Ask Me No Questions (Prodigal Sons, #2)

By Shirley Wine

Shirley Wine takes us back to the small town of Cambridge, where secrets and scandals can't stay hidden for long...

Ten years ago Logan Sinclair vanished, abandoning his home, his family and the prosperous racing stud of Darkhaven – and Piper Daintry, whose love he once shared.

Now that he's returned, Logan is greeted with suspicion and distrust – the good people of Cambridge have long memories and he quickly discovers he can't escape the ghosts of his past, the woman he left behind, or the grief that threatens to bring him to his knees…

He's heard it said often enough that you can never return home…and Logan quickly comes to realise that he may have compounded his mistakes by doing exactly that. Will learning his secrets push Piper further away, or will he get a second chance at love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jun 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781760370466

Shirley Wine

Shirley Wine is from a family of seven where oral storytelling was encouraged, a throwback to her family's Irish roots. Born into a farming family, Shirley has lived and worked on the land alongside her husband for many years, and a love of the land runs as deep as the blood in her veins so writing rural romance was a natural progression for this author. Shirley is no stranger to devastating personal tragedy, and these experiences are reflected in her often gritty stories about triumph over adversity. For many years, Shirley was a freelance writer with a regular 'Country Comment' column in a New Zealand national daily newspaper, and she has worked on local and regional newspapers. A long-time member of Romance Writers of New Zealand, Shirley is now retired and lives with her husband in a quiet rural Waikato town with one spoiled cat and two equally spoiled dogs. If you'd like to sign up for Shirley's author newsletter you can do so on her website: www.shirleywine.com

Book preview

Chapter One

She heard his voice, a sound as unwelcome as it was unexpected. Its deep cadence caressed her ears. Shock peppered her entire system. More than a decade had passed, but Piper Daintry knew that voice. She would recognise it anywhere.

Logan. Logan Sinclair.

Here?

The sound plucked at sensory nerves that had lain dormant for longer than she cared to remember. Joy jolted her entire system, followed by an equally brutal shaft of dismay.

When did he return to New Zealand?

Piper sucked in a ragged breath and wiped damp palms on her skirt. Blood pounded in her ears, making her light-headed. Ten years ago, Logan had turned his back on his family, Darkhaven—the racing stud he’d managed for his stepfather—and her. He had vanished without so much as a single word of goodbye.

Piper had been sure they would never meet again and certainly never here, in public, in the local bank. A thousand memories jostled for admittance in her mind and right at the forefront was her and Logan’s last, rancorous exchange.

‘What do you want from me, Piper?’

She looked into his glittering silvery-grey eyes. ‘Go, Logan. Leave. Is that clear enough? I never want to see you again.’

Never, it seemed, had just arrived.

‘Piper, are you okay?’

For one uncomprehending moment Piper stared at the bank teller before she dredged up a smile and pushed the bag of cash and the shop deposit book across the counter. ‘Sorry, Moirah, I was daydreaming.’

Logan’s rich baritone was an annoying intrusion and Piper silently willed him to finish his conversation and leave. In this small branch the chances of collecting her nephew from the children’s play area while evading Logan were slim to none.

‘How’s your day been? Busy?’ the teller asked, determined to chat. Not that this was anything new; gossip was Moirah Bettle’s lifeblood.

‘On and off,’ Piper said, keeping her voice low. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to attract Logan’s attention. ‘At The Book Web it’s either busy or quiet, and today was quiet.’

Moirah leaned forward, her expression eager and inviting as she nodded in Logan’s direction. ‘Has he returned for the funeral?’

‘I have no idea.’

The woman wasn’t deterred and gave Piper a sly glance. ‘Weren’t you and Logan an item at one time?’

I will not react.

Piper took a slow breath. There was no way she was prepared to touch that comment, leastways not with Moirah Bettle. It was at times like this that she regretted living in a town as small as Cambridge, where people knew everyone else’s business and the gossips had memories to equal an elephant’s.

‘Are the deposits added correctly?’ Piper asked, the abrupt question cutting off further conversation.

Forced to focus on her job, Moirah gave a disgruntled humph, stamped the deposit book and slid it back across the counter. Now that her business was finished, Piper had little option but to turn and face the man who had shattered her heart and haunted her dreams.

