Page 24 of Destined for the Cowboy

“That I can believe,” Logan said dryly.

She smiled wryly, unable to argue that point because she felt the same way. “It was hard for my brother to walk away, but…”

“Jackson will be there for anything that boy genuinely wants.”

“Yes,” she said, somehow not surprised that he knew that about her brother. “He’ll never forget what it was like when Jeremy wasn’t…here. When he was so lost.”

He studied her for a moment. “Nor will you, I suspect.”

She didn’t try to deny it. “No. I love that child, and it was hell to see him like that.”

“And made you relive a little of your own hell?”

The question—asked in a softer, gentler tone—startled her. Enough that she answered honestly, instead of brushing it off. “Yes.”

“Sometimes the only thing that gets you through that is knowing that someone else really knows how you feel. And Jeremy knows you know, so you’re helping him.”

She liked the way he’d put that. Then another thought struck her as she remembered just who he was. What she’d seen him do with one of the particularly nervous horses on Nic’s—well, and Jackson’s now too—ranch.

Making sure there was a smile on her face now she asked, “Is this how you do it? The horses, I mean? You somehow get through to them that you know how they feel?”

She counted his startled look as a victory, because she doubted this man was taken aback very often. Then, slowly, he smiled back, and it was a lovely one.

“In a way, yes.”

“I’d love to see that at work sometime.” She went on before he could react. “Anyway, thank you. I know this is probably not how you wanted to spend the next fifteen or sixteen hours.”

She was certain she could feel his gaze now. And his voice had changed somehow when he spoke, gotten a little rougher.

“I can think of worse ways.”

She had to take in a breath to steady herself. “So can I.”

They were at the big oak tree now, and she made the turn back into civilization. The moment she thought it, she wondered at the oddness of the thought. True, his place was a bit out of the way, but it wasn’t actually remote. Last Stand was only about five miles away. It was simply that there was nothing else around it that made his home feel so isolated. Even the Baylor ranch had multiple barns and outbuildings in addition to the main house, plus the place that Jackson and Nic had made their own, which made it feel more…populated somehow.

She herself had always needed more quiet and alone time than David ever had. He had been much more gregarious and thrived on large gatherings, while she had looked upon them as something to get through. She could talk to people, and be outgoing and friendly, but afterward she needed time to recharge, while David had always been energized by the same process that drained her. It had taken him some time to understand this, and it had been one of the roughest spots in their mostly smooth marriage.

She had the feeling Logan Fox already understood. And the fact that she had thought that in conjunction with her memories of her husband rattled her to the core. So much that they made the rest of the drive in silence.

If Jeremy was sleepy, being roused at this early hour, it certainly didn’t show. He was so excited he fairly buzzed with it, hurling himself at her for a hug, and then grabbing Logan’s hand to lead him over to Jackson’s waiting SUV.

“Nic’s gonna drive at first, then you when we get there,” the boy explained.

“Got it all worked out, huh?” Logan said, making no effort to free himself from the boy’s grasp.

“Yep! So Dad and Nic start in front, then you and Aunt Tris.” He grinned. “Dad says I’m in charge of the back seat. That means I’m the boss there.”

“Yes, sir,” Logan said. Her nephew’s grin widened, and she could have hugged both of them.

It wasn’t until that heartwarming emotion ebbed a little that she wondered why the boy had made the assumption that she and Logan would always be sitting together no matter who was driving.

Chapter Fourteen

It went muchmore easily than Logan had expected. He found himself unexpectedly cheered by Jeremy’s boundless curiosity. In a way the boy reminded him of himself, always wanting to know more about so many of the things they encountered, even on the drive to Houston. It did surprise him that the boy wanted to sit between them rather than next to a window, although he was grateful for it. Even that buffer was welcome, because he wasn’t sure how he would have done sitting directly next to Tris for hours.

He found himself enjoying the way Tris interacted with her nephew, subtly teaching him how to find out the answers to questions none of them could answer. The love between the two was so clear it was practically blinding, and he felt a pang he hadn’t had in a very long time for what he’d missed out on as a kid. He switched his gaze to look out the window, realizing he wasn’t even aware of where they were, he’d been so fixated on the pair beside him.

When he saw the sign for Bastrop, he realized he’d entirely missed the outskirts of Austin. He grimaced inwardly at himself and this habit he’d developed when Tris was around, to get so focused on something he missed everything else. He stared out at the passing landscape. It was full light now and promised to be a warm spring day. It was early enough in the year that the humidity of Houston might not be too bad, and it would be—

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