Chapter Seven
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Logan stayed athis table, eating the plates of food that Phoebe or Gabby would bring by for him. He watched Gabby, and observed the way the men watched her. He didn’t like it, but he understood it.
She was beautiful, but it wasn’t a conscious or contrived beauty. Gabby looked just as gorgeous in the ripped, faded cut offs and t-shirts she wore at home as she did in the dresses and slacks she wore at The Wild Vine. He loved seeing her most first thing in the morning, still sleepy and face bare of make up. He was the only man who got to see her like that, without her defenses and her usually sharp brain still sluggish. She wasn’t much of a morning person and tended to get grumpy if he tried to wake her up too early. It was cute.
He wondered if he would still feel the same in five or ten years. Watching her smile at an older couple sitting at the bar, he knew that he would.
After the shop closed, Logan got up and walked over to the bar where Gabby and Phoebe were counting the cash registers.
“Let me help.”
Phoebe glanced up at him, then went back to counting. Gabby seemed surprised at her sister’s silence.
“Okay. Will you carry the glasses and plates back to the kitchen for Ruth?”
Logan did as he was asked and returned to find the ladies wiping down tables. Without a word, he grabbed a clean bar towel and a bottle of disinfectant and got to work. Between the three of them, they wiped down all the tables, turned the chairs upside down on top of them, and swept and mopped the floors within thirty minutes.
When they finished, Gabby disappeared in the back to toss the dirty towels and mop water. Logan helped Phoebe place clean glassware on the shelves behind the bar.
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you look at me for a second?” Phoebe requested.
He stopped what he was doing and turned toward her. “What’s up?”
“I know we haven’t really kept in touch over the years, but I want you to know that I thought you were a really good guy in high school. That’s why I was friends with you.”
Confused, Logan nodded. “Okay.”
“But I never would have dated you because I saw how quickly you went through the girls you went out with.”
He leaned a hip against the counter beside him, crossing his arms over his chest. “True, but I was a teenage boy. Teenagers in general have a tendency to move quickly from one relationship to another.”
Phoebe nodded. “I agree. And I know that people can change in fourteen years. I know I have. I’m betting you have also.” She took a deep breath. “I would just hate for my sister to be hurt. I love her more than anything. So please be careful with her because I’d hate to have to kill a man I consider a friend.”
Completely unoffended, Logan teased, “So this is the big sister speech to treat your little sister right?”
She shrugged, smiling in return. “What can I say? She’s my baby sister. I would have given you the same talk back in high school, only I probably wouldn’t have been as nice about it.” Phoebe paused. “I’m glad that you get it.”
“I do, Fee. You want to make sure I’m not messing around with Gabby’s heart.”
“Pretty much.”
Logan studied her for a moment. “Look, I really care about her. I can see us going the distance, okay? House, kids, everything.”
Phoebe blinked at him, obviously taken aback. “Um, wow. So that’s…quick,” she mumbled.
Laughing, Logan went back to shelving glasses. “Yeah, it is.”
“Okay then.”
“Okay.”
Phoebe’s expression became thoughtful and Logan thought she was going to say something else, but she didn’t. Instead she returned to work and they didn’t speak again. Neither of them noticed the shadow behind the kitchen door.