Logan was still deep in conversation with the bank manager and this granted her a few moments to observe him unnoticed. He was leaner than she remembered and his once boyish features had matured into sculptured sinew and bone. A jagged scar ran the full length of one cheek, a paler streak against his bronzed skin, and the flaw gave his handsome face a dangerous edge.

His dark hair, brushed back in a careless, windswept style, was peppered with lighter streaks as if it had been bleached by an unforgiving sun. Dressed in an open-neck black shirt, a well-worn leather jacket and faded jeans, he was more than enough to quicken lust in a dead woman.

And God help me, I’m far from dead.

Piper stepped towards her nephew Sam, and the movement caught Logan’s attention. He glanced her way and she became trapped by the strong emotion shadowing his silvery-grey eyes.

Surprise? Regret? Sorrow?

His eyes contained all of those, she decided, but his reaction was masked so swiftly she couldn’t be sure, and that suited her fine. She was so over Logan Sinclair.

With an ingrained courtesy she had to admire, Logan ended his conversation and crossed to her side. ‘Piper, it’s been a long time.’

Nowhere near long enough!

‘Logan.’ It was difficult, but she kept her tone neutral.

He held out a hand.

She resisted the invitation and watched his hand as it fell to his side.

His smile faded. ‘Can’t you even spare me a handshake?’

Anger vied with disbelief, and she scorched him with a look. ‘Give me one single reason why I should?’

Colour edged up under his tanned cheeks, a reaction that should have pleased Piper but left her hollow. She turned to the small red-headed boy moving counters on a frame in the children’s play area. ‘We’re ready to leave now, Sam.’

The child finished zooming counters across the wires before he obeyed.

Piper was acutely aware of Logan’s attention zeroing in on Sam before fixing on her. ‘Is this your son?’

Grief speared her heart, but her voice was rock-steady. ‘Sam’s my nephew, Josh and Tess’s son.’

Logan laid a hand on her arm, his expression softening. ‘I was sorry to learn of Tess’s death; you were always close.’

‘We were.’ Logan’s unexpected empathy undermined her determination to remain aloof. Tears burned the back of her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Moirah straining to catch their conversation.

The woman was so damn nosy!

Piper nodded to Logan and chivvied Sam towards the door, but to her dismay Logan walked with them and they all left the bank together. Outside, Sam looked up at her with a sunny smile as he slipped his hand into hers. ‘We going to the supermarket now, Aunt Piper?’

‘Yes.’ She squeezed the little boy’s hand but refused to look at Logan. ‘Remember, we’re having visitors over for dinner tonight.’

Sam gave an excited skip. ‘Is Ms Torrance really having dinner at our house?’

Despite her aggravation with Logan and the way he hovered and refused to leave, Piper couldn’t help smiling at Sam’s excitement. ‘Do you mind?’

‘Jeepers, no. She’s fun for a teacher.’

Logan crouched down, looked Sam in the eye and extended a hand. ‘Hello, Sam. I’m your dad’s friend.’

As Piper watched Logan talk to Sam, another pang of grief speared her heart.

Her stunned gaze landed on Logan’s outstretched hand. More scars, white with age, crisscrossed its back. Shocked, she glanced from Logan’s hand to his face. Who or what had caused such horrific scarring?

Sam tilted his bright head to one side as he studied Logan. ‘I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.’

‘And quite right too, but your dad’s my friend, slugger.’ Logan didn’t crowd Sam. He waited and gave the boy time to decide to trust him, or not.

Piper wondered where he’d learned to relate to children; the man she’d known knew zip about the species, and this unsettled her still further.

‘If you’re Dad’s friend, how come I don’t know you?’

Sam’s blunt question had her struggling to suppress a grin. ‘Mr Sinclair has been friends with your dad ever since they were small boys.’

Logan glanced up at her, obviously surprised. ‘Thanks.’

Finally, after long moments spent deciding, Sam slipped his little hand inside Logan’s larger one, and they solemnly shook.

The simple gesture made Piper’s eyes burn with tears.

Logan stood and the hot, turbulent emotion she glimpsed in his pale eyes sent a shiver cascading across her skin. She bent her head to break eye contact, but she found it difficult to erase the image of Logan holding Sam’s much smaller hand.

I’m in deep trouble here.

The unsettling thought fired her determination. She would not allow herself to fall prey to Logan Sinclair’s powerful charisma again. Only a fool courted such heartbreak twice in one lifetime. And she was no fool.

