The other alpha finally lifts both his hands in surrender. “Apologies for overstepping then. I’m just here to take in the fresh air and hopefully lock down this stunning location for our commercial.” He turns to me, dipping his head in apology, even though that flirtatious twinkle is still in his eyes. “If I’m not allowed to stake a claim, Ms. Percy, how about I send you a selection of our finest chocolates? Would that sweeten the deal?”
But I’m already shaking my head and backing away from them all. Tristan gives me a worried look, but I shake my head. “Sorry, but I can’t do this right now. Mr. Della, please get your balloon out of my alfalfa field.”
I leave them without a backward glance, but my skin feels too tight, and my hands are shaking as I tuck them under my arms. I can’t get the mix of black cherries and peppermint out of my head, both edged with a possessiveness I’ve never smelled before. It’s doing crazy things to my equilibrium, and I have to pause at the store steps to grip the railing.What the hell just happened? Did Otley and Tristan really just warn that guy off me?
I shake my head again, trying to focus on what’s in front of me.Secure the farm, assess the damage, and then decide if I’m really going to close down during the busiest month of the year.The thought makes my stomach cramp, but I’m startled by a whooshing sound behind me. I turn to see the silky domeof the balloon begin to rise over the barn roof, like an expensive dollop of chocolate against the bright blue sky. I admire it for a moment, making a mental note to check the state of the alfalfa fields later. I bite my lip, my gaze drifting to the uprooted sunflowers I’ll need to replace.More funds I don’t have, I lament, a moment before I’m distracted by the distant echo of a joyous whoop.
I know that sound…
I start to drift towards the barn, but as the wicker basket comes into view, my heart drops and my steps falter. The balloon is definitely out of the alfalfa, but instead of carrying Della away, a small face peers down at me. “Mom! Look at me! I’m so high I can smell the clouds!”
I blink, not wanting to believe my ears – or my horrified eyes. But there’s no mistaking Leo and the white sling he’s waving at me over the side of the basket. He’s grinning, but his face is little more than a smudge as he climbs higher and higher, and I feel the earth fall away beneath my feet. The cry that comes out of my mouth sounds like a wounded animal, and bright lights flash at the corners of my vision.
“Shit.” I lift horrified eyes to Otley and Tristan, who are both looking down at me with concern. I can’t get any air past my clenched lips, and I feel my head throb, the balloon going fuzzy at the edges. I blink furiously, trying to keep Leo in sight, but Tristan is suddenly blocking the view. “It’s okay, Lily,” he says soothingly. “The pilot is with him.”
He points, but all I can see is the endless sky and the speck that’s Leo. He’s up so,sohigh, nothing but a tiny puff of air keeping him aloft. Otley is frowning at me, saying something about air density and parachute vents, but I can’t stop the shudders wracking my body, or the helpless whimpers falling from my lips.
“Look,” Tristan says softly. “Leo’s safe. They’re coming back down now.”
I lift a shaking hand – as if I can somehow claw the balloon out of the sky - but large, warm fingers encircle it, and amber musk washes over me. Logan’s as blurry as the endless, empty sky, but there’s no mistaking his face as he looms over me.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, catching me a moment before I hit the ground and everything goes black.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – LOGAN
I stand at the door to Lily’s bedroom, trying to control the rush of helpless anger rolling through my body. After passing out in my arms, I carried her inside to the couch, but a scuffle on the porch convinced me to move her upstairs. Seems a few amateur newshounds were lurking nearby and tried to take their damned pictures through the windows. The only small mercy was that Lily wasn’t awake to see her precious flowerpots getting kicked to shit all over her doorstep.
I’d call them fucking animals, except that’s an insult to Bloomer and the chickens.
It’s dark outside now, and the reporters – and bottom-feeding gawkers – have retreated for the night. Probably helped that Cooper grabbed a guy who tried to climb in the kitchen window and tossed him off the porch steps. Seems there’s nothing like a dislocated shoulder to snuff out your urge to invade someone’s privacy.
I only hesitate for a moment longer, then cross the room to crouch at Lily’s side. The drapes are closed, but there’s enoughlight from the bathroom to paint her face in weary streaks. Lily Percy is the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen, but there’s no denying the bruise-like shadows on her face, even when she’s deep in an exhausted sleep. I hate to wake her, but it’s doctor’s orders – or, in this case, advice from Bridge, our team medic. “Lily, can you open your eyes for me? Just for a moment so I can check if you’re okay.”
She makes a sound of protest, but her lashes flutter open, her gaze hazy and unfocused. “Logan?”
“There you are, sweetheart.” I do my best to summon a reassuring smile. “How are you feeling?”
Stupid question, but Bridge said I needed to wake her if she was still out after a couple of hours. She looks around now, her panic mounting as she tries to push herself up onto her elbows. “Leo!”
“He's fine,” I say in a soothing voice, even though her distress feels like a kick to the gut. “He's in his room. Want me to get him?”
She nods but grabs my arm before I can move away. “He was in the balloon.” I nod and her throat clicks, like she’s still dry mouthed with terror. “I thought he was up there by himself!”
“I know.” I brush her tangled curls back from her sticky forehead. She was shivering in her sleep, despite the mountain of blankets I buried her under, but now she feels like she’s running a fever. “He wasn’t alone, though, okay? He was with the pilot, and they were still anchored to the ground.”
She blinks at me, her blue eyes clouded with confusion. “Really? There was a rope?”
“Yeah, he was safe. But that doesn’t change the fact he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.”
She bites her lip, a rush of color staining her pale cheeks. “Crap. I overreacted, then.”
“You got a fright.” Worse than that, she was gripped by a terror so stark, it overrode all of her other senses and had her dropping like a stone into my arms. I’ve seen enough panic attacks in war zones to know that she wasn’t just being an overprotective parent. “You’re his mom. You have every right to feel any way you please.”
But she makes a small sound of distress as she shrinks in on herself, and I almost back off. I don’t want to push her further, but the protector in me needs to know. How can I help her fight her battles if I don’t know what they are? “You never told me you had a fear of heights, LeeLee.”
She huffs out a breath and runs a trembling hand across her face. “It’s nothing I can fix, so I didn’t see the point in talking about it.”
“But it explains why you didn’t come visit me when I was based in San Diego.”
