A Match Made in Montana
Joanna Sims
From maid of honour… to blushing bride?When Officer Logan Wolf pulls over Josephine Brand for speeding, he’s struck by the law student’s irresistible blue eyes and sad smile. Even more striking is the news that the lovely brunette is maid of honour at his best friend’s wedding!Josephine’s ex, Brice, broke her heart – yet she can’t deny her attraction to Logan. He makes her laugh more than Brice ever did – but, just as Josephine’s pain begins to fade, Brice appears, asking for a second chance.Now Jo must trust her heart to lead her to the right happy ending…
Face-to-face, with only the pulpit between them, they stood smiling at each other as if they had just uncovered a buried treasure.
Josephine, exactly at that moment, noticed Logan’s eyes. Yes, she had seen his eyes before. But she hadn’t really noticed how incredibly beautiful they were—such a dark, rich brown that they reminded her of expensive black satin.
“What?” he asked her, in a half-curious, half-amused manner.
His single-word question snapped her out of it—she had been unintentionally staring into his eyes. Once she realized that she had been mindlessly ogling him, she started to laugh.
“Sorry—I was just thinking about something from when I was a kid.”
“What’s that?”
“When I was … oh, I don’t know … seven or eight …” Josephine walked out from behind the pulpit and joined Logan where he was standing.
“I used to stand in this exact spot and pretend that I was getting married. Jordan and I took turns officiating the wedding and being the bride …” Josephine laughed softly and looked over at him. “You standing here just reminded me of that. I haven’t thought of that in years.”
The Brands of Montana: Wrangling their own happily-ever-afters
A Match Made in Montana
Joanna Sims
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
JOANNA SIMS lives in Florida with her awesome husband, Cory, and their three fabulous felines, Sebastian, Chester (aka Tubby) and Ranger. By day, Joanna works as a speech-language pathologist, and by night, she writes contemporary romance for Mills & Boon® Cherish™. Joanna loves to hear from readers and invites you to stop by her website for a visit: joannasimsromance.com (http://www.joannasimsromance.com).
This book is dedicated, with love, to my Dad.
In the whole entire world, you are the best dad for me!
Contents
Cover (#u432954dd-b45a-5b35-8522-cd7d3840f233)
Excerpt (#ud297c35f-12dd-53ee-97c6-c5531f007948)
Title Page (#uc94cd024-5825-5d98-beab-2dfa90089354)
About the Author (#u510f0c3a-1214-5914-9aff-c39c59e19e0c)
Dedication (#u122542ed-8f1c-5277-a8cd-d0aa0958dabb)
Chapter One (#ulink_09c69967-87fb-526e-9c6a-aa255b6c68a1)
Chapter Two (#ulink_406cb9d4-50ae-5b6f-a3e8-a51eec123e8e)
Chapter Three (#ulink_755c2f89-234b-5afc-b087-dda4c9680cd7)
Chapter Four (#ulink_5359b99f-1bc3-5fb8-b0c9-cbf11ff93cfa)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_e9aa84c3-df1f-5e62-9960-566ea2fcefe2)
“Man...” Lieutenant Wolf checked his watch. “I can’t believe I got stuck working overtime the day I’m supposed to start my leave.”
“Don’t worry about it...I’ve got this. Why don’t you take off?” Officer Cook asked.
“I appreciate it, but I don’t feel right cutting out early. I’ll just give my friends a call and let them know that...” Logan stopped midsentence, his attention was drawn to a silver car speeding their way. “Wait a minute...wait a minute...how fast are they going?”
Logan stepped closer to the side of the road, aimed his radar gun at the car, and clocked it breaking the speed limit by twenty-one miles per hour. Logan acted on pure instinct, sprang into action. He jumped onto the road, jerked his arm to the left, finger pointed at the side of the road.
“Pull over! Now!” Logan yelled at the driver. He stood his ground with his feet planted on the black asphalt until he saw the driver slow down and turn on their signal.
“That’s reckless, right there...” Cook came up beside him.
“Sure is.” Logan nodded.
Logan handed the radar gun off to his partner, grabbed his clipboard and pen, and then headed across the two lanes separating him from the car he had just flagged down. Giving this driver a well-deserved ticket was the last thing he was going to do before he went on leave.
Josephine Brand glanced over her shoulder to see the motorcycle cop striding across the lanes in her direction. She went back to frantically riffling through her glove box to find her most current insurance and registration information. She always kept everything together neatly in a labeled envelope in the glove box on top of the car manual. But...it wasn’t there!
“I can’t believe this is happening...” Josephine shut the glove box and went back to searching in her wallet.
She was already late, and she hated to be late so she made it a point never to be late. But she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend, Brice, the night before and their disagreement had followed them into the next morning. They rarely fought, but when they did fight, it was usually a knock-down, drag-out affair. She was exhausted from lack of sleep, emotionally drained from fighting, and now she was going to get her first speeding ticket in years.
“Great...” she muttered. “Just great.”
When the second search through her wallet was unfruitful, Josephine let out a quick, frustrated sigh and shoved the wallet back into her purse. License out and ready to be handed over, Josephine rested her head in her hand and waited for her inevitable ticket.
“Afternoon, miss.” Logan had already surveyed the car and the driver as he crossed the street. Nothing looked suspicious, so he intended to treat this like a routine traffic stop.
“Good afternoon, Officer,” she said respectfully and extended her license to him.
Logan positioned himself by the side-view mirror, his body facing oncoming traffic, his feet out of the line of the tires. He accepted her license, clipped it to the clipboard.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
“No.” Josephine slipped her sunglasses to the top of her head so he could see her eyes. “I’m sorry...I don’t.”
She had been stressed out about being late to the airport, and her mind had still been distracted by the fight with Brice, so she just hadn’t been paying attention.
From the beginning, Logan had noticed that the driver was an attractive woman, much in the same way he had noticed the model of car she was driving. It was his job to notice everything about his stops. And taking inventory of drivers and passengers was routine. So, yes, he noticed that her hair was long and golden-brown, that the hair framed her oval face, and that her frowning lips were naturally pink. But when she lifted her sunglasses and looked up at him, he was temporarily captivated by her stunning aqua-blue eyes.
Annoyed that he had allowed himself to be distracted from his purpose, Logan shifted his weight and refocused his mind on the task at hand. He had a job to do and he needed to get it done.
“The posted speed limit here is thirty-five. I clocked you at fifty-six miles per hour,” Logan said. “Twenty miles over the posted speed limit is considered reckless driving.”
Josephine’s eyes widened, her lips parted slightly. “Reckless driving? No. That can’t be right. I swear to you, Officer, I wasn’t speeding intentionally,” Josephine explained quickly. “I haven’t had a ticket in ten years. When you look me up, you’ll see. I have a perfect driving record...”
She could tell by the lack of expression on the officer’s face that he wasn’t remotely swayed by her explanation. He waited quietly for her to finish, then he asked for her proof of insurance and registration.
“I don’t have them...” Josephine admitted. “I always keep them right there in my glove box...” She gestured to her glove box. “I just received my new registration. I think I must have just forgotten to put the envelope back in the car. But, I promise you, I have a current registration and valid insurance.”
The officer gave one slight nod of his head, wrote something down on his clipboard, then walked to the front of her car to write down her tag number.
“I’ll be back,” he said to her before he headed back to his motorcycle parked in the median.
Josephine hit the steering wheel with the palms of her hands and dropped her head back. Now she was really late, and if this cop wanted to be a real jerk, he could easily cite her with reckless driving! Why couldn’t she flirt her way out of stuff like some of her friends did? She’d never been good at flirting or using her femininity to get her way. She always felt stupid when she tried to flirt and it usually backfired anyway. So she didn’t bother to try anymore.
While she waited for the cop to return, she called her twin sister, Jordan.
“I’m running a little late, Jordy.” She didn’t offer a reason why and she was glad when Jordan didn’t ask.
“Don’t worry about it. The plane can’t leave without you.” Unlike her, Jordan had never been uptight about sticking to a schedule.
Josephine noticed the cop heading her way and tried to rush off the phone. “I’ve got to go, okay? But, I should be there in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“It’s all good,” Jordan said before they hung up the phone. For once, her sister’s cavalier attitude about being on time came in handy.
“I’m going to have to give you three citations today, Ms. Brand. One for lack of proof of insurance, one for failing to produce your vehicle registration, and one for speeding.” Logan handed her the clipboard and a pen. “I’ll need to get your signature on the bottom of all three citations.”
