Page 4 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

What would Shannon want?

One. She’d choose one.

So I’d bury them together.

Then surrender to the black.

“You’re here!” Thea rushed across the runway.

“I’m here!” I stepped off the last stair of my boss’s private jet just as she threw her arms around me. The Kendrick family, Thea in particular, was arguably more excited about this adventure of mine than I was.

Montana, meet your newest resident: Piper Campbell.

I loved it here already.

The sky above me was blue with only a few wisps of feathered clouds. The sunshine was warm on my shoulders and the April air fresh in my nose. Any doubts I’d had about moving floated away in the mountain breeze.

Thea gave me one last squeeze for good measure, then stood back so her husband could take her place.

“Hey, boss.” I gave Logan a mock salute as I infused the word boss with as much sarcasm as possible.

Logan chuckled, shaking his head as he came in for an embrace. His hug wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as his wife’s, but it was a close second. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” I told him as he let me go. Then I gave him a diabolical smile. “It will be much easier to give you orders in person than over the phone.”

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” He frowned and looked over my shoulder at his family’s pilot standing on top of the plane’s staircase. “Mitch, Ms. Campbell isn’t staying after all. You’d better turn this thing around and take her back to the city.”

“Ignore him!” I called over my shoulder to Mitch, who laughed and went back inside the plane.

I was Logan’s assistant but gave him a hard time about who was really in charge. His ego could use a little razzing now and then. It was all in good fun because we both knew that I’d be lost without him. He was the best boss I could have ever asked for.

Logan took the backpack from my shoulder and slung it over his. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“So am I.” I stepped around him, going right for the cutest little girl on the planet. “Charlie!”

She smiled and left Thea’s side, rushing forward for a hug. “Hey, Piper.”

“I’ve missed y

ou, kiddo. I want to hear all about school and your soccer team.”

“Okay.” She smiled and took my hand, showing no signs of letting it go anytime soon.

Spending time with Charlie Kendrick was pure joy—except for the tiny pinch of longing that poked me in the side.

With her quiet voice and sweet nature, Charlie didn’t act like a princess or a diva. She was a tomboy, much like I had been at her age. Instead of a tiara, she wore an old, faded baseball cap over her long, brown hair the same color as her dad’s. There wasn’t a stitch of pink or purple anywhere in sight.

If I could have had a little girl, I would have wanted one as precious and unique as Charlie.

I ignored the pinch and held out my free hand to fist-bump her little brother, Collin. “Hey, bud.”

He gave me a shy smile but held fast to his dad’s leg. Collin was destined to be beautiful, like his siblings. While Charlie took after Logan, Collin was the spitting image of his mother, with nearly black hair and rich, dark eyes.

I winked at him, then went over to the baby carrier where eight-month-old Camila was fast asleep. “I can’t believe how much she’s grown in four months,” I told Thea as I looked adoringly at Camila’s chubby cheeks.

“They always say time flies after you have children. It’s the truth.”

Another pinch, but I ignored it too.