by Linda Wisdom
It had taken time, but she’d come to realize that Ross was a selfish man who didn’t want to share her with anyone else. He wanted to be the center of her life without the distraction a child would have caused.
She couldn’t fault him entirely. In hindsight she remembered his saying he had no need to carry on the family name. She naively had thought he would change his mind once they had a baby. It didn’t happen and now she knew it was for the best. Ross wouldn’t have appreciated having a son whose I.Q. was higher than his own, which he thought was formidable. That was a piece of news she had made sure to convey to her ex-husband. Ross might not have wanted to be a father, but that didn’t stop Lucy from announcing Nick’s achievements.
She knew her mature self wouldn’t have given Ross a second look. She would have seen his small nature for what it was.
But he had given her Nick and she was thankful for that.
Here she’d guarded her heart so carefully and what had happened? Another man who had no desire for hearth and family had swept her off her feet.
“So I lied,” she told Domino, who snoozed on the rug by the sink. “I kept saying I didn’t want a commitment. That I wasn’t looking for marriage. Now I feel like some lovesick teenage girl who’s doodling his name intertwined with hearts in my school notebook.” Unthinking, she slapped the water’s surface then sneezed as the bubbles popped in her face. She slid back down in the water. “Men stink.”
LOGAN SAT on the tiny patio behind his house with a bottle of beer and Magnum and Jake for company. When he’d done a last check on the animals in the shelter, he’d taken pity on Jake’s forlorn expression and brought the Australian shepherd back to the house with him. The shepherd happily trotted alongside them. After he sniffed every inch of Logan’s patio, he settled down by Logan’s chair while Magnum lay down on the other side.
“I just might have to keep you, fella,” Logan murmured, scratching behind the shepherd’s ears.
He shouldn’t have been alone tonight. If he hadn’t backed off the way he had, he probably would have been invited back to Lucy’s house. With Nick there they couldn’t have indulged the way they had last night, but he still could have stolen his fair share of kisses when they were alone.
But old fears started to surface. While Lucy never made noises about the future the way women in his past had, he still felt that old noose starting to tighten around his neck.
It didn’t help when Abby started talking about matchmaking. He hadn’t missed other pointed looks directed at him and Lucy during the day as if it was automatically assumed they were a couple.
Logan didn’t want to get married. He didn’t want a woman trying to change him the way Shannon had.
Except Shannon had tried some of that changing even before the wedding, he realized. Lucy never did any of that. She even helped out in the shelter, grooming the dogs. She didn’t complain that night he had to cancel his dinner date because Mrs. Watson brought in her sick Burmese cat. Shannon would have raised holy hell. In fact, she had—whenever emergencies had come up. She’d told him he should just hire someone to handle any after-hours emergencies.
She also wanted to move back to Beverly Hills where she could resume her old life. In the end, he told her that was a good idea. She should move back to Beverly Hills and resume her old life, which would naturally not include him.
He’d had no idea that Shannon had a mean streak in her until she’d tried to take his practice from him. It had cost him more than it should have to get out of their marriage, but he considered it money well-spent.
After that, he was content with dating a woman who was told up front he wasn’t looking for a wife.
Then he’d met Lucy Donner.
He’d learned she was divorced, had a son and wasn’t looking to get remarried.
He soon learned she also wasn’t interested in going out with him.
But after Nick ended up serving community service at the shelter, he saw Lucy more often. She had cheerfully stepped in when he’d needed someone to handle the front desk.
What had changed her mind about him, he had no clue. He was just glad she had.
He wouldn’t have attended his high-school reunion and he especially wouldn’t have practically carried her off to Mañana.
His body tightened with the memory of that night. Not just the way her mouth tasted or the way her body felt against him. There was also the sound of her laughter, and even the way she looked wearing his suit coat and nothing else.
She had gone through a bad marriage also. She wasn’t looking for anything permanent.
He saw them as a good match even if he normally didn’t date women with children. But even Nick was different.
Logan tipped the bottle upward, allowing the cold, yeasty brew to trickle down his throat.
He could hear the faint, mournful howl of coyotes in the distance. Jake’s ears pricked up and he lifted his head then laid it back down again. Logan knew the sad sound fitted his mood perfectly.
He’d handled today very badly. He’d realized too many people thought he and Lucy were going to take that next step, and it had scared the hell out of him.
He refused to allow anyone to slide him into a permanent relationship. He’d worked too hard to keep his heart intact after Shannon. He wasn’t about to let another woman into his life only to have her mess it, and him, up.
“It’s just us, guys,” he said out loud. “We’re much better off this way.”
A soft growl sent chills down Logan’s spine. Magnum’s eyes flashed silver in the darkness as he stared at Logan.
“Damn dog always thinks he knows better.”
Chapter Fifteen
Logan could say that things would be fine, but it wasn’t always so.
He’d forgotten how haphazard Brenda’s methods were and her tendency to overbook appointments.
Beau remained in his cage pouting as only a macaw could. He refused the walnuts Brenda offered him and treated her with macaw disdain.
Magnum curled his lip every time he crossed paths with the receptionist.
