Piper laid one arm around Beth’s shoulders and steered her through the crowd until they found a semi-deserted spot. “Honey, you still love him, don’t you?”
She could have denied it, but what would have been the point? “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“No.” Piper shook her head, her short, dark brown hair swinging into an arc and then settling back into its perfect cut. “It’s not.”
Beth wanted to believe her. Piper had always been more of an older sister to Beth than an aunt, and they’d shared a lot of secrets over the years. Piper knew all about Beth and Cam. Knew what had happened. Knew what it had done to Beth. How Cam’s leaving had sent her into a sort of spiral that she’d had to dig her way out of on her own.
“Am I just supposed to get over it?” she asked, not really expecting an answer. “To move on and not remember what happened before?”
“Of course not,” Piper said quickly. “How could you? It was horrible, and at the time I wanted to find Cam Guthrie myself and slap him silly for what he did.”
Beth’s lips curved at the thought and at the loving loyalty.
“But, honey, you already got past it.” Piper tucked Beth’s hair behind her ear. “You built a good life. You stand on your own two feet and don’t owe anyone an explanation for what you do with that life.”
“Thanks. I do know that. Really.” Beth sighed and said, “It’s just I don’t know if I can let myself love him this time. What if he leaves again? What if we break up and I drop into that black hole I was in before?”
“And what if the world stops turning and we all fly into space?” Piper laughed, hugged Beth hard, then stood back and gripped her shoulders. “You don’t get a guarantee, Beth. You get chances. Whether you take them or not is up to you.”
“And I don’t know if I should.”
“I do.” Piper waited for Beth’s gaze to meet hers. “Go for it, sweetie. Always take the chance when you get it. Living a life with regrets isn’t the way to go.”
Beth heard something in her aunt’s voice that worried her. “Hey. Are you okay?”
A bright smile lit Piper’s face. “Of course. Aren’t I always?” Her gaze slid past Beth then and she said, “Oh, damn.”
Beth looked and her shoulders slumped. Her mom, Ava, was here, arm in arm with Keith Cooper. All of Beth’s life, she’d known that “Uncle Keith” was in love with her mother. The weird thing was that Ava never seemed to notice. Since Beth’s father died, Keith had been around Ava at all times. And it looked like that wasn’t going to stop.
“I really thought after they got home from Europe that Keith would give up and move on,” Beth muttered. “Does Mom have zero clue that the man is crazy about her?”
Piper said only, “Don’t worry about your mother, Beth. Ava’s a smart woman. She’s not as oblivious as you think she is.”
It didn’t look like it to her. “I hope you’re right.”
In an instant, everything changed.
Suddenly the firefighters were hustling kids off the trucks, jumping into their uniforms and driving off, sirens screaming. Most in the crowd cupped their hands over their ears, and Beth winced at the noise. “What do you suppose is happening?”
She glanced at Piper, but before she could answer, Sebastian and Sutton rushed up to them.
“There’s a fire at one of our WinJet plants,” Sebastian said. “I just got a call from the security company.”
“The plant outside Royal,” Sutton put in to clarify, since there were a few manufacturing plants to take care of the private plane orders they received every year.
The twins were identical in every way, and right now even their grim expressions were mirrors of each other.
“At least it’s Saturday,” Piper said quickly. “So no one’s there to get injured.”
“No,” Sutton muttered da
rkly. “We’re pushing a deadline, so we’re running two shifts. They’re working today.”
“Oh, my God...” Beth’s whisper was lost in the nervous, excited chatter springing up all around them.
“We’re headed over there now,” Sebastian said, and grabbed Sutton’s upper arm.
“I’ll be right behind you. I’m getting my car,” Piper informed them.