A Broken Bone (Widow's Island #6) - Melinda Leigh Page 0,30
for the alarm system,” Logan said. “I’ll have it installed within the week.”
“Thank you, Logan.” Sam’s gaze sought her son, who was following the alpha hen around the chicken enclosure. The chicken looked harried. Sam smiled. “Mickey wants to pet the chicken.”
“Ha!” Tessa barked out a laugh. “Killer Hen doesn’t know how to deal with an eight-year-old’s energy.” She stood. “I’ll get plates and napkins.”
Logan followed her into the house. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Tessa pulled a dozen cloth napkins from a drawer and turned to him. His face looked serious.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No.” Logan stood in front of her. “I think we should live together.”
Tessa wanted to be with Logan more than anything. She loved him. But she couldn’t be selfish. Her responsibilities outweighed her personal desires. But she allowed herself to imagine a normal life with Logan for a few seconds. If only . . .
She brushed away her own wants. It wasn’t fair to lead him on.
“You know I can’t leave my house.” Tessa had at least two more years until Patience went to college. Sadly, she doubted her mother would still be at home by that time. The incident with the knife had blown Tessa’s mind. She’d removed all sharp objects from the kitchen, but she couldn’t allow her mother to be a danger to herself or anyone else.
He blinked. “Actually, I think I should move in with you.”
“You want to move in with me here? With my mother and my sister?” Tessa couldn’t believe he was offering.
“I do.” He took her hand. “You need a second adult in the house. Think how much easier it would be if we could take turns keeping an eye on your mom. Selfishly, I also want to see more of you.”
“That’s the only reason you want to move in? To help me?” Tessa didn’t like where this was going. She didn’t want his pity. She wanted Logan to return the love she felt for him. She clutched the napkins to her chest.
“No.” He sighed. “I’m totally botching this. I love you. That’s why I want to be together all the time.”
Tessa smiled. “I love you too, and I want to spend our lives together.” She hesitated. Was it even fair to accept?
“I hear a but coming.” He frowned.
“But I don’t want you to move in with me because you feel sorry for me.”
“That’s not why. I’m not being clear.”
Tessa lifted a shoulder. “Patience is with me for at least two more years, and I’ll keep Mom at home as long as I can keep her and everyone around her safe. It will get harder, not easier, in the near future.”
She pictured her mother with the knife again and shuddered.
“I know that.” Logan exhaled. “Okay. I need to do this properly. Cate gave me specific instructions, and I still blew it.” With a huge grin, Logan dropped to one knee in front of her. “Tessa Black, will you marry me?” He pulled a jewelry box from his pocket and opened it. A ring nestled in a patch of blue velvet.
“What?” Tessa stared at the ring. Stunned, she dropped the napkins. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. He wanted her? He loved her enough to live with the insanity that was her life? How could she have gotten so lucky? “You really want to marry me? You know how crazy my life is.”
“Yes and yes.” Logan smiled. “I love you with all my heart. There’s nothing I want more in the world than to be your husband. But to me, helping you with those other things is part of the package. As you once said to me, you can’t just share half of your life. It’s all or nothing.”
“Throwing my words back at me?” The corner of Tessa’s mouth turned up in a wry grin.
Logan grinned back at her. “You bet.”
She tugged him to his feet, and he kissed her. Joy bloomed inside her. “I can’t promise smooth sailing. My life is unpredictable.”
“Predictable is boring.” He kissed her again, long and hard. “I’ll take whatever we can get.”
Over the years, their relationship had transformed from a teenage crush to friendship to the kind of love that felt real and solid—and lasting.
She looped her arms round his neck. “I’ve loved you my whole life. I’m going to love you for the rest of it as well.”
Logan kissed her again. “We can get through anything if we’re together.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
After writing ten Rogue River novellas, we were ready to write about new characters and a new location. A trip to the beautiful San Juan Islands convinced us a Pacific Northwest island would be a fabulous setting for more mystery and murder, and the concept of Widow’s Island was born. We carried over a couple of characters from Rogue River—we weren’t ready to leave it completely behind. Thank you to Montlake and our editor, Anh Schluep, for their enthusiasm about this project. Thank you to Charlotte Herscher for helping us sound like we know what we’re doing. Thank you to our readers who loved our first novella series and constantly begged for more. We hope you enjoy Widow’s Island as much as we do.
Kendra Elliot
Melinda Leigh
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2016 Jared Gruenwald Photography
Number one Amazon Charts and number one Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. Leigh’s debut novel, She Can Run, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She’s garnered numerous writing awards, including two RITA nominations. Her other novels include She Can Tell, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, She Can Kill, Midnight Exposure, Midnight Sacrifice, Midnight Betrayal, Midnight Obsession, Hour of Need, Minutes to Kill, Seconds to Live, Say You’re Sorry, Her Last Goodbye, Bones Don’t Lie, What I’ve Done, Secrets Never Die, Save Your Breath, Cross Her Heart, and See Her Die. She holds a second-degree black belt in kenpo karate, has taught women’s self-defense, and lives in a messy house with her family and a small herd of rescue pets. For more information, visit www.melindaleigh.com.