Logan (10 page)

LOGAN DROVE HIS father’s old pickup truck down the mountain toward Sweetwater with Stella sitting beside him. He didn’t drive his father’s truck often, but when he did, it made him feel closer to his father. And now he felt closer to his father and Stella, which made Logan feel good. His father would have liked Stella, and he wished he were alive to meet her.

“Do you miss your dad more when you drive his truck?” Stella asked.

“I miss him all the time, but yeah, I do.”

She placed her hand on his thigh and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“What’s it like, knowing you can’t see him again?”

He knew she was asking because of her mom’s cancer, but she hadn’t shared that information with him yet, and as with her name, he wanted her to trust him enough to share those most private parts of her life with him. He felt his throat thickening as he prepared to tell her the truth.

“I wake up every day and there’s this moment when life seems normal. The sun comes up, and I think about work and what I have to do that day. And then my mind always turns to my mom, and when it does, it hits me anew. Dad’s gone.” He paused to gain control of the tears that threatened to fall.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Stella said.

“It’s fine, darlin’.” He kissed the top of her head. “In those first few seconds as I remember, I feel like I’m being sucked under by a big wave. I can’t breathe. I’m not sure which way is up, and my world spins around me. And in the next breath, I stuff it away so I can function again.” He let out a fast, hard breath. “I was close to my dad. He didn’t want me to join the military. He wanted me home. He wanted me safe. But I had something to prove.”

She looked up at him with a curious gaze. “And did you? Prove something, I mean.”

He shrugged. “I never knew what it was I was proving. I just knew I needed to fight for my country like other people were.”

“Then you did what you set out to do.”

She said it so simply, and he’d never thought of it as being simple. He’d been trying to figure out exactly
what
he had to prove. He wasn’t proving anything at all. He was doing what he thought was right.

They drove down the long two-lane road toward town. It was a sleepy road lined with meadows on each side.

“My worst fear is that my mom will die before I see her again. She has cancer. She was responding well to the treatments when I left, but I…” She turned away, and he knew she was staving off tears.

“You’ll see her again, Stella. I promise.” He pulled her closer.

“I hope so. She’s strong. That’s where I get it from. She’s determined to beat it, and I hate that I had to leave, but I was worried he would hurt her.”

“I know.” He was sure her mother did, too. “What about your father?”

She shrugged. “I never knew him. My mom was only nineteen when she had me, and he took off. It’s fine, though. I don’t feel like I’ve missed out by not having a father. My mom more than made up for it. We’re so close. I just miss her so much.”

Wide cobblestone streets and old-fashioned storefronts came into view.

“Logan, is this Sweetwater?”

He was still trying to tamp down his renewed anger toward Kutcher for forcing her out of her life and away from her mother. “Yeah,” he managed.

“I love the way these Victorian houses are painted. They’re so colorful. It feels very old-fashioned, the way they’re mixed in with the old stores.” The excitement in her voice surprised Logan, and then he remembered how practiced she was at moving past her pain and sadness.

He turned inward and cold when he tried to do that, but she somehow maintained her warmth and positive outlook.

“You’re a remarkable person, Stella.” He kissed her again.

“Hardly.”

She pointed at a market with a green awning over the entrance. Family owned markets and boutiques took the place of chain grocery and department stores. Unlike in New York City, most of the residents in Sweetwater had grown up here. They gave meaning to the old saying
It takes a village to raise a child
and carried that forward toward the elderly, the ill, the sad, the happy, and everything in between.

“This is beautiful, but I don’t understand why I can’t stay at the cabin. You said I was safe there.”

Stella had acted hot and cold all morning, as if she vacillated over trusting that his feelings were sincere. Logan felt her hesitation with every layer of armor she peeled away, but he wasn’t deterred. The article he’d read about Stella and her mother had painted a picture of a loving daughter who took care of her ailing mother, and as Stella softened toward him, it was easy to reassemble the image of who she’d been. Now he needed to make her world safe, so she could go back to being that person again, and be reunited with her mother.

“I’m not comfortable leaving you alone.”

“But you said I was safe. How can I be safer here? Out in the open? What if you’re wrong and someone tailed us?”

