by Cathie Linz
“And as you pointed out, we wouldn’t have stopped here if it weren’t for the car. So we’ll split the bill. You can pay me back later.”
“Why are you holding that ugly teacup?” Pepper asked as she joined them beside the car. Her long platinum hair blew in the breeze, as did the neon-lime green hair bow that matched her neon-lime jacket and capri pants.
“She wants to take the cup with her,” Rowdy said.
“You’re welcome to it, girl. I meant to toss it in the trash years ago. Hey, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with the marriage thing. I hope ya’all come back and visit us again sometime.”
“I’d rather poke a stick in my eye,” Logan muttered under his breath.
“You drive careful now, you hear?” Pepper added.
Megan briefly wondered why Pepper seemed to be channeling Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies, before deciding she really didn’t care to know the answer.
“Be sure to tell your friends about us as a tourist destination,” Pepper shouted out.
Logan rolled his eyes. “Right. Like that’s going to happen.”
Megan elbowed him from the passenger seat. “Be polite.”
“They’re lucky I’m not pressing charges against them.”
“We didn’t sabotage your car so you’d stop here,” Chuck said. “I hope you believe me.”
“I believe you,” Megan said.
“We’re leaving now,” Logan stated.
“I hope you enjoyed your stay at the Queen of Hearts Motel,” Pepper said.
“Yeah, it ranks right up there with the Bates Motel,” Logan said.
“Good luck,” Rowdy said, waving them off.
The elderly trio stood there and watched them leave. Megan knew because she couldn’t resist turning around and looking. “I hope they’ll be all right.”
“Stop waving at them. You’re just encouraging their bad behavior.”
“Rowdy told me the shotgun wasn’t loaded.”
“So that makes it all okay?” Logan said.
“No, I told him it didn’t.”
“Well, then that’s peachy,” he said sarcastically. “As long as you and Rowdy made up. Your stay worked out fine. You left the place loaded with old clothes and an ugly teacup.”
“It’s not ugly. And you should be counting your blessings instead of complaining.”
“How do you figure?”
“We could be returning to Las Vegas as a married couple.”
“Now there’s a scary thought,” he said.
“Not that it would have been legal anyway.”
“Yeah, but who needs the hassle.”
“Right.” Nice to know that he considered her a hassle. But then, could she really blame him? After all, she was the one who’d talked him into helping her, who’d insisted on tracking down Fiona. And if they hadn’t been out at the Butterfly Ranch, the Chevy wouldn’t have broken down and left them stranded in Last Resort.
“It is now Monday morning,” Logan said, “and we’ve been gone since Saturday night.”
“Technically, it was early Sunday morning. It was past midnight when I got into your aqua car.”
“It’s blue, not aqua. And it’s not just a car.”
“It’s a classic Chevy 1957 Bel Air.”
“That’s right. You need to show proper respect.”
“It’s a nice car.”
“Nice? Nice is for wimps. Not for a baby like this.”
“Will your friend be upset that we put so much mileage on it?”
“It’s not like we drove all the way to Reno and back. And he trusts me to take good care of her.”
There was that word again. Trust.Hard to earn, and even harder to restore.
Megan also noted the way Logan’s voice softened when he talked about the car, as if it were a living being.
Take good care of her. Logan had actually taken pretty good care of Megan during their time together, starting curbside back at the Venetian when he’d rubbed her arms against the chill of the night air. And then there were the more sensual touches—sliding a strand of hair behind her ear, almost kissing her last night, and totally making out with her this morning . . .
Being held at gunpoint and then tossed into the storage room “jail” had distracted her from thinking about that kiss and those caresses. But now that she was in the car with him, there was no escaping the memories. Megan hoped she wasn’t blushing.
Sure, they’d talked about it in the storage room. But Logan clearly hadn’t bought her excuse that she’d still been asleep when she’d let him kiss her. As excuses went, even she had to admit that one was pretty lame. But what was she supposed to say? That she’d been so incredibly turned on that she couldn’t think straight?
Like she’d ever admit to that. It did occur to her that her actions spoke louder than her words, and her actions had clearly indicated that she hadn’t been thinking clearly. But since then, Logan had gone out of his way to let her know that he thought she’d brought him bad luck and that she was a nuisance.
There had been that comment about having sex while they were in the storage room, but he’d just been teasing her. She certainly wasn’t going to bring up the subject again anytime soon.
“How long until we’re back at the Venetian?” she asked.
“Less than an hour now.” He reached for his iPhone and made a call. “Hey, Gramps, I’m on my way back and I need a favor. Can you pack up for me and bring my bag to the front of the Venetian so I can make my flight? Thanks. Yeah, we’re fine. See you soon.”
Megan’s stomach flip-flopped. She wasn’t ready to face the music yet. Sure, the road trip had been a way to get information about her mom, but it had also allowed her to avoid confrontation with her dad.
