Work for them?
He said that like she’d already got the job. Her mind stuttered a second, but she caught up. And sat up. “Thank you. Of course we’ll beat them. I won’t let you down.”
He went on to tell her exactly what he wanted and the salary. Chloe’s heart about stopped. The crazy number had more digits than she had on her hand. This was like hitting the big leagues, only no corporation was involved. Just her.
Her mind tuned back in and grasped onto Mr. McCall discussing some of the new, updated products his company was about to carry in their stores and how he wanted to showcase them. “Marketing did a poll last week, and demographics have shown an increase in couple’s activities, so we’d like you to make that your target.”
“Couples? Sure. No problem.” It would help if she’d actually used the products…and had a boyfriend. But, she was very good at improvising and had a heck of an imagination. Vision, her professor had called it.
“Have you ever paddleboarded?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I haven’t. It looks like fun though.” Not to mention a drenching waiting to happen.
“Been on an ATV?”
How Chloe managed to not burst out laughing was a nod to her restraint. “Not recently. No.”
The last time she was on an all-terrain vehicle she ended up in a ditch with a busted lip and sand in places the sun didn’t shine. “It’s been awhile.”
Not long enough.
He sat back and smiled, his gaze straying to something off-screen before returning. “Don’t worry. I’ll schedule some testing time for you with one of our experts. You’ll have all the safety equipment and training you need before you try them out.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem,” he said. “I realize it’s important for you to see and touch and use the products. If there’s anything you need, be sure to tell me.”
“I will. Thank you,” she repeated.
He nodded. “I’ll give my son a call and have him contact you to set up a time to meet him at our San Antonio store.”
Wait…She stiffened. San Antonio?
“N-not Austin?” Chloe blinked, her mind trying to function through the shock. This was bad.
Real bad.
“My son works out of our San Antonio location. No one’s more knowledgeable on our equipment than Logan.” Mr. McCall leaned closer and frowned. “Is this a problem?”
Yes! A huge one with a capital P.
But she needed this job. It was a dream job. The money she’d make on this one account alone would be enough to put a down payment on a house and lease some prime office space. This contract would jumpstart not only her future, but Stefanie’s, too.
“No, it’s no problem,” she lied through her teeth, even managed to toss in a smile. “I’m not that far from San Antonio. I’m in Kerrville on business right now.”
A smile eased across his face. “Terrific. Logan lives just south of there.”
One of the many facts she already knew about his son. “Perfect. I’ll hang around and wait for his call.”
And visit the nearest church and light a candle for his safety. Maybe ask Avery to contact her sister-in-law Cady for some extra health insurance for Logan. Poor guy would need all the extra protection he could get if he was going to be near her and an ATV.
“Welcome to the McCall family, Ms. Davis,” he said, smiling at something off-screen before they ended the call.
It was weird. That parting remark felt more personal than business oriented.
With a shake of her head, she blew out a breath and slumped back in her chair. Her nerves were shot. Between the tightness in her chest and elevated pulse, she was imagining things.
The man hired her to do a job. Nothing else. He had no idea she’d ever met his son in the past. Time to get a grip on things. This job wasn’t that hard. It was doable. Actually, it could even be fun.
Yeah, like root canal fun.
Didn’t matter. Chloe would make it happen. Do whatever the McCalls wanted. Deliver an amazing campaign. As for Logan McCall? She’d just have to suck it up, and try not to kill the poor guy in the process.
Chapter Three
“That went exceptionally well, don’t you think?” AJ McCall shut his laptop and glanced across the desk in the den at his Austin ranch to his three accomplices.
His wife, Ellen, sat on the leather couch, hands clasped on her lap, her pretty blue eyes full of an uncertainty that broke his heart. He hated to see her worried and stressed. The past year dulled her smile, and he wanted it back, dammit. Now that their twins were home from deployment, she went from worrying about their safety, to worrying about their happiness.
It was time to take matters into his own hands.
So, he called in a couple of experts.
