by Joanna Sims
* * *
Everyone in her family noticed that she was leaving for the day with Logan, but no one said a word against it. Perhaps they had all seen this coming, or perhaps they were just glad to see her with someone other than Brice. Either way, their quiet acceptance of the relationship, casual and fleeting as it would most likely be, was a relief. They took one of the ranch trucks and headed to the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi. Ever since Logan had seen a picture of Flathead Lake, which had gone viral, he had put it on his “must visit” list while he was in Montana.
They rolled the windows down, cranked up the tunes, and embarked on their first mini road trip together. The more she got to know Logan, the more relaxed she felt around him. He was a blast to be around. He wasn’t uptight. He didn’t have an agenda. He just wanted to have a good time and he wanted to get to know her better. To have a hot guy, one that her family approved of, no less, interested in her, was a boost to her wounded ego. That was the truth. Why shouldn’t she have a romantic summer? Why shouldn’t she act on the attraction that Logan felt for her and she felt for him? She was no longer attached. She was free to date. She was free to kiss. She was free to make love...
Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of the front pocket of her shorts and looked at the screen. She stared at the name, unbelieving.
Brice.
Logan glanced over at her. “Everything okay?”
She pushed the decline button and slipped the phone back into her pocket.
“Yeah,” she said. “Everything is just fine.”
When they arrived at the park, Logan found a parking spot and jumped out of the truck. Whenever he was getting ready to do something out-of-doors, whether it was hiking or going into the cave or snorkeling, Logan would act as excited as a little kid. He was animated and pumped up and ready to take everything in.
“Man, look at this place! I love it!” Logan immediately walked over to the rocky edge of the massive lake and looked around. “I’ve got to come back here and scuba dive. Do you ever scuba dive?”
“Uh-uh. No.” She shuddered at the thought. “I have a really bad fear of drowning. I like to be near my air source at all times, thank you kindly.”
Logan laughed. “But you will snorkel.”
“Snorkeling’s doable. Yes.”
They grabbed their gear and staked out a spot on the man-made beach. Even in the summer, the temperature of the water was only seventy degrees at the surface. They had brought wet suits so they could stay in the water for a longer period of time.
“I dare you to jump in.” Josephine rubbed sunscreen on her face and neck.
“You’re daring me?” Logan questioned her as if he had heard her wrong.
“That’s right.” She pulled her T-shirt over her head and exposed the top half of the Speedo she wore to swim laps. “I dare you.”
Logan grinned at her, his eyes appreciative. “Child’s play.”
“We’ll see,” she egged him on.
Logan stripped off his top, and when he caught her openly staring at his beautifully developed torso, his smile widened.
“I like your tattoo,” she said.
“I like you,” he said easily. “Take off your shorts.”
“Excuse me?”
“If I’m going in, so are you.”
“So, wait a minute. Are you trying to dare me with my own dare?”
He nodded.
“Fine.” Josephine took off her shorts, folded them neatly, and put them down on top of her folded T-shirt. “Montana woman.” She pointed to herself and then pointed to him. “California boy. Who has the advantage?”
Logan looked down at her long, bare legs and his smile widened. She knew what he was thinking—he liked what he saw. “Well, I suppose we’re about to figure that one out.”
Without any warning, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her, legs flailing, mouth protesting, into the lake.
“Logan!” she commanded sternly. “Put me down!”
“In a minute.” He kept on walking into the lake.
“Not in the water...on the beach!” she clarified her command.
“Sorry,” he said easily. “No can do.”
When he was waist-high in the water, Logan spun around and fell backward into the water, taking her with him. The minute they hit the water, he let her go. Her feet touched the lake bottom and she stood up. Being chest-deep in the frigid water felt like a thousand tiny needles were pricking her skin all over.
“Wooo!” Logan let out a loud whoop when he emerged from beneath the water and shook the water from his short black hair. “That’s damn cold!”
“Ya think?” Josephine splashed water at him.
Logan only smiled in response, reached out and pulled her toward him. Before she could think to stop him, he kissed her. Right there, in Flathead Lake, he kissed her. The moment his warm mouth touched hers, she forgot all about being cold, she forgot about the small audience on the beach, and enjoyed the taste of the fresh lake water on Logan’s lips.
Chapter Twelve
The trip to Flathead Lake marked a shift in Josephine’s relationship with Logan. They left that morning as friends with potential for more. They returned to the ranch as two people who were more than “just friends.” She never returned Brice’s call. His message was vague, but she had a feeling that the only reason he had bothered to call was because he saw the pictures on Jordan’s Instagram. That kind of attention she didn’t need from him.
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant Wolf,” Josephine greeted Logan when he walked into the barn.
“Hey.”
Josephine latched the latch to the stall door. “Have you seen the new baby?”
“Not yet.”
