Authors: JJ Ellis,TA Ellis
Logan
was starting to miss home and his store, but Jayna refused to believe that
leaving her son was the wrong thing to do. Did he take the chance that she
would change her mind when it came time to say goodbye? Or did he just keep
working on her?
As
he fixed breakfast for them, his phone rang. When he checked caller ID, his Cousin
Jack’s name came up. An idea suddenly hit him.
“Hey
Jack,” he answered. “What’s up?”
“I’m
just calling to check in. How are Jayna and CJ?”
“They
are both fine,” Logan said absently. “Can I talk to Deb for a minute?”
The
line went silent for a brief time then Jack answered. “Sure cuz, hold on a
minute.”
When
his cousin’s wife came on the line, he told her what was going on and asked her
to talk to Jayna. A couple of years before, Deborah had left her own kids
because she thought they would be better off without her. Without hesitation,
she agreed to talk to her best friend.
“Hey
Jayna, there's someone on my phone that wants to talk to you,” Logan called out
as he ran up the stairs to the loft. “It’s Deb.”
Jayna
took the phone. “Hey best friend, how are you?”
“I’m
good, but I hear you aren’t so much.”
Jayna
looked up at Logan with a frown. “Has someone been telling tales about me?”
“Don’t
be mad, Jayna. He’s worried about you.”
“He’s
an ass,” she said angrily. "CJ is safer without me so I’m leaving. End of
fucking story!”
“Do
I have to remind you of what happened with me when I left Mikey and Maddie?”
“Your
life wasn’t in danger,” Jayna said softly.
“In
a way it was,” Deb told her. “I was losing my grip on sanity. I had suicidal
thoughts because of the medication I was on. I was trying to save my kids too
Jayna…from me.”
“I
need CJ to be safe,” she cried.
“He’ll
be safe if he’s with his mother too. Once you're living a new life, you can
both be safe.”
“I
don’t…”
“If
you give him up, my dear friend, you will never be happy a day in your life and
the worry will
never
end. Please sweetie, don’t do it.”
Jayna
broke down in tears and Logan took the phone from her. “Hey Deb, thanks for
everything.”
“You’re
welcome Logan. Keep us updated.”
“Will
do.” He hung up the phone and went to sit next to Jayna. He wrapped her in his
arms.
“I
don’t want to leave my baby,” she sobbed.
“Then
don’t, Sleeping Beauty. We’ll figure something out. Somehow. Pick a place and
I’ll help you get there. You two can start over together.”
“Okay,”
she said, wiping the tears away. “You were right. I can’t leave him.”
Logan
grabbed the baby out of the crib and handed him to his mother. She held him and
cried.
While
mother and son were bonding, Logan went downstairs to give them some alone
time. Their breakfast was now ruined but he didn’t want to interrupt them. They
could eat later.
He
paced the room after cleaning up the charred breakfast. He was getting
restless. It had now been five days since he’d come back to the cabin and found
Jayna injured. He was getting anxious to get home. It was time to call the
Chief of Police and see if there was anything he could do about getting the
goons out of town. He hoped his cousin would forgive a few white lies.
“Harper’s
Rock Police Department, how may I direct your call?”
“May
I speak to the chief, please? This is Logan Harper.”
“Sure.
I’ll connect you.”
“Hey
cousin, what can I do for you?”
Logan
breathed a sigh of relief. “There are a couple of guys hanging around town
bothering me and my friends. I even left to get away from them. I’m ready to
come home now. Is there anything we can do to hasten their exit from town?”
The
chief was silent for a few moments. “Do you mean the two in suits with the
fancy black car?”
“Yeah
them. They're getting on my damn nerves.”
“I
can’t give details, but you don’t have to worry about those two. Come on home.”
“Last
I heard they were staying at the hotel across from the store.”
“They
are here in town but they won’t bother you anymore. Get your ass home, your
family misses you.”
“Okay,
thanks Mark. I’ll see you some time in the next few days.”
Logan
hung up and laid down on the couch. He had no clue what was going on with the
goons, but if his cousin said they were safe, he believed him. He went up to
check on Jayna and found her asleep with CJ on her chest. Tiptoeing back
downstairs, he decided to read while they napped. They would have lunch after
that.
Two
hours later he heard CJ crying and headed to the kitchen to make sandwiches. As
he was climbing the stairs with them, his phone rang. Setting the tray on the
bed he answered it.
“Hello.”
“Logan
this is Marcy from the Police Department. The chief wanted me to let you know
that there is something going on at the ranch. You might want to head on out
there.”
“Did
he say what’s going on?”
“All
I know is that it involves law enforcement and emergency services.”
