Her Temporary Hero (a Once a Marine Series book) (Entangled Indulgence)

by Jennifer Apodaca

  Logan tightened his hand around hers. “About what? You were a kid. You couldn’t exactly work.” He regretted now not doing a deeper background. He’d checked the one they had on file, and he’d googled Dylan Ridgemont and the hit-and-run.

  “My mom’s grief. I couldn’t bring them back. I was trying to be good, but I was having nightmares about the fire and was afraid to sleep alone.”

  Oh hell, he’d definitely missed something. “Becky, look at me.”

  She turned her head, her eyes shadowed.

  He touched her face, wanting to ease the strain there. “Sweetheart, what fire?”

  “A house fire. I was six. When my mom and I came home, our house was engulfed. Huge flames coming out the windows.”

  Shit. “Who was home that day?”

  “My father and brother. Tyler was nine. They couldn’t get to them. There was nothing they could do except hold my mom back.”

  Jesus. She’d only been six. Her world had been destroyed. Logan had thought he had had a bad time of it? His mom was alive. Maybe he hadn’t seen her much, but the possibility was always there. “I’m sorry.” Those words were so damned inadequate.

  She sat up, shifting Sophie and adjusting her clothes. “It got better. Before the fire, my mom had a part-time business sewing pageant dresses. When she recovered a little, she turned it into a full-time business and things were fine.”

  This explained why Becky had a maturity and emotional depth most twenty-two-year-olds, like his younger sister Pam, hadn’t yet attained—she’d lived through some tough times at a very young age. He kept touching her face. “It sucked, baby. For you and your mom.”

  “I was young, but my mom, she lost so much that day. It took her a while just to function again.”

  Logan could see the old pain in her eyes. Her need to be touched and held went deeper than an asshole ex. “You suffered too. That’s not your mom’s fault, I’m sure she did the best she could. Did you try to take care of your mom?”

  Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know how. That’s one of the reasons I want to become a nurse. They know how to take care of people.”

  She took his breath away with comments like that. She’d felt powerless as a child, and instead of crying about it, she figured out a way to get the power she needed as an adult. Becky had a tender heart, but she was strong, resilient, and kickass in her own way. If money was her only obstacle to her nursing degree, he was going to fix that and make it happen for her. That was something tangible and real that he could give her.

  Chapter Eight

  Becky eyed her hand-drawn design. Her latest client, Marla, had darker skin, and that would make the pale yellow color look like a strip of morning sunlight across her body. The diagonal, off-one-shoulder cut added to that imagery, plus it was very sensual. But it needed a tad more oomph. She pondered that while methodically sewing the pieces of the dress together on her portable sewing machine.

  The doorbell rang.

  Jiggy raced out to bark at the door in case Becky didn’t understand the concept of the doorbell. She set the dress aside and followed her dog to discover three women on the porch. “Hi Lucinda.” Her former boss was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, her dark hair loose and wavy around her shoulders. But the other two had her at a loss. “Uh, Logan’s not here, he’s out checking on some sick cattle, but I can call him if you need me to.” She had his cell phone number now, and generally knew his schedule. He preferred to work the ranch in the morning and his camp in the afternoon. But his father kept making more and more demands on Logan’s time.

  Lucinda cut into her thoughts and held out an envelope. “I brought by your final paycheck.” She nodded at the two women with her. “This is Pricilla, Logan’s stepmother, and his sister. They insisted on accompanying me.”

  A woman with chic dark hair and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen held out her hand. “Hello, Becky. Congratulations on your marriage.”

  “Thank you.” After shaking hands, Becky smoothed her tank top, and tried not to think about her worn jeans or bare feet. Oh Lord, her hair—she’d clipped it up to get it out of her way.

  “This is my daughter, Pam.”

  The girl was around Becky’s age. She had a heart-shaped face with blue-gray eyes, and she was rocking a short skirt and boots. Becky crossed one foot over the other, wishing she was better dressed. But at least she could show some manners. “Would you like to come in? I’m sorry for the mess, I wasn’t expecting company.” She glared at Lucinda.

