Page 76 of Marrying the Nanny

“You’re going to take Storm,” Logan said. “Marry Emma and then what? Take them to Calgary to live happily ever after?”

“God willing and the river don’t rise, yeah. Why?” Reid wasn’t 100 percent confident in his ability to parent effectively or make a woman happy, so Logan’s disbelief struck a nerve. “You got a problem with that?”

“You always do this.” Logan flung up a hand. “You say, ‘Cool your jets, boys. Let’s think this through.’ Then you make a major decision without talking it out with either of us.”

“By ‘always’ you mean the last twelve years when I’ve seen you exactly once?”

Reid kept his voice cool and unruffled despite being annoyed. He wasn’t the same person he’d been when he had left, and he didn’t appreciate being judged on his adolescent self. However, he was as guilty as they were for letting time pass with a handful of texts that revealed next to nothing about the person he’d become.

“Since we’ve been here, I’ve brought up every issue before I made a final decision. Are you angry I didn’t run this by you before I asked Emma? Is that it?”

Trystan hadn’t moved. “Are you two…?”

“Yeah,” Logan jumped in. “What about the rule? That was your idea. Are you—”

“No,” Reid stressed with a hard look. “That’s the first and last time I’ll answer that question.” He poured cold beer down his throat, welcoming the burn.

It was his first days in Raven’s Cove all over again, when his brothers had stared at him like a circus oddity. His private life wasn’t hanging out quite as badly this time, but he still heard the ringing demand that he defend himself.

“People get married for practical reasons,” he said.

“So there’s a bride price? Which currency do we use?” Logan asked.

“I like Emma.”

“I like her, too,” Trystan said. “Doesn’t mean I want to marry her. Eighteen years, Reid. Have you thought this through?”

“Whatever comes of that”—he nodded at the envelope on the bench—“I want to be ahead of it. We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

“Emma’s up for that?” Logan asked with a choke. “She’s going to marry a stranger so she can raise someone else’s kid?”

“I’m not a stranger.”

“I don’t know you,” Logan muttered into his beer. “What happens if it doesn’t work?”

“We’re signing a custody arrangement before we tie the knot.” Reid set aside his bottle and ran his hands over his thighs. “Something that will ensure we all have a place in Storm’s life. Your input on that is invited.”

“Gee, thanks.” Logan drained his beer.

Reid swore at the panels above his head. “I don’t know why you have such a bug up your ass. This is a good solution for everyone, including you. You’re welcome.”

“That’s why. Right there.” Logan jabbed his finger in an aggravated point. “You want me to feel grateful. Or guilty. Both, probably, because I didn’t say I would take her.”

“Which ‘her’ are we talking about?” Reid glared a warning that Logan was standing on a thin ledge.

“Both of them, apparently.”

“How you feel about your own actions, or lack thereof, is your business. I take no responsibility.” Reid splayed his empty hands.

“Well, I don’t,” Logan assured him. “I don’t feel one speck of fucking guilt.” He clunked his beer onto the nearest tabletop and started for the door. “Congratulations. Enjoy your new wife and baby.”

“Where are you going?” Trystan asked sharply.

“To get the truck. Why did we even come here if Saint Fucking Reid was going to swoop in and be a hero about it?” He was too respectful of the workmanship to slam the door, but he gave it a firm, temper-laden snap as he closed it behind his departure.

Reid swore and pinched the bridge of his nose. Much as he’d trained himself to be impervious to other people’s emotional outbursts, Logan’s resentment got under his skin. He wasn’t trying to be a hero. He was solving a problem, taking control of as many variables as he could before someone else did.

“Whatever is going on with his client is pretty bad.” Trystan took another pull off his beer. “He’s going to have to refund a deposit, and he lost a contract to a competitor because he wasn’t there to close the deal.”

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