CHAPTER TEN
Logan
Logan left his filthy rucksack in the car trunk and trudged into the lobby of the Three Bears Inn. Max was behind the counter, and his eyes widened at the sight of him.
“Hey,” he greeted. “You survived.”
“Barely,” Logan admitted. “Pretty much anything that could’ve gone wrong, did.”
“Well, glad to have you back. I had your suitcase taken to your room already.”
“Thank you,” Logan said. “I’m dead on my feet and don’t think I’ll be conscious much longer.”
He arrived at his room, stripped, and stepped into a scalding hot shower. When the water finally ran cold, he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. It was only four o’clock, but the bed called urgently, and he barely made it between the sheets before falling asleep.
A few hours later, he woke up. He’d thought for sure he’d sleep through the night, but his stomach had needs and complained loudly, demanding they be met. Logan dressed and went downstairs, thinking he’d run to a local deli or have a pizza delivered.
It was right about eight o’clock, and the lobby bar was hoppin’. Looked like Cocktail Hour Fridays was a hit.
Max sat on a stool, flanked by two other men. Logan approached, intending to ask where he could get food at this time of night.
“Logan,” Max said. “You look a hundred times better. Get some sleep?”
Logan nodded. “And a long shower. Now, I need sustenance.”
“We just ordered a couple of pizzas,” one of Max’s friends said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Sounds perfect. Thanks.” He could get used to this small-town friendliness.
“This is Nick,” Max said, pointing to the man who’d offered the pizza. “And that’s Brody.” He pointed to the other man and went behind the bar. “Beer?”
“Nice to meet you guys.” Logan shook hands with both men. “Yes, please.”
The pizzas arrived, and Logan dove in, eating half of a large all by himself. There was a Red Sox game on the big TV, and over pizza, beers, and baseball, they got to know each other.
Nick was the town sheriff, but had been an FBI agent in Boston for ten years before that. Brody was a big-time travel journalist.
“How’d you guys end up here?” Logan asked.
“I grew up here,” Nick said. “Left as soon as I could but was forced home to recuperate from an injury.”
“He was shot,” Max said.
“Oh, dang,” Logan said. “That’s rough.”
“He’s making it sound worse than it was. Anyway, while I was back, I met a woman. Well, re-met, I’d known her forever since she’s from here too.”
“They were married last year,” Max said.
“Any regrets?” Logan asked.
“Not a one.” Nick smiled like a man still freshly in love.
“And you?” Logan looked at Brody.
“Also a woman,” Brody said with a smile. “Came to town for a work project, fell hard and fast in love, and never left. Best decision I ever made. We’re getting married in eight days.”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations.”
“So, how about you?” Nick said. “What brings you to our humble town?”
“I just got back from a weeklong campout. It was this ultimate survivor’s weekend warrior thing?”
All three laughed.
“Unlike that doctor,” Nick said. “I see Tessy kept you in one piece.”
“Y’all know Tess?”
“She’s my sister,” Nick said. “So, yeah. I know her.”
Logan toyed with the idea of fishing for information about Tess, but decided it felt too junior high. Plus, Nick radiated a protective big-brother vibe and didn’t seem like the type you wanted to annoy.
“That’s cool,” Logan said. “Yeah, she was great—calm and knowledgeable. Handled everything that came at us—bad weather, wild animals, food scarcity, Bigfoot sighting, and disobedient campers.”
“You did not see Bigfoot,” Brody said.
Logan shook his head. “No. It was a false alarm. But one guy woke us all up in the middle of the night, thinking it was him.”
“I’m sure Tess loved that.” Nick chuckled.
At eight thirty, Max stepped away to call his mom, who was taking care of Lilly.
While he was gone, Logan got the skinny on Max’s situation. “So, what’s Max’s story? Lilly said her mom died?”
“Yeah,” Brody said. “It’s been about six months now. You might have heard about it actually. It made national news. A manhunt for a prison escapee that ended in a car accident where he and another driver were killed?”
“I do remember something about that,” Logan said.
“The other driver was Jenny,” Nick explained. “Max’s wife. They were high school sweethearts.”
“Oh, man,” Logan said. “That’s…heartbreaking. I lost my parents, but can’t imagine how hard it would be to lose a spouse.”
“Honestly, he hasn’t been taking it so well,” Nick admitted. “We’re all worried about him. I think Lilly’s the only thing that gets him out of bed in the morning.”
“He said he had renovations planned,” Logan said. “I take it her death was what put a stop to that?”
Nick nodded. “That and no money. Jenny handled all the marketing and hospitality stuff. Without those things, business hasn’t been great. This place should be packed during the summer.”
