Page 35 of Deserving Cora
Brick cleared his throat. “So…Pipe, if you want to take Cora and show her around the place, explain how things work around here, Stone can get back in touch with Tex and see what else he’s found for us.”
“Can I…can I see Melba? And Chuck and his girlfriend?” Cora asked Tonka. “I mean, since I’m going to be here for a day or so…”
Tonka smiled, and Pipe was glad to see it. The difference Henley had made in his friend was amazing. Instead of hiding out in the barn all day and night, Tonka had made a concerted effort to be more involved in the running of The Refuge.
“Of course. I’m pretty sure Wally and Beauty will be in the barn too,” Tonka said.
“Wally and Beauty?” Cora asked.
“You mean your stalker research didn’t go that far?” Pipe teased.
Cora turned appalled eyes his way. “Pipe! Your friends just agreed to help Lara, I don’t want them to change their minds.”
“I already told them that you stalked us,” he said without a hint of remorse.
“Great. Just great,” Cora said with a sigh.
“Come on,” he said, finding that he was actually enjoying himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d bantered with a woman. Usually they were either too nervous around him to talk at all, or they wanted the bad boy his physical appearance projected.
Cora stood once more and turned to Brick. “Thank you,” she said fervently. “I mean it. I was planning on going to Phoenix myself if the auction didn’t work out. But I know with you guys at my side, I have a much better chance of actually being able to talk to Lara and getting her out of there.”
“If she wants out,” Stone reminded her.
Cora simply rolled her eyes. “She does.”
“You’re welcome,” Brick said. “But again, we aren’t planning on storming his home as if he was a terrorist planning the assassination of the president or something.”
“I know,” she assured him.
Pipe wasn’t sure if she was agreeing simply to be amenable, or if she truly thought Ridge Michaels was up to something sinister behind the walls of his estate. Either way, he supposed they’d find out in a few days. In the meantime, he was looking forward to showing Cora around The Refuge. He was as proud of it as the rest of his friends. They’d worked hard to make it what it was today.
Cora headed for the exit with Pipe at her heels. They left the room and found Alaska sitting behind the front desk, checking in a guest. She looked over and smiled at Cora and Pipe before turning her attention back to the woman in front of her.
Pipe made a mental note to talk to Brick about the fact that Cora had emailed and called, and had gotten no response. But first he had a tour to give.
“I’ll bring her bag to your cabin,” Owl told them as he passed.
“Thanks,” Pipe replied.
“Can we see the barn first?” Cora asked, and for the first time, Pipe saw the woman Cora probably was on a daily basis. The fact that he and his friends had said they’d help made her seem relaxed in a way she hadn’t been in the short time he’d known her. And he had to admit that he liked laid-back Cora a lot. Not that he didn’t like the other Cora. No, her stubbornness, her loyalty to her friend, the front she showed the world of the fierce woman who didn’t care what others thought of her…it all added up to someone Pipe wanted to get to know better.
While he was anxious to get to Phoenix and check on Lara, he couldn’t deny he was looking forward to the day or so he’d have to get to know Cora before leaving. “Far be it from me to stand between a woman and the cow she wants to meet. One of these days, people will want to come to The Refuge for more than the animals.”
Cora giggled, and the sound shot straight to Pipe’s heart. It was a carefree sound, one that he had a feeling she didn’t make often.
He held open the door to the lodge for her, and when they started walking toward the barn, Pipe was shocked when Cora reached out and took hold of his hand. Looking down, he saw his tattooed fingers intertwined with hers, and once again, his heart jolted in his chest.
“Thank you,” Cora whispered as she squeezed his fingers.
It hit Pipe then. In this moment, Cora was just as worried about Lara as she’d been in the middle of the discussion in that conference room. But she was letting her guard down, allowing her vulnerability to peek through again—which felt damn good. It was another show of trust.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of what’s going on,” he reassured her.
“I know. I just hope that you and the others won’t have to use your super-secret military skills in the process.”
Pipe hoped the same thing. But he was beginning to realize that if he had to bust out some of the things he’d learned over the years to keep this woman and her friend safe, he’d have absolutely no regrets.
Spike was right, they weren’t mercenaries, weren’t hired guns or bodyguards, but when it came to keeping Cora safe, Pipe suspected he would do whatever it took…and damn the consequences.
