Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Logan blinked. Jordan had made it clear that Skylar and her brothers were on their own, so the knowledge another man might have some claim to her hit his gut in a flash of anger. In the same place reserved for his guilt. “Who the fuck is Ty Austen?” Logan growled before he could think better of it.
Kenzie smiled in triumph. “A big burly jock, much like yourself. He’s the local grease monkey, and Skylar dated him in high school. They’re very close.”
“Dated. As in past tense,” Jordan jumped in quickly, looking at Logan. “She dumped him before she left for college to make a clean break, but that doesn’t stop him from hanging around the bar and terrorizing any man who looks at her. He’s so convinced she belongs to him; it wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to take advantage of this situation once he finds out what’s happened. And with Skylar in an emotional state, it could work.”
The tightness in his chest seemed to expand the more Jordan spoke, and he recognized it for what it was. It was the first time since Afghanistan; he felt something other than pain and guilt. Jealousy drowned out the echoes of his brothers’ ghosts and settled in his stomach like a hot piece of lead. Hearing about Ty made him wonder if Jake’s comment about Skylar having enough to worry about included her ex. She was tiny; stood no more than five foot three if his guess was correct, so the thought of some man steamrolling over her made his hands curl into fists.
Both women seemed to be waiting for him to answer some unknown question. He looked between them and went with his gut. It had kept him alive all these years, so he wouldn’t ignore it now. His instinct was telling him to stay in Ennis, Montana. That finding Skylar on the side of the road was no coincidence. He wanted her plain and simple.
“I’m here for Skylar.”
Jordan’s face softened with relief at his announcement, while Kenzie scoffed and stood to leave. “Call me if you get bored with little Miss James.”
“Aren’t you bored already?” Logan asked, as she turned to leave. When she looked back at him, he raised a brow in challenge. “Seems like helping Skylar and her brothers would be a way of sticking it to your ex. You wouldn’t be bored then.”
Kenzie chuckled at first, then considered what he’d said. Her lips pulled slowly into an evil grin before strutting out of the diner with a swing in her hips. He watched her through the window when she leaned down and petted Max with a gentle touch. Seeing that, he decided Kenzie was good people deep down. She just had shitty taste in husbands.
A chair scratched across the tile floor and Logan looked back to find Jordan sitting down at his table. “So what’s first?” she asked. “I can call Jamie, Skylar’s best friend, if we need backup.”
Logan began to butter his pancakes and drizzle them with syrup. “She doesn’t need muscle to solve this problem with Bear, she needs money. Find a bank out of his reach that will loan her the money, and that will stop Bear’s harassment in its tracks. Ask your dad. He may know someone Bear can’t buy off.”
He could see the lightbulb go on over her head. She stood immediately with excited energy and started to leave, then turned back to Logan with another question in her eyes. “You’ll be the muscle if we need you though, right? If Ty tries to use this to his advantage?”
His face shut down at the mention of Skylar’s ex. For months he’d been searching for a place in this world that would help him push back the nightmares. He’d found Skylar instead. Maybe it wasn’t a location so much as who he needed in his life?
“Don’t worry about Ty. I won’t let anything happen to Skylar or her brothers.”
Four
Adulting Is Hard
DUST PARTICLES FLOATED in front of my eyes; the sun’s rays spotlighted them like a dancer on a stage. If I squinted carefully, they looked like diamonds glimmering on the air, like a treasure waiting for me to reach out and scoop up into my palm. Too bad I couldn’t grab a handful and make all our cares disappear, pulling my brothers and me out of our current crisis. Sighing, I scanned the bar for inspiration.
Big Sky Saloon was your typical small-town bar in Montana. It was dark, with a hunting theme throughout. A stage for a band, tables scattered here and there, and an open dance floor in the middle. Over the years, my father had purchased big game heads to put on the walls, emphasizing the hunting theme in case tourists forgot they were in Montana. The deer and moose hanging on the walls kept me company in the mornings before we opened, their eyes following me as I refilled bowls with peanuts or hauled empties the night staff had forgotten to the sink. They even had names. Rocky, the moose, hung over the backbar, while Edgar, the deer, hung over the stage. Edger sported a winter hat with tassels like he’d just come off the ski slopes, while Rocky wore a top hat for a more cultured look. Visitors sometimes curled a lip at the stuffed animals, but I ignored them. In Montana, hunting was a way of life. A way to provide meat for your family. I shrugged off their sneers because I knew for a fact Rocky had died of natural causes. The previous owner had found him dying on his land and put the poor animal out of his misery.