“Okay,”
Logan sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“What’s
going on?” Jayna asked as she burped CJ.
“It
looks like we’re heading back to Harper’s Rock. The goons are no longer a
threat and it seems that something is going down on the family ranch.”
“Okay,
I’ll pack the last of our stuff,” she said, putting CJ in the crib. “Go try to
call your family. You look worried.”
Logan
sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. “After we eat. I’m not walking in
on whatever the situation is having not eaten yet today.”
They both hurried through their lunches and individual tasks then met
downstairs.
“You’re
walking better,” Logan observed,
“The
tight wrap and high lace-up boots were a genius idea,” she said with a smile.
“Did you get a hold of anyone?”
Logan
shook his head. “No, no one at all. I’m getting worried now.”
“Well,
let’s get down there then. We’ve got all of the important stuff. We’ll come
back later for the rest.”
They
both walked out the door, Logan locking up while Jayna got CJ in his car seat.
Next stop…The Harper Ranch.
**********
Logan
set the last of their stuff on the floor just inside the door of his apartment
then walked over to the couch to sit with Jayna and CJ. “What a day, huh?” he
exhaled. “That was a close call.”
“I’m
just glad your family is okay,” Jayna said, putting a comforting hand on his
arm.
“Yeah,
me too. I don’t let myself get close to people, but I was kind of born into
that situation,” he chuckled, to lighten the mood.
“Before
I go to bed can I ask you one question, Logan?”
He
looked at her warily. “Sure. I don’t think I have much to hide from you
anymore.”
Jayna
turned to him. “Would Ben want you to live the way you do? Or would he want you
to live life to the fullest despite the possibility of heartbreak?”
Logan
sat in stunned silence, looking down at his hands, as Jayna and CJ got up from
the couch and disappeared into the bedroom.
It
was too much for his psyche. He couldn’t think, or breathe. He needed to get
out. Right there in the living room, he opened the suitcase and got out a pair
of sweatpants and his hooded sweatshirt. He quickly changed and ran out into
the night. Jayna now carried a pistol with her, so he wasn’t worried about her
being left alone. He was just worried that her words might take root and he
would see a truth that would hurt too much to tolerate.
It
was late and the town was pretty much shut down. It was peaceful as Logan
jogged down Main Street. He veered off and ran three blocks to the playground
near the elementary school. Ben had brought him here a lot when they were
younger. Their parents would be busy doing business in town and they would walk
to the park to play. Ben was always in charge, always so serious. They hadn’t
realized until after he was gone how badly he suffered with depression. If only
they had known.
Logan
made a loop around the playground without stopping and headed back into town.
The cool night air felt good on his face and in his lungs, but his body was
completely worn out. He wanted to go home and slip into the sweet oblivion of
sleep.
Logan
woke up and opened his eyes. Jayna was next to him feeding CJ. She’d been fast asleep
when he got home from his run, and after a quick shower, he had crawled into
bed next to her and fell asleep. He didn’t even remember hearing the baby wake
up for feedings. “Good morning.”
“Morning,”
she said with a smile. “I’m tired of being cooped up. How about we go out to
breakfast.”
“Are
you sure? I have no clue where your wig went. You’ll have to go out as Jayna.”
“I
know, but I’m going to disappear soon so I don’t think it really matters.”
Logan
got out of bed and stretched. “Okay, we can go to the diner. Just let me make a
phone call and get dressed." He walked out to the living room with his
phone in hand. He wanted to return a call to the PI and see what Reggie dear
was up to.
“Hello.”
“Hey
James, it's Logan. Is Reginald staying put and behaving himself?”
“Where
the hell have you been?” James asked. "I’ve been trying to call you for
almost twenty-four hours.”
A
bad feeling came over Logan. “What the hell is going on, man?”
“I
think our boy is about to do something stupid. My inside man says his boss has
been acting weird and yesterday his daddy showed up via private plane only to
take off again a few hours later.”
“What
the hell could be going on?” he asked, more to himself than to James.
“I
think he’s getting ready to violate his court order. Three company planes left Anchorage yesterday. The first at three p.m., the second at eight and the third around one
a.m. According to my man on the inside he can’t get a good handle on where the
boss man is. There are a lot of secrets going on at The Heart of Alaska.”
“Okay,
this really makes me nervous,” Logan said. “I guess we’ll lay low a while
longer. Can you find out where the private planes landed?”
“I’m
working on it. Keep your phone volume on high. I’ll call you when I know
something.”
Logan
went back to the bedroom and filled Jayna in on what was going on. “I think we
should stay here for breakfast.”
