Logan's Leap

by JJ Ellis

  **********

  Frank walked into the hotel room with boxes of food. “Breakfast is served,” he called out. Joe walked out of the bathroom and sat down at the small table in their room. “So what should we do now? We need to find out which Harper she’s with."

  “Speaking of Harpers, I hear one of the boys was hurt pretty badly in an accident last night. I also found out he lives in the lake house on the ranch."

  “Ah,” Joe said as realization dawned. “He won’t be home so we need to search his house.”

  “I think he could be the one,” Frank added. “He likes the ladies and would probably be willing to help a beautiful thing like Miss McIntyre.”

  “Yeah, when I was getting dinner last night I kind of ruled out Russell Harper. He just moved back to town and has a little girl. He’s living with his mother. I just don’t think it would be easy for him to hide someone.”

  “Well then, after breakfast let’s take a ride out to the ranch.”

  **********

  Joe and Frank peeked in windows at the lake house. They came to the conclusion that the building was empty. “Well, she’s not here,” Joe said as he walked to the back of the house. “There is no sign of a baby and there is nobody in the bedrooms."

  “Yeah, let’s go check the car we saw in the parking area,” Frank suggested.

  The two men walked through the trees and down the small hill to where they had parked their car. Frank was quickly able to break into the little red pile of junk. He searched the back seat while Joe searched the trunk. He then moved on to the ash tray which was empty. He moved the papers he found on the front seat to see if anything was underneath and then he leafed through, finding plenty of little tidbits to tell him that this was indeed Jayna’s car.

  “Hurry up Frank. I think I hear someone coming. Let’s get out of here.”

  The two men jumped into their car and took off. “She’s in Harper’s Rock,” Frank told his partner. "Those were her papers in that car."

  “Shit! That guy in the pickup is going to cut us off and make us stop,” Joe said gritting his teeth.

  They came to a stop and an old man with a shotgun got out of the pickup. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked as he approached.

  “Uh yeah, we’re kind of lost. We are trying to find Harper's Rock.”

  “Just head out here to the highway then turn right and keep going until you see the town sign,” the old man told them. “You can’t miss it.”

  “Thank you so much,” Joe said, rolling his window up. He drove around the old pickup and headed back to town. “I think we can rule out Dylan Harper. If she was with him, she would either still be at the cabin or she would have taken her car to get away after he had his accident. I think it’s time to start looking at the grocery store owner. Thank goodness our hotel room looks out across his parking lot. We’ll know soon enough where Miss Jayna McIntyre is. We can grab her and get her back to Reggie.”

  **********

  For Jayna and Logan, the next four days were spent shopping in disguises, talking over quiet meals and taking care of CJ as a team. They came to the mutual conclusion that they worked well together.

  Logan had never had so much fun with someone. Now if only he could stop thinking about kissing her then everything would be great. He actually missed the sounds of CJ crying and fussing every couple of hours when he was at work during the day.

  One morning, Jayna finally decided to take CJ out to the loading dock, with no disguise, for some sunshine. When Logan’s brother and niece showed up, her nervousness took over and she fled upstairs. She didn’t want her friend to have to answer any unwanted questions because of her. When Logan came upstairs a few hours later, he told her they would need to move her car. “The ranch hand had noticed it. I told him to zip his lip and that I would take care of it. Would you and CJ like to come with me?”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed. “I’m getting cabin fever. But how are we going to move it? It stopped running.”

  “The farm hand says he thinks it just need gas. We’ll take a full gas can and Jose will drive it over to his place and put it under a tarp so no one can see it.”

  “He could take it to the junk yard for all I care,” she mumbled. “I bought the piece of crap for five hundred dollars."

  “I’ll have Jose ask around,” Logan said, as he buckled CJ into his infant seat. “You ready to go?”

  “Yeah, I’ll grab the diaper bag and meet you out there.” Jayna packed up the bag and left the apartment via the back stairs. As soon as she stepped outside a chill wracked her body. It wasn’t the least bit cold outside. She looked around and saw Logan standing next to the SUV. She still felt guilty that he’d had to trade his favorite truck in for something more accommodating for her son.

  “Hey, are you okay?’ Logan asked her as she approached.

  “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said, smiling at him. “I had kind of a weird feeling when I first stepped outside. But it’s gone now.”

  Logan nodded and got behind the wheel. He also had the same feeling, only for him, it never left.

  He pulled out on the highway and headed to the Harper Ranch. His mom’s car was the only one there when they drove by the main house. Hopefully she wouldn’t come out and flag him down. He wasn’t quite ready to explain his guests and Jayna was still wary of anyone else knowing about them.

  Luckily he was able to drive right on by and soon they were parked next to Jayna’s car. Logan got out of the SUV and grabbed the gas can from the back. He set it down next to the car and took Jayna’s keys from his pocked. As he reached to unlock the front door, he noticed it was already unlocked. After he’d retrieved her stuff he had locked it up tight. Hadn’t he?

  “Logan, what’s wrong?” she asked through her now open window.