Josephine felt the blood drain from her face; her heart beat faster. She’d never gotten that many tickets at one time! She had a spotless driving record, and yet this cop couldn’t show her even one little ounce of mercy? All of her internal frustration flowed into her tense fingers; she gripped the pen so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The lines of her signatures were heavy, dark and smudgy.
When she was finished, she slapped the pen onto the top of the first citation, handed the clipboard back to the officer and then slid her sunglasses back down over her eyes. Since she couldn’t, at the moment, look at the officer with the respect she felt his uniform deserved, she didn’t want him to be able to see her eyes at all.
Logan quickly finished the transaction, separated her copy of the citations from his, handed them to her with her driver’s license.
“You’ll note that I didn’t cite you with reckless driving,” the officer said. “And, once you show proof of insurance and current vehicle registration, the other two citations will be dropped.”
Well, that was something at least; he’d dropped the reckless driving charge. Josephine folded the tickets neatly in half and tucked them into her purse. It sounded, to her ears, that the officer sounded almost...sorry...that he’d had to give her that many tickets. But it certainly hadn’t stopped him from throwing the book at her!
When she turned her face back to the officer, she noticed that he had taken his sunglasses off. She was immediately drawn, naturally drawn, to his eyes. They were such a dark, rich brown that they were very nearly as black as his pupils. His gaze was direct, and there was a moment, a flash second, when she thought that she had caught a glimpse of this man’s soul.
“On a personal note, are you related to Jordan Brand?” the officer surprised her by asking.
“She’s my sister.” Josephine replied stiffly. “You know her?”
“I actually pulled her over downtown about a year ago,” Logan explained.
“I’m not surprised.” Josephine retorted. “Unlike me, Jordy speeds all the time.”
“Well...” Logan hadn’t missed the sarcasm. “All I can say is that I’m sorry that we met under these circumstances and it’s actually ironic because...”
“Look...” Josephine cut him off. Was this guy really going to try to pick her up when he’d just written her three tickets? “Am I free to go? I’m really late...”
“Yes. You’re free to go.” The officer put his sunglasses back on and stepped away from her car. “Drive safely, Ms. Brand.”
* * *
Josephine ran through the private airport, lugging two overstuffed carry-on bags on each shoulder, and dragging one oversize rolling suitcase behind her. She had never been to Montgomery Airport in San Diego before, but she had printed out a map of the facility the night before and highlighted the quickest route to her destination. She had been raised on a Montana ranch, but she had learned how to run in high heels years ago. Up on the ball of the foot and full steam ahead!
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Josephine called out to her sister, Jordan. Jordan was standing in front of her fiancé’s private jet, occupied with her phone.
Jordan looked up, spotted her, and smiled brightly. Her sister jogged over to greet her with a warm hug.
“Relax, sis!” Jordan said. “You know that nothing’s set in stone for me.”
Jordan slipped one of the bags off her shoulder, and the bag dropped to the ground with a dull thud. “Uh...wow, Jo. What in the heck did you pack?”
“Textbooks.” She would be a third-year law student in the fall and the suggested summer reading list had been pages long. “I hope I brought enough.”
“Trust me, you brought enough,” Jordan said teasingly. “I just hope your bags don’t put us over our weight restriction. We might have to make a tough choice between you and your books.”
“Haha, very funny.” Jordan had always picked on her about her overachieving ways. They were more than twins, more than sisters; they were best friends. But they were complete opposites. Jordan was a professional artist, a painter, who had dropped out of graduate school to pursue her passion. Josephine, on the other hand, could never stop something before she finished it. She finished everything she started, and she finished it well.
Together, they walked the short distance to Ian’s jet.
“I can’t believe that this is the start of your wedding trip, Jordy.” Both sisters stopped walking and talking at the same time; they looked at each other, and easily read each other’s thoughts.
“Holy crap, Jo! I’m getting married!” Jordan shook her head in disbelief.
“You’re getting married.” Josephine smiled, her eyes starting to tear from a mixture of happiness for her sister and sadness for the changes that would inevitably follow. Nothing ever stayed the same.
“OMG, don’t start crying already!” Jordan hugged her again. “I swear, between Mom and you, there’s not gonna be one tissue left in the entire state of Montana.”
Josephine laughed and brushed the tears out of her eyelashes. “I’ll do my best to keep the waterworks to a minimum...at least until the ceremony. After that, no deal.”
“Well, of course you have to cry at the ceremony,” her twin said as Josephine rolled her large suitcase over to the cargo area for the pilot to load.
“Hey, you got my message that Brice won’t be joining us, right?” Josephine asked.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Jordan put her hands on her slender hips. “Is everything okay with the two of you?”
“Well, actually, that’s why I was...” Josephine started to say.
Jordan got distracted by a man walking through the airplane hangar.
“Captain Stern!” her sister yelled and waved her hand in the air. To her, she said, “Hold that thought, Jo. That’s our pilot and I need to tell him something before I forget.”
“Okay.” Maybe she shouldn’t tell her sister about the fight with Brice anyway. Her family, especially Jordan, had never really been fond of him.
Jordan started the walk over to the waiting pilot; she turned around and walked backward for a few steps.
“Why don’t you go get settled?” her sister suggested. “Ian’ll tell you where to find the booze. He only stocks the best.”
Josephine lugged the carry-on bag loaded with textbooks up the small flight of stairs that led up to the main cabin of the jet. She’d seen pictures of the jet, of course, but to see it in person was an entirely different experience. The cabin was decked out in sophisticated grays and blacks and accented with polished mahogany. There was a long leather couch on one side, while the other had two separate seating areas with oversize recliners and a small table in between. In the back, there was a narrow hallway that led back to a bedroom and en-suite bathroom.
Ian Sterling, Jordan’s fiancé, was sitting on the couch. Next to Ian’s left leg sat a muscular black Labrador retriever.
“It’s me, Ian,” Josephine said to her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
“I thought I heard your voice.” Ian stood up to greet her. He was a model-handsome man and world-famous for his photography. But a rare eye disease had recently destroyed his central vision, rendering him legally blind and sidetracking his career as a professional photographer.
Josephine hugged Ian; it made her feel really good that Jordan had found her perfect match in Ian Sterling. She had never seen two people as crazy for each other as they were.
“And who’s your friend?” Jordan had finally managed, after nearly a year of trying, to convince Ian to get a service dog.
“Shadow.” Ian rested his hand proudly on the dog’s head.
“Is it okay if I pet him?”
“At ease, Shadow,” Ian commanded gently.
Shadow’s body language changed on the command and he started to wag his tail.
“Shake, Shadow.” Ian gave the Lab a second command.
Shadow immediately extended his right paw to her. Josephine took the paw, smiled, and gave it a shake.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Shadow.”
Josephine had already set up her computer and unloaded her books in the short time it took for her sister to appear. Jordan plopped down next to her fiancé, tucked her long legs to the side of her body, and frowned at her.
“I hope it’s not going to be like this our entire trip, Jo,” Jordan complained.
“I’m not going to spend all of my time studying, but I can’t just pretend like I’m not in school for two months. The third year is a make-it-or-break-it year. That’s when they really try to thin out the herd.”
“You always say that about everything and then you always end up on top.” Jordan rolled her eyes.
“Quit bugging her about it.” Ian put his arm around Jordan’s shoulder and pulled her tightly to his side. “Not everyone waits to the last minute to get things done like you do, beautiful.”
Josephine smiled triumphantly at Jordan. She finished arranging her collection of items in an orderly and precise way: a book stand held a thick constitutional law book upright, her laptop and tablet were both charging, three differently colored highlighter pens were situated in a perfectly even row.
“There...” She surveyed her work. “This is perfect.”
“I need a drink.” Jordan stood up. “Anyone care to join me?”
“I’m good.” Josephine sat down in the large recliner and used the controls to adjust it perfectly to her body. “Shouldn’t we be getting ready to take off soon?”
“We’ll leave as soon as our fourth arrives,” Ian told her.
Josephine glanced at her sister. “Didn’t Jordy tell you that Brice couldn’t make it?”
“I told him.” Jordan poured herself a scotch on the rocks.
“Then who are we waiting for?” she asked.
“My best man is catching a ride with us,” Ian explained.
Josephine turned the swiveling recliner toward the couch. “Wait a minute. Dylan is coming with us? I can’t believe he agreed to come without Mackenzie and Hope.”
“Oh! That’s right! You don’t know...” Jordan returned to her spot next to Ian.
“Know what?”
“Mackenzie has been having some issues with her pregnancy and her doctors don’t want her to fly.”