  Pricilla glided past her. “We’re not company, we’re family. No need to fret. We really need to get working on your reception.”

  “Reception?”

  “Mom loves any excuse for a party.” Pam bent down to Jiggy. “Oh, who’s this? He’s so sweet.”

  “Where would be the best place for us to work?” Pricilla looked around the living room and dining room covered in material.

  Becky couldn’t get her bearings. She focused on Pam first. “His name is Jiggy.” Her dog climbed up on Pam’s lap. “He’s a bit of a flirt with women.”

  “Maybe we could work out back on the deck?”

  Becky turned to her mother-in-law. “I’m a little confused. Logan and I aren’t having a reception.”

  Pricilla smiled and put her hand on Becky’s shoulder. “I’d really love to do this for you. I want to show off Logan’s bride and my new daughter-in-law to all of Dallas. It’ll be lovely, you’ll see.” She walked to the table, efficiently cleared a spot, sat, and turned on her iPad. “We’ll hold the reception here on the ranch. The side yard at our house will do nicely. I’ll hire the caterers and—”

  “Don’t back down.” Pam stood at her side, holding Jiggy.

  Ah, an ally. She nodded her thanks and turned at attention. “Pricilla.”

  “Yes, dear?”

  Becky judged her to be halfway into her forties, that place where beauty matures into a polished attractiveness, but she didn’t see any malice in her eyes, just determination. After the tension with Logan’s dad, the best thing she could do was get this woman on her side. Becky settled in a chair next to her. “Logan and I married quietly for a few reasons, not the least of which is my mother just passed away. I’m not comfortable having a reception.” She let grief thicken her voice. “It would be disrespectful to her memory and, frankly, painful.”

  “Oh. I guess Brian did mention that.” The other woman laid her hand over Becky’s wrist. “I’m so sorry. How long has it been?”

  There was true sympathy in her eyes. “Thank you. About six weeks. She had cancer.”

  “How sad. Maybe a big reception isn’t the best way to go.” Disappointment settled around her eyes and shoulders. “I really wanted to do this for Logan.”

  Lucinda sat across from Becky. “Aunt Pricilla, Logan doesn’t care about parties. He’d just want you to accept Becky.”

  “But that’s the point.” She traced her finger around her iPad. “The marriage was so quick, we need a symbol to show that we support Logan.”

  This wasn’t what Becky had expected. Logan’s dad had come across as angry, controlling, and confrontational, while Pricilla chewed her lip in concern.

  “You can’t fix everything with a party.” Pam dropped into the seat by Lucinda.

  Pricilla closed her eyes, as if defeated by her daughter’s words.

  “Logan won’t come. He never comes to any of your parties unless Dad bullies him.”

  “He would for his wife. A reception is out.” Pricilla lifted her chin, regaining her poise. “I know, we’ll do a low-key barbeque. Just introduce Becky to a few people, make it official. Of course Logan will come.”

  Becky was still reeling from the loaded subtext of the mother-daughter exchange. After meeting Brian, she wasn’t sure what she expected, but this warm, sincere woman wasn’t it.

  Lucinda cut into her thoughts. “That would work. Small, intimate, it won’t overwhelm Becky or make her uncomfortable given that her mom so recently passed.”
>
  Pricilla nodded. “Family and a few close friends.” She turned to Becky. “How many people will you be inviting? Let’s keep it down to a hundred or so total.”

  “A hundred is small?” She had the sensation of getting caught up in a wave and being swept away—totally unable to see all the undercurrents snapping and popping beneath her.

  “Fifty,” Lucinda said. “Hamburgers and hot dogs. Cold salads.” She shifted her gaze to Becky. “It’s a good way to introduce you as Logan’s wife and Sophie as his stepdaughter.”

  True. She was supposed to play her part, not make it harder on Logan. He apparently had enough issues with his family. “Okay. But absolutely no gifts.”

  Pricilla said, “Fifty to seventy-five. Gifts optional. How many people do you want to invite?”

  Who would she invite? Wait. Damn, Pricilla was good. “No gifts. I’m not budging on this.”

