Web of Lies

by Elizabeth Knox

  “Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “Be back by dark.” Once Sasha is out of earshot, I turn to Logan. “Sorry about her. She’ll get used to you.”

  He shrugs. “No worries. Mom didn’t mention you had a kid.”

  “Yeah,” I say, tucking my hair behind my ear. “She’s ten and spends most of her time outside, so you’ll only see her at night and when the weather is bad. Other than that, she hates being in the house.”

  “Logan, we’re going to head out. Why don’t you guys all come to the house tomorrow for dinner?” Edna says, stepping up to hug her son.

  “Sure, Mom. Sounds good.”

  His voice is deep and captivating, and I kinda have to force myself not to stare at him. After I say goodbye to my landlords, I show Logan to his room and then hightail it to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. I thought having a man living here wouldn’t be a big deal, but his parents didn’t mention that he was walking sex. For someone like me who hasn’t been with anyone in five years . . . This isn’t a good combination at all.

  As the coffee is brewing, I pull out everything I need to make dinner. Sasha helps make the dinner list every week, and tonight is meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and candied carrots— her favorite.

  “Mind if I steal a cup of that?”

  The deep voice startles me, and I jump, dropping the food in my hands on the counter. Turning around, I try to smile at him. “You don’t have to ask permission for anything here, Logan. It’s your house now too.”

  He chuckles to himself and steps over, taking two mugs off the rack and filling them. “How do you take yours?”

  I stare at him a moment and then turn to the food, my cheeks heating. “Sugar and creamer. It’s in the fridge.” Opening the cabinet, I pull down a large glass bowl and proceed to empty the pack of ground beef into it. I wash my hands, and as I’m drying them, a large hand appears in front of me, holding a coffee mug. Taking it, I sip at the hot, creamy liquid and close my eyes with a grin. “Thank you.”

  “Want some help with dinner?”

  Taking a deep breath, I set my mug down and smile. “That would be okay. There’s a drawer of vegetables in the fridge. Can you dice all of them for the meatloaf while I peel potatoes?”

  Logan nods and turns to the fridge again. For the next two hours, we work side by side in the kitchen. Once the mashed potatoes and candied carrots are done, and there’s only fifteen minutes on the timer for the meatloaf, Logan makes each of us another cup of coffee, and we go sit on the front porch.

  Sasha and I fixed the railing on the large front porch last year. It took us three weeks, but we did a good job. There are rocking chairs and a swing with plants that we picked out a the local nursery. Logan and I both go right for the swing and chuckle as we sit down.

  “So, what're your and Sasha’s normal days look like?” Logan says before sipping his coffee.

  I do the same and rock the swing gently. “Well, Monday through Friday, Sasha has school from seven-thirty until two forty-five. I work at the diner in town from eight until eight. Sasha gets home on the bus around four and makes herself dinner. Saturdays I work from home in the morning and then Sasha usually has soccer in the afternoon and evening. Sundays are usually our days to relax.”

  “What’s your second job?”

  “I stuff envelopes for a promotion company in town. It’s a dollar per envelope and every Saturday I do between five hundred and a thousand. It helps with us being able to live comfortably.”

  Logan’s face takes on an edge of confusion. “Where’s Sasha’s father?”

  I take a sip of my coffee and clear my throat. “He was killed in action when she was little.”

  “I’m sorry. Do my parents know?”

  Nodding my head, I sigh. “Yes. They’re aware. They keep an eye on Sasha sometimes if I end up stuck at work, so I’ve been honest with them.”

  It’s quiet for a minute until Logan abruptly turns his whole body toward me. “Wait, doesn’t Sasha get Survivor Benefits? If her father was military, he should have had life insurance that you got to care for yourselves.”

  “Yep,” I say quietly, staring down at my hands and mug, “the life insurance is in a trust fund for her, and monthly payments are in a bank account for monthly bills and such. This way, she can live the life she wants to. Buy a house and all that stuff. Start off her life as an adult on the right foot.”

  “Wow.” Logan stares at me, a slow smile spreading across his lips. “That might be the most selfless thing I have ever heard.” I drain my mug with a chuckle as the timer from the kitchen screeches through the front screen door. “I’ll get it.”