“I didn’t know that,” Josephine said, concerned.
Ian’s best friend, Dylan Axel, was married to their cousin, Mackenzie, and they were expecting their second child together.
“So, Dylan had to beg off being Ian’s best man.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. I had no idea that Mackenzie was having a rough pregnancy.”
Sometimes law school was like living in a bubble. There were a lot of times that she just didn’t have contact with the world outside of school. She would turn off her phone, ignore all forms of social media, and she would focus all of her energy on studying.
“I’ll have to call her,” Josephine said aloud to herself before she asked, “Who’s going to stand in for Dylan?”
“One of my old friends from high school,” Ian said.
Jordan smiled brightly. “You’re gonna love him, Jo! He’s such a cool guy. And what’s really funny is that he was actually there the day that Ian and I first met...”
“I think I hear him now.” Ian nodded toward the direction of the door.
Josephine heard two animated male voices coming from just outside of the jet. Then, she heard the sound of heavy, decisive footsteps heading up the metal stairs to the jet’s cabin.
Josephine looked at the doorway curiously; both Ian and Jordan stood up.
“It’s real nice of you to finally show up, Logan!” Jordan called out to the best man teasingly.
Logan Wolf, still in his uniform, stepped into the jet’s cabin.
“Hey...” Logan smiled charmingly at Jordan. “Don’t blame me, blame the San Diego PD.”
Jordan hugged Logan in greeting before he shook hands with Ian.
“I’m glad you could make it, man,” Ian said.
“I appreciate the invitation,” Logan replied. He could feel Josephine’s eyes on him, but he’d deliberately waited to look her way.
“Logan, I’d like you to meet my sister, Josephine.”
Josephine stood up and extended her hand.
“Oh...” Her eyes locked onto Logan’s. “Trust me...we’ve already met.”
Chapter Two (#ulink_0e725ab0-bd2f-5757-9d03-29418b022836)
“Wait, what?” Jordan asked, her expression a mixture of surprise and intrigue.
“Officer...Wolf, is it?” Josephine slipped her fingers free of his.
Logan rested the duffel bag on the seat next to him and smiled warmly at her. “Lieutenant, actually, but I think it’s all right for you to call me Logan now, Josephine.”
“Hell-o?” Her sister was impatient for details.
“As it turns out...” Josephine paused, looked skyward with a little shake of her head, before she continued. “Logan is the reason why I was late.”
Logan told Jordan and Ian, “I pulled her over for speeding.”
And here it comes, Josephine thought.
Jordan’s eyes lit up, as did her face. First, she smiled broadly like a Cheshire cat, and then she tipped her head back to laugh out loud.
“You got a ticket?” Jordan gleefully exclaimed. “Holy crap! Miss ‘I haven’t gotten a ticket in ten years’ actually got a ticket?”
Logan said, “She shared that fact with me during the stop.”
“Of course she did,” her sister chirped. “Trying to worm her way out of the ticket, no doubt.”
“Don’t you think that you’re just a little too happy about this, Jordy? I mean, really.” Josephine had her arms crossed over her chest, not enjoying this conversation nearly as much as Jordan.
Ian had taken his seat and Jordan flopped down next to him. “Oh, please, you know exactly why I’m enjoying this so much!” To Logan, her sister said, “You have to understand, Jo has been harassing me about my driving for years!”
“In my defense,” Josephine explained to Logan, “Jordy has had her license revoked twice.”
“Irrelevant!” her sister exclaimed. “Because now you can’t wear your perfect driving record like a badge of honor when you’re lecturing me about my driving.”
“You are a menace to drivers everywhere.” Josephine had relaxed her arms as she relaxed into the conversation. “You ride that Ducati of yours like you’re a bat out of hell.”
“I’m a great driver.” Jordan put her hand on Ian’s leg to get his attention. “You trust me when I drive, don’t you?”
“Absolutely not,” Ian replied with a deadpan expression. “I am grateful every day that I can afford a driver.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say, GQ!” Jordan punched her fiancé lightly on the arm. “Now do you see what I have to put up with, Logan?”
“I do see,” Logan nodded thoughtfully, playing along.
“That is why you are officially my hero for the day.” Jordan pointed at Logan.
“But let’s be clear,” Josephine said. “He’s not a hero for putting on a uniform every day and risking his life. You’re saying he’s a hero for giving me a ticket so I can’t harass you about your terrible driving anymore. Right?”
“What’s your point?” Jordan asked with a shrug.
Josephine looked at Logan. “Do you see what I have to put up with?”
“You’re in a no-win situation, buddy,” Ian warned his longtime friend.
“I see that, too,” Logan laughed good-naturedly, then lifted the duffel bag off the seat. “Hey, before we take off, I’d like to change out of this monkey suit into some street clothes.”
“Straight back to the bedroom.” Ian pointed in the direction of the back of the jet. “You can change in there.”
“If you’ll excuse me, then. I came here straight from work and I’d really like to feel like I’ve started my vacation.” Logan’s arm brushed Josephine’s when he walked past her to get to the back of the jet.
It wasn’t long before Logan returned carrying the duffel bag in one hand and a garment bag in his other.
“Is there some place I can hang up my uniform?” he asked.
“Closet’s right there.” Jordan pointed. “You can put your bag in there, too, if you want. While you were in the back, the pilot said that we’re about ready to taxi out to the runway, so grab a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
Logan did just that. After he hung up his uniform and stowed his bag, he took the seat across from Josephine’s recliner. Logan Wolf had been noticeably handsome in his uniform, and he was just as attractive in his crisp jeans, tucked-in short-sleeved green polo and San Diego Padres baseball cap. She was in a long-term relationship, yes, but she still had eyes and could see if a man was good-looking or not. Logan was a good-looking man. But then again, so was her Brice.
Thinking of Brice, Josephine checked her phone to see if he had called her. When she left for the airport, things were still messy between them. Normally, he would have called her by now; he would have tried to smooth things over before her flight. But this time, he hadn’t. What did that mean?
Not wanting to spend the beginning of her sister’s wedding trip dwelling on her problems with Brice, Josephine turned off her phone and prompted Jordan to tell her all about the latest wedding plans. Ever since she was a young girl, she had loved all things wedding, and hearing about all of the latest details of her twin’s upcoming nuptials would be the exact distraction she needed.
While Jordan excitedly shared the latest details of her wedding with her, the pilot taxied the jet out to the runway and they took off for Helena, Montana, soon after. Jordan, who had always been a nervous flier, had stopped talking and held on tightly to Ian’s arm while the jet quickly ascended to the level of the clouds. Once the jet leveled off, Jordan opened her eyes again.
“You’re much better than you used to be, that’s for sure,” Josephine complimented her sister.
Jordan hugged her fiancé’s arm more tightly and smiled at him. “Being with Ian has really helped me.”
“Not as much as being with you has helped me.” Ian brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
Josephine was so happy for her sister. But she felt a twinge of jealousy whenever she saw Jordan with Ian. He loved her so much; it was plain to see in the way he spoke to her, the way he spoke about her and in the way he touched her. She knew that Brice loved her, but he wasn’t, by nature, a demonstrative person. And even though she had accepted that part of Brice’s personality, she couldn’t stop herself from craving what her sister had found.
Ian tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. “I’m sorry, guys...I promise it’s not the company.”
“You do look tired, Ian.” Josephine had noticed that earlier.
“He didn’t sleep well last night,” Jordan explained, holding his hand. “Why don’t you go lie down, baby?”
“I’m not just going to leave all of you out here while I sleep.” Ian shook his head.
But both Logan and Josephine assured him that it would be okay with them, and Ian appeared to be so tired that it didn’t take much convincing. He kissed Jordan and stood up.
“Bedroom, Shadow.” He gave the black Lab the command, which Shadow immediately followed.
When Ian disappeared into the bedroom, out of earshot, Jordan confided in them.
“Ian’s been having a really hard time sleeping. The specialist says that it’s not uncommon for people with Stargardt to have a sleep disorder. He’s been on melatonin, but it’s not really helping all the much. Honestly, we were both up all night last night.”
“Then you need to go back and get some rest, too,” Josephine told her.
“What about you guys?” Jordan rubbed her eyes tiredly.
“I’ve got plenty of reading to do,” Josephine assured her.
Logan nodded his agreement and held up his earbuds. “And I’m going to kick back and listen to music. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Go get some rest.”
Like Ian, Jordan didn’t take much convincing. When they were alone together, Logan said jokingly, “And then there were two...”