“Think he’d be interested in some help?”
“Ask him,” Brody said, pursing his lips over Logan’s shoulder.
“Ask me what?” Max said.
“Oh, um.” Logan wasn’t totally prepared to make a formal offer, but couldn’t back down now. “I was wondering if you’d be open to some help with your renovations.”
“You wanna help me?” Max’s brows narrowed. “Why?”
“It’s kind of what I do.” Logan shrugged. “I started flipping houses about fifteen years ago. And while I don’t technically do that anymore, I’m always looking for investments.”
Max cast a doubtful look. “Are you a contractor? Or a construction worker?”
Logan didn’t want to lie, but he also wasn’t ready to come clean about why he was really in town. Plus, spouting off his net worth and business prowess seemed braggadocious and might be a turnoff for Max.
“Not exactly,” Logan hedged. “But I have worked in that industry a long time. And I have some money saved up that could help.”
Max turned to his friends. “You put him up to this?”
“No,” Nick and Brody said together.
“First we’ve heard of it,” Nick said, softening his voice. “Wouldn’t hurt to have a partner though. Weren’t you just saying you needed to get back to the plan?”
“Yes,” Max conceded. “I’ll lose the business if I don’t. I’m at an all-or-nothing fork in the road.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“How about we sit down tomorrow?” Logan offered. “Take a look at what you’ve accomplished so far, talk about your plans, and see what we can work out. No pressure. If it doesn’t pan out, no harm done.”
Max paused, but only for a second. “Yeah, okay.” Unless Logan was mistaken, he caught a glint of hope in Max’s eyes. “Another set of eyes on it couldn’t hurt.”
Nick and Brody gave Logan a nod of approval, both apparently aware that it sometimes took an outsider—someone removed from the situation—to give a needed push.
That night, he slept harder than he could ever remember. The next morning, he called Cooper to check in.
“Sorry, pal,” Logan said. “Your plan to kill me off failed. I survived.”
“I knew you would,” Cooper said. “How was it?”
“Interesting. Did you make the offer?”
“Almost. I talked to the attorneys yesterday, and they’re putting the finishing touches on it. Said they should have a draft by Monday morning. I’ll email it to you as soon as I get it, and once we both okay it, they’ll contact the seller.”
“Sounds good. Hey, whaddya think about me staying here a little longer?”
“Ooh. Did you meet someone?” Cooper’s excitement was palpable. “Was it the pretty camp guide?”
“Calm down.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Nothing like that. It’s kind of a long story, but I met a guy I wanna help out of a tough situation.”
“You gotta give me more than that.”
“His name’s Max, and he owns this run-down inn that has great potential. His wife died about six months ago, and he’s sort of…stuck. I’m thinking of offering to help him with financing and renovations.”
“Wow. Um, okay. Yeah, we’ll make it work. How long?”
“Nothing’s for sure yet. I’m gonna talk to him today and see what’s what.”
“All right. Just let me know,” Cooper said before changing the subject. “So, did you get any useful info from the camp leader about the business?”
“Not really.”
“Well, what’d she say when you told her you wanted to buy the store?”
“I didn’t tell her.”
“Because?” Cooper dragged out the word.
“First off, she’s not just an employee. She’s the manager. And I’m pretty sure she’s the one responsible for the amazing balance sheets.”
“So we keep her on. What’s the big deal about that?”
“I don’t know.” And he didn’t. Coop saw it as black and white, but for Logan, everything felt personal now, which complicated things. “Also, what was I supposed to say? ‘Hi, I’m about to buy your store, now take me on a campout.’”
“Yeah, I guess that could’ve lowered your chance of survival. But I can tell there’s more. What’s the real reason?”
“I’m an idiot.” Logan let out a guilty sigh. “I even had the perfect opportunity. No one else was around, she’d just told me she was the manager and hinted that she didn’t know for how much longer…”
“And you chickened out?”
“Yeah, and hightailed it out of there. We were having this ‘moment,’ and I just fled.”
“You like her.” It was not a question.
“I’m not sure. She’s cool. Nothing like the women in Houston. But I don’t really know her.”
“Is that another reason you want to stay? Ask her out and see where things go?”
Logan shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Okay. Now we’re talkin’. This is exciting! Annie’s gonna need details. Keep me posted.”
Logan got ready and headed downstairs. He found Max in the office, slumped behind the desk and wearing a look of defeat.
“Max?”
“Oh. Hi, Logan.” He waved a hand over the papers spread out in front of him. “It’s worse than I thought. I’m not even sure it’s salvageable.”
“We’ll see,” Logan said, taking a seat across from Max. “I heard about your wife. I’m very sorry for your loss.”