“We weren’t tailed. Have a little faith in me. I
am
a PI, you know.” He shook his head and smiled. “You’ll enjoy it here.”

She smiled as Sugar Lake came into view.

“That’s Sugar Lake.”

“It’s pretty.” She laced her fingers with his. “Who’s the girl you’re handing me off to again?”

Logan parked in front of Sweetie Pie Bakery, owned by Willow Dalton, a friend of Logan’s. A bright pink awning gave way to two large picture windows. He cut the engine and faced Stella. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in waves. She wore a loose turquoise tank top, a pair of jeans, and a wary look in her beautiful eyes.

“I’m not
handing you off
. I’m hoping to give you a few hours of remembering what it was like to live without watching your back. You’ll like Willow, and you might get to meet her sister, Bridgette. She owns the Secret Garden florist shop next door.”

“How do you know them?”

“I met Willow a few years ago, when I found her skinny-dipping on my property.”

“Oh.” Jealousy filled that word as she tried to take her hand from his.

Logan held on tight. “She’s a
friend
, Stella. Willow’s great. You’ll love her. In fact, she’s a lot like you.”

The furrow didn’t leave her brow as her eyes rolled skeptically over him. “If she’s like me, did you hook up with her?”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.” Logan smiled as she rolled her eyes. “Believe it or not, I don’t sleep with every pretty girl I see. I don’t know what makes a person attracted to one person instead of another, but I can assure you, she’s like the smart-ass sister I never had, and I’ve never hooked up with her. More important, you’ll like her.” Logan had met Willow shortly after his father had died, and although she’d been embarrassed about being caught skinny-dipping, and he’d been angry and still reeling from his father’s death, they’d had an instant kinship. She’d seen his sadness and his anger, and rather than run, she’d put her clothes back on and taken a walk with Logan, pulling answers from him like a dentist pulls teeth, one painful moment at a time. Willow’s friendship had helped him that weekend, and in the years since, her family had become like a second family to him.

Logan came around to Stella’s side of the truck and helped her out. “Sweetheart, you wear tension like a second set of clothes, and for good reason, but…” He pulled her into an embrace. Her body remained rigid against him. He crashed his lips over hers, forcing her mouth open with his tongue in a wet, sloppy kiss that made them both laugh.

She laughed as she wiped her mouth. “That was like a bad Jim Carrey movie kiss.”

“Made you relax, didn’t it? I’ll make it up to you later.” He took her very relaxed hand, glad she’d laughed the tension away.

“You bet you will,” she mumbled.

Bells sounded above them as they walked into the bakery and were assaulted by an aroma of sugary goodness that made Logan’s mouth water.

“Oh my God. I think I want to live here and smell this all day long,” Stella said quietly.

Willow’s blond head popped up from behind one of the glass displays.

“Logan!” She practically scaled the counter to get to him. He shot a look at the arched entranceway that led to Bridgette’s flower shop to see if he’d be mauled from both directions, but he didn’t see Bridgette. They loved to double-team him and bowl him over.

“Logan! Honey, I’ve missed you.” Willow threw her arms around him and kissed him smack on the lips, then turned a wide smile to Stella and pulled her into an equally enthusiastic hug. Willow was in her midtwenties and was tall and curvy. She had a big personality rivaled only by the size of her heart. “You must be Stella. You’re every bit as pretty as Logan said you were.”

“Hi.” Stella looked at Logan and mouthed,
You told her I was pretty?

He shrugged, loving the look of appreciation in her eyes.

Willow took a step back and held Stella’s hands. “Honey, Logan doesn’t ever bring women around, and I mean
ever
. I was worried the guy would end up alone with a house full of porn, if you know what I mean.”

“Hey,” Logan protested halfheartedly.

“Not that he doesn’t have every girl in this town after him.” Willow tossed her thick braid over her shoulder and crossed her arms. “So, I hear Logan has to go do guy things, and you get to spend the day with me. I can’t wait to get to know you.”

“Thanks, Willow,” Logan said.