  A frown marred the smooth skin of Pricilla’s forehead.

  Becky softened her tone. “It’s just not the time for a party like that. Maybe we could do something on our first anniversary?”

  “Oh, that’d give us a year to plan it!” Excitement shone in Pricilla’s eyes. “Maybe you could renew your vows or something symbolic. Yes, that’s what we’ll do. This small barbecue to introduce you in a few weeks, between fifty and eighty guests, then next year, a huge event!”

  Becky blinked at the way her mother-in-law kept massaging the number of guests. But her excitement was very real. “You like to throw a party.”

  Pam laughed. “Mom lives to entertain.”

  Pricilla flashed Becky a smile. “I’ll teach you all the tricks. Brian is going to spend the next few years training Logan in the management end of the ranch.”

  “And break Abby’s heart. Hell, she’s practically running the entire horse program now.”

  “Pam, there’s more to running a horse and cattle ranch than just training the horses.”

  “You sound like Dad. Abby knows every inch of this ranch, every—” She clamped her jaw. “Forget it. No one listens.”

  Becky cut her gaze between the younger girl’s angry eyes and her mother’s admonishing ones. Fortunately, Jiggy nudged her leg just as Sophie began to cry. “Excuse me, that’s my baby.” She escaped to get Sophie, then returned a few minutes later.

  Pam jumped up and raced around the table. “Hi there, what’s your name?”

  Becky was warming to Logan’s sister. “Her name is Sophie. Would you like to hold her? She might fuss though, she’s probably hungry.”

  “I’d love to.” She held out her arms. Once she had Sophie in them, she returned to her seat, then laughed. “Jiggy, are you checking to make sure I’m taking care of your baby?”

  Becky glanced over. Jiggy had his front paws on the chair.

  “Sorry about that. He doesn’t usually bother us at the table, but he’s protective.”

  Pam stroked Jiggy’s ears. “Every girl should have a protector.”

  For a second, Becky forgot the other three women sitting at the table. There was something so sad about Pam, a loneliness that shrouded her, keeping her separate. “Yes they should,” she agreed. How was it possible that Becky felt a kinship with her when Pam came from wealth and she came from nothing? Yet she did. “What do you do, Pam? Are you in college?”

  “I got kicked out for too much partying.”

  At the same time, Pricilla said, “She’s taking a year off to compete in barrel racing.”

  Well, crap. Becky had stepped into another steaming pile of family tension. What did she say now?

  Pricilla rose. “My turn to hold the baby.” She glanced over at Becky. “Okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Her mother-in-law’s face softened as she lifted Sophie from Pam. “Well, look at you. Such pretty eyes.”

  Becky’s chest hurt seeing the older woman with Sophie—a youngish grandmother. This was what she wanted for her daughter, but it wasn’t real. After a few months, she and Sophie would be alone again.

  Sophie’s cries got her attention. Becky took her from Pricilla. “Thanks. Does anyone mind if I feed her here?”

  Pricilla went back to the head of the table. “Of course not. Go right ahead.”

  Becky got Sophie settled just as the door opened behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. The electrical currents running up her back and lifting the fine hairs on her arms told her.

  Logan.

  Her skin almost sizzled when his shadow fell over her. His warm hand covered her shoulder. “Sugar.”

  With Sophie nursing, all she could do was tilt her head back. Logan looked down at her, his light eyes a startling contrast in his darker face. He lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers. His lips were warm and firm and for that brief second, it was like being claimed. As if she belonged to Logan, mattered to him.

  Then she remembered what he’d told her right before the marriage ceremony.

  There will be times we need to touch, and probably kiss, to keep the image up.

  Right. Okay, she could do this. “I didn’t expect you home so soon.”

  He brushed his thumb along her cheek. “I thought you’d like that tour I promised you.”

  “Really? I’d love it. Can we see the horses? Can we go now?”

  He grinned at her. “You look a little busy here.”

  She’d forgotten the three women in her house. Having Logan’s attention hone in on her, offering to take her out to see what he’d been working on, scrambled her brains. “Right. Another time.” She tried to smile as if it wasn’t a big deal.

