Uh oh.
She wasn’t sure if she should answer the door. She was a guest in Logan’s house. Was it appropriate to do that?
Another knock sounded, this one louder than the first. Appropriate or not, if she wanted to get any work done, she better deal with whoever was there.
As she walked to the front door, she couldn’t help but smile and say a silent thank you to her host. His bossiness had singlehandedly been her muse and inspiration. The fact that she’d just knocked out half a scene like it had been nothing was…magic.
She couldn’t stop smiling as she opened the door. When she saw two young women in scraps of cloth perhaps considered bathing suits and jean shorts so short that the pockets were showing, she greeted them with a cheesy grin.
“Hi.”
Both women’s faces were puckered like they’d just finished sucking on lemons.
“Who are you?” the more endowed redhead asked.
“I’m Emma.” She wasn’t sure what she’d done to upset these two ladies, but they were definitely not happy to see her.
The brunette lifted up on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over Emma’s shoulder as she asked, “Where’s Logan?”
“He’s not here right now. But I can let him know you stopped by.”
The redhead crossed her arms, which put her lady lumps on serious display. Emma had made it a practice never to compare herself or her life to others. It was something she’d started when she’d gotten pregnant at sixteen and then continued after she’d lost Andrew. But she had to admit that red’s tatas gave her a twinge of envy.
The two visitors looked at each other and then back at Emma. There was definitely some silent communication going on. Unfortunately, Emma wasn’t sure she spoke the language.
“We didn’t know he had a girlfriend.” The brunette’s tone was accusatory as she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows.
“Ooooh.” Now, the attitudes made perfect sense. “I’m not his girlfriend. We’re just… Well…” Emma wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. Were they friends? She guessed, but it was complicated. So she went with simple. “He’s my son’s godfather.”
“Your son!?” Both women reeled back as they shrieked—yes, shrieked—in horror.
Now, the smile officially had faded from Emma’s face. She was so sick and tired of people being shocked in a judgmental way that she was a mom.
“Yes. My son. I’ll let Logan know you stopped by.”
Then she slammed the door as one of them pointed out that she didn’t even know their names. Which was true. She didn’t. Feeling bad, she thought about opening the door and getting their names so she could pass the info along to Logan. But as her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, the brunette said, “What a bitch!”
To which the redhead responded, “Yeah, and a bitch with a kid.”
Any feelings of guilt she was harboring quickly evaporated, and she headed back to work. She’d tell Logan that two women stopped by. She’d even describe them to him. If he couldn’t figure out which admirers they were, well, that wasn’t her problem.
Chapter 10
‡
“So, have you guys set a date?” Levi asked Adam as the three men each grabbed a water on a well-deserved break since they’d finished laying and screening the concrete pathway.
Adam had recently gotten engaged to Jane, a woman he’d met in Hope Falls. It had happened fast. Really fast.
Logan had flown out for Levi’s wedding, where he’d seen Jane and Adam introduced to each other. And then, a month later, when he’d flown out for the grand opening of Levi’s B&B, Adam proposed.
“Not yet. If it was up to me, we would’ve already made it legal. But Jane wants to have the big wedding, so that takes time.”
Levi wiped his forehead with the handkerchief he always kept in his back pocket. “What about you? I heard that you are shacking up with some blonde bombshell and her kid?”
Logan had been waiting all day to get the third degree from his brother, and he was actually surprised it had taken this long for him to say anything about his houseguests. Since moving to Hope Falls, Logan had noticed that his brother gossiped more than a woman in a hair salon.
“Wow.” Logan made a show of looking down at his watch. “You waited four hours before you brought that up. Impressive.”
Levi shrugged unapologetically. “I wanted to wait until after we got the path done. Just in case you got your panties in a bunch and bounced.”
Adam laughed as he finished his water, and Logan shook his head. His brother definitely had a way with words.
“I figured it’s Emma and Drew. Which begs the question: why the hell haven’t you brought them by to see me?”
Levi had met Andrew, Emma, and Drew on several occasions, and they’d all spent a Christmas together once when Drew was two years old. He’d gotten along with all of them and had even flown out for Andrew’s funeral. Lucky would’ve gone, but he had been overseas at a match.
Now that his brother mentioned it, Logan realized that he should probably bring them by. Hell, Emma had said last night at dinner that she’d love to see Levi, the bar, and the B&B. But his brother didn’t need to know all that.
“They just got here.”
“How long are they staying?” Levi wiped behind his neck. “There’s an extra room at the B&B.”
“They’re staying with me.” Logan hadn’t meant for his statement to come out as harsh as it had. But the thought of them staying anywhere else while they were in Hope Falls made him want to put his fist through a wall.
Lifting his hands in the air, Levi’s raised his eyebrows and sported an amused grin. “My bad. They’re staying with you. Got it.”
Levi and Adam both exchanged knowing looks that were only fueling Logan’s desire to hit something. Before he had a chance to follow up on that particular urge, Levi’s wife, Shelby, burst through the back door of the bar she now co-owned with Levi.
