Page 36 of Consuming Logan

“I want Thady to meet Jonah. Ava and I can swing by your house and pick him up for the next Saturday before craft time starts.”

“That would be great,” Janna agreed. “Now that we have Gemma, Jonah shouts for joy when he gets boy time without his little sister’s wails. What about Notso? Can she go with you?”

Notso Wright, the kitty formerly known as Notso Williamson was Janna’s not so cute, not so cuddly, not so friendly feline companion. Literally, Notso was the only cat Ava had ever seen with male-patterned baldness, a wandering eye, and a clipped tail.

“Logan,” Lina stood, cupping both hands around her mouth forming a pseudo-megaphone. “Just say no. Trust me.”

“Notso is sweet…under the right conditions,” Janna said, stifling a grin.

Lina started clapping her hands. “No,” clap “No,” clap. “First of all, your cat needs LASIK and corrective lenses.”

“Oh, Lina” Ava sighed. “That’s just wrong.”

“So is breaking two jar candles and doing her four-pawed Macarena over my fresh pedicure.” In true Lina fashion, she detailed a list of Notso’s finer attributes. “And she snatched a bacon strip off my plate when I put my plate down.”

As if a thought had just occurred to her, Lina snapped her fingers. “Enough about Janna’s pet cemetery reincarnation. Back to business. There’s a ton of vegetables and raw meat in the refrigerator. What happened to the pulled pork Mrs. Ariss dropped off?”

“Lina, our kitchen is not open to the public.” Logan tossed up his hands. “This is why Gideon had the key and not you.”

“We ate it,” Ava added, handing Logan a water tumbler and two pills.

Lina sighed. “How am I supposed to provide you and Logan with a nice dinner for two when you’ve eaten everything I was planning to reheat and serve on your fine china?”

“Lina,” Janna shook her head, “when are you going to learn how to cook?”

Not that Gideon Rice complained. He clearly stated his wife had talents in other areas that outranked food every day of the week.

“When I stop making enough money to buy a fabulous meal,” she grinned. Tapping one finger on the tip of her nose and then snapping her thumb and index fingers together as if coming to a conclusion, she said, “Or when Trapper Bo’s and Apricot Apron declare bankruptcy, or my husband refuses to cook another Pinterest recipe.”

Gideon had been adopted into a large ranch family in the West Virginia hill country. Lina, on the other hand, was Bernadean James’s only child. Lina grew up with a silver spoon, albeit tarnished, following the murder of her father, Detective Lincoln James. Gideon furnished her with the latest tech gadget, fashion trend, or sports car. Her husband spoiled her terribly.

“We both know Gideon would take down Isis by himself to keep you happy.”

For a psychiatrist trained to help others maintain a healthy life balance, Gideon catered to his wife’s every indulgence.

“Yeah, he would,” Lina cooed, her voice totally smitten with her man.

“What you saw were the ingredients for tomorrow’s Sunday dinner. Both families are coming.”

Janna looked away, while Lina pressed her open palms together in a prayer position.

“Girl, you sure you want to do that?” Lina gave her the side eye. “I can bring BETAS over tonight.”

BETAS aka Lina’s beat that ass stick was the two by two baton she kept handy. Again, Ava was reminded of the oil and Perrier water mix. In the past when she’d tried to bring the families together, something happened to widen the divide.

“No,” Logan rasped. “I on the other hand will need a drink.”

Logan’s features relaxed and his skin color had improved. The pain must have ebbed. “Need I remind you that you’re taking narcotics. Neither one of us can have alcohol.”

Both Lina and Janna came to an abrupt stop. “Why can’t Ava drink?”

Ava looked to him. Well, eventually they’d have to share their good news. Without taking her eyes off his, she gave a slight nod.

“Ava’s four months pregnant.”

Janna stared, her eyes wide with shock. Lina’s smile slipped but only for a second. She and Gideon had been trying to conceive since their wedding three years ago. Ava hadn’t considered how her friend would take the news of her pregnancy. For the first time Ava understood the depth of pain Lina must have experienced with the miscarriage. Even though Ava had recently learned of her pregnancy, she was connected to this baby in a way she never could comprehend. Poor Lina. Now that she was married and struggling with infertility, it had to be a private hell for her friend. A single tear slid down Lina’s cheek before she closed her eyes.

Janna recovered first. “Congratulations you two,” she cheered. “We’re going to need another trip to the bridal boutique. And Gemma Noelle will have another boss baby to play with real soon.”