His brother Alex and sister-in-law Leanne arrived from the old McCall homestead down near the Gulf in south Texas an hour ago, and brought their cute as a button granddaughter with them. He loved the way his wife’s face softened whenever she looked at the little girl sitting next to her on Leanne’s lap.
“Of course it went well.” Alex nodded from his stance by the fireplace. “It’s a good plan.”
Since his brother and sister-in-law had such great success playing matchmaker to their two stubborn sons a few years back, AJ invited them to help with two of his three sons. He wasn’t worried about his youngest boy just yet. Mac was in Delta Force protecting the world. Way too busy to settle down. But the twins? At thirty-three, those two knuckleheads sowed enough oats. Time to bring some McCall heirs into the world.
Like his cute little grandniece who slid off Leanne’s lap and began to babble while smashing the coffee table with some sort of purple plastic animal.
“I hope we’re doing the right thing.” His wife sighed, frown creasing her pretty face. “I don’t like to interfere in my kids’ lives. I was hoping fate would work its magic.”
Leanne set a hand on his wife’s arm. “I felt the same way, Ellen. But sometimes fate takes too long and needs a little boost. My Cole and Connor are living proof. They’re happily married to their sweethearts, and we’re all happy, too. Isn’t that right, Faith?” She smiled at the little girl who turned at the mention of her name, then squealed at the sight of the pink pig Leanne held out.
“She is such a sweetheart.” Ellen’s face lit up again as she reached out to lightly touch one of the toddler’s pigtails. “I can’t get over how much she looks like both her parents with Kerri’s dark eyes and her daddy’s dimples.”
His brother laughed. “That’s not all she inherited from Connor. This little one is loaded with mischief.” He picked up the sweetheart and tossed her in the air, her squeals of delight echoing off the walls, bringing a life to the ranch it had never seen. “No one knows how she gets out of her crib, but she’s usually playing in her room when she’s supposed to be sleeping. Isn’t that right, pumpkin?” Alex cradled his granddaughter close and kissed her cheek.
A look of intense longing crossed his wife’s face and shimmered in her light blue eyes.
With his chest suddenly tight, he walked over and set a hand on her shoulder. “You want one, don’t you?”
Ellen glanced up at him, face alight with hope. “Oh, AJ, could you imagine a granddaughter? This place has only ever seen boys. And, yes, it would be nice to have a grandchild, but what I really want is for my sons to be happy. Seems so long since the twins smiled with their eyes. You know what I mean? Their mouths curve, but it never reaches their eyes.”
Nodding, he released her and walked over to where more than a dozen trophies lined a shelf on the far wall. Awards from tee-ball all the way to college. “It was hard on Logan when he lost his shot at the majors. He was good. Damn good. Pitched over 100 mph his sophomore year in college.”
AJ grasped the last trophy Logan received—The Golden Spikes Award—given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. He could still see the pride blazing in his son’s eyes and a real smile on his face as
he accepted the award sponsored by Major League Baseball.
Less than two weeks later, it became a dust collector.
Devastating floods had hit Texas, forcing the governor to activate the National Guard. It was while rescuing stranded victims that a piece of debris impaled Logan’s arm and ended his promising baseball career.
The injury hadn’t been life threatening, but it had changed the course of his life. With his shot at the majors gone, Logan’s fiancée left him. They were too young to be engaged, but that hadn’t stopped her abandonment from hurting Logan. Dark times. It sucked not being able to help his son, or deflect some of that pain.
Logan turned to extreme sports, working his way through every piece of equipment their store carried, which made him a hell of an acquisitions guy. He also stayed in the guard, serving two tours in Iraq.
“How did he seem after this deployment?” Alex asked, as if following his train of thought.
AJ set the trophy back down and blew out a breath. “A little quieter. Something’s bugging him.”
“Both of them,” Ellen chimed in. “Lincoln joked and talked, but something is eating at him, too.”
