by Linda Wisdom
Ginna twisted back around. “Girls, we have some dirt to dish!” she called out to her three sisters-in-law.
Lucy wasn’t sure whether to glare at Cathy first or Ginna. She settled for slumping down in her chair.
One Walker was bad enough, but five of them concentrating on her single status were downright dangerous.
LOGAN HAD TROUBLE concentrating on the game when Lucy was in his line of sight.
All he could see was her long, slim legs revealed by a pair of short-shorts. He even noticed a gold toe ring on her right foot and her pink-polished toenails. A turquoise leather sandal dangled from one foot as she sat with her legs crossed.
He wasn’t sure what the women were talking about, but judging by the intense expressions on the feminine portion of the Walker women’s faces and the pained one on Lucy’s, the conversation must have to do with her.
He grunted when the volleyball hit him between the shoulder blades.
“You here to play or ogle the women, Kincaid?” Jeff Walker hooted from behind him.
“They’re plotting against you, buddy.” Brian came over and slapped Logan on the back. “What you see over there is a dangerous group. So far they’ve had a perfect record.”
“Then I guess it’s time they lose one.” Logan moved back to take the corner to serve. He tossed up the ball and punched it with a little more force than necessary. It easily sailed over the net and eluded the other team.
“Nothing like the fear of a woman to get those winning points!” Jeff cheered.
Logan glanced in the direction of the women who were now watching the game with great interest.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d swear they’re planning the wedding already,” Brian said.
“They can plan all they want. That doesn’t mean I’ll stand still long enough to get hooked the way you dummies did,” Logan said.
It wasn’t until he faced the team on the opposite side of the net that he realized Nick Donner had heard every word he said.
“Don’t worry, Logan,” the boy called out. “Mom’s not looking for a guy. I don’t know, maybe you’re not her type.”
Logan ignored the laughter around him. Not her type? He was every woman’s type. He was considered a good catch. He’d had his share of women chasing after him and he prided himself on escaping them all.
And she was telling her son that Logan wasn’t her type? No matter that he was pretty much stating the same thing. It was the principle of the thing.
“Always good to hear since I came to my senses and realized she isn’t my type either,” he said in a raised voice.
“Not his type?” Lucy muttered. She was positive he’d made sure she heard the entire conversation. “For three months the man tried everything under the sun to persuade me to go out with him. Now all of a sudden he’s decided I’m not his type.”
“Defense mechanism,” Abby pronounced. “That way he doesn’t feel as if you rejected him, but that he turned you down.”
“Well, he knows what he can do with his damn defense mechanism.” Lucy glared at the man in question.
By the time Lou called out that the food was ready, Nick’s team had won by two points.
“From now on you’re on my team,” Logan told the boy as they walked back to the patio. “All that height is to our advantage.”
“I’m on the basketball team at school,” Nick replied, proud to be a part of the winning team.
“Brains, looks and brawn. The kid has it made,” Zach said, the picture of the proud uncle.
With the intention of retrieving his T-shirt, Logan walked toward Lucy.
“Too bad you lost,” she said, not sounding the least bit sympathetic.
“It happens.” Logan looked at his shirt; Domino was curled up on it. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Oh.” She looked as if she realized what he was looking at. “You want your shirt, don’t you? Come on, sweetheart,” she murmured to the puppy as she gently pulled the shirt out from under him. “Oh, look what happened. Bad puppy,” she said without the least bit of censure. She held up the shirt now sporting a couple of holes. Her expression was properly remorseful. “I’m so sorry. Puppies tend to chew anything they come in contact with. But then, as a veterinarian you know that, don’t you?” She held up the shirt to him. “Of course, I’ll replace the shirt.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her as he pulled it on over his head. “I’ve had much worse done at the clinic.” He reached down and picked up the glass of iced tea sitting in front of Lucy. He drained half the glass before he set it back down. Smiling, he made a mocking bow to the rest of the group. “Ladies.” He walked off.
“Why is it so sexy when a man drinks out of your glass, but if he makes even a hint of a move toward your toothbrush…” Nora shuddered. The other women made the appropriate noises for her remark.
“I can see this is going to be fun,” Abby murmured, glancing around the circle of women.
“I don’t want to go out with Logan,” Lucy firmly stated.
The women looked at her with knowing expressions and pity.
“It won’t fly here, honey,” Abby told her. “We’ve all been there and we’ve all let the men catch us even if they were the ones doing the running. Letting Domino chew on Logan’s shirt was a nice touch.”
“And to think I despaired of my boys finding women who could put up with them.” Cathy chuckled as she pushed herself out of her chair. “Ladies, it looks like it’s time to bring out the rest of the food.”
Lucy should have known that Logan would make sure she couldn’t ignore him.
“I brought a few extra burgers in case Domino gets hungry,” he said, taking the seat next to hers as he set a plate loaded with hamburgers in front of her.
Her eyes widened at the pile. “I can’t eat all of these.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of what you and Domino can’t.” He picked up the puppy sitting on the bench next to her and deposited him on the ground. “Sorry, fella, you’ll get your share later.”
“Nick is sitting there,” she said.
