by Lexi Post
She blinked. “Who? It was a woman. I’m guessing your mother?”
Jenna could feel Logan’s tension as his leg pushed against her own. She should move away, but she felt she was helping him keep his cool in some way, and he definitely needed to do that.
“My mother and I called out. Why didn’t you come? If you were there, you could have at least explained why you were getting rid of your own daughter.”
Kylie leaned back and put her hands in her lap. “I wasn’t ‘getting rid’ of her. I was turning her care over to you because I couldn’t be sure of her safety with me.”
“Why?” Logan’s tone was hard as nails.
She looked away. “I was working for a fence in Phoenix and not everything was working out very well. A sheriff was on to him and the men we were getting goods from were not the nicest.”
“If you were working with criminals, then what were you doing in Catalina? That’s at least seventy miles from south Phoenix.”
This time she looked down at her hands as if she were ashamed. “I had been visiting my sister to hide out for a while. My boss would have thrown me under the bus if he got caught.”
“Did he?”
She shook her head. “No. He was smarter than that. He moved his operation to Tucson.” She finally raised her head. “I told him I couldn’t go because of my family.”
“When did this happen?” Logan frowned with his direct concentration.
Kylie looked startled by the question. “Around Thanksgiving.”
“It’s September. I ask you again. Why now?”
“I told you at the ranch, because I needed to get a job and a new place to live.”
“Because you were living with your boss.”
Kylie scanned the bar, ignoring Logan’s statement. “Is there a cocktail waitress here?”
When it was obvious Logan wasn’t going to answer, Jenna addressed Kylie. “No, you have to go to the bar to buy a drink.”
Kylie rose. “Wow, I guess this really is the boonies.” She immediately turned and walked to the bar.
“I don’t remember her.” Logan’s voice sounded anguished.
She had no sympathy for him there. “You probably don’t remember all of them. From what Trace told me, you had quite a few ‘flings’ as he put it.”
Logan turned and faced her. “I remember you.” His face had softened.
Darn it. Just as she worked up a good, healthy anger, he undercut it. “Yeah, well, I’m kind of memorable when you run into me at your cousin’s three months later.”
He continued to stare at her, his expression unreadable. Finally, he turned back and took a gulp of beer. “I thought Charlotte’s mother would be more…”
When he didn’t continue, she tried to supply a word for him. “Upright? Pretty? Sweet?”
He shook his head. “Quality.”
In that, they were in agreement. There was nothing about Kylie’s appearance that had her thinking she was a slut or an assistant fence or anything like that. It was more an aura about her, not that Jenna believed in auras. That was a Sedona thing. It was more a sense she had about the woman.
Kylie returned to the table and sat down with a shot and a beer. “I hope you don’t mind, but this conversation calls for a little whiskey.” She threw down the shot and took a sip of beer.
Logan pounced on that. “Why is this conversation so hard?”
She scowled. “Because I don’t tell my life story to just anyone. I’m not proud of what I’ve done. Like I said. I’m back on track now.”
Logan set his arms across the back of the chair in front of him. “Tell me about our night together.”
Chapter Four
Jenna cringed. The last thing she wanted to hear about was Logan having sex with another woman.
Kylie glanced at her. “Are you sure?”
“I can leave for a moment.” She started to push back her chair.
Logan’s hand shot out and grasped her thigh. “No. I want you to stay.”
What was he doing? He knew this was awkward.
“Go ahead. Tell me.” Logan’s gaze was on Kylie, but his hand continued to grasp her leg, heating her from the inside out.
“Okay. Well, we met at Jed’s bar. We flirted and danced and within a couple hours we left together.” She picked up her beer and drank.
“Then what?” Logan’s concentration was intense.
She lowered her beer. “Then we ended up in the back of your truck. There were no lights out there, so it was relatively private.”
“Did we take our clothes off?”
Jenna swallowed a groan. Wasn’t this special? When he’d brought her back to his family’s ranch, he’d made a production of kissing away every inch of clothing, including her panties. The memory alone made her palms sweat.
“Only what was needed. You were in a hurry, so we just pushed things aside.” Kylie quickly took another gulp of beer.
Logan squeezed her thigh hard, but his body language was completely relaxed. He even quirked the corner of his lips. “So, if I let you see Charlotte, will you be happy with that? Will you leave her alone for me to raise like you originally intended?”
She clasped her hands together and looked down at them. “I don’t know. I just want to see my baby.”
Jenna relaxed as Logan finally let go of her thigh. Him touching her made it hard to concentrate on the issue at hand.
He took a swig of his own beer, only the second since she’d come in. “I will let you see Charlotte on two conditions.”
Kylie’s face lit with anticipation. “Name it. Anything you want. Even if you want me.”
He shook his head, much to Jenna’s relief. She didn’t know what Kylie was up to, but she was darn sure that Logan sleeping with her would only make it worse for him. Or was that her own jealousy coming into play?
“First, I want a DNA test from you to prove you’re Charlotte’s mom.”
“What? Of course, I am. Who else could it be? That could take a week. Please tell me you won’t make me wait that long.”
