A Second Chance at Crimson Ranch

by Michelle Major

  “Are you angry that Craig is here?” Olivia had seen the two men talking earlier.

  “Craig Wilder’s as smooth as a greased pig, I’ll say that for him. He’s been spinning more tales tonight than you’d believe, telling anyone who will listen how sorry he is and how much Crimson means to him. It’s still pretty odd to see him back in town.”

  “You have no idea,” Olivia couldn’t help but answer. “I don’t hold a grudge against him at this point.” She hoped her nose wouldn’t start to grow. “We all need to get on with our lives.”

  “Like I said before, you always were too good for him.” Marshall tilted his head toward Logan, who was now standing with Noah Conrad. “Seems like you’ve got a soft spot for the bad boys.”

  “Being a bad person and having a wild past are two different things, Marshall.” She waved a hand around the room. “None of this would have happened without Logan’s dedication and expertise. He’s as much responsible for the community center as I am.”

  “Is that so?” Marshall scratched his chin. “I guess maybe a leopard can change his spots. Logan Travers is all right, although I still have my doubts about your ex-husband.”

  Marshall ambled off into the crowd as Natalie returned. She handed Olivia a small plate with a piece of apple pie on it.

  “Uh-oh,” Natalie muttered after a few moments.

  Olivia turned to her. “What’s the matter?”

  Natalie pointed at her. “You’re not eating the pie. No one can resist Katie’s pies. Heck, I just look at a slice and my mouth starts to water. Something’s wrong.”

  “I’m okay. I’m just thinking...”

  “About Logan?”

  Olivia nodded. “He’s leaving tonight.”

  “No long goodbye?”

  “We already had our goodbye. I’m not sure I could take anymore.”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Craig lean closer to the man next to him, point toward Logan and let out a harsh laugh. “Except I need to say one thing to him now.”

  She maneuvered through several groups of people until she was standing before Logan and Noah. An emotion she couldn’t quite place, but looked a lot like panic, crossed Logan’s face. Really? Is this what it had come to already?

  “I’m not going to make a scene,” she blurted.

  “I didn’t think you were.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his expression was kind but distant. It made her want to scream.

  “Craig isn’t here with me,” she said quickly. “I told him I wouldn’t help smooth things over in town for him. I wanted you to know that.”

  “I got your text.” He lifted his chin to scan the room. “But thanks for the heads-up. I think Craig and I will both do our best to avoid each other tonight. I hope you remember that you’re a lot stronger than he ever knew.”

  Olivia bit down on her lip before speaking. “I...thank you for saying that.”

  An awkward silence descended over the trio.

  “This is a great evening,” Noah said, smiling at her.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, a ball of tension clogging her throat. She made a show of glancing at her watch. “I should find Marshall. He wanted to make a speech and do the official ribbon cutting before people start leaving.” She forced herself to look at Logan. “You should be up front for that. Without your work, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “I’m not one for the limelight.” He shook his head. “I want to talk to Josh, then I’ve got to get going. Besides, you would have found someone else if I hadn’t been here.”

  She looked away when her chin started to tremble. No, she wanted to scream. She’d never find someone else.

  “I’ll help you look for Marshall,” Noah said smoothly.

  She saw Logan stiffen, but he said nothing.

  She nodded. “Let’s go.”

  Noah took her arm and they walked away. With each step, the urge to sink to the ground grew until she could hardly move forward. Noah kept her going with an arm around her shoulder.

  “Think of rainbows and unicorns,” he whispered to her.

  “What?” She pulled back, her confusion over his words temporarily diverting the grief that pulsed through her body.

  He flashed a boyish grin. “I just wanted to distract you.”

  “Mission accomplished.” She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “You’re a good man, Noah.”

  “But not the man for you?”

  “Apparently I’m a glutton for heartbreak.”

  A woman walking by caught her attention. “Speaking of gluttony in the best of all possible ways.” She reached out a hand. “Katie?”

  The brunette turned.

  “Thank you so much for providing the dessert table for this evening.” She smiled sweetly before her eyes widened a fraction at Noah. “Do you know Noah Conrad?”

  “Of course she knows me.” Noah wrapped Katie Garrity in a hug that lifted her off her feet. Olivia noticed that Katie’s eyes closed in a way that almost made her seem like she was in pain. “We’ve been old friends since high school. How are you, sweetheart?”

  “Fine as always,” Katie answered, her smile strained. “I didn’t realize you were going to be in town this weekend.”

  “I drove up just for the opening. Added bonus that I got a slice of your apple pie as part of the bargain. You know it’s my favorite.”

  Katie’s smile tightened so much Olivia thought her mouth might break. Noah didn’t seem to notice. He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned close to Katie’s ear. “I’d tell you I was working my magic on Olivia, but much to my shock and dismay, she won’t go out with me.”

  “Smart woman,” Katie answered.

  Noah playfully chucked her on the arm. “I thought you’d be on my side.” He looked at Olivia. “Katie knows me better than almost anyone else on the planet. She can tell you I’m quite a catch.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” Olivia placed a hand on Katie’s arm. “He’s joking, you know. We’re not dating. At all.”

