Cowboy Logic - B.A. Tortuga Page 0,68
together. Start our life together.” Logic sounded so damn sincere.
“Come with you where?” The words came out stupid, but he was so shocked he had no idea what else to say.
“Monterey. I have three bedrooms. I’ll move the weight bench to the office. The kids can paint the rooms, decorate.”
“You want us to come to California?” For a brief moment, his heart leaped into his throat. Then reality crashed in. “I can’t do that, Logic. I can’t. What would I do there? The ranch and the kids are all I have. Their gran is here.”
“You’d have me.”
“Oh God. I love you, Logic. I do. But what if—I can’t. I can’t chance losing my kids. They’re everything to me.”
“Why would—” Logic stopped, looked at him. “What do you need, honey?”
“I need to think, maybe?” He felt Logic freeze a little, but he didn’t pull away. “This is all—it’s crazy. I need to get this thing with Morrow done so I can make some kind of sense.”
“I gave him a two-day deadline before I go to the media. I’m going to take care of it, one way or the other.”
“You’re going to piss them off.” He sighed, his whole body aching. “I think we need to cool it. Just for a bit. Then we can decide—”
“Decide what, honey?” Logic grabbed his own coffee, and the cup shook a little bit. “What are we going to decide?”
“What to do next.” Who was he kidding? Logic would go home and that would be that. “I’m sorry, babe, but if someone managed to take Travis and Ellie from me, I would never forgive myself.”
“That would break my heart.” Logic stood and looked at him a minute, before nodding once. “Take care of yourself. I love you.”
Then he took his coffee and his keys and headed for the door.
Jericho opened his mouth, then shut it again. He watched Logic walk off, because he couldn’t think. Not yet. He would call. Soon. He would.
He needed a few days, that was all. Just a few days.
Chapter 22
Logic had stayed up in his room with his phone and his laptop, writing his ass off for the rest of Friday and Saturday. Sunday morning he headed downstairs for coffee and a piece of toast. Something.
Jericho hadn’t called, texted. Nothing.
“It lives.” Bailey was folding laundry, her baskets on the barstools at the kitchen counter. “You okay?”
“Coffee. You?” He was proud that he had two words to string together.
“Laundry.” She stopped folding, going to pour him a coffee. “You look like hell.”
“CPS came to Jericho’s Friday. He needed me to leave them be for a while.” He hadn’t intended to tell her, but the words fell out of his heart.
“What?” She plonked the coffee carafe down hard. “Walk me through this.”
“You heard me. I’m a dangerous queer bastard, you know. I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m getting the fuck out as soon as I can.” He dropped his head in his hands.
“Oh, Bubba.” For a moment, he thought she might defend Jericho. She had kids too, after all. Instead, she blew out a breath. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. It was stupid. I knew better than to fall in love with someone out here. Someone with kids and the whole sanctity of land thing.” He should have kept his dick in his pants.
“What did he say, exactly?” She touched his arm, staring intently when he dropped his hands to look back at her.
“That we needed to cool it, and when I asked him to bring the kids and move in, he freaked.” Logic shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He can’t leave here, and I won’t stay here.”
“Yeah.” Her green eyes went sad. “You’re probably right. Jesus, Bubba.” She grabbed him in a hug.
“Yeah.” He wasn’t going to cry. No way. Jericho wasn’t shedding tears for him and had watched him walk away without a blink.
He still hugged Bailey tight, and he sniffled in her hair, but she never said anything. When he pulled away, he was pure Logic. “We need to fix this thing with Morrow. Y’all can come visit me anytime you want, but I have to go home. The longer I’m here, the worse it gets for everyone.”
“What are you going to do? Nothing crazy, right?”
“I told the dad I was going to the media.”
“Uh-huh.” She gave him a dubious look. “What are you really planning?”
“I don’t know. This needs to be over, though. Now.”
“We’ll put our heads together.” She squeezed him again. “You smell. Go take a shower, and then I’ll