WHEN PIPER WALKED into the house after another long shift at work, she heard voices in the kitchen. It’d been a good day in spite of the long hours. She’d delivered a baby at a rest stop off Highway 46. And then a woman they’d helped last week during a heart attack had brought them cookies. They’d been gluten free, sugar free, and dairy free, but still. They’d been cookies. Plus, she’d heard back about her application to the University of Colorado. She’d been accepted, and could start with their next program in six weeks. All she had to do was figure out how to get either her siblings okay with the sale of the property, or . . . rob a bank.

But since those were both unlikely scenarios, she’d spent a good deal of time thinking about her options, and hedging her bets.

She wished Cam was back. She’d sneak into his bed and rock both of their worlds until thinking too hard wasn’t an option. That would help solve everything, for sure. As she walked through the living room toward the kitchen, the voices became clearer.

“I can’t tell her now, I waited too long,” Winnie said.

Piper stopped in her tracks. God, what now? She couldn’t imagine, but from experience knew it would be bad.

It always was.

“Waited too long to tell me what?” she asked, feeling a shock go through her when she realized Cam was also there. “You’re back.”

“Just got here.” He pushed off from the counter he’d been leaning against and came close, during which time her eyes soaked up the sight of him hungrily, but also taking inventory to make sure he was okay. He wore loose, ripped-up jeans and a T-shirt, and a layer of exhaustion that showed in his eyes. She tugged him into the hallway and looked him over very carefully. No obvious injuries.

“You’re okay?”

He nodded.

“You sure?” she asked. She’d been so worried, and now that he was here, looking whole, she was having trouble processing and letting go of the stress of it all.

“Hey, you’re shaking. Come here.” He pulled her in close.

She pressed her face into the crook of his neck. “Just adrenaline letdown. Are you sure, Cam?”

“Piper,” he breathed, resting his cheek against her hair.

Okay, so he was sure. “I know it’s annoying to be asked if you’re okay,” she said, “but I can’t help myself because . . . apparently I’m not okay. I’m not, and I don’t know how to be.”

He tightened his grip on her. “I know.”

She inhaled him like he was a bucket of double-buttered popcorn. Only he was better than a bucket of double-buttered popcorn, even the jumbo size. “A part of me doesn’t know how to deal with how well you know me,” she admitted.