Page 8 of Break the Barrier
Can’t get too close.
“I think you can put your assets under my name. There are ways you can do it so that I’m legally in charge of them.”
“Okay, yeah, let’s do that.”
He lifts his hand up in a slowdown gesture. “Hold on, we need to make sure you’re comfortable with this.”
“I am, Logan. I can’t have my sisters losing everything we’ve built here because of my stupid mistake.” Embarrassingly, myvoice cracks. At just the mention of what I’ve done, of the regrets I still carry with me, I feel the stress of the situation bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to explode.
“All right.” He rubs a hand over his jaw, and I notice that his normally clean-shaven face has a bit of a five-o’clock shadow on it, making him appear more rugged.
Not that he needs help. Logan could sport a full-on scruffy beard, a ripped T-shirt, and hot pink pants, and he would still be sexy as hell.
I shake my head at the drunken thoughts.
“I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t trust you, Logan. You’ve been a good friend to me ever since we got here.”
This was a fact.
When we bought the bar, it was just me, Annmarie, and Juniper trying to renovate it to start anew. My sister Tori went off to explore the world, jaunting from the UK all the way over to Asia and anywhere else she could go. And while my littlest sister Ophelia lived here for a short time, it was only to finish high school before she set off to college.
The other three of us stuck together, deciding that we wanted just a stable life somewhere where we could live happily without everyone knowing our business.
A fresh start was what we needed.
And some manpower.
Logan and Stetson and a few other townsfolk had stepped in when we needed it most and helped with things like getting the new furniture in the building and helping us get a new roof when we couldn’t afford a roofing company.
Every time I saw Logan after that, he would always check in on me, ask me how I was doing, and ask if I needed help withanything. He brought in Lue all the time for family dinners, and I got to know his daughter as well and to see him as a dad.
I’d come to depend on him kind of just being there for me.
Which was why, after several drinks and irresponsibility, I’d felt brave enough to essentially propose to the man without giving him any other information.
“I’m always here for you, Thea.” His eyes hold mine in an intense gaze. “Which is why I think you should come stay with us for a while.”
“What? Stay with who?” My slow mind was not picking up what he was putting down.
“With me and Lue. I think it’s the safest option.”
“He doesn’t know where I live,” I retort, the idea of living with this man in front of me sounding like the worst possible option. I don’t think I could keep my thoughts—and hands—to myself if we attempted to live together.
“Yeah, well, he might find out,” he replies, gaze locked with mine. “I think for now, you should come live with me. Maybe we do pretend that something more serious is going on between us, that way word will spread, and if he shows up here, he’ll know you’re not vulnerable.”
“I’m not weak, ya know,” I say, starting to feel like I was sounding like some scared little girl. I am worried about the bar, not myself. “I can handle him if he shows up. But I can’t handle him hurting my sisters.”
Logan stares at me for several long moments, and I wonder if he’s trying to intimidate me into something. But he sighs and shakes his head. “All right, fine.”
“Fine,” I reply with a nod of my head. “So, what do we do now?”
“Well, I think we need to contact a lawyer. Maybe go and talk over some options with them so we do the right thing here.”
“Okay,” I agree and take a moment to stand up. I keep my facial expression neutral, but what he’s doing for me is such a relief that I feel like I can finally breathe a little easier.
I gather our glasses and the bottle of whiskey, placing it behind the bar and washing the glasses.
Then I gather my things, fully aware of Logan’s presence as he watches me lock up the bar.
