“’Bout time,” Alex said with a lecherous grin and a wink.
“Well, I think it’s great,” Juliet said, always the sweet, supportive one.
“Me too,” Maddie agreed. “Double thumbs-up.”
“All done?” Tess said as Logan laughed. “Sure you boys don’t want in on this?”
Brody, Cole, and Nick all shook their heads.
“We’re good,” Cole said.
“That about covers it,” Brody said.
“Don’t forget she’s my sister.” Nick put on a stern face. “Hurt her, and I’ll have to thrash you, and all that.”
Logan saluted Nick and leaned over to Tess. “I love how close you all are.”
“It’s a blessing and a curse,” she said. “And I guarantee the novelty will wear off.”
Later that night, Logan had somehow ended up sitting alone at the table with Maggie, who’d fallen asleep in his arms.
Tess eyed him from the dance floor where she and her friends struggled through the Macarena. It was impossible not to notice how in his element he looked. Holding a baby seemed so natural, so easy, so dad-like.
She mentally slapped herself. That was gettingwayahead of things. He probably would be a good father. To someone, someday, but not to her kids. Not now.
When the party wound down, Logan gave her a long kiss goodbye and returned to the inn with Max. Tess, Juliet, and Maddie were staying in one of Alex’s cabins for the night, so they only had to stumble up the trail and fall into bed.
“You nervous about this Logan thing?” Juliet asked. Maddie had claimed the first shift in the bathroom. Tess and Juliet sat on the couch, waiting for their turn.
“The beginning’s always great.” Tess shrugged. “It’s when they go home that sucks.”
Over the years, they’d all had experiences with short-term relationships. That was the main problem with a small town. Most of the men they met—and dated—weren’t from here and didn’t plan to stay here.
“Think you’ll ever leave GVF?” Juliet asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not totally opposed to it, but I’ve never met anyone to tempt me into it either.”
“Until now.” Juliet waggled her eyebrows, and Tess threw a pillow at her.
She took her turn in the bathroom, got ready for bed, and slipped under the covers. Her last thought before falling asleep was of Logan—and that amazing, world-class, five-star first kiss.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Logan
Wednesday morning, Logan sat in Max’s office, getting some paperwork done before they started the real work. A late-night text from Cooper reminded him he wasn’t just here to woo a pretty girl. They still had to decide what to do about the seller’s request to withdraw The Outpost from the sale. He had a job to do.
He logged on to his computer to find a commercial real estate agent he could contact about the business climate in GVF. He didn’t intend to ask specifically about The Outpost, just the atmosphere in general. He’d also inquire about any upcoming events or construction projects that might impact businesses in the area.
He clicked on the first name that popped up—Jenny Hargrove—and grimaced. In a town this small, she had to be related to Max.
It didn’t take much scrolling to figure out she’d been Max’s wife. Her “about me” page showed a portrait of a happy young family—Max, Jenny, and a younger Lilly.
Logan had to swallow past a lump in his throat, thinking of poor little Lilly and how she would never know her mom.
When he backed out of Jenny’s profile, he found that the only other Realtor in town had been Jenny’s mother, but she’d retired several years earlier. As far as he could tell, there didn’t seem to be any other real estate agents in GVF.
Hitting that roadblock, he tried the local Chamber of Commerce. Their bare-bones website was very simplistic, and the only information he gleaned was that they only met once a month and took summers off—another dead end.