Sam slipped his hand into hers, breaking the moment. ‘Excuse me, we need to leave. Come, Sam.’

As she turned to walk away, Logan laid a restraining hand on her arm, his mouth tilted in a smile. ‘I never expected such a cool reception from you, Piper.’

Does he expect me to welcome him back after he walked out and left me high and dry?

‘You forfeited the right to my friendship a long time ago.’

Shadows darkened his eyes. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Really? I don’t think so.’

With a blistering glare, Piper tightened her grip on Sam’s hand and stepped off the pavement onto the roadway, guiding the child through the traffic. Logan refused to be shaken off, and he kept pace with her while she negotiated the congested high street. When they had reached the opposite footpath she turned on him. ‘What do you want?’

‘I need to talk to you.’

‘Well, here’s a newsflash for you, Sinclair. I don’t give a damn what you need.’

He flinched as if she’d struck him. ‘I never thought you’d turn into an embittered woman.’

His softly spoken words left her stunned and she shook her head, torn between feeling anger and pity. ‘Did you expect me to be pleased to see you? On Saturday we’re burying Caine Donovan, a fine man and one who died grieving for you. He was your father—’

‘Stepfather.’ Ruddy colour ebbed beneath Logan’s tanned cheeks.

‘That’s semantics, and you know it. How did you repay his love and care? By vanishing for years, that’s how.’

‘Why are you so angry? Have you missed me?’

His accusation robbed her of breath and tightened the knot of apprehension and anger in her gut. Her heart beat against her ribs like the wings of a panicked bird. ‘Never. The past is better left where it belongs.’

‘Is it? Your reaction suggests otherwise.’

She lifted her chin. ‘You’re not short on nerve. That hasn’t changed.’

‘I find that so comforting.’ Silvery-grey eyes mocked her as he said with a quiet calm she found terrifying, ‘And we will talk.’

He was nothing if not persistent, and despite her misgivings she gave a disdainful sniff. ‘Not if I can help it.’

‘You really think you can evade me?’

Was that a threat? Piper’s breath backed up in her throat and it took her a moment to find her voice. ‘What I think, Logan, is that you’re a user. You take everything, suck people dry, and yet you give nothing.’

She gripped Sam’s hand, turned her back on Logan and walked into the supermarket.

***

Logan stood as still as stone on the footpath, Piper’s stinging criticism ringing in his ears. From deep in the dark recesses of his mind, his father-in-law’s words chimed in a tinny echo. You broke my Sanchia’s heart—you killed her. You take, Sinclair, and you destroy. Then Juan Rodriguez had spat on the floor at Logan’s feet, turned his back and strode off.

Logan’s brows scrunched in a forbidding scowl. He watched Piper’s back as she walked away. With her head thrown back, her glossy mane of copper hair was tossed carelessly over one shoulder as she disappeared through the automatic doors clutching the little boy’s hand.

What was going on with her?

Ten years ago she’d been a bubbly, outgoing woman. Now, those jade eyes that had haunted him for so long accused him of God knows what and glittered with sorrow and condemnation.

Am I somehow responsible?

He’d heard it said often enough that you can never return home. Now, he was beginning to think he’d compounded his mistakes by doing exactly that.

Chapter Two

Piper had dinner almost ready when Josh walked in, Anna Torrance on his arm. The petite blonde appeared fragile beside Piper’s robustly built brother.

Piper blew a lock of hair off her face. ‘Great timing, we’re about ready for Josh to light up the barbecue for the steaks.’

‘It’s getting chilly out there.’ Josh wiped his shoes on the doormat, hung his jacket on the coat tree and helped Anna remove hers. He had the Daintry trademark red hair, only his was a deeper, richer auburn than Piper’s, the colour of burnished chestnuts. His eyes were moss green and paler than Piper’s and her twin’s.

Piper knew Josh had invited Anna, and after her earlier meeting with Logan she guessed he would be among the other guests. Josh’s secretiveness annoyed and confused her. Why couldn’t he just be her brother and not the doctor? She wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing.

Sam bounced into the room and went straight to Anna. ‘You came.’

‘I’m here, aren’t I?’

‘Sam was adamant you’d like a barbecued snarler.’ Piper winked at the other woman.

Anna ruffled the little boy’s hair. ‘Yum. Sausages are my favourite.’

‘I told you, Aunt Piper.’ Sam gave a wild whoop and punched a fist in the air.

