The Posse

by Tawdra Kandle

  Mark either did not hear her or chose to ignore what she said. “I’m glad it was Logan, you know? I thought, but I wasn’t sure. It might have been Cooper. He’s been married lots, I know, but still. Or Matt, even. Why not? You have a lot in common.”

  Jude hung the towel over the oven handle. “Why did you think I’d be with any of them, Mark? I wasn’t exactly trolling for men.”

  “No, but the pact. It had to be one of them, right? So we can take care of you. So you don’t ever leave the Cove.”

  Janet frowned and glanced at Jude. Samantha came into the kitchen. “What’s going on? Mark, what did you say?”

  “I told Jude about I was glad it was Logan who won. That’s all.”

  “Won? What are talking about?”

  Some sense of self-preservation dawned in Mark. “Nothing. I just—I think I had a few too many beers.” He tried to grin.

  Jude looked across the room to where Logan was talking with Eric and Matt. He looked up, met her eyes and smiled. An assurance she couldn’t quite explain radiated from within her, and a sense of peace filled her heart.

  “Never mind, Mark.” She stood on her toes and kissed her brother’s cheek. “I’m glad it was Logan, too.”

  ***

  Standing at the door that night, waving goodbye to the last of their guests, Logan decided this was one of his favorite parts of being in a relationship with Jude.

  “Do you know how great this is?” He rested against the door jam and grinned down at her as she leaned against his chest. He held one of her hands in his.

  “Watching everyone leave, finally? Yeah, I can see that.” Her smile was tired, and Logan wrapped his arms around her waist and closed the front door, shutting out the night.

  “You must be dead on your feet, working all day and then dealing with this.” He moved the silken black hair off her neck and kissed her there. “But no, that’s not what I was talking about. I mean, having you stay with me after everyone else leaves. I always hated how empty my house felt when you all went home.”

  He turned her toward him and tipped her head up, kissed her lips. “Doesn’t feel empty tonight. So thank you.”

  She snaked her arms around his waist and sighed, laying her head over his heart. “You’re welcome, and thank you right back.” She snuggled into him and rested for a minute.

  “I think it went well tonight.” Logan led her back into the kitchen where he turned off the lights. “Ready for bed?”

  “More than.” But she didn’t move toward the steps. “Janet asked me if this—you and me—happened too fast.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told her no. I said that we had the advantage of knowing each other already, so once we knew there was something more than friendship, moving into love felt exactly right.”

  Logan kissed the back of her hand. “That’s beautiful, and it’s true. It might feel fast to some people, but I’ve been falling in love with you by degrees for thirty years. That’s quite a courtship.”

  Jude followed him up the stairs. She was quiet, and Logan wondered if she missed being home. They’d spent every night together since Thursday, and he knew she was used to a certain amount of alone time.

  “Jude, you know, you have to tell me if you’re feeling overwhelmed. If you need a night by yourself, it won’t hurt my feelings.”

  She flashed him a smile as she kicked off her shoes in the bedroom. “Are you trying to get rid of me already?”

  He crushed her to him and growled into her ear. “Not hardly. I had trouble not dragging you up here tonight while all our friends were still hanging around. I don’t know if you can understand.” He kissed down her neck onto her shoulder, nipping lightly at the muscle there. “Just seeing you in my house, walking around...feeling like you belong here...it is so freaking hot. I’ve never had that. So I’ll never get enough. You have to tell me if it gets to be too much.”

  Jude ran her hands down his back, moving lower until she covered his rear end. She pulled him tighter, closing her eyes as she felt his desire answer her own need.

  “Not too much yet.” She released him and stepped back to peel off her t-shirt. Logan disappeared into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

  “Mark was a little worse for the wear tonight.” Jude raised her voice to be heard over the running water. “How many beers did he have?”

  The water turned off, and Logan answered around his toothbrush.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping track. You worried about him?”

  “No.” She unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down to her ankles. Picking them up, she stood debating for a moment. So far, she’d been taking her dirty clothes home to wash. She eyed the wicker hamper inside the door of Logan’s closet, made a command decision and chucked her clothes into the basket with his.