He looked over his shoulder to where Nick was seated with several teenagers.
“Well, Mom, it looks like your baby boy has deserted you.” He put one of the hamburgers on her plate then two on his. “So I guess it’s just us.”
“Guess again, sweetheart,” Abby said, sitting down across from them with Jeff following her. Gail and Brian soon followed along with Nora and Mark.
“You haven’t changed since high school, Ab. You’re still a pain in the ass,” Logan said.
She smiled, not the least bit insulted. “We went out once,” she explained to Lucy. “For a while, I thought I’d ruined him for other women.”
“Ruined is right. No offense to Abby, but once was enough.” Logan turned to Jeff. “You should be nominated for sainthood, Jeff. Abby is one of a kind.”
“It took her a while, but she realized a good thing when she had it.” Jeff grinned.
“More like the other way around,” Abby corrected.
As the conversation flowed around them, Lucy was aware of Logan’s leg resting lightly against hers. Some would say it was accidental, but she knew better. The man looked at her the way a starving person looked at a hamburger.
If only he didn’t affect her so much! She’d vowed not to get involved with anyone. So why did Logan Kincaid prompt her to rethink that vow?
When Lucy had accepted Cathy’s invitation to attend their barbecue, she hadn’t realized that Cathy had also invited Logan. She should have known better since she was aware that Logan had grown up with the Walker siblings and remained friends with the family. But he hadn’t shown up every time she attended. She’d relaxed her guard when she was here.
Then again, she might be making too much of it.
Except he had left his T-shirt with her. And he had flirted with her.
And his leg was pressing a little too closely against hers.
Lucy look
ed across the table and straight into Abby’s eyes. When the blond woman smiled at her as if she read her mind, another thought came to Lucy’s mind. She smiled back and easily shifted her leg. His leg seemed to follow hers way too easily.
“Something wrong, Logan?” Abby asked with just the proper show of innocence that didn’t fool anyone seated at the table.
He seemed to choke on his mouthful of hamburger then swallowed.
“Not a thing.” He reached for his can of soda and drank thirstily.
The other men watched him with genuine sympathy, all of them having been in the same position themselves.
Logan eyed everyone at the table, keeping his stare longest on the men.
If he didn’t know better he’d swear there was a conspiracy going on. But why would the men be in on it?
Men stuck together, dammit! All for one and so on.
But then he looked at the women again. The area between his shoulder blades itched like crazy. Had someone painted a target on his back?
He decided he was just feeling paranoid. It had nothing to do with the smug smiles on the women’s faces or the sympathetic ones on the men’s.
To display his disregard for whatever crazy thoughts were going through their heads, Logan bit down hard into his hamburger and practically tore the meat and bun away. The bite was too large and he was in danger of choking, but he managed to swallow without any harm.
It wasn’t until then he realized that Lucy was giving a sales pitch for Adoption Day.
“Maybe you all need puppies,” she told the three couples.
“What about yours?” Abby asked. “Doesn’t your dog need a playmate?”
“Domino is still dealing with Luther.”
“Don’t you mean Luther is still dealing with Domino?” Abby teased. She turned to Logan. “Have you met that cat yet?”
Logan shook his head. “But I’ve heard stories.”
“Stories don’t do it,” Abby said. “This cat is worthy of a Disney villain.”
Lucy came to her pet’s defense. “If he was a dog he’d be the equivalent of one hundred and five years old. You don’t think you’d be cranky if you were that age? I don’t want you scaring Logan off. Luther’s ears have been bothering him and I’ll have to bring him in for treatment next week.”
“Wear really heavy gloves,” Abby advised.
“A Kevlar vest would help, too,” Jeff interjected.
Logan was intrigued. “Now I really have to meet that cat.” He turned to Lucy. “Bring him in Monday morning.”
It wasn’t long before everyone was clearing off the tables under Abby’s direction. She didn’t allow the men to sneak off and rest after their big meal as she handed them large trash bags and told them to get to work.
“How many people here have adopted animals from you?” Lucy asked as she loaded trash into a bag Logan held.
He thought for a moment. “Just about everyone. They’ve become pretty much a tapped-out market. I told the brothers they either need to move to another station or find all new friends.” Once finished, he tied up the bag and added it to the growing pile.
Logan saw her keeping an eye on Nick. The boy was walking toward the garage with Lou.
“He’s old enough not to be watched twenty-four-seven, you know,” Logan said, noticing the direction of her gaze.
“I know, but I still worry.”
“Because of what happened at his school?”
“He’s been the model kid since then,” she said.
“Before you know it he’ll be in college chasing cheerleaders.”
Lucy shuddered. “Please, I have enough trouble thinking of him as a teenager.” A high-pitched yip caught her attention. Domino sat by her feet, his head cocked to one side, one ear up and one ear down.
Logan chuckled and bent down to pick up the puppy. The dog licked his face with enthusiasm.
“You have no idea how lucky you are,” he told the puppy. “Mrs. Crenshaw would have turned you into a designer dog with all the cute outfits and doggie furniture.”
