you ever get into fights with your friends in the army?”
His arm tightened slightly around my shoulders. It was the only sign I could see that I’d hit on a sore subject. “Sometimes. But I always won the arguments.”
I glanced up to see if he was kidding. “Did you now?”
His eyes twinkled back at me and his mouth twitched briefly. “I was a minimum of four inches taller than the rest of my unit.”
We’d reached my truck, so I spun around, facing him fully. “So you strong-armed them is what you’re telling me.”
His mouth pulled into a full grin and answered, “Yep,” popping the P again like Jamie had done earlier.
“And you got away with it?”
He nodded. “Coop—” he swallowed before continuing “— would try, Buster knew better, and Loverboy was too busy with his books to pay attention.”
“Coop. Buster. Loverboy?”
“Nicknames. Coop is short for Cooper. Buster for Buster Douglas since he was a boxer, and Loverboy because he had shit skills with the ladies.”
I considered asking if these friends were the reason for his nightmares but stopped myself. He would tell me when he was ready.
“What was your nickname?”
Logan reached around me and opened my door. He took my hand and helped me inside the cab before answering with a brilliant smile. “Crest.”
I racked my brain for his odd nickname, rather than something that matched his last name. Mountain crest came to mind since he was a mountain of a man, but that didn’t seem right either. “I give up. Why Crest?”
He leaned in and nipped my bottom lip with his teeth. “Think about it.”
I puzzled over his answer then noticed his broad smile again. That’s when it hit me. He had great teeth, and he wouldn’t if he didn’t take care of them. “Your teeth?”
“I brush twice a day like clockwork.”
Josh leaned around Max with horror written across his face. “Thanks for putting that idea in her head.”
Logan threw his head back and laughed. It was the first time I’d seen him do it since I’d met him. It transformed his face and made him look younger, more relaxed than the soldier who seemed to always be on guard.
“I’ll follow you,” he chuckled a moment later and slammed my door shut, still smiling as he left.
I watched him jog to his truck, a little bit in love with him already.
“Joy looks good on him,” Josh mumbled in the quiet of the cab.
My attention shot to his, and we smiled at each other.
_______________
Half the town had the same idea as Logan. Pop’s Pizza was full to capacity with football fans and players. Jake and his friends had skipped the aftergame celebration, so Logan didn’t have to worry about round two taking place in front of the rest of the town.
They snagged a booth that barely fit his size and ordered a pizza with the works. Amongst the crowd milling around the entrance, he noticed two sheriff deputies ordering food to go and wondered if Ty had contacted the sheriff about keeping an eye on the town.
Skylar must have noticed where his attention had landed because her body stiffened next to him in the booth. “Do you think they know anything about Duke?”
Logan didn’t want to upset her more than she already had been, but he knew she’d be pissed if he lied to her. On the drive over to the pizza parlor, Logan had called Ty for an update. The news wasn’t good. Duke was still missing, and in this weather he didn’t have long if he were still alive.
“They haven’t found him yet. They’re calling off the search until morning. Ty’s on his way in.”
Skylar held his attention for a moment and her eyes began to glisten, but she held it together, nodding she understood.
Josh hunched his shoulders as a scowl crossed his brow. “Duke knows about survival. If he’s stranded, he’ll be fine. Everyone in Ennis keeps an emergency kit in their vehicle.”
Logan let it go. There was no need to interject his concerns about his vehicle being missing when it shouldn’t be. If foul play was involved, they’d know soon enough. Any man could be overtaken in the right conditions. Even a man like Duke. Someone with bad intentions could sneak up on him when his attention was on fishing and take him out for his truck. Especially a truck—Logan had noted when he’d parked outside the bar—with all the bells and whistles.
“What about Frank?” Skylar asked. “Have they figured out what caused the fire?”
Logan started