“You!” she yelled, pointing straight at Logan. “How could you not tell me!?”
Logan knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, but it was still unnerving to have someone who was normally sane—and also pretty damn cool—shouting and calling him out both verbally and with hand gestures, while they made an aggressive beeline towards him.
Since he had no idea what she was talking about, he fell back into his default greeting for his brand-new sister-in-law. “Hey, Shelbs.”
While he was doing his best to remain casual, his older brother was doing the exact opposite.
Levi was at Shelby’s side so fast that, if he were a cartoon character, there would’ve been a streak behind him. With his brow furrowed and his jaw set, he wrapped a protective arm around his wife’s waist, stopping her in her path that led directly to Logan.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Logan could honestly say he’d never seen his new sister-in-law this aggravated. Or upset. Or whatever she was. In fact, he’d watched her—on numerous occasions—handle an entire bar full of people with grace and ease. Nothing seemed to ruffle her feathers. Not drunken idiots hitting on her. Not inebriated women hitting on Levi. Not frat boys getting into bar brawls. And the one that had personally impressed him the most—not even tipsy girls who started crying at the drop of a hat.
Apparently, he’d done something that had pissed her off though. He just had no idea what the hell it was.
Shelby’s eyes were wide and wild as she threw her hands up in frustration. “I just heard from Amy, who heard from Nikki, who heard from Karina, who heard from Amanda, that your brother knows Chelsea Paige and that she is staying with him.”
“Oh. That.” Levi relaxed, his shoulders lowering from their fighting posture.
That must not have been the right response, because she turned her accusatory index finger towards her husband and poked him in the chest with it. Betrayal tinged her voice as she asked in disbelief, “You knew!?”
Seeing her reaction must’ve alerted Levi to the error of
his ways, and the man started backpedaling faster than a Ferrari in reverse. He raised his hands in feigned innocence and began pleading his case.
“I didn’t know she was staying with him until right now. I just found out. I asked him about it right before you came out here.”
Logan shook his head in disbelief. Never in his life would he have imagined that his big brother would be whipped. Yet the evidence was standing right in front of him.
All of his life, he’d watched Levi go through woman after woman. Some stayed a little longer than others, but never had he seen his brother as scared of one as he was of the brunette poking him in his chest. It was entertaining as hell.
After several beats of staring her husband down, Shelby must’ve believed him, because her attention once again turned to Logan. Then she folded her arms in a defensive stance, raising her eyebrows. “Details, please.”
“Details?” Logan was at a loss. She already knew that Emma was staying with him, what else was there to tell?
Shelby looked at him like he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed as she started lifting her fingers one by one, while she ticked off questions. “Why is she staying with you? How long have you known her? How did you meet her? Is she your girlfriend? When did you—”
Levi tightened his grip around his wife’s waist and started to turn her back towards the bar. “Let’s give Logan some space. I’ll tell you everything later.”
Logan’s chest tightened. He knew what his brother was doing. It’d been a long time since someone had stuck up for him or tried to protect him. He remembered the first time it had happened, and it had been Levi.
Lucky and Logan were five when they’d accidently broken old man Westin’s window while they had been playing catch. When the crankiest son of a bitch who lived in the trailer park came after them with a baseball bat, eleven-year-old Levi stepped between the crazy, old man and his twin brothers and said that if anyone was going to get a beating, it was going to be him, because he was in charge.
Growing up, Logan had always looked up to Levi, but that day, he’d officially become his hero.
Today, though, he didn’t need his big brother’s protection. With the way information traveled around this town, chances were Shelby would find out what she wanted to know anyway, so he figured she might as well hear it from the source. This way, the story that circulated would at least be an accurate one. He’d have to answer questions about Emma and Drew, but now, he’d just have to tell one person—one he liked and trusted—and that would be that.
He hoped.
“What? Did I say something wrong?” Shelby whispered to her husband, who was ushering her back to the door she’d burst through.
“It’s all right, Levi.”
Both Levi and Shelby stopped and turned before they made it inside.
“I’ve known Emma, who writes as Chelsea Paige, about twelve years. I served with her husband, Andrew, who was killed six years ago. I’m her son, Drew’s godfather. He snuck out of a camp he was supposed to be at in Lake Tahoe and took a bus here to see me. I don’t know how long they’re staying. And no, she’s not my girlfriend.”
He’d answered all of her questions, but Shelby was practically vibrating with a million more. Fortunately, his new sister-in-law could read a room, and instead of indulging her impulse to pepper him with a slew of inquiries, she just smiled.
“Oh wow. Okay. Well, that’s sad about her husband, but it’s awesome that she’s here. If she’s still around tomorrow night, let her know that we’d love to have her at Book Club. When It’s Real is one of the only books all of us have actually read.”
“Okay. I’ll let her know.” Logan stood a little taller, and his lungs expanded to their fullest as he took a deep breath.
The amount of pride he was feeling was ridiculous. He had absolutely nothing to do with Emma’s success. But he couldn’t help it. He was so proud of all she’d accomplished under such dire circumstances.