  “Hey, who does your laundry?” In just her bra and underwear, she stood at the bathroom door.

  Logan rinsed his toothbrush and glanced at her. “Me. Why?”

  “Oh. Well, I know you have a housekeeper, I wasn’t sure if she did your wash, too.” She joined him at the sink and retrieved her toiletry bag. “I just put my clothes in your hamper, so I’ll do a few loads, too.”

  “Wow, you’re the best roommate ever.” Logan walked behind her and patted her ass. “I take it back. You can never leave.”

  Jude brushed her teeth, washed and moisturized her face. When she went back into the bedroom, Logan was lying on the bed, arms crossed behind his head, wearing just his boxers, checking email on his phone. He glanced up at her as she came into the room and smiled.

  She sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing cream into her legs. “Mark said something kind of weird tonight. I just chalked it up to a few too many beers.”

  Logan’s eyes flicked across the phone screen. “What did he say?”

  “Something about how he was glad I chose you. That it could’ve been Matt or Cooper. And he mentioned a pact.” She re-capped the lotion, set it on the nightstand and swung her legs onto the bed. “Do you know anything about that?”

  Logan set down his phone. “Do you really want to know?”

  Jude sighed. “I’m guessing you’d like me to say no, but yes, I do. Does this have something to do with Daniel?”

  He looked up at the ceiling, praying that telling Jude the truth wouldn’t change anything between them.

  “No—but then again, yes. It was the night after we spread his ashes. We were all here, and we’d been drinking for a while.” Logan drew a deep breath. “Someone mentioned you and how hard everything had been for you. Daniel’s illness, then losing him. And we all talked about how you were still young, and maybe someone would come into town and you’d fall in love and leave the Cove. Leave us.”

  He turned his eyes toward Jude’s face. “I don’t remember exactly how it got to that, but someone said maybe it would be better if it were one of us. You could fall in love with Cooper, Matt or me. We said we’d let you choose. All of us would kind of date you, and then see what happened. And no hard feelings, no matter how it turned out.”

  Jude was very still. Her eyes were fastened on the center of the bed, and Logan couldn’t read her reaction at all.

  “But see, here’s what they didn’t know. I already knew I was in love with you. I didn’t tell them, because...hell, because we’d just really said goodbye to Daniel. I know it had been a year, but that day was final. I guess part of me felt like what the guys were suggesting gave me permission to act on what I felt. Do you understand what I mean?”

  For a full moment, Jude didn’t move at all. When her eyes finally met his, Logan saw humor. Relief flooded his body.

  “So that’s why Matt took me out to dinner and tried to wine and dine me? And why Cooper kissed me and tried to flirt?” She shook her head, eyes rolling. “Logan, what would you have done if I’d given either of them any encouragement? What if one of them felt something more than obligation and friendship?”

  He reached toward her, just touching her
fingertips where they lay on the bed. “I guess I would have fought them for you. I kind of almost did, a few weeks ago.”

  Jude cocked her head. “Explanation, please?”

  “Cooper told us he’d kissed you. I kind of lost it. I thought I’d moved too slow, missed my chance.”

  Heaving a sigh, Jude flopped onto her side, cradling her head in the crook of her elbow. “Dangerous little game you were playing there, dude!”

  He leaned over her, his breath tickling her cheek. “You were worth it. And it doesn’t matter, does it? Because I won.” He lowered his lips to hollow in her neck, to the dip that intrigued him.

  Jude smiled. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

  “Shouldn’t I be?” His answering grin was cocky. He leaned back just enough to give Jude the window of opportunity she needed.

  Pushing up on her hand, she shoved Logan onto his back and sat over him, one hand lightly in the center of his chest to hold him still.

  His mouth curved into a wolfish smile. “Finally got me where you want me, huh?”

  She threw her leg over him, straddling his body with both hands now resting on his chest. “Maybe I do.”