“The poor baby!” Lucy took the dog out of his arms and cuddled him against her breasts. “You could have had all that luxury and instead, you have to sleep with me.”
Logan stared at the dog who he swore was giving him a canine version of a smirk.
“As I said before, lucky dog.” He picked up another trash bag and carried it over to the Dumpster.
“How did we end up with so much trash?” he asked.
“Think about thirty adults and half that number of kids,” Lucy replied.
LUCY SMILED as she walked up to the house. Cathy and a few of the women were in the kitchen putting leftovers in containers.
“I’d forgotten just how much fun flirting was,” Lucy announced.
“You once told me you wanted to be wild and wicked,” Nora reminded her.
“And then I chickened out, which was very easy to do when the man I thought to be wild with was more mouse than lion.” She scratched the dog behind his ears. He closed his eyes in bliss.
“It’s about time,” Ginna said, as she rinsed off dishes.
“The man isn’t looking for long-term and neither am I,” Lucy said.
“So said we all,” Abby said. “At least Logan’s housebroken. Otherwise, we’d suggest you look for a new pet elsewhere.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Lucy mused aloud. “If we looked at men the same way we look at dogs and cats, we might be better off.” She set Domino on the floor where the puppy promptly circulated in hopes of handouts.
“Scratch him behind the ear. Rubbing his belly. It’s all the same.” Gail grinned, and the women all laughed at the mental picture.
They went back to work and had the kitchen clean in minutes.
Ginna walked up to Lucy carrying two glasses filled with wine. “Come on.” She nudged her friend with her elbow then walked outside.
Lucy followed. She had a feeling her friend meant to have a heart-to-heart talk whether Lucy wanted one or not.
Ginna chose a small round table near the side of the house, away from the men who’d relaxed either on the grass or in patio chairs around the swimming pool.
“It never fails. The women do the dishes while the men take naps.” Ginna grinned, setting one of the glasses in front of Lucy.
“If you’re intending to set me up with one of the guys, please spare me,” Lucy pleaded, deciding it was best to speak first.
Ginna shook her head.
For the first time in Lucy’s memory, she saw her friend looking serious.
“Remember the night of my bachelorette party?” Ginna asked.
“That night you and I went out on the beach to watch the sunrise because we were so wired we couldn’t sleep. I talked about my excitement in marrying Zach. And you talked about the excitement you’d had before your marriage and then you talked about your disappointment when it didn’t work.” Her brilliant blue eyes were shadowed. “You told me how Ross wanted to be a husband but not a father. That he could never take responsibility for anything. How you hadn’t seen that weak side of him until after the marriage. But that I never needed to worry about my marriage turning out like that because Zach could take on the responsibility for ten men, he would love me with every ounce of his being and he would always be there for the twins and me. You wanted me to know I had a very special man. Lucy, I knew that already, but hearing you reaffirm what I felt told me how true it was. Here I am, a woman who told herself no way was she going to do the home and hearth bit and now I’m doing it all and loving it.”
“And you’re telling me this because…”
“Because you can kick and scream all you want, but it’s your turn, m’dear. Your life has taken some pretty wild turns in the past year what with that jet turning your house into a load of broken lumber and stucco. Then you moved out here where you’ve pretty much started a new life. It’s time for that next step.”
“If this is about Logan Kincaid.”
“I�
��ve known Logan all my life. He had a nasty divorce while yours was coldly civilized,” Ginna stated. “You both claim you aren’t looking for a commitment for various reasons, but I think you’re both just afraid of getting hurt again. I had a lousy first marriage, Lucy. My second one is pretty darn perfect—as long as Zach picks up his dirty clothes.” She grinned. “We’ve all taken a chance and it’s worked out.”
“So you think I can somehow have that same luck?” Lucy was amused by her friend’s confidence.
“Call it more like fulfillment. Nick’s growing up. What will you do when he’s gone on to college?”
“Go on cruises like my parents.”
“You get seasick just looking at a rowboat. We won’t even mention what happened when we saw Titanic.”
Lucy reflexively pressed her hand against her stomach; it had started rolling at the mere mention of the movie. “All the more reason not to get involved with someone who practically worships surfing.”
Ginna made a point of looking around. “Beautiful weather, surfs up, yet the man is here and there’s no surfboard in sight. Do yourself a favor, Lucy. The next time the man asks you out, just say yes.”
“What makes you think he’ll ask me out again after all the times I’ve turned him down?”
“Logan’s dad raised him with the intention he would go into the law. When Logan informed him he intended to be a veterinarian he was told there would be no money for school. Logan worked two jobs and saved every penny he could for veterinary school. Trust me, he’ll ask you again.”
Lucy shook her head. “First Nick ends up working at his clinic, then I do. Now you’re sitting out here telling me what I need to do is date the man. I’m surprised you’re not already planning the wedding.” She narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Which you better not be. I swear, if I didn’t know better I’d think someone was plotting against us.”
Chapter Six
“Mom. Mom.”
Lucy rolled over and groaned. “Can’t it wait until morning?”
“Not really,” Nick said urgently, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“What time is it?” She tried to force herself to move past the thick fog of sleep.