“Thanks,” Shelby beamed. Her entire face lit up as she smiled a dazzling smile—which he was sure was one of the things that had attracted Levi to her. Then she spun around and grabbed the screen door, but she glanced over her shoulder before entering. “Oh, and if she doesn’t want to come to Book Club, could you please, please, please bring her by here before she leaves? I would love to meet her.”
“I already asked him, babe. I’m on it,” Levi assured her as he playfully swatted her backside.
“Thanks, babe.” She lifted up onto her toes and gave her husband a quick kiss before disappearing in the doorway.
Levi walked back to where Adam and Logan were still posted up on the retaining wall. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” Logan assured his brother before starting to clean up the workspace.
For years after Andrew had died, Logan didn’t want to talk about him. Every time Lucky or Levi had brought him up, he’d changed the subject. After a while, they’d caught on and stopped even uttering his name.
Some losses you just can’t recover from, especially when you’re responsible for them. Logan had had to push down his memories of Andrew. It was either that or let them completely consume him. He’d put them in a chest, mentally locked said chest with chains and padlocks around it, and sunk it deep in his consciousness.
But, ever since Drew had shown up, the kid had been asking a ton of questions about his dad. Logan had had to unlock it and bring those memories to the surface. It wasn’t as painful as he had thought it would be. He still missed Andrew; he always would. He still felt guilty and responsible for what happened to him; he always would. But now, he could remember the good times without the searing pain of the reality that he was gone.
Logan was only half listening. Adam and Levi started talking about Lucky’s next fight, which was in Vegas in a couple of months, as they all cleaned up.
He was too busy wondering if his grief process was anything like Emma’s. If it had ever gotten easier for her. He wanted to ask her about it.
The only time they’d talked about Andrew was that night in the kitchen. She’d broken down, collapsed in his arms. He’d wrapped her in his arms, and she’d sobbed into his shoulder. His entire body had ached with grief and pain as he’d held her tiny form and his heart had shredded.
Then, when her tears had dried up, her hands had wrapped around his neck and she’d buried her face in his neck. He couldn’t say the exact moment when the energy between them had changed. First, her breathing had started coming in shallow pants. Next, he’d felt the soft touch of her lips against his neck. Logan had done his best to ignore it. After all, she had been grieving. But, somehow, the hand he’d been stroking her hair with had threaded through her hair. The hand that had been running up and down her back in comfort had dipped lower to her hip…
On second thought, maybe asking her wasn’t a good idea.
Chapter 11
‡
“So, how did the writing go today?” Logan pulled three glasses from the top cabinet.
“Good.” Emma didn’t glance up from the sauce she was stirring.
But her cheeks grew red, and he was fairly certain it had nothing to do with the heat from the stove.
“You really didn’t have to cook. That was part of the deal, remember? I said I would cook.”
When he and Drew returned home fifteen minutes ago, they’d walked into the delicious aroma of garlic bread and spaghetti sauce. He had planned on cooking spaghetti himself, but Emma had beat him to the punch.
“It was no problem. I finished my word count today.” She glanced up, her eyes bright and radiating joy. She continued stirring as she explained with glee, “The words were just pouring out of me. My hands were having a hard time typing fast enough to keep up with my brain.”
He had never really given a thought to what her writing process might be like, so he asked, “Does that happen a lot?”
Letting out a forced laugh, she shook her head. “No. It does not. It only happened today because…”
Snapping her mouth shut, she stopped mid-sentence and turned her attention back to the stove. Then her breath caught as she brushed a hair that had fallen in her face off her cheek.
Actions had consequences—even innocent ones. Emma’s totally harmless gesture had led to two residual effects Logan was trying to ignore. First, her shirt had lifted with her arm but never lowered with it, revealing a tantalizing strip of bare skin between the waistband of her jean shorts and the hem of her white shirt. The second was a red smear of sauce across her cheek.
In one large step, Logan moved beside her. Drawn like a moth to a flame, his arm rose and his thumb rubbed against the smooth surface of her skin. When her eyes shot up at him, he lamely said, “Sauce.”
He cleaned the offending tomato smudge in one swipe, but his hand remained cupping her chin. His mind short-circuited with all the things he wanted to say to her, to do to her. Instead of telling her that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, instead of crushing his mouth to hers, he asked, “It only happened today because of what?”
Again, actions had consequences—even innocent ones. What he had thought was a totally neutral follow-up question caused Emma’s eyes to dilate, her breath to quicken, and her lips to part. All signs his body was reading as green lights to do and say the things he wanted to.
“Is dinner ready yet?” Drew’s voice came from the hall.
Logan dropped his hand and stepped away from Emma just as Drew came around the corner. His brown hair was still wet from his shower and looked like he’d barely run a towel over it. But the layers of Mountain Ridge dirt that had covered him from head to toe were gone.
“Almost. Why don’t you set the table?”
The shakiness in Emma’s voice was almost undetectable, but Logan definitely picked up on it.
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