  Jude bent over and feathered kisses on his cheeks, down his neck and onto his chest. She ran her lips around his defined pectoral muscles and circled her tongue around the flat nipples. Logan pulled in a hissing breath.

  “You’re killing me.”

  “Am I?” She spoke against the center of his chest and then wriggled lower, licking along his abs. “Driving you crazy?”

  “Hell, yes.” Logan threw back his head as Jude moved ever lower. She kissed along the top of his boxers, shifted so that she rode his thigh and pulled off the boxers. Dropping them to the side of the bed, she turned back to grasp him with both hands, smiling at the rumble of pleasure in Logan’s chest.

  Jude lay over him, stroking him and writhing against his leg.

  “Want to be crazier?” she murmured, and without waiting for an answer, took him in her mouth.

  Logan groaned. Encouraged, Jude circled with her tongue, laved and suckled.

  “Jude.” His hands were in her hair. “I want--”

  She released him and crawled back up his body, raining kisses along the way. She found his ear, nibbled the lobe for a minute before whispering again.

  “You want?”

  She rose up, centered her body on his and sank onto him, arching at the feel of him deep within her. Logan grasped her waist as he moved her up and down. Jude rode him, increasing in speed until he shouted her name, his body a quivering mass of muscle. His surge triggered her own release, and she fell on top of his chest, breathless.

  “Jude?” Logan lifted his head just enough kiss her forehead. “Have I mentioned that I’m madly in love with you?”

  She nodded against his chest. “You might have said something about it.” She turned her head so that her chin rested on Logan’s sternum. “Is there anything else you need to tell me about the posse and pacts? Better tell me now while I’m feeling...” She quirked an eyebrow. “Generous.”

  “Nope. When I almost hit Cooper, I sort of confessed that I was in love with you. So they all backed off. That’s why the guys weren’t that surprised today.”

  “I noticed that.” Jude snuggled back down, laying her ear so that she heard the steady beat of his heart. “I’ve known the posse for a long time, Logan. I love them like my brothers. But I’m only in love with one of them. I won’t ever ask you to betray secrets about the guys or not hang out with them. Just remember, though, that I need to come first.”

  Logan lifted her so that her eyes were level with his. He kissed her on the mouth and leaned her forehead against his.

  “First, last and everything in between. Always.”

  ***

  Early fall was Jude’s favorite time in the Cove. The beaches were less crowded during the week, and she felt she had a moment to breathe between breakfast rush and the lunch crowd. And it was a good thing, because it turned out that her newly complicated life was taking up a lot of time.

  Her days began to fall into a rhythm. Logan drove her to the Tide each morning, had his coffee as she prepared for opening before he headed to his office. He usually checked in with her by telephone at noon, and then returned at five to pick her up. He made sure that they spent some nights at her house, and slowly some of his clothes moved over to her house, just as her makeup and books found spots at his home.

  Joseph called his mother on the Wednesday morning after they’d come out to the posse, a week after he’d driven to Clearwater.

  “Mom? How would you like to meet your grandson?”

  Jude was flipping a burger, and she nearly dropped it. “Of course! When? Are you coming home?”

  “I thought Lindsay, DJ and I would drive up there tomorrow, if that’s okay. Can we stay with you for the weekend? I talked to Meggie, and she’s going to drive down on Friday.”

  “Absolutely.” Jude began making plans. “Does Lindsay have a travel crib, or do you want me to get one? What else do you need?”

  Joseph laughed. “Lindsay says not to worry. She has everything under control. Wait, hold on.” Jude heard a muffled conversation on the other side of the phone.

  “She says if you have a crib, that would be great. Otherwise we can work out everything else.”

  “Wonderful. What time do you think you’ll be here?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll text you along the way. Traveling with the baby takes a lot longer, you know. We have to pull off for Lindsay to nurse him, and he needs to be changed, like, every hour, sometimes.” Jude smiled at the new tone of parental confidence in her son’s voice, after only a week of fatherhood.

