Cricket Cove

by Haddix, T. L.

  He didn’t lift his head until the sound of a car door closing echoed through the barn. Slowly, he let her go and stepped back. “I have a letter for you.” He pulled it out and handed it to her, pleased when her eyes lit up.

  “I have one for you in the house,” she said as she hugged it close, then tucked it into a zippered pocket of her coat. “I’ll get it for you before you leave. Logan…” She glanced toward the driveway. “I don’t want to hide us.”

  He touched her cheek. “Then don’t.”

  “It isn’t… It could get ugly.”

  “Maybe. But I don’t think it will. Oh, I think there might be a few sparks, but not real ugliness. The choice is yours, though. I’ll follow your lead.”

  She stepped back with a sigh as the voices drew closer. “We’ll see. Lori wrote me. I got it yesterday.”

  Something in her voice alerted him, and Logan searched her face carefully. “Not good?”

  “No. But I don’t want to think about that right now. Right now, I’m just happy to see you.” She turned as gravel crunched outside the barn.

  “Mommy, you have to pet them. Then you’ll love them.” Sydney hurried in, tugging on Emma’s hand. Archer followed, obviously amused, and Ben came in behind him. He held his arms open, and Amelia went to get a hug.

  “Hey, Pip. Happy birthday.” He looked at Logan over her head and nodded.

  “Thank you, Benny. Where’s Ainsley?”

  “Up at the house. She’s not able to be around barns right now. The horse smell is getting to her.”

  “Morning sickness?” Amelia asked as she pulled back. Logan joined her and Ben as they watched Emma get introduced to the new kittens.

  “A little. Just certain odors. You sure look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. London must be agreeing with you. It’s good to see you so happy again.” Ben ran a hand over her head, then let it rest on her shoulder.

  “So, Mommy, they can stay in my room with me, right?”

  Emma groaned. “Sydney… What in the world are we going to do with two kittens?”

  “Love them!” Sydney pushed her glasses up with a finger, then handed Emma the kitten she was holding. “See? He likes you.”

  Archer had the other kitten, which was so relaxed it was falling asleep in his arms. “They’re homeless, Em.”

  Logan and Ben snickered at the look she shot him. “Don’t you start, too. Who’s going to take care of them? Scoop their litter box and feed them, and all the other things involved in having kittens in the house?”

  “Sydney and I will. Come on, Em. How can you resist this face?” Archer lifted the kitten and rubbed his cheek against its fur, his eyes dancing.

  She shook her head slowly, and Logan could see her give in. “You want these kittens as much as she does.”

  Archer shrugged. “We always had a couple of cats around growing up. I like them. I probably would have had one at the apartment if I’d been allowed.”

  “Fine. But Walker’s going to owe me for this.”

  When they stood back to let her out of the stall, Logan put his hands on Amelia’s waist to draw her back out of the way. She reached down and squeezed his hands before he let them drop. Emma didn’t see, but from the way Ben’s eyes narrowed, Logan knew he had.

  And Ben wasn’t the only one, if the scowl on Owen Campbell’s face was any indication as he stepped into the barn. Logan swallowed, wondering just how angry Amelia’s father was going to be. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure about those sparks he’d mentioned before. They might turn into a conflagration after all.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  As soon as he saw the way Logan was standing next to Amelia, the way he touched her, Owen knew. And he wasn’t quite sure how he felt. Judging from the look on Logan’s face, the younger man hadn’t meant to reveal what he had and was scared to death.

  For now, Owen would watch and observe. His scowl faded when Amelia ran to him.

  “Daddy!”

  Owen lifted her off her feet in a bear hug. “There’s my girl. Oh, I’ve missed you.” He smacked a kiss onto her forehead. “Let me look at you.”

  She stood back, laughing, holding his hands. “It hasn’t been that long since you’ve seen me.”

  “Feels like it. You look happy,” Owen observed, tilting his head just a bit. She was still his little girl, but he could see that she wasn’t just that anymore. She was practically radiating happiness.

  “I am happy. Where’s Mom?”

  “Kitchen. So what’s going on here?” he asked, looking at Logan, who squirmed.

  “I have two new kitties, Grandpa,” Sydney told him excitedly. “You wanna see?”

  After admiring the kittens, he herded the humans up. “Let’s go eat.”

  Amelia led the way, turning to walk backward in front of them. She was carefree in a way that Owen hadn’t seen in a long time, and he felt some of the ache of worry that had built around his heart ease.

  “Mommy, what’s it mean to fret?” Sydney asked.

  Owen was surprised when Archer cursed under his breath, and Logan started coughing.

  The group slowed to a stop. “Fret? It means to worry. Why?” Emma asked.

  “’Cause Daddy said you fret like a hen. I thought it meant you clucked like a chicken.” The little girl giggled. “I gotta go.” She dashed toward the house, no idea of the mess she’d left Archer in.

  He held his hands up in defense when Emma’s eyes narrowed. “I never said that. I said women fret, and hens fret, but that men don’t fret. That’s all.”

  Everyone was grinning as they watched to see how this would play out.

  “And just how did that topic come up?” Emma ground out, her arms crossed as she watched her husband.

