Filming in Progress.
Logan hesitated at the sign on his front door. He’d expected her to be done by now, but maybe he’d had a bit of a lead foot all the way back from Nashville. As the dogs weren’t milling around, waiting to slide past him, he took a chance and quietly slipped inside. Shrugging out of his jacket, he hung it on a peg by the door and followed the sound of voices.
Athena stood at the island, her hair up in one of those messy twists as she tipped a casserole dish toward the camera. “Isn’t that gorgeous?”
She sure as hell is. Smiling to himself, Logan leaned in the doorway and took her in. Those wide gray eyes were sparkling and that smart mouth he loved so much curved in a broad, easy smile. Happiness practically radiated off her. And why shouldn’t it? With the help of her sisters, she’d managed to carve out a niche for herself doing exactly what she wanted—highlighting the farm-to-table cooking she was so passionate about.
The Misfit Kitchen web series and the accompanying food blog had been a runaway success in the past four months, hitting enough subscribers by the beginning of October to effectively cover her dad’s care and solidifying the cookbook deal with Yasmine’s publishing house. Maggie’s growth projections had convinced her it was worth investing more in the show by building a dedicated facility that could be used not only for filming but for hosting cooking retreats in conjunction with the inn. She even had a call scheduled later this week with a cookware company to discuss corporate sponsorship. All in all, everything was coming up roses. Athena had buried that viral video in good press and earned back her good name her way.
She was settled and happy. To Logan’s mind, that meant it was time. He slid a hand into his pocket to finger the box that had been burning a hole all through his deliveries and the meetings with two new restaurant clients. He’d been patient. He’d given her time. He was beyond ready to take this next step, and he was counting on her being ready, too.
“That’s all the time we’ve got today, and this will be our last episode this season. But tune in next week anyway, as I’ll be giving a quick tour of how the brand new Misfit Kitchen facility is coming along. If all continues to go according to schedule, we’ll be filming next there just in time for the new year. And I’ll be having a special guest chef coming to join me. Moses Lindsey is one of the best pastry chefs I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and he’s coming down to do a weekend workshop. Links to signup for that are on our website.” She aimed a blinding smile at the camera. “Until next year, I’m Chef Athena Reynolds, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”
“And cut!” Scott Barker, the cameraman and one half of Athena’s two-person crew, straightened. “That was fabulous. I think we got it all in one take.”
“Thank God.” Athena rolled her head and unclipped her mic pack before making a beeline in his direction. “You’re back!”
“I am.” Logan took her mouth in a lingering hello kiss. “Mmm. You smell like rosemary and cream.”
Her arms linked around his neck. “Rosemary au gratin potatoes. Hope you like them because that’s part of what we’re having for dinner.”
“I am not opposed to a trial run of Christmas dinner. Though it feels weird to have the kitchen decorated for the occasion when there’s still a jack o’lantern on the front porch.”
“We’ll take them down,” Ari promised.
“It’s good to have the season in the can early,” Scott said. “Plenty of time to edit and fix any errors and upload.”
“My minions speak the truth. Plus, it gives me the next couple of months to work on recipes for the cookbook. Yasmine wants a finalized list by the end of January.”
“Then let it be so.”
Athena slipped away to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “How did your meetings go?”
“They both signed on the dotted line as brand-new Maxwell Organics clients.” Two more to add to the roster that had grown by leaps and bounds since the summer. “Really today was just a formality. They made up their minds after the tour.”
One of Athena’s ideas had been to set up an overnight visit and tour of the farm in conjunction with the inn for chefs and restaurateurs. So far it had resulted in more than a half dozen new contracts with Nashville and Knoxville area restaurants thanks to Athena’s encouragement and the contacts she’d cultivated once she reached out to the foodie scene in the southeast. He’d just about maxed out what they could provide, at least until Porter finished building the new greenhouse. But that would be after he finished the official Misfit Kitchen.
“Woo! I’d say that’s something worth opening a fresh bottle of wine to toast.”
They’d have more than that to toast before the night was over if he had his way. “I picked a few options up while I was in Nashville.”
“We’ll figure out what goes best with this balsamic-glazed pork loin. You two are gonna take some of this home with you, right?” Athena looked at her crew.
“Do I ever turn down food?” Scott asked.
“You do not. It has been rumored you have a hollow leg.” Ari teased with a grin at the early twenty-something Scott that made Logan wonder if he needed to have a word with Flynn. “It’s the best part of this gig.”
“Let’s get final pictures for the blog post and clean everything up so y’all can get out of here,” Athena urged. “Scott, you’re still good to drop Ari at home?”
“Sure thing.”
Logan pitched in, as much out of habit as a desire to hurry them on their way so he could get Athena alone. Since Pru and Flynn’s baby had been born in September, filming had moved to the farm’s kitchen. Athena had been spending more nights here herself, claiming that Rudy was less sleep confused than the newest member of the Reynolds family. Logan wasn’t about to complain.
By the time they’d broken down all the lights, coiled all the cables, and stowed the rest of the gear, Athena had packaged up part of the demo meal to send home with Scott and Ari.
“I’ll edit this latest video and have something for you to proof in a few days,” Scott promised.
“Take your time. I know you and Celeste have got that big Christmas project coming up for the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Gonna be a stunner for sure. You ready, kid?”