‘Hey, steady on, son.’ Josh put a hand on his boy’s shoulder. ‘Want to help me cook the meat on the barbecue?’

‘Yay!’ Sam nodded so vigorously a lock of hair flopped onto his forehead. ‘Can I use the tongs and turn the steaks over?’

‘You may, if you promise to be careful.’

‘I’ll be super careful.’ Sam danced at his father’s side as Josh opened the ranch slider onto the deck.

Anna followed Piper into the kitchen, stopping near the bench. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘It’s mostly done.’ Piper looked at the other woman. ‘You could finish setting the table. The cutlery is in the dresser drawer. I asked Sam, but he’s so excited he’s better off helping his dad.’

As the two women worked, Sam’s piping voice mingled with his father’s deeper tones, the cheerful sounds doing little to mask the quiet indoors. Anna was the first to break the awkward silence. ‘You’re okay with Josh inviting me to dinner?’

Piper paused from whisking French mustard dressing for the steaks, surprised by Anna’s diffident words. ‘This is Josh’s home and he’s free to invite whomever he chooses.’

‘Thanks.’ Anna hesitated as if she wanted to say more.

Piper caught the flicker of guilt that crossed Anna’s face. ‘Is everything okay?’

Before Anna could answer, the ranch slider opened and the two males came in, Josh carrying a platter of barbecued meat and sausages. Frowning, Piper watched her brother carry it through to the kitchen and put the platter in the warming oven. She was suddenly uneasy.

The front doorbell pealed, but before she could move, Josh called out, ‘I’ll get it.’

As her brother strode towards the front door, Anna gripped Piper’s arm. ‘You do realise Josh has invited Logan and his family?’

Family?

Piper shook her head, her disbelief a vicious knot in her gut.

Anna made an exasperated sound. ‘I told Josh he should warn you.’

‘Logan’s married?’ Piper heard the men’s deeper voices mingling with the unmistakeable high-pitched tones of children.

‘He’s a widower,’ Anna said softly. ‘He’s got two kids, a little girl about Sam’s age and a boy who’s quite a bit older.’

Piper stared at Anna, her shock vying with her feelings of betrayal.

After all she’d shared with Josh, how could he do this to her? Unable to think or even breathe, she stood in stricken silence and watched Logan usher two children into the room, a dark-haired little girl with her daddy’s eyes, and a striking, dark-eyed, olive-skinned boy who looked about ten.

‘Piper.’ Logan put his hand on the boy’s shoulder as he met her gaze squarely. ‘My son, Russ, and my daughter, Carlotta, otherwise known as Carly.’

Somehow, Piper managed to dredge up a smile.

The children smiled at her, but these spontaneous greetings hurt Piper as sharply as a knife thrust deep into her chest. She caught Josh’s guilty expression. Her fury and pain coalesced into a giant, burning ache.

She had to get out of there. If she didn’t, she would say or do something she would live to regret. With a superhuman effort, she pasted on a bright, phoney smile. ‘Dinner’s ready, Josh. I’ll leave you to enjoy it and entertain your guests.’

She pushed past the newcomers and scooped her jacket from the coat tree and her car keys from the hook by the door. She patted her jacket and felt the weight of her wallet as she opened the door.

‘Piper?’ Josh asked sharply. ‘Where are you going?’

She shook her head. Through a blur of tears, she saw Anna grip Josh’s arm and despite the blood pounding in her ears, she caught the low murmur of voices.

Piper walked out and shut the door quietly.

***

The silence that descended inside the house after the door closed was absolute. Everyone stood in a frozen tableau, the air swirling with disturbing undercurrents. Logan may have felt more uncomfortable once, but he couldn’t remember when.

The raw agony he had glimpsed in Piper’s eyes before she’d managed to mask her emotions tore at his heart. If his encounter with her earlier left him bewildered, this meeting increased his confusion. He caught the glance Josh exchanged with his fiancée. What did they know that he didn’t?

‘What was that all about?’

Logan’s harsh question broke the paralysed stasis and Josh swore under his breath.

‘I warned you this was a mistake.’ Anna turned on Josh, her voice low and fierce. ‘You have no right to put your sister in such an untenable situation.’

‘¿Papá?’ Russ moved closer to Logan’s side, clearly upset. ‘¿Estás bien?’

‘¡Sí, estoy bien!’ Logan tried to reassure his children, even though he was far from okay, before he turned to his friend. ‘I think you need to explain?’