  He walked over to the passenger door and took the baby seat out. “Could you come look at the car? Tell me if anything looks out of place.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, slowly getting out of the vehicle to join him. Logan was holding the baby’s seat tight.

  Jayna opened the car door and looked inside. At first she didn’t notice anything but then a few items caught her eye. “The ashtray is pulled out,” she murmured. “I never used it. It was shut tight when I got here.”

  “Anything else?” he asked when she paused.

  “Yeah, the papers on the dashboard were on the front seat.” Her voice gave out halfway through her statement but Logan had understood.

  They both turned, hearing a vehicle approach. “It’s Jose and his son,” he said. “Take the baby, get back in the car and lock the doors."

  Jayna knew better than to ask questions, she just did exactly what he said.

  Logan gave the gas can and keys to the two men, shook their hands and got back in the SUV. “Someone’s been in your car and a couple of city boys were seen roaming the woods near the lake. I think Reginald knows you’re here.”

  “I know,” she mumbled. “I had a feeling. What do we do now?”

  “I haven’t quite decided yet. Let’s head back to the apartment and come up with a plan. It might be time to get out of town.”

  **********

  Frank and Joe had decided to follow the grocery store owner whenever possible. While they were picking up some supplies in the grocery store they had heard him say that he and his new friend were headed out to the family ranch. So they got in the car and waited. It was just happenstance that out of the corner of his eye, Frank saw an SUV pull out from behind the store with a man and a woman in the front seats.

  They knew it was too dangerous to do anything in town and they didn’t want to get caught following so they gave him a ten minute head start before heading out toward the ranch. They hid along the side of the road amongst some trees. When the grocery store owner headed back into town they pulled out and followed. They would have to do something soon because there was no telling when they would have the chance again – unless they wanted to storm the grocery store full of people.


  They hung back at what Joe thought was a safe distance and began to plan. “So, where should we grab her and the baby?”

  “Maybe where the road forks up ahead we can rush to get in the lead and then block them off. And we are only getting her. The boss doesn’t want the baby."

  “We have to take the baby, he needs his mother,” Joe insisted. "We’ll let the boss decide what he wants to do about him.”

  “He’s gonna be pissed,” Frank said matter-of-factly.

  “I don’t give a damn. We are taking the baby too and we need to make sure he isn’t hurt. The boss might not care, but you know how our family is…you don’t hurt relatives. Reggie’s dad would have us all killed if something bad happened to that little one.”

  “Yeah,” Frank reluctantly agreed. “It’s going to make things a lot harder because we have to make sure not to hurt anyone.”

  “Except for Logan Harper,” Joe said. "I don’t think the boss would care if he disappeared. He doesn’t like the thought of anyone else having his property.”

  Joe hit the accelerator to speed up as they got closer and closer to the fork in the road. Just as he was about to accelerate and make a move, deer started to pour out onto the road from behind some trees. Joe slammed on the brakes and came to a complete stop. The SUV was up ahead and quickly passed the fork in the road. “Damn it!” Frank exclaimed. “Now what are we going to do.”

  “We’re going to be patient and get the job done properly,” Joe said. “Leave it to Wyoming that we get stuck behind deer in the road.”

  Chapter 6

  Logan rushed Jayna and the baby inside, through the grocery store. The more people around them the safer he felt. Once they were inside the apartment, he locked the doors and started packing a suitcase for the three of them.

  “You have a plan now?” she asked quietly as she fed CJ.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I just hope it works.

  “Just point me in a direction and CJ and I will head that way. We held him off okay for quite a while. Now that I’m not sick, we can do it again."

  Logan looked up at her and shook his head vigorously. “No way in hell am I sending you out there alone with a six-day-old baby. I’ll be with you until you’re safe.”

  “Oh, come on Logan…” she started.

  “Don’t argue with me Jayna. I need you to make a list of anything personal you might need over the next few weeks.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve disrupted your life like this,” she said softly. A tear dripped from her eye onto CJ’s cheek and she brushed it away.

  “Please don’t,” Logan begged. “Promise me you’ll stop doing this. I want to help.”

  Jayna looked up at him. The look in his eyes was somehow always comforting even when he was frustrated with her. “I promise,” she whispered. How could she not. The thought of being on the run, alone with a newborn, terrified her.

  Logan handed her a notepad and a pen and she got started on a list for them. When she was done, he sat down next to her and took the paper. “Can you use a gun?”

  “I grew up in bear country, Logan. Of course I can. But I don’t have one anymore, Reginald took it."

  He left her side and went to the closet. From the top shelf, he grabbed a locked box and brought it back to her. Taking the 9mm out, he checked it over and handed it to her once CJ was safely in his carrier. “If anyone but me comes in that door, shoot them.”

  “Okay,” she agreed getting used to the feeling of the cold metal in her hands. “Nice piece.”

  “Yeah it is,” he smiled. “I’m going to go get supplies then I’ll come back up here to get you and CJ. I think we’re going to take a ride in a bread truck."

  **********

  Logan had the supplies boxed up, made a few calls, and then bought a pay-as-you-go cell phone before heading back up the stairs. Jayna was singing to CJ when he walked in the door.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked, picking the pistol up off of the table and putting it in the back waistband of his jeans.