Josephine smiled faintly; she hoped that he really was going to listen to music and didn’t expect her to entertain him now that they were the only two left in the main cabin. She had so much summer reading to do that until she got started with it and finished it, it felt like a giant albatross around her neck.
“I really do have a lot of reading to do.” She tried to remind him politely that she needed to concentrate.
“And I really am going to listen to music,” he countered easily; he put his earbuds in his ears, fiddled with his phone, leaned back his head, and closed his eyes.
Josephine couldn’t hear any sound coming from his earbuds over the noise of the jet. There wasn’t one excuse left not to open the first textbook and get to work. She took in a deep breath, let it out and relaxed her shoulders at the same time, and then took the book off the stand and set it down on the table directly in front of her. The spine of the thick book was stiff as she cracked it open for the first time. Josephine took the cap off a fresh, yellow highlighter pen, grabbed a black ballpoint pen, and held them together in her right hand. When she studied, she had her own system of highlighting, underlining information, and tabbing pages. Armed with her study utensils, she began the daunting task of wading through the first few pages of her textbook.
After trudging valiantly through the first, tedious chapter, Josephine leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to rub the soreness out of her neck. She wished she could just throw all of her textbooks out the window so she could enjoy her first trip home in years, but there was just too much to do. There was still way too much information that she didn’t know or understand. And unfortunately, at the moment, her brain was repelling all new information. Josephine breathed in deeply through her nose and then let it out on a long, tired sigh. She gathered up her cache of studying devices and neatly put them back into their proper places. The one thing that had led to her success above all else was her determination to stay organized. That was her lifeline to sanity, as well as success.
Lounging across from her, Logan had been impatiently waiting for Josephine to stop studying. He didn’t really want to listen to music alone at the very beginning of his first real vacation in years. He wanted to celebrate, but he also respected that Josephine was dedicated to her studies. Periodically, he would open his eyes to see if she was done reading. He checked five times throughout the hour, but it wasn’t until the sixth time that he caught Josephine rubbing her eyes. The minute he saw Josephine start to pack up her books and computer, Logan switched off his music and pulled the earbuds out of his ears.
“Taking a break?” he asked hopefully.
Josephine nodded, yawned, and carefully wound the cord of her computer neatly and secured it properly with the provided Velcro.
“I’m trying to get ready for my last year, but I’m afraid that my brain has hit its saturation level.” Josephine slipped the computer into its designated spot and then zipped the bag shut.
Logan stood up and stretched. “I was thinking about raiding the liquor cabinet. Care to join me?”
“You know what? I think I would.” Josephine’s first thought was “no,” but her verbal answer switched to a “yes.” “You’ll find the liquor right across from the closet.”
“Jackpot!” Logan opened the cabinet with a smile. “What’s your poison?”
“You don’t happen to see any gin in there, do you?”
Logan pulled out a black bottle and held it up for her to see. “Hendricks okay?”
Josephine gave a slight nod, a small smile. “Have you ever made a martini?”
“Before I was a cop? Bartender...” Logan found two martini glasses, vermouth, and olives.
“Um, I usually like just a hint of vermouth and two olives.” Josephine leaned forward a bit. “Please.”
“Why don’t you let me make you a martini my way? I don’t want to brag, but I was pretty well-known for my martini.”
Josephine wasn’t really adventurous with her food or her drinks. She knew what she liked, she liked what she liked, and she stuck to what she liked. If she didn’t like Logan’s martini, she wouldn’t be able to grin and bear it quietly.
“Okay, give this a try. I hope you don’t mind your martinis dirty.” Logan carefully handed her the martini glass and then sat down across from her.
“To Ian and Jordan.” Logan held his glass out to her.
“Jordan and Ian.” Josephine touched her glass to his with a tired smile.
Josephine knew Logan was watching her as she took a small sip of the martini. She never drank her martinis dirty and she typically preferred the taste of Tanqueray. Logan’s martini was different, the tangy taste unusual, but it was surprisingly...
“Mmm.” Josephine’s eyes widened with pleasure. “This is really good...”
“I have a 100 percent satisfaction-guaranteed record with my martini...” Logan slid the two olives off the toothpick into his mouth.
“But, you don’t want to brag,” Josephine teased him before she took a slightly bigger sip. “I have to be honest. I wasn’t expecting to like it. Normally, I only like the way my boyfriend makes a martini.”
Logan stopped chewing the olives for a second when he heard the word “boyfriend.” Up until now, Josephine hadn’t mentioned a significant other, so Logan was starting to believe that he might have a shot of taking her out on a date while they were in Montana together. From the moment he looked into Josephine’s eyes, he’d wanted to ask her out. He was really attracted to Jordan’s beautiful sister, more so than he had been to any woman for a really long time, and it was just his rotten luck that she was taken. Of course, she was taken...why wouldn’t she be?
Disappointed, Logan raised his glass up in the air a little. “I respect any man who can make a decent martini.”
Josephine laughed. “I think Brice was probably weaned on martinis.”
“Is that right?” he asked out of politeness, but he really didn’t want to hear about the guy who was currently seeing the woman he wanted to date.
“I’m going to have another.” Logan finished his drink, stood up. “Are you still good with that one?”
Josephine nodded and showed him that she still had some left in her glass. She wasn’t much of a drinker and the last thing she wanted to do was arrive home for the first time in years tipsy.
“Come to think of it,” she added, half thinking aloud, “I never drank martinis until I met Brice. We met in college and then we ended up deciding to go to law school together. He’s a couple of years ahead of me, so he’s already graduated, passed the California Bar, and taken a job with a firm in Van Nuys.” She paused to take another small sip of her drink. “He practices environmental law, which is why he can’t come join me in Montana until right before the wedding... He was just given a really big case.”
Wanting to bring the conversation back to his point of interest, which was her, he asked, “What kind of law do you want to practice?”
“Oh!” Josephine’s face lit up. “Well, my dream ever since I was in high school has been to work for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Have you ever heard of them?”
Logan shook his head “no.”
“They’ve been fighting for the civil rights of marginalized and poor communities for years. And I know I would love to do that work.”
“But?” He heard a definite but at the end of her sentence.
Josephine sighed and shrugged, thought for a second or two before she answered him. “But I don’t think that it’s practical to think that I’ll work for them one day.”
“Why not?”
“Because, for one thing, they need experienced litigators for the types of cases that they handle, so I’d have to get that experience first.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem for someone like you, and we have plenty of people in our state who need defending.” He smiled at her. “I arrest ’em, you defend ’em.”
That made her laugh, before she said, “But they really only operate out of the South, so...”
“That’s what moving vans are for.”
Josephine finished off her drink, and placed the empty glass carefully on the table. “Brice will never move down South. He grew up in California. He’s never wanted to live anywhere else.”
Logan wanted to ask her the question: Not even for you? But he drank from his glass instead.
“And...” Josephine felt bad for making Brice seem like her dream-killer. “I can certainly practice civil rights law in California...immigration law.”
Josephine looked out the window at the clouds for a minute and then nodded as if she had just convinced herself.
“Why don’t you talk for a while?” She smiled at Logan. “I’ve been just babbling away over here.”
“Well, I think you know by now that I’m a cop,” Logan said with a deadpan expression.
“Yes.” She frowned playfully at him. “That much I do know.”
“Hey.” Logan leaned his forearms on the table between them. “All kidding aside, you aren’t going to hold a grudge against me for giving you those tickets, are you?”
“No, I’ve never been much of a grudge holder.”
“That’s good...because as maid of honor and best man, I think we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”
“I’m sure we will,” she agreed. The thought of spending time with Logan made her want to turn on her phone and check to see if Brice had called.
No messages, no missed calls.
She couldn’t believe it. He still hadn’t called or so much as sent a text. But she kept her phone turned on this time, just in case he tried.
Logan didn’t want Josephine’s attention to be distracted from him or their conversation. After she checked her phone, the expression on her pretty face changed. The muscles along her jawline tightened; her lips became tense. Perhaps a less casual observer wouldn’t notice these almost imperceptible changes, but he did. He noticed.
“Well, I’m glad you’re a forgiving woman, or this trip could’ve been a real bust.”
Josephine looked up from her phone. “I could really say the same about you.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“I was kind of rude to you after you gave me the tickets. You were trying to tell me who you were and probably that you were heading to the same place I was, but I cut you off.”
“Trust me, I’m used to it. Nobody’s happy when I hand them a ticket.”
“I’m still sorry. I was just...”
“Mad at me.”
