by JJ Ellis
“The place is booked solid. I haven’t been able to get someone on the inside yet. Departing guests do tell us there is a mean looking mother fucker walking around calling himself the boss.”
“But you don’t’ know for sure that he’s still there?”
“Sorry man. We have someone going in as an employee on Monday, but that’s the best I can do for now.”
Logan sighed and tightened his grip on the arm of the couch. “They have private planes,” he said pulling the list Jayna had given him out of his pocket. "Unlimited vehicles, employees who will do anything short of murder, bank accounts scattered across the world. He could be in my store as we speak."
“Hold on Logan. I’ve got something coming in." Paper shuffled and a keyboard clicked. “Okay, one of my guys got through on the phone. When he asked for Reginald, he was transferred directly to him. The voice matched as far as we could tell.”
“Okay,” Logan said, only partially relieved. “Keep me updated.” Hanging up the phone, he raised his head and met Jayna’s eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” he said motioning her over to sit next to him. “We just realized that there are too many holes that the slimy bastard could crawl through. So, we’re tightening up ship. I don’t want you going anywhere alone. If you need fresh air, you can go to the loading dock doors but only when one of my guys is there."
“Okay,” she agreed quietly. A knock sounded on the door and she jumped.
“Hey, it’s just the food. You’re safe here,” he said, looking into her eyes. Their faces were only an inch apart and they leaned in simultaneously, their lips joining for a gentle, comforting kiss.
At the second knock they moved apart and Logan rushed to grab his wallet to get their food from the delivery guy. As they worked together to prepare plates of their favorite Chinese dishes, Logan snuck a peak at Jayna. “I’m so sorry about the kiss. It never should have happened. I usually don’t allow myself to do stuff like that.”
She looked up at him. “It’s okay. I kissed you too.”
“I feel like I took advantage of you. You just had a baby for cripes sake!”
“I think you’re angrier that you did something you don’t allow yourself to do than you are that you kissed a woman who just gave birth,” she said lightly, a smile forming on her lips.
Logan looked at her, an eyebrow quirked. “Well, first of all, you are probably right and second of all, you really are a smart ass.”
“I thought we’d already established that,” she chuckled, taking her plate to the dining room table. “So, why don’t you get involved with women?”
Logan set his plate on the table and sat down. “It’s just not for me. The whole wife, family, minivan thing just wouldn’t work for me.”
“So you just stay away from women, or you just don’t kiss them?”
“I’m a man, Jayna. Women are a temptations so I just steer clear of them. It’s that simple.”
“Well good luck with that,” she chuckled. “I wish Reginald was more like you. I would never have gotten close enough to him to end up in this mess.”
“How long were you together?” he asked quietly. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Four years,” she murmured. “It was great at first but then he changed. When I finally got the courage to leave, he was smacking me around on a daily basis.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, grabbing her hand. “No one should have to go through that.”
"I should have left him sooner,” she whispered through tears. “But then I wouldn’t have CJ.”
At just that moment a cry came from the bedroom. “He knows we were talking about him,” Logan chuckled. “I’ll get him. You keep eating.”
**********
“Goodnight Logan,” Jayna mumbled sleepily. CJ was asleep in the bassinet next to the bed.
“Goodnight Jayna, call me if you need anything.” He wasn’t even sure if she’d heard him. The pain pills the doctor had given her were finally starting to work.
He took his grandmother’s old quilt out of the coat closet and settled onto the couch. His mind was kept busy planning out what to do for Jayna. She and CJ could settle anywhere once the threat was neutralized. But getting a monster like Reginald Sanders to leave a victim alone once he’d started the chase would be nearly impossible. With that thought he started to doze off.