  “I was asking Logan about his new girlfriend.”

  Owen knew his scowl matched the one Ben was wearing. “Girlfriend?”

  Emma chuckled and explained. “Logan had a guest this week during the snowstorm. He won’t tell us who it was. Did you get anywhere?” she asked Archer.

  “Nowhere. He’s a clam. And then he accused me of fretting, hence the hens and women comment.”

  Amelia laughed. “I know who it is.”

  “You do not.” Archer pulled her into a headlock. “How could you? Unless this has been going on for a while now. Who is she, Lo? Is it that little waitress that flirts with you at the diner? He has a thing for waitresses, you know,” he told the group.

  Amelia burst into laughter, breaking free from the headlock to dance ahead of them. “Yes, he does.” She snorted. “Has for years, right, Lo?”

  Logan groaned and rubbed his face with a hand. “Archer, shut up.”

  Archer’s eyes had lit up. “So it is her. I knew it!”

  Amelia waved a finger back and forth. “Not so fast, mister. It isn’t the waitress from the diner. And no, I’m not going to tell you who it is. You’ll figure it out soon enough. I’m going to go say hi to everyone and get cleaned up.”

  She headed into the house, leaving Archer standing with his hands on his hips, staring after her.

  “How does she know all this stuff? I don’t think there’s anything that goes on in this family that girl isn’t aware of.”

  Emma was looking toward the house, as well, and when she turned back toward them, pure speculation was in her gaze. “No. I’m imagining things.” She stared at Logan, whose face was turning red, with growing disbelief. “Are you serious? No.”

  He shrugged and looked so uncomfortable, Owen had to step in. “Why don’t you all head inside? I think Sarah said something about needing your help, Emma. Logan and I are going to get some air.”

  His oldest daughter looked as though she wanted to argue, but thankfully she didn’t. “Okay. You and I need to talk about hens, buddy,” she told Archer as
she grabbed his hand.

  Ben followed them, clearly enjoying Archer’s discomfort.

  Logan, on the other hand, looked as though he’d prefer to be anywhere else.

  Owen cut to the chase. “So just what the hell are you doing with my little girl, Gibson?”

  “Sir?”

  “What are your intentions? Are you playing with her, or is this serious?”

  Logan swallowed, but he didn’t look away. “We aren’t playing.”

  “How did this even happen?”

  The younger man shrugged, clearly miserable with the questions. “I wrote to her after she left, and since then we’ve exchanged several letters and calls. And she, uh, she drove in the night of the snowstorm. Sir.”

  “How long did she stay?”

  “Until Friday morning. We parked her car in the garage, just in case Roger drove by. And we didn’t leave the apartment.”

  Owen held up a hand, not even wanting to think about what that meant. “Fine. Why hasn’t she mentioned this to anyone?”

  “She isn’t ready.”

  “Are you?”

  “I have no problem with people knowing, so yes.”

  Owen studied him carefully. No, there was nothing lighthearted about the way Logan felt, he saw that. “She’s my baby, Logan. My youngest child. And she’s been through hell the last few years.”

  “I understand.”

  “I don’t think you do. There’s no way you could. You aren’t a parent. But I’ll tell you this. I know you’ve hurt her in the past. If you hurt her again, you will understand very, very well what it means.” He started past Logan.

  “Owen?”

  “Yes?” He stopped on the front walk and turned.

  Logan hesitated. “I don’t know how Archer’s going to react when he finds out. That worries me.”

  Owen walked back to him. “That’s sensible. You can’t think he’ll be pleased.”

  “Not with him knowing how badly I screwed up last year, no. I don’t think he’ll be pleased at all.”

  “Damn it, Logan.” He didn’t know what to tell the man. On the one hand, this could be disastrous. On the other, Amelia had seemed so happy. Owen laid a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we worry about crossing that bridge when we get to it?”

  “She told me a few minutes ago that she’d heard from Lori, but she wouldn’t go into it. Just said it wasn’t good.”

  “If I had known all those years ago when she first became friends with Lori and Jimmy…” Owen’s voice trailed off as he tried to figure out how to express his frustration without sounding like an ass. “I might have tried to steer her toward a different friendship. We never did that with our children, but I wish we had with her. I’ll leave it at that.”

  “I’ve often felt the same way about Candace and Archer, but all the wishing in the world won’t change the past.”

  Owen sighed. “No, it won’t. Let’s go try to make sure she has a good birthday party.”

  Logan most definitely wasn’t the man Owen would have chosen for Amelia. He was too serious. But he was very concerned about Amelia, despite the rough start they’d gotten off to. The protectiveness he’d exhibited so far was encouraging. And the fact that Amelia had chosen him when she’d never chosen anyone else told Owen a little something about how his daughter felt about the man. For now, that would have to be good enough.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Logan had faced insurgents, snipers, bitterly mean drill sergeants, and countless other challenges during his stint in the Army. None of that had prepared him for a conversation with an angry father. When Owen had confronted him about Amelia, Logan found himself rambling and stammering. He was not comfortable with how he’d handled his end of the talk.

