Tattered (Lark Cove Book 1)

He’d left.

I’d known it would happen, but that hadn’t made it any easier.

Logan had come here and made us fall in love with him—just a little—and then he’d left.

It had been two weeks since he’d sat with me on the dock and promised to return. It had taken all fourteen days for Charlie to finally get back to herself again.

As I’d expected, the day Logan had flown to New York had been the hardest. She’d been sad and quiet all day, basically sequestering herself to her room. She hadn’t even wanted to play in her fort.

I’d known that day would be rough.

What I hadn’t expected was for her sullen attitude and sad eyes to last so long. She did okay during the day, but every evening, after Logan would call, she’d get this lost look on her face that not even her favorite bedtime stories could erase.

She missed him. And like me, she feared he wouldn’t keep his promise and be here for her birthday.

My childhood had been full of disappointment. I didn’t want that for Charlie. I didn’t want her to know that people let you down more often than not and that counting on others was usually pointless.

She didn’t need to learn those lessons quite yet. I wanted her to grow up happy and face life’s hard truths when she was older. When she was more equipped to handle heartbreak.

“That’s a serious look on your face.”

I looked over my shoulder at Hazel as she stepped out onto the porch. “Just thinking.”

“About Logan?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “He missed his phone call with her tonight.”

“Shit.” Hazel lit a cigarette.

It was the first time since he’d left that he hadn’t called before bedtime. I’d decided to just call him, but he hadn’t answered my calls or texts. I’d made an excuse for Charlie’s sake, but it hadn’t helped. As I’d tucked her into bed, she hadn’t just looked lost.

She’d looked defeated.

Tomorrow was her birthday and though Logan had promised to be here, he hadn’t once mentioned his travel plans.

“If he doesn’t show tomorrow, she’ll be crushed.”

And Jackson would be right.

His warning had been a constant plague in my mind these last two weeks. To Jackson’s credit, he hadn’t brought it up again. He’d actually avoided the Logan subject completely. But it was there, a constant niggling at the back of my mind.

If Logan missed this first visit, I had no confidence he’d make it through the first year.

“He could show.” Hazel blew out a stream of smoke. “Let’s not count him out yet.”

“I don’t know. He’s been different since he left.”

“Some people don’t like to talk on the phone.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that. He’s all over the place. Some nights, he’s distracted and I can hear things in the background. Others, he’s almost cold, like he couldn’t get us off the phone fast enough.”

He’d either been in meetings or he’d been with someone. A female someone.

The fact that I hadn’t kissed Logan or had sex with him was a huge relief. I had no interest in being his Montana piece on the side while his girlfriend lived oblivious in New York.

“I wish he had never promised her that he’d be back.”

Hazel’s rough laugh filled the air. “I get why you’re skeptical, but Thea, not everyone will disappoint you.”

“You’re right,” I conceded. “Not everyone.”

But most.

“I—” The chime of my phone cut me off. I picked it up and looked at the screen. “Speak of the devil.” I shook it in the air before accepting Logan’s call. “Hello.”

Please don’t cancel on her birthday. Please. Please.

“Hi. Did I miss Charlie?”

“Yeah. She’s asleep already.”

“Damn it. Sorry.” He sighed. “I had a meeting run long.”

A meeting. “Ohh-kay.”

“Listen, I’ve had a change of plans.”

I knew it. I’d had a sinking feeling all day that this was coming. “I figured.”

“You figured?” he asked. “Figured what?”

“That you wouldn’t be here. Now that you’re back in the city, back to your normal life.” I stood from my wicker chair as I threw his words from weeks ago back at him. “I figured you wouldn’t be able to make good on your promise.”

“Thea—”

“It’s fine. I’ll make your excuses, but I can’t talk to you right now.”

I’d just say something mean. I ended the call and tossed my phone down on the chair.

“Grrr!” I growled through gritted teeth as my hands fisted. “Asshole. Asshole. Asshole!”

“I can’t believe it.” Hazel took another drag, then stubbed out her smoke. “No. No way. There’s no way I pegged him wrong.”

“We both did.”

“Did he say why he can’t come?”

“No,” I huffed and sat back down. “I hung up before he could really piss me off.”

“So you didn’t let him explain?”

“No. Why would I?” I quirked an eyebrow. “He’s not coming. Charlie will be devastated, and the next time I see him, I’m going to punch him in the throat.”

She frowned and crossed the porch. “Don’t twist your ankle jumping to conclusions.”

My mouth dropped open as she disappeared inside the house.

Hazel hadn’t scolded me in years, but at that moment, I felt more like a teenager than a thirty-one-year-old woman.

I picked up my phone off the chair and followed her inside, standing next to the kitchen sink as she washed out a glass. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have let him explain.”

She shut off the faucet. “When you were a kid, I used to worry so much about you. If someone showed you just a little bit of affection, you’d cling to them for dear life. You were desperate for love, even though most of those people didn’t give a shit about you.”

It had taken me years of being used by others to stop trusting so easily.

“And then you came here and had Charlie,” she said. “It was like you flipped the switch. You didn’t need other people anymore because you had her. If anyone tries to get close, you cut them off before they have a chance.”

