Page 41 of Beacon

He gives a brief nod. “I’ll find her. If you see anything, you can tell anyone. Everyone around here knows how to get me a message.” He pauses and then adds as if as an afterthought, “I’m Logan.”

He turns and walks away before I can get any sort of response out.

As soon as he and his men have left the clearing, Mack returns to me with his big package of provisions. “Did he bother you?” he asks, sounding as bristly as he looks.

“No. Not at all. His daughter is missing, and he was asking about her.”

“Yes. They asked everyone. No one has seen anything.” Mack is frowning.

“Who the hell even is he? Why does everyone act like he’s a king?”

“He kind of is a king around here. It’s best to avoid him if you can. So don’t be getting ideas about him.”

I stare at him in surprise. “Ideas about what?”

“I don’t know. You seemed kind of… interested.”

I’m almost sputtering—half outraged and half laughing. “Are you serious, Mack?”

“’Bout what?”

“About being jealous. Of course I’m not interested in him. It was just all so strange I was fascinated. But poor guy. No matter who he is, no one deserves to have his daughter kidnapped.”

“No, that’s bad. Not sure who the hell would even have the balls to do it.” Then Mack gives his head a firm shake. “Anyway, let’s get out of here.”

He puts the provisions in the cargo compartment, and then we both mount the seat. I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him. Then murmur against his ear, “You can’t really have thought I’d be into some random guy.”

He turns his face to look at me over his shoulder. Our mouths are only a couple of inches apart. “Why not? You’re hot as hell. Lots of guys would be interested.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But either way, the point is I wouldn’t be interested in them.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“Of course not. You’re more than enough man for me to handle.” I tighten my arms around him and press my front against his back.

“Maybe you want a different sort of man.”

“I don’t want a different sort of man, Mack! From the very first day I saw you, there hasn’t been another man who’s provoked even a passing interest for me. You must know that.”

“I thought I did. For a while. I thought it was only your bad experiences that kept you from being with me for real.”

“That’s exactly what it was.”

He’s gotten tense again. I can feel something strong shuddering inside him. His voice is thick as he mutters, “But then you dumped me. So I occasionally wondered if it was me you didn’t want after all.”

“That’s not?—”

“I know what you said, and I tried to believe it. But I still wondered… Then everything went to hell for me, and now I’m broken.”

“Mack, you’re not?—”

“I’m not the man I used to be. So it’s hard not to think that I can’t be the man you want anymore.”

It’s a raw, naked conversation to be having astride the ATV as we are. I’m kind of shaky as I hug him frombehind again. “Mack, what do you think our conversation this morning was all about? If anything, I want you more now than I used to.”

He makes a gruff sound. His body shakes very briefly.

“And I know we’re existing in this temporary bubble for now, and that’s okay. That’s the way it has to be until we both figure out what we really want. But whatever happens to us, it’s never going to be because I want another man.”

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