CHAPTER TWO
Logan
Logan Fox sat at his meticulously organized desk in the middle of his meticulously organized office. He lined his mouse pad up with his keyboard, glanced at his watch, and wondered how late his brother—and business partner—would be this time.
Bright morning sunshine beamed in from the giant floor-to-ceiling windows as the Houston skyline sprawled beneath him. The light bounced off the mahogany desk, revealing a thin layer of dust on his monitor. Before he could deal with it, a younger version of himself pushed open his office door.
“Mornin’, Bro,” Cooper greeted, breezing in only five minutes late. “How was your weekend?”
“Not great,” Logan said.
“Wasn’t Monique’s birthday on Saturday?”
Logan nodded. “And we broke up on Sunday.”
“Ouch.” Cooper chuckled. “She fail the mixtape test?”
Logan grunted.
“Maybe it’s time to come up with another method to decipher motives.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
They’d had this conversation before. Logan dated a lot but was having a hard time finding a woman more interested in him than in his wallet.
The Mixtape Test—which had turned into a mix CD Test—was Logan’s way of finding out a woman’s true feelings.
Reactions varied from fake enthusiasm to disappointment to physical violence.
“At least Monique didn’t chuck it at me,” Logan quipped, rubbing the battle scar on his forehead from his previous girlfriend’s disgusted rejection. “Dating’s hard. You might have married the last honorable woman.”
“Hah,” Cooper said. “I just met Annie when I was broke. Made it easier to know she loved me for me. Shoulda got hitched before you got loaded.”
“Too late for that.” Logan and Cooper owned many properties, but their main gig was an outdoor supply store franchise called Wilderness World. And with over two hundred locations across the United States, they did very well for themselves.
“Yeah. Being Houston’s most eligible bachelor must be such a burden.”
“We all have our crosses to bear.”
Cooper laughed. “Indeed. Well, I came to work. Your heart broken? Or can we get to it?”
“Easy come, easy go.” Logan shrugged. “Whatcha got?”
Cooper handed him a folder and sat in the soft leather chair opposite him. Before he spoke, Logan’s assistant poked her head in.
“Gonna run downstairs,” Skye said. “Either of you want coffee?”
“The usual,” the brothers said together.
“I think your momma tricked you when she told you two you weren’t twins.” Skye shook her head. “You look alike, sound alike, drink your coffee the same. I’ve worked four years for you, and you guys still confuse me sometimes.”
Logan and his brother heard that a lot. They were only a year apart, styled their hair the same way, and had many of the same mannerisms. If you didn’t know them, it was tough to tell who was who.
“I’m way better looking than you,” Cooper said after Skye left.
“Maybe. But I got all the brains and most of the charm.”
“Um, who has the hot wife and adorable kids?”
“All right. All right,” Logan said. “You win. We gonna work or what?”
“Yeah. Legal compiled the options. We just gotta go through and figure out what we want to offer on.”
The company was in an acquisition phase, looking to purchase existing businesses that could be transformed into more Wilderness Worlds. They opened identical folders and went through the information page by page.
By mid-morning, about halfway through the list, Cooper perked up.
“This one looks pretty good. It’s a six-business package. Multiple cities, mostly box stores, so easily convertible.”
Logan studied it for a minute. “Boston. Two in Richmond. Cincinnati. Milwaukee. Where’s Green Valley Falls? Never heard of it?”
Cooper pulled out his phone and tapped at it. “New Hampshire. Looks like it’s about an hour from Portsmouth. Near the White Mountain National Forest.”
“Seems kind of out of the way,” Logan said. “Think this guy stuck a stinker in the package to unload it?”
Cooper answered without looking away from his phone.
“The town is small. Population’s under ten thousand.
But it’s pretty and looks to have a strong tourist draw for outdoor recreation.
And people need a place to buy gear for their adventures.
We talked about testing a small-town market. This could be the pilot store.”
“Well, and the business is already an outdoor supply store, so maybe we could save on renovations and marketing. Still, kinda seems like dead weight. What if we counter with the stipulation that this one’s out?”
“I don’t know,” Coop said. “Look at the profit margin on this thing. Think that’s a typo?”
Logan glanced down at the spreadsheet. “Does seem too good to be true for such a small market. If we don’t nix it, we’d definitely have to do some due diligence.”
“This sounds cool.” Coop had gone back to his phone.
“I’m on the website for the store—it’s called The Outdoor Outpost—and they’re advertising these Weekend Warrior campouts.
A guide hikes you up into the mountains and trains you to survive.
They have a weeklong version called the ultimate survival that starts in two weeks.
” He finally looked up. “You should do it!”
“What? Why me?”
“What’s the matter? Ya chicken?” Cooper challenged.
“That has nothing to do with what we’re discussing.”