“Second, I want in writing what your intentions are regarding Charlotte.”
“But I just told you I don’t know. I won’t know until I see my baby girl.”
Jenna almost felt sorry for the woman, but not quite. Kylie gave off a vibe that said please take care of me, something Jenna had never been able to pull off. She’d started working at age fifteen to help her dad with their expenses. Her younger sister had started at that age too, and it was the only way they’d been able to keep the homestead.
“Those are my terms.” Logan lifted his beer in salute. “Take them or leave them.” He brought the beer to his mouth, but he barely drank. What was he up to?
Kylie worried her bottom lip, but didn’t say anything. As the silence dragged out, Jenna uncrossed her legs and rose. “If you two don’t mind, I need to use the ladies room. I’ll be back.”
“I’ll come with you.” Kylie rose quickly. “It was a long drive from Phoenix.”
Jenna nodded and strode between the tables to the restroom, Kylie’s heels making far more noise than her own boots. Once inside, she made a beeline for the closest stall.
When she came out, she found Kylie waiting for her. So much for having to use the facilities.
“Doc, do you think Logan will budge on this? I’m guessing you’re a good friend if he brought you. You must understand what it’s like for a mother to want to hold her own child. Is there anything you could do to sway him?”
She moved to the sink to wash her hands, not sure which question to answer or if she wanted to answer any of them. She was far too sympathetic to the mother-daughter relationship. Since the night her own father made her mother leave, she’d always wanted to find her, but she couldn’t do that to him. “I have no influence over Logan. In fact, if I suggested one thing, he’d just do the opposite. That’s his modus operandi around me.”
Kylie turned to the mirror and reapplied her lipstick. The light pink color mat
ched everything else on her. “I don’t need you to operate. I just need you to help me convince him.”
Grabbing a few paper towels, she faced the woman. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He won’t listen to me.”
Kylie squinted her eyes. “You just don’t want to help me. Then I’ll find another way to influence him.” She pulled her top down lower as if to show her cleavage, but she really didn’t have any to boast of. Then she sashayed out of the restroom.
Jenna leaned against the wall as she dried her hands. She sincerely hoped Charlotte had inherited her father’s brains because her mother didn’t appear to be that smart. Then again, it could simply be a lack of education. Kylie could be very smart, but like Jenna’s own sister, didn’t have any schooling after high school.
Walking to the trash can, she dropped her paper towel in it and opened the door. Hopefully, she’d given them enough time to come to terms and she could go home. When she turned the corner into the main area of the bar, her gaze found Logan right away, but he sat at the table alone.
She pulled out her chair and joined him. Logan appeared deep in thought, so she finished off her ginger ale and waited. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him. When he’d first come to Cole’s Last Chance horse rescue ranch, he seemed to resent his fatherhood, but that could have been because Charlotte never slept through the night. Back then, even relaxed Trace was grumpy.
It hadn’t been hard to notice a change. As a person who visited the ranch almost once a week, she’d observed the growing connection between him and his daughter. He still had some underlying anger or resentment going on inside, but it didn’t seem directed at Charlotte. If anything, his connection to Charlotte had softened some of his sharp edges.
When she first met him, he was all charm and smiles, but there was an edge about him that she’d been nervous about. In their one day together, she hadn’t figured out what it was, but in light of his interest in her and their mutual attraction, she’d forgotten her worries. That wasn’t the only thing she’d forgotten. She’d completely ignored her strict rules against going beyond a kiss on a first date.
Staring at his profile, her stomach did a little flip. That day at the Pima Harvest fair, he’d swept her off her feet. Naively, she’d thought it was fate. Turned out to be a fatality for her heart. The next morning when he’d dropped her off at her car, he had given no indication she would never see him again. In fact, he didn’t seem to want to let her go, even giving her his phone number, but despite her numerous messages over a couple weeks, he never called her back. Was that what he did with all his one day conquests?
She frowned as her hurt resurfaced. After she returned home to Wickenburg, she’d been at Last Chance vaccinating a new arrival when Cole mentioned his lover-boy cousin Logan would be moving in. She never put two and two together since they had different last names. Though what good it would have done her was beyond her. She’d still be the vet for Last Chance and the man sitting beside her would still be living there. So, what was she doing at a bar with him?
Charlotte. She needed to keep her emotions in check and focus on Charlotte. Not because the toddler was Logan’s, but because she was a sweet new human being who deserved to be protected and loved. No matter what Jenna thought about Logan, he did that for his daughter. Maybe she was just jealous he didn’t do the same for her.
He finally turned and looked at her. His gaze was thoughtful as he seemed to take inventory of her face.
“What? Do I have something on my cheek?” She brushed at her face.
His lip quirked up a bit. “No. I was just thinking about the day I discovered Charlotte was really mine.”
“You mean when she was left on your doorstep?” She couldn’t believe Kylie had done that.
He shook his head, his lip quirking up a bit more. “The day I got the DNA results. Kylie is right. In Phoenix, it may take a few days but out in Catalina, the test had to be sent out and it was a good two weeks. The first day of having Charlotte in the house, she had no name and I refused to give her one. I was absolutely certain she wasn’t mine because I was always very careful.”