“No
Logan,” Jayna said adamantly. “I’m tired of living like this. I have the gun
and he’s not going to do anything in a crowded restaurant. The only reason I
didn’t want people to see me before was so no one could tell him where I was.
It’s a moot point now, he knows I’m here, I can feel it. Besides, Jayna
McIntyre will cease to exist in a few days.”
Logan
looked long and hard at her. “Okay,” he finally agreed, standing up and
grabbing clothes from his closet. “Get CJ ready while I get dressed." He
disappeared into the bathroom.
When
he came out, Jayna was putting CJ back in the bassinet. “I’m going to run down
and talk to Andrew, grab your gun and meet me down there when you're done
getting ready.”
Jayna
packed the diaper bag then put her shoes on. Her hand was on the pistol when CJ
started screaming bloody murder from the bassinet. She ran over and picked him
up. A very loud burp, followed by several small toots escaped his little body.
“Oh, my sweet baby had some big bubbles in his tummy,” she soothed. “I don’t
think you’ll ever burp again once we leave your da…Uncle Logan. You’ll have a tummy
ache forever.”
The
baby snuggled into her arms and stared up at her.
“Is
my handsome boy ready to go?” When the baby didn’t object, she hooked him into
his car seat carrier and grabbed it with her left hand. She picked up the
diaper bag with her other hand and put it on her shoulder. They walked out of
the room and headed for the door that led to the back rooms of the store.
**********
“Why
would anyone willingly live here?" Reginald Sanders said aloud as he drove
into Harper’s Rock. “The more I see of it the more I hate it. It’s as backward
as that damn place good old Dad banished me to in Alaska.”
Remembering,
at long last, a lesson his uncle had tried to teach.
Become one of the crowd
.
He made himself smile and wave to a young mother with two kids. God, if he
stayed there too long, he would go nuts. Luckily the hotel where he was to meet
Frank and Joe came into view. Soon he could put this place behind him and
concentrate more on finding that bitch Jayna. That piece of shit who had fucked
his woman would be gone. Hell, Jayna would probably crawl back to him then.
“Only
in Wyoming,” Reggie exclaimed as he had to stop, “would a school bus stop be
downtown!” As he waited, he couldn’t help but imagine cattle blocking him next.
Laughing at the thought, he proceeded toward the hotel. What the fuck, was this,
the Wild West? Everywhere he looked, he saw people wearing pistols openly on
their hips. If that little Harper shit thought that would save him, he was
sadly mistaken. Finally, he reached the hotel and pulled into an open parking
space out front.
Glancing
out of his rearview he saw a couple emerge from the grocery store. He would
have thought nothing of it except that they had a baby and no groceries.
Opening the door, he placed a foot outside then bent over to tie his shoe. The
woman was the right height and her hair – it was blonde, but cut short. Jayna
always had long hair, she would never cut it. Would she?
Deciding
it couldn’t be her, he finished getting out of the car. Looking up he nodded to
Frank who was standing on the third floor balcony. When Frank went back inside,
Reggie grabbed his briefcase and shut the car door.
“Jayna
wait! Don’t step there,” came a loud male voice from across the street. “Your
ankle, remember?”
Turning
quickly, Reggie took a good, long look. The bitch
had
cut her hair. She
would have to pay the price for that. She knew he liked her hair long and
flowing. How dare she! He just knew that little prick made her do it.
Smiling
evilly, he gave a friendly wave to the older lady who stopped to let him cross
the street. Looking around him, he noticed that the area was now pretty much
deserted. The kids were on the bus, the traffic was gone with everyone being at
work now, and the grocery store and surrounding businesses were still quiet
from having just opened. Perfect, the pair were alone and had stopped and were
busy digging though the diaper bag. The baby carrier was now on the sidewalk
next to them. He briefly considered grabbing the baby but quickly squashed the
idea. Even though the kid was his, he wouldn’t be able to prove it without DNA testing and he would just be a crying, pooping pain in the ass.
“Well,
well, well, what do we have here,” he said as he approached the couple. They
both reacted with shock. “A cheating slut and a lowlife piece of shit.”
“Reggie!
What are you doing here…” Jayna finally asked, her eyes wide. The shock had
only partially worn off when she found her voice again. “You aren’t allowed to
be here.”
“I’m
here to collect what is mine,” Reggie replied, his voice menacing. “You and my
child.”
“They
aren’t yours,” Logan growled, stepping between Reggie and CJ’s carrier. “I
won’t let you hurt them.”
“I
don’t think you have any say in the matter,” Reggie grinned menacingly. He
pulled a pistol from inside his jacket. “You seem to be outgunned.”
Jayna’s
hand dropped to her hip. “That’s the last time you underestimate me, Reggie.”
