Chapter 8: Logan

Secretly, Logan was loving every minute of his temporary life on the ranch. At first, he wasn’t sure what to expect when George Luxe told them they had to earn their keep, but being a man of routine and regulation, Logan found he settled right in. He loved being around the dogs too and although they were mostly working, it seemed that Misty had taken a real liking to him.

A week was drawing to a close and he looked forward to waking up each day, sharing breakfast with Logan’s parents and then setting about to complete the tasks that lay ahead. He also made daily contact with Kellen Walker but so far, the stalker appeared to be in hiding. Kellen assured him that they were watching Reed’s house and were hoping for some move on the stalker’s part very soon.

Most mornings, Susan was faced with the task of waking up Reed and then some twenty minutes later, with heavy footsteps announcing his arrival, he would grudgingly appear at the table. Demanding coffee.

Logan almost felt sorry for him. He began to understand Reed’s reasons for not wanting to come back—it was clear as day that he was not cut out for the ranch life. On his own, Logan found himself chuckling more than once with how far out of his depth Reed was—if he hadn’t been standing on the Luxe family farm, he would have sworn he’d grown up in the city.

It was past lunchtime and Reed still hadn’t appeared at the table. Worried, Logan glanced at Susan.

“Do you know where Reed is?”

Susan shrugged her shoulder. “He mentioned this morning that after his tasks, he was going to go sit by the stream and sketch for a while. Guess he lost track of the time.”

Logan placed his napkin on the table. “Do you mind if I take lunch to him?”

Susan smiled. “That’s a great idea, Logan. Here, let me find a basket to pack up a picnic for you.” She busied herself with getting everything ready. “Don’t look so worried. He’ll be fine here—safe.” She winked as she handed over the basket. “He hasn't changed a bit—always losing track of time when he had a sketchbook in hand. Enjoy your lunch.”

“Thanks.” Impulsively, Logan reached over and gave her a peck on the cheek. “He’s lucky to have such great folks.”

The stream wasn’t far too far from the house, but Logan closed the distance in rapid time. Misty tried to trail him—he was sure it was mostly for the food—so he sent her back with a quick scratch behind her ear.

Logan couldn’t take any chances, safe or not, so his chest loosened when he spotted Reed in the distance, lying on the grass and bent over his book. Logan stopped to watch him for a moment, observing the way the light breeze ruffled his blond hair and the pencil that dangled from Reed’s mouth as he scrutinized his work.

Adjusting his ball cap, Logan walked over to Reed and called out so as not to startle him. “Hey. Was wondering where you were.”

Reed removed the pencil from his mouth and covered his eyes, squinting up at Logan. “Oh, what time is it?” He sat up and closed his book. Logan felt a pang of disappointment—he was hoping to get an insight into Reed’s mind.

“Lunchtime. Got a little spooked for a sec when you didn’t show up.”

Reed smiled. “Sorry about that.” He pointed at his book. “Just trying out some new ideas and I guess I got carried away.”

Logan lowered the basket on the grass and took a seat next to him, stretching out his long legs. “It’s really nice out here.” He looked around at them, taking in the view of the mountains in the distance. His gaze returned to the stream. “You ever been swimming in there?”

“Plenty of times.” He leaned closer to Logan, a mischievous look in his eyes. “A lot of skinny-dipping too.”

Logan smirked. He didn’t expect anything less. Changing the subject, he thumbed at the basket. “Your mom sent some fuel. Eat up.”

“You did this for me? Got a picnic packed up?”

“No, I told you, your mom did.”

“Yeah, but I bet you asked her, right?”

Logan sighed. “Does it matter?”

Reed’s grin was full of glee. “Yeah, it means that you like me now. You care and I’m not just some random client.”

Logan shook his head. “It’s a goddamn picnic. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“God, I love it when you get all bossy on me.”

They mostly ate in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. Logan couldn’t believe how much his life had turned around in two weeks. Yet, without him knowing it at the time, this was just the scene he needed.

He turned to Reed, who was lying back on his elbows, munching on an apple. For a moment, he was drawn to his moist, pink mouth, noticing how the corners of his lips were permanently turned up and the way that they always looked so smooth. Good enough for kissing.

Shit, where the hell did that come from?

“Checking out the goods?” Reed raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling.

Logan cleared his throat, still flummoxed from his train of thought.

“Relax,” Reed smiled, winking. “I’m just kidding. You’re safe with me.”

Logan didn’t know what it was but over the past week, his chest somehow felt lighter. Now, looking at Reed, a light began to dawn on him. Reed’s natural joie de vivre was beginning to rub off.

