by CP Smith
I shot Josh an accusing look before turning back to the scene in front of me. Once again, Logan had Jake pinned to the ground thanks to Josh’s ribbing.
We were getting ready to leave the field after a 42-14 win over our archrivals, Twin Bridges, when Josh remarked, “You better make an honest woman out of my sister now,” when Logan had pulled me into his body for a kiss.
The insinuation hadn’t slipped past Jake, who was pulling off his pads to put his coat on. He’d stopped dead, looked between Logan and me, and caught the blush rushing up my neck and into my cheeks. Logan had about a millisecond of warning before Jake attacked, but the result was the same as the last two times he’d gone after Logan. Jake would never learn his lesson.
“You son of a bitch,” Jake seethed, trying to get to his knees in the snow.
His teammates all stopped and stared, including Chace, who’d been pulled off his father before the refs could eject him from the stadium.
“Now what?” Kenzie asked as she walked up.
“Boys being boys.”
Jake bucked again and kicked out, but it was no use. I wasn’t sure where Logan learned the move, but he’d mastered it like the trained soldier he was.
“You need to calm down,” Logan ordered.
“You fucked my sister, didn’t you?” Jake accused. “After I warned you to leave her be. She’s not some piece you can screw then walk away from, you son of a bitch.”
Logan’s face turned ten shades of angry at Jake’s outburst—while I stifled a moan of embarrassment—and he leaned harder on Jake’s back. “Watch your mouth,” Logan hissed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I slept with my woman, not some piece of ass. You wanna take a swing at me, go for it. But keep your fucking voice down.”
Jake ignored Logan and his eyes settled on me. “Why, Skylar?”
I opened my mouth to beg him to keep his voice down, then looked around at the crowd who’d gathered for the show. It was too late to keep my private life private at this point, so I shrugged. “He’s the one I’ve been waiting for.”
“For fuck’s sake, you barely know him,” Jake bit back.
I turned to Logan and studied his face, bruised eyes and all, remembering the moment I’d seen him on the side of the road. The way my mind had blanked of all my troubles in that brief instant because something about him made me feel safe. I hadn’t felt that much peace since my father had died.
“A lifetime isn’t long enough to know some people, while others mirror your soul in the beat of a heart. He walked into my heart, Jake, that’s all I can tell you. Walked in and woke me up. Made me feel safe and protected in a way I haven’t felt since Daddy died. He—” I swallowed to control my emotions “—He feels like home. Like he’s always been a part of my heart.”
Jake didn’t comment when I finished, except to stare at me like I was nuts. But Logan did. His face clouded over with some unknown emotion, and he pushed off of Jake’s back without a second thought to whether he would retaliate, then marched toward me with intent glistening in his crystalline eyes.
I raised my hands to ward him off. We didn’t need another scene in front of half the town. “You’re going to kiss me in front of everyone, aren’t you?”
His square jaw, covered in a week’s worth of bristle, nodded slowly as his hand whipped up and grabbed me by the back of the neck, jerking me into his body.
“Get used to it,” he ordered softly, covering my mouth with his.
Hoots sounded around us like they had at the bar. I was stiff at first, then gave in to my feelings for this man and melted into his warm body. When Logan pulled back and rested his brow against mine, I closed my eyes and drank in the sense of belonging. I could have stood like that forever, but Josh wasn’t one to keep his mouth shut for long.
“You can thank me later for spilling the beans, so you didn’t have to.”
Rolling my eyes, I stepped back and looked over to where Jake had been lying in the snow. The imprint of his body was there but he was nowhere to be seen.
Josh pointed to the right as I scanned the crowd for my brother. I turned and caught sight of Jake climbing inside one of his friends’ trucks.
“Jake!”
He stopped when I called out and turned his head to look back at me. Even through the falling snow, I read the anger still bubbling under the surface. He looked to my left when Logan wrapped an arm around my waist, shook his head, then disappeared inside the cab of the truck.