“Mad at you...mad at me...mad at...” Brice. “...the stupid clock that said I was late!” She laughed at herself, and then asked him, “But did you really have to give me three tickets? I mean, come on! I really think that someone with my driving record deserved a warning.”
“Your driving record is the reason I dropped the charge down from reckless driving.”
Josephine frowned. “Would you have still given me all of those tickets if you knew I was Jordan’s sister right away?”
“Of course.”
“Seriously?”
“Enforcing the law isn’t personal for me. It’s my job. Most people just don’t get that.”
Josephine’s phone rang and interrupted their conversation. “It’s Brice!”
“Hi, honey. Hold on, okay?” Josephine stood up, moved out of Logan’s earshot, and sat down in the last seat at the very back of the jet.
“Okay, are you there?” she asked in a lowered voice. “I’m so glad that you called...”
Head down, Josephine listened carefully to what her boyfriend called to say. After a couple of minutes, she asked in a harsh whisper, “What do you mean you aren’t coming to the wedding?”
Chapter Three (#ulink_536cfbfe-b939-570a-bcdb-6fad6babccf9)
Josephine didn’t really think that Brice had deliberately tried to spoil her first homecoming in years. But that’s what it felt like on her end. He had called specifically to tell her that he thought it was best if they took a break from their relationship. He had basically broken up with her, and left her dateless for her own twin’s wedding in the span of five minutes. Brice had said what he called to say and then got off the phone. He had been between appointments when he called.
After they’d hung up, she had stared at the phone for a while, wondering what to do next. Pretty quickly, she decided it would be best if she pretended, for a while at least, that the phone call had never happened. What if this whole thing blew over in the next couple of days and she had been bemoaning their breakup to her family the entire time? Her family didn’t need one extra piece of ammo against Brice. So, pretend she did...
She smiled all the way through their mini family reunion at the Helena airport. She smiled her way through the long ride home to Bent Tree, the family ranch. And she smiled and laughed her way to the end of dinner and clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. And she didn’t stop smiling and pretending until she could retreat to her third-floor bedroom. This was the bedroom of her adolescence, the bedroom that she had shared with Jordan. She switched on the antique Tiffany lamp next to the door and gently pushed the door shut. The room smelled of cedar and cinnamon, and the nostalgia for her uncomplicated youth made her start to tear up.
She wiped the tears out of her eyes and said sternly to herself, “Stop that!”
Josephine worked very hard not to cry while she unpacked her suitcase and carefully hung up her clothing in the small closet. Undergarments and jeans were neatly folded into a dresser drawer, a nice variety of shoe options was neatly lined up in the closet, and toiletries were put away in the small en-suite bathroom. Josephine had stowed her empty suitcase beneath the bed and began to unpack her books.
A quick, loud knock on the door startled her. Before she could react, the door swung open, and Jordan barreled into the bedroom with the family cat, Ranger, flung over her shoulder.
“Okay if we come in?” Jordan asked.
“I think you’re already in, aren’t you?”
“Good point.” Barefoot, her sister sat cross-legged on the bed and gently put Ranger down on the mattress. Ranger, a big coal-black cat with bright golden eyes, immediately flopped onto his side and began to wash his long, black whiskers.
“So...what’s wrong, Jo?”
Josephine looked over at her sister, gave her a weak smile. She knew she had to tell her twin about Brice now; lying to Jordan was a waste of time. They had never been able to keep secrets from each other.
“Brice and I are...going through a rough patch.”
Jordan moved over to one side of the bed and patted the spot next to her. “That’s what I figured.”
Josephine kicked off her shoes and joined her sister and Ranger on the bed. She sat cross-legged, facing her sister with Ranger sprawled out between them, belly up.
“This is just like old times, isn’t it?” she asked Jordan. “Except we had two single beds in here instead of this queen-size bed.”
“I had a picture of Ian from his modeling days hanging up right there.” Jordan pointed to the spot just above the rolltop desk.
“And now you’re marrying him, Jordy...the man of your dreams.” Josephine smiled right before she felt new rash of tears starting to form.
Jordan saw the tears swimming in her eyes. “Tell me what’s going on, Jo.”
Josephine pressed her lips together tightly, looked away for a moment to gather her emotions before she said, “Brice called and told me that he isn’t coming to the wedding. He thinks we should use our time apart this summer to reflect on our relationship in order to make a prudent decision about our future”
“Wait a minute...he dumped you?” Jordan’s eyebrows collapsed together. “The knuckle dragger dumped you?”
“He didn’t dump me exactly. He just wants us to reflect...”
“Oh, my God, Jo! Don’t defend him!” Jordan nearly yelled those words.
Josephine jumped off the bed and shut the door. “Could you keep your voice down, please? I don’t want anyone else to know! This whole thing could just blow over tomorrow.”
“Why would you even want it to blow over?”
Josephine sat back down on the bed. “Because I love him, that’s why. We’ve been together for over five years. I’m not just going to throw that all away just because there’s a little bump in the road.”
“This isn’t a tiny little bump, Jo, this is a ginormous frickin’ crater!”
Josephine scratched Ranger beneath his chin and on the top of his silky head. “I know you’ve never liked Brice, Jordy.”
“I never once said that I didn’t like him.”
Josephine looked up at her sister. “You call him ‘the knuckle dragger’ more than you call him Brice.”
“Fine, so I don’t like him. But that’s just because he thinks he’s better than us, Jo. He thinks he’s better than you, with his family money and country club and connections to Beverly Hills, like any of us could give a rat’s behind.”
“I know that’s how he seems to you, to all of you, but do you really think that I’d be with him for five years if he wasn’t a good guy?” Josephine said pointedly. “There’s a lot more to Brice than any of you really know because none of you have given him an honest chance. Dad’s always so stiff around him and Mom has refused to warm up to him just because I decided...” She put her hand on her heart. “I decided to spend the Christmas after Daniel died with his family instead of coming home.”
“Well, Brice knew your brother had just died. It was stupid of him to even invite you to his parents’ La Jolla beach house in the first place.”
Josephine sighed from frustration. “Just promise you won’t tell anyone. Okay? If they need to know, I’ll tell everyone myself.”
Jordan pretended to lock her lips and toss the key over her shoulder. Her sister stood up, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and gave her a tight squeeze.
“Now, come on, let’s go downstairs. There’s no sense in you sitting up here by yourself moping, especially if you don’t want anyone to pick up on the fact that something’s wrong,” Jordan said. “Besides, nothing’s better for heartbreak than family.”
* * *
As it turned out, Jordan was right. Spending time with her family had helped get her mind off Brice’s sudden, and unexpected, desire to end their relationship. And the plans for Jordan’s wedding were the best kind of distraction for her. Her mom had turned the family library into “Wedding Central,” and once she went back downstairs, she spent hours in the library with Jordan and her mom looking through all of the wedding regalia. She was blissfully surrounded by cake toppers and invitations, seating charts and stacks of RSVPs that needed to be answered. There were scrapbooks filled with all of the selections that had been made for the wedding and Josephine immersed herself in looking through each and every one. She spent hours, laughing and talking with her sister and her mother, and she was stunned when she realized that Brice had barely crossed her mind.
But afterward, when she was alone in bed, in the dark, all she could think of was Brice. Her mind just kept on going over the last several months of her relationship over and over again. Had there been signs that she hadn’t seen? Red flags that she had willfully ignored? Yes, he had been distant and unavailable, but he had just been handed the biggest case of his young career. This case could make or break his career in the field of environmental law. He needed to be focused and she had understood. But now that he had suggested that they take a “break” from their relationship and left her without a wedding date, the idea that his withdrawal from their relationship was only work-related was no longer a plausible explanation. So, what was it?
“Another woman?” Josephine queried quietly aloud.
It feels like another woman.
That’s what her head was saying. That was what her gut was saying. But her heart just couldn’t accept it just yet. Another woman meant that everything that they had been working toward together for years was over. Done. A horrible waste of time for the both of them.
Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep with all of these questions buzzing around in her brain, Josephine got out of bed and quickly pulled on some sweatpants and matching sweatshirt. Josephine tiptoed down the wooden stairs and she was careful to avoid the creaky boards. Life on the ranch started before dawn, so bedtime was early. Chances were, she’d have the downstairs to herself, which was exactly what she wanted. At the bottom of the stairwell, by the dim light streaming in from the library lamp that was always left on, Josephine stopped to straighten the picture of her brother, Daniel, in his Army uniform. She had three older brothers, but everyone knew that Daniel had been her favorite. After he was killed in Iraq, it was hard for her to imagine the ranch without him. It still was.