Logan was lying in his bed, in the middle of the woods. He heard a woman sobbing. Getting up, he tried to discern where the sound was coming from. “Hello,” he called moving toward the trees. “Jayna is that you?” For some reason his voice was so quiet even though he was yelling. “Jayna!” he tried again. He started to run toward the sound of the crying and the sound of the river. The cries were getting more desperate. The rushing water was louder. Suddenly he was in a clearing and in front of him was a large man, at least six-three. He had his arm around Jayna’s waist and a hand around her delicate throat. “Hey! Get the hell away from her!” he tried in vain to yell. Despite the quietness of his voice, the man seemed to hear him and looked up into his eyes before disappearing into thin air. Jayna dropped to the ground, still crying.
Logan sprang up, sweat soaking his body. The crying from his dream was now coming from the bedroom. Making his way across the apartment, he walked into the room to find Jayna sitting up against the headboard crying. “Hey, what’s wrong?" he whispered. “Is CJ okay?”
Jayna nodded in the affirmative and reached for a new Kleenex. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
“Don’t even worry about that,” he said, walking around to the other side of the bed. He sat next to her and reached for her hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I…I…I don’t know,” she hiccupped. "It’s…It’s just that my life is such a mess. How in the hell did I let that happen?” The tears still coursed down her face.
“None of this is your fault, Jayna. You just loved the wrong person. That’s all.” But then didn’t it mean that it was all her fault if she was foolish enough to love someone…Just like Ben. He’d been fool enough to love and all it got him was heartache and death. And here was Jayna, her foolishness could cost her, not just her life but CJ’s too. But of course he couldn’t tell her that. How the hell should he go about comforting her though? This was so far out of his realm.
Jayna’s head dropped to his shoulder, her sobs calming but still shaking their bodies.
Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “We’ll figure something out. We have to. Then you and CJ can go live near Deb and Jack. Boulder City, Nevada is a great place for kids and Vegas is just a short drive away.”
“That sounds nice,” Jayna mumbled. “I do miss Deb and the twins a lot.”
“You have to think positive.”
“I’ll try.” She straightened up and wiped her eyes. “Thank you for making me feel safe.”
Logan felt anything but safe. When she was in his arms, he felt terrified…of something. Of what? When he watched her sleep or snuggle CJ he was petrified. He felt like he may never be able to move again. No, like he may never want to move again. And earlier that night, when he’d kissed her, he felt… What? Something unknown, unheard of to him, had gripped his heart when their lips met.
“Logan. Hey Logan,” Jayna said, pulling him away from his troubling thoughts.
“What?”
“CJ’s crying, could you grab him while I visit the little girl’s room please?”
“Oh, uh yeah. Sure. “He got up off the bed and made his way around to the bassinet. “Hey my man. Are you hungry? It’s okay, Mama will be right back.” He picked him up and cuddled him on his shoulder. Sniffing the air briefly, he grabbed the diaper bag off the floor and started to figure out how on earth to change the squirming, crying little bundle.
“What are you doing?” Jayna asked as she came out of the bathroom.
“Trying to change my buddy here. He stinks!”
Jayna walked closer and gasped. “Logan, put the diaper over his…" But it was too late. He got a stream of pee right in the face.
Logan gasped and sputtered as Jayna handed him a burp cloth.
Laughter bubbled out of his mouth as he wiped his face. “It looks like I’ve been christened.”
Jayna was giggling as she finished changing CJ. “At least you remembered to put the changing pad down so the bed is safe.”
“Very funny,” he chuckled. “I’ll be right back. I need to clean up.”
When he returned with a freshly cleaned face, minus a shirt, Jayna was sitting against the headboard, eyes closed, feeding the baby. Her eyes opened and set on his torso then quickly flitted away.
“I’m making you uncomfortable,” he murmured, walking over to the closet. “I’m sorry. I won’t ever try anything…”
“It’s okay Logan. You’re not making me uncomfortable. For some reason I trust you more than I ever did Reggie. Weird huh?”
Logan put a tank top on and waked over to sit next to her again. “Logan Harper, master burper is here.”