“What is his problem?” she asked Logan.
He shook his head because he didn’t want to think of the cause behind Magnum’s bad mood.
But then, the humans in the clinic weren’t much better.
Gwen could curl her lip as effectively as Magnum. Jeremy acted uneasy and Kristi just glared at him.
The only one who didn’t say a word was Nick. He came into the shelter, said hello and applied himself to his work. The only time Logan had seen him smile in the past two weeks was when he learned that Jake was now a part of the clinic family. The dog was content herding three ducks Logan had found on the clinic doorstep a few days ago.
To date, he hadn’t talked to Lucy once. He’d only caught glimpses of her when she’d dropped off and picked up Nick. She hadn’t come into the clinic except once to brief Brenda on what she’d done while the younger woman was gone. Otherwise, she remained in her vehicle while waiting for Nick.
“You are an idiot,” Gwen said in a low voice.
Logan swallowed a sigh. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Does that make you feel better?”
“No.” She advanced on him. “What would make me feel better is you doing the right thing.”
“Stay out of this, Gwen.” His glare slid right off her.
“Since you blew off Lucy, you have acted like a total jerk,” she stated. “I’ve seen you date other women and go through break-ups, but you have never acted like this. If you treated me as badly as you treated Lucy, I would take a scalpel to you.” Her eyes drifted downward.
Logan forced himself not to cross his legs in self-defense. He didn’t look away from her angry gaze.
“This is none of your business, Gwen,” he stated.
“Then do the right thing and talk to her. Give her your idiotic reason of just why you dumped her.”
“You think you know my reason?”
“Anyone with a brain knows y
our reason. You’re a coward.” With that parting salvo, she stalked off.
Logan bit back the curse that hovered on his lips. When he turned around, he found Nick standing nearby. There was no doubt the boy had heard every word of the exchange between him and Gwen.
Nick didn’t say a word. He merely turned around and returned to the shelter.
Logan had never felt so low in his life.
TWO WEEKS and it would be all over.
Lucy kept that thought in mind as she sat in her car and waited for Nick to finish his work at the clinic.
Two more weeks and Nick’s community service would be finished. Then she’d never have to worry about seeing Logan again.
“It would have been nice if he had told me it was over,” she muttered to herself. “The jerk.” She tapped the steering wheel with her fingertips. “Slime with testosterone. Scum-sucking rodent,” she stopped. “Damn, I’m sounding like Nick when he was eight.”
The anger and sorrow she’d felt when Ross had divorced her was nothing compared to the pain she now felt from Logan dumping her. It was the only way she could see it. The man had dumped her, plain and simple.
When Abby had called last weekend to see if she and Logan and Nick wanted to come by, Lucy had just said that she and Logan were no longer together. Abby had guessed by the tone in her voice that pressing for details wouldn’t help matters any. Instead, she’d called Logan a few choice names and reminded Lucy that he was the one losing out. An hour later, Ginna had called her to say that obviously Logan didn’t know a good thing when he had it. Cathy’s call had soon followed with the older woman offering a motherly shoulder if Lucy needed it.
So far, Lucy hadn’t cried or racked her brain to figure out what had gone wrong. She’d decided if Logan didn’t have the nerve to say anything to her directly, she didn’t want him in her life. The next two weeks couldn’t go by fast enough.
As if she’d willed it, Nick opened the passenger door and slid onto the seat.
“I could ride my bike over here,” he said.
“I don’t think so.” She started up the engine. “Besides, you only have two more weeks then you’ll be free and clear.”
“Yeah.” He stared out the window.
Lucy sensed that Nick was hurt by Logan’s defection, but she didn’t ask him. Saying his name hurt too much. If her son brought Logan up, she would talk to him about what he was feeling. Otherwise, she was determined to remain quiet on the subject.
As she pulled into her driveway, she realized she’d forgotten a stop she intended to make on their way home.
“I forgot to stop at the pharmacy and pick up my prescription,” she said, activating the garage-door opener. For once, Luther behaved and didn’t fool with the sensors. “I’ll have to go get it. I should be back in twenty minutes or so.”
“Okay.” Nick climbed out of the car and walked through the garage.
Lucy looked at his bowed head and slow walk. She silently damned Logan. Nick never seemed to miss having a father. As he got older, he realized that Ross had no desire to be a part of his life and he accepted that. But he and Logan had gotten along so well that she should have known Nick would be hurt when she and Logan parted. All these years she’d sheltered him from making an attachment with the men in her life and this time she’d failed.
NICK STAYED in the kitchen waiting until he heard the garage door close. The minute he heard the thump, he practically ran to his room. He checked the clock as he hurriedly punched out numbers on his phone. He had about twenty minutes before his mother was due back home. The minute he heard a hello he wasted no time in talking.
“I know it looks bad between them, but I think it can be fixed,” he said quickly.
“HOW CAN they say they don’t have my insurance card on file?” Lucy muttered, walking into the kitchen. She picked up the phone. When she heard Nick’s voice she started to set it down quietly, but then she heard a voice she wouldn’t have expected to hear speaking to her son.
