by CP Smith
“How about now?”
I opened one eye and looked at her. “Not really.”
“Maybe you need more?”
I shook my head. The last thing I needed was to get drunk. I would drown in the damn stuff if I didn’t find the money in thirty days. Until then, I had to keep my wits about me.
“Okay. Then tell me who the guy was that stopped the fight between Jake and Josh. When Jordan called me, she said she thought you knew him but said she’d never seen him before.”
I immediately flashed to the moment Logan Storm had walked up to our truck on the side of the road. And the way his Henley had stretched tight across his broad shoulders. Even in my dazed condition, I’d noticed his corded arms and the way his biceps seemed to flex under the material as he strode with purpose, like an apex predator on the hunt for prey. Every molecule in my body had come alive at the mere sight of him, at the way his dark hair looked unruly; unkempt but sexy. At the way his stubble should have looked scraggly, but his chiseled jaw made it work. He was arrestingly rough. Almost uncivilized. But there’d been something hauntingly familiar working behind his brilliant blue eyes, as well. He’d seen pain. Probably death, if the tattoo on his arm was military as Josh had said. And it had marked him. I’d seen all of this as he walked up and I’d felt ashamed for the instant attraction when our lives were falling down around our heads. So much so I could barely look at him, as his piercing eyes seemed to study me. I’d always had a weakness for big men. A part of me felt like prey because of my small stature, so I had always gravitated toward men who could protect me physically. And Logan Storm looked like he could stop a Mack truck.
I shrugged in response to her question. If Logan had any brains, he was probably long gone. There was no need to go into detail about a man I’d never see again. “Just a tourist who happened to be walking past.”
Her brows rose in sync, followed by a narrowing of her eyes. “Why are you lying?”
“I’m not lying.”
I twisted around to replace the bottle and rinse out the shot glass. When I turned back and grabbed a rag to wipe down the bar, Jamie had crossed her arms and cocked her head, watching me intently. She knew me too well. I could never lie to her and get away with it.
With a huff, I threw the rag into the sink and leaned against the backbar. “He stopped to check on us, all right? I’d stopped on the side of the road when Chance called to tell us to pay up. I hadn’t pulled back out when he passed, so he stopped to see if we needed help.”
Jamie leaned back and studied me. “Is this why you knew each other’s names?”
“How do you even know this? The fight lasted all of a minute once Logan got involved.”
She scoffed. “Skye, half the town was eating at the Bear Trap when you stopped the truck. Jordan called me when this Storm guy outmaneuvered Jake and put him on the ground. I was at the bank dropping last night’s take and hightailed it over when she said you’d taken off for the bar, so I passed the man on the street.”
Hearing half the town had a ringside seat for the implosion of my family freaked me out, and my heart began to race again.
What if someone called CPS and they tried to separate us?
“Do you think . . .” I had to wet my lips as the stark reality of what could happen caused my mouth to run dry. The county CPS checked on my brothers and me regularly. If they got wind of what happened, if someone told them what Chance was threatening to do . . . The room began to spin at an alarming rate, and panic grabbed hold like death itself. I gasped for air to draw more into my lungs so I could control my reaction.
“Skye?” Jamie’s concerned voice sounded like it was coming from across the room, instead of right in front of me.
I turned my head to look at her. To try and center myself on a familiar face so I could calm down. She took one look at me and bolted for the front exit, which made the panic worse. It felt like I was having a heart attack, but I knew that wasn’t right. I knew I was too young, but my arms and legs grew cold as the tightness in my chest paralyzed me with fear. I could hear Jamie screaming for help as I slid down the backbar, curled my arms around my legs, and began to rock to keep from losing it altogether. I had to pull myself together if I had any hope of beating Chance. I just needed a minute to process everything without fear ruling my headspace.