Only to find she had left the pistol in the apartment. She took a half a step
forward. It was time to change tactics. “I’ll go with you Reggie. Just put the
gun down. You don’t want to hurt the baby.”
“I
think it is the other way around, my dear. You underestimated me. I noticed you
weren’t armed even if you didn’t. I noticed that just about everyone in this
town is wearing a gun but you and Mr. Harper.”
Jayna
looked down in embarrassment. Reggie was never so observant. Maybe he was more
dangerous than she had thought. But he could not hurt Logan or the baby. So she
looked up, her resolve giving her strength against Reggie’s emotional abuse.
“Just cut the crap and take me with you.”
“Yes
you will come with me,” he cackled. “But lover boy won’t be going anywhere but
straight to Hell.”
“Calm
down, Reggie,” Jayna said softly. “You’re in public, you can’t do anything to
anybody right here and not get caught.”
A
bizarre chuckle came from his mouth. “Well, well, the girl finally says
something intelligent. I guess all three of you will be coming with me. And you
better act like we are all old friends getting reacquainted or you won’t see
your little brat again. I hear kids do great in the foster system.” The bizarre
chuckle came back, louder and more menacing.
“Come
on, Reggie. How about you just take me and let Logan and the baby stay here,”
Jayna said, trying to keep her voice steady despite the fear that was getting
ready to overtake her body. Why in the hell hadn’t she remembered to bring the
damn gun?
“You
think I’m going to let this country boy piece of shit live after what he did to
you? You must be insane. I always knew you were a dumb little twit, but I never
figured you were crazy.”
“He
didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t want him to,” she said softly. “You can
punish me when we get home, just let Logan and the baby go.”
Reggie
seemed flustered at the idea that Jayna was agreeing to the punishment and he
didn’t quite know what to do. Maybe she was the one who actually deserved to be
punished instead of lover boy. His gun arm wavered a bit and Logan stepped
forward. Reginald regained his focus just in time to whip the pistol across
Logan’s face, causing him to step back.
“Don’t
you fucking try anything or I will shoot your ass right here on the spot,”
Reggie raged, pointing the gun at Logan. His arm was shaking.
“No
Reggie,” Jayna cried, moving closer to her ex. “Please don’t shoot him.”
“You!
You have feelings for this prick,” he snarled, his gaze shifting briefly to
Jayna. “I was right, you are a little slut.”
“Put
the pistol down before something really bad happens,” came a strange male voice,
belonging to man who had just stepped out of the store. He held a box of donuts
in his hands.
“Stay
out of this old man,” Reggie snarled at the new comer. “You are messing with
one bad ass mother fucker here.”
“I
don’t want any trouble. I’ll just…” the man said exploding into action. The
donut box flew into the air as he grabbed Reggie’s gun arm at the wrist and
yanked it back and down. At the same moment his leg planted between Reggie’s
legs while the other arm snaked around his neck. Reggie went over backward and
the pistol went off.
“You
were right,” the middle-aged man said. “Only
you
were the one messing
with a bad ass mother fucker.”
Suddenly
the area was flooded with bodies. As soon as the pistol went off, the police
swarmed out of the hotel and ran to the scene. Reggie was quickly rolled over,
handcuffed and dragged away. Logan noticed the goons sneering as they said
something to Reggie.
“Damn
it, the donuts got smashed,” their rescuer said after he stood back up. “My dad
is going to kill me.”
“Sir,
thank you. I wasn’t sure what we would have done…” Logan started to say as he
walked over to the stranger.
“You’re
welcome. Hey, are you one of the Harper boys?”
“Yes
sir. I’m Logan Harper,” he replied. “Is that important?”
“I’ll
need directions to the ranch. It seems that I’ll be staying there for a bit.
How rude of me, I’m Ethan Ellis.”
“Well
Mr. Ellis, it’s nice to meet you,” Logan said smiling. “Not under the
circumstances I would have preferred though.”
“The
feeling is mutual, sir,” Ethan replied, looking down at the ruined donuts. “Your
Uncle Cowboy and my dad aren’t going to get their special treats after all. Do
you want to be the one to have to tell them?”
Recognition
dawned. “You’re Jack’s son!” Logan said, shaking his hand. “I guess the rumors
are true, you were a Navy Seal.”
“Yes
I was,” he smiled. “It looks like your wife and child are safe. It was a brave
thing for you to step in the way like that. Stupid, but brave.”
A
shrug was the only thing the man got. Logan looked over at the pair, a strange
feeling coming over him. He wanted to scream and hold her at the same time. “If
you’ll excuse me, I had better help her. CJ usually calms down faster for me,”
Logan replied. “Thank you again, Mr. Ellis.”