After one last look at her brother’s portrait, Josephine continued her quiet route to the front door. The front door was always unlocked, so she slowly turned the knob, and pulled the door free from the frame. Once that was accomplished, she carefully pushed the squeaky screen door open a crack, slipped through, and stepped out onto the front porch. She’d started suffering from insomnia when she was in high school, and when she couldn’t sleep, she had always found her way to the giant rocking chairs on the front porch. Still holding the screen door open, she closed her eyes and breathed in the cool, fresh Montana air. She had missed that smell; it was clean and crisp.
“You’re not out here alone.” A male voice in the dark made her jump.
Startled, Josephine let go of the screen door handle and it slammed back into place. Her heart gave one hard thud in her chest; she placed her hand over her heart.
“Sorry,” Logan said in a loud whisper. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Your attempt to not scare me scared me,” Josephine whispered back.
“Sorry,” he repeated.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Josephine hesitated for a second before she decided to join him. It wasn’t ideal; she wanted to be alone. But she wanted to sit outside in her favorite rocking chair more than she wanted to go back upstairs. She sat down in the rocking chair, glad that Logan wasn’t occupying it, and sighed more loudly than she had intended.
“Taking a break from your studies?” Logan asked.
Obviously, he’s going to insist on talking.
“Insomnia. Chronic.”
“It takes me a while to get comfortable in a strange bed.”
Josephine nodded silently.
“I wanted to get to bed early so I could get up early to hike. I suppose I’m going to have to plan on covering less ground tomorrow.”
For the first time since she had joined him, Josephine turned her head his way. “You like to hike?”
Logan moved over to the rocking chair next to her so he could talk to her in a quiet voice. “Hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, anything outdoors...if you can name it, I’m probably into it. How about you? Growing up in a place like this, you must love to hike.”
“I used to hike all over these mountains when I was a kid. No matter how old I get, I think I’ll always love these mountains the most.”
“Well...” Logan stood up. “I think I’m gonna give sleep another try. But if you want to join me, I’m thinking about heading out around seven, seven-thirty.”
“There’s so much to do around here with the wedding. But thank you, though.”
“Sure.” Logan headed down the porch stairs, using the light of the moon to light his footing. At the bottom of the steps, Logan paused to look back at her.
“If you change your mind, I wouldn’t mind the company.”
“I’ll let you know. Good night, Logan.”
“Good night.” Hands in his pockets, Logan strolled in the moonlight the short distance back to Tyler’s bachelor cabin.
She had wanted him to go; she had been relieved when he got up to leave. But now that she was alone on the porch, and alone with her thoughts, Josephine suddenly regretted that Logan had left. He had distracted her, temporarily, from her melancholy and now it was back. Instead of staying on the porch, as she intended, she crept back inside, popped some over-the-counter sleeping aids, and took a steaming hot bath. If she could just get herself to sleep, if she could just demand that her body go to sleep, things would most likely appear less crappy in the morning. Josephine got into bed with that hope. She punched her pillows, kicked at her sheets and blanket, and finally, stiffly, flopped onto her back, hugged one of her pillows to her chest, and closed her eyes. She had already made up her mind that she was going to stay right where she was until she fell asleep. Even if it took all night.
* * *
The next morning, Josephine wasn’t surprised when she awakened before the alarm went off. Even with insomnia, she had always been an early riser. Ranger had meowed at her bedroom door until she had finally relented and let him in. Why he had picked her, she couldn’t be sure, but he had curled his body around the top of her head and she had fallen asleep to the rhythmic sound of his loud purring. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Josephine sat up slowly, scooped Ranger into her arms, and hugged him. He started to purr again, and she kissed him on the head before she set him gently on the bed. She could hear her family already stirring downstairs and she wanted to join them.
“Let’s go see what everyone is up to,” she said to Ranger.
Josephine got dressed quickly and headed downstairs.
“Good morning.” Josephine walked into the kitchen with Ranger trotting along beside her.
The smell of homemade biscuits, sizzling butter, sweet bacon, and eggs permeated the kitchen. Mom was at the industrial-grade stove, frying up more eggs. Her father, Hank, was in his usual seat at the head of the long rectangular table that could seat up to twenty ranch workers if necessary. The family dog, a German shepherd named Ilsa, was sitting to Hank’s left, patiently waiting for her father to sneak her a piece of bacon. Tyler was at his father’s right hand, guzzling down a large mug of coffee loaded with cream and sugar. Logan sat to Tyler’s right, quietly eating his breakfast. It was strange for her to see someone else occupying what had been Daniel’s favored seat at the table. Logan nodded his head and smiled at her; she gave him a quick smile in return.
“Good morning, sweetheart, did you sleep well?” Barbara Brand tilted her head a bit so her daughter could give her their customary kiss.
“Once I finally fell asleep, I slept like a rock.” Josephine wrapped her arms around her mom’s shoulders from behind, gave her a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek.
No matter what time in the morning, Barbara was always put together. Her mom smelled faintly of her signature perfume; her hair, blond streaked with silver, was pulled back off her classically pretty face into a chignon, and her makeup was light and flawlessly applied. The woman never gave up. She had lived with dirty cowboys and cows for over forty years, but she had refused to let go of her sophisticated, big-city Chicago roots. Her mottos were Simplicity Is Elegance and A Woman Can Be Stylish Anywhere. And she lived those mottos on a daily basis.
“Orange juice is on the table. Scrambled or fried?” Barbara pointed to the eggs with her spatula.
“I think I’m just going to grab coffee and a banana.” Josephine put her hands lightly on her mom’s shoulders. “Can I help?”
“No, honey, I’m just doing my thing. Go spend some time with Dad before he disappears for the day.” Barbara started to flip the eggs over one by one.
Next, Josephine greeted her father with a hug and a kiss.
“Mornin’, Princess. You’re up with the rooster.” Her father squeezed her hand affectionately.
Henry “Hank” Brand had Montana ranching in his blood. His family had owned the Bent Tree Cattle Ranch for four generations. Raising cattle was what Hank loved to do; he was in his early sixties, but he was tall and lean and could still sit straight in the saddle with the youngest ranch hands. He had thick silver hair, usually hidden beneath a cowboy hat, and he had bright blue trademark Brand eyes, deeply set, that stood out in contrast to the tanned skin of his narrow face.
“Sit right here next to me.” Hank leaned over and pulled the chair out for his daughter to join him.
Josephine grabbed a cup of coffee and then headed back to the table. Before she sat down, she hugged Ilsa around the neck; the shepherd was definitely starting to show her age. Ilsa was graying around her muzzle and eyes. Josephine took the seat next to her father and reached for a large ripe banana from a bowl of fruit. Tyler stopped chewing for a second to smile at her with closed lips; he nodded to the pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice. She held out her glass for Tyler to fill it for her.
“So what you were saying, Logan, is that we might be able to relocate the chapel?” Hank pushed his plate forward and reached for his mug full of steaming black coffee.
“I don’t know why we’re even discussing this.” Barbara walked back over to the table, her hands resting firmly on her hips. “We aren’t changing the venue for the wedding. I’ve been killing myself for over a year with all of these arrangements. We’ve paid the deposit, the invitations have been sent out...” Everyone in the kitchen, including the dog, was focused on Barbara now. “St. Peter’s is where all of my children were baptized, St. Peter’s is where Dan is buried, and St. Peter’s is where the wedding is going to be held!”
Hank reached for his wife’s hand. “Barb, we’re just talking about relocating the chapel. Jordan knows that the chapel is out of the question for the wedding.”
“Oh, I missed that part.” Before Barb turned back to the stove, she pointed to her son. “Tyler, how many times have I asked you to not to feed Ranger at the table?”
Josephine looked across the table at her brother; Ranger was sitting on Tyler’s lap waiting for a morsel to come his way. Tyler winked at her and smiled, but didn’t move Ranger.
“I haven’t been up to the chapel in years.” Josephine remembered playing wedding there with Jordan when they were girls. “Are you really thinking about moving the chapel, Dad? How? And where would you put it?”
Great-grandpa Brand had been a full-time rancher and a part-time preacher. He’d built a small chapel on the ranch with his own hands, and had a small congregation that would come on Sunday morning to hear him preach. It had sat abandoned, unused, for decades.
“I don’t really know.” Hank snuck Ilsa a full strip of bacon from his plate. “I haven’t been up there in years. I couldn’t tell you if it’s even still standing.”
“It’s standing,” Tyler said. “But it’s rough. Real rough.”