  Logan gets up and takes my mug before heading into the house. Turning, I stare at the setting sun, something in my gut telling me that our life is about to change but not really being able to pinpoint how.

  Chapter Two

  Logan

  I honestly can’t remember the last time I sat and had a family dinner that consisted of anyone aside from my unit. Not that I haven’t had female companionship, I just stopped having committed relationships after my second deployment. I was dating my high school sweetheart then, and when I came home on leave, I found her fucking the local pharmacist. Since then, it’s been one-night stands and weekend flings. But I can’t say it wasn’t nice to sit with Beth and Sasha last night at the table and listen to Sasha tell her mother all about the little nest of frogs she found on her walk last night.

  This morning, I got up before the sun. I’ve been getting up at four in the morning for the last fifteen years, so it’s not something I can just shut off, not that I’m technically retired. I wanted to do something nice for Beth and Sasha, so after I got back from my run, I went into town when the market opened and bought all the fixings for a huge breakfast. It’s almost eight and the kitchen smells like coffee and bacon.

  Sipping my third cup, I flip the three pancakes on the griddle.

  “What’s all this?”

  I turn around to find Beth standing in the doorway and my eyes trail down her body. I’m shirtless with a pair of sweats on and taking in her tight tank top that shows her stomach and the skin-tight leggings, I will myself not to get hard. Her hair is in a messy bun on the top of her head and unlike yesterday, she doesn’t have even a hint of makeup on. And she’s fucking gorgeous.

  “I, uh, thought I’d make us all breakfast,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat before turning back to remove the pancakes.

  A soft hand touches my back, and a chill runs down my spine. Beth leans into me slightly as she reaches around me and grabs a piece of bacon off the plate next to the stove and shoves it in her mouth. “Oh, that is good.”

  As she moves to my other side toward the coffee pot, she trails her nails lightly across my back and I shiver again. Damn, this is not what I expected when I agreed to this shit. I’m kinda surprised when Beth hops up and sits on the counter and watches me while she drinks her coffee. I try my best to focus on the food and not her, but every few minutes, I glance over at her. By the time I’m pulling the last of the pancakes off the griddle, an excited squeal sounds behind me.

  “Is that pancakes?” Sasha comes in and goes to grab one of the piles, but I snicker and snag the kid around the waist and hold her away from the plate. “C’mon! I’m going to die without pancakes!”

  “Set the table, and then you can have the pancakes,” I say setting her back on her feet.

  Sasha rolls her eyes and huffs but goes over and pulls three plates out of the cabinet and leaves to take them to the table. Beth hops down off the counter and sidles up next to me, grabbing two plates of food and heading to the dining room. I peek over my shoulder to watch her plump ass exit the room. Sasha comes back in and grabs silverware and makes three glasses of orange juice. Once all the food is out, I make Beth and I each a cup of coffee and take them out.

  “So, who are you trying to warm up to? Me or my mom,” Sasha asks as she pours a lake of syrup on her five-pancake stack.

  Buttering
my own, I take the syrup from her. “Are you warmed up to me?”

  Sasha glances up at me as she cuts her food. Stabbing her fork through the pancakes, she shrugs. “Maybe a little.”

  “Well, then my plan is working.” I give her a wink and shove food in my mouth. The kid chuckles and does the same. For an hour or so, we eat and chat. We’ve got dinner at my parents tonight, but that isn’t for several hours. Once I’m done, I set my fork down and look to Beth. “So, what’s the first thing I need to fix around here? Until we have to make an appearance for dinner, I figure I can at least be useful.”

  Sasha gets up from her seat and picks up her plate. “Well, ya don’t suck at cooking, so that’s a point for your usefulness.”

  Beth and I both laugh as the kid takes her plate in the kitchen. “Don’t be so snarky, Sasha. Logan didn’t have to cook.”

  “Nah,” I say as the kid joins us and stands behind her chair, “I like her sass.”

