“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Jenna said. “In the end, Gavin and Winnie managed to figure out how to get you the money to go back to school and still keep the property.”

“Without my input or knowledge, even though I’m one-third owner of this property.”

“Okay, they should have told you, but they did a great thing, Piper. Don’t lose perspective on that.”

“Cam helped.”

“Wow, what a bastard.”

Piper sighed. “You’re not taking this seriously.”

“Piper, they worked together to give you everything you wanted. What’s so wrong about that? Unless . . .”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you’re afraid.”

Piper squeezed her eyes shut tight. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Yes, I imagine you do. It’s probably annoying hearing that you’re sabotaging your own happiness to prove your deepest fears are true—that no one could possibly love you for you. Which of course is ridiculous since we’re all lining up to love you. You can hang up on me now.”

So that’s what she did.

Chapter 28

“You know exactly who you are.”

Piper finally left the lake, but she didn’t go home. She went to town and straight to the Whiskey River, because sometimes a girl needed a damn drink.

Boomer took one look at her face and made her a Shirley Temple.

Any other day she would’ve laughed, but this time, now, she was horrified to find her eyes fill with tears.

“Oh, shit.” Boomer brought out a box of tissues from beneath the bar and set it in front of her. “Sucky day, huh?”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“Works for me.” He brought her a bowl of peanuts and pretzels.

She stuffed her face for a few minutes and sighed. “Men suck.”

“No arguments there. It’s a genetic defect, I’m pretty sure. Want me to beat him up for you?”

“No.”

“Good, because honestly, I don’t think I could. He’s pretty badass. Rumor is that on his last mission, his unit took out an entire terrorist cell hiding in the waters off South America, where they were planning attacks on our allies.”

She downed her drink. Whether that was accurate or not, she knew the truth was probably even more heroic. “I’ve got this,” she said.

“Do you?” Boomer asked doubtfully.

“Hey, as my bartender, you’re supposed to bolster my confidence.”

“Sorry. You’re right. You’ve got this.”

Not so sure, she left the bar and went to Emmitt’s. The boat was back, but no Cam in sight. Emmitt wasn’t home either.

So she’d do what she knew Cam would do for her. She waited. After all, she had to learn to face her fears instead of burying them. So she walked back down to the marina and had a little stare down with the water.

Fear number one.