“He needs time to calm down before you push the issue.”
I glanced up at Logan. “I know, but it doesn’t help. I hate fighting with him.”
“Maybe pizza and beer will help if you’ve got a pizza joint in this town.”
“We do. Make it the works and I’m game,” Josh easily agreed.
Max bumped my leg and I reached down to pet him, running my cold fingers through his wet hair. He was still on his leash, which seemed odd to me after he’d had free rein since I’d met him, so I unclipped it from his collar and patted my leg so he would follow me.
“Last one to the truck buys,” I called out.
Josh dashed past me and Max followed him, but Logan came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist to stop me in my tracks. His mouth found one of my cold ears as he pulled my back against his front. “You okay?”
Was I okay that my brother was so pissed off that he couldn’t be around me?
“Not really. He’s trying to protect me, I get that. He has a right to his feelings, even if he’s wrong, but I hate it when we fight. It’s been the three of us since my father died, so when we fight, it hits home a little harder. We know better than anyone, last words can haunt a person if they’re said in anger and you don’t have a chance to make amends.”
“I’ve got no experience with family dynamics,” Logan admitted, “but I know one thing, he’ll be back by morning. Give him tonight with his friends, then we’ll deal with his concerns when he’s calmer.”
I relaxed into his body. “Did they teach you diplomacy in the army?”
“It’s classified.” He moved to my side and started walking toward my truck.
“Did you ever get into fights with your friends in the army?”
His arm tightened slightly around my shoulders. It was the only sign I could see that I’d hit on a sore subject. “Sometimes. But I always won the arguments.”
I glanced up to see if he was kidding. “Did you now?”
His eyes twinkled back at me and his mouth twitched briefly. “I was a minimum of four inches taller than the rest of my unit.”
We’d reached my truck, so I spun around, facing him fully. “So you strong-armed them is what you’re telling me.”
His mouth pulled into a full grin and answered, “Yep,” popping the P again like Jamie had done earlier.
“And you got away with it?”
He nodded. “Coop—” he swallowed before continuing “— would try, Buster knew better, and Loverboy was too busy with his books to pay attention.”
“Coop. Buster. Loverboy?”
“Nicknames. Coop is short for Cooper. Buster for Buster Douglas since he was a boxer, and Loverboy because he had shit skills with the ladies.”
I considered asking if these friends were the reason for his nightmares but stopped myself. He would tell me when he was ready.
“What was your nickname?”
Logan reached around me and opened my door. He took my hand and helped me inside the cab before answering with a brilliant smile. “Crest.”
I racked my brain for his odd nickname, rather than something that matched his last name. Mountain crest came to mind since he was a mountain of a man, but that didn’t seem right either. “I give up. Why Crest?”
He leaned in and nipped my bottom lip with his teeth. “Think about it.”
I puzzled over his answer then noticed his broad smile again. That’s when it hit me. He had great teeth, and he wouldn’t if he didn’t take care of them. “Your teeth?”
“I brush twice a day like clockwork.”
Josh leaned around Max with horror written across his face. “Thanks for putting that idea in her head.”
Logan threw his head back and laughed. It was the first time I’d seen him do it since I’d met him. It transformed his face and made him look younger, more relaxed than the soldier who seemed to always be on guard.
“I’ll follow you,” he chuckled a moment later and slammed my door shut, still smiling as he left.
I watched him jog to his truck, a little bit in love with him already.
“Joy looks good on him,” Josh mumbled in the quiet of the cab.
My attention shot to his, and we smiled at each other.
_______________
Half the town had the same idea as Logan. Pop’s Pizza was full to capacity with football fans and players. Jake and his friends had skipped the aftergame celebration, so Logan didn’t have to worry about round two taking place in front of the rest of the town.
They snagged a booth that barely fit his size and ordered a pizza with the works. Amongst the crowd milling around the entrance, he noticed two sheriff deputies ordering food to go and wondered if Ty had contacted the sheriff about keeping an eye on the town.
