The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series)

by Heather Thurmeier

  “That looks—”

  He pressed the button on the blender and it whirled to life. In a matter of seconds, the jet-engine equivalent blender had turned those perfectly good apples and bananas into a jug of bright green disgustingness.

  “Gross,” she said, finishing her thought.

  “Open minded, huh? Where’d the humming Tessa go? I like her.” The way his smile lit up his eyes made her think he actually meant the words.

  “She’s still here, but she’s not drinking that.” She walked into the dining room with her platter of crepes and announced breakfast was ready. While everyone got seated around the table, she went back into the kitchen for the carafe of coffee and a pitcher of water.

  The family helped themselves to the crepes, added whipped cream and syrup while Logan passed out glasses of his “famous” green smoothie. Possibly the only thing it would be famous for at this family gathering would be as the only beverage not consumed by anyone.

  “How are the crepes?” she asked, taking a few for her plate and passing the platter to Logan.

  Murmurs of thanks and appreciation went around the table. Mouths were too full for polite conversation.

  Logan looked around the table eyeing the untouched smoothies. “So this is my ‘famous’ green smoothie. I can tell you’re all eager to try it. I won’t bore you with the details of everything that’s in it, but it’s very healthy and delicious, and will give you more energy than that third cup of coffee.”

  “Sounds great,” Mary said, not reaching for her glass.

  “I’ll try it after I finish the crepes. I don’t want to tarnish my taste buds,” Sally said.

  “I’ll stick to coffee, thanks,” Joe said. “But I’m sure it’s great for the younger generation. You guys are always into weird things.”

  The enthusiasm on Logan’s face vanished, replaced by disappointment and something resembling hurt. Tessa’s chest constricted. She’d known none of them would like it, but she’d thought they’d at least try it to be polite. As much as she wanted to win, she didn’t want Logan hurt by her family’s rejection.

  Willing her gag reflex to stay calm, she grabbed her glass. “I had no idea you guys were such chickens. It’s just a green smoothie. How bad can it be?” She suppressed a shiver at the thought of her last green juice experience in the city. She’d barely gotten through half the bottle before gagging. Three bucks down the drain. Literally. And she still couldn’t smell cucumber without a wave of nausea hitting her. But this wasn’t juice, it was a smoothie and there were a bunch of other non-green and delicious ingredients in it. She’d seen them in there original form, even if she couldn’t see them now.

  It’s just apples and bananas. Apples and bananas…

  The first sensation was thickness. Not at all like the thin juice she’d had before. This was more milkshake consistency. Then came the sweet apple and the creaminess of the banana.

  She swallowed. “Delicious,” she said half-truthfully. “You should try it. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks.”

  “Thanks. I think.” Logan looked perkier again.

  “What were the sprinkle looking things you put in there?” she asked, still curious about that ingredient.

  “Chia seeds. They change consistence when you put them into liquid. They’re super healthy.”

  She took another sip, almost looking forward to the fresh, fruity taste, until something slimy and round hit the back of her tongue. Must be the chia. She held the liquid in her mouth, afraid to swallow for fear her gag reflex would trigger. The longer it sat in her mouth, the more the sensation intensified. Cutting off a large chunk of crepe, she quickly swallowed the smoothie, then shoveled in the crepe, chewed and swallowed again.

  Logan could literally cry, but she would never put another mouthful of that green demon concoction into her mouth. Nope. She glanced around the table. Only Mary had reached for her glass. Sweet and kindhearted Mary. She was in for a rude awakening, because Tessa had lied. The drink was awful.

  “Looks gross, no offense, Logan,” Mary said after taking a few quick sips, “but actually tastes good.”

  Mary was being generous. It was passable as a food product, but not something she’d look forward to consuming again. Ever. For all eternity. It could be the only cure to something that was about to kill her and she’d still think twice about drinking it.

  Logan gave up encouraging anyone else to drink the smoothies.

  “So what are everyone’s plans for the day?” Martha asked.

  A mixture of relaxing in the sun, fishing on the dock, and playing cards sounded from around the table. Tessa had no idea what she would do, but after her early morning jog and making breakfast, she was ready for a nap. Logan was the only one who didn’t speak up with his plans for the day.

  “What about you? Any big plans?” she asked him.

  He shrugged. “I thought I might do a little yoga before I perfect my paddle boarding skills.”

  “I’ve always wanted to try yoga, but there’s nowhere to do that in town and those videos always seem so cheesy,” Sally said.

  “You’re welcome to join me if you want. Everyone is.”

  “Is it hard?” Mary asked.

  “When you become more advanced the movements do get more difficult, but I wasn’t planning on doing anything tricky. I think you’d all be fine.”

  “Except for Tessa. Remember the tree pose the other night?”

  “It was dark and the twinkling campfire threw off my depth perception,” she said.

  “Sure. It’s the campfire’s fault,” James said teasingly.

  Tessa laughed along with them, a sense of warmth washing over her instead of the usual defensiveness. “I’m warning you, that campfire is evil with its smoke and marshmallow-roasting coals.”

  They all laughed again until James suddenly stopped, a serious expression on his face. “Did Tessa make a joke when we were teasing her?”