A flicker of irritation crossed Ari’s face before she fixed her smile firmly in place. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as a kid. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Logan watched the pair of them leave, ribbing each other. As soon as they were out of earshot, he turned to Athena. “Do we need to worry about that?”
“Nah. He’s her first real crush. She’s fifteen. He’s twenty-two and doesn’t see her as anything other than a little sister. Hence the ‘kid’ she got so annoyed about. Plus, he’s got a thing for Crystal’s daughter Nicky.”
When he only grunted, she laughed. “Stand down, Papa Bear. I already warned Pru and Flynn. Pru’s had a conversation with her, which both of them found utterly mortifying. Scott’s a safe one for her to practice her flirting on because it will never go anywhere.”
“I suppose that’s better than one of her classmates.”
“That poor kid had no idea she’d be taking on multiple over-protective parent figures when she got adopted into this family.”
“She loves all of us,” Logan protested.
“That she does. C’mon. Are you ready to eat now or do you want to wait for later?”
“Let’s wait a bit. How about a little walk before dinner? We’ve got time to catch the sunset.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They grabbed light jackets and headed out into the fading light. Bo and Peep raced over from the stables, bumping and barking greetings. After quick, full-body rubs, they seemed content to trot a few yards ahead, sniffing everything as they went. Logan took Athena’s hand, loving how she fell into ready step beside him to walk the land that had, in a very real way, brought them together.
Talking of basic, everyday things, they trailed past the stables, beyond Sebastian’s little cabin and on up the hill where the ground had been broken for the new greenhouse a couple of weeks back. The framing had been put in place for the foundation and pipes run for irrigation. God and weather willing, the foundation would be poured sometime next week.
“It’ll be done before you know it, and then you’ll lose the quiet season,” Athena observed.
“The quiet season?”
“That’s what my dad always used to call winter. There’s always something to do on a farm, of course, but winter was always quieter. It’s when he used to catch up on reading and make plans for spring. You’ve got a bigger operation here, but it still slows down in winter, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. The quiet season. I like that. A time to dream and plan for the future.” At the top of the hill he stopped and drew her in, resting his cheek on her hair as they looked down over the farm they both loved, gilded by the setting sun.
“Helluva view,” she murmured.
“It definitely is. Your dad’s gonna enjoy seeing it again when we bring him out next weekend.”
“I hope so. He’ll never be what he was, but he’s made some strides these past few months. There are more good days than there were before, and I think he’s gotten to a place where he’ll get some peace out of seeing this place.”
“It’s a good place for finding peace.”
They stood, wrapped around each other in the dying light, and Logan bided his time.
When the last rim of sun sank below the horizon, Athena let loose a soft, contented sigh. “I never get tired of seeing that.”
Stepping back, Logan kept one of her hands in his. “Ready to go home?”
“Yeah. I think I am.”
“Good.” Surrounded by the scent of freshly-tilled earth and a watercolor sky, he sank down to one knee.
“Logan.” She pressed a hand to her mouth.
“In general, I’m a patient man. I said I’d wait until you were ready, and I did my best, but it turns out I’m kinda in a hurry. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for you. I didn’t even know what my life was missing until you came into it. So I hope I’ve waited long enough for you to adjust to the idea because I want to marry you. I want to bring you back to this land, where you’ve always belonged, and make a family and life with you. Say you’ll be mine, Athena. Say you’ll come home to me.”
With her free hand, she cupped his cheek. “All I’ve wanted since I was twelve years old was to come home. It was a dream I gave up a long, long time ago. So to have you giving me that chance, to know that you’re part of the package, not for a few days or weeks but a lifetime—well, Farmer Boy, I can’t think of anything I want more. So yeah, I’ll marry you.”
Whooping, Logan shot to his feet, scooping Athena off hers and swinging her in a dizzying circle. The dogs leapt and danced around them, joining in the fun. Laughing, she held on.
“I love you. I love you so damned much.”
“Are you gonna show me what’s in the box?”
“Oh, right.” He set her back down and opened the little box still clutched in his hand. The diamond caught the last faint rays of the sun as he pulled it out and slid it on her left hand.
She ran a thumb over the low profile band. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“Far from it.”
“Perfect for me,” she corrected, twining her arms around him and brushing her lips to his in a kiss that was all too brief. “C’mon let’s get dinner.”
“You want to eat now?”
She tugged away and shot a wicked grin over her shoulder. “You’re gonna need your strength to celebrate.”
Wrapping an arm around her, he pressed another hard, fast kiss to her mouth. “Yes, Chef.”
Choose Your Next Romance
Maggie and Porter’s book, Bring It On Home is FINALLY available for preorder! You can grab your copy here. Keep turning the pages for a sneak peek at the first chapter.
Meanwhile, why don’t you hop on over to my intertwined Rescue My Heart series? It begins with Baby It’s Cold Outside, a snowbound, forced-cohabitation romance between a former Army Ranger and a runaway author?
What I Like About You, Book 2 in the Rescue My Heart trilogy, follows another of that band of brothers, former Army Ranger turned horse trainer Sebastian Donnelly, and Logan’s little sister Laurel. Plus, you get to attend Logan and Athena’s wedding! Who wants to miss that? Nobody.
Turn the page for a sneak peek!