Chapter 8

 

The little bell above the door chimed, and I only shook my head when I saw who came waltzing in.

“I come with food.” Lizzy’s smile was as bright as her yellow tank top.

“No,” I shook my head and laughed. “You’re only here because you want information. I already told you fifty times this morning: nothing happened.”

The smell of Lizzy’s freshly baked quiche permeated the air, and my stomach grumbled in answer. Not being able to wait until Lizzy reached me; I rounded my desk and pulled the takeout box from my friend’s grasp.

“And it doesn’t matter how much food you ply me with, the facts are going to remain the same.” I moved back to my desk and began tucking into my lunch while Lizzy perched herself on the desk. “Besides,” I said around a fork full of food. “I’m not going to do anything with Flynn right there.”

Lizzy’s face lit up. “If that’s the sole thing holding you back, you know I’d be happy to watch the little guy while you…” Lizzy grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “You know.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why the sudden interest in my sex life? Shouldn’t you be more focused on yours?”

“Just because I’m not talking about it doesn’t mean I’m not having it.”

Not interested in the food anymore, I pushed it aside and sat up straighter. “You’re seeing someone?”

Before Lizzy could answer the door chimed again.

I swallowed hard as I watched him approach; scanning the room with every step he took.

Eli Jackson’s gaze flitted between me and Lizzy before he tipped his head in greeting. “Ladies.”

I hoped my smile didn’t seem as fake as it was. “Sheriff.”

Eli’s eyes narrowed—as they always did when he regarded me. “Chase in?”

“No. His next appointment is at three, so he should be back before then. Can I give him a message?”

As if he didn’t believe me, Eli steadily scanned the room again. “I’ll just come back later.” With that, he turned and left.

“Honestly, I can’t believe he is related to Logan and Chase,” Lizzy whispered next to me.

“I know.”

Eli Jackson scared me.

But not in a dangerous way, it was more like he knew I was hiding something. There was always suspicion in his gaze, and he was the only person in Willow Creek who hadn’t attempted to make me feel at home. He’d also made no secret of the fact that he didn’t trust me.

When Chase had just hired me, Eli had come charging in asking his brother how he could hire some random stranger without knowing anything about them or doing a background check. Sheriff Jackson had said that I could be a dangerous psychopath for all they knew. He’d said all of that and more right in front of me.

“Well, at least he is soft on the eyes. Like all the Jackson men.” Lizzy picked up my discarded food and began picking at it. “Maybe there’s something in that creek at their parents’ farm, because honestly, how the hell can three men be that good looking?”

Nodding my head, I hummed in agreement. Lizzy wasn’t wrong; all three men were esthetically blessed. With their tall and lean bodies, dark eyes and even darker hair, they stole attention wherever they went. But Logan, he stole the whole damn show. Where his brothers were more conservative, Logan was loud. He wasn’t ashamed to show off his colorful ink, every strand of hair didn’t need to be in place, and his shirt didn’t have to be tucked in all the time.

I actually envied his rebellious nature. The trouble I’d landed in when I’d first met Drew wasn’t because I was being defiant, it had been because I was hungry and the owner of the restaurant had had a stone in place of a heart. When my parents died, I jumped from foster home to foster home, but none of them wanted a teenager.

I was hurting because I’d lost my family and wasn’t given the time to deal with my feelings. So yeah, I might have been brooding a bit, but I never caused anyone any trouble, and still, no one had been willing to keep me. Running away possibly wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I couldn’t take feeling unwanted.

“Earth to Harper.”

Hearing my name, I blinked a couple of times and when my eyes regained focus, I saw Lizzy snapping her fingers in front of my face.

“Where did you just go?”

“Nowhere,” As much as I cared for Lizzy I didn’t want her knowing about my past, I didn’t want anyone to know. So, I did what I did best: deflected. “Well? Who are you sleeping with?”

Lizzy smiled a smile that had me thinking I wasn’t going to like what was about to come out of her mouth. “I’ll tell you, but you have to do something for me first.”

I knew what she was going to say, yet, I still asked, “What?”

“Take one night off from your life. Go out with Logan or better yet, stay in with him. Let him blow your mind. It’ll be good for you.”

I felt the irritation rush through my veins. “Let it go,” I bit out.

Lizzy looked like she was about to argue, but the chiming bell saved me from that. I’d just made a friend, and I didn’t want to fight with her, but if she kept pushing this, we were definitely going to have words.

Chase looked about as stormy as I felt, stalking through the office with a deep frown marring his forehead.

“I’d better get going,” this coming from Lizzy next to me. In the time it took me to look at her, Chase had disappeared down the hall and closed himself off in his office.

“Okay,” I said to Lizzy. “Thanks for lunch.”

“No problem,” Lizzy stood and squeezed my arm. “I’ll pick you and Flynn up later?”

“Please.”

Once I was alone again, I heaved out a sigh. Maybe I was being absolutely ridiculous. If everyone in this town was right about Logan, he would be open to nothing more than meaningless sex. The thing was, I didn’t think I could keep it meaningless. These things that he made me feel scared me. And If I was to share my body with him, who knew what it’d do to me.

The one thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to find out.

The sound of the phone ringing prevented me from not heading too far into my own mind. Maybe for the best. Reaching to my right, I grabbed the receiver and pressed it against my ear.

“WC Veterinary Clinic, how can I help?”

“Hey, sugar.”