  Everyone got quiet and peered at Tessa.

  “Did something happen on the mountain yesterday?” Mary asked.

  Tessa felt her cheeks burn hot at the memory of Logan and her naked at the lookout. She glanced in his direction and if she wasn’t mistaken, his expression was one of both achievement and guilt.

  “I don’t…” She started to defend herself but didn’t know what to say. She was usually a good liar, but not when her pink cheeks were about to give her away.

  “I think I know the truth,” Sally said.

  Tessa bit her lip and reached under the table to squeeze Logan’s leg, indicating he needed to think of something believable, fast.

  “She got abducted by aliens. That has to be it.”

  She sighed when they laughed.

  “Well, whatever’s gotten into you lately, it’s doing you good. I haven’t seen you glow like this in ages.” Martha smiled contentedly.

  Logan put his hand on hers and when she met his gaze, he winked, as if acknowledging that he was the thing that had gotten into her lately and had done her good. She couldn’t deny it.

  He had, and he had been good. And the afterglow of sex with Logan apparently lasted days.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Logan didn’t have yoga mats with him, so he’d spread out towels instead. The sandy beach near their dock would be soft enough for them to be on their knees or backs while they worked through a series of beginner yoga movements.

  Mary, Sally, and Martha were already there when Tessa walked up. “Room for one more?”

  “Of course,” he said and laid out another towel.

  “You’re actually doing yoga? This I gotta see,” Travis said, turning his lawn chair around on the dock so he could still fish but also have a better view of the yoga session.

  “I’ll have you know I already went for a long jog this morning and am still going to do yoga while you sit on your butt fishing.” She raised her chin defiantly.

  “You jogged? Wow. Logan, you must’ve made a convincing argument. Did you tell her spiders wer
e chasing her?” He laughed and cast his line into the water.

  “Nope. I implied she couldn’t keep up with me. Worked like a charm.” He grinned, thinking back to their morning exercise, not all of it jogging.

  “Nice trick.” Sally patted him on the shoulder. Her eyes bulged when her hand landed on his muscular body. She turned toward Tessa and mouthed “wow” before taking her hand back and finding her place. Tessa grinned and nodded.

  The sisters were anything but subtle, not that he minded their approval. Forcing his mind away from Tessa’s body writhing beneath his touch, he focused on getting them in the proper accomplished seated pose to get started. He cleared his mind and guided them to breathe in through their noses and out through their mouths. Once he felt centered, he did a few simple poses, pausing in downward dog for a few minutes, getting the full stretch.

  He assessed their movements with each pose, making verbal suggestions for slight corrections as he saw needed and once or twice having to physically adjust their arms or legs to get the positions right and prevent injury. Tessa had been doing well, until now. With her feet together and her legs way too far out behind her, she looked as if she were doing some kind of pushup instead of downward dog.

  “Can I get you into the right position?” he asked. The word position in reference to Tessa made him ache for what he hadn’t been able to finish with her on the trail this morning.

  “Am I doing it wrong?”

  “A little bit. Move your feet apart and walk your hands back while lifting your hips toward the sky. Like this.”

  He slipped around behind her and put his hands on her hips, gently guiding her up and back toward him until she was bent over in front of him in a position that made him wish they were alone. Running his hand down the back of her thighs, he noted her tight hamstrings. “Feel that pulling right there? That will help your muscles loosen up. Our jog made this whole area stiff.”

  “Should we leave you two alone?” Mary asked.

  “You guys need a room?” Sally asked.

  “They didn’t need one yesterday,” Travis said with a big grin on his face.

  Tessa’s head shot up and she glared over her shoulder at him. Before he could tell her how to get out of the pose safely, she dropped to her stomach with a grunt. Logan was left hovering over her and praying they didn’t notice any tenting in the vicinity of his groin.

  “I was helping her with her position,” he said, feeling guilty and defensive.

  “What’s this about yesterday?” Sally asked, standing and looking eager for gossip.

  “They went skinny dipping,” Travis explained with the aid of air quotes. “But we all know what that leads to.”

  “You told him?” Tessa stood, folding her arms across her chest.

  “About the skinny dipping, yes. About how it was hot after we hiked up the mountain and we shared the same water source to cool off. That’s it,” he said, stressing the last point quietly so hopefully only she would hear.

  “But there’s more, isn’t there?” Mary asked, grinning. “You two did it up there, didn’t you?”

  “Mary! Mom is standing right beside you!” Tessa shrieked, looking as guilty as he felt.

  “But you did, didn’t you?” Sally and Mary high-fived. “Told you it’d work.”

  What was that?

  Tessa must’ve heard the same comment because her guilty expression quickly faded into one of suspicion. “Did you high-five your sister having sex?”

  “She admits it! I knew it. You didn’t come right out and say it, but I knew it as soon as you mentioned the skinny dipping,” Travis said.

  Logan didn’t know if he should feel embarrassed or proud, but he did know he did not feel the least bit relaxed like he usually did after a yoga session.

  Tessa visibly shook beside him. “You told her what would work?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “Tessa-bear, it’s no big deal.” Martha stepped toward her daughter, but Tessa put her hands up to as if to keep her away.