  “This isn’t sass, Logan,” Sasha says with a smartass smile. “This is just my epic, award-winning personality. Can I go to the skate park for a bit? Jules and Malcolm said they’d be there around ten.”

  Beth nods as she picks up her coffee. “Be back by three. You’ll need to shower before we head out for dinner. Take the spare phone, just in case.”

  “Okay, Mom. See ya, Logan.” Sasha turns and bounces through the living room, disappearing around the corner.

  As Beth drains her mug, I get up and go grab the pot, sugar, and creamer from the kitchen and bring it to the table. With a shy smile, she holds her mug out, and I refill it and then mine. “So, about that list?”

  “Alright, just calm down, Mr. Fix It,” Beth says with a smile and giggle. “How about we clear the breakfast dishes and then we can work on the list?”

  “Or, since I cooked, you can handle the dishes and give me the first task on your list.” Putting on my most megawatt smile, I wink.

  Beth tilts her head to the side but grins again. “Fine. I’ll do the dishes, and you can look at the shower in Sasha’s bathroom. It drains slow as hell and the water pressure blows. The local plumber wanted seven-hundred dollars just to come assess it, so that didn’t happen because that’s ridiculous.”

  My brows pull together. “Who’s the local plumber?”

  Beth rolls her eyes. “Some jackass named Chad Spencer.”

  Now, it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “He was a dick in high school. Nice to hear he hasn’t gotten better. Alright, I’ve got the shower, you’ve got the dishes. What do you want to do for lunch?”

  Beth stands and starts piling dirty dishes atop her plate. “I’ll order pizza around eleven-thirty. That way, it’s here around noon.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I say as I stand and head toward the living room. Glancing over my shoulder, my dick twitches as Beth leans over the table, her shirt pulling enough to show the top of her cleavage. Fuck. Heading into Sasha’s bathroom, I adjust my semi-hard cock. This woman is going to drive me crazy.

  Chapter Three

  Beth

  After I washed, dried, and put away all the dishes from breakfast, I cleaned the kitchen and dining room. Usually, I’d spend my Sundays on the couch, vegging out while binging something on either Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+. If Logan’s going to be working, I feel like I need to be too, though. Emptying the mop bucket into the sink, the doorbell rings and I set everything down to go answer it.

  Grabbing the pizzas, I set them on the dining room table and head to Sasha’s room to find Logan. I find him in Sasha’s shower, the front wall wholly torn apart. Sweat glistens off his muscles, tattoos covering both arms, his chest, stomach, sides, and back. Jesus Christ, he’s sexy as hell.

  “Now that you’ve dismantled the bathroom, want to come have some lunch?”

  Logan sits back from the wall and looks at me, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Considering I can’t fix this without going to Home Depot, yes, lunch would be good. Sasha is gonna have to use a different shower. The water pressure is shit because these pipes are old as fuck. It isn’t draining because there’s so much build-up it isn’t funny. I’m going to have to replace all the plumbing.”

  My eyes widen. “Don’t. It’s one thing for you to fix things. It’s another for you to have to completely remodel the damn house. We can do without the shower here. She can use the one in the hallway.”

  Logan stands up and grabs a towel off the rack, wiping his face and chest. “Relax, gorgeous. I don’t mind. This old ass house could use a remodel anyway.” Stepping out of the tub, be puts his hand on my hip and squeezes, then trails his fingers across my stomach as he moves past me and out of the bathroom. Well, fuck me sideways. Shaking the very inappropriate images from my head, I head out to the dining room.

  “How’d you know I liked meat lovers pizza?”

  I snicker. “Have you looked at you? It was just a guess.”

  “Are you making a dig at my tattoos or my muscles?” Logan puts two slices of the black olive pizza on my plate and sets it down in front of me as I slide into my usual seat.

  “I’m not making a dig on either. They’re both . . . Nice,” I say, my voice dropping.

  “Nice, huh? Nice like, oh, that’s nice like a bouquet of flowers? Or nice like you’ve imagined what all this would feel like between your legs nice?”

  I literally choke on my food and Logan snickers, taking another bite of his pizza. “Are all military as dirty-mouthed as you? Christ.”

  “Weren’t you dating a military man?” His eyebrows raise.