Logan stopped beside her, slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her to his side, and kissed her on the lips.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Good. Things are on track. No major issues or meltdowns in the wedding situation room.” She liked how he would just grab her and kiss her. He was an affectionate man, more affectionate than she was used to. “I was just coming up to see you.”
“I was looking for you,” he said. “Were you heading up to the chapel?”
“Yes. Were you looking for cheap labor?”
“I was just hoping you’d improve the scenery,” he said.
Logan admired the new colt for a moment before he turned around and leaned back against the stall. Over the weeks, he had started to look less like a San Diego police officer and more like a Montana cowboy. His hair had grown longer and curled out beneath his standard-issue cowboy hat. He had traded shorts and hiking gear for jeans and cowboy boots. He always had a pair of gloves tucked into his back pocket; his naturally golden skin had turned a dark brown around his neck and his forearms.
The more time she spent with this man, the more handsome he became. There was a kindness in his brown eyes and sincerity in his smile. He was a go-with-the-flow kind of guy; it was refreshing. For now, for a summer fling, he was perfect for her. And when he kissed her, like she could tell that he was about to do now, her body felt pleasure all the way from her lips to the tips of her fingers. Since their trip to the lake, there had been a whole lot of kissing. It was that sweet, often excruciatingly slow, dance toward making love. Logan wasn’t pushing her—if anything, she had been pushing him...a little bit further, a little bit further, every time they were able to steal away for a clandestine lovers’ moment.
Logan was admiring her, as he always did, with his eyes. There was a small, intimate smile on his firm lips as he reached out to put his hands on either side of her slim hips. She took his hat off his head and put it onto hers.
“Can I have a minute of your time, cowboy?” she asked suggestively.
“You can have as many mi
nutes as you want.”
Josephine took his hand and led him over to a ladder that led up to the hayloft. She knew that he was staring at her derriere as she climbed up ahead of him. Enticing him, making him want her even more, was part of the plan. It was, she had recently discovered, part of the fun. She had been thinking about taking him up to the hayloft, something she had never done with a man, and today seemed like the perfect opportunity. They were the only ones in the barn—why not take advantage of the moment?
Logan knew what she wanted. He knew exactly what to do. When he joined her in the loft, he pulled a knife out of his front pocket, cut the twine off a fresh bale of green, sweet-smelling alfalfa hay, and spread the bale of hay over the old straw that was strewn across the wood floor of the loft.
Together, they lay down on top of the hay, facing each other. His eyes were smiling at her when he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb over her lips, and then kissed her. Slow and gentle, that was how he always kissed her. She knew there was more behind those kisses, more to be discovered, but he held that part back. He was teasing her, in his way, building her anticipation, and driving her to come back to him for more. And it was working. She did want more. Her body wanted more.
Logan rolled her onto her back and then, for the first time, his body was on top of hers. His welcome weight pressed her down into the hay while his welcome lips left a trail of feathery kisses over her face and down her neck.
She couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t stop herself as she dug her fingertips into the muscles of his back, entwined her legs with his legs, and made a sound, a sound she had never made before. It was the sound of need. The sound of frustration. She knew her mind wasn’t ready for them to make love, but her body was ready.
Logan lifted his head, put his hands on either side of her face, and dropped his hips down to hers so she could feel him. So she could feel the need she had created in him.
“Josephine...” The way he said her name, with so much reverence and care, let her know that she meant more to him than just a moment of a physical gratification.
Their eyes met and Logan shook his head as a private thought passed through his mind. “My God...Josephine...” He said gruffly. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are to me?”
They kissed again, more deeply and longer than they had ever kissed before. She took his tongue into her mouth, just as she knew that she would soon take his body into hers. Logan broke the kiss, buried his face into her neck, and ground his hips into hers.
Josephine closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him. She loved the feel of his muscular arms and his muscular chest. From the very core of her body, a wonderful tingling spread. In her mind, she started to think—
Could I have an orgasm like this? Could I have an orgasm like this?
Usually, everything had to be just right for her to experience an orgasm. The lighting had to be right, the position had to be just right...
Yet there was a demanding ache between her thighs now, and she knew, unbelievably, that she was about to climax with Logan.
“Don’t hold it back,” he whispered in her ear.
She was too far gone in the moment to feel embarrassed that he knew. Logan’s hands lifted her into his body and he took her higher and higher and higher until her head dropped back into the hay and she could sense an orgasmic moan rising from the back of her throat. She was so close...so close...
And then she heard her brother’s voice.
Josephine’s mouth clamped shut, her eyes popped open, and she stopped moving. She tightened her arms around Logan so he would stay still, too. They looked at each other, shocked that they were no longer the only ones in the barn. Once she knew that Logan was going to be quiet, she pushed on his shoulder to get him to move off her. Logan rolled carefully to the side. Josephine rolled onto her side and then got onto her hands and knees. She peeked through a gape in the floor and spotted her brother kissing London the intern.
