morph into a man, as he stood erect, taller than usual. His expression told Logan Josh was considering something. He waited patiently, holding the kid’s stare while he decided, then let out a breath, completely caught off guard when Josh raised his arm sharply and saluted Logan like he’d done it all his life. Without thinking, Logan immediately returned the salute, whipping his arm up. The kid held his tribute until Logan lowered his hand first, just as you’re trained in the armed forces when a higher ranking officer was in your presence. Logan nodded once in appreciation when the kid lowered his arm, then he watched with relief when Josh’s whole demeanor changed before his eyes. Guilt melted from his expression, and he smiled full-throttle at Logan’s acceptance before he turned and headed inside the school, leaving Logan with a tightness in his throat.
Six
Draw A Line In The Sand
JAMIE AND I watched from the corner of the bar as Logan hefted a case of beer like it weighed nothing and carried it to one of the coolers. I was in a awe of his strength, noting his arms barely strained at the weight. I knew this because I hadn’t peeled my eyes off of him since he’d returned from taking Josh to school.
In the past I’d asked Jake to do the heavy lifting, but now I didn’t have to. I should have been pleased with the prospect of not involving my brother in the day-to-day operations of the bar, but I was still mad about Logan’s high-handedness at the police station. In theory, Logan was probably right about Ty and Josh, but I didn’t like being told what to do with my own family and bar. It was a small infraction in the grand scheme of things, even if he was right, but I knew I needed to nip it in the bud. Men like Logan dominated women at every opportunity, so I needed to stand my ground from the get-go. Be the boss. Draw a ‘my way or the highway’ line in the sand so he knew he couldn’t walk all over me.
“Did he tell you anything about Josh?”
I tore my eyes away from Logan’s butt—which filled out his jeans like they were made exclusively for him—and looked at Jamie. “He grumbled something about feeling guilty for no good reason.”
“Guilty about what?”
“Chance. Logan said Josh called a spade a spade, but he wouldn’t say anything more since he was told in confidence.”
Jamie’s eyes clouded over for a moment, then she nodded. “I bet it had to do with the other day. Gail saw Josh in a heated discussion with your big brother. Said Josh looked smug when he walked away.”
We didn’t see Chance in town that often, and when we did, we didn’t usually acknowledge him. The fact Josh had was a surprise. “You think he thinks it’s his fault Chance called in the loan?”
She shrugged. “Makes sense to me.”
I nodded in agreement. That would make complete sense to a fifteen-year-old.
“Have you heard back from Matt at the bank?”
I grabbed another bucket and filled it with salted peanuts still in their shell. We opened at noon, and with everything that happened that morning, I was running behind.
“He said he would call around to Bozeman and Billings, but it would take a few days.”
“Did he give you a sense that he could make it happen?”
Fear tried to grab hold, but I pushed it down. I was done being afraid. Fear wouldn’t keep my family together. “He said he was certain we could get a loan, but he wasn’t sure if it would be for the full amount.”
She paused wiping down a tabletop and looked up. “How much did Matt think you could borrow?”
“About half because of my lack of credit.”
She slumped into a chair and blew her hair out of her eyes. “I don’t understand how a private citizen can buy your loan. Aren’t there rules or something? He isn’t a financial institution, and you didn’t sign anything saying you would pay him back. Maybe you could take him to court? Say he paid the loan off as a gift.”
Just thinking about it revved up my anxiety, so I forced it down with a deep breath and shook my head. “I asked Matt the same question. He says the loan states they can sell it at any time to another financial institution. That Chance had his attorney file paperwork months ago, so one of his companies passed as a