  Pricilla rose, kissing her stepson’s cheek. “Logan, congratulations on your marriage. We’re planning a barbeque to introduce Becky.”

  Logan cast his gaze around the table. “Hi, Pam, Lucinda. Looks like you ambushed Becky while she was working.”

  Sitting down, Pricilla gave Becky her full attention. “Do you sew your own clothes?”

  “Some of them. But this is a gown for a beauty pageant.”

  Pam leaned forward. “Are you in a pageant?”

  “Not anymore. I did pageants before college. But this dress I’m working on is for another contestant.”

  Logan put his hand on her shoulder. “Becky won enough pageants to get a scholarship to college. She’s going to return to finish her nursing degree soon.”

  The pride in his voice was all part of the image. Too bad the flutters in her chest didn’t know that.

  “Very nice,” Pricilla glanced at her. “Now that you’re married, you won’t need to take on sewing work.” She nodded toward Becky’s hand. “Pretty wedding rings. Simple and classic. Did you pick them out?”

  She could almost feel the other woman’s caution. “We decided on these together.” That was as close to the truth as she could get.

  Pricilla’s smile lost the cautious edge and morphed into a brilliance. “They’re lovely.”

  Right then, Becky loved her new mother-in-law. Pricilla had a stunning wedding set with gleaming diamonds that was probably worth more money than Becky would see in a decade. Yet her compliment was genuine. She’d just wanted Becky to be happy with the rings. “Thank you.”

  Logan jumped in. “Time to end this meeting, ladies. I promised to show my wife around our land.”

  Pricilla closed up her iPad. “Fine, but no backing out on this barbeque.”

  Pam stayed seated. “Can I stay and babysit Sophie? She just ate so she should be fine. I’ll call you if she cries or anything.”

  Having only met Pam today, Becky wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

  Lucinda stood. “Pam’s great with kids, Becky. You can trust her.”

  “Please?”

  Becky looked up at Logan. Pam was his sister, he would know.

  He nodded, then said to his sister, “Give me your phone, I’ll put Becky’s cell in there.”

  In a flurry of activity, Lucinda and Pricilla left, Becky showed Pam around and familiarized her with Sophie’s routine,
and then she was in the truck with Logan.

  Alone. Without Sophie as a buffer.

  …

  “Each cabin will have an efficiency kitchen.”

  Becky listened as Logan led her through rooms with framed walls.

  “There will be a bedroom, bathroom, living area, and a front porch overlooking the pond.”

  She studied the space as they headed to the little porch. “It’s peaceful here overlooking the water.”

  Logan moved behind her, his warmth a counterpoint to the cool breeze. “I came here all the time when I was a kid. It wasn’t much then. A few years ago, I had the pond enlarged and restocked with fish. A couple guys and I built that deck for fishing.”

  She lifted her face to his. “Tell me more about your plans.”

  He took her hand and tugged her along beside him. “I can show you.” He led her to a trailer. “This is a temporary office to work from and for the construction crew to use as needed.” He led her up an aluminum ramp into a private office. Simple and functional with a built-in desk at one end and deep couch at the other. They went into a larger room, bypassed the conference table and side bar equipped with a coffeemaker, microwave, and small fridge, and stopped at blueprints spread out on a drafting table. On the wall over that were computer-generated renderings of the finished camp.

  Entranced, she studied the pictures. The buildings were warm and rustic. The cabins formed a half circle around the pond, while the two larger structures were farther back.

  Logan’s body heat spread over her back as he pointed to the bigger structures in the pictures. “In that main building there will be a mess hall, rec area, and group therapy rooms. Dr. Malone and his staff will have their own offices for private therapy. There’s also an indoor pool and spa, and a small gym, although we’re encouraging outdoor activities for the more physically-able guests.”

  She wanted to hear every word, yet his nearness distracted her. “This is going to be amazing.”

  He glanced down at her. “I talked to Dr. Malone about your idea of adding in music. He strongly supports it, agreeing that keeping it a low-key option is best.” He reached past her. “We’ve repurposed this space right off the rec room for it.”