by Imani King
Faye glared mulishly at Ari, but she seemed to understand that her mother meant business this time around.
“So, Ari, why don’t you want to get married?” Val asked her.
“You all know about my husband. Soon-to-be ex-husband… the divorce…” Ari flung her hands in the air in frustration.
“Oh spare us, please!” Val rolled her eyes. “That husband of yours should be arrested and thrown in jail right after you divorce his sorry ass. You are a wonderful woman and it is not your fault your marriage didn’t work. In fact, I’m sure you made all efforts to keep things together even when he hit you.” Ari nodded numbly and Val sighed. “Forget him, darling. The divorce is going to happen. I know because I keep tabs on Green myself. He says he’s threatening to sue your husband.”
Ari gasped in surprise and started to shake her head.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head none,” Val told her. “Green has everything under control. The last time I asked him—and he is a fine man by the way—he said your worthless husband is caving in. So you see, you will soon be free.”
Ari could scarcely believe her ears. She looked at each lady seated before her and they smiled at her. Even Faye had an encouraging smile on her lips.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at mother and daughters. Finding the family was the best luck she’d ever had. They kept holding on tight to her so she wouldn’t fall. She didn’t know what she did to deserve such support from them. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“You don’t need that, you are family. That’s what family does for each other,” Val said firmly.
“As soon as the divorce is over, you can marry Logan,” Khloe said her voice just as firm as her mother’s.
Ari was shaking her head.
“Yes, you did say you barely know him, didn’t you?” Val asked.
“Well,” Khloe said slowly. “You have a point there but we didn’t know where he came from also and we’re doing just fine with him.”
“And when did knowing a person’s past become as relevant as his present and being a part of his future?” Faye asked derisively. “We all know Logan is a good man. I am sure he can make it outside of here, but he chose to stay. He is going to make you a happy woman, Ari, and really, that is all you should care about.”
Val smiled at her younger daughter. “And those are the wisest words I have heard Faye say in the longest time.”
Faye shrugged.
“Anyway,” Val continued, “it is true. A man’s past is not as important as his future. Imagine if I hadn’t hired you on account of your past, eh?”
Ari realized that the women were right.
“But then, in case you still doubt Logan, I have a little story to tell you,” Val continued. “Logan Cartwright is much more than you know. He came at a time when the entire family was in distress. I had just lost my husband and I had to retire from work. I was a police officer you see.”
Ari gasped. She hadn’t known that.
The girls nodded with smiles on their faces.
“Indeed.” Val nodded too. “I wasn’t always home and my girls grew more attached to their father than to me, but we still had a happy family. In any case, Ben fell ill and all our money went into his medical bills.” She sighed. “But my Ben still died. We were all devastated. A little after, I discovered that the ranch was steeped in debt. I retired to take care of things here and my girls but the debts were huge. The bank wanted to take this ranch from us.”
“Ma, you didn’t tell us all of this!” Khloe cried.
Faye’s eyes were wide as she stared at her mother. For the first time, the young girl had nothing to say.
Val only held out a hand and continued, “Then came in Logan looking for work. I knew at once that he wasn’t the sort to work as a mere ranch hand. I had him looked up by one of my colleagues and his story broke my heart. He comes from a rich background, Logan Cartwright. That man is the only son of Lilith and Potter Cartwright, the oil mogul, known across all of South America. The thing is they indulged their only son a little too much and Logan ended up living a reckless life. He would take off for long months to do god knows what. According to my friend who found out from a close friend of the family, the parents tried to curb him too late but Logan already was out of control. At times, they called him to come home but he refused. But he had to go back when his parents were killed by a drunken driver. The young man was bitter. He blamed himself for not coming home when they called. In his state of mourning, he donated most if not all his property to charity and then simply disappeared off the radar of prying eyes. The news caught up with him working on an oil rig after three years. Then he disappeared again. Then, he ended up on my ranch.”
All three girls stared at Val, their mouth agape.
Ari especially was blown away by what Val was telling her. Never could she have imagined Logan to be what she said he was!
But Val wasn’t through, “In any case, I confronted him about it and he admitted it all to me. He was a man chased around by his guilt. I couldn’t send him away. And it was a good thing I didn’t! He settled our debts.” She smiled ruefully. “How he did it?” Val shrugged her shoulders. “I cannot tell, up to this day.”
“Ma!” Khloe squealed.
Both girls had tears in their eyes now.
Ari couldn’t even breathe. It was all shocking news to her.
“Yes, he saved us, girls. Logan saved us. He even insisted I continued to own and manage the farm and treat him like a ranch hand, the idiot.” Val dabbed at a corner of her eyes. “I am sorry for not telling you, but Logan made me promise. I’m only saying this now because I think Ari needs to know. He loves her and I know he would do anything to keep her with him.”
The girls got out of their seats and ran to hug their mother. Together, the three women cried, holding on to one another.
Ari sat rooted to her seat as she stared off stupidly into space. And she had thought Logan was a just a simple guy, almost a nobody; she had even thought he hadn’t gone to college until he corrected her of the notion himself. She’d been quite the little snob, hadn’t she?
