by Avery Duncan
Darla was pretty much like his mother had been. She was old, short, and so sweet she could beat candy canes in a competition. But sometimes, her ideas were ludicrous.
This was one of those times.
Logan stared at her. “No.”
“No? Why not? You have plenty of room in that ole ranch house of yours and I bet you could use some help around the ranch.”
He shook his head. One, he had no desire to have the blonde on his ranch. Two, Darla was insane. Three, he already had enough ranch hands that he didn’t need any other help. It would look bad for both of them if he just suddenly let a beautiful new blonde woman stay at his house. Not only would it tarnish her reputation, it would make her look bad in town. Especially since she was staying at a rundown hotel and his house was anything but. She would look like a gold digger, just like his last wife.
“Logan, c’mon! She seems like a sweet heart. She can’t be staying at that hotel for months on end. It just isn’t right.”
“It’s her own problem,” he said, outwardly indifferent but inwardly agreeing. “She chose to stay there, so she can deal with it. If she wants to leave then she can. I won’t be putting my leg out for her though. She’s a stranger.”
Darla sighed, shaking her head.
“Your mother would take in people all of the time. Why can’t you just this once? I don’t think anyone except your handyman’s have been there in years. You don’t even let businessmen over!”
“Why would I let them over, anyways? They all act like they have saddles stuck up their asses,” he said, annoyed. In all honestly, though, he had no idea why he hated people coming to his ranch. Maybe it was Christina, his ex-wife’s fault. After he’d found her in bed with another man, she’d tried to strip him of his money and his ranch’s title.
He pushed the thoughts away and stood up, putting a five on the table for the coffee he’d poured for himself.
“Now, listen here, Logan,” Darla said, raising a finger to his face, which was almost one and a half feet higher than her head. “Your mother put a good name to that ranch, and she would have loved that you would let a travelling woman stay with you as an act of kindness. There used to be all sorts of people running around that ranch, and now there is no one. I won’t let up bugging you about this until you invite her over for dinner, at the least. She is a sweet girl, I can tell that much. Our new Claire doesn’t deserve to put up with Gerry and his ever-peeking eyes. Do you imagine that he’s rummaging through her things right this moment? It’s been reported in the past,” she said firmly, now close enough that she was stabbing her nail into his chest.
Logan looked down at her, letting her words sink in.
Then he shrugged, wrapping an arm around her in a short hug and kissing her forehead. “I’ll think about it, Darla.”
“Oh, you better! Because I won’t leave you alone about it until you do!” Then she stomped away, into the kitchen.
Amused at her antics but not at her intentions, he pushed his hat onto his head and walked out of the diner, debating with himself mentally.
Chapter 3
It was a week before Claire and Logan saw each other again. She only made trips during the day when it was almost noon, hoping she would get a glance at the dark cowboy, and hoping that she could avoid him as well. She couldn’t explain her reasoning and she really didn’t want to try. Claire was content to just get a glimpse of him and then go back to the hotel.
There wasn’t anything else do to.
She avoided the diner and Darla, and avoided the six bickering women that always managed to find her and ask her questions. It took a couple of days for her to learn their route, but when she did, she never saw them again. The pharmacy had her pills ready for her at the end of the week, and she’d made sure to stay use the false identity she’d gotten from her cousin. When the pharmacist had asked why the names on the prescriptions were different, she explained that she had a relative nearby that had recently been diagnosed with anxiety and Claire was there to get the pills for her so she could save the relative an hour-long trip.
It was a poor lie, but it had worked. He hadn’t really cared that much, either, though. It had been two days since she’d taken her pills. Claire was just ringing up at the pharmacy counter when the door opening and a breeze catching her skirt made her look over her shoulder.
For a second, she didn’t notice who was in the door. But when she did, she double-took and met the intense, heated stare of Logan.
She swallowed, quickly shoving the prescription bag and receipt into her backpack, which was sitting on the counter.
“Hello, Mr. Marshal!” the pharmacist greeted. “I got that prescription ready for you right here. How is Jessie doing?”
Jessie?
Logan came up beside her, close enough that it seemed he didn’t even notice she was standing there. He did though. She could feel his eyes on her as she packed up her things and tried to make a getaway.
“She’s doing alright. Her colic has gone away so she should be good soon. Just a bit more resting and she should be good to ride.”
Uhm, ride?
Despite herself, Claire looked at him with dubious eyes.
Logan caught her look and surprisingly said something to her. When he spoke to her, lowering his mouth close to her ear, she shivered. “She’s my new mare. I got her overseas and the poor handling on her trip gave her colic.”
Claire nodded, not hearing a word he was saying. She was more focused on the fact that his hot breath was feathering across her cheek and ear. Her fingers wrapped around her backpack strap tightly and she struggled to hide how affected she was by him.
He straightened and grabbed the bag that the pharmacist set on the counter.
“Thanks, Charlie. I’ll see you later.”
“Alright! If you need anything, you know who to call.”