“Yes, thank you. I won’t be any trouble. I could have stayed at his cabin—”

“Nonsense.” Willow swatted the air. “First of all, why would you stay in that cabin all by yourself when you could be here with me?” She leaned in close and whispered, “I’m fun, trust me. Did he tell you how we met?”

“Hey, Willow. Don’t take her skinny-dipping.”

Stella turned mischievous eyes in his direction. God, he loved seeing that spark in her eyes.

“Jealous? Maybe we’ll skinny-dip in Sugar Lake.” Stella arched a brow.

Logan scrubbed his hand down his face. “What have I done?”

Willow put a muffin in a bag and handed it to Logan. “Go on. Go do your boy things. We’ll be fine.” She shooed him toward the door.

He reached for Stella and lowered his voice. “You okay? You have the phone I gave you?”

“Actually, I’m fine now. And I have the phone.” She hugged him and whispered, “Thank you.”

He couldn’t resist giving her a soft kiss.

“Oh my goodness. Get out of here before you have her all googly-eyed. I’m gonna get to know this chickadee and make sure you’re not too bad of an influence on her. Go.” Willow shooed him out again.

***

BY MIDDAY STELLA felt more comfortable than she had since she left Mystic. Willow was easy to talk to, a good listener, and warm and wonderful with each and every customer that came into the bakery. Each customer had a story to share—news of a pending birth, an upcoming event for a church group, a cousin who had hit hard times. There were too many to keep track of, and Willow listened intently, offered advice, and doled out hugs and well-wishes to nearly everyone. It was easy to see how she and Logan would get along. Two people for whom helping others was stamped in their DNA.

They were baking cookies, something Stella hadn’t done in years. It made her long for her mother even more than usual.

“So, how did you end up with Logan? All he told me was that he was trying to track down a bad guy. I swear he’s like a modern-day Superman.” Willow took a batch of cookies from the oven and slid another tray in.

She felt like she could open up to Willow, and more important, she wanted to. She already felt like a friend, and Stella didn’t have many friends these days.

“This is going to sound like I’m a weak, pathetic girl, but really, I’m not.” Stella didn’t want anyone’s pity, and even though she sensed that Willow wouldn’t pity her, she still felt the need to clarify.

“Honey, we’re all weak girls. You know that saying ‘A real woman can do things herself’? Well, I buy into the next part, too. ‘But a real man won’t let her.’ Heck, if I had a man like Logan, I’d get in trouble on purpose just to let him save me.”

Stella felt her jaw drop open.

Willow finished rolling out the dough before lifting her eyes to Stella. “Oh God.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I’m not interested in Logan. I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s not that.” Stella sank into a chair. “I just realized as I was listening to you that I don’t even know
how
to act normal anymore. I haven’t had a girlfriend to talk to in months, and I don’t know how to react to things. Because of my life, I feel like I have to be this tough, bitchy, hard woman. I mean, I do have to or my wacko ex-boyfriend might find me and kill me.
Literally
. But when I hear you talk, I want to be
that
girl again. I want to talk about how fun it would be to be with Logan and how freaking hot he is, and I want so badly for my biggest worry to be if Logan will be late for a date.” She felt tears stinging her eyes as Willow crouched beside her.

Stella realized she’d completely spilled her guts without even thinking about it. She was relieved to see empathy in Willow’s eyes instead of pity, and she was powerless to stop the truth from coming out. “I don’t even know how to classify what we are together. He’s rescuing me.” As the words left her lips, they felt wrong. But she was afraid to believe in what she felt and what he said he felt. In two more days Kutcher would be out, and God only knew how long it would be before he found her. She couldn’t even bear the thought.

“First off, Logan will not let any psycho ex near you, and, honey, this is not how Logan rescues.” Willow wrapped her arms around Stella, and Stella couldn’t hold back the flood of tears that had been welling inside her for months. “Honey, I’ve known him for a few years. I’ve never seen Logan with a woman he cares about, because there haven’t been any. He keeps a professional distance from his clients, and he definitely
doesn’t
bring them here to Sweetwater.”

Willow lightly touched Stella’s shoulder. “This is Logan’s second hometown. He treasures this place as much as we do. There’s only one reason Logan would bring you here. He’s not rescuing you, honey. He’s falling for you.”