The door slammed open a minute later, and a deep, rough voice barked out, “Max. Comfort.” Seconds later, a warm wet tongue began to lick my face. I jerked at the sensation and opened my eyes to find a German shepherd in my personal space. The dog whimpered until I opened my arms, then he crawled onto my lap as best he could and began to lick my face again. I instinctively wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. Just the softness of his fur seemed to ease the ache in my chest, so I clung to him like a lifeline until I could open my eyes without the room spinning. When I did, I found Logan Storm squatting in front of me, his brilliant blue eyes zeroed in on my face, and God help me; I wanted to crawl onto his lap like his dog had done to me until all my problems disappeared.
“Better?” The concern in his voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. It had been so long since someone had taken care of me. Since I hadn’t been terrified about our future.
I nodded in response but kept stroking Max, afraid to let go.
Logan seemed to relax a fraction when I answered, then manipulated his large frame until he was sitting on the floor across from me. He leaned his back against the icemaker and settled in. Jamie appeared on the other side of me with a bottle of water and handed it to me. The minute it hit my hand, I tried to drink it down until it was gone, beyond thirsty. But Logan reached out and stopped me halfway through.
“Go easy so you don’t throw up.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked anywhere but at him. Now that I was on firmer footing, I could feel my cheeks begin to heat with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for. Weakness maybe? That I’d managed to fail my brothers and my parents at the same time?
“Nothing to apologize for, Skye,” Jamie muttered, taking the bottle away. “I don’t know anyone who could have handled what you’ve been through any better. I certainly couldn’t have. You’ve been holding everything together for two years and doing a damn fine job of it, too. If it weren’t for that asshole, there wouldn’t be a problem. So, cut yourself some slack.”
The bar’s door slammed open again, and I jerked at the noise. Jamie turned to look at whoever had burst inside and sighed. “What do you want?”
“Where is she?” my ex-boyfriend, Ty Austen, growled.
I dropped my head into Max’s fur to hide my groan. The last thing I needed right then was Ty starting in. We’d dated in high school, but I ended things with him after graduation. I’d moved on, but he hadn’t. He spent most nights I worked at the bar with his seat on a stool, keeping guard over me.
“Who’s asking?” Logan demanded, his tone deep and threatening.
My eyes popped open at his question to find he’d stood while I’d been hiding in Max’s fur. He’d moved like a thief in the night. I hadn’t even felt a disturbance in the air around me.
There was a long pause before Ty asked, very carefully, “Who the fuck are you?”
“Name’s Logan Storm. I’m the new bouncer at Big Sky.”
My mouth dropped open at his lie, and Jamie covered her reaction with a cough.
“I don’t think so,” Ty grumbled. I could hear him take a step or two closer, and Logan moved to block me from his view. Then his hand dropped, and it made a series of motions like you’d see a soldier do to alert his team to coming trouble. Max jumped from my lap instantly and circled around the bar front, growling low in his throat.
“You need to leave,” Logan ordered. “Now.”
Max’s growl became more profound, more threatening as I could only imagine a standoff of sorts began. Ty was a big guy, well over six feet, but not as big as Logan.
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br /> “If that’s your dog, you need to leash him,” Ty rumbled in warning.
Neither man seemed like the type to back down. I knew this would get out of hand quickly, so I bounded from the floor and rounded the bar in an attempt to ease everyone’s temper.
“He’s my dog. This is Max, my new guard dog.”
And why did I just say that?
Jamie coughed again, but Logan moved from around the bar and stood to my right and just in front of me. Ty noticed Logan’s positioning and narrowed his eyes.
“She doesn’t need protecting from me.”
Logan shrugged. “I don’t know you, and it’s my job to protect her.”
Ty waved him off with a flick of his wrist and looked past Logan to me. His face softened immediately, which sucked because when he wasn’t being jealous of every guy who looked my direction, he could be sweet and kind. I knew he was here because he was worried about me, but it didn’t change the fact I didn’t love him the way he loved me.
“I heard about what happened, Skylar. Can we go to your office and talk?”
