Cowboy Logic - B.A. Tortuga Page 0,23
God. Oh. We need ice cream and tissues. Do you have wine?” He loved that movie so bad.
“I do! Red or white. I went to that Spec’s place the last time I went to Dallas and did what you said. They recommended a bunch of yummy stuff.”
So proud. “White goes with ice cream. I’ll grab spoons.”
“I’ll get wine and pints.”
They broke off to do their things, and Logic had to grin. He wondered what Jericho’s favorite ice cream was.
Chapter 8
“Jericho. There you are. Can I talk to you for a minute?” Mrs. Delonghi, Travis’s science teacher, caught him in the produce section at the Super 1.
He stood there holding a cabbage and blinked at her. “Was I lost?”
“No, but I know this is grocery day and the kids are at your mother-in-law’s, so I wanted to chat.”
How the hell did she know so much about what he did? Was he that predictable? And uh-oh. This was bad, if she didn’t simply call him. Ambushing him at the store was an awful sign. She wanted to catch him flat-footed.
“Is Travis okay?” He wouldn’t disrespect Travis by asking what he’d done wrong. His boy was a good kid and a better student.
“Oh, yes. He really excels in my class. No, I wanted to talk to you off the record, which is why I hunted you down.” She stepped close, lowering her voice. “He’s catching a lot of trouble in the last few days, and I wanted to get the lay of the land from you about the situation in question.”
Jericho frowned. Teased? What the hell? Why would anyone fuck with his kid? “He hasn’t said a word to me.”
“He’s been saying that this famous robotics guy—Logic is his name—is y’all’s next-door neighbor and is helping him build a robot. Now I know Travis; he’s not prone to lying, so you can see why I’m worried.”
“Uh-huh.” Okay. Damn. He’d told Logic he wouldn’t mention anything, but he didn’t want Travis in trouble. Especially when the statement happened to be true.
“He’s being teased pretty hard, calling him a liar, and I… I don’t know. I want to stand behind him, but I can’t if he’s not telling the truth.” Mrs. Delonghi actually looked stressed out, her face creased with worry.
“He is our neighbor right now.” There. That was all he needed to say about it, right?
“Yeah?” She grinned, relaxing visibly, and squeezed his hand gently. “Oh. Oh, I’m so glad. They’ve really been giving him a hard ribbing, and I want him to know I have his back.”
“That sucks that he’s getting teased, but Logic’s at Bailey Whitehead’s place.”
“That’s all I needed to know. I appreciate it. Honestly. I knew he wouldn’t lie.” Her face was wreathed in smiles.
He wanted to growl at her, because why was she interrogating him, then, but he knew better. Teachers had a thing they had to do. It had been easier before Snapchat or whatever, but then again, people like Anderson had gotten their asses kicked in his day, and no one had stood up for him.
“I know. I know. I should stay out of it, but… Travis is special. You know?”
“He is.” That warmed his heart right up. “Thank you for saying so.”
“Thank you for sharing him. Enjoy your shop. The country ribs are on sale,” she said.
“Thanks.” Ellie loved those things on the grill. He could invite Bailey’s people over.
Invite Anderson over. Speaking of…
He’d read the first two of Logic’s books, and they had been… whoa. Thrilling and hot, clever and a little kinky—he’d devoured the first one in a single night. The best part was he could see Anderson’s personality, and the Texas landscape, in those books.
He hadn’t ever been so excited to read a second novel in his life, and Anderson was right there, next door, writing another one.
God. Now he wanted to see the show too, but he was too damn tired at night to do much more than fall into bed.
Maybe jack off.
Once or twice, because… He’d only imagined some of the ways these men connected—in love, in passion, and in some breathtaking friggin’ places and positions.
Longarm had nothing on these guys.
He grinned, then caught Mrs. Humbaugh staring at him. Crap. He hoped she hadn’t heard anything. She was the worst damn gossip.
If she did, well, what was he supposed to do? He would never let Travis take the fall for something that was true. That was his kid, and his teacher was right.
He was special. Surely Anderson could understand that if