CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Logan
Logan slammed a sledgehammer into the wall and smiled at the gaping hole. Why was destroying things so satisfying? In the last couple of days, he and Max had cleared four rooms. This one had plumbing issues, and the bathroom wall needed to go.
Part of his chipper mood came from reminiscing about how Tess had given Carter the ol’ heave-ho.
Petty as it was, it had warmed his heart to see the cocky jock lose his temper and storm off in a huff.
Even though he probably wasn’t used to being denied much of anything, that didn’t give a grown man an excuse to act like a baby.
When faced with the ultimatum, Tess chose to stay with her team rather than run off to Cancun. Her actions had solidified Logan’s decision to try to convert their friendship into something more. And given him hope that could be a possibility.
Just as he’d begun plotting a time and place to make his move, Cooper called, bringing his nascent plan to a screeching halt.
“So,” Cooper greeted. “The lawyers received a call late yesterday from the seller. He wants to take the Green Valley Falls store out of the deal now.”
“Did he say why?” Logan pushed his safety goggles to the top of his head and leaned against the bathroom counter.
“No,” Coop said. “But ya gotta wonder why. It makes me think he knows something we don’t. Like maybe it’s worth more than we thought.”
“He just barely put together the package. What would he know now that he didn’t a week ago?”
“Beats me. But you should find out what the deal is before we agree.”
“I’d ask ‘why me?’ but I guess that’s obvious.” Logan sighed.
“You’re hanging out with the manager. Shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
“Except that I really like the manager, and it feels gross to use her for information.”
“Them’s the breaks, Bro,” Cooper said. “Maybe you could do it without her knowing. Make up some pretense for visiting her office. And when she’s not looking, take a peek at the books.”
“I am not doing that,” Logan huffed. “What if it has nothing to do with the store itself but something in town or the local area?”
“Oh, yeah. Like a new touristy thing coming that would presumably make the property more valuable. Good thinking.”
“Ski resort. Amusement park. Casino. Outlet mall. Sports stadium. Convention center. Could be anything.”
“Right. Well, I’ll leave it to you to figure it out,” Cooper said. “Counteroffer expires in ten days, but the sooner the better.”
This fresh wrinkle threw a damper on his plans to go for it with Tess. Not thrilled with his new assignment, and definitely not about to call Tess with the sole purpose of pressing her for intel, Logan put the task at the bottom of his to-do list.
Frustrated, he funneled his feelings into the sheetrock in front of him and had it demolished in seconds. He stood, hands on his hips, admiring his handiwork when Max entered.
“Dude. It’s the Fourth of July. What are you doing?”
Logan had planned to stay at the inn and work while Max and his family went to town for the celebrations, but Max put his foot down and insisted Logan join him.
That was how he found himself sitting at a plastic-wrapped picnic table, elbow-deep in a syrupy-sweet apple pie.
“And I thought the peach was delicious,” Logan said, licking his lips.
“Yeah. We’re pretty good at pie,” Max said, glancing up from his phone. “Hey, you play hoops?”
“I played in high school.” Logan swallowed the bite he was chewing. “I’m all right I suppose. Why?”
“Just got a text from the guy coordinating the three-on-three tourney. They’re looking for one more team to even things out. You up for it?”
“Probably should have mentioned that before I ate half a pie.” Logan patted his stomach. “But sure. I’ll do it.”
He had just put another bite into his mouth when Tess and her friends approached the table. She wore short shorts, a slim-fitting red, white, and blue tank top, and flip-flops. His eyes glommed onto her long, bare legs, and the pie lodged uncomfortably in his throat.
“Ya good?” She smiled, knowing she’d caught him ogling her.
He turned beet red and coughed until he could speak. “Yep,” he choked out.
They all took seats. Tess grabbed his fork, helped herself to a bite of his pie, and then handed it to Alex, who did the same. The fork made its way around the table, and before he knew it, the pie had vanished.
“Thank you,” he said. “You saved me from downing the whole thing myself.”
“Where’s Lilly?” Faith asked Max.
“She talked her grandparents into a pony ride.”
“Hey,” Alex said. “Did you get the text from Coach Reed? They need another team for the tourney. Max and Logan, you guys wanna play?”
“I already got Logan on board,” Max said. “We just need a girl. Tessy, you in?”
“Why not Faith?” Tess said.
Faith and Nick shared a spousal glance—the mind-reading kind where secrets flowed effortlessly. Logan had seen it a million times with Cooper and Annie.
Juliet noticed it too and took a shot at interpreting it. “Oh my gosh!” she yelled. “Are you pregnant?”
Logan thought that was quite a leap, but Juliet proved she knew them better than he did when Nick nodded and Faith put her finger to her lips.
“Shh,” she said. “We haven’t told anyone yet. It’s still pretty early.”