  “Married, and we were very young.” I take a sip of my water.

  “What is the timeline? You don’t look old enough to have a ten-year-old,” Logan says as he picks up a napkin and wipes his mouth.

  “He and I met and started dating in middle school. We had Sasha when I was fourteen. He joined the military our senior year and died when he was twenty.”

  Logan stares at me for a moment, his eyes softening. “I’m sorry for your loss, Beth. Believe me, I know it isn’t easy.”

  Reaching over, I lay my hand atop his. “Thanks. It’s been a tough four years, but Sasha and I have done okay.”

  The front door bangs open, and three bodies dart into the house, one being held up between the other two. Logan and I both jump out of our seats.

  “Ms. Beth, Sasha got hurt,” Malcolm, her best friend, says in a panic.

  Logan scoops Sasha up in his arms and takes her over to the couch. I kneel by her head, which has a massive gash on it, but she’s awake with tears coming out of the corners of her eyes. “Sorry, Mom.”

  “Keep her awake. I’m grabbing my med kit,” Logan says quickly.

  “What happened, honey?”

  “I was trying to do a trick on the half-pipe and didn’t land it. Smacked my head right on the drop lip,” Sasha says as Logan comes back and kneels next to me.

  “Close your eyes, sweetheart,” Logan says gently, “let me get ya cleaned up, and then you can rest.”

  I hold Sasha’s hand while Logan cleans her cut and then puts butterfly stitches on it. It’s a good thing he is here; otherwise, this would have been an all-day trip to the Emergency Room because I tend to panic when Sasha gets hurt. Once he’s done, he helps her sit up.

  “Can Jules and Malcolm hang in my room with me?”

  I sigh and stand. “Yes. Stay out of your bathroom, though, use the one in the hallway. Logan is apparently going to remodel yours.”

  Sasha’s eyes light up. “Can you put colored lights in my tub? Preferably blue and green. Those are my fave colors.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, kiddo,” Logan laughs. “Now, go rest, try not to fall asleep. I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a concussion.”

  I’m a little shocked when Sasha leans forward and hugs Logan around the neck, thanking him. When she lets go and stands, she stares up at his face for a second. “Yeah . . . Definitely a concussion.”

  She and her friends link arms and walk away, giggling while Logan
just shakes his head.

  “That kid is going to grow on me quick,” Logan says as we head back to the dining room table.

  “Yeah, she’s a firecracker that is for sure. Been that way since she was very young,” I laugh. “When she was three, she swore she could use sheer willpower to turn my ex-mother-in-law’s German Shepard into a dragon. Sprained her arm by climbing on the dog’s back and having the dog jump off the top bunk bed.”

  “Jesus,” Logan says with a loud laugh, “that must have been a sight.”

  “So, you are learning a ton about us. What did you do in the Army?”

  Logan glances down at his hands and shrugs. “Infantry. Nothing special.”

  Something about his answer makes the warning bells in my brain go off. I swore when Sasha’s father died, I’d never get involved with a military man again. “You’re out for good, though, right? No chance you could get called back in?”

  Logan looks up, and his crystal blue eyes stop my breath. “Yeah, I’m in full retirement, why?”

  Taking a deep breath, I stand and grab my plate, deciding to use his own crudeness against him. As I walk behind him, I lean down next to his ear. “I refuse to mess with active military, but if you’re done with your service, maybe I can have you between my legs to properly thank you for serving your country.”

  Before he can react, I stand straight and hightail it into the kitchen. I yelp as an arm encircles my waist and pulls me flush against a rock-hard body. Calloused fingertips brush my hair to the side and over my shoulder, and my eyes close. Softly, a moan escapes my lips as a soft kiss and flick of a tongue touch my neck.

  “You don’t get to say some shit like that and just walk away, Beth,” Logan whispers, his tongue darting out and pulling my earlobe between his teeth.

  A shudder runs through my entire body and I press my back against him harder. “Logan.”

  “Mmmm, moan my name like that again, gorgeous, and I’m going to fuck you on the kitchen counter,” he whispers as he kisses down the side of my neck.