  “What’s no big deal, Mom?”

  “We knew you’d hit it off with Logan if given the chance, that’s all.”

  Tessa sucked in a breath. They’d been set up. This week, he’d thought he’d been invited out as a kind gesture because he was new to town and Travis’s friend, but they’d wanted to fix him up with Tessa, and it had worked. He couldn’t be angry with them. They’re matchmaking tactics might not be the most upfront, but they were effective.

  “This was all a big matchmaking scheme? I should’ve known,” she whispered. Her stunned gaze focused on Mary. “You didn’t have to go into town with James yesterday, did you? You bailed on the hike to force me and Logan together.”

  “I didn’t hear you complaining when you got back last night.”

  “You both seemed happy with your hike.”

  “I’m not surprised you fooled Logan and me both into coming here this week. I mean, it’s not the first time you’ve tried to set me up with someone.” She shook her head. “But even after you knew I had a boyfriend in the city, you still went through with it. Why would you keep trying to fix us up when you know I’m dating someone already?”

  “We thought it wouldn’t hurt to see if there was any chemistry between you and Logan and apparently there is,” Martha said, looking away. “You never even mentioned that guy in the city before so, I guess, we just didn’t think he meant very much to you.”

  “Besides, you can’t be serious about your boyfriend if you’re doing Logan,” Sally blurted.

  Tessa’s mouth dropped open, then she turned on her heel and left him to face her family alone. What could he say? What her family did was wrong, at least as far as Tessa was concerned, but yet, a part of him wanted to thank them. Tessa was everything he wanted in a woman and somehow they thought he was a good match for her.

  “I think we’ll have to finish this yoga class another time. I better go talk to her. I’ll see you guys later.” He left the towels on the ground.

  They could clean up his yoga mess while he cleaned up their matchmaking mess.

  Tessa didn’t look up from her sketchbook when the door to the cabin opened. Logan strode into the room and sat on the end of her bed instead of his own. He grabbed her foot in his strong hand and rubbed his thumbs along her arch.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, not pulling her foot away.

  “Rubbing your foot. You seem like you could use a massage.”

  “Thanks. That feels good.” Surprisingly good, but she still couldn’t relax.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “What’s there to talk about? My family went behind my back again.” She shrugged. It was all so tiresome. Why couldn’t they let her make her own decisions in life?

  She put down her sketchbook unable to concentrate when she was annoyed. He seemed unconcerned about everything. “You didn’t know, did you?” If he did…

  What would she do, take back sleeping with him?

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why don’t you care that they meddled in your life too? Or that they only invited you here to fix you up with me?” she asked, sitting forward so they were only inches apart.

  He shrugged. “Because their plan worked out pretty great.”

  “It’s all about the sex for you then, huh?”

  “That’s not what I said.” He sighed. “They thought we’d get along and, guess what? We do.”

  “It’s not terrible for you. You want to be here. You want to settle down in Cutter’s Creek. I don’t want another reason to be pressured into moving home. This isn’t the first time they’ve meddled in my life.” She pulled her foot back and bent her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs protectively. “Not to mention that as far as they’re concerned, I’ve now cheated on my boyfriend. They’re so frustrating!”

  “No one thinks you’re a bad person for what we did.”

 
She sprang up from the bed, irritated completely. “But that’s who they made me become by playing their little matchmaking game. Even though they knew I had a boyfriend, they still set me up with you. I still slept with you.”

  “And did they seem like they were upset about it?”

  “No!”

  “So relax.”

  “Relax? That’s your big helpful suggestion?”

  “You could tell them the truth that there is no Dick in the city.” He smirked.

  “You love saying that, don’t you?”

  He half shrugged. “Sort of. You picked a crappy name for a fake boyfriend. You should have gone with something better like…Marco.”

  “Why is Marco better than Richard?”

  “Because Richard easily becomes Dick, but Marco, well, he stays Marco and sounds all exotic. Marco.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he said the name in a low, sexy voice.

  She couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled up from her chest. “I think you want to date Marco.” She tried to copy his tone and sexiness, but it came out sounding ridiculous.

  “I don’t swing that way. I’m all about the Tessa in my life.” He pulled her up against the side of the bed. “But next week you’ll be back in the city finding another Dick to date for real and I’ll be here, alone. So…” He shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to find someone else too.”

  Her chest constricted at the thought of him with another woman, a woman she would no doubt know from town. Another woman she’d known for years would soon put her hands on his body, touch him, move with him… The image made her queasy. But why should she care? He was right. In a couple of days, she’d be back in the city, like she wanted, and hopefully she would meet a man to date.

  “You’re okay with that? With us…like this…like that in a week?”

  “Do I have any other choice? You’re leaving. I’m staying. End of story, like you said.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek knowing she should stay silent but unable to resist asking the question on her mind. “You’re not going to say I should stay?” Did she want him too? Wouldn’t that be as bad as her family doing the same thing?

  “No.” He pulled her down onto the bed and lounged next to her, propped up on one elbow. “You hate when your family asks you to stay. I’m not about to give you another reason to hate me when you only started tolerating me.”