Logan tipped his hat at the Charlie, and kept eyes with Claire. Her breath caught at the intense look in his eye and then, before she could do anything, he left them.
Claire was silent for a second, nerves on fire and her mind working overtime to sort out her thoughts.
“Well,” Charlie started, leaning across the counter. “I think he”--he stabbed a finger at Logan’s receding back --”likes you.” He turned that finger to Claire and she tried not to laugh nervously at the smartness in his voice.
“He never pays any attention to the girls around here.”
Claire bit her lip, looking at her backpack as he continued to talk.
“You must be mighty special, Ms. Brady.”
His laugh rang in her ears while she almost ran from the pharmacy.
---------------------------------------------
Logan climbed into his pickup, setting the prescription on the passenger seat and turning the key in the ignition. The encounter with Claire had been...shocking.
Even now, five minutes after, his body was still affected and raging with desire. He shouldn’t have bent to her ear. His mind had been screaming at him not to, his common sense almost beating him into the dirt, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Her hair had been down around her shoulders, so long that it reached the small of her back. The soft strands had literally glown and it had been hard to keep from touching them.
He leant his head against the seat, letting out a hot breath. God, the way she’d smelled. When her scent had caught him, he’d immediately thought of soothing waterfalls and jungles and happiness. His eyes closed.
Claire was gorgeous. He tried to be angry at his attraction to her, but he simply couldn’t. For a week, he’d wake up and had found a reason to go into town. She looked like she was an early riser and he would find a reason to go into almost every store, just to get a glimpse of her and ask if she wanted to come to dinner.
When he’d seen her in the pharmacy, though, thoughts of dinner had immediately been replaced with thoughts of taking her to his bed and exploring every inch of her body. He wanted to know what she liked, what would make h
er moan or whimper or scream.
The whole entire week, the more he didn’t see her, the more he wanted to see her.
Naked.
On black silk sheets.
With her hair spread over his pillows and his hands caressing her body.
Seeing her in there had been the worst thing that could have happened, but also the sweetest. Speaking no more than twice to her had made him want her more , at least that’s what he assumed. An desire this quick was unnatural, but he hated how set against it he had been in the beginning.
His talk with Darla had made him think.
Claire was beautiful. She was new. She was going to leave soon. He had no ties to her at all, and no reason to be worried about their reputations if she was going to be gone soon anyways. Logan hadn’t had a women in his bed since his ex-wife had been found with another man.
If he had no ties with Claire, he didn’t have to worry about her cheating on him or trying to cling to him afterwards. And he knew she felt the same way as he did – what did she have to lose in acting on it?
A little romancing, some movies and dinner, and he could have her for the time that she was here. He would make it apparent that he wanted nothing but their shared pleasure, and that was it. Anything else was off-limits.
The thought had only been an idea, but that was before he’d seen her reaction to him. Now he desperately wanted to act on it, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Right now.
He turned off the truck and slammed the door shut, intent on finding her before she retreated into the run-down hotel she was staying at.
It was getting dark out, so not many people were on the streets.
He walked along the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, looking into the stores or down allies, until he began to think she’d already gone to the hotel for the night.
There was always tomorrow, he told himself.
Between angry at himself and frustrated that he’d missed his chance and would most likely have to wait another week, he turned towards his car.
“Get away --”
Logan heard the shuffling and the muffled struggles.
Claire’s voice.
He turned in the direction that he’d heard it from and ran, but not far.
What he found was the epitome of disgusting. A fat, short figure had Claire pressed against the outer wall of the pharmacy. No one was around except the three of them.
Claire saw him, and he could see the shine of tears in her eyes from where he stood.
Gerry didn’t notice him coming from behind until Logan had a large hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing.
“I don’t think she likes that,” Logan said softly, slowly pulling Gerry back from her as he tightened his grip around the fat man’s neck. Gerry’s eyes were wide and his bulging face was red and splotchy.
“No, you don’t un-- understand! She came -- onto me. Yeah she came onto me!” he gasped out, pointing a finger at Claire, who was on the ground, curled against the wall. Her shoulders were shaking and her head was lowered.
Logan was furious. Using one hand to hold the fucker still, he brought his other up and grabbed his hair. With barely any exertion, he slammed Gerry’s face into the wall beside him, pressing him there. “It didn’t look like that to me, Gerry.”
“I -- I swear it, Logan! I didn’t do anything wro--”
Logan rammed his knee up Gerry’s middle, moving the hand that had been around the man’s throat to cover his mouth, also blocking his nose.
He could feel rage boiling inside of him. It was so hot and strong, he felt burned by it. His fists were ready to beat into Gerry and everything breath the guy made was a countdown to how many he had left. Logan growled, hating the sound of Claire’s soft cries from behind him.
“Fucking touch anyone like that again, and I will put you so far under that even the Devil won’t know where you went. Understand me?” he snarled, shoving his face harder into the brick wall. Gerry whimpered, trying to nod. Logan didn’t let him. “Do you?”
