I stayed until the end of her shift. I stacked chairs on tables while she cleaned and closed the till. And then I walked her out.
Three feet out the door, I kissed her. And that kiss lasted until dawn. The attraction that had been building between us for hours combusted like a lit match.
I whisked Thea upstairs to my hotel room, the one registered under my assistant’s name, where I worshiped her body until the next morning. Where one of the condoms hadn’t worked.
“Goddamn it,” I muttered as my strides got longer.
I’d been so desperate for some anonymity that I hadn’t mentioned my last name. What a fucking mistake. Just like it had been a mistake not to go back to that bar sooner.
Thea and I had agreed on just one night. One incredible night. The next morning, we’d walked away from each other with no strings attached. She’d gone back to her life. I’d gone back to my hectic work and social schedule, just glad that I’d had the chance to meet her.
What I hadn’t expected was for Thea to pop into my thoughts so often after that night. I’d think of her smile whenever I was at a hotel bar. I’d think of her laugh when I was at a boring fundraiser. I’d think of her whenever I saw a woman with long, sleek dark hair.
After months of her on my mind, I’d finally given in. I’d gone back to the bar to see her one more time.
Except she’d been gone.
With my child.
I’d waited too long.
Mistakes weren’t something I made often, especially monumental ones. The knot in my gut told me that waiting to see Thea had been the biggest mistake of my life. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it now. There was no going backward.
All I could do was figure out where to go from here, and for that, I needed to talk to her.
I slowed my pace and looked around, hoping to find some sort of landmark to help me figure out where I was.
The homes here were larger along this road, much larger than anything I’d seen on Willa’s tour through Lark Cove. All of these houses had a beach-cottage vibe, with cedar shakes and white trim. Except they were anything but cottages.
The one I was standing in front of looked almost as large as my parents’ place in the Hamptons. The front was covered with large windows overlooking the lake. The front lawn was green and cut short, like the fairways at my family’s country club golf course.
The gravel road separated the main house from the boathouse built right on the water. Next to it was a private dock and graveled beach area. I’d blindly walked to the one neighborhood in Lark Cove that screamed money.
There wasn’t much to the town of Lark Cove. A diner and Thea’s bar. A tiny grocery store next to a four-pump gas station. Two churches and a ten-room motel. There was one school for kids of all ages, from kindergarten through high school.
And a whole lot of lake.
During her tour, Willa had told us all about this area of northwest Montana. Small towns like Lark Cove were spotted all around Flathead Lake. They all had the same necessities, like a convenience store/market with the essentials. But major stores and anything of real size were found in Kalispell on the north end of the lake.
Lark Cove was basically a cluster of homes along the highway. Local people lived here to escape the city limits. “Out-of-staters” built here for two-weeks-a-year vacation homes. This road had lakefront properties most of my colleagues in New York would salivate over.
Especially this one. I’d buy this place in a heartbeat if it weren’t in Montana.
Except I wasn’t allowed to hate Montana anymore.
Like it or not, I’d have a tie here for the rest of my life.
To my daughter.
Maybe Thea would be willing to move back to New York. If she’d be open to a cross-country move, it would make life a hell of a lot easier.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, interrupting my thoughts. I dug it out of my jeans, assuming it was Nolan, but frowned when I saw the name Alice Leys.
“I can’t deal with this right now,” I muttered, declining her call.
Alice had been one of Emmeline’s friends from college. She also happened to organize charitable fundraisers around the city, so we crossed paths occasionally. For years, I hadn’t paid Alice much attention, not only because I’d been dating Emmeline, but because whenever Alice looked at me, there were dollar signs and sexual positions in her eyes.
But about six months ago, after Emmeline and I had broken up, I’d been in need of a release. Alice had been more than willing to take my cock.
We’d met for drinks and to fuck a few times, but I’d ended it months ago. Her affinity for childish drama had grated on my nerves, as well as the unrelenting pressure to commit to a relationship. But she still hadn’t gotten the message, no matter how often I’d spelled it out.
A voicemail popped up on the screen, but I deleted it without listening. Then I hit Nolan’s name.
“I was starting to get worried that you left me here,” he answered.
“I’ll admit, it crossed my mind.” If I’d had the car keys, I probably would have made it halfway to the airport before turning around.
“Where are you?” Nolan asked.
I spun around, searching for a street sign, but all I could see were homes and trees. “I’m not really sure. I’m standing on some dinky road by the lake.”
“That narrows it down,” he muttered. “Do you want me to come and get you?”
“No.” I sighed. “I’ll pull up my GPS and find my way back to the highway. It can’t be too far. Where are you?”
“Back at the motel. I wasn’t sure what to do when you ran out of the bar, so I came back here to wait.”
I was in no hurry to get to the Lark Cove Motel. We’d driven by on our tour, and while it looked nice enough, I didn’t need to step inside a room to know that it held only the bare essentials. Bed. Bathroom. TV. I doubted there was a minibar or room service. I could use some dinner followed by a plethora of alcohol.
