with cold winters in Montana and need money to head south. I figure you could help me with that.”
“In exchange for keeping your mouth shut?”
Johnson shrugged, looking at ease because he thought he held all the cards.
A burst of laughter drew his attention back to the valley below. His hand fisted in reaction as the cackle became a chorus in his head, taunting him. They dared to be happy when their very existence was the cause of his pain. Standing abruptly, unable to listen another second, Chance mumbled, “You want a drink while I write you a check?”
Johnson glanced at the bottle of whiskey and grinned. “Make it a double, then I’ll be on my way off the mountain and out of your hair.”
_______________
“Better,” Logan mumbled, reaching out his hand to help Jake from the snow-covered ground while Max bounded between them, ready to join in the fun.
“How was that better? I’m still flat on my ass in the snow.”
“You rotated your hips like I told you and it stalled my takedown. That’s improvement.”
“How is putting me on my ass gonna teach me how to take you down?”
Logan raised his hands and waved Jake toward him again. Jake dropped his head back on his shoulders for a moment, breathing through his frustration, then came at Logan suddenly. The kid pivoted like he’d been told, and Logan counteracted the move then stopped and held Jake in a tight grip. “It’s about muscle memory. Your body needs to memorize each step until you can do it in your sleep. Once you have it down without hesitation, then we’ll move forward.”
Logan shoved Jake forward and waved him back again, setting his hips. “If it’s about muscle memory and learning how to move step-by-step, why do I keep landing on my ass?”
Logan grinned. “Payback for my nose.”
A deep chuckle broke from Jake’s throat. “Right.”
Josh had been watching Logan and Jake for the past thirty minutes. His focus was intense any time Logan glanced at him. He reminded Logan of Loverboy. The way he seemed to study any situation, breaking it down into parts until he had the answer he wanted.
“You ready to try?” Logan asked the kid.
Josh looked between them and nodded. “I want a go at Jake, though.”
Jake threw his brother a smug look. “Bring it on, bro.”
Skylar had been sitting on the porch watching. When Logan stepped back to give them room, he heard her feet hit the steps, the crunch of the snow as she moved quickly beside him.
“Don’t hurt him, Jake.”
Josh glanced at his sister, and Logan saw the instant he grew from boy to man. His eyes hardened fractionally then he gestured for Jake to come at him just like Logan had done. Jake shook his head as if to say, “It’s your funeral,” then rushed the kid, trying to gain the upper hand. And ended up on his back for his trouble. Josh had taken the time to dissect Logan’s moves while he’d waited, then executed exactly what he’d observed, almost to a T.
Jake looked up at his brother in admired shock. “Fuck me.”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. “An object in motion stays in motion, dickweed. Haven’t you ever studied Sir Isaac Newton?”
Skylar choked a little beside Logan, so he turned to watch the show. Her eyes were glittering with humor; her hand had come up to cover her mouth. Her cheeks were pink from the temperature, her hair a mess on top of her head. She had no makeup on. No lip shit to enhance what God had already given her, and He’d given her a fuck of a lot already. And when she threw her head back and laughed, the sound so fucking happy it warmed him from the inside out, he silently spoke to his brothers. See that, brothers? She’s mine. I wish like fuck you could be here to meet her. You’d love Skylar. She’s all-American steel, just like we’d talked about. Soft and gentle but so fucking strong you can’t help but move heaven and earth to give her what she wants. And she’s healing me. Keeping the demons at bay. Helping me live again.
Logan swallowed at the thought. He’d wanted peace. A place to settle. But deep down he never believed he could truly escape the pain. He understood now that pain, like love, was an ever-evolving emotion. It ebbed and flowed in the good and bad times. You couldn’t escape it. But