  “I guess. Why are we leaving in a bread truck?”

  “We were followed here by a couple of nasty looking guys in a black car. I guess they don’t realize how observant I can be.”

  “Shit. Reggie’s goons are usually meaner than he is.”

  “That’s why we will be leaving here in the back of Curtis Blackwell’s bread truck. We’ll meet up with my dad’s friend, Travis, where we will get a vehicle and head out of town.”

  “Where too?” she asked, grabbing her purse.

  “Someplace that I barely remember,” he murmured, a tortured look clouding his eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”

  The loading dock was deserted and all of the bays were closed but one. A Blackwell Bakery Distributors truck was backed all the way into the opening.

  “Jayna, give me your cell phone,” Logan said as his manager, Andrew, approached.

  “Uh. Okay, why?” Her hand slipped into her pocket and she turned the phone over to Logan.

  He gave his cell phone, and hers, to Andrew with instructions to put them in the office until their return. “I trust you to take care of my store. If you have any trouble, call my mother.”

  “Yes sir. We’ll return the store to you exactly as you left her.” The two men shook hands and Logan picked up the suitcase and the baby then ushered Jayna into the truck. Five bumpy miles later, the big white delivery vehicle came to a stop and within a few moments, the door rolled up.

  “Were you followed?” Logan asked Curtis immediately.

  “Nope,” he chuckled. "The two gentlemen are enjoying complimentary hot dogs and sodas at Harper’s Grocery’s post Labor Day blowout.”

  Logan looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. “Andrew’s idea?”

  “Yes,” Curtis answered with a grin.

  “Good ruse. Tell him I said thanks.”

  “Will do.”

  Logan and Curtis unloaded the truck – two boxes of supplies, a suitcase, the base to CJ’s car seat carrier, and a rifle that Jayna hadn’t known about. The two men shook hands as Cole Harper’s old friend, Travis Miles, pulled up in a pickup, followed by an old model SUV driven by another older man.

  While Travis and Logan talked, the other man loaded the SUV and even helped Jayna to install the car seat. She was getting a kick out of the conversation the two were having. They both obviously missed Logan’s father.

  "So son, are you sure you want to go there? If you give me another day or so, Old Bill there and I could find you a different cabin.”

  “No,” Logan stressed quietly. “I think it is about time I go back up there.” Jayna’s heart ached at the sound of her friend’s voice. She’d never heard someone so sad…or was it afraid.

  “Okay son,” Travis said, shaking Logan’s hand. "If you need anything just holler.”

  Jayna was deep in thought in the passenger seat when Logan appeared beside her. The engine started and he pulled out onto the highway. She noticed him checking the rearview mirror often.

  “Where are we going, Logan?”

  A sigh eased its way from between his lips. “My family’s hunting cabin.”

  “If it makes you uncomfortable…”

  “It’s okay, Sleeping Beauty. I’ll be fine.”

  Jayna warred with herself. Should she push it? Or shouldn’t she? In the end she decided to push on. If he was going to be moody when they were cooped up together, she deserved to know why. “Why are you hesitant to go there?” she asked softly. “I should know.”

  Another sigh slipped between his lips, only the end of this one sounded like a whimper.

  “My brother,” he murmured then cleared his throat. “My oldest brother, Ben, killed himself at the cabin.” His voice broke. “My dad and I found him, and I haven’t been back since.”

  She looked away from him. “I’m so sorry Logan. Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

  “Like I told Travis, it’s time for me to go back. You’re just my reason. A very good reason,” he sa
id reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Why don’t you take a hint from your son and take a nap. We have at least an hour until we get there."

  Jayna closed her eyes, thinking about how hard this was for Logan and about how she would be the cause of his pain. Within a few minutes, exhaustion took over and she fell into a trouble sleep.

  **********

  About an hour later, Logan pulled up in front of the cabin. As he reached toward Jayna, his hand abruptly stopped. A tremble had overtaken him and he felt cold inside. After a moment, he was able to wake her with a light tap to the shoulder.

  “Are we home now, Daddy?” she asked sleepily. “I had a horrible dream.”

  “We’re at the cabin,” Logan replied, shock evident in his voice. “Remember, the cabin?”

  Jayna’s eyes flew open in alarm. The brown orbs flashed around quickly before settling on the concerned face of her friend. When she saw him, she settled back into the seat and sighed. “I’m sorry, it all seemed like a dream.”

  “Hey, it’s okay. I know I wish the threat to you and CJ was just a dream,” he replied, opening the driver’s side door and stepping out. “Let’s get inside and settle in.”

  “Is it always so gloomy here?” she asked, looking around the shadowy landscape.

  “No, no, it’s the time of day,” he replied. “The sun is hitting the trees just right. The place is fantastic around noon.”

  “But it…it’s so shadowy and dark,” she murmured. “Someone could sneak right up.”

  “They would need to know we’re here,” Logan replied with a knowing smile. “Plus there is dangerous wildlife in the area.”

  Pulling the carrier from the SUV, Jayna turned and headed to the porch. Logan noticed she constantly scanned the area as she moved.