn’t ego talking; it was fact. Because he was just as off-balance.

Her name suited her. She was different. She was a quick thinker, fiercely protective of those she cared about, and—his personal favorite—also a smart-ass. “Tell me about the diabetes.”

“You really didn’t know?” Her censure was clear. She didn’t approve of him being distant enough to not know.

He didn’t approve either.