Straight away my stupid heart kick-started at the sound of his voice and his ridiculous endearment. For the life of me, I didn’t know why the man called me that, I didn’t want to ask either.

“You still there?”

“Yes, I’m here. Are you looking for Chase?”

“Nope. You.”

“Oh.”

I felt his chuckle vibrate through my entire body. “Listen, it’s gonna be a while before your Nissan is drivable again.”

A defeated sigh passed over my lips, I didn’t want to put Lizzy out any more than I already have. I know she wouldn’t mind, but she had her own life to get to, which apparently included a new man.

“If I put a rush order in, the parts should be here within the week, and your car fixed come Monday. I just have to run the costs of the parts by you before I order.”

A very heavy weight settled on my shoulders. If there was one thing I didn’t have, it was savings, except for my emergency money. But that money was there in case I needed to take Flynn and run on a moment’s notice. I would never touch it.

“How much?” I asked Logan. When he gave me the amount, I nearly fell off my chair. I needed a car and to pay for this, I wouldn’t be able to save any money this month. Tilting my head toward the ceiling, I squeezed my eyes shut and inhaled deeply. “Put in the order.”

“Alright,” there was a pause on the other end before he let out a slow breath. “Talk to you soon.”

The way he said it made it sound more like a prayer than a statement, but I could just respond with, “Okay.”

I didn’t have too much time to dwell on Logan or the way his sexy voice rolled over my skin like a caress because the clinic was fairly busy. By the time five o’clock rolled around, I was too happy to call it a day.

That was until I looked up and saw Logan standing in the door, looking pretty much like sex on legs. Yeah, that analogy might be cringe-worthy, but it was fitting. Looking at him the only thing I could think about was sex!

From his denim-clad legs right to the tips of his windswept hair, the man oozed sex. There was no hiding his toned, muscular chest beneath his skin-tight black tee. But even all of that couldn’t compare to the way he looked at me. The intensity behind his gaze turned me into a puddle of want and had all sorts of elicit images forming in my brain.

Running my clammy palms down my khaki shirt, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Chase is in the back,” I said, throwing my thumb over my right shoulder.

“I’m here for you.”

“For me? What for?”

Logan answered by pushing off the frame and stalking toward me. Robbing me of my senses when he stopped in front of my desk, and I inhaled his scent. There was just something about a man smelling like a man and not a perfume shop.

“I’ve got something for you.” One side of his mouth curled into the most sinful grin.

Is it thick, hard and long? Goodness, there was something seriously wrong with me. I needed to get home and have a little alone time.

“Good news?” How I managed to ask that with a straight face with everything going on in my brain, I would never know.

“Well, sort of. Fixin’ up your Nissan is going to be a while, but,” Logan reached behind him and pulled something from his back pocket. Dangling the shiny piece of metal in front of me, he smiled that full-on smile that did things to me. “You need to get around, right?”

When I eventually realized what he was saying, I shook my head. “I couldn’t-“

Logan silenced me by grabbing my hand and placing the key in my palm before wrapping my fingers around it. “You can and you will.” His voice was soft , but his rasp had the slightest edge to it, and his hand was still firmly wrapped around my closed fist.

My gaze dropped to our connected hands, and I was instantly taken back to that moment in my kitchen last night. I was fairly certain, if Flynn hadn’t shown up, I would have given in. Slowly shifting my gaze to his, I found those deep whiskey eyes fixed on me, studying me.

“You don’t have to do this.” I meant the car and the way he was looking at me as if I was some priceless piece of art. I wasn’t. I was the damaged product you returned for a refund. Defective.

“We’ve just covered this, Sugar. You’re driving my truck till I get your car fixed.”

“Your truck?!” Shocked, I snatched my hand out of his and uncurled my fingers so I could offer him his key back. “I thought you were lending me a car from your shop. I can’t take your truck. What will you-“

Again, Logan folded my fingers over the key. “I have my bike. Now stop arguing, we have to pick up Flynn.”

“We?”

“Yes, Sugar, we. You’re gonna have to give me a ride home.”

I was out of options, and I would have said anything to get him to stop touching me. Because every time he did, electricity zipped through my veins. I didn’t want to be dealing with these… feelings. I had enough to worry about as it stood.

Like the way my boy’s face lit up when he saw Logan, or how he couldn’t stop talking to Logan on the drive home. How was it possible that Flynn felt so comfortable with this man we barely knew, and I so uncomfortable? So out of my element.

When we pulled to a stop in my driveway, I couldn’t get out of the truck fast enough. I watched as Flynn high-fived Logan before sprinting up the steps. The thing that caught me was the way he was looking at my son. There was longing all over his face and for a split second, I wanted to take his face in between my palms and kiss that look away.

Whoa.

When he looked my way and his gaze locked onto mine, I was unable to look away. My heart started beating at an alarming pace as he moved toward me. When he was so close that I could feel the warmth of his body fill the space between us, he made a move to reach for my hand but stopped mid-way.

Holding the key to his truck up between us, he said, “You two have a good night now.”

Like the idiot he’d turned me into, I just nodded and took the key from him. When he made no move to walk away, I managed to croak out a weak, “Thank you… for the truck.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed and roved over my face before he gave me that smile again. “Anytime, Sugar.” With that, he turned and finally gave me breathing room. But no matter what I did I couldn’t get that smile out of my mind.

It was the smile I saw late that night when I slipped into a deep sleep filled with fever dreams.

I was pretty sure it would be that same smile that would shatter me into a million pieces too.