She still didn’t know what she was going to say when she saw him. And she saw him sooner than she expected, as he was waiting along with Buddy at the entrance of the Venetian.
Her dad’s brown hair was rumpled and his face was lined with worry.
“How did you know I’d be here?” she said as she got out of the car, still clutching the teacup and saucer. Logan had also gotten out of the car and come around to join his grandfather.
“Buddy told me,” her dad said.
“He’s been acting pretty crazy,” Buddy explained. “They all have. Except for Ingrid, of course, although she’s still mad and not speaking to me unless it’s about you and Logan. So when Logan called me, I passed the info along. Nice car, by the way.”
“It’s blue,” Megan and Logan said in unison.
Her gaze got caught up in his for a moment before he broke the eye contact.
“I’ve got a plane to catch and a vintage car to return,” Logan said impatiently.
“Can I hitch a ride with you to the airport?” Buddy asked. “I’ve got all my stuff.” He pointed to a suitcase beside him.
“Sure.” Logan picked up the suitcase and put it in the car. The bellman at the Venetian had already removed Megan’s vintage suitcase and bags from the trunk.
“Right. Well, thanks again for your help,” Megan told Logan as he slid into the driver’s seat.
Instead of answering, Logan simply drove off. No good-bye, no wave, no hug.
And just like that, Megan’s road trip was over, and it was back to reality . . . a reality she still felt unprepared to face.
Chapter Nine
Megan reluctantly turned to face her father.
“Where have you been?” he demanded. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”
Megan had had the entire drive back to think about what she was going to say to her dad, but instead she’d been distracted by that wildly intense kiss she’d shared with Logan. She could no longer deny that there was tons of chemistry between them.
Yet he couldn’t dump her fast enough and head off into the sunset, leaving her alone to face the music.
Fine. She could cope on her own. No problem. She didn’t need Logan.
Sure, she wantedhim, but she’d g
et over that.
Thank heavens she hadn’t been coerced into marrying him in Last Resort. It wasn’t as if she’d been the one trying to trap him in a shotgun wedding. She’d even offered to pay a thousand dollars notto marry him.
Was that why he’d taken off so fast? Because she’d insulted his male ego? Why was she even worrying about this now when she had this huge family crisis to deal with?
“Are you okay?” her dad repeated. “Where have you been?”
“We went to a brothel. But I didn’t marry him.” Okay, so Megan must be more out of it than she realized for those words to have come tumbling out of her mouth uncensored. She clasped her hand over her mouth to prevent any more verbal mishaps.
“Logan wanted to marry you in a brothel?”
She paused to try to mentally collect herself before replying. “No, nothing like that. He didn’t want to marry me.”
This news did not improve the disapproving look on her father’s face. “He took you to a brothel and refused to marry you?”
“It was only because we spent the night together,” she said.
“What?”
“The shotgun wedding. Not that they went through with it.”
“Who?”
She waved his question away. She wished she could wave all his questions away. “It’s not important.”
“Logan takes you to a brothel, spends the night with you and then involves you in a shotgun wedding scenario, and it’s not important?”
“He was probably trying to marry her to get his hands on her money,” Jeff said, having joined them in time to hear Megan’s rambling explanation. “He can’t be making much on a cop’s salary.”
“He’s a police detective,” she said.
“I’ll have his badge for this,” Jeff growled.
“No, you won’t.” Megan glared at her uncle. “You won’t do a thing to Logan. Leave him alone.”
“How can you defend him?” Jeff demanded.
“Because he was helping me.”
“By taking you to a brothel? How could that help you?”
Megan wasn’t ready to admit she was looking for her mom. Not yet. So she had to come up with some other reason no matter how lame. “The history of prostitution. You know how I’ve always been interested in history.”
“So he took you there as a history lesson?” her dad said.
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically.
“Bull,” her uncle said. “I’m not buying that story for one minute,”
“Enough,” Gram said, coming forward for the first time to put her arm around Megan’s shoulders. “Can’t you see how tired the poor girl is? Let her be now. She’s returned and she’s okay. That’s all that counts. So you boys just back off. Megan and I are going to go have some alone time.” She indicated to the bellman to follow with Megan’s vintage suitcase and her bag. “What a lovely teacup,” she said as she guided Megan through the lobby to the elevators leading up to their floor.
“I’ve been looking for it for ages.”
Gram frowned. “Did you lose it somewhere?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know.”
“Your room or mine?” Gram asked.
“Mine.”
“Where did you get the suitcase? I had one of those back in the sixties.”
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got some time.”
Megan tipped the bellman and closed the door after him. Looking around, she was astonished to realize how much had changed in her life since the last time she’d been here. She’d been preparing for Faith’s wedding, so happy for her cousin. Never suspecting that her own life was about to change dramatically. Megan decided to get right to the point. “Did you know that my mother is alive?”
“No. Neither one of my sons told me their hare-brained idea or I would have set them straight. I only found out yesterday.”