“I apologize for bailing on you earlier,” I told Nolan.
“It’s not me who needs the apology. I mean, it wasn’t me who tried to tell you that you had a secret daughter, only to have you disappear before I could explain.”
Shit. I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. “How bad is it?”
Nolan chuckled. “Lucky for you, she seemed just as shocked as you were. I’d say you’ll be able to recover. Just use that Kendrick charm.”
“What a fucking mess.”
“You had no idea?” he asked.
“None. I haven’t seen Thea in six years. It was just a one-night thing.”
“Damn. That’s tough. What’s your plan?”
“I don’t know.” I started walking again. “I need to find Thea.”
Except I’d been in such a rush to leave the bar, I hadn’t gotten anything from her. Not a phone number. A last name. Anything.
For all I knew, she was at home with her husband. Maybe she had other kids. Maybe Charlie wouldn’t want a thing to do with me because she already had a dad and a family.
My stomach twisted at the thought of losing something I’d just found.
I might have only become a dad four hours ago, but that didn’t mean I was going to walk away. Charlie was my daughter and I wanted to get to know her.
I just hoped she wanted to get to know me too.
“I don’t know what to do, Nolan,” I confessed. “What if she hates me? What if she says she doesn’t want anything to do with me? What if she’s already got a dad?”
“Don’t start on the what-ifs just yet.” His gentle voice helped calm some nerves. “Start by talking this out with Thea.”
“I don’t suppose she—”
“Gave me her phone number? Yeah. I’ve got it and her address.”
“Thanks.” I was glad my levelheaded friend and coworker had been there when I hadn’t. “I owe you one.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What else happened?”
<
br /> “Not much. We were all pretty stunned, to say the least. Thea came over and introduced herself. I told her your last name and gave her your number. She said she’d give you some time before calling. But if I could give you some advice, don’t make her wait. She’s just as anxious as you to talk this through.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “I’ll call her soon. Just text me her info.”
“Okay. What else do you need me to do? I’ve already called the hospital in Kalispell and they told me they could arrange for a paternity test to be taken tomorrow. The results will take a week or so, but you could leave your sample before we head back to the city.”
During the first part of my walk around Lark Cove, I’d contemplated getting a paternity test. If not for Charlie’s pinky and the fact that she looked just like a Kendrick, I probably would have insisted on one.
But I’d decided against it. Thea wasn’t lying. I’d made a career out of reading people and spotting lies. An Oscar-winning actress couldn’t have pulled off Thea’s reaction.
“Thanks, but I don’t think the paternity test is necessary.”
“Logan, I don’t think that’s a good—”
“You saw her. You saw Charlie. You had to see the resemblance.”
“Yeah, I saw it the moment she took that frog from your hands. She’s the tomboy version of your sister. But your family is going to insist on proof. You might as well get it over with soon.”
I ran a hand through my hair again. Nolan was right. My family and our lawyers believed in test results to prove paternity. They’d insist on a test and to know everything about Thea’s life. It was the only way to ensure she wasn’t a threat to the family.
The idea of fielding their questions and demands was already more than I could deal with right now. Until I had some answers, they couldn’t know about Charlie.
“I need to ask a favor.” I took a deep breath, hating that I was putting Nolan in this position. He worked for the entire Kendrick family, not just me. “Would you mind keeping this all a secret for now?”
“If that’s what you want, then my lips are sealed.”
My shoulders relaxed. “Thanks. I’ll tell them soon, but I need to work some things out here first.”
“Here? You’re going to stay?”
“I don’t think I can go yet. Not until Thea and I work some things out. That’s all going to be easier if I’m here.”
“And if someone asks why you’re still in Montana? What do I tell them?”
My mind jumped right into planning mode and plotting logistics. “That I’m here for a vacation.”
I could spend a week here, working from my phone and laptop. Today was Monday, so I’d only have four days of meetings to reschedule. Unplanned absences weren’t ideal, but I could coordinate my paralegal and associate team remotely.
From my career’s standpoint, finding out I had a child in Montana couldn’t have come at a worse time. I was busy as hell at work right now. We’d just onboarded two new clients to my team, both of whom were in the middle of complex mergers.
My firm specialized in corporate law, mostly for prominent businesses in New York. We had a large partnership, with the senior partners focused mostly on the financial well-being of the entire firm and human resources. My role as a partner was simple: marketing. I brought in the clients.
It wasn’t hard. With the last name Kendrick, I could get into meetings most other attorneys couldn’t. Add to that my unparalleled reputation for negotiating contracts and closing loopholes, and I’d brought more clients to the firm in the past year than other partners had in the last five.
But I couldn’t be at work this week. For the first time, my team would have to pick up my slack.
“A week,” I told him. “I need a week and I’ll have this all sorted.”
Nolan chuckled. “You’re going to need more than that.”
I didn’t have longer than that. I had to get back to work.
Ahead of me, I saw the intersection to the highway. I must have walked in a zigzag while I’d wandered, because I could see the sign for the gas station. Which meant I was just blocks from the bar.
