Long, Lonely Nights (30 page)

“No guessing needed. I know. Those three men in there are the gentlest men around women there are,” Tina admonished.

“I’ll be alone with him though and he’s so… I don’t know, male.”

“Isn’t that what you want in a man, for him to be male?” Tina asked with a smile.

“Oh shut up. You know what I mean. It’s overwhelming.”

“Yet you want me to take a chance on Logan.”

“You two belong together. I can see it. He isn’t as tough as Riley,” Jenna said.

“Come on, you two. How long till time to eat?” Morgan walked into the room and poured another cup of coffee.

“We’re waiting on the bacon to thaw. It only has a few more minutes,” Jenna said.

“Can’t wait. Last home cooked meal I had was back in the Army,” he said.

“You call that a home cooked meal?” Tina asked.

“It was my home away from home.” Morgan leaned over Jenna to sniff at the microwave.

Riley walked in.

“Back off, Morgan,” he said.

Morgan held his hands up and backed off. He gave Riley an odd look.

“No problem man. Just sniffing the bacon.” He backed away with his cup of coffee then disappeared into the living room.

“Riley,” Tina said. “What was that all about?”

Riley didn’t say anything. He turned around and walked out.

“See, he acts like he owns me.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s just worried about you is all.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.” Jenna took out the bacon when the microwave dinged.

Tina sighed. He did act odd around Jenna lately. Not any odder than Logan acted around her. She knew why Logan acted like he did. So why was Riley behaving so strangely?

“Bacon looks ready. Want to start the pancakes now?” Jenna asked.

“Right, you start them. I’ll start on the bacon.”

Ten minutes later they called the men in to start fixing their plates.

“Okay, breakfast is on the table,” Tina called out.

Jenna continued cooking the pancakes.

“I’ll take over,” Tina said reaching for the bowl. “You go ahead and eat, so you can get your car.”

“I don’t mind cooking while you eat.”

“Nope, go sit down.”

Jenna swallowed and sat next to Riley. Tina smiled to herself. It was the only empty chair at the table. Those two needed to settle their differences, she thought. Then she sobered. Riley would leave soon, so maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to push Jenna towards him. She hadn’t thought about that. He and Morgan would both be leaving at some point. They were only there to help Logan when they were watching her.

Logan got up from the table and rinsed his plate off.

“Go sit down. I’ll finish up cooking.”

“I’ll eat after everyone finishes. I’m not very hungry anyway.”

“You need to eat. You’re getting skinny,” he said in a gruff voice.

“Gee thanks, just what a woman wants to hear,” Tina huffed and walked off.

He could cook the damn pancakes. She took the seat he had vacated and realized she hadn’t gotten a plate. She started to get up, but Logan handed her a plate before she managed to get out of the chair.

“Thanks.”

“No excuses. Eat.” He took up a pancake from the platter and slid it on her plate.

She grimaced and reached for the syrup. Riley passed it to her. She really wasn’t hungry, and the thought of eating bacon really didn’t sit well either. She sighed and took a bite. By the time she had finished her pancake, Logan was sliding another one on her plate.

“No more. I can’t eat anything else,” she said.

“Nonsense, you can eat one more.” He walked off and left her scowling.

“Eat, Tina. If I have to, you have to,” Jenna said.

Tina frowned at Jenna. Jenna just smiled a bright smile and continued to eat. So much for friends, she thought.

Jenna and Riley left to pick up her car. She smiled watching Riley explain how to sit and where to put her feet. He told her to hold on to him, and she turned a panicked look Tina’s way. Tina nodded her head and hoped she didn’t fall off before they made it to the hotel.

“Did you have a good time last night?” Logan asked.

“Yes, it was great to get out again. It’s been a long time other than when we all went out.”

“I hope you’re being careful with who you spend time with. You can’t trust every man you dance with.”

“I think I know that better than anyone, Logan. What’s your point?”

Tina was getting angry. She crossed her arms. What was with the lecture? Why did he even care? He wasn’t interested in her. She wasn’t interested in him either.

“I just want you to be careful. That’s all.”

“Why are you so worried about me going out?”

“Because I care what happens to you.” Logan huffed out a breath. “Look, do me a favor and don’t go out alone. Go with Jenna, or if you want to go and she can’t go, call me. I’ll take you.”

Tina was speechless. Where was he going with this? She decided to humor him and get him off the subject.

“Sure. I’ll call, but I don’t go out without Jenna.”

Logan nodded and turned away. She sighed and followed him. She needed to get her bowls and spoons. She walked past him and Morgan in the living room and went straight to the kitchen. She rinsed out the bowls and headed to the sliding glass door. Morgan was there before her and opened it for her.