Leanne stood and held her arms out to Faith who immediately leaned for her. “I remember when Connor’s best friend Kade Dalton came back from his last deployment. The death of a soldier ate at him. Maybe that’s what’s going on with your boys.”
AJ shook his head. “They didn’t lose anyone. Their whole unit came back, thank the Lord.”
“Well, whatever it is, we know the love of a good woman and lots of support from family and friends has helped Kade,” Leanne stated. “Let’s work on getting that for your boys.”
“Starting with Logan.” Alex slapped his shoulder and grinned. “I like this Chloe you talked to. She sounds down to earth, and we already know from the research you said human resources did on her, that she’s qualified for the graphic arts job you created for her. She’s resilient, brilliant, and quick thinking.”
“Actually, the job is real. I do need it filled. It works out perfectly that she’s qualified. And I had HR dig a little further,” he admitted. “She’s originally from Texas. Her stepmother took her and her younger sister to Nevada after they lost their home in that same flood that Logan was injured. This all happened three months after her father died in Afghanistan.”
“Poor girl deserves to be happy, too,” Leanne said, hugging Faith close.
He agreed. The stepmother was worthless. She squandered away the insurance and death benefit money, never putting a dime toward the girls’ education. Chloe left home at eighteen and put herself through college, and a year later, her sister followed suit. Smart. Determined. Resilient. Exactly what his boys needed.
“AJ.” His wife drew near and set her hand on his arm. “What makes you think she and Logan are right for each other?”
“Cady.”
Her eyes lit up at the mere mention of Joseph McCoy’s gifted wife. “Cady saw something?”
He smiled. “Yes. Joseph called me right before you came in here. He told me Cady said those two were soulmates, connected by that flood.”
She clasped her hands together and grinned. “Soulmates? That’s wonderful.”
“What did Logan have to say about that?” A smirk twisted his brother’s mouth.
AJ scratched his eyebrow and laughed. “Seems he brushed it off until Chloe bumped into him, then left.”
Alex grinned. “Piqued his interest, did she?”
“Apparently, because Joseph said before Logan went home, he was asking about her.”
“Wonderful.” Leanne tickled her squirming granddaughter. “That’s how it starts.”
“Good. Because we want the same results you two got for your efforts.” He reached out to tug on one of his grandniece’s ponytails. “We all need a little Faith in our lives.”
His sister-in-law nodded. “Being a grandma is the best thing in the world. I’m so glad Kerri and Connor let us bring Faith up her to visit with you.”
“Me, too.” Ellen smiled, swiping the pink pig from the table to hand to the little girl.
“’que,” Faith said, hugging the toy to her chest, shy smile on her face as she pressed her cheek against Leanne’s shoulder.
At that moment, the six-thousand square foot ranch never seemed so empty. They definitely needed a half dozen little Faith’s running around the place. None of that was going to happen unless they kicked their boys in the pants.
“Let me call Logan about setting up that meeting with Chloe.” He pulled his phone from his pocket then turned to his brother. “Afterward, we’ll all sit down and you two can fill us in on some of the strategies you used with Cole and Jordan, and Connor and Kerri.”
“We didn’t do it alone,” Leanne said.
“Yeah, we had help,” Alex agreed. “Jordan and Kerri’s parents, plus our cook Emma, and a couple of the kids’ friends. So, you may want to corral a few of those McCoys you know.”
He winked. “Done. Already recruited Joseph, and he said he knew his brother’s would be happy to help if we need them.”
“Good because the key is to make sure they’re around each other,” Leanne stated. “It worked for our boys and for Kade and Brandi, and Kevin and Shayla.”
“Oh…you helped Kevin, too?” His wife sat back down on the couch and laughed. “Now that one, I’ve got to hear.”
So did he, but first, he had to get operation Logan in motion.
***
The faint smell of hot sauce emanated from a smudge on the hood.
Chloe.
Logan’s lips twitched as he hit the button on his key fob to silence the truck alarm that had him and his brother and Joseph rushing out from the bar to investigate. He glanced around the parking lot. The old truck he’d parked next to was gone, while a shadowy trace of dust floated in the air, the kind left in the wake of a hastened departure.