Skylar must have noticed where his attention had landed because her body stiffened next to him in the booth. “Do you think they know anything about Duke?”
Logan didn’t want to upset her more than she already had been, but he knew she’d be pissed if he lied to her. On the drive over to the pizza parlor, Logan had called Ty for an update. The news wasn’t good. Duke was still missing, and in this weather he didn’t have long if he were still alive.
“They haven’t found him yet. They’re calling off the search until morning. Ty’s on his way in.”
Skylar held his attention for a moment and her eyes began to glisten, but she held it together, nodding she understood.
Josh hunched his shoulders as a scowl crossed his brow. “Duke knows about survival. If he’s stranded, he’ll be fine. Everyone in Ennis keeps an emergency kit in their vehicle.”
Logan let it go. There was no need to interject his concerns about his vehicle being missing when it shouldn’t be. If foul play was involved, they’d know soon enough. Any man could be overtaken in the right conditions. Even a man like Duke. Someone with bad intentions could sneak up on him when his attention was on fishing and take him out for his truck. Especially a truck—Logan had noted when he’d parked outside the bar—with all the bells and whistles.
“What about Frank?” Skylar asked. “Have they figured out what caused the fire?”
Logan started to answer but a female he’d never met popped over the back of Josh’s bench and answered for him. “Word is the cremator is to blame for the explosion. The fire started in the embalming room then spread until the cremator exploded and put most of it out.”
“That makes sense, but how did the fire start in the first place?” Skylar questioned.
The woman popped down and emerged from behind their booth, then scooted in next to Josh. She looked to be Skylar’s age, with medium brown hair, big green eyes, and dimples that made you think of baseball and apple pie. Another all-American girl.
“I’m Sarah Piechuta.” She stuck out her hand, and he took it, engulfing her tiny hand with his own. “And you’re beyond hot. Bruised eyes and all.”
Logan’s mouth twitched in response.
“This is Logan, you big flirt.” Skylar smirked at her friend. “And he’s mine.”
“Yes, I’ve heard all about it. You always were a lucky duck.”
“Luck’s all mine,” Logan threw out, winking at Skylar.
Skylar rolled her eyes at him, so he grabbed her chin and slammed his mouth over hers for a quick hard kiss. “Keep rolling your eyes at me, I dare you.” It was whispered but Josh gagged in reaction.
“Scoot over, Sarah. Only so much a man can take when his sister’s involved.”
Sarah snorted, but scooted out of the booth so Josh could hang with his friends. Max followed close on his heels, so Logan kept watch for a moment.
“So… the fire?” Skylar asked Sarah.
“Started in the embalming room, like I said. Fire marshal said they found a candle at the point of origin. They think Frank forgot to put it out and it caught the curtains on fire. When the fire spread it set off the gas line to the cremator.”
Logan started to question Sarah, but his attention shifted to the front door when Ty came in followed by Gerry Sullivan, Ed Burk, and Andrew Gordon, three men he’d met the night before in the bar. They were heading straight for the two deputies waiting on their food, and they looked alert.
Logan climbed out of the booth immediately, telling Skylar to, “Hold tight for a minute,” so he could find out what had the men buzzed.
Ty saw Logan approaching their group and peeled off to talk to him.
“What’s happening?” Logan asked.
“A call came in to the mayor from the National Park Service in West Yellowstone. They found Duke’s truck and his boat drifting on the lake.”
“He went to Wyoming?” Logan asked in disbelief. “How far a drive is that from here?”
“West entrance to Yellowstone Park is a ninety-minute drive.”
“He ever go that far on a day he had to work?”
Ty thought about it for a moment then shrugged. “The man’s dedicated, and several people heard him say he had a new reel he needed to test. The fish are big in Yellowstone, he may have gone that far to test it before the park closes in a few weeks for the winter.”