“I’m close to people. What about Jackson?”

She scoffed. “He’s more closed off than you. You didn’t let him in, sweetheart, he let you in.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I had friends, didn’t I? There were Ronny and Wayne, two of the regulars from the bar. I saw them almost every day. And I talked to some of the moms on Charlie’s soccer team whenever there was a game or practice. “I’m friends with Willa.”

“You’re friends, but not close. She comes into the bar and you talk to her. When was the last time you did something with a friend outside of the bar? When was the last time you went on a date?”

She had me there. I hadn’t been on a date since I’d lived in New York. It wasn’t that I hadn’t been asked. There were guys who came into the bar all the time and hit on me and asked to take me out. But I didn’t want to date. I was perfectly content coming home each night to Charlie.

“I don’t want to date.”

Hazel laughed. “Yes, you do. But what scares you is that the man you want to date is Logan.”

I hated how she was always right. “It’s just asking for trouble. If it ended badly, it could hurt us all.”

“It could.” She nodded. “Or it could be the best thing in the world for you and for Charlie. If it were me, I’d take that risk if it meant my baby girl could have a real shot at having her parents together. And given your upbringing, you of all people should be the first person willing to take that risk.”

Again, she was right. I closed my eyes, pushing out a long breath. “I just wish he had shown up for her birthday.”

“So do I. But I’m betting he’s got a damn good reason for not being here.”

“We’ll see.” I shrugged. “Would you care if I went for a quick walk? I’m still kind of mad and I want to burn off some steam before I call him back.”

“Go.” She waved me to the door. “Take as much time as you need. I’ve got Charlie.”

I smiled at her, then escaped outside. Normally, when I needed to get my head together, the first place I ran was my workshop. But tonight, I needed to move. To burn off my anger on the pavement.

After an hour of flip-flopping up and down the quiet side streets of Lark Cove, I was heading home along the highway.

My frustration with Logan had fizzled over the last hour. I tried to see things from his perspective. A month ago, he’d had no idea Charlie even existed. It might take him time to adjust his schedule so it could include her.

He just needed to learn not to make false promises.

I’d drill that into his gorgeous head until it stuck.

The sun had set and its lasting glow had nearly faded as I strolled. I’d been meandering down Lark Cove’s quiet side roads and had planned to take the same route back to the cottage. But as I passed the turn down a side street, a shiver rolled over my shoulders.

It was that feeling again. Someone was watching me.

I slowed my pace, looking all around, but I couldn’t see anyone. All of the homes around were silent. People were all inside for the night.

The shiver came again and the side street I’d wanted to stroll now seemed unappealing. So I picked up my pace, walking fast back to the highway. Once I reached it, the feeling was gone. You’re losing it, Thea. It had probably just been someone watching me from their window, wondering what I was doing out in front of their house alone at night.

So I relaxed my stride again, taking in the bar’s red and yellow neon sign a couple blocks down. It was supposed to be my night to work, but with Charlie’s birthday, Jackson had volunteered to trade. Besides the bar, the only other sign lit along the highway was the motel’s. It buzzed as I walked past. All the other businesses in town were closed at this hour.

The motel’s parking lot was full for a change. I’d heard through the grapevine that the Walters family was having a reunion this weekend.

I was scanning the license plates—Oregon, Idaho, Washington—when I saw a man standing at the vending machine with his back to me. I kept walking but did a double take as he ran his hand through his hair.

His hair looked a lot like my daughter’s.

The man punched a button and bent to get a bottle of water. When he turned around, I skidded to a stop.

Logan.

My heart nearly burst.

I immediately changed direction, rushing to catch up to him. His long legs ate up the sidewalk that ran along the doors to each of the rooms. He went straight to his room, unlocking the door and pushing inside. It had almost swung closed, but I managed to slap my hand on the door’s face.

Logan spun around, glaring until he saw it was me.

“You’re here?” My voice was breathy, both from racing across the parking lot and from the shock of seeing Logan in Lark Cove.

He nodded and planted his hands on his hips. “I just got in.”

“So when you called—”

“My jet had just landed.”

“Oh.” I cringed. The asshole here was me, not Logan.

“I promised you and Charlie I would be here, Thea,” he snapped, coming right into my space. “But I’m glad to see you have so much faith in me.”

“I’m sorry. I just . . .” I just fucked up. That’s what I’d done. “I have a hard time trusting people. I’m working on it, but people have a habit of letting me down.”

“I. Won’t.”

Two simple words said with so much conviction, they sank into my bones.

His chest was inches from my face, its heat chasing away the chill of the night air. He took my free hand and tugged me forward until the door swung closed at my back.

“You came back,” I whispered.

“I told you I would.”

I met his gaze. “Can we play a hundred questions?”

He’d asked for a hundred questions instead of twenty that first night in my workshop. I didn’t need a hundred, at least not tonight. Really, I just needed one.

“Ask away.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” I blurted.

He grinned. “That’s your first question? I like it. And no. I don’t have a girlfriend or any romantic attachment outside the Lark Cove town limits.”

