Pierced Hearts (Southern Charmers 1)

“He friendly?” he asks right as Runner’s paw jets out for attention.

“He’s more of a hugger, but since you’re a new face, he’s trying to shake.” Slowly, my senses are returning, and this time when I speak, it doesn’t sound shaky.

Pierce crouches down and takes Runner’s paw, pumps it up and down, then pats his head as he stands back up.

“What are you doing here, Pierce?”

His hands go to his hips, and his eyes sweep the room, passing over me and taking in the space. This was always a professional habit of his, looking around, sizing up the area, probably doing a mental calculation of the dimensions. To some people, this place may look small, but it’s the perfect size for me. His eyes land on the massive cookie sheets packed with chocolate-covered fruit.

The silence grates on my already frazzled nerves. “It’s National Nurses Day on Wednesday,” I explain unnecessarily.

“That’s why your mom was assembling all those little boxes.”

I nod and blurt out, “Help yourself if you’d like one.”

The heat flames back in his eyes. “I don’t want your fucking fruit, Darby.”

His words hit like a punch to the gut, but they also spark something inside my soul. I close the door, turn to face him, and square my shoulders, glaring. “Then what do you want, Pierce?”

“I want to know why you’re back in town.”

“You should have figured it out, seeing as you visited Mom this morning. She had a nasty accident, and I wanted to be close to her.”

“She told me about the accident, and I’m sorry to hear it. But she also told me how well she’s doing in her recovery. Doesn’t explain your urgency to uproot your life and hightail it back to Charleston.”

“I love my family, Pierce. Who are you to question what is urgent and what isn’t?”

“Didn’t you love your family twelve years ago when you hauled ass?”

Oh no, he’s crazy if he thinks I’m going down this road with him right now. I’ve been preparing for years how to explain to him why I left, and today is not the day. It’s going to be on my terms and not when he shows up to out of the blue. “How’d you find me?” I ask instead.

He reaches in his back pocket and flings one of my cards onto the steel prep table. “Saw your calling card.”

“How’d you know it was mine? My name is nowhere on that.”

“Yeah, it always seemed crazy to me that you branded your business without your name. But the design was a dead giveaway.”

I suck in a deep breath and briefly close my eyes. How could I forget that he’d seen the rough draft? “You remembered.”

“Of course, I fucking remembered.”

“That doesn’t explain how you found me.”

“Your mom and Evin didn’t give you away, if that’s what you’re thinking. They’re locked up tight. I had to get creative. Tracked down your delivery service.”

Dammit! I should never have changed my pick-up to this address.

“What I want to know is why you’re being so secretive. Why not blast it to the masses that you’re back and the name behind DG Creations? From what I can tell, only a select few know it’s you.”

“That’s none of your business.” There is no way I’m telling him the reasons behind my anonymity.

“Does it have anything to do with me? Because if so, you don’t have to worry about me trashing your name. I left that shit behind a long time ago and moved on.”

“Oh, trust me, I know you moved on,” I spit out, not able to hold back the venom in my voice.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Pierce. Did you have anything you needed? Any other reason for stopping by than to let me know you’ve discovered I’m back in town?”

“Don’t ‘nothing, Pierce’ me. You don’t get to dismiss me again. Tell me, Darby. Are you keeping your return under wraps because of me, because of us?”

I was right earlier. The image of the man I’ve held on to all these years is nothing like the man before me. This man is cold and brash, no sign of the lover who once was. The surprise of his arrival vanishes, and my defenses slide into place.

“No, Pierce, nothing I do anymore is because of you. You gave up that privilege a long time ago. I’ve been quiet about my return because I’m not sure I’m staying in Charleston,” I yell.

“I didn’t give up anything. You took it away. You stripped it from me, leaving my ass in the dust when you skipped town.”

“You bounced back pretty quick, don’t you think?”

“Bounced back? You think I bounced back? You don’t know a goddamned thing about what happened to me.”

“Maya Elise Kendrick is what happened to you!” I scream so loud Runner is at my side in a second. Heat sears my skin, fueling the fire of betrayal I’ve carried around. I can’t stop the words that pour out of my mouth. “Maya Elise Kendrick, born September twenty-seventh, seven pounds, nineteen inches. Born to proud parents Pierce Kendrick and Constance Webber. Please join us welcoming this beautiful angel to the world.” I quote the birth announcement verbatim.