I started to say no, but Logan sidestepped farther in front of me, cutting me off. “Skylar is busy right now.”
Ty didn’t take his eyes off of me when he responded, but everyone knew who he was talking to. “You need to step away or this won’t end well.”
I didn’t know why Logan was pretending to be my bodyguard, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Ty drove me crazy most of the time with his possessiveness, and that was the last thing I needed to deal with on top of everything else. I was, however, gonna stand on my own two feet from this moment forward. Two meltdowns in an hour were two too many. If I wanted to keep my family together, it was high time I started acting like the head of it, instead of some sniveling idiot.
I quickly moved in front of Logan to let both men know I’d had enough. “Stand down, Logan. Max, stop growling. Ty . . . we’ll talk later.”
Max didn’t listen any better than the men did. Instead of obeying, he moved closer to Ty. I glanced at Logan and raised a brow. He studied my expression for a moment and his lip twitched before he quickly communicated with Max using a hand signal again. Max didn’t even balk at the command. He came and sat by my side without a word spoken from Logan. If the room didn’t feel like a ticking time bomb was about to go off, I would have told Logan how cool it was his dog obeyed him so well.
“Darlin’, we need to talk. We gotta protect the boys,” Ty repeated softly.
“We don’t have to. I do. We’re not together anymore, Ty. It’s not your problem.”
Ty’s face grew concerned and he took a step toward me, which set off Max. The dog moved like lightning, striking quickly. He jumped in front of me and snapped his powerful jaws at Ty, who managed to avoid his teeth. In self-defense, Ty caught Max by the nape of his neck and flung him to the side then tried to move in front of me to protect me from Max. Max turned for a repeat performance, so I reached out and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him back so he wouldn’t be hurt. But I wasn’t quick enough to stop Logan. He lunged the moment Ty tried to step in front of me, and just like with Jake he had Ty pinned to the ground in a move executed so smoothly, it was almost a dance.
Ty struggled to get to his feet, but Logan had his arms behind his back, his knee pinning him in place, making it impossible for him to get up.
“Please stop!” I shouted at both men while I struggled to maintain control of Max.
Logan’s hyperalert eyes darted to me at my outburst. He studied me a moment, then he let go of Ty, commanded Max to stand down, and stepped back in front of me. Max continued to growl at Ty with his ears pinned back, his body lower to the ground in an attack position. The expression on his face mimicked his owner’s. He was alert, ready for anything. If he decided to attack Ty, I didn’t think I could control him.
“Go back to work, Ty. I’m fine, as you can see.”
Ty moved slowly as he rose from the floor. When he was fully erect, he spit blood from his mouth onto Logan’s boot. I held my breath, expecting another confrontation, but Logan didn’t move. He was in what looked like a defensive position. One leg back, his body turned at an angle, his muscles coiled, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Ty glared at Logan long and hard, then glanced at Max with equal disdain before looking back at me with soft eyes. “We need to talk.”
“No. As you can see I don’t need protecting from you or anyone else. Just go before this gets out of hand.”
I expected him to argue, but Ty gawked at me as if I were nuts. After a moment, he looked at Logan and assessed him. I held my breath as they stared hard at each other; sized the other up like two boxers, and didn’t let it out until Ty seemed to come to some sort of decision.
“I can see your busy. We’ll talk later.” He nodded once, then without waiting for a reply from me, pivoted on his heel, and marched out the door without another word.
When Logan turned back to look at me after Ty had left, he winked one of his arctic blue eyes at me. Considering everything that had happened it was the last response I expected from him, but I responded to it nonetheless. I’d had two meltdowns in an hour, I still had to find a way to borrow a gazillion dollars, and yet that wink . . . It made my stomach flip so hard my knees grew weak and my mind blanked.
So I did the only sane thing I could at that moment. “Um . . . Do you want a job?”
