Page 25 of Cupcake

Logan kissed the top of his head before he opened the door.

Noah jumped down before taking off down the road.

He found himself sniffling. Logan knew that Noah wasn’t just a cat. He was a shifter and a familiar. And even though he didn’t know what that meant, he knew that Noah needed to be with Dean.

Noah wasn’t his to lose but it still hurt his heart.

Allowing himself a few minutes to be upset, Logan felt better once he climbed out of his truck. He grabbed his tablet so he could make notes as he walked around. There wasn’t much traffic. This really would be the perfect spot for what Logan had planned.

Maybe he could bring Levi by.

Levi had a real eye for seeing the beauty in things. He also enjoyed plants and flowers nearly as much as Logan. And Logan missed his friend. He couldn’t blame Levi for wanting to be with his mate. Logan would never want to come between two mates. Plus, the attack on Levi and Mason had to be hard to get past. But Logan still missed going up on the roof and sitting with Levi.

They didn’t even have to talk. Truthfully Levi wasn’t much of a talker anyway. They could just sit and peer out over their home and territory.

If he didn’t find his mate, would Logan need to leave? Part of him feared the answer to that question. The other part realized it was his insecurity making him think that way.

His family wouldn’t send him away. Axel and the others loved him as much as Logan loved them. Logan was just being silly. He knew this.

Logan made sure not to forget his wheeled measuring tape and set off to get what he needed.

The winter wind chilled him but in jeans and hoodie he was comfortable enough. The sun was fighting to break through the clouds above. It wouldn’t be long before spring would be here. Logan was looking forward to long naps under his favorite tree with the warm sun beating down on him.

The beginning of spring would signal the start of a whole new season. Maybe a happier season. Anything could be possible.

Working hard, Logan was sweating by the time he finished an hour later.

He shouldn't have skipped breakfast.

Logan was both hungry and thirsty.

Heading back to his truck, Logan considered his options. There should be someone from the family in town and maybe they’d want to meet him for breakfast. He’d send a few text messages when he got back to his truck.

Logan was near his truck when he spotted the person waiting for him. He stumbled over his own feet.

Oh! Oh, Logan hadn’t expected this.

Dean waved at him.

Should he wave back? Logan lifted his hand. Dang! Now he was just standing there like a dumb-dumb. He quickly dropped his hand before he got his feet moving again.

Dean looked good.

It had been so long since Logan had seen the other man. Dean’s dirty-blond hair was ruffled by the wind and Logan wanted to run his fingers through those shiny locks. No! Logan wasn’t going to do this anymore.

Just because Dean came back didn’t mean that anything had changed. Dean was not Logan’s mate. And Logan wanted to find his special person so bad. He wanted to be loved and cherished. He deserved it. Logan had to stay far away from Dean.

With a roll of his shoulders, Logan tried to remain calm as he approached Dean where he stood beside Logan’s truck.

“Hey, Logan,” Dean said, smiling at him.

Logan nodded his head. “Dean. Did you have a good trip?” He still didn’t know where Dean had gone or what had been so important that he’d closed his business for months.

“Uh, yeah, sure. It was fine.” Dean looked at him strangely.

“That’s good.” Not really a look that Logan wasn’t used to. It did hurt that Dean would look at him that way. No, it didn’t matter. Logan brushed past Dean to set his measuring wheel back into his toolbox. With his back turned to Dean, it was easier to ignore the effect that the baker had on him.

Dean cleared his throat. “I was hoping we could talk.”

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