  “Noah’s always good for a laugh.” Katie dabbed at the corner of one eye. “My allergies are acting up. I’m going to get a tissue. I’m glad you like the sweets, Olivia. The community center has turned out beautifully.” She turned to Noah. “Enjoy your weekend.”

  “Let’s have lunch tomorrow.” He tugged on Katie’s long ponytail. “I miss talking to you, bug.”

  “Lunch,” Katie repeated, her voice thick. “Sure. Text me in the morning.” She turned and headed toward the bathrooms down the main hallway.

  “Did you two used to date?” Olivia asked, still unable to put a finger on the vibe she was getting from the other woman.

  “Katie and me?” Noah laughed. “No way. She’s like my sister. I went out with one of her friends in high school.” He shook his head. “We’ve always been just friends.”

  Olivia didn’t know Katie Garrity well enough to argue with Noah. And she couldn’t imagine the affable, easy-going Noah riling anyone’s feathers.

  “Olivia,” Marshall Daley called from a few feet away. “It’s time for the dedication.”

  “Are you ready for this?” Noah asked quietly as they made their way forward.

  She nodded. “I wish Logan would come up front with me. So much of this is because of him.”

  Noah studied her for a few moments, as if he realized she was talking about more than just the building renovations. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for the two of you.”

  She thought about her time with Logan and forced her mouth into a smile. “No apologies,” she murmured. “This is a celebration.”

  The crowd in the room turned as Marshall tapped on a mic one of the musicians had handed him. “I’d like to introduce the woman we have to
thank for bringing this historic building back to life.”

  He tugged Olivia forward as people clapped. “Olivia Wilder has been a member of our community for only a few short years, but already she’s an integral part of Crimson’s future success. Olivia, tell us about the work that’s been done to renovate this building and your plans for the community center.”

  There was more applause as Olivia took the microphone from Marshall. “Thank you, everyone, for your support this evening. As much as I appreciate Marshall’s kind words, there are many people who were involved in the community-center project.”

  She scanned the crowd and found Logan in the back of the room. He gave a small shake of his head, as if he didn’t want her to publicly recognize him. He was an expert at playing down the good he did in people’s lives. Even though he was leaving, Olivia wanted him to share in this moment as much as she wanted her next breath.

  “There’s one man in particular who was critical to the success of this renovation. I’d like to take a moment to—”

  She was interrupted by a commotion at the side of the podium. Without warning, her ex-husband made his way through the town council members on either side of her. He enveloped Olivia in a huge hug, and she felt his lips brush the top of her head.

  “I owe you for this, Liv,” he whispered. “You really are the best.”

  “Craig, stop,” she said on a hiss of breath. “What are you doing?”

  “Fixing my life.” He nudged her to the side and leaned forward to speak directly into the microphone. A disgruntled murmur went up from the crowd, but Craig ignored it. He began to speak about his initial vision for the community center, the dreams he had for the building and what the renovation would mean to the people of Crimson and how grateful he was to Olivia for carrying on in his absence.

  Olivia listened, dumbfounded, as Craig reframed her efforts, managing to cast her in a supporting role while he became the driving force behind the entire project. Her gaze swept the faces of the people listening, many of whom looked confused. Sara and Natalie were watching her with narrowed eyes. Natalie drew her finger across her throat in an angry slash, clearly telling Olivia to cut off Craig’s fictitious ramblings.

  She glanced at her ex-husband, and as much as she wanted to stop him, Olivia felt rooted to the spot where she stood. Standing to the side while someone hijacked her life, appropriated her voice for their own ends, was second nature to her. How could she make a scene? It went against everything she’d been taught her whole life.

  She tried to find Logan in the crowd but there was an empty space next to Noah at the back of the room. Noah gave her a sympathetic smile and tilted his head toward the door. Logan was gone. Of course he wouldn’t stand by while she let herself be humiliated once again.

  He’d expected more from her than she did from herself. Fear and doubt had held her captive for most of her life. Olivia was finished watching her life from the sidelines. The past few weeks had taught her that she wanted to be an active participant in every moment, to experience the joy and the pain so she’d know what it felt to be truly alive.

  Reaching forward, she grabbed the mic out of Craig’s hand. “That’s an interesting story you’re telling,” she said into the microphone, taking a step out of her ex-husband’s reach. “Too bad it’s total fiction.”

  He moved toward her, shock and disbelief warring on his face, but Marshall held him back.

  Pushing aside her fear, Olivia looked out into the crowd. “Let me explain how things really happened...”

  * * *

  Logan saw the lights of a truck swing into the cemetery, but he didn’t stand. Cold seeped into his jeans from where he’d been kneeling in front of his sister’s grave.

  A few minutes later, footsteps crunched on the snow. “Logan, what the hell are you doing?” Josh’s voice called out in the darkness.

  “Do you visit her?” he heard himself ask.

  Josh stopped a few feet from the headstone. Logan didn’t look up.

