Page 22 of Destined for the Cowboy

As clearly as a photograph the memory snapped into his mind, of the day he’d admitted some people found his fascination with the past strange. He’d felt safe saying it to her, knowing she had a bit of that herself.

You know what they say about people who don’t learn from history…

Yeah, they’re destined to repeat it. And the first thought that barreled into his head now was that his history with women he dared to let himself care about was not something he wanted to repeat. Ever.

Not even with a woman who seemed to already know him well enough to guess what that “Nor are you strange” statement would mean to him.

By a few days later, he’d successfully put the tempting offer to accompany them out of his mind. But the moment he realized he’d made a promise to go back and recheck the Baylor horse with the flat foot problem and make sure the raised shoe was working, it all came roaring back. Even if he didn’t see Jeremy, he’d know the boy, Tris’s nephew, was there, and that was all it took.

But a promise was a promise, so he loaded up what he’d need if it turned out the animal needed the extra padding he and Richard had talked about and headed out there.

The horse was doing fine, and he thought he was going to skate when Jeremy bolted out the front door of the main houseand ran toward him. A large golden retriever bounded along behind him. He remembered hearing something about the dog having belonged to a friend of Chance Rafferty, and that the animal had tracked Jeremy down when he’d been lost in that thunderstorm.

“Mr. Logan! Are you coming with us this weekend? It’s going to be so cool, and Aunt Tris said it was all your idea, and even Dad’s going to come, but you know how to get there so you have to come, right?”

He’d swear the boy hadn’t even taken a breath during the outpouring. He tried to think of a way out that wouldn’t dull the child’s enthusiasm. “It’s going to be a family thing, Jeremy. I’m not family.”

“Neither’s Uncle T, but he’d come. Dad says the family you build yourself is better sometimes. Except for Aunt Tris, a’course.”

The family you choose. So much for those who thought all actors lived only on the surface, pretending in life as they did in front of a camera. Just as with his sister, there was wisdom in Jackson Thorpe.

On the thought he heard the familiar voice from behind him. “He’s right, you know,” Jackson said. “It was your idea, and a good one, so you should come.” He reached out and tousled his son’s hair. “Besides, then the adults will really outnumber this guy, and that’s a good thing.”

“Aw, Dad,” Jeremy protested, but he was grinning almost proudly.

Logan had only seen the boy a couple of times back when they’d first abandoned Hollywood for the Hill Country. But now he saw him more often, and the change was obvious, even to him. Obvious, and remarkable.

“Tell him he has to come,” Jeremy ordered his father. Then, “C’mon, Maverick, let’s go!”

Boy and dog took off at a run, headed into the barn, no doubt toward Pie. The pony was still Jeremy’s favorite animal on the ranch, although Logan guessed the dog had already tied him in the boy’s affections.

“You heard him,” Jackson said, and Logan’s head snapped around to look at the famous face. He’d never been an avid TV watcher, preferring to read, but he’d watched a bit ofStonewallover the years it had been on. Enough that it struck him odd to be standing here looking at that face in person instead of on screen. And he remembered Nic’s disdain for the show and, as she called it, Hollywood fakery. And yet here stood the star, on her ranch, and from what he could tell solidly and probably permanently in her life.

Just proves you know jack about it, Fox.

“—like your idea of going from there to the tall ship, so it’ll be a long day.”

Logan blinked, tuned back in. “All in one day, yes, it’d be full.”

“It would help if you can drive once we hit Houston. Nic hates driving in cities, and I’m clueless there. GPS can only help so much, and it’s a pain in traffic in an unfamiliar place. So, thanks.”

Nic. He should have realized she’d be coming. The two of them were rarely apart for long these days from what he’d heard. And seen. Did that mean Tris wasn’t coming along? Despite her enthusiasm for the idea?

Belatedly, because of his distraction about Tris, he realized Jackson had said thanks. As if it were a done deal. Had he somewhere along the line, without realizing it, said yes?

“—and we’ll cover all the fees, so don’t worry about that. And you should probably have my phone number, and vice versa,” Jackson was saying now.

“I…sure,” Logan said, not sure either how he’d gotten into this or how to get out. His mouth quirked wryly as he thought of all the people out there, mostly women, who would love to have this man’s phone number.

Numbers exchanged, Jackson nodded. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. We’ll all meet up and leave from here in our full-sized SUV, so since her place is closer to yours than we are, Tris will come pick you up.”

Tris will come pick you up.

Now he’d done it.

Chapter Thirteen

Tris had beenyawning since she’d gotten up, going through her regular morning routine despite the fact that it was two hours earlier than she usually got moving, especially on a weekend.

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