“This is so exciting,” Alex whispered. “Congratulations!”
“I’m gonna be an aunt.” Tess beamed, a radiant glow in her hazel eyes.
Juliet wrapped her arms around Faith and kissed her cheek. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Nice.” Brody slapped Nick on the back.
Nick puffed out his chest as if he’d accomplished some monumental feat. “Your turn.”
“Hey,” Brody said. “Slow down. I’m not even married yet.”
“It’s not that I can’t play,” Faith said. “I just get nauseous really easily lately and don’t want to risk it.”
“Okay,” Max said. “So Faith’s out. Tess or Juliet?”
“I’m already on a team with my brothers,” Juliet said. “It’s all you Tess.”
Tess glanced Logan’s way, almost as if to ask if it was okay with him.
“Welcome aboard,” he said with a smile. “Excited to see what you got, Walker.”
Other than the low-key HORSE game at Tess’s party, it had been a while since Logan had played ball, and it took him half a game to find his stride. Max was okay, but Tess was clearly holding up the team, draining shots like nobody’s business.
“Of course you’re good at basketball,” Logan said after their first win. “Is there anything you can’t do?” He was tempted to say, “Besides dance?” but wasn’t sure they were in a place where he could tease her about that yet.
She blushed. “You’re not too bad yourself, cowboy.”
Two hours later, he was bent over, sucking in breath and praying he wouldn’t pass out or throw up. They had just beaten Brody, Nick, and Alex—barely. “I thought I was in better shape,” he wheezed.
“Come on, Fox,” Tess said, slapping him playfully on the butt. “Momma wants another trophy.”
“All right.” He stood and wiped sweat from his brow. “I’m coming.” From depths unknown sprang a mad desire to make Tess happy. If winning was what she wanted, he’d do his darnedest.
He and Tess played together seamlessly. It was as if they read each other’s thoughts. She caught his no-look passes with ease. He parlayed her alley-oops into easy layups and even had one decent dunk. Which he vowed to try again when Tess ran to hug him in celebration.
After Alex’s team was eliminated, she and Faith crowned themselves coaches for his. The five of them huddled on the sideline before the championship game.
“You guys are amazing,” Faith said, glancing between Logan and Tess. “It’s like you’ve played together all your lives.”
“Hey!” Max complained. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
“Sorry,” Faith said. “But you gotta admit, these two have serious synergy.”
“Well, they’ve gotten us this far. Heaven knows I’m barely pulling my weight.” Max laughed.
It warmed Logan’s insides to hear Faith acknowledge and verify his own feelings that he and Tess worked well together.
Amidst high fives and butt taps, they dribbled and shot their way to victory. Tess’s friends erupted with glee when she sank the final winning basket.
High from the win, Tess jumped onto Logan’s back, hugging him hard. The move caused any lingering doubts about wanting her to blow off into the breeze.
He could no longer deny his feelings. It wasn’t just respect for her toughness in the wilderness. It was more than admiration for her indifference to money or status. These were urgent, intense, I-wanna-get-with-her yearnings.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about them. Yet. Trying to take things to the next level would upset the balance of their relationship. What if he asked her out and she said no? Or what if she said yes, they dated for a bit, but then it all blew up?
He would be here for most of the summer, and it wouldn’t be nearly as fun without this group of friends. Which he would undoubtedly lose in any parting of ways with Tess. Unwilling to risk that, he would begrudgingly stay parked in the friend zone for now.
Tess’s gang had the whole day scheduled out. After dominating the basketball tournament, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the town and watched as Tess and her teammates donned high school jerseys and waved from a convertible in the parade.
They swam in the lake—Tess in a bikini, hoo-boy!—ate hot dogs and another pie, and later that night, drove out to an old barn to watch fireworks.
He did his best to park himself next to Tess whenever possible. She didn’t seem to mind and even gave him some lingering looks. But he still wasn’t convinced she’d be amiable to his advances and couldn’t take the chance of incurring “weirdness” between them.
The fact that she’d dumped Carter so easily was proof that she wasn’t all about money and fame. But it also proved Logan could end up on the wrong side of her brutal honesty if she didn’t share his feelings. He wasn’t sure he could face that kind of rejection.
There was also the business stuff to consider. It would probably be prudent to get all that out of the way before making a move. That meant expediting his mission to figure out why the seller wanted to keep The Outpost. He mentally moved it to the top of his priority list.
When he finally closed his eyes that night, he realized today might go down as his most memorable Fourth of July.
The small town, decorated to the hilt. The quintessential Americana vibe fueled by sparklers and apple pie. The family-friendly, media-free community activities. Hollywood directors couldn’t have scripted a more perfect day. And the best part was the fun group of people he’d shared it with.