“I’d be willing to take a look at it for you, sir,” Logan offered. “My uncle’s a contractor. He had me framing houses before I could drive. I could take some pictures and get my uncle take a look at them.”
Hank stood up and grabbed his hat off the back of his chair. “I’d appreciate that.”
Ranger hopped down to the ground when Tyler stood up and grabbed his hat as well. “I can take him up there so he can get a look around.”
“No, I need you supervising the work on the north fence today.” Hank grabbed his plate and utensils, stacked them in the sink, and then kissed his wife.
It hit her out of the blue, but the only thing Josephine wanted to do with her morning was see the chapel. She didn’t want to spend the morning cooped up with a bunch of textbooks. She wanted to get out in the fresh air, get out into the sunlight, and get her blood pumping by hiking her way up to the ninety-year-old chapel.
“Mom? Jordan’s not going to be ready to tackle wedding stuff until after noon. If you don’t need me, I could take Logan up to see the chapel.”
“That’s fine, honey. Just make sure you take plenty of water and bug spray.” Her mother never took a break from being her mother.
Josephine looked at Logan. “If you don’t mind...I’ll take you to the chapel.”
Logan had been sitting across the table from Josephine, trying not to stare at her. There was just something about her that got his attention and held it. Would he mind spending the morning hiking in the mountains with the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a long time?
Heck, no!
Logan did his best not to look like a kid who had just been handed the keys to the candy store when he casually said to Josephine, “No, I don’t mind.”
Chapter Four (#ulink_3c8868c8-bf2a-5163-aefa-1a763d3976fd)
Josephine quickly changed into a pair of denim cutoff shorts and hiking boots, and layered a sweatshirt over a Berkeley Law T-shirt. She grabbed sunglasses, a baseball cap, and raced down the stairs. She deliberately left her cell phone behind. This was her time to take a break from her worries over her relationship with Brice. This was her first full day home at the ranch and it seemed sacrilegious not to at least make the attempt to enjoy it.
“Ready?” Logan was waiting for her.
“Ready.” Josephine hopped down the porch stairs to meet him.
Logan liked the way Josephine’s face was lit up with excitement. He had no doubt that the excitement was related to the hike and seeing the chapel, but he couldn’t stop himself from hoping that perhaps spending time with him factored into that equation.
“Lead the way, boss.” Logan lifted his heavy rucksack onto his shoulders.
They walked along a well-worn dirt road that would lead them up the mountain to her great-grandfather’s chapel. Before they reached the tree line at the base of the mountain, the early morning sun was heating up the bright blue, cloudless sky. By the time they reached tree line, Josephine was ready to shed her outer layer of clothing.
“This road will take us about three-quarters of the way up this mountain.” She wrapped her sweatshirt around her hips and put her hat back on. “There’s an incredible view of the continental divide once you reach the peak. You’ve got to be sure to check that out while you’re here, but you’ll have to get there on foot or on horseback. Do you ride?”
Logan nodded. “All my life.”
“Well...” Josephine slid the sunglasses back into place. “Anytime you want to ride, just let London know. She’s the intern working in the foaling barn. She’ll make sure there’s a horse saddled up for you.”
Together, side by side, they walked along the gravel and dirt road that followed a winding stream up the mountain. Although she had known him for only a very short time, it wasn’t awkward hiking alone with Logan. Out of his uniform, he wasn’t uptight. Their conversation was easy, and right when a lull was about to occur, Logan would ask her another question about the history of the ranch. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that Brice had never shown this much interest in her family’s history. Even though she hadn’t really paid much attention to that before today. But with Logan’s genuine interest as a comparison, it was pretty hard to ignore.
“Do you mind if we take a quick break?” she asked when they reached the halfway point.
Josephine found a large boulder near the stream embankment and sat down. She closed her eyes for a minute to enjoy fully the sounds of the mountains. It seemed so quiet when they were walking and talking, but right now she could hear how loud the water flowing over the rocks in the stream sounded.
“Thirsty?” Logan, kneeling nearby, had opened his rucksack. He held out a bottle of water to her, which she accepted.
She drank the water slowly, taking some time to catch her breath. Logan downed his water, stuffed the empty bottle back into his bag, and then stripped his T-shirt off. Beneath it was a ribbed tank top that clung to his chest and stomach. For a second, Josephine found herself mindlessly staring at Logan. He wasn’t tall; she typically dated tall men. In fact, when she stood next to him in heels, she was a little taller than he was.
But on the other hand, he was built like Michelangelo’s David. His body was incredible. She’d never seen anything like it in real life. His shoulders, his biceps, his chest, were covered with thick, defined muscle. His waist was tapered and she could actually see the ripples of his abdominal muscles through the ribbed material. Logan didn’t have a six-pack—he had an eight-pack. In particular, she was fascinated by the large tattoo of a dark gray wolf that covered a large portion of his upper left arm and chest. Part of the tattoo was obscured by his tank top, and Josephine wished she could move the material over and take a closer look at the design. It looked like beautiful work. Knowing that she needed to stop staring at the man, she looked at the stream instead. But, she could still see him out of the corner of her eye as he wiped the sweat off his face, neck, and arms with his T-shirt.
After a minute, she stood up and brushed the dirt off the seat of her shorts. “I’m over here huffing and puffing and you’ve barely broken a sweat.”
Logan rolled up his T-shirt and packed it back into the rucksack. “I spend a lot of time indoor rock climbing.”
“It shows.” This was blurted out without thought. Josephine inwardly cringed as she extended her empty bottle to him.
He smiled at her as he held out his hand for her bottle. She was genuinely relieved when he didn’t latch on to her comment and run with it. He just zipped up his bag, slung it back onto his shoulders, and adjusted the straps for comfort.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep.” Now that she had caught her breath, she was eager to reach the chapel. So many years had passed by since she had laid eyes on her childhood haunt. What would it be like to see it now, through the eyes of an adult?
“There’s a fork in the road up ahead,” she told him. “If you take this road to the right, it will take you to a cave that my grandfather found.”
“A cave?”
She sidestepped a dip in the road. “It’s incredible. But it’s hard to get into. You basically have to crawl on your back along this narrow tunnel that leads to the main chamber. The main chamber is huge—completely dark. Archaeologists have studied our cave for years. There are areas all along the sides of the main area where they believe that prehistoric humans lived. And they ended up finding a lot of artifacts in the main chamber and some of the smaller chambers.”
“I’ll have to check it out.”
“I don’t like the crawling part so much... It’s a little claustrophobic. But once you get inside, you feel like you’ve been transported back in time. I haven’t been there in ages, but I can still remember how cold it was inside the cave.”
At the top of a hill, they reached the fork in the road. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath; she had put in hundreds of hours on the elliptical machine, and the climb was still tough. The change in altitude, the thinner air, impacted her mild case of asthma. Next time she came up here, she’d have to remember her inhaler.
“Up that way is the cave...” She pointed to the right.
“I suppose this isn’t the day for that?”
“I really need to get back before noon. There’s still a lot that needs to get done for the wedding. But, you can head up there after we see the chapel, if you want.”
Logan shifted his rucksack on his back to a more comfortable position. “We’ll see.”
In actuality, he didn’t intend to separate from her. This was her ranch, and she knew the territory better than he did, but he had a protective nature. He wouldn’t feel right not seeing her safely back to the house.
“It’s not too far now,” Josephine said as they started up a new hill. Her thigh muscles were burning from the hike and she couldn’t believe how much protesting her body was doing. When she had been a little girl, she could run up and down these hills without any trouble at all. Now, it was taking all of her strength, physical and mental, to hike to the chapel without taking a ton of minibreaks. If Logan hadn’t been with her, she would have taken several breaks already. But since he was pressing on, she was pressing on.
At the bottom of another steep hill, the final hill that would lead them to the plateau where her great-grandfather had built his chapel, Josephine paused. Her face felt hot and wet with perspiration. She used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe the sweat from her face and then prepared to tackle the last leg of this impromptu hike.
“Doing okay?” Logan stood beside her patiently.
She nodded. “The altitude is getting to me.”
“You’ve been setting a really tough pace for this hike,” he said. “Why don’t we slow it down a bit?”
Hands on her hips, bending forward slightly, trying to catch her breath again, Josephine looked at him, surprised. “I’ve been setting the pace?”
He nodded his head “yes.”
Josephine laughed a breathy laugh, and then coughed. “And here I’ve been blaming it on you!”
Logan laughed with her. “No. I’ve had to work to keep up.”
