away and studied the horizon, then took a deep breath and let out a sigh that sounded a lot like relief. Logan puzzled over his reaction until Ty turned his head and held Logan’s hard stare. “Thank, Christ.”
Logan blinked, confused. “Come again?”
Ty grinned at his confusion and chuckled. “It’s exhausting playing bodyguard twenty-four seven.”
Logan scowled. “You wanna explain?”
“Daniel James, Skylar’s father, made me promise to take care of all three of them. Between my auto shop and trying to ward off drunk ranch hands most nights, I’m spread thin. I admit I was suspicious of you at first, guarded for good reason when you showed up out of nowhere, but you proved yourself this morning. I know a good man when I see him.”
Logan observed Ty for a moment to assess his truthfulness. Relief was written in every aspect of his body. He could see it in the way he held himself. The distrust he’d had for Logan was gone. The chip on his shoulder wasn’t visible like it had been the day before. Thinking about it briefly, he realized Ty had never professed love for Skylar, just that he was there to protect her. To protect her brothers. Logan had always trusted his instincts, but it seemed he’d missed the signs with Ty.
Clearly jealousy had clouded his judgement.
“You’re not in love with her.” A statement of fact not a question.
He shrugged. “I love her, but not in the way you think. She and her brothers are family. I’ll protect any of them with my life if I have to.”
“You know she thinks—”
“The whole town does, because I let them.” He chuckled at the inside joke. “It made it easier to keep randy ranch hands away if they thought I’d attack them in a jealous rage.”
Logan turned, leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms. “She’ll be thrilled to know this. She’s been defending you to me since word one.”
Ty nodded, mimicked Logan, crossing his arms over his chest. “She’s loyal. Likes to think the best of everyone, so that doesn’t surprise me. What we had was in high school. She left and I moved on, then her father became ill and she had to come home. She turned twenty-one before he died and took over the bar from him. He called me about a week before he died and made me promise to take care of her and the boys until they were ready to stand on their own two feet.”
Logan cocked his head and studied Ty. He’d given up years of his life to honor a man’s dying wish. He was a good man as well, that much was clear. The kind of man Logan respected. Any man who’d sacrificed his own life to take care of an ex, who’d rejected him, was the kind of man he’d consider a friend.
Logan stuck out his hand, ready to start over if Ty wanted. “Sergeant Logan Storm, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.”
Ty’s brow rose and he took Logan’s hand. “You were Delta Force?”
“As of six months ago.”
“Were you with the unit that trains near the Bitterroot Valley?”
Logan chuckled. So much for their top secret training maneuvers. He ignored the question, though. Delta Force operators didn’t talk. He’d only broken the unwritten rule with Josh to gain his trust. “Tell me what’s going on with Duke?”
Ty didn’t blink at the change of topic. “Sheriff’s been trying to reach him about the fire, but he’s not answering. He fishes every morning before work. Sometimes at Ennis Lake, sometimes on the Madison River, but he’s never late for work because of it. Not once in twenty years. We’re looking for volunteers to help search for him and I figured a man with the ability to pin my fucking ass to the floor, before I could blink, would be a good man to have on a hunt.”
Eleven
We’re Family
KENZIE BREEZED INTO the bar like a force of nature around three, carrying file folders and a large to-go coffee. She was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, looking a decade younger than her twenty-nine years, wearing a huge smile on her face. If I hadn’t been so worried about Duke, I might have laughed. She seemed almost jovial.
I’d spent most of my life avoiding her because of Chance, so I only knew what I’d observed when she was in town. Those glimpses hadn’t been favorable, but my eyes had been opened in the past twenty-four hours. Underneath all the tight dresses and high heels