Chapter 15

Sawyer set Piper down on her feet, love, respect, and pride rushing through him all at once, "You are an amazing woman, Piper," he said, then leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "And I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing you just how thankful I am to have you."

"I'm the lucky one," she said, smiling up at him. "Now, take me home. I don't ever want to see this place again."

They walked down the stairs hand in hand, pausing at the bottom to face her father who was seated in a chair, Jayce on one side of him, Grant on the other. Piper took one look at him, then shook her head, "He's not even worth it," she said. "I'm ready to go."

"I have a few things to say if that's okay with you," he said, reaching down to stroke her cheek, then turned to her father when she nodded. "I could kill you right now, and no one in the clan would blink an eye, but I don't want your blood to stain my love for Piper, so I'm going to let you live. But if you ever touch a hair on her head again, I will change my mind, and that is a promise."

"He never breaks his promises," Jayce said. "And he doesn't follow through, one of us will."

Just then Heather came rushing down the hallway, "Oh, Piper, I'm so sorry, I had no idea your father was going to do this. I would never have gone along with it if I'd known," she said. "I know I don't deserve it, but please forgive me. I really thought he'd changed; I don't know why I was so stupid."

Piper looked at her mother but didn't say anything, her face as hard as stone, "Piper, your mom is the one who called me," he said, making her whip her head around to look at him. "If she hadn't called……"

"What?" her father yelled. "You did this? You worthless little bitch, I should have gotten rid of you after I married you and got your money. You're going to pay for this. I'm going to beat you until you're black and blue."

Heather's face turned pale, but she squared her shoulders, "Just you try it, you old bastard," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I've put up with your abuse for thirty years, but I'm done; beat me if you want, but I'm going to fight, and I'm going to hurt you too."

He looked down at Piper whose eyes were huge with shock, "We have to take her with us," he whispered. "We can't leave her here."

Piper looked up at him, tears in her eyes, "You're right, we can't leave her here," she said, her voice shaking. "She's just as much of a victim as I am."

"That won't be necessary, Heather," he said. "You're coming with us; Jayce will you help you get packed and see to it that you make it out to the ranch. I'm going to take Piper home now; we'll see you in a little while."

Henry Lawrence was still roaring with anger as they walked out the front door and into the cool night air. He looked down at Piper, noticing for the first time how pale she looked. "Are you okay?" he said, pulling her to a stop when he saw that she was shivering too. "I think you'd better let me carry you now."

Piper started to protest, then her legs gave way, and he barely caught her before she hit the ground, "Maybe you'd better carry me," she said, burying her face in his chest. "I'm feeling a little faint."

A second later, Piper went limp in his arms, and he let out a string of cuss words as he carried her over to Bridget's car. "Oh no, is she hurt?" Bridget said, jumping out. "Does she need a hospital?"

"She fainted; I think she might be in a little bit of shock," he said. "Let's get her back to the ranch."

Piper woke up just as they were pulling out of the driveway, "What happened?" she asked, looking up at him. "Did I faint? I've never done that before."

He smoothed the hair back from her face, "Well, you've had an eventful night," he said. "You just needed to take a break."

"Next time I think I'll just take a nap," she said, trying to smile at her own joke, but her bottom lip began to tremble, and she buried her face in his chest. "I don't want to cry, I made it this far, I don't want to start now."

"It's okay to cry, Piper," he said. "You'll feel better if you let it out. If I'd been through what you just have, I'd cry too."

"He's right, Piper," Bridget said from the front seat. "Crying helps flush the bad stuff out."

Unable to contain her emotions any longer, the floodgates opened, and Piper sobbed into his chest while he rubbed her back and whispered endearments into her ear. He would have his own emotions to deal with when she was tucked away safely at the ranch, but for now, soothing Piper's wounded soul was more important. By the time they reached the ranch, the sobs had faded, leaving her spent and limp in his arms.

"Let's get her inside," Bridget said, jumping out of the car. "We need to get some sugar in her to start with and then some food if she can handle it."

His mother met them at the door, Mary right behind her, "She's not hurt," he said, pushing his way past the two women. "I got there in time, but it was close. I'm going to put her on the couch in front of the fireplace."

"Hot tea with lots of honey, that's what she needs," Mary said. "I'll get it, Tory. You grab some extra blankets, I'm sure she's freezing."