“Yes, yes! Just -- Just let me go,” he begged, starting to sob.
Logan let him go, and Gerry slumped to the ground.
He knelt in front of him and said softly enough that Claire couldn’t hear him, “The only reason you aren’t dead right now is because Claire is here. Next time I see you, though, I will finish this.”
And he would.
Logan had every intention of avenging Claire and feeding his own anger at what he had seen Gerry doing to him. Disgusted, furious, and itching to kill someone, he got to his feet and turned around, preparing himself. He’d never dealt with a situation like this before, but he couldn’t just leave her like this.
And she sure as hell wasn’t staying in a hotel anymore, at least not that one.
Cautiously, he went over to her and knelt before her, touching her leg.
She jerked, a sob ripping from her throat.
Pain tore at his heart. She sounded so scared, so broken.
Logan took hold of her arm, pulling her forward so that he could slip his arm under her knees and his other around her back. Standing with no effort at all, he carried her away from the ally. Her thin arms curled around his neck and hot tears stung him where they fell. Logan heard her sobs, felt them. Anger shot through him again, and he tightened his arms around her.
“I really don’t want to go back there,” she cried, clutching him. She reminded him of a hurt child. Her voice was high-pitched and she was shaking in his arms.
He nodded against her head and walked with her to his truck, thankful that the streets were completely dead and no one was around to see them. “You aren’t. But I want you to stay in here. Give me the key to your room,” he commanded her gently, unlocking the door of his black pick-up and tucking her into the seat.
She reached behind her, and then turned to look at him with big watery eyes. “I left my backpack there! Oh, god I need that,” she wiped at her tears angrily before trying to move past him, still shaking and still crying.
“I’ll get it for you. Just sit here and try to calm down.” He pushed her back softly and brushed his hand over her cheek, catching a stray tear. His throat was tight as he saw her internal struggle.
“Front side pocket, left. Room S437, on the top floor. You have to take the stairs because the elevator broke.”
He nodded, tucking the information away while making sure she would be alright. Her top was torn, her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffled loudly.
Logan smiled, despite the anger and worry he was feeling.
She was adorable.
“Oh,” Claire said as an afterthought, wrapping her arms around herself. “My suitcase is on the balcony, behind a couple of pots.”
“I’m not even going to ask,” he commented dryly, relieved when she tried a smile. “I’ll be just five minutes. Lock the doors to the truck and if Gerry comes up to it, put the keys in the ignition and drive away. I don’t care where you go as long as you don’t leave the town.”
“But what about you?” she asked, worriedly. Claire grabbed onto his shirt, holding him in place. “I don’t want to be left alone,” she said, voice catching. He heard the tears gathering and pushed her back gently.
“Honey, you can’t even walk right now. I’ll be five minutes. That’s it. I’ll be fine if you take the truck, I know a guy who could give me a lift to my ranch.”
Her head was shaking, messy blonde hair flopping around her face. A tear rolled from her eye. “I don’t --”
Logan felt bad, but nodded firmly and pushed her inside, clicked the lock button, and closed the doors. She immediately curled into the corner of the truck seat, not looking at him. She was a pouter, he thought, smiling, loping away from the truck and to the alley she’d been in.
He wasn’t smiling when he got there. Gerry had picked himself up and left, but the backpack was still there, discarded.
Two minutes later, he was climbing the stairs and digg
ing for her room key. He found her room, a spacy suite, and went to the balcony. Her suitcase was right where she said it had been. It took him another two minutes to grab all of her clothes, shampoos, and other girly things, and right when he was walking out, he noticed a pile of pillows in the corner. He took a look at the bed, and then grabbed the pink and blue covered pillows. Those were obviously not the hotels.
When he got back to the truck, he plugged in the code to unlock it and opened the door.
Claire screamed, quickly turning to face whoever had opened the door.
The second she saw him, she relaxed, taking shuddering breath.
Then she glared at him.
“You’re one minute and twenty-seven minutes late. You said you would be back in five minutes.”
“Well,” he started, throwing her suitcase in the back seat and then holding up the pillows. “I had to grab these.”
The anger immediately dissipated. “I forgive you,” she said, then grabbed the pillows and clutched them to her chest, pressing her face into them and inhaling.
“Good,” he said, nodding. It was a pain to climb down those stairs with all of that.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, turning to look at him with her head still resting on the pillows.
“It’s fine.”
He’d thought they had a mutual agreement that she was going to stay with him for the night until she said, “You can just drop me off like, at the park...” He could hear the tears in her voice, again. Her voice was shaky and he could tell this was taking a major blow on her pride, but he had to ask.
“Why?”
“I’m not going back to the hotel and I have nowhere else to...” She trailed off when he turned to stare at her. He didn’t say a word, just stared at her.
“What?” she asked, backing away from him and pressing into the truck door. He turned on the ignition and shook his head, not answering her. She would find out soon enough that he wasn’t planning on letting her sleep in a park after she’d almost been raped.