“Thanks for breakfast. It was great.”

“No problem. Glad you liked it.”

“Morgan.” Logan’s voice came from the living room.

Tina rolled her eyes and Morgan smiled.

“I can’t get close to either one of you two ladies. Makes me wonder what the deal is.” He winked and closed the door behind her.

Tina walked back to her house and thought about it. Maybe Logan was attracted to her and couldn’t help it, but didn’t want anything to do with her at the same time. Maybe it would be worth it for her to pursue him. She knew she loved him now. Wasn’t he worth fighting for? Nothing said she couldn’t go after him. The worst that would happen is he would turn her down. She didn’t know if she could handle his rejection, but she knew she had to try. Not knowing if they could have something together was killing her anyway.

She needed a strategy, something to bring them back together in close proximity. He obviously cared whether it was only as a friend or more. She could build on that. He had said that he would take her out if she wanted to go and Jenna didn’t. She would need to enlist Jenna’s aid. She was sure her friend would jump at the chance to help. She wanted Jenna and Riley to get together. Tina felt good about her decision to pursue Morgan in order to stir Logan up. She only hoped it would work.

* * * *

“So, what’s up with you two making the girls off limits? I was just being nice,” Morgan asked.

“You’re going to be leaving at some point. They’ve been through enough without your skipping out on them in the future.” Logan leaned back against the back of the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

“Yeah, right. I’ll move on soon. Maybe I should head out tomorrow.” He turned and walked towards the hall.

“Wait. I don’t want you to clear out or anything. I like Tina, okay? She’s special.”

“So why is she over there and you’re over here?” Morgan asked.

“Because I’m not good for her. She deserves better than me, someone who can treat her good and won’t hurt her.”

“And you think you’re not that person. Why in the hell do you think that?” Morgan walked back into the living room and took a chair.

“I’m rough, Morgan. You know the reputation Riley and I had back in the day,” Logan said.

“So, you two shared women. Are you saying you want to do that with Tina? Cause I can’t see you doing that with the way you warned me off.”

“No, I don’t want to share her.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Dammit, Morgan, I can get rough during sex. Can I make it any clearer than that?” Logan dropped his feet to the floor and sat up, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Considering what she’s been through, I guess I can understand your reluctance. Still, don’t you think finding out would be better than not knowing?”

“I already found out. She didn’t take it well,” Logan said.

“Ah, I see. So she let you know you were too rough.”

“Not in so many words. It was her expression more than anything.”

“Could you have misinterpreted?” Morgan asked.

“I doubt it.”Logan sighed. “So anyway. Just don’t lead her on, all right?”

“No problem. Not interested in her. Just being nice,” Morgan said. “We cool now?”

“Yeah, sorry I jumped on you. I guess I’m touchy where she is concerned.”

Morgan’s eyebrows rose. Then he turned and walked towards the front door.

“Think I’ll go for a ride. Getting antsy. Later.”

“Later.”

Once Morgan had left, Logan got up and paced the living room. He cursed and decided to work on the training manual he was in the middle of. Anything to get his mind off of Tina for a little while. If anything would work, writing about Army maneuvers should do it.

That night, after Morgan and Riley had gone on to bed, Logan sat up thinking about Tina and wishing things could be different. He wandered outside and sat down. Without even thinking about it, he turned towards her balcony and was surprised to see her sitting outside. She was dressed in a red negligee that revealed more than it
hid
. At first, he was mesmerized by her beauty and enjoying the view. Then, he realized that if he could see her, then Riley could see her, too. His room was on the back side of the house.

Suddenly angry with her, Logan marched around the fence separating their yards and knocked, more like pounded, on her garage door. He waited for a few seconds, then pounded again. Tina looked out the window at him with a puzzled look on her face.

“Open the door, Tina,” he growled.

“What do you want at this hour?” She didn’t unlock the door.

“What in the hell are you doing outside in that outfit where anyone can see you?”

“If I remember right, you didn’t mind it a few weeks ago,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well, that was before I had house guests who can see you as well as I can,” Logan confessed.

“Oh.” Tina unlocked the door and opened it. “Come in.”

Logan had to squeeze past her. Her nipples brushed his naked chest. He realized all he had on was his shorts. Not a good thing when he wanted her so badly. His cock stood out in sharp relief against his shorts. He almost groaned out loud. He had screwed up coming over.

“I didn’t think about the others seeing me. I wanted some fresh air. It’s stuffy in the house even with the air conditioner on.”