Jayna smiled and looked into his eyes for a few moments. What did she see there? Fear? Confusion? He’d said he didn’t do relationships and family and now more than ever, she wondered why.
Logan took CJ and he noticed Jayna didn’t even hurry to cover up anymore. She did trust him and that scared him most of all. “Do you like shopping?” he asked suddenly.
“Uh yeah. Why?”
“Well, if you are up to it, tomorrow we can put your brown wig on and do some shopping for Mr. CJ here.”
Jayna looked away. “I only have a hundred dollars left,” she murmured. “It isn’t safe to use my debit card anyway.”
“You’re shopping. I’m paying,” he insisted.
“No Logan…”
“Don’t argue!” he emphasized sternly. “Consider it gifts from me and my whole family or a loan or whatever you want, but this baby – and you, need stuff.”
“Okay Logan…I guess you’re right. He can’t wear the same onesie all the time. But I will pay you back.”
Logan handed CJ back to nurse on the other side and smiled at her. “Fair enough.”
Not too long later, CJ was burped for a final time and put into the bassinet. Logan stood to leave.
“Can you stay?” Jayna asked shyly. "I’ve been getting scared so easily…”
“Sure," he agreed, sitting back on the bed. He reached over and turned the light off before lying down. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight and thank you again,” she whispered as a shudder wracked her body.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just cold. The doctor told me chills and hot flashes were normal post-partum.”
“Come here,” he said, pulling her against him. “Body heat will warm you up quickly.”
Jayna snuggled into his arms and fell asleep quickly. Logan soon followed.
A call in the middle of the night informed him that his brother Dylan had been involved in a serious car accident and was taken to Billings Montana via helicopter. He laid awake for a long time thinking about his baby brother. It seems that he was finally on the downward spiral of his self-destruction and if he didn’t make it out of this, Logan knew he would have even more reason to steer clear of women.
*********
Logan woke early the next day. After owning the grocery store for so long, he got used to getting an early start every day. But after being on the run and giving birth, he knew Jayna was bordering on exhaustion so he let her sleep in. He locked the apartment doors behind him and went down to his office in the back of the store. He had some time to get caught up on paperwork before they would head to Sheridan to do some shopping for the baby. And for Jayna he reminded himself. She had absolutely nothing but the clothes on her back.
“Hey Logan?” an attractive woman asked, stepping into his office.
“Hey Robin, what’s up.” His bakery manager sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Her apron was covered in flour and there was even some on the tip of her nose.
“Can…I…Do… you have any openings for a stocker or a maintenance worker or something like that?”
Logan put his pen down and looked at her. “You aren’t looking to move down in ranks are you?” he asked, fearing the answer. She was the best bakery manager he’d ever had and he would hate to lose her.
“No,” she smiled. "I…well, my little brother is coming to live with me and I want him to get a job. He’s….He…he has autism. If he has set tasks and a firm voice he can do pretty much anything. It’s…It’s when he has too much stimulus at once that he has a meltdown. He’s really a good worker, I promise. He worked at the grocery store back home and now that mom and dad have passed, he needs a steady routine in his life…”
“Whoa! Slow down Robin. There’s no reason to be nervous with me. I know what you’ve been through these last three months. I would be happy to help you and your brother.”
“Oh thank you!” she gushed. Relief was evident on her face. “I was afraid there wouldn’t be any openings.”
“We just lost two people who left for school in Casper so we have plenty of room for someone new. Once he gets settled, bring him in and we can figure something out.”
“Thank you so much,” she gushed as she stood up to leave. “You won’t regret this!”
The young woman left the room and he picked up his pen again. He had to figure out where he’d gone wrong in his bookkeeping before it was time to head upstairs to make breakfast for Jayna.
When Logan found the mistake he was relieved, but he also knew it was probably time to hire someone else to do his bookkeeping for him. Between his barely readable handwriting and his penchant for daydreaming, it was a wonder that he hadn’t put the store into the hole.