The answer was barely past his lips before I attacked him. I stood on my tiptoes and flung my arms around his neck, capturing his mouth with mine.

Logan’s mouth split into a grin before he tilted his head and took over. His tongue swept into my mouth, stroking against my own as his lips moved over mine.

This kiss. Oh my god, this kiss. I hadn’t been kissed in so long, and Logan knew how to do it right. I clung to his shoulders, pulling myself closer.

His body pressed hard against mine, his hands running up and down in a frenzy. He came at me with the same intensity I threw at him, pushing me backward until I was against the door.

With something to keep me steady, I lifted even higher on my toes, practically climbing him. The pulsing in my core echoed through my body.

“Logan,” I moaned into his mouth.

He answered by grinding his hard cock into my stomach, making the ache even worse.

I tugged on the sides of his cotton dress shirt, yanking the green hem from his jeans. As soon as it was free, my fingers dove for his belt buckle, fumbling before setting it free.

While I scrambled to undress him, Logan did the same to me. He twisted and turned the button on my jean shorts, ripping the zipper open so they hung on my hips. Then one hand dove right into my lace panties, and his middle finger immediately found my swollen clit.

I cried out into his mouth as my body went slack. It had been so long since a man had touched me, but then again, no man had ever touched me the way Logan did. I tipped my hips, wanting more friction from his circling finger, but he slid his hand free.

I whimpered, making him smile against my lips. His hands gripped the sides of my gray T-shirt and yanked it over my head.

“Clothes off,” he panted as his lips broke away from mine and traveled down my neck. His hands came to my breasts, cupping and kneading them through my bra.

My hands went back to his jeans, tugging until I had the button free. Then I slid down the zipper that strained against his cock.

He wasn’t wearing underwear.

My sex clenched, spasming to a near orgasm as I took him in my palm. I stroked his silken flesh, squeezing it tight in my small fist as Logan’s hands left my breasts and shoved my shorts and panties down my legs.

In a split second, my bra was gone. Then Logan’s mouth covered a nipple, sucking it into his mouth as he rolled it with his tongue.

My head lulled back, banging against the door, and my eyelids squeezed shut. My fingers threaded into his hair, pulling him closer as the heat pooled between my legs.

I’m going to come. Just from his mouth on me alone, I was seconds away from melting.

“Not yet,” Logan murmured as my wet nipple popped from his mouth.

My eyes flew open when I realized I’d said that out loud.

He smirked at me before reaching for the buttons on his shirt. It was off in a flash, leaving his chiseled chest bare in front of my mouth.

Logan’s body hadn’t changed in all these years. If anything, it had just gotten better. I stared at his muscles, nearly drooling, as I took him in. He had a dusting of hair across his chest that trailed down his muscular abs. My palms went to his pecs, digging into his skin as my thumbs tweaked his nipples.

He hissed, closing his eyes for a moment as he collected himself. The cords of his arms flexed and his hands fisted before he relaxed his fingers and went for the wallet in his back pocket. After yanking out a condom, the rest was tossed to the floor.

His eyes locked with mine, capturing me completely, as he brought the foil packet up to my mouth. He placed it between my teeth and I bit down, holding it tight as he used my teeth to rip it open.

That was new.

I loved it.

He rolled the condom onto his hard cock, never once breaking my stare, even as he toed off his shoes and kicked his jeans loose.

In one swift movement, he had me pinned against the door, my thighs around his hips, his hands under my knees and his cock buried deep.

“Logan,” I gasped as my back arched against the door. One thrust and I completely unraveled, clenching around him as my orgasm racked my body in jerks.

“Thea,” he groaned, dropping his head into my neck. His lips sucked against my collarbone as his hips began to move.

He pounded into me, rattling the door with every thrust. The safety chain’s clang mixed with the sound of his grunts, my moans and the slapping of our skin. My only warning that Logan was coming was the shudder that ran over his shoulders. He planted himself to the root, then roared, loud and long into my neck as his cock pulsed inside me.

My arms wrapped tighter around his neck when he stopped moving. I collapsed forward, giving him the weight of my boneless body. He spun us away from the door, staying inside me, as he walked over to the bed. With one arm holding me, the other whipped off the blanket.

Then he slowly pulled me off of him before setting me down on the white sheets. “Don’t move.”

Move? I couldn’t even see straight. “Right.” I collapsed back on the bed, my chest still heaving.

Logan disappeared into the bathroom to take care of the condom. When he returned, he fell onto the mattress at my side. “Fuck,” he told the ceiling. “That went fast.”

“Yeah,” I panted, swiping stray hairs off my forehead. Fast, but incredible.

“Give me five minutes and we’re going again.”

I just nodded, still not able to really breathe.

I hadn’t been with a man since Logan, but what a way to end my dry spell. Not only had he given me my only non-self-induced orgasm in the last six years, but he’d flipped a switch. My body, something that hadn’t craved sex in years, was on fire and desperate for more.

I didn’t know if I could wait five minutes.

I didn’t have to.

Logan rolled off his back, covering my naked chest with his, and grinned as one of his legs pushed mine apart.