“I found my way back to the highway. Just text me Thea’s info, and I’ll catch up with you in the morning.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
Luck. I never relied on luck. I put my mind to something and made it happen.
The next week would be no different.
I’d spend the week getting to know my daughter. Thea and I would figure out a custody arrangement.
I’d spend this week in Montana and then things would go back to normal.
Thea
“Goddamn it!” My pliers slipped from my padded glove and clanked on my worktable. I shook off my glove, then switched off the blowtorch in my other hand, setting it down to cool next to the spoon I’d just ruined.
Not long after Hazel’s confession on our back porch, she’d headed inside to read and I’d escaped to my art workshop in an attempt to get my mind off Logan. But no matter how much I tried to focus on my project, all I could think about were his angry eyes as he stormed out of the bar.
My fears were getting the best of me. Every minute that passed without a call from him, I got more and more scared.
What if he wanted Charlie? What if he forced me to split custody? What if he demanded she live in New York?
I couldn’t go back to the city, not after I’d escaped. Not after I’d come here and found the peace I’d craved my entire life.
But the bottom line was, I couldn’t live without my daughter. I needed to see her every single day, and if Logan had her in New York, then I’d have to go too.
I’d be back to living paycheck to paycheck, hoping my Saturday-night tips would be enough to make up for what my hourly wage lacked. Charlie would have to go to a school named after a number—P.S. Whatever, Whatever, Whatever—instead of our beloved Lark Cove School. And I’d be in the city where life hadn’t been all that kind.
My memories of New York were full of loneliness, insecurity and powerlessness. When I’d left, I’d found courage and confidence and control to build the life I wanted. A life I was proud of. Moving back to the city would be like taking an eraser to half of my accomplishments. I didn’t have many on the list.
Bracing my hands on my workshop table, I breathed through the waves rolling in my stomach.
Please, Logan. Please don’t make me go back there.
I’d do it if I had to. Unlike my own mother, I’d sacrifice anything to be with my child.
“Snap out of it,” I scolded myself. There was no use jumping to conclusions until I had a chance to talk to Logan.
I refocused on my work, surveying the mess on my table. I’d been using the torch to heat a spoon so it would bend, but I’d been so distracted that it had gotten too hot and broken in half. Turning around to the back wall in my workshop, I rifled through the mess on one of my shelves.
With a new spoon in hand, I checked my phone for the fiftieth time in an hour.
“Come on,” I whispered. “Ring.”
I waited a few seconds, but a New York number didn’t flash on the screen. Charlie’s face on my screensaver just looked up at me with a smile.
I huffed and set down my phone. Then I took my spoon back to my blowtorch. With it burning hot and my hand regloved, I fit the spoon into my pliers.
“Okay, spoon. Cooperate.”
The stem was just starting to soften under my torch when someone knocked on the open shed door behind me.
“One second!” I shouted, not bothering to turn.
Hazel had learned ages ago to knock before saying anything. Once, she’d come in jabbering about something and had scared me to death. I hadn’t been handling a blowtorch that day, but I had ended up covering a good portion of the floor in yellow paint.
I raked the torch’s flame back and forth over the metal a few more times until it was perfectly pliable. Quickly, I set the torch aside and grabbed anothe
r pair of pliers, then carefully bent the metal so it had just the right curve.
“Got it,” I said triumphantly to myself before dunking the spoon in a bucket of cold water to set the arch. I shut off the torch and yanked off my glove as I turned around to Hazel. “What’s up?”
But it wasn’t Hazel leaning on the doorjamb.
It was Logan.
“Oh,” I gasped. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he greeted.
A bead of sweat dripped down my side. Even though I wanted to have this conversation with Logan, I was dreading it at the same time. “Please, come in.” I motioned him inside and went to my water bottle for a drink.
He pushed off the door and stepped inside. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“It’s no problem.” I swallowed a huge gulp, then set down the water.
Logan inspected the workshop as he eased inside. His eyes ran over the many hooks and tools hanging on the walls as he avoided making eye contact. And even though his hands were casually resting in his pockets, his frame was stiff and tense.
With every passing second of him looking anywhere but at me, my heart raced faster. This was agony. Was he still mad? Was he here to tell me he didn’t want anything to do with Charlie? Or was he here to deliver my worst nightmare?
“Please, don’t take her away from me,” I blurted.
Logan’s head whipped around and his eyes snapped to mine. His straight posture relaxed and the cool façade he’d put on fell away. “I’d never do that to you. To her.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, sagging against the table. If that was all he said the rest of the night, it would be enough.
Logan resumed his inspection of my workshop, taking his time as he studied the small space.
My workshop was my special, albeit disorderly, space. It was just an old gardening shed that Hazel’s father had built decades ago. The walls were crooked. The windows were tiny and did little to keep out the elements. And the floor wasn’t even a floor, but dirt that had been worn to a semismooth and hard surface over the years.
But it was my place. Here, I could tinker without fear of burning down the house or spilling paint on the carpet.
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