Frozen in place. I watch a matte black motorcycle get closer while the driver’s gaze locks on mine. Slowing down, Logan pulls off the road in front of me. The black t-shirt he has on allowing a glimpse at the tattoos covering one of his arms and stretched across his broad shoulders. The material is so tight against his torso, it gives a glimpse at the muscles underneath, with his legs encased in a pair of jeans that look worn and soft. Shutting off his bike, he uses the heel of his boot to engage the kickstand before he swings his leg over the seat.

  My heart is beating so hard that I can hear the steady thump of it in my ears as he turns to face me with a grin on his gorgeous face.

  “If you wanted my attention, baby, you could have just messaged me back.” He removes his helmet.

  “Yeah, I purposely broke down in this location on the off chance you’d drive by and see me.” I roll my eyes.

  “It’s a little dramatic, but I like the effort.” He closes the distance between us, and it’s difficult not to laugh. He’s too hot for his own good and way too cocky—two traits I’ve encountered in a few men over the years. Though most of those men were either hot with zero personality or cocky with zero reason to be, but convinced that they were god’s gift to women. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know, unfortunately I’m not a mechanic.” I watch him walk to the hood with his lips tipped up and lean in to get a better look at the engine. “It just started smoking.” I keep my distance, but with the light breeze in the air, the smell of whatever cologne or soap he uses drifts my direction, wrapping around my windpipe.

  “Looks like the head gasket is blown.”

  “Is that bad?” He turns his head my way and his blue eyes locking on mine.

  “Yeah, it’s going to take a few days to get it repaired.”

  “Crap.” My shoulders slump.

  “Grab your purse, I’ll give you a ride and have someone come out and tow it to the shop.”

  “That’s okay, I can call triple A.”

  “Babe, it’s gonna be a few hours before a tow truck can get over here. Save yourself the hassle and accept my help.”

  I think about insisting that I’ll wait, but with Zuri getting out of school in just a few hours, I don’t have the time to argue with him, and I really do need his help. I can walk to the school to pick her up today, and we can walk to school tomorrow morning, but I’m going to have to figure out where to rent a car, because there is no way we can go without a vehicle for a few days. Where we live now isn’t like where I lived in Colorado. Back there, I could walk to the store and out to dinner, which I did a lot. Here, that isn’t even an option. The closest grocery store is eight miles away, and we don’t have public transportation to get us around until my car is fixed.

  “Okay,” I agree reluctantly. “Thank you.”

  “While you get your bag, I’m gonna run and tell Ruthie that your car will be picked up in just a few.” He closes down the hood.

  “Ruthie?”

  “She owns the garden center.”

  “Right,” I mumble. “Thanks.”

  “Grab your stuff,” he tells me before he walks down a dirt road, disappearing amongst the greenery and flowers. I grab my purse, along with a few other things from my car, and by the time I’m done, he’s walking back to meet me. “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” I put my bag on across my body then follow him to his bike with a swarm of butterflies taking flight in my stomach.

  Passing me the helmet he had on, he throws his leg over the seat and disengages the kickstand before he looks over at me as I stand there, paralyzed with his helmet in my hand.

  “Have you ridden before?”

  “Yes,” I tell him as he nabs my wrist, using it to drag me closer. It’s difficult not to become hyper-focused on the way his hand feels against my skin, or the fact that his fingers are so long they overlap around my wrist.

  Removing the helmet from my hand, he places it on my head and buckles the strap under my chin before tightening it with care.

  “Alright, hop on.”

  Right

  I can do this.

  I get on behind him and try to find somewhere to hold on without holding onto him and hear him laugh. “I’ll only bite if you ask me to,” he says over the sound of the engine while reaching back to grab my wrist. Pulling me forward he wraps my arms around his waist. “Hold on.”

  With my hands on his abs that are hard and ridged under the soft material of his t-shirt, he takes off out of the parking lot and slides into traffic. And I’m so lost in my own thoughts that we’re pulling up to Rafe Motors before I remember that I should have asked him to take me home.

  Four

  NALIA

  Sitting cross-legged on the bench seat in Logan’s office with a snoring Dozer lying next to me and drooling on my bare leg, I wait for Logan to come back and let me know what is going on. When we pulled up to his shop and were both off his bike, I told him that I needed to be at my house no later than three thirty so that I could walk over to the school to pick up Zuri from the elementary school at three forty and deal with getting a rental car.

  After I explained that to him, he escorted me into the building and told me to wait for him before he took off to talk to a guy named Hank about getting my vehicle towed. It’s been a while, so while I’ve been waiting, I’ve been messaging both Bax and Talon in our group chat, letting them know what happened and that I have my work phone with me so I can still deal with clients this afternoon while I’m away from my home office. Not that either of them asked if I would still be able to work, the two of them were just worried about me. I guess that’s one of the positives of working for family, or more so, working for my brothers.

  With them I haven’t had to worry about productivity reports, request for time off or any of the stuff I did with my previous job. They are so happy that they don’t have to deal with clients’ day to day questions, payroll, paperwork, or the trips to the clerk’s office, that I’m pretty sure I could get away with murder.

