by Dana Corbit
She waited for him to say something—anything—but for several long seconds he stood staring at her, looking every bit as frozen as she had moments before. And then before she had time to process what was going to happen, Logan pulled her closer with their joined hands and lowered his head, taking her mouth with his.
It wasn’t a tender first kiss but one of old hurts and emotional need and, finally, like the first spring buds after a harsh winter, healing. He pulled back slightly, dropped her hands and stared down at her, looking as startled as she felt over the kiss.
“I’m sorry. That was not the way I planned to do that. It was supposed to be special and perfect and… But you said all those amazing things and I…”
His vulnerability was so sweet—particularly in the realm of dating—that Caroline couldn’t help but smile up at him.
“What are you smiling at?”
“I was just wondering if you would be willing to demonstrate for me how you’d planned to do that.”
Logan blinked, but then a slow smile spread across his lips. “I could do that.”
With slow, careful precision, he lifted his hands to cradle her face. Her eyes fluttered closed in sweet anticipation, and this time when he bent close to her, he pressed his lips to hers in a heart-stoppingly dear and gentle kiss. As Logan continued adoring her with his kisses, brushing his lips over the corners of her mouth, Caroline couldn’t help but lift her hands to rest in the baby-fine hair at his nape.
Before she would have preferred it, Logan touched her shoulders and set her back from him. Caroline blinked a few times as the real world came into focus again.
“That was nice,” she breathed just above a whisper. She looked up, noticing for the first time that the trees lining the wide trail curled over them, creating an intimate, archlike setting.
Logan took a deep breath and let it whistle out through his teeth. “Too nice.”
When he reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, she pressed her cheek into his hand, and then she turned her head to drop a kiss on his palm. His eyes widening, Logan drew back his hand and took a step back from her.
“Have mercy on a poor guy who’s trying to be a gentleman here,” he said when she looked at him, confused.
A lump surprised her by forming in her throat. She’d been kissed before—even if it had been a few years—but never like this, full of promises and joy. No man had ever made her feel more treasured…or more loved.
Was it possible that Logan loved her, too? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she smiled. Too. She did love him. It was as if a part of her had always been missing, and she had found the missing piece in him. Finally, she could admit, at least to herself, what her heart had known all along.
Logan was having a hard time keeping from smiling as he turned his motorcycle out of the state park exit for the drive back to Markston. Only the threat of a June bug getting lodged in his teeth kept him from showing off a toothy grin. He wasn’t even the Pollyanna type, yet he found himself wondering if the day could get any better.
The date with Caroline had been like the best destination in the longest journey, like the final bell in a lifetime of speed dating. Not that the date hadn’t been nerve-racking. That it mattered to him this time made all the difference.
He still couldn’t believe he’d pulled her to him and kissed her like that. He’d just been marveling at the things she’d said and how she saw right through him, and then suddenly he was holding her in his arms. If she’d ever thought of him as the suave ladies’ man, she couldn’t believe that anymore after that awkward move.
At least she’d given him a second chance, so they could share a perfect second kiss. It had felt so right holding Caroline in that incredible outdoor setting, the breeze lifting strands of her hair.
Though it had taken all his strength to set her away from him, he was glad he’d been able to show her that she was precious. She was like an answer to a prayer request he’d never thought to make.
Even now, as Caroline sat on the motorcycle behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, Logan couldn’t get over how great he felt just being near her. Her support made him feel strong enough to take on the world. She expected the best from him and believed he could give it. She made him want to be a better man.
“Thank you, God,” he said in a low voice, aware that the wind rushing at them would keep Caroline from hearing.
But when they reached an intersection, Caroline tapped the back of his helmet with hers. “Did you say something?” she called out over the roar of the motor.
Turning his head to the side, he grinned. “Never mind.”
Too soon they were back in the bakery parking lot so that Caroline could pick up her car. Logan climbed off the motorcycle when she did and removed his helmet, hoping to delay her for a few more minutes. If it wouldn’t have made him sound needy, he would have continued making excuses for her to stay until after midnight.
“I had a really nice time, Logan. Even if I had to earn my lunch by hiking through the woods.” She paused and started trying to smooth out her tangles. “And I’m pretty sure this is a bug.” She indicated a spot of hair just past her ear.
He leaned close and examined her hair. “It’s not a—”
But her laugh stopped him. “Funny. I had a great time, too.”
Caroline glanced at his motorcycle and then over at her car. She didn’t fidget the way she did when she was nervous, but she clearly recognized that it was time for them to go. Time for this date was running out.
“Do you want to do something again tomorrow after church?” He was doing the unthinkable, but he couldn’t help it. He’d never wanted a second date before, and yet he couldn’t imagine not having a second one this time. Or a third. Or a fourth. “Maybe we could fit something in between lunch at your mom’s and the visit to the rehab center.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me, too.” They exchanged a look that made him want to kiss her all over again. “But there’s something we need to figure out first. How much should we tell our families?”
“You mean with the wedding coming up next week? Do you think we should keep this—whatever this is—to ourselves so we don’t take anyone’s thunder?”