Josephine scrunched up her face, sorry that she had witnessed a private moment between Tyler and London, while she lowered herself down onto her haunches. She shook her head at Logan and put her finger to her lips.
Logan, she noticed, looked like he needed to sneeze. He was pinching his nose in an attempt to stifle it. She shook her head at him again and mouthed the word “no.” The last thing she wanted was for Tyler to catch her in the hayloft with Logan. She’d never live that one down with her brother.
While Logan made a valiant attempt to stifle his sneeze, she listened carefully for voices. Finally, she heard her brother say something to London, and she was glad that she couldn’t make out the words. It was bad enough she had seen the kiss! From her vantage point in the loft, she saw Tyler leave. And then she heard the sound of the office door at the other end of the barn shut. London had gone into the office, which gave them a window of opportunity to make their escape.
Josephine grabbed the discarded hat and quickly stood up. “Time to get out of Dodge.”
Right after Logan stood up, the sneeze he had been holding back came out.
“Bless you,” she whispered.
“Thank you.” He got the two words out and then sneezed again.
“Bless you,” she repeated.
Once he started sneezing, he didn’t stop. He sneezed again, and again, and then again. He sneezed so many times that she stopped saying “bless you,” just so he wouldn’t have to try to say “thank you.”
She wanted to tell him to walk and sneeze at the same time so they could make a clean getaway, but she didn’t have the heart to do it. His eyes were red and swollen and his nose was clogged. He looked miserable.
“I think...” he said between sneezes, “that I’m allergic to the hay.”
She nodded. The romantic scene had taken a rather comical turn, and it hit them both at the same time. They started to laugh. And the more Logan sneezed, the more they laughed.
“Come on...” Josephine said to him. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Down the loft ladder, and out of the barn, they managed to leave undetected. Logan was still sneezing. He’d stop for a minute and it seemed like he was done, and then he’d sneeze again.
“Quit it.” Logan ordered his sneezing to stop, but his body didn’t listen. He kept right on sneezing for another couple of minutes.
“Holy mackerel,” he said when the sneezing finally stopped. “I think next time we need to stay away from the hay.”
“Agreed.” She laughed.
Logan looked her over. “You have hay in your hair. And on your pretty little backside.”
Josephine pulled her ponytail over her shoulder and picked the hay out of it. Then, she brushed off the seat of her jeans. She twirled around.
“Evidence gone?” she asked.
“You’re good,” he said. “How ’bout me?”
“I think we need to find you a Benadryl ASAP.” She started to smile again.
He was smiling, too. He looked around to make certain that no one else would hear him. “I did enjoy the roll in the hay...”
His voice sounded different because his nose was completely clogged.
“Me, too,” she agreed. “Until my brother interrupted us and all of the soft tissue in your noggin swelled.”
“That wasn’t sexy,” he conceded with a self-effacing smile.
“Let’s go ask Mom if she has an antihistamine, okay?”
Her mom did have the antihistamine. Josephine got the pills, poured a glass of water, and then handed them both to Logan.
“Thank you,” he said after he took the pills and gulped down the water.
After she doctored him, Logan told her that he needed to go back to the chapel. Josephine wanted to stay behind and get some reading done, so she walked out to the front porch with him to say goodbye.
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Logan paused on the top step. “Listen...I’m planning a trip up to the Continental Divide. I’m thinking that I’ll be up there camping for about a week. If you think your mom and Jordan can spare you, I’d like you to come with me.”
And there it was...the opportunity that they both knew they had been thinking about, the opportunity to be alone, the opportunity to make love.
Was she really ready for that? Were her mind and heart healed enough to take that permanent step away from Brice and into Logan’s arms?
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I think...” she said thoughtfully, “that if my mom and Jordan can spare me, I’m going with you up to the Continental Divide.”
* * *
Later that day, after she had spent several hours reading, Josephine strolled up the hill to the chapel. Logan was on the roof of the chapel, stripped down to a ribbed, white tank undershirt, his tanned skin soaking in the late afternoon sun. He wasn’t tall, which still bothered her, but what he lacked in height, he made up in pure strength. She had never seen such an incredibly built male physique up close. This was the kind of body that men had in the movies or magazines. They rarely existed in real life.
Logan spotted her coming up the hill. He waved and climbed off the roof.
“Hey...” He met her halfway. “I was hoping you’d come to check out the progress.”
Josephine couldn’t believe the change in the chapel. Logan had dedicated most of his free time to refurbishing the old family landmark. Yes, he had help from various hands on the ranch, and everyone in the family had pitched in, but Logan was the driving force behind the project. She didn’t understand why he had put most of his vacation plans on hold to rehab the chapel, but she was grateful.
“It’s incredible, Logan. Better than I ever imagined.”
“I wanted to make sure that at least the outside is done by the wedding.”
“Jordy was hoping that the inside would be done, too...”
“I know...but that’s not going to happen. Honestly, I’m pretty surprised that we’ve almost got the outside squared away.”