“That is another story for another day. Remind me to tell you when we find another time out like this again.”
Ari felt the tears slip down her face. She’d seen the shadows beneath his eyes the day he told her about himself and known he had his own demons. But he had set his demons aside to help her deal with hers.
“He loves you and I know he would do anything to keep you with him.”
Val’s words only just hit her and she gasped. Without a doubt, Ari knew that they were true. Logan truly did love her. The signs were all there, but she had been too bent on maintaining a platonic relationship with him to see it. Even last night when they had made love, she hadn’t been thinking of his emotions. She had only been thinking of gratifying her own sexual urges without thinking of him.
She shot up from her seat suddenly. She saw the keys to the Volvo on the table and grabbed it.
All three women stared at her wide-eyed.
“Where are you going?” Val asked calmly.
“I am just going to go into town,” Ari answered, already backing out of the door. “I need to think, to see…”
“But—” Khloe began.
“You need to see Logan!” Faye argued.
“Girls,” Val chided softly, cutting them off. “Go,” she said to Ari, understanding in her eyes.
Ari ran out of the house.
What have I done?
Chapter Ten
If the mountain wouldn’t go to Mohammed, Mohammed would go to the mountain.
Logan was tired of waiting around for Ari to come to him. He’d woken up this morning to find her gone. His first instinct had been to go looking for her. His entire body still tingled from her touch and he wanted her near him again. In fact, he didn’t want to let her out of his sight ever again. Their lovemaking had sealed the deal for him and he knew he wasn’t ever going let her go again.
The tides had changed like Everett had promised it would when they had sex.
Well, they’d made love – all through the night and at various positions that his limbs still shook from. It was the most wonderful experience for him, yet. Not even when he had chased wild pleasures had he been so dazzled by a woman. She was the one. She was the one who would complete him. With her, he forgot everything that tormented him. With her, he found peace.
He intended to go to her right now and tell her every single thing he felt for her.
Of course, he still dreaded that she might refuse him. He tried not to think she would. She’d given herself to him willingly and repeatedly last night; how could she not feel something for him? She had to he kept telling himself. He understood that she might still feel a bit apprehensive about any man, but hadn’t he shown her since she got here—and certainly last night—that he wasn’t at all like her husband? Hadn’t he waited for her to lead the way?
Frustrated that an hour after he woke up, she still hadn’t come to him, he got up and grabbed his shirt and pants. He was almost out of the door before he stepped back and sat again.
What if she didn’t want to see him again?
Logan tortured himself with all kinds of thoughts. What if she really didn’t feel anything for him?
Damn!
He got up to pace the length of the room. He hadn’t been able to step out of the bunkhouse. He hadn’t even seen a soul all morning. Everett must have come in and gone sometime before Logan woke up and hadn’t wanted to disturb him. And here he was, waiting for Ari, expecting her to show up because he knew they needed privacy for the discussion he planned to have with her. But she hadn’t come.
Cursing a blue streak, Logan stormed out of the bunkhouse. He wouldn’t find out anything by staying in all day.
*****
Ari sighed for the umpteenth time.
She was at a park in town, seated on one of the swings and staring off into space. Her head was filled with all kinds of stuff and it was all about Logan. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. For the first time, someone cared selflessly about her and here she was, without a clue about what to do about it. She realized bitterly that Dan had marked her more than she’d imagined.
She was afraid to give Logan the chance to hurt her, to love her – and that was when she knew Dan had really done a number on her other than merely hitting her.
She couldn’t ignore the possibility that she might be jinxed. It was true that Logan was a good man and from all indications, he was willing to do right by her. But what if she was the problem? What if she provoked him into becoming a monster? What if he hit her too? What if her father was right? A good woman never got herself hit. What if she wasn’t good enough?
Ari knew now that she was in love with Logan. She’d started to fall in love with him since she opened her eyes and saw him at the stream that first day. She wouldn’t have slept with him otherwise. She wasn’t that kind of a woman. Dan had met her with her virginity intact upon marriage – yet, he had mistreated her. Ari knew without a doubt that Logan was nothing like Dan. She had enough evidence to show that he was a gentleman to the core. He hadn’t even been able to stand her hand going an angry red when he playfully pinched her. Then people could change, Ari knew this.
What if she brought out the worst in him? What if they got married and they ended up hating each other? What if her past caught up with her all over again?
“And when did knowing a person’s past become as relevant as his present and being a part of his future?”
Faye’s words brought clarity rushing to her. Suddenly, Ari knew that her past didn’t matter. She knew she could be the best wife in the universe if Logan would have her. She could try her darndest to make this work. Val had said Logan would do anything to have her. Well, she could go ask him for herself, couldn’t she?
First, Ari decided there was somewhere else she needed to go. She needed to see the lawyer first. She needed that divorce over and done with fast!
*****
The ladies were all in the kitchen by the time Logan made it into the house. Ari was nowhere to be found.
“Where is she?” Logan asked unceremoniously.
They all turned to him and he could see that Khloe and Faye wouldn’t quite meet his gaze.
They all knew, he thought. She had told them and she hadn’t bothered to come to him.
