Page 84 of Defensive Desire

I laugh, zipping up my duffel. "I think we're good. Thanks for letting me crash your boys' weekend."

Nate steps down from the porch, coffee mug in hand.

"You didn't crash anything. You made it better." He gives Logan a pointed look. "She keeps you sane, man. Don't screw it up."

"Wasn't planning on it," Logan says, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

Cole bounds over, all energy despite the early hour. "Emma, I hope you know you're officially part of the Kane family dysfunction now. That means you're legally required to tell Logan when he's being an ass."

"Pretty sure I was already doing that," I grin.

"Perfect. You'll fit right in." Cole pulls me into a bear hug that smells like bacon and eggs. "Take care of our boy, yeah? And make sure he calls more than twice this season."

"I will." I squeeze him back, surprised by how much I'm going to miss this place. Miss them.

Nate shakes Logan's hand, but it turns into a brief, back-slapping hug. "Be happy, brother. You deserve it."

Logan's throat works as he swallows. "Thanks guys. You made this a hell of a lot easier than I thought it was going to be."

"Don't get all emotional on us now," Cole teases, but his voice is softer than usual. "You've got a season to win and a woman to impress."

We pile into Logan's truck and twenty minutes down the mountain road, my phone buzzes with an incoming call. Grandpa Walt's name flashes on the screen.

"Put it on speaker," Logan says, glancing over. "I want to hear how badly they burned down your shop."

I roll my eyes but connect the call, Grandpa Walt's warm voice filling the truck cab.

"Emma-bean! How's my favorite granddaughter?"

"Good. How did you survive the weekend?"

Walt chuckles. "Well, we did it, Emma-bean. Barely. That Lucy's got energy like a hummingbird on espresso, and that Ethan boy tried to reorganize your entire tea section. Twice."

"Dear God. Please tell me he didn't—"

"Oh, he did. Alphabetical order, then by caffeine content, then by color. I finally had to distract him with inventory counts."

Logan snorts beside me. "Sounds like typical withdrawal behavior."

"Is that the boyfriend?" Walt asks. "Tell him I said hello and that he needs to bring you by for dinner this week. I want to hear all about this fishing trip."

My cheeks warm. "We will, Grandpa. Everything else okay?"

There's a pause, just long enough to make my stomach clench.

"Well, yes. Thought you should know that your mother stopped by yesterday afternoon."

I snap my neck to Logan who's creased brows reflect a mirror image of my own.

"Mom? At the café?"

"Mmm-hmm. Seemed surprised you weren't there. Asked how business was, looked around for a bit. Didn't buy anything, though."

My jaw tightens. In three years of running Chapter & Grind, my mother has visited exactly twice. But she stops by the one weekend I'm gone? Yeah, that's pretty typical of my mother.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, fighting the immediate tension that knots my shoulders.

"Did she say why she was there, Grandpa?" I ask, trying to keep my voice casual.

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