  Owen had stopped looking at him as though he wanted to rip his throat out, however, so he was happy to let the discussion end.

  When they went in the house, Amelia was coming down the stairs, her hair down.

  “I had to change. I had horse all over me,” she said. “Everything okay?”

  “Just fine.” Owen slapped Logan’s shoulder. “I’m going to go say hi.”

  They watched as he disappeared into the dining room, and Logan stepped over to where she stood on the last step.

  “He knows.”

  She sighed. “I think Benny does, too. How did Daddy take it?”

  “I’m still breathing. That’s positive, right?” He relaxed a bit when she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “That’s very positive. But I don’t want to tell Archer. Is it mean of me to want to draw it out as long as we can, to make him guess? And not just because I’m concerned about what his reaction will be.”

  Logan gave a soft laugh. “Yes, it’s mean. But I don’t disagree with the plan.”

  Ben and John came into the hall just then, John carrying the baby, and they stopped short when they saw how Logan and Amelia were standing.

  “Damn, I hoped I was wrong,” Ben growled.

  Amelia brushed past Logan and went to John, taking the baby. “Hush, Benny.”

  “Hush? What do you mean, ‘hush’? Are you nuts? Have you forgotten what he said about you?” Ben followed her back across the hall to glare at Logan.

  Those damned words, Logan thought. He was starting to think he was never going to be able to move past the mistakes he’d made with Amelia. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Amelia spoke before he could.

  “She’s grown so much in so short a time. I’m missing it, being here. I should be home.” Amelia ignored her brothers’ outraged sputters. “And yes, hush. Today’s my birthday party, and I’m not going to let male egos and misplaced outrage ruin it. Understand me?”

  Logan looked from her to her brothers. They weren’t pleased, but Ben had stopped protesting.

  “Pip, we’re just worried,” John told her. He came to stand beside them, the set of his jaw telling Logan he was no happier about this development than Ben. “You’re vulnerable right now, and you’re not using good judgment.”

  Oh, he shouldn’t have said that. Logan almost felt sorry for him when Amelia’s eyes narrowed to slits, and her breath hissed out from between her teeth. She kissed the baby’s head and handed her back to John. Her voice was a low growl when she spoke.

  “I didn’t judge you when you got caught kissing another woman a few years ago, John David Campbell, because I know you, and I trusted there was a reasonable explanation for what had happened. And I’d appreciate the same consideration now. You may not like the fact that I’m involved with Logan, but it’s not your concern. I’m an adult, and I’m not some damsel in distress. I’m perfectly well aware of what I’m doing and the repercussions. So back the hell off.”

  If John hadn’t been holding Molly, Logan feared he would have taken Amelia over his knee. He looked surprised, as if someone had slapped him. As Logan watched, John’s cheeks reddened and he started to respond. Only Owen clearing his throat from the dining room doorway stopped him.

  “John. Ben. Let it go.”

  That was all. Owen wasn’t the kind of man who had to raise his voice to his children in order to gain their obedience and respect.

  Ben gave a short nod. “Fine. Come on, John. Let’s go get the kids in from the backyard.” They headed down the hall, leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake.

  Logan felt like a heel as he looked down at Amelia’s pinched face. “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head, her arms wrapped around her middle. “Not your fault.”

  “Where’s my baby girl? I swear I think she’s run away or something,” Sarah teased from the dining room. She appeared beside Owen a moment later, taking in the tenseness in a single glance. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your sons are hypocritical asses,”
Amelia told her. She shook herself and smiled, then moved to embrace her mother. “Hi, Mom.”

  Sarah’s concerned look included Logan. “Are you okay?”

  Owen sighed, touching Amelia’s hair. “She’s right. They are being rather… ass-like. I’ll have a word with them.”

  “No. It’s fine. I’m not going to let it ruin my day,” Amelia said. She held her hand out to Logan.

  Sarah raised an eyebrow when he took it. “Well, when did this happen?”

  “The last few weeks.” Amelia raised her chin and waited for her mother’s response. Logan held his breath, hoping at least one person in her family reacted positively.

  Thankfully, she did. Sarah’s lips quirked up at the corners. “Took you long enough to straighten things out. Does Archer know?”

  “He knows Logan has a girlfriend, but he can’t figure out who it is,” Owen put in, leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed. He scowled a little. “Apparently, they spent the snowstorm together.”

  “Oh, really? Here, or in Hazard?” Sarah asked, clearly surprised.

  “Hazard. I drove up the night before it snowed and sneaked back here once it melted. I hope you all understand; it wasn’t a slight or anything like that.”

  Her mother pursed her lips. “I have an idea what it was. Did Mama know?”

  Amelia nodded and leaned back into Logan. “She’s the one who pushed me to go.”

  Logan put his arms around her, feeling something settle inside him when she put her hands over his at her waist.

  Sarah laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

  Owen grinned and tugged her over to him. “Because you know your mother?”

  “I think Em has figured it out, but I don’t know if she’ll tell Archer or not,” Amelia admitted.

  “Figured what out?” Rachel asked as she came downstairs. “Oh, you mean the two of you? Pfft, I knew that was going to happen weeks ago.”