“She went into town,” Val said, as direct as ever.
“Town?” Logan almost shouted down the building. Had she run from him? Did they let her go? “What the hell for?”
“Calm down, Logan. I think she just needs to think things through,” Khloe told him gently.
“She will be back,” Val told him.
He shook his head. “You don’t know that. What if I scared her away? She’s been through a lot.”
Faye glared at him, hands crossed over her breasts. “Give the girl some credit, will you? So what if she has been through a lot? She is moving past that and you shouldn’t remind her of her past every time you get. Gosh! Do people in love really have to be so stupid?” With that, the girl left the kitchen, throwing him one last scathing look for effect.
“I apologize for her but she said the truth, Logan,” Khloe said. “Ari is stronger than she looks. She will come back for you.”
She also strolled outside and it was him and Val in the kitchen.
“My girls have said it all,” the woman said and left too.
Logan slumped into a chair. All the women had told him to wait for Ari to come to him. Logan felt like running to town and combing every corner till he found her. He was afraid—afraid of losing her.
But at the same time, he wanted to trust her. He wanted to trust her to choose him. He knew he needed to wait.
He had to.
He only hoped he wouldn’t die of anxiety before she came back.
*****
“Your ex-husband came by only a few minutes ago,” Mr. Green told her. “In fact, I am surprised you didn’t run into each other on your way in. He called to ask if he could come sign the papers. And if you will just sign your part, you are a free woman, Miss Ari.”
Ari couldn’t believe her ears. Dan had signed the papers! Her hands shook as she signed, thinking only of Logan. She couldn’t wait to go home to him. She would tell him how sorry she was for wasting his time, for ignoring him…
“I guess congratulations are in order now,” the lawyer said, breaking into her thoughts. “Logan Cartwright will make you a very good husband. You will forget about Dan Jackson in no time at all.”
“Excuse me?” she said in confusion.
“Oh, I am sorry.” Guilt was riddled on the lawyer’s face. “I thought since Logan asked me to draw the papers of the Tanner’s cottage in your name… I thought he had proposed…and now, I have ruined his surprise for you.”
Ari left the Mr. Green’s office in a daze. Logan had even bought the Tanner’s cottage for her and paid the lawyer’s fee. How had she been so blind where he was concerned? How hadn’t she seen how much she was loved?
Well, no more, she thought as she reached the door to the car and pulled it open. Her mind registered that she hadn’t locked the door but she was too excited to care. She was going home to Logan.
The last thing she remembered was hearing a sound in the passenger seat at the back and turning to check. Something hit her on the head and she was knocked out cold.
Chapter Eleven
“We have to declare her missing, nobody knows where she is!”
Not one person there argued with him this time around. They’d been waiting all day and Ari hadn’t come home. After two hours of her being gone, Everett had volunteered to go into town to look for her. He had come back without her. It was now close to four hours and there was still no sign of her.
Everyone was in the sitting room, looking confused and unhappy.
“I know she didn’t run away,” Val kept saying. “She has a family here now; I let her know that.”
But where the hell was she? Logan wanted to shout. He held his tongue as he tried to keep his temper in check. He knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault that Ari wasn’t in the house with them. It was his fault, he decided. He should have told her a long time ago that he adored her, that he worshipped the ground on which she walked. She would have told him outright what she wanted to do with him. She wouldn’t have needed to drive all the way into town to think. She wouldn’t have needed to leave. So where else could she be if she hadn’t run?
Suddenly, the farm landline rang and both Faye and Khloe ran for it. Faye grabbed it first.
“It’s the lawyer, he wants to speak with you, Logan,” she said.
The girl had turned apologetic towards him for over an hour now. Logan spared no time in rushing to snatch the phone from her. His fingers gripped the phone a bit tighter after each word that came out of the lawyer’s mouth. When he dropped the receiver, he sagged against the desk.
“What is it?” Val was by his side in another second. “What happened?”
“What did he say?” Faye asked impatiently. “Did Ari go to him?”
Logan nodded. “She went to see him and he told her that her husband just came by to sign the papers. Hours later, Green left his office to find Dan Jackson’s car still in the park. He thought to check if Ari is okay.”
“The bastard!” Everett swore loudly.
“Fuck!” Logan bit out. The bastard has her.”
*****
Ari woke slowly. Her head felt heavy, like a big load was placed on it. It hurt too, like some band was playing in it.
Why was Faye making such loud noise with the pans?
She tried to get up to go to the kitchen; she needed to tell Faye not to cause such a ruckus. But she couldn’t move. Her limbs seemed immobile and her lungs; they were constricted, trying to draw in breath, but she couldn’t breathe. What was happening to her?
“Ah, you are awake.”
Ari froze at the voice. A hysterical laughter almost bubbled forth as she realized that she must have imagined the voice. Of course, that couldn’t have been Dan, her ex-husband, saying she was awake. Where would he find her and what would she be doing with him? Trying to shake off the nightmare and the banging in her head, Ari sank deeper into the sheets. Perhaps, if she slept a little more, she would feel all right and stop imagining things.