He stood and stretched before looking at the time on his phone. It was nine a.m. and his stomach was growling. Rushing up stairs, he unlocked the door and found Jayna nursing CJ on the couch. “Good morning Sleeping Beauty. How did you sleep?”
“Very well, thank you. CJ even slept a decent stretch.”
“Were you being nice to your mommy, little man?” he asked as Jayna handed him over and went into the bedroom. He was greeted by an immediate burp. “You’re just being nice to everyone today. Do you want to help me fix breakfast for your mommy?” The baby was quiet, already falling asleep on his shoulder.
Logan started gathering items from the refrigerator and cupboards all while holding on to CJ. Jayna watched them from the bedroom doorway, a smile on her face. “Hey, let me hold him so you can have both of your hands free,” Jayna offered.
“Thank you. I don’t think I could manage cooking with him in my arms.” He handed the baby over to his mother and set about making eggs, bacon and pancakes. Finally, he served them up and took CJ to the bedroom so he could sleep in his bassinet.
“Oh Logan, this is so good, I have never tasted pancakes this good. Where did you learn to cook?”
“My mom,” he answered. “I figured since I was never getting married, I would rather learn to cook than starve.”
Jayna laughed. “Good idea.”
Again, something constricted in Logan’s insides when he looked at her smile and heard the laughter in her voice. He hated the feeling, but found it easy to shake off as conversation switched to making a list of stuff they needed to get in Sheridan.
“Stop fighting me on this Jayna,” Logan warned. “I’m going to make sure both of you have everything you need. Like I said yesterday, you can think of it as gifts or you can pay me back someday.”
“Okay,” she sighed, finally giving in. “I’ll go get packed up for the trip while you clean up. Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “Next stop, Sheridan.”
**********
The drive took them thirty-five minutes. Jayna had her brown wig and sunglasses on and Loan wore his most battered jeans, a red and black flannel shirt,
a baseball cap and sunglasses. “Are you guys that well known in Sheridan too?” Jayna asked as they got out the new SUV Logan had delivered that morning to replace the truck which didn’t have room for the baby.
“The Harpers are known everywhere in Wyoming,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Whether good or bad…well that depends on who you talk to.”
“Ah okay,” Jayna said as she grabbed the diaper bag from the backseat. “I can’t imagine anyone saying anything bad about you.”
“What you hear about me is usually pretty decent. My brother Dylan on the other hand…” He sure hoped his brother would be okay. He’d have to try to call his mother again when they made it back to Harper’s Rock.
“Nicoletta mentioned him. She said he was some kind of playboy extraordinaire.”
“That’s an understatement. There are rumors that he has been in the pants of every single woman between here and the Utah border.”
“He sounds…interesting."
Logan shrugged. “He’s a good guy, he just loves the ladies a little too much ever since his one true love told him no.”
“Nicoletta…” Jayna said quietly, as understanding dawned on her.
“Yeah,” Logan chuckled as he pulled the baby’s seat out of the vehicle. “Let’s go shopping.”
An hour later, after stops here and there within the big box store so Jayna could rest, they walked out the exit doors with five hundred dollars’ worth of baby supplies, clothes and things for Jayna.
“You spent way too much,” she said as Logan loaded the car. “At least let me help you now.”
“No, you still need to take it easy. I’m sure you wouldn’t feel safe if you had to go back to the hospital.”
“I’m fine, Logan!” she insisted. “I can help a little bit.”
“No, just go put CJ in the car and then I’ll take you out to lunch.”
“You’re not my knight in denim armor, you’re a bossy jerk,” she mumbled as she walked away.
Logan chuckled and continued to load the SUV. He couldn’t remember having had such a great time shopping before. Jayna was fun and such a smart ass. Between their disguises and the quiet chatter and laughing as they walked through the store, security had been following them around. It was quite amusing to them that the security guy had gone to school with Logan but didn’t recognize him at all.