“I don’t think it’s going to work, son. It’s obvious that for some reason they’re not speaking to each other. I don’t see how you think you can get them together again.”
She recognized the voice. It belonged to Judge Kincaid.
“What if you extend my community service at the shelter?” Nick went on. “Or would I have to do something again? If Mom had to keep taking me over there, they’d have to talk to each other sooner or later, wouldn’t they? Logan’s really unhappy. I can see he is.”
“We can’t keep on doing this, Nick. We tried and we thought we were successful, but something happened beyond our control.”
It all fell into place for Lucy.
She now understood what people meant when they said they saw red. Right now her entire world blazed a brilliant shade of scarlet.
“Hang up, Nick.”
His sharply indrawn breath said he knew he was well and truly busted. “Mom.”
“Get off the phone now.” She felt light-headed as the anger flowed through her in heavy waves.
“But, Mom—”
“Nicholas Barrington Donner, hang up now.” The moment she heard the click, she started in on her son’s accomplice. “Judge Kincaid, would you like to tell me what you and my son were plotting?”
“Nick only had your best interests at heart, Mrs. Donner,” the man said.
“Really?” Disbelief colored the word. “So it was all some kind of elaborate joke the two of you were playing on Logan and me?”
“Not exactly.”
“Was this something Logan knew about?”
“He has no idea about this. It was strictly between Nick and myself.”
Lucy looked down and discovered her hands were shaking. For a moment she wasn’t sure if she would scream or cry. She might settle for doing both.
“You tell Logan what was really going on,” she said fiercely. “You tell him now because if you don’t, I will. Trust me, you don’t want me doing it.” She hung up. She turned around and gripped the edge of the counter until it dug painfully into her palms. She counted to ten then counted again because her fury hadn’t subsided one bit.
Lucy felt frozen as she walked down the hall to Nick’s bedroom. She found her son seated on his bed. He jumped to his feet the moment she entered the room.
He looked scared to death. She was glad to see he was worried about his future. While she wouldn’t hurt him physically, she’d make damn sure he’d never do something this crazy again.
“Mom—” he began, desperate to explain everything.
She held up her hand to indicate she didn’t want to hear him. She looked around his room because, at that moment, she couldn’t look at him.
Posters from “X-Files” adorned the walls. A navy corded bedspread hung haphazardly as if he’d made the bed in a hurry that morning.
“What have you done?” she asked. “And tell me everything. Make sure you don’t leave anything out.”
Nick gulped. “Well, you know Nora and Mark’s wedding? I talked to Judge Kincaid at the reception.” With a minimum of fits and starts, he related the entire story from his first meeting with the judge to their plan to get Lucy and Logan together and how it had all been accomplished.
Lucy discovered her world was now changing from scarlet to crimson.
She and Logan had been set up!
It took a few minutes for her to regain her speech.
“How dare you.” Her voice was hushed but no less intense as it trembled on the brink of volcanic. “Who do you think you are to arbitrarily plan Logan’s and my lives?” She paused. “Or does Logan know all about this? Was he in on this scheme since I wouldn’t go out with him in the beginning?” she demanded.
“He doesn’t know anything about this,” Nick said in a low voice. “This was just the judge and me.”
“Terrific. My son thinks he has the right to interfere in my life.” Scorn dripped from each word.
Nick looked stricken.
“I wanted you to be
happy like everyone else.”
“I was happy!” she shouted, and then fought to regain her calm. “You know what? I don’t even think I want to look at you right now.” She closed her eyes.
Nick’s chin wobbled dangerously, as if he was about to break into tears. He ran out of the room. Moments later Lucy heard the garage door open, and the sound of Nick wheeling his bike out before the door closed. Moving slowly as if she had suddenly aged, she reached for Nick’s phone. She took several deep breaths as the phone on the other end of the line rang.
“Cathy? I’m pretty sure Nick is on his way over there.” Then she burst into tears.
LOGAN WAS DRIPPING WET by the time he came back from his run with Magnum and Jake. Magnum’s tongue lolled as he dropped to the cement floor while Jake prowled the area. The Malamute shot him a look that said “Take someone else next time” and dropped his head back down onto the floor. Jake came over and whined as he nudged Logan.
“If you want to go back out and run, you can do it by yourself. I’m beat,” Logan muttered, sitting on the floor with a bottle of water in one hand. He was too tired to open it.
“Logan!”
“Back here. The door’s unlocked.” He was too tired to get up and open it. He looked up as his father stepped inside. “Hi. What brings you over this way? Is Farley okay?” He knew how his father doted on the elderly golden Lab.
Frank Kincaid smiled. “He’s fine.” His smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “It’s something else.”
For the first time that he could remember, Logan saw agitation in his father’s demeanor.
“You’re not in trouble with the law or something, are you?” he joked. His own smile dimmed when he saw how serious his father was.
“Logan.” Frank Kincaid hesitated. “We need to talk.”
A strange sinking sensation settled in Logan’s stomach. He suddenly feared the worst. Had his father seen his doctor lately? The older man looked to be in excellent health. Though Logan treated animals not humans, he still knew looking healthy didn’t necessarily mean you were healthy.