He nodded. Only after she’d asked those reasonable questions and disappointment settled inside him did Logan realize how much he’d hoped Caroline would want to go public with their budding relationship. Of course, she was right about everything, even that their relationship wasn’t defined enough yet to share, but part of him had hoped she would want to shout it from the rooftops as he was tempted to do. “You’re right. We should wait.”
Caroline watched him for several seconds. “Nah.”
“What?”
“We might turn a few heads at church tomorrow, but everyone will get over it. Mom will be especially surprised since she didn’t lift a finger for this matchup. By the time the wedding comes, we’ll be old news.” Her gaze narrowed. “You will be my date to the wedding, won’t you?”
“It’d be great.” Logan hated that his pulse picked up, but he couldn’t help it, not when there was a chance that she might feel as strongly as he did. He would have told her he loved her, but he figured it would sound desperate if he told her before their second date.
“It will be a relief, too. My sisters were starting to get some ideas about setting me up at the wedding.” She tapped her first two fingers together to imitate cutting with scissors. “This will cut them off at the knees.”
“It sure will.”
Logan tried to keep the disappointment from his voice and was relieved when she missed it. He wanted to be more to her than just her way of avoiding someone’s matchmaking attempts. After all those things she’d said earlier, he had to believe that he was, but he had to tread carefully. He couldn’t push her for any commitment too fast, or he might scare her away.
“So, I’ll pick you up before services tomorrow.”
“Don’t you jus
t want to meet there?”
Logan shook his head. It was important to him that they made the statement of arriving to church as a couple. “Be ready. Bright and early.”
She seemed to consider for a few seconds, and then her lips lifted. “Okay, I’ll be ready. Early.”
Stepping close to him, Caroline lifted on her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Then with a bashful grin, she turned away and headed to her car.
Logan couldn’t stop smiling as he watched her pull from the lot. Everything was going to fine, he was suddenly certain. He couldn’t wait to walk into church tomorrow and show his brothers that he, too, had found someone to love. That she just happened to be a Scott sister was a bonus.
He recognized that Caroline was nervous about making that appearance, but he would ease all of her worries. He would do everything in his power to assure her that she’d made the right decision in taking a chance on him.
Chapter Thirteen
Caroline rearranged herself again in the pew, crossing and uncrossing her legs, the sense of foreboding so strong that she couldn’t sit still. She’d realized that this morning’s service would be different, but she hadn’t expected this strange feeling that something was wrong.
Seated next to her, Logan squeezed her hand. “You okay? They’ll stop staring before too long. They weren’t even all that shocked when we walked in.”
He gestured down the pew to Jenna and Haley, who were trading off taking surreptitious looks at them and then putting their heads together to whisper. Lizzie wasn’t even trying to hide that she was staring and kept trying to sneak to the opposite end of the pew to reach them, but Haley wouldn’t let go of her hand.
“The only way they would have been more shocked was if I showed up at church holding hands with a little green Martian,” Caroline told him.
“You see? It definitely could have been worse, then.” He reached over to pat their joined hands with his free one.
“Dylan didn’t seem surprised.”
“He wasn’t. He figured everything out at the barbecue the other day.”
“Why? We weren’t together that day.” She started to pull away from him, but he only held her hand between both of his.
“He saw the way I looked at you.”
Automatically, her gaze sought out his, and her heart squeezed in her chest. Anyone seeing the way Logan Warren looked at her, or the way she looked at him for that matter, would have recognized their chemistry. “Oh. He doesn’t seem all that pleased.”
“He warned me to be careful.” Logan brushed his shoulder against hers. “He’s worried you’ll break my heart.”
She shook her head, frowning. Shifting again, she couldn’t help looking back to the doors separating the sanctuary from the vestibule.
“I was sure Mom would have been here by now. She’s never late.”
“Unlike me?” He grinned as he flipped open his cell phone and checked the time. “She still has a few minutes. She’ll be rushing in here in no time.”
“We should have brought her when you picked me up.”
True to his word, Logan had arrived early to give her a ride, not quite as early as when Dylan had picked up Jenna but before her mother had been ready for church.
“She told us to go ahead, that she’d catch up with us here,” he said.
Caroline shrugged. “She probably needed time to get over the shock of seeing us together.”
“Maybe.”
He chuckled but was checking the door frequently himself. Was he starting to worry that something might be wrong, too? Her mother had seemed fine when they’d left, but then Logan and his brothers had never expected their mother to have a stroke, either.
Lizzie must have escaped from Haley’s hold because she sidled down the pew and sat next to them. Caroline released Logan’s hand but not soon enough for the child to miss it.
“Uncle Logan and Aunt Caroline, are you going to get married like Aunt Jenna and Uncle Dylan?”
Caroline coughed into her hand, so Logan answered for the both of them.
“Not anytime soon, anyway, munchkin.” He reached over and tugged one of her pigtails.
Caroline’s breath caught. Not soon suggested that he thought it could happen sometime. That part of her was excited at the prospect instead of terrified the way she should have been made her nervous. Their relationship was moving too fast.
