by JJ Ellis
“Are you related to Evelyn Harper?” she asked.
Logan had no idea what she was getting at, but he figured he would let her speak her piece. “She’s my mother, why?”
The woman let out a long breath, looking relieved. “My name is Jayna McIntyre.”
“So, how does my mom being Evelyn Harper change things? I think you should start at the beginning.”
Jayna took a few bites and a sip of her water before looking up at Logan. “I left…a bad situation in Alaska and I asked my friend for help. But my ‘problem’ would know to contact her, so she suggested I come here and contact the Harper family. She said you could help me until I can decide what to do. That’s it.” She shrugged and started to eat again.
“So who’s your friend?” he asked after a while. He couldn’t imagine who would have recommended his family for help.
“Deborah Sharpe…um, Mannon.”
Okay, now it made more sense. Deborah was his Cousin Jackson’s wife. “Okay,” he said. “Exactly how can we help you?”
“I…I,” she stammered. “I just need a place to stay until I can figure out what to do about…about my problem.”
Logan cleared the plates and took two homemade muffins out of the box he’d brought up from the store. “You know, I’m going to need to know more about your problem before I can help you. I’m assuming it is something that could be dangerous for my family.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, looking down. “I’m running from my ex. He’ll do anything to find me.”
Logan sat down at the table and handed Jayna a muffin. “So all I have to do is keep you out of sight until you figure out what to do?”
“Yeah,” she murmured. “I don’t even know where to begin though. I...I just need time to think without having to watch my back so much.”
Logan got up and walked to the sink. He started up the water and plugged the drain before adding soap. “You can hide out here,” he said. “I’ll try to help you figure out what to do next.”
“Thank you,” she said through tears. “Deb was right about your family.”
Logan turned to her and smiled. He would be making a phone call to Nevada as soon as he got her settled in. He even contemplated taking her to his mom’s house. She would have more room and it wasn’t right in the middle of town, but when he approached her with the idea, she started to cry harder. Damn, a crying woman was all he needed. “Okay, you can stay here,” he conceded. She had been saying something about not wanting too many people to know where she was, and at the moment, his mom’s house did have a few extra people in it.
The dishes were washed, dried and put away before he finally looked up again. Jayna had moved over to the couch and was lying there curled up under a throw. Her color was better now, but she still looked beat. For the first time, he noticed the shadow of a black eye still marking her face. She was pretty, in almost an exotic way. The shape of her eyes was somehow different and her lips…they were so full and….Oh he had to stop this! He didn’t want to be attracted to anyone, especially someone who he would be in close contact with for Lord knows how long. “Hey, I’m going to run out to my truck and get the stuff I rescued from your car. I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you,” she murmured as her eyes closed.
Logan opened the door to go out and stopped suddenly. “Ah shit!”
“What? What’s wrong?” Jayna asked, sitting bolt upright.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, embarrassed. “It looks like the storm hit. It’s snowing like crazy out there.”
“My stuff can wait,” she offered. “We can get it in the morning.”
“Sweetheart if we wait until morning, your stuff will be buried under way too much snow.” He grabbed his jacket and headed out into the blowing storm.
“This is going to be a bad one if the wind doesn’t change directions,” he said breathlessly as he entered the apartment again. "I haven’t seen an August storm like this in probably twelve years.”
Jayna was sitting up when he walked in. “I’m sorry you had to go out in that.”
Logan smiled at her. “It’s a fact of life here in Wyoming.”
“In Alaska too,” she said with a smile.
He had to struggle to catch his breath. Something deep inside seemed to be constricting when he saw her first genuine smile since he’d rescued her. “What part of Alaska?” he was finally able to ask as he took her bags over to the couch.
“Born and raised in Anchorage, but I spent the last six years about a half hour outside of Denali, working at The Heart of Alaska Resort.”
Logan nodded and sat down next to her. “I know exactly where that is. The place is famous in our family. My uncle got married there and we have vacationed there in the past.”
“Deb and I worked there together,” she confided. “And Reginald was our boss.”
“That’s your ex?”
“Yeah,” she said shakily.
“Boyfriend or husband?”
“Just boyfriend, thank God,” she sighed. “Unfortunately now the baby is involved in this whole mess too.”
“I’m really sorry you’re going through this. May I ask when you’re due?”
“The first part of November. At one point I couldn’t wait to meet him and now I’m scared to death to bring him into this world.”
Logan, being far from the perfect confidant, started to get a bit uncomfortable with the conversation. “I’m sorry. Hey, where would you like me to put your bags? I figure you can take my room and I’ll take the couch.”
“Oh no,” Jayna said. “I’ll be fine on the couch.”
“No, you're seven months pregnant, you don’t need to be sleeping on an old uncomfortable couch. I’ll take your bags to my room.” He stood up, grabbed the bags and set them near his bed. When he turned around to leave the room, Jayna was standing there with that beautiful, full smile again. His insides constricted.
“Thank you Logan.”
“You’re welcome,” he murmured as he slipped past, brushing her pregnant belly. He stopped in his tracks. “He kicked me!”
