CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Logan
Logan sat on the tarmac of the tiny Meredith airport. Cooper and his family were flying in by private jet and would be here any minute. His excitement to show off the town had taken a nosedive after his confrontation with Tess that morning.
She hadn’t given him a chance to explain, and he couldn’t blame her. Even if she had, there was no excuse for his perceived betrayal. Withholding the information from her was a risky gamble, and waiting had backfired. Especially now that there was no way out of the deal.
He’d called the attorneys to verify and been disappointed to learn there was nothing they could do. They’d signed the papers, the seller had left town, and the ball was rolling.
Coop and his family deplaned, and Logan met them with hugs. They piled into his car, the little ones chattering endlessly about the flight.
“You don’t seem all that happy to see me, Brother,” Cooper said. “Small town shine wearing off? Or is it something else?”
“It’s a long story,” Logan said. “One that ends with me being a dumbass and ruining what I think was something great. Or at least the potential for something great.”
“The woman?” Annie asked, raising an eyebrow.
Logan nodded and explained what had happened the night before at the ice cream shop and that morning at the diner.
“Oof,” Annie said. “And this wasaftershe told you how important honesty was to her?”
“To be fair, I had my mouth open to tell her yesterday, but her friend burst in with news about her mom being in the hospital and…never mind. That’s just an excuse. I should have come clean a long time ago.”
“Well, it’s not like you to give up on something you really want.” His brother slapped him on the back. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“What are you going to do?” Annie asked.
“I thought I’d give her a few hours to cool off, then try and get a hold of her.”
They pulled into the inn’s parking lot. Logan gave them a quick tour and showed them to a room.
“I see what you mean,” Cooper said. “This place is an ocean of potential.”
“I’ve got a meeting with the new contractor in a few minutes,” Logan said. “You guys can take my car and wander around town. There’s a park off Main Street where the kids can play.”
“All right,” Coop said. “We’ll get settled here and then head out for a while. We also wanna check out the state park. Meet you back here later?”
“Sounds good.”
Logan drifted through the meeting and the rest of the day half-heartedly. He tried to call Tess a few times but was sent straight to voicemail on each attempt.
Later that night, he took Cooper and his family to The Rusty Nail for dinner. He had just bitten into his Windy River Smash burger when he heard a gasp from behind. Turning to the noise, he locked eyes with a horrified Faith.
He quickly swallowed what was in his mouth and began to apologize. Tess wasn’t with her, but she’d have told Faith what had gone down, and they were definitely a wrong-one-wrong-them-all kind of crowd.
“I know I screwed up.” Logan held up both hands. “But if you would hear my side—”
“Who’s…What’s…You have atwin?” Faith interrupted, eyes darting back and forth between Logan and Cooper.
“What? No,” Logan said. “Though we get that a lot. This is my brother and his family.” He introduced them all by name.
“Oh, dear,” Faith said, shoulders sagging. “I think I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Logan’s brows furrowed, and Nick stepped in to explain.
“Any chance your brother was at the park this morning?”
Logan looked at Cooper, who nodded.