Seeming satisfied with his answer, Lizzie scooted back down the pew to her mother. Haley looked over at them apologetically and then turned to glance at the back door.
The prelude music was already playing. Usually, Matthew already would have been seated on his music minister’s bench by now. Even Dylan and Jenna had stopped whispering and were watching the door. Instead of Matthew, Reverend Boggs came through it, hurrying toward the podium. When he reached it, he stepped right to the lectern and motioned for the organist to stop playing.
“Fellow believers, I have some sad news for you this morning,” he began. “I received a call…”
Caroline sat frozen in her seat. She didn’t hear whatever else the minister said, but she didn’t need to hear to know that it had something to do with her family and that it was something awful. Memories of her father’s death stole into her thoughts, causing a lump to form in her throat.
“Over there, Caroline,” Logan whispered.
He brushed her side with his elbow and then indicated the other end of the pew with a tilt of his head. Standing at the end of the pew was Matthew, his expression the practiced blank look that the clergy used in times of bereavement. Immediately, Caroline’s whole body went cold.
Matthew was helping his wife to her feet, his daughter already clinging to Haley’s leg. Matthew signaled for the others to follow and then started up the aisle to the exit. Dylan and Jenna slid out behind him, and Caroline followed them with Logan coming last. Once they all reached the vestibule and the door closed behind them, Matthew turned to face the others.
“What is it, Matthew?” Haley asked, her cheeks ruddy from the excitement.
“Tell us,” Caroline said.
“Will you say something already?” Logan insisted.
Matthew held up his hands to stop the barrage. “It’s Mom. She had several mini-strokes overnight. They took her from the rehab center back to Markston Area Regional by ambulance.” He glanced at his wife and her sisters. “Your mom’s there with her now.”
“Oh, no,” Caroline said as some of the others gasped. Her heart ached for Logan’s mother, who’d been making such wonderful progress until now, as much as for her own mother, who had to be in agony watching her friend suffering.
“What does all of this mean?” Logan asked for all of them.
“Often mini-strokes precede a major stroke. If Mom has another one, her doctors are worried she won’t—”
Matthew stopped as his gaze lowered to Lizzie, who looked up at him with worry clouding her eyes. She had to be the only one in the room who didn’t realize that his next word would be survive.
“Daddy, is Grammy going to be okay?”
“We sure hope so, sweetheart.” He bent and wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “The doctors are doing everything they can to make sure she is, but we’re going to do something even more important.”
“What?” she wanted to know.
“We’re going to pray.” With his hand, he indicated the windows that separated the sanctuary from the entry area. “Just like so many of our friends are praying in there.”
Matthew held out both of his hands, and soon their families were joined in a circle of prayer.
“Lord, please rest Your loving hand on Your child, Amy,” Matthew prayed. “Comfort her and give her peace. We’re asking for a miracle, Lord, if it is Your will.”
“Amen,” they all chorused.
Most of them released hands, but Matthew and Haley continued to cling to each other, as did Jenna and Dylan. As she felt the squeeze, Caroline realized that Logan was still holding he
r hand, as well.
She should have found comfort in the fact that she and Logan could support each other just as their siblings were sustaining each other. Instead, she felt a strange temptation to yank her hand away and run. She shook away the impulse—Logan needed her and she would be there for him—but a sense of dread clung to her with piercing claws.
Was she the only one who recognized that no matter what happened today, everything had changed? Even if God performed a miracle and the doctors were able to stabilize Mrs. Warren, she would probably never be able to return to her job at the bakery. Another massive stroke would always be a possibility on the horizon, a risk to Mrs. Warren’s health that her sons wouldn’t want to take by allowing her to return to work.
She was in too deep, Caroline realized suddenly. She’d allowed this relationship with Logan to blossom when it had no place to grow, as she would be returning to her real life. How could she tell him that he was going to get stuck running the business indefinitely and that, just when he needed her, she would be deserting him just like his father had?
The waiting room at Markston Area Regional Hospital looked like a Warren-Scott family reunion, yet no one was laughing or even smiling. Lunchtime had come and gone, and they were all still there, talking in hushed voices, praying and waiting for any word from the doctors who’d been frustratingly silent so far.
Logan wondered why the doctors couldn’t tell them something. Anything. Even during those measly fifteen minutes when he and Matthew had been allowed to sit with his mother in ICU, she’d been sedated, so they hadn’t learned anything new about her condition.
Shoving a hand back through his hair, Logan rested his head on the back of the chair where he’d tossed his suit jacket and tie when he couldn’t bear to be in them anymore. He refused to believe his mother wouldn’t be all right. This was just a minor setback. It had to be.
He had to trust that God would bring her back to all of these people who loved her. But because it wasn’t always so easy to believe, Logan squeezed his eyes shut, battling emotions that came with his fear. When he opened his eyes, he reached for the cup on the table next to him and took a sip of coffee that had been lousy when it was hot and unbearable now that it was tepid.