Page 18 of Every Sunset
“Girl, every woman in this town dreams about those two brothers, even us married ones. You got nothing to be ashamed of,” she told me playfully.
“I wasn’t dreaming about them. I was actually thinking about my work situation. I need another job if I plan to pay rent and be able to eat next month,” I said, desperate to change the subject.
“I’ve been asking around, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else about right now. I promise I’ll call you right away if I have any shifts here I can swing your way though.”
“Thanks Cat. I better get back,” I said as I grabbed the two coffees and turned for the door.
“Don’t worry, hon. Something will come up,” she called after me. How I wished I could be as filled with hope and positivity as that woman was.
The store was quiet when I got back, not that it was unusual. Grand Lake was a small town with a low population. There was only so much hardware people needed. Still, I enjoyed the quiet and methodical job of emptying shelves, cleaning them, and then neatly re-stocking them. It beat my usual work, which was being run off of my feet in some crummy diner.
The sun was shining brightly when I left the store later that afternoon, my shift over. It was also almost unbearably hot and I was relieved I’d thought to wear shorts that morning instead of my usual jeans. There was no dress code at the store so I was only in my denim cut offs and a faded, but much loved,Ramonest-shirt. I scraped my hair up into a ponytail, allowing some air to my already sticky neck and tied it up messily. The town was quiet too, most people at work in the middle of the week, but still parents were milling around with their kids who were still on vacation, and it just seemed filled with happiness and excitement.
It was something I had definitely fallen in love with - the safety I felt and the easy going nature that surrounded me as I walked down the main street. It was so different from the city life Max and I were used to, and I had a feeling my son was falling in love with our new life even faster than I was.
After a quick trip to the grocery store for essentials and a ton of Ben & Jerry’s – my new best friends – I was driving home feeling pretty good for the first time in weeks. Things were looking up for Max and I. Apart from the landlords whose good looks seemed to drive my libido crazy, we had a great place to live. I’d found some work, and more would come, I was sure. Max was smiling and seeming so much like his old self, likely because I had found a way not to constantly freak out on him. I was really starting to think maybe making this move had been the best decision I’d ever made, even if I’d made it under the worst possible circumstances.
I was surprised when I pulled up to our little cottage, to find Logan walking around the side from the deck. He was dressed in running shorts and a sweat soaked t-shirt that did not a thing to hide how perfectly ripped and muscular he was beneath it. He’dobviously been exercising since his face had a sheen of sweat to it, and his wet hair was pushed back from his face. I groaned quietly as just seeing him set my body alight once again in the perpetual state of arousal I seemed to be in around this man and his sexy brother.
Logan’s face brightened with his wide smile as he stalked towards my car, and he was almost to the door by the time I realized I needed to do something other than just sit there staring and drooling like the desperate, horny, sex deprived woman I was.
I fumbled to undo my seatbelt with one hand as I threw the car door open with the other in my panic to move and not allow him to see how he’d had me completely transfixed with his perfect body and panty-melting smile.
“Hey!” I greeted way too loudly as I practically threw myself from the car and slammed the door closed way too hard. “What are you doing here?” I almost slapped myself at that question. It was pretty damned obvious what he was doing from his outfit and the sweat drenching it.
“Just took a run. There’s a good path through the woods just down there,” he turned and pointed to the wooded area behind the cottage. “It has a great beach too if you ever want somewhere peaceful to just be,” he added.
He turned back towards me with his smile still in place and I just melted like some kid with her childhood crush before her. I couldn’t seem to keep it together. He just looked so freaking good, and I wasn’t even into the sweaty look. I always thought it was kind of weird in books when women swooned at a man drenched with sweat. I had never imagined it to be something I would find attractive, but Logan Easton wore the look sodamned well. His golden skin glistened and his usually wild and messy hair just looked even hotter to me all tamed and pushed back as it was.
“Anna?”
“Huh?” I looked back up to his face and panicked as I realized I had completely spaced out from whatever he’d said, if he’d said anything. I didn’t even know.
“You okay, sweetheart?” he asked as he took a step closer. His smile dimmed as he looked me over with concern.
“Yep!” I answered way too enthusiastically. “Uh-huh. Absolutely fine!” I added, only making it all so much worse.What was wrong with me?I had spoken with men before. Even an attractive one or two. I had never lost all sense as I was in that moment.
“Have you eaten today? You look pale?” he asked as he took the final step so he was now right before me. He slowly reached up and cupped his huge hand around my cheek. His palm felt a little rough against my skin, but in a good way, and I shuddered as goose pimples rose on my arms at his touch. It was so gentle and cautious and it felt way too good. He rubbed his thumb back and forth just below my eye and I closed my eyes and savored the sensation of his touch. It filled me with a feeling of peace and contentment that I didn’t expect, but needed more than I even knew. For some reason I didn’t fear him the way I had other men since what happened back in the city. It had been the same with Maddox too. They both just seemed to make me feel safe when they were near.
I jolted at that realization and stepped out of his reach as panic seized me. They make me feel safe, but with the secrets I had to keep, that comfort was a very dangerous thing. I couldn’t fallinto the trap of feeling safe with Maddox or Logan, because I knew if I did, all of the turmoil within me would come spilling out and then what would become of Max and I? No! No matter how desperately I wanted the tenderness these men offered, I couldn’t take it. Max came first and he always would. Protecting him was what I had been put on Earth to do and I would not allow my selfish needs and wants to ever hurt him again.
“I’m fine!” I almost snapped at him. “Just busy. I need to get on.” I turned away from him and moved to the trunk of my car, fighting not to turn and look at him again as my body was begging me to.
“Anna?” I still didn’t look up, but I knew Logan had moved closer to me.
“Sorry, I need to get these groceries inside and start on dinner. Was there something you needed to talk about?” I asked as calmly as I could, while loading my arms with the groceries.
“No. Nothing important. Do you need a hand?” he offered from where he stood off to the side at the back of my car now.
“Thanks, but I’ve got it. You should finish up your run.”
“Do I scare you Anna?” he asked, shocking me so much I lifted my head and met his eyes. He looked anxious about my answer and I knew I couldn’t lie to him.
“No,” I sighed. “You don’t scare me, Logan. Nor does Maddox. I believe what you told Max and I about you being good guys, but I…I have a lot to cope with right now.”
“I could help with that if you’d let me. I’d like it if we could be friends,” he said earnestly.
“I thought we already were.”