“If we’re gonna consider this, one of us has to go up there. We both already know it’s going to be you. You might as well get some fresh air and make a vacation out of it.”
Because of his singleness, Logan got stuck with most of the traveling. Which was usually fine. And it had been a while since he’d taken time off. “Is roughin’ it in the mountains really a vacation though?”
“You dig that stuff,” Cooper said. “At least you used to. High life turned ya soft? Don’t think you can handle it? Aren’t you always gloating about being an Eagle Scout?”
“Only to needle you, ’cause you missed yours by a badge.” Logan smirked.
It wasn’t that Cooper was wrong. He wasn’t.
As a kid and young adult, Logan loved to camp, fish, hike, all that stuff.
But as the business took off, he found himself spending less and less time with nature.
He didn’t miss the irony that it was his outdoor supply business that kept him from the outdoors. Maybe he should reconnect.
“Plus,” Cooper continued. “You know what it’s like around here when you’re ‘back on the market.’ All those women throwing themselves at you. I know you hate that.”
“You have a point.” Logan tapped his pen against his palm.
Skye knocked lightly on the already ajar door.
“Not that I was eavesdropping, but just to let you know…word’s out about the breakup, and three women—three, and it’s barely noon—have already called, wanting to get on your calendar for ‘lunch.’” She air-quoted lunch and waggled her eyebrows.
“Also, Coop’s right. You work too hard. Go prance around in the woods for a while. ”
“It’s warrior camp, Skye,” Logan said. “There would be no prancing.”
“Yes, of course. That’s what I meant.”
Logan mulled it over as the two stared a hole in him. “A trip would have to be soon, so we can make a decision on whether to make this offer.”
“I’ll book everything,” Coop said quickly. “Just go out there, get the lay of the land, check out the site, and then stay a week to reconnect with nature.”
“All right. Fine.” Logan shut his folder and stood. “You can also buy me lunch. I’m starving.”
Two weeks later, Logan found himself in a rental car on Main Street in Green Valley Falls.
Storefronts were decked out for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Lampposts laden with hanging baskets of petunias, red, white, and blue bunting, and American flags lined the street. Sidewalks bustled with people.
He had to admit, the town was charming. And tiny. It only took a few minutes to find The Three Bears Inn.
The place looked like it had seen better days. The weathered entrance sign and battered outdoor paint job suggested either quaintness or neglect. Either way, according to Cooper, this was all that was available on such short notice.
The run-down look didn’t stop at the front door. Logan guessed there hadn’t been any updates or upgrades in thirty years. At the check-in counter, a man about his age welcomed him.
“Hey, I’m Max,” he greeted.
“Logan Fox. Checking in?”
Max pushed a few buttons on a keyboard. “Looks like you booked two nights now and another next week?”
“Yeah,” Logan said. “I’m camping for the week, but wanted to stay again on the backside. Is that okay?”
“You bet. And if you want to leave any of your belongings or a car or something, that’s no problem. Just let me know.”
“Daddy, daddy!” A little girl holding a piece of paper ran to his side, and he swooped her up. “Wook what I drawed.”
“It’s wonderful, honey.” Max beamed at the girl. “Give Daddy just a sec, okay?”
She nodded and turned curious blue eyes to Logan. It was odd that a man would have his daughter at his place of employment, but Logan didn’t say anything. Maybe it was a small-town thing.
“Sorry about that. I own the place, and we live here,” Max explained. “Lilly, say hi to Mr. Fox.”
The little girl waved and then buried her face in her dad’s shoulder.
“Hi, Lilly,” Logan said. “How old are you?”
Lilly snuck a peek at Logan, finally raised her head, and held up four tiny fingers.
“I have a niece just that age.” Logan smiled. “Her name’s Bailey.”
“Whas a ‘niece’?” Lilly asked.
“Baily is my brother’s daughter,” Logan said, feeling silly, knowing she probably wouldn’t understand. Lilly nodded solemnly.
“She’s adorable,” Logan said, and Max smiled.
“And heavy. Did you eat rocks for lunch?” Lilly giggled as Max shifted her to one arm while he retrieved a key with his other. It was an actual key, which Logan found charming. “Goin’ retro,” he said in jest.
“Yeah.” Max sighed. “We bought the inn with grand renovation plans, but I’ve been a little sidetracked lately.”
Logan didn’t miss that he’d switched from “we” to “I” and figured there was a story behind Max’s sad smile, but didn’t pry.
They parted, and Logan made his way to room 201. Like the rest of the place, it was dated, but clean and cozy. It would do for a couple of nights anyway.
The afternoon orientation for the campout was the next day. And the day after that, he’d be sleeping in the mountains.
It had been so long since he’d “roughed it,” some doubts began to creep in. He’d talked a big game in front of Cooper and Skye, but what if luxurious penthouse living really had made him soft? Well, he was here now, and ready or not, was about to find out.