Bay Springs was a day’s drive to Ryker, so that would be a day and half to Rummer. Dylan didn’t do personal stuff. He rarely put himself out for people, and never got involved where he could avoid it, and yet since he’d returned to Ryker all that had changed. He was being changed one layer at a time, and right now he was the only support this woman had.

“You want to call Joe?”

“I will when I get there, but it’ll take them a while to reach me. In fact, I doubt he can make it till morning, so I won’t make contact until I know what’s happening.”

She fell silent and he looked at her again, saw the tears falling, silently this time. It hurt inside his chest to see her in pain.

“All right. We’ll deal with whatever is waiting, Piper, so don’t start building scenarios inside your head. That’ll just make it hurt.”

“Easier said than done.” She brushed the tears from her cheeks. “And this is my problem, not yours.”

“From where I’m sitting it looks like you need a friend, and I’m putting up my hand until a better option steps up.”

“You told me you don’t get close enough to form friendships, so if this is because we...”

“Had hot, orgasmic sex in the shower?”

“Right, that,” she said, looking uncomfortable.

“You think I feel like I should do this because of that?”

“No... maybe.”

It pissed him off she felt that way. Sure, she didn’t really know him, but still, it hurt just a little that she believed he’d do this because they’d had sex, and not because she was a... well, he guessed “friend” was what he was thinking. And then there was Joe. He owed that man a great deal, but more than that, he knew this was the right thing to do because Joe couldn’t.

“Okay, I know you don’t know me well, except that I’m really good in bed... or in the shower as the case may be. But throw me a bone here, I’m trying, and I really do want to be your friend today, Piper, if you’ll let me.”

She made a small snuffling sound like a puppy. Piper was hurting, and scared, and that made something well up inside him. A protectiveness he now felt when he looked at his sisters.

“Okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Just okay. Now tell me about your work, Dylan.”

She wanted to focus on him so she didn’t have to focus on what was waiting for her when they reached Rummer.

“I can’t tell you too much or I’d have to kill you.”

“Ha.”

“Or take you somewhere and lock you in a cabin so you were totally reliant on me for everything.”

“I’d escape.”