He looked away. At least he had the grace to feel uncomfortable around her. Not only had she been on the pill, but he’d insisted on condoms. She’d thought he was being protective, but he obviously had personal motives as well. Still, she wanted to hear the rest of the story. “So, what happened?”
Logan grinned. The type of grin that had completely swept her off her feet. “I fell hard for my girl. Charlotte took my heart within the first twenty-four hours and wouldn’t let go, and I mean that almost literally. The minute I handed her to my mother, she would lose her smile and whimper. She made it so hard to work the ranch.”
He shook his head. “When just before dinner that fateful night, my mother gave me the envelope that came in the mail, I had to leave the kitchen. The first night I saw Charlotte, I was so sure she wasn’t mine, but as I held that envelope, I contemplated throwing it in the fire pit to be burned up at the next gathering.”
“But you didn’t.” She could imagine the whole scene, especially since she had tiptoed through that very kitchen on her way out before dawn broke. She could see him leaving the room, his semi-long hair back then caught back in a small ponytail, his hands dirty from branding cattle or digging up a rotten fence pole, his strong fingers clutching the un-opened envelope.
“No, I didn’t. I had to know, but in that moment, I knew I would keep her. I just needed to know if I would have to fight for her. When I saw we were definitely related, I yelled.” He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t do that very much because my mother ran in with Charlotte in her arms to find out what was wrong. I took my daughter from her and shared the news that she was a grandmother.”
He chuckled. “You should have seen the look on her face. I don’t think she had fully realized she was old enough to be a grandmother. She stood still, her mouth open, for a good minute and a half.”
Jenna smiled, the story warming her heart.
But Logan lost his. “I never expected Charlotte’s mother to show up. As far as I was concerned, she’d lost her chance to be a mother. What kind of mother could leave her baby on a doorstep in the middle of the night?”
She didn’t know what to say. Having met Kylie, she had a feeling she’d actually done the right thing. She also thought coming back to try to have a relationship with her daughter was the right thing, but she kept that to herself. It would be a lot easier if Kylie had been a little more trustworthy. Jenna could understand Logan’s concern. She had a feeling it was the same reason her dad threw her own mother out, but he refused to talk about that.
Logan cracked the knuckles on his right hand as if he didn’t realize he did it. She didn’t remember him having that habit the day she met him. “I didn’t expect Kylie to be Charlotte’s mom. I always kind of pictured you.”
She widened her eyes. “Me?” She almost choked. “Why me? You think I could be so callous? You think a woman who will go to any length to save four premature kittens would drop my child off like that?” The hurt in her chest was making it difficult to speak.
“No, no. Never.” Logan grabbed her hand. “That’s not what I meant. Or not what I thought. No, I mean, I had hoped Charlotte had inherited some of her intelligence, looks and character from someone like you. Someone with integrity.”
She couldn’t wrap her brain around his upside-down compliment though her heart warmed. Instead, she pulled her hand from his. “I think I know what you mean, not that it matters.” She set her empty glass toward the center of the table and pushed her chair back. “I’m guessing Kylie left, so I better get home. I have an early vaccination appointment tomorrow—a couple of new calves.”
She stood to keep herself from rambling any more.
“I’ll walk you out.” As Logan rose, she headed for the door. He still managed to open it for her.
Once on the porch, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Whoa, slow down. You haven’t
told me what you think of Kylie? Do you think I should let her see Charlotte?”
She stopped because to keep walking would be too rude. “She seems honest though I don’t like her background. But you need to think about what happens if you don’t let her see her daughter. If you get her too mad, she may go to a judge and force the issue. Once she does that, you’ll have the justice system involved.”
“I don’t want that. Charlotte belongs with me.”
The more they talked about Charlotte, the easier it was for her to ignore her own feelings. “Did she agree to your terms before she left?”
“No. She said she needed to think about it and would call me.”
That could mean she wanted Charlotte but was afraid to tell Logan. Or… “She could want you three to be one big happy family.”
Logan shuddered. “First, she wouldn’t be a good influence on Charlotte. Second, I’m not the least attracted to her, so if that is her intention, we may need to go to court after all.”
Jenna frowned. “Wait, you got her pregnant even though you weren’t attracted to her? How does that work?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was dark?”
“Really, Logan? It had to be pretty darn dark. Here we are in an unlit parking lot with only a bar sign and a couple neon signs in the windows for light, and I can tell what you look like.”
“I know.” He curled his hand into a fist.
“Were you drunk?” She could see that happening. One of her friends in college ended up pregnant that way.
He shook his head. “I’ve never buried my sorrows in a bottle.”
Her curiosity took notice. “Then how do you bury your sorrows?”
His gaze became intense. “With sex.” He took a step closer. “I find an attractive, hot, willing woman and make love to her, burying my sorrow deep while I find bliss in our joint climax.”
She knew he’d been blunt on purpose, but the way he looked at her when he said the words made tingles skitter across her skin and an ache start in her belly. She swallowed hard and ignored her body. “Well, Kylie is definitely interested. She said as much in the restroom.”