  Clicking out of our group chat, I start to search the internet for a rental car company that can drop off to me either today or tomorrow and cringe when I see the cost.

  “Alright,” Logan says, and I look from my phone to where he’s standing in the doorway. He’s so tall that the top of his head almost reaches the underside of the door jamb. “Your Bronco is on the way over here, and I got a car that you can borrow for a few days while I get yours up and running. We can pick it up after we get the kids from school.”

  “I was going to rent a car.”

  “Well, now you don’t need to do that.”

  “I really…”

  “Don’t feel comfortable accepting help,” He nods, cutting me off, and I have to admit that it’s a little annoying that he knows exactly what I was going to say. “I’m starting to get that’s your M-O, but it’s gonna cost a few grand to replace your head gasket, so you might as well save a little money on the rental.”

  “A few grand?” My stomach bottoms out. I have some money saved, but having a kid, especially a girl who is getting to that age where she thinks her appearance matters, is expensive. Plus, I spent a lot of money moving Zuri and me here, then buying stuff for our house to make it feel like home, not to mention everything for back to school.

  “I’ll do what I can to save you some money, but...”

  “Please don’t,” I whisper before he can finish. “Just charge me whatever you need to, I’ll figure it out, and I will make you whatever cookies you want on top of that,” I tell him, and his gaze wanders over my face for a moment before he jerks up his chin.

  “Are you cool hanging out here until it’s time to pick up the kids, or do you want me to take you home?”

  “Whatever is easier for you, I have my work phone with me so I can stay here if you have stuff to do.”

  “Alright, you can also use the computer if you need to.”

  “Thanks,” I mumble.

  “No problem. There is a bathroom down the hall, and the fridge over there is stocked with drinks if you want something. I’ll be in the shop if you need me.”

  “Thank you.” With that, his gaze drops to his dog’s head on my lap, then travels up to my face before he shakes his head, turns around, and walks out.

  With a deep breath, I focus on getting some work done rather than continuing my search for a rental car. I might not like accepting help, but in this situation, I need to. My parents and family have already done way too much, and I don’t really want to ask them to bail me out again.

  Over the next few hours, I work from my phone doing what I can to answer e-mails and make calls, and every once in a while, Logan will come into the office and do something on the computer, print something out then leave again without saying anything.

  At three, while I’m walking a client through the details of the final walk-through that they have scheduled for tomorrow, and letting her know what to expect, Logan comes back into the office. Taking a seat in the chair at the desk, he spins it to face me and leans forward with his elbows to his knees and his eyes on me. I have to fight not to shift under his gaze.

  “Okay, so I will meet you tomorrow morning at ten, but if there is any issue before that, feel free to give me a call,” I tell the woman on the phone, then say goodbye after she does and hang up.

  “If we want to be first load pick up, we should probably take off,” Logan tells me, leaning forward to rub the top of Dozer’s head.

  “I’m guessing that you have another means of transportation since I don’t think you, me, and the kids can all fit on your bike.”

  He grins, and my stomach flutters. “My Jeep is here; I keep my bike in the garage most of the year since I don’t have space for it at home and ride it if I’m just running an errand.”

  “Cool.” I begin to gather my things that I have collected around me as I worked. After I have all my stuff together, he gets his keys, and we walk out of the building to a black Jeep that is decked out with the roof off and windows down. Opening the back door, he lifts Dozer into the back. It’s almost comical because he’s such a big lug.

  “Ready?” He opens the passenger door for me.

  “Thanks.” I scoot around him and get into the passenger seat. He waits until I’m fully seated before he shuts the door and walks around the hood to the driver’s side, putting on a pair of aviators that make him look cooler than he already does.

  Once he’s behind the wheel, he starts the engine, and the song “Need A Favor” blares to life through the speakers.

  “Sorry about that.” He turns it down.

  “The only way to listen to music is full blast.”

  “True.” He places his hand on the back of my seat, smiling at me before turning to look over his shoulder and backing down the driveway of the garage. Once at the bottom, he straightens out the wheel and takes off down the street.

  Taking my sunglasses out of my bag, I slip them on, then tie up my hair into a bun, so it won’t become a tangled mess in the wind. As he drives us through town, I fail horribly at not checking him out from behind the safety of my dark sunglasses as the summer sun beats down on us and music plays through the speakers. His hands are big and rough-looking from his job, his forearms are strong, and his biceps to shoulders are defined with muscles that I can make out even under the material of his tee. Everything about him oozes masculinity, and even doing nothing but sitting next to him, I feel more feminine. Worse, he smells really fricking good, and his tattoos are like my krypotonite which does not bode well for me since I’m going to be stuck with him him for the next hour, if not longer.

  When we arrive at the school, I’m ready to escape, but there is already a long line of cars waiting, and lots of time before the kids get out for the day, so I’m stuck.

  “How old is your son?” I ask him while digging through my bag for one of the many packs of gummy candies I always keep in my purse. I could lie and say I keep them on hand for Zuri, but the truth is I’m a sucker for sweets, especially gummy worms or gummy bears.

  “Ten. Your sister?”