The street was empty in both directions. A slice of disappointment rippled through him. She was long gone. He shook it off. If she was really his soulmate, then they’d meet again. So, for right now, he was going home.
“Doesn’t look like anything’s damaged,” Joseph stated, walking around the truck.
“And your doors are still locked.” Lincoln glanced across the hood at him. “What do you think triggered the alarm?”
He shrugged. “Probably just some kids riding their bikes too close.” Using a clean spot on his T-shirt, he wiped off the smudge and kept his Chloe suspicions to himself.
Joseph rounded the bumper and held out his hand. “Well, thanks for stopping in for a drink. I know you want to get home.”
Understatement of the year.
He pulled his buddy in for a quick backslapping hug. “Thanks for the beer. It was great catching up with you and Cady again. Please give her our regards.”
At Joseph’s insistence, the woman had stayed inside when the alarm started to blare. The protectiveness of his wife was such a turnaround from the extreme sports legend and his risk-taking days. Of course, Joseph probably still took risks, just not with his wife’s wellbeing.
“Will do,” his buddy replied, releasing him to shake hands with Lincoln. “See you around. And hey, welcome home, you two.”
Halfway there fifteen minutes later, Logan was driving down the interstate, enjoying some ZZ Top on the radio, when his brother whistled at something on his phone and sat up.
“Oh, wow, now I see what Cady meant about Chloe’s eyes.” Linc grinned. “I bet the rest of her can make you melt, too.”
He snapped his gaze to his brother. “What are you talking about?”
“Chloe.” Linc turned the phone around to show him a photo of the beauty decked out in a pretty navy dress, receiving some kind of award.
He couldn’t tell what for, though. It was too far away and he was trying to keep one eye on the road. “Why are you Googling her?”
“I was curious.” His brother shrugged, rotating the phone back around. “She seemed to kno
ck you for a loop. Now I know why. Please tell me you’re going to pursue her.”
He turned his full attention back to the road, just in time or he would’ve missed their exit. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Holding her had caused some crazy things to happen to his body. Just thinking about her soft curves and how they felt brushing against him was making him hard. His body’s strong reaction couldn’t be blamed on lack of sex. That itch had been scratched a few times the past week when he and his brother had hit a few of Austin’s hot spots. No, the rocking of his heart and strange heat rushing through his veins when their gazes had met was all Chloe Davis.
“Cady did say she was Avery’s friend, so I bet she could help you get in touch with Chloe if you wanted.”
“True.” He turned right at the bottom of the exit ramp.
“Don’t sound so enthused, bro. You might bust a blood vessel.” Linc chuckled. “Look, if you don’t want to date her, can I try?”
He jerked his gaze to his brother again while irritation skittered down his spine. “No. I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I’d just like to get home and back to work. Back into some type of normalcy before knocking on that door.”
“Wow, she really got under your skin, huh?” Linc raised a brow. “I was just playing with you. But I can see you’re serious. I’m glad. You haven’t exactly shown interest in a woman like this in a long time. Not since Miss Priss showed her true colors and walked out because she wasn’t going to be in the spotlight as a Major Leaguer’s wife.”
He snickered. His brother had a way with words. This time he was spot on. When the doctor had proclaimed he’d never pitch a fastball again Logan’s ex-fiancé had shown her support by leaving her ring on the table on her way out the door. At the time, he’d been doubly devastated. Now? He was grateful as hell. The injury had shown Priscilla’s shallowness before they’d said ‘I do’. Then the onslaught of gold diggers had commenced. But, since keeping his heart out of the equation, he hadn’t had an incident in over a decade.
“Well, I like how you seem intrigued by this woman,” his brother said. “Seems like you’re fixing to do more than just one date with Chloe.”
Hell Yeah!: Her Hell Yeah Cowboy (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Harland County Series Book 8) Page 3
