Page 140 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

In the last three years, he’d grown the Kendrick Foundation considerably, especially their influence on the West Coast. It gave Logan an outlet to channel his brilliance and ambition. It gave him a passion.

Everything we did was for our own happiness.

“Guess what?” Logan handed Jackson his beer. “I got a call from that indoor soccer league up in Kalispell this morning. They agreed to let us add a Lark Cove team if we can get enough players

.”

“Yes!” Jackson pumped his fist. “We’ll get enough. I’ll start making calls.”

The two of them had thrown themselves into Charlie’s soccer life, something she loved almost as much as them. Any of the old animosity between Logan and Jackson had vanished the night Ronny came after me. They’d both gone over-the-top protective for a few months and come out as friends.

They co-coached Charlie’s soccer team each summer, and now they’d coach the winter league, even if that meant shuttling kids up to Kalispell once a week for indoor games. I wouldn’t be surprised if Logan had an indoor field built here, just so they could host.

Logan didn’t flaunt his money, but when it came to the kids or me, he didn’t skimp. He took me on a vacation twice a year because he wanted to show me the world. And slowly, he was making New York a place I didn’t mind visiting.

We still had the penthouse, but we mostly spent time in New York with Joan and his parents. Thomas and Lillian had come around to Logan living in Montana, and they’d even bought a place a couple of miles away for their vacations in Lark Cove. Aubrey was an incredible aunt to the kids, even though she lived so far away. But she called every week and was always sending over gifts.

Sofia eventually came around too, just in time to attend the small wedding we’d had in the backyard of our house. I doubted we’d ever be best friends, but I was glad to see that she’d been working hard lately to rid herself of the toxic people in her life, including Alice.

“Hey, Thea.” Wayne, my one and only regular these days, sidled up to the bar.

“Hi, Wayne.” I smiled at him and went to the tap for his favorite beer. It had hit Wayne hard to learn about Ronny’s stalking. The two had been friends, or at least he’d thought so. Now Wayne sat by himself when he came in each night and I made it a point to spend more time chatting with him.

That was after Logan had instructed Sean to do a full background check on every person he and Jackson had deemed a “regular.”

It had taken me a while to get over the garage incident with Ronny. But eventually, I let it go. Logan had originally intended for the garage to become my art studio, but it was too big and, well, clean. So we used it for the cars and he’d had my old shed moved over from the cottage.

“Are you sure you should be working, Thea?” Wayne asked as I set down his beer.

I shrugged. “I can’t stay at home anymore. I’m going crazy.”

“Want me to go buy you some castor oil? My sister says it was the only way she could get her kids out.”

I gagged. “No, thanks. I tried that with Charlie when she was late and it was awful.”

“How about some spicy food? I’ll split a jalapeno pizza with you.”

“Let me throw some sausage on there and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

He smiled. “You’re on.”

I turned to go to the kitchen, but Logan was right there. “I’ll make your pizza. Why don’t you sit for just a minute?” When I frowned, he just grinned. “Please, baby? Just sit for a few minutes. For me.”

“Okay.” I sighed. My feet were getting tired. I gave him a quick kiss and shuffled around the bar, taking the stool between Jackson and Wayne.

The three of us chatted for a while until the pizza came out. I didn’t have much room for food, with the baby taking up so much space, but I managed to eat two pieces. I was picking at the crust of the third when the front door flew open.

Charlie ran through first with a huge smile on her face. Collin was right on her tail, doing his best to keep up.

“Hey!” I slid off my stool and stood just in time to catch Charlie at my side. Collin collided with my legs next. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We went to check on you at home but you weren’t there,” Charlie said. “Gran thought you’d be here with Daddy for dinner.”

Hazel came through the door with a scowl on her face. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

“So I’ve been told,” I muttered.

“Who do I hear?” Logan came out from the back, where he’d been putting in another pizza. The instant Collin spotted him, he abandoned my leg.