Jayna laughed. “He did. He must like you.”
Logan hurried out of the room fighting a bout of nausea. What the Hell was that feeling he’d just had? It was warm, and fuzzy…and quite uncomfortable. When he heard her call his name, he felt like crying. He just wanted to get away from her. But he turned around and went back into the room. “What do you need?” he asked as politely as he could muster.
“I…I have a favor to ask,” she hedged. “I… would you stay in here while I take a shower. I’m still so shaky but I really need to bathe.” She took a deep breath and turned away. “I’m sorry. Never mind.”
Logan walked over to her and put a hand on her arm. “Go ahead and shower. I’ll stay here, just in case.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, turning to him. Tears were shining in her eyes again.
“Yeah. You deserve a shower after what you’ve been through.”
“Thank you,” she cried softly as she grabbed one of her bags and slipped into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar just enough for sound to travel out if need be.
Logan sat down on the bed, feeling somewhat like a stranger in his own bedroom. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. He picked his current read up off of the nightstand and started to scan it. Concentration was almost impossible at this point. He could only think of the beautiful, scared, totally off-limits woman standing naked in his shower. Guilt and shame made him flush. How could he even think of her like that? She was a complete stranger, pregnant with another man’s child. And he didn’t want a woman in that way, at least not emotionally. But that’s why he kept them at bay physically, so the emotions couldn’t take over. He hadn’t been with a woman in two years and although physically he missed it sometimes, he knew what he had to do to stay free, so he did it.
Just as he lie back on the bed to wait, he heard a loud noise come from the bathroom and leapt up.
“Are you okay Jayna?” he yelled.
“No! Help me Logan,” she cried.
He rushed in just as she started to fall to the shower floor. Catching her just in time, he held her close to his body to try to stop her shaking. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“I was just so dizzy,” she murmured, resting her head against his chest.
“Let’s get you dried off and warm,” he said, adjusting her to be able to grab a towel. He carried her out of the bathroom and laid her on the bed, covering her with the towel. “You’re staying with me, right?” he asked gently.
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry. Help me sit up so I can dry myself off.”
“Sure,” he said, lifting her by the shoulders so he could sit behind her. “Go ahead and lean back against me.”
Her shaky right hand reached for the towel covering her body. She started at her arms, her breathing getting heavy.
“Hey, let me do it,” he offered. “You’re going to make yourself pass out again.”
“Please don’t,” she whimpered. “This is all embarrassing enough.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he whispered calmly in her ear. “You need help and I’m going to give it to you. That’s all there is to it.”
Jayna’s hands dropped from the towel and she fell back against him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, taking the towel to finish drying her off. The marks and faded bruises that lined her chest and legs made him sick to his stomach. How a man could do that to anyone, let alone the woman carrying his child, was something he couldn’t fathom. “When was the last time he hurt you?”
“He caught up with me a couple of weeks ago,” she whispered. “I was hiding in Deb’s cabin just outside of Denali. Thank God the caretaker came by when he did…”
Logan was nearly shaking with anger. “Have you had the baby checked out since – to make sure he’s not hurt?”
“The bastard made sure not to touch the baby,” she whispered.
Logan felt there was more to the story, but he didn’t want to push her, yet. “I have an old friend, Nicoletta, who is a nurse and has worked with an OB before. Please let me call her and have her come check you over.” He felt her body tense against him. “Please?”
“She can’t tell anyone that I’m here.”
“I know. She’ll do whatever I ask.”
“Okay,” Jayna finally agreed. “Can I sleep now?”
“I want you to eat again, and take some vitamins,” he told her, rising up off the bed to prop her on pillows. He went to his closet and pulled out an old t-shirt. “Come on, help me get this on you and I’ll go grab us something to eat.”
Jayna shakily sat herself up and let Logan put his shirt over her head then collapsed back onto the pillows. “I ran out of vitamins three days ago. But I'm still kind of hungry,” she admitted.
“The benefits of living above a grocery store. If you’ll be okay for about ten minutes, I’ll run down and grab some stuff.”
“I’ll be fine,” she smiled. “I’ll probably just doze off until you get back."
Logan grabbed a dry shirt and quickly put it on. When he turned around, Jayna looked away, a blush coloring her face.
“It’s nice to see that you can have some color in your face,” he said lightly. “Hang tight, I’ll be right back.”
The store was nearly deserted when he stepped through the swinging doors from the back. It seemed everyone was being smart and staying out of the storm. There were two customers on their way out, a shift manager and two cashiers. “If you guys want, you can close up early. It you don’t feel safe going home, feel free to use the spare apartment. The key is in the bakery’s cash drawer.”
The employees assured him that they would be fine and went about cleaning up the store. Before grabbing what he needed, Logan stood by the front windows and looked out at the blowing snow. It wasn’t far from a whiteout, but because the last week had been in the eighties, the snow wasn’t sticking everywhere yet. He stood and watched as the wind shifted and the storm started to lighten a bit. Hopefully he would wake up to only a few inches of accumulation. The sound of the howling wind made him shiver. It made it cold as hell, but it could also blow things away and make the world fresh.