Megan wearily sank onto the bed. “Why couldn’t my father just tell me that he and my mother got divorced? And why did she leave and not want to see me again? Was she driven away? Threatened?”
Gram sat beside her. “I can’t see your dad threatening anyone.”
“But I can see Uncle Jeff doing that,” Megan said.
“Possibly. Your mother wasn’t the easiest person to get to know.”
“I already heard she wasn’t a people person.”
“Who told you that?”
Megan paused, wanting to confide in Gram but unsure if she could trust her.
“What are you up to? And don’t try saying nothing. I can read that face of yours like a map. I know every freckle, every expression ...” Gram’s eyes reflected her love as she cupped Megan’s cheek with her hand.
“You have to swear not to tell anyone else,” Megan said.
“More lies? More secrets? Don’t you think it would be best to just come clean?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’d prevent me from doing what I need to do.”
“They?”
“Dad and Uncle Jeff.”
“And what is it exactly that you need to do?”
“Find my mother.”
“Flight 1231 to Chicago Midway has been delayed because of bad weather in Chicago.” The announcement was made with blasé indifference. “We’ll update you when we have more information. Please remain here in the gate area for further announcement.”
“Great.” Logan swore.
So did Buddy.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “I thought you gave up cursing.”
“I did.”
“So what changed?”
“Everything, boy-o,” Buddy said morosely. “Everything.”
“Care to be a little more specific than that?”
“I will if you will.”
“Meaning?”
“Why did you take off with Megan like that?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I wrote the book on complicated.”
“You sure did. Which is why you need to concentrate on clearing up your own affairs and not worrying about other people’s problems.”
“Problems?” Buddy instantly latched onto that. “You have problems?”
Logan shrugged. “Everyone has problems.”
“Work-related problems?”
Logan just gave him a look.
“Fine.” Buddy shrugged. “Don’t confide in me. Are you the only one with problems or does Megan have problems too?”
“Like I said, everyone has problems.”
“I knew it.” Buddy slapped his hand on his thigh. “I knew something was up. You wouldn’t just take off with her like that.”
“You make it sound like I kidnapped her or something.”
“That’s what Megan’s dad and uncle thought.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why would I want to kidnap her?”
“Money. They always think about money. I mean, that dad of hers is a numbers guy, after all. So you and Megan just took off for some alone time? Time to explore the chemistry you claimed didn’t exist?”
Logan gave him another look.
“What?” Buddy said. “You don’t think I can put two and two together?”
“You can put two and two together, all right. And come up with five.”
“If that’s not the reason, then what else is going on?”
Logan wasn’t about to tell him. The whole point of this exercise was to keep his grandfather out of Megan’s drama. But he knew Buddy well enough to know that if he didn’t say something, his grandfather would just start digging on his own. So he chose the lesser of two evils. “Fine. It was the chemistry.”
Buddy slapped his knee. “I knewit! I told you the two of you would be a good match.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.”
Now it was Buddy’s turn to give Logan a look. “Don’t you go breaking her heart now. I’ve got enough trouble with Ingrid without having you alienat
ing her by hurting her beloved granddaughter.”
“Which is why we shouldn’t get involved any further.”
“Balderdash.”
Logan wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not that Buddy had reverted to his customary selection of arcane expressions instead of cursing. Hopefully it meant that things were returning to normal. Which would be a good thing. The past weekend hadn’t been normal. But then, he hadn’t seen normal in some time.
“Don’t let the fact that your dad has been unlucky in love turn you off a good relationship,” Buddy said.
“I’d call three divorces more than just unlucky.”
“So he’s made mistakes. We all have. Like your marriage to Angie. I don’t know what you were thinking. Well, I do know. You were listening to the wrong part of your anatomy. I know that situation was tough on you, her cheating on you that way. And with an EMT, of all people.”
Logan held up his hand. “Don’t start.”
“From your own district. Is that why you transferred? You shouldn’t let a woman get to you that way.”
“Like Ingrid hasn’t gotten to you.”
“She’d never cheat on me. And besides, she’s my soul mate, not a badge bunny.”
“I didn’t know Angie was a badge bunny when I married her.”
“I know Megan doesn’t have a thing for men in uniform,” Buddy said. “You wouldn’t have to worry about anything like that happening with her. She wouldn’t cheat on you. She’s as honest as the day is long. I mean, look at that face.” He pointed over Logan’s shoulder.
Logan glanced over his shoulder. Megan was walking from the gate agent’s desk toward them.
“I thought you’d be on your way back to Chicago by now,” she said when she was standing in front of Logan and Buddy.
“I thought so too,” Logan said.
“Our earlier flight had mechanical trouble so we were transferred to this one and now it’s delayed,” Buddy said before glancing behind her. “Where’s Ingrid?”
“She’s in the ladies’ room.”
“And the rest of your family?”
“They’re around.”
“We were just talking about you,” Buddy said.
“You were?”
“Yes. Logan told me why you two hooked up this weekend.”