“Mama!” I stomp my foot. “I swear to God…” I smile brightly at Logan as he raises his eyebrows at me.
“What?” Mama barks into the phone, and I press the receiver tightly against my ear, hoping her voice won’t carry like it seems to be. “I’m just saying, you’re such a fantastic cook, baby. If you’ve got it, flaunt it—that’s what I always say.”
“Mama, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I hang up and turn to the boys quickly taking over my house the same way they used to when we were all kids.
“Y’all need a timeout.” I put my hands on my hips and glare down at Blake and Dave still wrestling with each other.
“So let’s go fish,” Dave says from the floor.
I continue to glare at him and he leaves hastily for the car, calling back that he’ll see us outside. Blake goes too and shuts the door behind him, and I’m left alone with Logan.
“Where’s Gigi?” I ask.
“She and her sisters are going to join us later. She texted on my way here and wanted to meet up.”
“Where’s Gin?” I ask next.
“She’ll meet us there,” Logan says. “She says she needs distraction from something?”
“Nickel.”
“What?”
“Her wedding singer. She’s fallen for him,” I say in a low voice.
“Ginny’s fallen for her wedding singer?” Logan runs his hand down his face.
“She wants me to subtly spirit her away from him. Those are my words.”
“Does she expect she’ll figure things out before or after she’s been spirited?”
“Plan, Logan. Do you have one?”
“I told her to talk to him,” he says so quietly I have to lean forward to hear. “And I’ve told him a hundred times to talk to her. Dave’s been a part of our group since we were kids, but the two of them together? And neither one of them will speak up.”
“I know.” I lean back against the couch, feeling exhausted. “She asked me to make sure she marries him.”
Dave bangs on the door. “Hey! Y’all coming or what?”
“Fine then.” I get up and grab the pie.
Ben calls on our way out of the driveway, so we make a quick stop at The Cowherd for me to look over his new tracking plan for the bar’s finances. My brother is so enthusiastic about his idea, and I nod at everything he says and encourage him to keep going.
Our conversation takes longer than I’d planned, so by the time I’m done, Logan’s popped inside the bar to wait.
That was a mistake. As the two of us go to leave, Jon and another cameraman stroll into the parking lot. They immediately whip out their cameras and track our progress from The Cowherd’s front porch to Logan’s truck.
“Freaking camera crews following you everywhere,” Blake says through the open back window. “You love every minute of those flashbulbs in your face,” he teases Logan.
Logan turns his head away so the cameramen can’t get a clear shot of him.
They may not be able to see Logan’s face, but I sure can. And the stress and fatigue is written all over his face.
“Wait here,” I say before I walk over to Jon and the unknown cameraman.
“Hey y’all,” I say. “You know what? Logan’s not out with his bride-to-be right now. He’s with me. So if I were you, I would save my film for the moments he and Gigi are actually together. Do you think Logan and Gigi’s fans want to see him with another woman?” I say. “You guys need to shape this story. You have the control here. Use it wisely, boys.”