After gently laying Piper on the couch, he knelt beside her and took her hand, "Sweetheart, I'm going to start a fire to get you warmed up," he said. "Mary is making you some tea, and I want you to drink every drop."

***Piper***

Piper's teeth were chattering so hard that she didn't dare speak, but managed to nod at Sawyer, wishing he would just hold her instead of fussing with the fire. A second later, Mary came bustling over with a mug in her hands, "I didn't make this very hot so you can drink it right away," she said, helping her sit up. "You're white as a sheet. Let me help you."

Mary held the cup up to her lips, and she managed to take a sip, then another, the feeling of the hot liquid going down almost as good as the warmth she felt with Sawyer. "I've got blankets and something for you to change into," Tory said, coming back into the room. "I didn't want to rifle through your things Piper, so I brought something of Sawyer's."

Mary made her take a couple more sips of the tea, then set the cup aside, "Let's get you out of that dress," she said, then looked over at Sawyer. "Out you go."

"You want me to leave the room?" he asked. "Mary, Piper and I……"

"Just go," Tory said, a look of understanding on her face. "It will only be for a few minutes. I promise she'll be just fine until you get back."

"I'm already feeling better," she said, managing a smile. "It's okay, let them fuss over me."

"I'll be right out in the hallway if you need me," Sawyer said, taking a few steps toward the door. "Unless you want me to stay."

"The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back," Tory said, shaking her head. "Out you go."

When Sawyer was gone, she let the two women undress her, "There, that must feel better," Mary said, sliding one of Sawyer's tee-shirts over her head. "I'll just run this back to the laundry room."

"Throw it in the trash," she said. "I'll never wear it again."

Tory sat down next to her, picked up the cup of tea and handed it back to her, "You look better. There's some color in your cheeks," she said. "Are you sure that you're not hurt? We're all women here, you can tell us the truth."

"I'm okay, Sawyer got there just in time," she said, shivering again. "I'm just in shock I guess, I never expected my father to……"

Tory scooped her up into a big hug, "It's okay if you're not ready to talk about it," she said. "You're safe now; that's all that matters. We'd better let Sawyer back in here before he breaks down the door."

She laughed, "I'm surprised he hasn't already," she said. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

Tory reached out and touched her cheek, "You're the daughter I've never had. I love you, Piper. I probably should have said that a long time ago," she said. "I would be devastated if something happened to you."

Before she could respond, Sawyer burst into the kitchen, "What's taking so long?" he demanded. "Is there something wrong? Piper, if he did something to you, I want you to tell me right now."

"Relax, cowboy," Tory said, getting to her feet. "Piper and I were just having a mother and daughter moment. Come over here and sit down next to her before you drive us all crazy."

Sawyer sat down next to her, "Are you sure that you're, okay?" he asked, pulling her into his arms. "It was taking so long, I thought that something was wrong."

"I'm fine, I promise, they manhandled me a little bit, but that was it," she said, smiling up at him. "Your mom just wanted to make sure I was okay."

He searched her face, then leaned back against the couch, "Okay, but if something did happen, I want you to tell me," he said. "Nothing is ever going to change the way I feel about you."

"I'm glad to hear it, because I feel the same way," she said. "The whole time I was locked up in there, all I could think about was you. I love you, Sawyer. I should have said it before."

"I love you too, Piper," he said. "You're my soul mate, the other half of me. When I thought that I was going to lose you, I almost lost my mind. I don't know what I would do without you; don't ever scare me that again."

"That's a promise I hope I can keep," she said, snuggling into his arms. "What's going to happen to my father?"

"We reported him to the sheriff, but I don't know if anything will come of it. He's still a very powerful man," Sawyer said, shaking his head. "But I promise you, he'll never touch you again."

"I hope he dies all alone in that terrible house," she said, then sat up. "Oh, my mom, I forgot about her."

"Jayce was helping her pack when we left," Sawyer reminded her. "I'm sure they'll be here soon. Are you sure that you're okay having her here?"

She leaned back in his arms and thought about it, "I'm a long way from forgiving her," she said. "But she came through when I needed her most, and she finally stood up to my father, so maybe there's hope."

Sawyer leaned over and kissed her, "We'll take it one day at a time and see how it goes," he said, then turned when there was a knock at the door. "Here they are now."