It didn’t sit right with Logan, no matter how you justified it, not after the warning he gave Logan the night before to stay vigilant. If Duke was worried about Skylar, he’d stay close. Logan felt that in his bones.
“You headed to Yellowstone?”
“I don’t know. The mayor tried to call the sheriff, but he’s out on a call in Twin Bridges. They had a double murder there. Victims were dead a day before they were found, so he’s gonna be tied up with that. United States Park Police are in charge of the investigation, but they won’t share information with anyone but law enforcement. Ennis doesn’t have anyone but Duke, so we’re left blowing in the breeze. Ed says we need an interim police chief if we want to know what the hell is going on.”
“He’s right. If your city council doesn’t assign one, you’ll have to jump through hoops to get any information from the CI division.”
“Glad you feel that way,” Gerry Sullivan cut in, with Ed Burk and Andrew Gordon hot on his heels. “Because Duke named his future replacement just last night at the bar.”
“Who?” Ty asked.
Three sets of eyes landed on Logan.
Fourteen
Storm Control
“WHAT DO YOU think they’re arguing about?”
I glanced at Logan, who was slicing his hand through the air, drawing an imaginary line in the sand at Gerry, Ed, Andrew, and Ty. They’d been arguing for a few minutes. I was about to head over the moment Logan growled, “What the fuck?” but Ty caught my eye when I stood and raised his finger, asking me to wait, smiling for some odd reason.
“Whatever it is, Logan is opposed.” Josh shoved more pizza into his mouth and watched the byplay between the five men.
I scanned the restaurant for anyone who could clue me in to what was happening and noticed George Anderson, the owner of Pop’s, opening the private dining area he used for birthday parties. Pop’s was packed, so I didn’t think much of it until he called out two of the town’s city council members by name. When they stood and followed George inside and shut the door, I knew something was up. My father was on the city council when he was alive, and I couldn’t think of a single time they called a meeting on a Friday night after a football game. In the middle of a snowstorm. In a pizza parlor, no less. Whatever had happened was big, and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach it was about Duke.
I shot my attention back to Logan and
waited. He shook his head slowly, then dropped his chin to his chest, placing both hands at the nape of his neck while he contemplated something. When he straightened and looked back at me, I raised my brows in question. He watched me for a moment, then turned his head and nodded. Handshakes were thrown out, shoulder slaps in appreciation were exchanged before Logan finally turned my direction and headed back.
I stood as he approached, with a gnawing fear I wouldn’t like what he was about to tell me.
“We need to talk.”
“What’s happened? What’s going on?” Logan took my hand and drew me off into a corner. My heart pounded out a rapid beat and my mouth ran dry as we walked. Once we were far enough away from any tables, he spoke.
“Duke’s truck and boat were found in Wyoming. At Yellowstone Lake. His boat was on the water, but there’s no sign of him.”
I’d been preparing for this news since I’d heard he was missing, but it still hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer. “Are they going to drag the lake for him?” The words felt dry in my throat.
“That’s what I’ll ask,” Logan returned, “when I get there.”
“Wait, what? You’re heading to Wyoming?”
“Yeah. Seems Duke—”
“Storm!” Ty called out from the conference room, waving us over. Logan sighed and took my hand, leading me to the room. Everyone was seated when we stepped inside, waiting, it seemed, for us.
“What’s going on?” I posed the question to the whole room.
“We voted and it was unanimous for those here,” Gerry Sullivan began. “We called the other council members and got their vote of confidence on record.”
“Vote for what?”
With a flick of his wrist, Gerry tossed something metal at Logan. When he opened his hand, a badge was staring back at me. And not any badge, the Chief of Police.
“I don’t understand?”
“It’s temporary until I find Duke or a suitable replacement is hired.”
“What’s temporary?” I looked between Gerry and Logan. “Are you saying you made Logan the Chief of Police?”
“Temporarily,” Logan stated.
“But he’s been here two days. You don’t even know him.”