_____________
Logan watched as color flooded Skylar’s cheeks while she waited for his answer. The difference in her demeanor was night and day from when he’d first entered the bar. Instead of being panicked and overwhelmed with everything being thrown at her, she’d shored up her backbone and was standing on firmer footing. And all of it, the vulnerable along with the steel, was a turn-on.
He’d known instinctively what had happened when Jamie cried out for help and explained Skylar’s rapid breathing and pale color. Fortunately, he’d known exactly who could break the iron fist panic held Skylar in. Max had been trained to comfort soldiers on and off the battlefield. Logan had seen the shepherd in action before hitting the road to clear his head. They’d visited some of his unit in the hospital, and it had been like watching a magician perform a trick, the way Max brought a panic attack under control.
And he was still working his magic.
Skylar hadn’t let go of Max since Ty had left the bar. Without conscious thought, she kept caressing his head as he leaned against her leg. Dogs could sense all types of medical disorders, including panic attacks, so the fact Max was crowding her meant he still sensed she was nervous about something.
Logan couldn’t help but take a step closer to her just as Max had done. Seeing the fear in her eyes when he’d first stepped inside the bar would stay with him for a while. It had kicked in his protective instincts to such a degree, he’d had a hard time stopping himself from pulling Skylar into his arms so he could take away the pain. But he knew better than to touch her, so Logan had done the only thing he could at that moment: he’d sat as close as he could to give her comfort and let Max work his special brand of miracle.
“I could be persuaded to work for you,” he finally answered.
After a year of searching for some semblance of peace after he lost his brothers—six months of that spent on the road watching town after town disappear in his rearview—this tiny woman and her brothers had ignited a fire in his gut where there had only been intense pain. He wanted to help them navigate the turbulent waters life had thrown at them, more than he wanted to move on and lick his wounds. But the way his blood burned with want when he looked at Skylar was the most important reason to stay. She intrigued him more than any woman of his acquaintance. Had the ability to dull his pain with a single smile. Alcohol hadn’t excised his ghosts, but this tiny woman had turned his focus from the past and heartache with a simple look.
“What would it cost for your services?” Logan rolled his lips to keep from laughing when she realized how that soun
ded. “Oh, boy . . . That sounded . . . What I meant is, I’ve never had a bouncer on payroll, so I don’t know what to pay you.”
Not a fucking thing would have been his answer. He’d saved every penny he could for the past ten plus years. He didn’t need money any time soon, and considering what she was facing, he wouldn’t accept it. But he also knew pride was involved, so he made a concession. “I need a place to bunk for the winter. If you’ve got somewhere Max and I can throw a sleeping bag, we’ll call it even.”
“Sold!”
Logan turned his head and looked at Jamie after her outburst. She was smiling from ear to ear. With everything that had happened in the past ten minutes, he’d forgotten she was in the room.
“But you have to eat,” Skylar stated, “and Max needs dog food.”
Logan took a step closer and noticed she had gold flecks in her light green eyes. “I’ve got money for food. I just need a place to lay my head until spring hits.”
Skylar seemed surprised, then searched his face as if she were trying to discern a lie from the truth in the depths of his eyes. “And when spring hits?”
When spring hit, he’d already be in her bed. “We’ll reevaluate.”
Skylar didn’t seem convinced, so he held still while he waited for her to decide. She looked down at Max then back at him. For a moment he thought she would say no, but she put out her hand with a smile. “Welcome to Big Sky Saloon, Mr. Storm.”
“Logan,” he answered, taking her hand in his. It was just as soft, just as warm, as he remembered. “Call me Logan.”
They stood like that, in a bubble smiling at each other, until a ringtone broke the spell and she let go to answer her cell.
Jamie approached him then, a smirk tugging at her lips. “A place to bunk?”
Logan shrugged. “It’s not a lie.”
She looked over her shoulder at Skylar before continuing, “I know men. I can read them better than most. This is about her, isn’t it? You don’t need a job that bad.”