  “Nine, she’ll be ten in a couple months.”

  “Who’s her teacher?”

  “Mrs. McGregor.” I open the pack of gummies and take out a couple before I hold it towards him, and he shakes his head no.

  “That’s Coop’s teacher.”

  “Really?” My stomach twists with unease. I really hope that his son isn’t the boy that she said is a jerk.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Zuri.”

  “Bax never mentioned that he had a sister Coop’s age.”

  “She’s not his sister,” I tell him quietly, then reluctantly explain that Bax isn’t my biological brother and that my twin brother Sage and I were adopted by Bax’s parents when we were just two. Then I explain that Zuri’s mom is my birth mother, and that she and I moved here from Colorado, leaving out that the reason for the move was because her mom went to prison.

  “How long have you been back here?”

  “Since the beginning of summer, so not very long.”

  “Did you go to school here?”

  “Yes, but we didn’t know each other. I was a freshman when you were a senior.”

  “Did you have a crush on me?” His smile is knowing.

  “Oh my god, no,” I lie through my teeth, and he laughs.

  Pulling us forward when one of the teachers comes out to move the cones that keep people from driving on the school property while school is in session.

  After he parks and we pass over our cards for the kids so that they will know who we are picking up, we both get out and walk to the doors of the school to wait for Cooper and Zuri. As we’re standing there, Logan starts up a conversation with one of the dads who is waiting nearby, and I notice more than one of the moms around us who are waiting for their kids check him out. I imagine between his height and good looks, it happens often, which is probably the reason he seems oblivious to the attention.

  As the doors open to the school and the kids start rushing out, I search for Zuri among them, then smile and wave when I finally spot her. Rushing towards me with her backpack, she crashes into me and wraps her arms around my waist.

  “Hey, kid.” I kiss the top of her head. “How was school?”

  “Okay.” She tips her head back to me and smiles. “I’m starving.”

  “You’re always starving. Did you eat your snack?” I take her backpack, the thing weighs at least twenty pounds or more with her water bottle, computer, lunch sack, and books. Honestly, she is going to need a chiropractor by the time she is fifteen.

  “Yes.” She leans into me as I look to where I last saw Logan and find him hugging the boy I saw him with on the first day of school. The kid is the spitting image of his dad, except his hair is dark blonde instead of riding the edge of black and long to the point of shaggy. After Logan takes his backpack, he looks over at me with a smile, and the two of them walk our direction.

  “My car broke down, so a friend is giving us a ride,” I quickly tell Zuri, and she gives me a look that screams what the heck before I take my eyes off her and turn to Logan.

  “Cooper, this is Nalia, and I think you know Zuri,” Logan says, wrapping his arm around Cooper’s shoulders when they stop in front of us.

  “Hey, Cooper.” I smile at him.

  “Sup?” Cooper says to me, then he nudges his shoulder into Zuri’s, and she rolls her eyes at him.

  “Zuri, this is Logan.” I introduce her, and she gives him a shy smile and says hi quietly.

  “Coop just told me he’s hungry, you two wanna stop at Sonic and get something to eat before we head to Gigi’s house?” he asks, and I feel my brows drag together, Gigi is what a few of my friends called their grandmothers.

  “Yes,” Zuri and Cooper both say as we walk to Logan’s jeep where Dozer is waiting for us. The kids both pile into the back seat with him and a minute later the people ahead of us in line begin to drive off.

  “So how was your test today?” I turn in my seat so I can look back at both kids.

  “Good,” Zuri shrugs. “I don’t know how I did, but it wasn’t that hard.”

  “We have another test tomorrow,” Cooper says, then adds. “And we have a project due in two weeks.”

  “Really, what kind of project?”

  “I don’t know,” he mumbles, and I laugh, hearing Logan chuckle as I look at Zuri.

  “Do you know what the project is?”

  “No, the paper is in my folder,” she tells me as we pull into Sonic, which is just around the corner from the school. Rather than order from the car, Logan has us all get out and order from one of the picnic benches under the awning, and brings Dozer with us. The kids both get the same thing, cheese sticks and ocean water, while I order an ice cream cone, and Logan gets some drink off the specialty menu. When our food arrives, I pay the girl who drops it off to us before Logan can beat me to it. I might have to max out my credit card to pay for my car to get fixed, but I can pay twenty dollars for after-school snacks.

  “What?” I take a bite from my ice cream as Logan frowns at me, realizing what I did.

  “You still haven’t answered the text I sent you about Saturday.”

  “My not answering you was my answer,” I tell him, licking around the edge of my cone when I notice the ice cream is melting. Lifting my gaze to his when I feel him staring, my cheeks warm to the point of hot when I see the look in his eyes.

  “What’s going on Saturday?” Cooper asks while Zuri waits for my response.

  “Nothing,” I tell the two of them.

  “Are you going to come to my game?” Cooper asks.

  “Game?”

  “Baseball, Dad coaches, and we have a game every Saturday.”

  “Oh, well, I don’t…”

  “I wanna go,” Zuri says, and looks at her. “Heather’s brother plays too, and she’ll be there.”