  “I’ll wait to hear from you, then. If you get in earlier, I can have Sadie and Mack cover the Tide for me.”

  “Cool.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Mom, I can’t wait for you to meet Lindsay and DJ. I know you’re going to love them both.”

  Jude spent Wednesday night cleaning her house, paying special attention to Joseph’s room.

  “Do you think he and Lindsay will sleep in the same room?” She and Logan sat on the floor, putting together the travel crib she’d bought that afternoon.

  “I don’t know.” Logan shrugged. “I mean, asking them not to is kind of like barring the barn door after the horse got out, right?”

  “Maybe. I was thinking that it would hypocritical for me to enforce that rule, given that my bed isn’t exactly lonely these days.”

  Logan laughed. “Guess you’ve got a point. But you know, I’m willing to be very discreet while your kids are at home. And I’ll give you all the space you need.”

  She reached across to squeeze his hand. “I really don’t want any space. I want you to be with me when I tell them about us. It’s not like I’m bringing some stranger into their lives. Meggie and Joseph already know you, and they love you, too.”

  “Still, it’s one thing to love me as Uncle Logan, and another to accept me in their mother’s life.”

  That conversation stayed in the forefront of Jude’s mind the next day. She jumped every time her phone buzzed, though she knew the kids had gotten a late start from Clearwater. She figured she would have time to close up and head home before they arrived.

  Only one customer sat at the bar when the door opened just before four. Jude and Sadie were working in the kitchen, wiping down counters and putting away food in preparation for closing. Hearing the tinkling bell, Jude frowned. She’d hoped this person eating at the bar would be the final customer for the day.

  “I just hope this one doesn’t want a burger. I just scraped the grill,” she muttered to Sadie, drying her hands on her shorts as she stood. Sadie didn’t answer, because she was standing still in the middle of the kitchen.

  Jude followed her gaze and saw Joseph standing in the middle of the restaurant, holding his son.

  She flew around the bar to grab them both into a hug. “Is this anyway to sneak up on a grandm
other? You said you’d text!”

  Joseph laughed. “DJ slept the last part, and we made better time than I thought we would. I knew you’d be here, so we just decided to surprise you.” He laid the blinking baby in her arms. “Mom, this is Daniel Joseph.”

  “Ohh...” Jude choked back tears as she gazed down at the wide blue eyes. “He’s so beautiful.” She touched his dark hair, his plump baby cheeks and the tip of his perfect nose. She was so completely absorbed that it took a moment to notice the girl standing next to Joseph, biting her lip and looking supremely uncomfortable.

  “You must be Lindsay.” Jude turned to her with a smile and opened her free arm to offer a hug. “Welcome to Crystal Cove. I’m so happy to see you again.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Hawthorne.” Lindsay returned the hug.

  “Please, call me Jude.” She cuddled the baby and then glanced up his mother. “He’s just perfect, Lindsay. Thank you for bringing him here, so I could meet him.”

  “Hey, I did the driving!” Joseph shook his head in mock affront, but he put his arm around Lindsay, squeezing her shoulders.

  Sadie approached them. “Boy, what’s the matter with you, coming in here and not introducing your young lady to Mack and me?” She swatted the back of his head in her familiar affectionate way.

  Joseph grabbed the older woman into a bear hug and spun her around. “Sadie, this is Lindsay. Linds, this gorgeous woman is my first love. She used to sneak me sweets when I was little and Mom was working.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Sadie nodded, but her eyes were glued on the baby. “Jude, stop being such a hog and give me that little one.”

  They passed the baby around, with even Mack coming out to take a turn and admire him.

  Finally, Jude shooed Joseph and Lindsay to the door. “You must be exhausted. Joseph, take them home. Everything is set up in your room for the baby, and you know to help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll be home in about twenty minutes.”

  “Nonsense!” Sadie shook her head. “Mack and I can handle closing. You ride home with the kids.”

  “Yeah, Mom, where’s your car?” Curiosity tinged Joseph’s voice. “I almost thought you weren’t here when we pulled in and I didn’t see it.”