  “A couple of times a year,” Josh said. “I don’t have to be out here to remember her. I think about Beth all the time, Logan. I know it’s different for you, because she was your twin. But we all miss her.”

  “This is the first time I’ve been at the cemetery since her funeral. You know it’s her birthday next week.”

  “Which means it’s your birthday, too. Only you’re acting like you’re already dead. Like you don’t deserve any happiness in this life. You’ve got people who care about you, Logan. Who love you. But you’re ignoring them out of some misplaced honor for Beth. She wouldn’t want this.”

  “I know.” Logan straightened, meeting his brother’s gaze in the light cast down from the stars. “That’s why I’m here. At the event tonight I wanted nothing more than to go after Craig Wilder for everything he’s done to Olivia. I wanted to hurt him, Josh. Then when he hijacked her speech... I haven’t felt so close to losing control since after Beth’s accident. It felt like Beth all over again where I was watching someone I care about get hurt and not being able to do a thing to make it right. I thought I was going to snap. I had to get out of there. It was too much. Being in Crimson is too much for me.”

  “You’re not the same person you were at eighteen,” Josh said softly. “You’ve grown up, Logan. We all have.”

  Logan gave a jerky nod. “I’m starting to see that. I was heading out of town but I can’t do it. I may not deserve Olivia, but I can’t leave her. And all the memories I’ve been too damn scared to deal with involve Beth. Our childhood. Her death. I know that if I want to really start a new life, I have to make peace with the past. I don’t know if I still have a chance, but I love Olivia.”

  “I’d say she’ll be willing to give you another chance.” Josh took a step closer. “After you left, she took back the microphone and ripped into her ex-husband so hard he’ll probably have scars.”

  “Scars?” Logan repeated the word in a daze. “Olivia did that?”

  “She was amazing,” Josh said with a nod. “She catalogued, in great detail, how Craig had deceived and betrayed both her and—in a lot of ways—the whole town. I don’t think Craig Wilder will be showing his face in Crimson again for a very long time.”

  “Good for her.” Logan couldn’t help but smile. “I knew she was stronger than she believed.”

  “She also talked about your work on the community center and how you deserve a lot of the credit for the project’s success.”

  Logan waved away the compliment. “It was nothing.”

  “Don’t do that.” Josh pointed a finger at Logan. “Don’t play down what you have to offer. We all know how successful you’ve been in Telluride. You can do the same thing in Crimson. Stop letting our family history define you. If you want a future in this town and with Olivia, have the guts to claim it, Logan.”

  “You’re right.” He took two steps toward his brother, a knot of emotion unfurling in his gut. “Where’s Olivia now?”

  Josh took his sweet time glancing at his phone. “I got a text from Sara. After the event wrapped up, everyone was heading downtown to continue the celebration. I’m guessing Noah gave Olivia a ride. Or maybe one of the other guys. She’s quite a catch.” Josh raised one eyebrow. “If you know what I mean.”

  Logan reached out and grabbed Josh by the front of his jacket. “Where downtown?”

  “The Nickel and Dime Bar.” Josh pulled away, smoothing his hands over his coat. “Relax, Logan. I’m just giving you a hard time. She wants you, no one else.”

  “But why me?” Logan hated the emotion in his voice. It sounded raw and weak. “Do you ever think you don’t deserve Sara?”

  “All the time.” Josh laughed. “I know she’s too good for me. That’s why I work hard every day to earn my place at her side. You’re not afraid of hard work, Logan. You can make this happen.”

&nb
sp; “I’ve got to get into town.” Logan was already heading for the truck. “She thinks I left her when she needed me the most.”

  “Hold on.” Josh caught up to him in a few strides. “Do you have a plan for what you’re going to say?”

  Logan shook his head. “Not yet, although I’m guessing it will involve some begging and pleading.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Josh said with a grin. “I just wish Jake could be here to see it.”

  “Spoken like a true older brother. Are you going to follow me into town?”

  Josh rubbed his palms together. “I wouldn’t miss it. Mind if I record the whole thing?”

  Logan stopped midstep.

  “Joking,” Josh said quickly. “Only joking. I know you’re at least three football fields away from your comfort zone talking about feelings. I’ll go easy on you.”

  “Let me be clear.” Logan looked straight into his brother’s eyes. “This has nothing to do with easy. You can take a video and invite the whole town to watch for all I care. I’m going to get my girl, tell her how much I love her and hope to hell it’s enough. And if it is, I want everyone to know that Olivia Wilder belongs to me. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal.” Josh tucked his keys back in his pocket. “I’m driving with you, though. I don’t want to miss a thing.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I thought this was supposed to be a celebration.” Sara gave Olivia’s shoulders a squeeze.

  “I’m celebrating.” Olivia picked the tiny umbrella out of her glass and waved it in the air. “My drink is blue. How could that not mean a celebration?”

  Natalie plopped down into the chair next to Olivia. “It looks more like you’re drowning your sorrows.”

  “No sorrows,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “No regrets.” She raised her glass. “A toast to the future.”