Page 57 of An Unexpected Home

Chapter 14

Property and house searches turned up nothing and Brandon was frustrated. What was this guy's deal and why did he seem to be terrorizing Leah? As far as he and his deputies could tell, nothing had been taken. It was just like The Rinky Dinky. Except this time, someone had gotten hurt.

Pulling into Logan’s, he put his car in park and just sat there for a few minutes. He didn’t want Leah to see how angry he was. Because he wasn’t angry with her. He was angry at himself for not being a very good cop. This guy was like a fucking ghost and no one could seem to find him.

He was not willing to let Leah go through weeks of being scared just because he couldn’t catch this guy. Her happiness was the most important thing to him. Stepping out of his car, he made his way to Logan’s front door. When he found it locked – his brother was smarter than he looked – he knocked.

“Hey,” Logan greeted him, stepping out onto the porch with him and shutting the door behind him. “Did you find anything?”

“No,” he said and leaned back against the handrail. “Not a damn thing.”

“Fuck,” Logan swore.

Brandon looked at his brother. “How’re the girls?”

“Resilient. Especially Mel. It’s like she doesn’t even seem to care that she could have been seriously hurt.”

“What’s going on with you and her anyway?”

“What do you mean?” Logan said a little defensively.

“I get that she is like family and that we care if all the girls are safe, but you are being weird with her.”

“No weirder than you are with Leah,” he spouted. And wasn’t that telling.

“Uhmm, bro, Leah’s my girlfriend.”

Logan’s face paled, almost like he was going to puke. And then he stood silent for a minute just staring out into the driveway. “Something happened when I saw her unconscious and lying on the ground, Bran. It was like I was seeing her for the very first time.”

Brandon didn’t say anything – really what could you say to an admission like that.

“And now it’s like I can’t breathe if I think about her not being near me.”

“Welcome to my world,” he muttered.

“Is this how it feels for you...with Leah?”

“Pretty much.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do about it?” Logan looked miserable. For as much as he himself had never dated or been in a relationship, Logan was worse. His hook-ups were of the one-night variety and he never usually saw them again.

“Normally I’d say tell her. But this is Melanie. You’ve known her since she was born, so you need to tread lightly.”

“You’re fucking helpful.”

“Aren’t you leaving for your trip soon anyway?”

“I’m canceling it,” Logan said without hesitation.

“Wow,” Brandon said. “You’ve never done that before.”

“Would you have me just leave? Now?” He pointed to the house.

Brandon nodded. “I get it, it’s just a big deal for you.”

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