‘Later.’ Josh reached for his coat. ‘I’d better go after her.’

‘Leave it alone. You’ve done enough damage.’ Anna gripped Josh’s arm and shook her head before she turned to Logan. ‘I’m so sorry about that.’

Logan summoned a smile and leaned down to help Carly unzip her jacket, but try as he might, he could not dismiss that disturbing scene or Piper’s stricken expression. Walking out like that was so unlike the woman he’d known. Although often quick-tempered and vivacious, Piper was always gracious.

Josh put a hand on his son’s shoulder and propelled him forward. ‘Sam, this is Carly and Russ. Why don’t you show them where they can wash their hands before we eat?’

Subdued, the children obeyed. Once they were out of earshot, Logan turned on his host. ‘Would you like to tell me what the hell that was all about?’

Josh rubbed the back of his neck and refused to meet Logan’s eyes. ‘I can’t explain. You need to talk to Piper.’

‘You think your sister wants to talk to me?’ His sense of unease escalated. ‘She thinks I’m a lower form of life.’

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me,’ Anna said, a decided bite in her voice.

Logan turned to her, eyebrows raised. ‘Pardon?’

Josh touched Anna’s arm. ‘Leave it alone, sweetheart.’

The children returned talking quietly and their presence made further discussion impossible.

‘Will Aunt Piper come back?’ Sam asked, a quaver in his young voice.

‘Not tonight, son.’ Josh laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. ‘Let’s have dinner.’

As Logan listened, he had the awful sensation that he was sinking in quicksand, with nothing solid to grasp.

They all moved into the dining room, and while Anna discretely removed one place setting, Josh walked across to a tall cabinet, took a key from a bowl on top of it and gave it to Logan. ‘You need to talk to Piper. In private.’

Logan looked from the key to Josh, his eyebrows raised. ‘Where will she be?’

‘She may be at her house. Try there first.’ Josh gave him a Leamington address.

Piper had her own house? The key in Logan’s hand was about as comfortable as holding a red-hot coal. ‘She doesn’t live here?’

‘She does most of the time, but she only moved in to help me with Sam when Tess was ill, and she stayed on after Tess died,’ Josh said soberly. ‘But she goes back to Rose Cottage from time to time, whenever she feels the need to be alone.’

In that moment, Logan knew Josh had not only fudged the truth but had omitted huge chunks of it. ‘Thanks, I think.’

‘I’m hungry.’ Sam tugged on his father’s arm.

The child’s plaintive words broke the tension.

‘Then I suggest we eat.’ Logan smiled at Sam and laid a hand on his little girl’s shoulder. ‘Are you hungry, Carly?’

‘Sí, papá.’

‘English, Carly,’ Logan chided gently.

‘Siento, papá.’ The little girl gave him a gamine grin as she sat where Josh directed. ‘Sorry.’

‘They speak fluent Spanish.’ Anna placed the platter of barbecued meat on the table. ‘Being bilingual will give them a huge advantage in life.’

‘It was their mother’s language.’ Logan was grateful for the change of subject. ‘I owe it to Sanchia’s memory that her children don’t lose their fluency in her native tongue. Although Carly doesn’t always understand that she shouldn’t lapse into Spanish when she’s in the company of people who don’t speak the language.’

‘Hago lo mismo,’ Carly said with the indignation that only a six-year-old could muster.

Logan chuckled. ‘If you do so, too then please speak English. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

Her endearing, dimpled smile melted his heart.

Chapter Three

After he’d taken his children home and tucked them into bed, Logan knew he would never sleep unless he reassured himself that Piper was all right.

Mrs Franklin agreed to mind the children for him. He had considered it a stroke of good fortune when the woman who had kept house at Darkhaven for Caine had agreed to stay on. God knows, he needed her help. With the upkeep on the huge house, managing the stables and helping his kids settle in, he had his hands full.

As he drove back into town, he second-guessed his decision. Would Piper welcome him, or would she tell him to piss off?

Unaccountably nervous, he knocked on the door, but the dark silence mocked him. Now becoming really worried, he used the key Josh had given him and let himself in. One step inside and he knew she wasn’t there. The house held an intangible aura of emptiness. Was his nocturnal call a complete waste of time?

With Josh’s assurances that she would come here before returning to his place, Logan gained the distinct impression that this was a familiar pattern. But it was the need to be