“You’re kidding?” Josephine laughed again with a shake of her head. “Do you mean that I feel a little like I’m going to pass out and I’ve done it to myself?”
Logan’s smiled faded as he took a step toward her. “You feel light-headed?”
“A little. It’s no big deal. Asthma.”
“Here...” He pointed to a flat boulder on the side of the road. “I think you should sit down.”
“The chapel is right up that hill. I’ll rest when I get up there.”
“How long has the chapel been there?”
“A hundred years.”
Logan put his hand on her shoulder to guide her toward the boulder. “Then, chances are it’ll still be there thirty minutes from now.”
It was a point that she couldn’t argue, so she walked over to the boulder and let him help her down to a sitting position. She crossed her legs and gave herself permission to rest.
One knee on the ground, Logan knelt in front of her and opened his rucksack. He held out two high-energy protein bars for her to see.
“Take your pick.”
She chose the peanut-butter bar and gratefully accepted another bottle of water.
“What else do you have in that thing?” she asked when he joined her on the boulder. “It’s like you’re carrying a mini convenience store on your back.”
He opened the wrapper of his bar with his teeth. “Did you see the movie 127 Hours?”
“Uh-uh...” She wished she had time for movies, but she didn’t.
“It was about a rock climber who had to cut off his own arm.”
“Oh!” She nodded. “I remember that—the guy in Utah, right?”
“As a rock climber, first, it kind of scared the crap out of me, to be honest. But second, it reminded me that I have to be prepared because, if a freak accident like that could happen to that guy, a freak accident could happen to me.”
Then he asked, “Feeling better?”
“Much.” After eating the protein bar and taking a moment to rest, the light-headed feeling had passed.
“Ready to get back to it?”
Josephine nodded. “Sure.”
Logan stood up and offered her his hand, which she accepted.
“Thank you for talking me into taking a break—and feeding me.”
“Anytime.” He hoisted the heavy backpack onto his shoulders.
She had enjoyed it, as well. Sitting with Logan on that boulder, without another soul in sight, had been perfectly comfortable. It had taken her months to feel comfortable around Brice; he had always made her feel so nervous because he was so brilliant with the law. If she were to be honest with herself, sometimes Brice still made her feel a little anxious whenever they got into a conversation about California statutes or federal law. But with Logan, she was at total ease—not a single nerve in sight.
What did that mean?
Josephine forced her brain to stop trying to unravel meaningless life riddles, and refocus on finishing her trek up the steep hill. She leaned slightly forward, bent her knees, ignored the burning in her thighs and lungs, and willed her body to finish the last half of the hill quickly. At the top of the hill, Josephine threw back her head and let out a loud whoop to celebrate her accomplishment.
“I made it!” she exclaimed happily.
Logan joined her at the top of the final hill. She was glad to see that he was finally winded, too.
“Now, that felt good...” He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his forearm. He smiled at her. “You’re a maniac.”
Pleased, she asked, “I am?” No one had ever called her that before. Cautious and tenacious, yes. Maniac? Never.
“I nearly had to sprint up that hill just to keep up with you.” He was impressed with her. “I’d really love to take you rock climbing one day.”
For a moment, they both considered what he had just said. It sounded like he had asked her out on a date.
Knowing that she had a serious boyfriend, Logan added, “You and Brice...”
“I think I can safely say that it would be a definite ‘no’ for Brice.” Brice was an avid sportsman. And he was very skilled at many things: fencing, sailing, golfing. But rock climbing? That wouldn’t turn out well for anyone involved.
“It’s not for everyone,” he agreed, walking beside her through a small clearing to the edge of a patch of trees and overgrown brush.
“There it is!” Josephine pushed some branches out of her path and stepped over a fallen log. “See?”
“That is too cool.” Logan looked through the branches of the trees and spotted the old chapel, tucked away in the hillside.
He pulled a small machete out of his rucksack. “Let me get in front of you so I can cut a path for us.”
She shook her head, an amused smile on her face. “Really? You brought a machete?”
“Like I told you, I need to be prepared. I never know when I might have to perform an emergency amputation.” He stepped in front of her and started whacking away at the branches.
“We’ll have none of that, sir.” She hung back, far away from the sharp blade.
Logan seemed to relish clearing a path for them, and in no time at all, they were standing in front of the chapel. They stood together, silently and reverently, in front of the structure that her ancestor had built a hundred years before. It was a small building—much smaller than she remembered. But, she supposed, everything looked smaller when you looked at it again as an adult. And yet, it was just as magical as she remembered.
“It looks like a little hobbit house, doesn’t it?” She asked him quietly. She didn’t know why she was whispering—it just felt right.
Logan put away the machete. “The construction is incredible. It still looks solid as a rock.”
The chapel was the size of a modern day one-car garage, with a steeple roof, stone foundation, and a curved, heavy wooden door. The shallow stone steps leading up to the chapel door were covered in moss, decomposing leaves, and twigs.
Josephine ran her hand over the pitted wood of the chapel door. “I always loved this door—I can’t really believe that it’s still here...still on its hinges.”
Logan checked the hinges. “They’re rusted through. If you want to go inside, it’s going to take some brute force.”
“I’m going in.” There wasn’t any scenario in the equation that didn’t include her going inside the chapel.
Together, they used their body weight and strength to force the door open. Logan slammed the side of his body into the wood, while she used her hands to push. Finally, after several attempts of prying the hinges free, there was a loud sound and the door cracked open.
“Keep pushing!” Logan leaned harder into the door, using his feet to brace himself in place.
The top door hinge broke under the pressure, popped off, and flew over her shoulder.
“Whoa!” She ducked to the side. “That was close!”
“You all right?”
“Yeah...it just missed me. Can we get in?”
“Almost.” He gave the door one last hard shove with his body and pushed it open wide enough for them to squeeze through.
Logan stepped inside the dusty, cobweb-laden chapel first. It was dirty, and there were signs that animals had been inside of the structure, but it appeared to be safe.
When she stepped inside of the chapel, it was like stepping back in time. Her heart felt it...her brain felt it...for just a split-second, she was transported to her childhood. This was the enchanted place where she had played and dreamed with her twin. They would spend from sunrise to sunset up on this mountain, perfectly content acting out every fantasy they could imagine.
“Look—only one of the stained glass windows broke.” Josephine slowly walked along the narrow aisle that led up to a pulpit hand-carved by her father’s grandfather.
On either side of the aisle, roughly hewn benches were tipped onto their sides. Originally, there had been four benches on either side of the aisle. Now, there were only five benches left. Birds had flown through the broken window and had made nests up in the rafters. Much like the chapel itself, the nests seemed to have been abandoned long ago.
“What do you think?” she asked him.
“I love this place,” Logan said immediately. His eyes were taking inventory. He’d spent a lot of time on jobs with his uncle and he had been personally involved with moving older structures.
The moment she reached the pulpit, she started to brush the dirt and leaves off of it. She could see herself, so clear was the memory, standing behind the pulpit pretending to preach to an enthralled congregation.
Her fingers found what they were searching for: her initials, carved into the top of the pulpit. “Can it be moved?”
On the other side of the pulpit, he looked up at the tin roof and the beams holding it in place. He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Yes. It can.”
“You’re serious.”
“It can be done,” Logan said definitively.
Her mind started to whirl with ideas. “If we moved it closer to the ranch, we could actually restore it!”
“Absolutely.” He would love to have a hand in restoring the chapel.
Face-to-face, with only the pulpit between them, they stood smiling at each other as if they had just uncovered a buried treasure. Josephine, exactly at that moment, noticed Logan’s eyes. Yes, she had seen his eyes before. But, she hadn’t really noticed how incredibly beautiful they were—such a dark, rich brown that they reminded her of expensive black satin.
“What?” He asked her, in a half curious, half amused manner.
His single-word question snapped her out of it—she had been unintentionally staring into his eyes. Once she realized that she had been mindlessly ogling him, she started to laugh.
“Sorry—I was just thinking about something from when I was a kid.”
“What’s that?”
“When I was...oh, I don’t know...seven or eight...” Josephine walked out from behind the pulpit and joined Logan where he was standing.
“I used to stand in this exact spot and pretend that I was getting married. Jordan and I took turns officiating the wedding and being the bride...” Josephine laughed softly and looked over at him. “You standing here just reminded me of that. I haven’t thought of that in years. And, of course, that was before I discovered Gloria Steinem when I was thirteen and swore off marriage entirely.”
“But, Gloria Steinem did eventually get married,” Logan said thoughtfully.
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