Turning from the window, he set about getting the stuff he needed. Two bottles of water, two pre-made sandwiches and a bottle of prenatal vitamins later, he was walking through the door leading to the stairwell. His cashier would probably wonder about the vitamins all night. Thank goodness she wasn’t one to gossip.
Chapter 3
Once he was back in the apartment, he put the sandwiches, water, vitamins, two plates and some potato chips on a tray and took them to the bedroom. Jayna was lying on her side, her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful – and so very beautiful.
“Jayna, it’s time to eat,” he said softly so as not to startle her. He set the tray down on the nightstand and sat next to her. “Yoohoo, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, putting a hand on her arm. “I brought food and vitamins.”
Her eyes came open slowly and she smiled. “Food?”
Logan chuckled. “Yeah, let’s get you propped up and we’ll have a picnic dinner right here.”
“Thank you. I…”
Jayna bent forward and grabbed her belly. “I think I need to drink more,” she said through gritted teeth. “I always get crampy when I’m dehydrated.”
Logan opened the liter bottle of water for her and watched as she drank down a quarter of it. "Make sure you finish that,” he said, handing her a plate.
“Yes sir,” she returned, throwing him a salute and a smile.
“So, you’re a smart ass too,” he joked as he unwrapped a sandwich and handed it to her.
“I’m the supreme smartass,” she chuckled. “Just ask Deb.”
Logan took his food, water and the bag of chips to the other side of the bed to sit next to her. He put the chips between them. “I think her husband, Jackson, would argue that. He’s the biggest smart ass I know.”
Jayna laughed and nodded. “I’ve only met him twice, but I have heard all about your crazy cousin. He probably is the actual supreme smart ass, but I’m definitely second in command.”
They sat eating in companionable silence until Logan asked a question. “You know the baby is a boy?”
“Yeah. At least that’s what four ultrasounds have said.”
“Do you have a name picked out?”
“No,” she said quietly. “Thank God Reginald didn’t want a namesake because there’s no way in hell I’ll name my baby after that monster.”
“I understand that,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. “You know, Logan is a pretty good name…”
Jayna chuckled and smiled back shyly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hey, don’t forget to take your vitamin,” he reminded her, pointing to the bottle on the nightstand.
She reached over and grabbed the bottle with shaking hands. Logan took it from her and opened the difficult packaging. He handed her one and she took it with the last of her water. “I think it’s time to go to the bathroom,” she groaned. “He’s kicking my bladder.”
Logan jumped up and hurried to help her up from the bed.
“I’m okay now,” she said. "I just get so tired.”
“I’ll be right here,” he declared. “If you need something, just holler.”
After a few minutes, Jayna came out, still weak but not in danger of passing out. “Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help.”
“I’m sure it will,” he said, ushering her back into bed. “I have a few phone calls to make then I’ll come check on you.” He turned to walk out the door.
“Logan?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you for everything?”
“My pleasure, Jayna. And by the way, what happened to the brown hair?”
“It was a wig,” she said with amusement in her voice. “Did you just notice?”
“No,” he chuckled. “But it did take me a while. I didn’t notice your hair was actually blonde until I returned from downstairs. Sleep well.” Back in the living room, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.
“Hello,” a man answered.
“Hello sir, this is Logan Harper. May I please speak with Nicoletta?”
“Sure you can, boy. Hold on just a moment.”
Logan waited patiently while the old doctor went to get his daughter.
“Hey Logan, how are you?” came a sweet, soft voice, colored by a faint Greek accent.
“Hi Nicoletta,” he returned. “I heard you were home now and…well, truthfully I know I have no right to ask, but I need a favor.”
“This sounds serious, Logan. What’s going on?”
He sighed and sat back against the couch cushions. “A friend of my cousin is here with me and she’s seven months pregnant. I think she needs to see someone but she refuses to go to a doctor.”
“Oh Logan, she really should go to the emergency room. They can help her better there.”
“I know,” he agreed. “But she won’t. Someone is after her, trying to hurt her. She needs your help.” He sure hoped his old friend would keep their secret but at this point, he didn’t have much choice but to confide the whole story in her.
Nicoletta was quiet for a few moments. “Okay Logan. I’ll come over first thing in the morning to check on her. What exactly is wrong with her?”
“She’s weak and tired. She wasn’t able to eat for a couple of days and she was a bit dehydrated. Oh, and she’s really pale."
“Okay,” Nicoletta said. “Make sure she eats proteins, drinks a lot of water and takes her vitamins. If you can get them, give her an iron pill."
“Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Logan hung up the phone and dialed his cousin Jackson.
“Hey cousin, what’s up?”
“Hey Jack. I have some questions for you and Deb.”
“Ah, I have a feeling I know what this is about. Is her name Jayna?”
“Yeah, exactly. She’s here and she’s safe, but I just wanted to double check her story.”