“So, what were you working on?”

Reed grinned. “Nice deflection.” He tossed his apple core onto the empty paper plate and then gestured at his book. “You mean my new collection?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmmmm.” Reed knitted his brows. “I’ve never shared my initial creations with anyone before.”

Logan respected that. “No problem, didn’t mean to pry.”

He watched silently as Reed sat up and brought his book to his chest. He chewed his lip, as if debating something internally and then opened his book, moving closer to Logan. Reed’s cologne carried over the breeze, a mixture of citrus and something woody and Logan inhaled sharply, the scent tingling over his spine.

Unaware, Reed flipped open the pages of his sketchbook. Logan craned his head around, seeing various items of clothing in different shapes and sizes, which unfortunately didn't make much sense to him. However, even without a trained eye, he could see that the drawings were beautiful and the details intricate.

“Gotta tell you, I can't make heads or tails out of it." Logan raised an eyebrow at Reed, looking for further explanation.

Reed pointed to his drawing on the first page, which looked like a jacket. "At the moment, these are just some types of shapes and possible textures that I want to incorporate into my new collection. I’m heavily leaning towards designing a line of jackets and possibly pants for my spring/summer collection. Being out here in the outdoors, looking around at the materials, has sparked off a few new ideas."

“So do think you're going to do some sort of an outdoors collection?"

Reed grinned at Logan. "Exactly. Spring/summer is all about getting back out into the fresh air and doing things outside. So, I’m thinking about designing some clothing along these lines which will incorporate both high-class fashion and practicality."

Logan snorted. "No offense, Reed, but I doubt your average ranch worker would be able to afford any part of your collection."

"I get that, which is why I'm thinking about designing a ready-to-wear collection, which can be bought from any regular department store. A special one-off line, for everyday ranch and farm workers." His smile widened. "I'd love to see some color and design out here. Just because people work as manual laborers doesn't mean they can't afford to look good at the same time."

Logan slowly nodded his head. "I think that's a great idea." He smiled at Reed. “You see, it wasn't so bad coming out here after all."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I love my parents, but this isn't for me, Logan.” He frowned and looked ahead. "The town doesn't hold the best memories for me." Reed picked up his pencil and shaded some of his drawing, signaling that the conversation was closed.

Logan could see that Reed was on a roll so he decided to leave him alone in peace. "I'm going to go back for a while. Maybe see if your dad needs a hand elsewhere. Don't go any further, promise?"

“No need to worry about me here, Logan.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light squeeze. “I’m safe. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Logan nodded and collected up the discarded plates and leftover food, dropping them all into the basket. "See you in a bit."

Logan wandered around the ranch for a while. Some of the ranch hands waved at him as he walked past but he didn't stop to make conversation with anyone. He stopped to lean on the fence as he watched the horses in the distance.

“Beautiful animals, aren't they? So majestic.”

Logan spun his head to the left, seeing George Luxe approaching him, with a smile on his face.

“They sure are, sir."

George came and stood next to him resting his arms on the fence. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much to chat with you both. It's been a very busy week here, but I'm hoping my guys will be back next week and will help to ease the load off us."

"No problem at all. Can I do anything else for you?"

"No, you're good, thank you. You've done more than enough already." He turned his upper body to face Logan. "How are you finding things around here?”

“Honestly?" Logan smiled at the older man. "It's a lot better than I thought it would be and I'm actually really enjoying myself."

George nodded. "So, is this what you do fulltime? Be a bodyguard?"

Logan laughed and looked away. "Not at all. I actually own a bike repair shop. This is just a one-off gig as a favor to my old commander."

The older man's face seemed to light up. "Bike repair shop, you say? Any type in particular?"

“Choppers, mainly.”

George blew out a low whistle. "Come with me, I've something to show you."

Intrigued, Logan followed George around to the side of the property, where a barn tucked was away at the back. George pulled open the metal door and flipped on the light.

Logan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow." There in front of him were at least five different types of customized motorcycles, but Logan’s eye was drawn to the Harley on the side. He walked in and examined each bike. “You do this yourself?"

"I like to tinker around a little myself with the bikes, but the Harley is my passion project. I'm trying to restore it to its original state."

Logan ran his hands along the cool metal. It definitely looked like it needed some time and love. "This is gonna be one sweet ride once it’s done.”

George made a face. "If it ever gets done."

Impulsively, the words flew out of Logan's mouth. "While I'm here, in my spare time, I’m more than happy to take a look and maybe give you some guidance, if you'd like?”

George’s face split into a wide grin. "You've got yourself a deal. Feel free to come in here whenever you’d like."