As he gulped his water, she scrambled to decide which question would help her the most. Everyone in town wondered where he lived. She’d overheard more than one coffee shop conversation last week, speculating whether he bought a fancy ranch somewhere out west or if he found himself a mansion in some flashy city. He’d won enough money to purchase both.
“Well?” Logan asked from his side of the kitchen island.
She carefully crafted the question in her mind, worried she’d ask in a way that could be answered in only a couple of words. “Can you tell me about your home base?” It was entirely possible he had multiple properties with the amount of money he’d won over the years. He saved most of it when they were together, and these last two years, he’d won quite a bit more according to the online stats. “Where it’s at, what it’s like, that sort of thing.”
Logan shook his head, that irritating smirk showcased across his lips. “That sounds more like two questions, Abbs.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Pick one.”
“What?”
“Do you want to know where or what?”
“What would it take to get the answer to both?” she asked, already dreading the answer.
“I have something in mind.”
She closed her laptop and popped to her feet. Gibbs, the traitor, hadn’t left Logan’s side since he stepped into her cottage. “Start with where.Wheredo you live?”
“Place near Albany.”
“New York?”
He gave her a funny look at that. “You really think I’d move to New York?”
“Albany, Wyoming,” Abbie said.
“Yes. Can we go now?”
Why did it surprise her that he still called Wyoming home? She hadn’t been to his town in years, but as she recalled, it was hardly a four-hour drive south from Starlight. So close to home, she could there and back in one day. She quickly banished that particular realization.
“Even Gibbs is ready,” Logan added, coming closer to usher her out the front door.
She zipped toward the door before he could successfully place his hand at the small of her back. She was still recovering from his unexpected presence and that darn cologne. He’d worn it on their very first date, back when they were just teenagers. Because she told him she liked it, he kept wearing it.
“Do you own a ranch near Albany?” she dared to ask as she closed the door behind them. Gibbs darted for the back door of the main house.
Logan just sent her that smirk. “Dinner. Let’s go.”
* * *
Erin slid a steaming pan of lasagna onto potholders on the table. The aroma of baked cheese made Abbie’s stomach rumble, and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since her salad with Logan. She’d been holed up in her cottage, focused on the only thing she could control: the article going nowhere.
“Smells fantastic,” Logan said, winning a smile from Erin. “I haven’t eaten this good in a long time. You’re gonna have me spoiled by the time I leave.”
The reminder that hewouldbe leaving soon shouldn’t pack such a punch. It should feel like relief. The sooner he finished his competition this weekend, the sooner he could go and leave her alone. Let her get back to her normal life.
“Tomorrow’s my birthday,” Izzy announced, bouncing in her seat next to Logan. She normally sat beside Abbie, but somehow the bull rider had won her over, too. Abbie assessed him from across the table to figure out his secret. He had to be bribing Izzy with something.
“How old are you gonna be?” Logan asked, his attention completely given to the little girl. Abbie hated to admit how sweet it all was.
Izzy unclenched her fingers and held out a flat palm. “Five!”
“That’s practically an old lady!” Izzy giggled at that, so Logan teased her even more about grown-up things, earning a wrinkled nose of disinterest in growing up. Abbie wished she could reclaim that kind of naïve innocence. A lot less heartache existed at that age.
“Aunty Abbie is taking me to horse camp!” Izzy declared, hopping up in her chair. She hugged her stuffed horse and rocked from side to side. Her curled ponytail swung with her.
