More, Please (24 page)

I hope Allie likes the look of me in a suit.

“Hi. I’m here to see my brother,” I tell
her, waiting to see if she remembers who my brother is. She obviously does,
because at the press of a couple buttons, Ryan’s assistant is striding down the
hallway toward me.

“Hello, Mr. Sheridan. Was your brother
expecting you?”

“No, he’s not,” I say. I guess I should
have called, but I’m hoping the element of surprise works as well on Ryan as it
does in an enemy attack.

“He’s just finishing up a conference
call. Can I get you some coffee while you wait?”

“No, thank you,” I reply, taking a seat
in the chair she offers me. In my head, I’m spelling out the points I need to
make, practicing as though I’m readying myself for a job interview. It’s
ridiculous, of course. It’s just my brother, and the company name bears my own initials.
I already know there’s a place for me here, but I’ll be asking a lot in return.

Ryan opens the door to his office, his
eyes nearly popping from his head at the sight of me in a suit. “Logan. Come on
in.”

He shuts the door behind me. “So, a suit?
Are you reporting in for work or something?” His tone tells me he’s joking.

“I might be.”

His eyebrows raise now, as he sits at his
desk. “Are you serious?”

“It depends. Ryan, I’ve done a lot of
thinking about what happened a few days ago. And you’re right. I don’t know
anything about this business. I’ve always been more of a field guy. I don’t even
know why you’re suddenly buying up land here in Newton’s Creek, when the
company’s been hell-bent on being a nationwide presence.”

“It’s for Dad, Logan. You know how he
needs to keep his toe in the business. It keeps him alive. But he can’t travel
to job sites like he used to. I thought we’d start a few projects locally so
that he can still feel a part of things.”

I nod, having figured that out for
myself. “Dad can’t travel right now, and you’ve got a daughter who is moving in
with you this month. You’re not in any position to be traveling to job sites
and making sure our name isn’t attached to bad developments.” I inhale. “But I
can. I don’t even blink at travel. God knows I’ve done enough of it during my
time in the Navy. And I may not know much about the paperwork and legal aspects
of our business, but I can tell when things are going right and wrong on a job.
And I’m a good leader. I’ve got plenty of people who will vouch for that. I can
make sure we’ve got good teams working for us, keeping our brand strong.”

Ryan looks stunned. “Logan, that would
be—”

“Wait.” I hold up my hand. “Before you
get all warm and fuzzy, there’s a lot I’m going to ask for in return.”

He eases back in his leather chair and
steeples his fingers. “I’m listening.”

“First, I want JLS to be a leader in
caring for the people in our communities. I want to set up a foundation.”

“A foundation?”

“Yep. And in every development we have, I
want to be able to offer a handicapped accessible house to a wounded servicemember
living in the area. We’ve got developments in 32 states. We can really make a
difference, Ryan.”

I can’t read his face as he looks at me,
so I barrel on. “The government offers some assistance to veterans disabled in
the line of duty. But it’s not enough to set them and their families up in a
house where they’re not struggling to do the simplest things, like making a
meal or brushing their teeth. We build houses, Ryan. We can do this without
even blinking.”

He waits a moment, maybe to see if I have
anything else to say. I do, but I decide I need some feedback from him first.

“It would make us look good.” His eyes
are thoughtful. “We do get some publicity problems, buying up tracts of land
like we do. We’ve got our share of enemies.”

I grin. “Then what better friends to make
than the military?”

He nods slowly. “I like the idea.”

“There’s one other thing I need,” I
quickly add.

His gaze drops to his hands, as he reaches
for a pen to toy with the same way he did back in high school, spinning it
around the top of his fingers. “Why do I think this next part has to do with
Allie?”

“Because you’re my brother and you know I
don’t do wrong by people. I can’t leave things the way they are. I’m not asking
you to give her the old run-down kennel, though.”

“Thank God for that.”

“I did a little looking online and saw
you bought up forty acres off the highway.”

He nods. “Yes. We’re putting in some more
affordable housing.” He narrows his eyes on me. “Because some people seem to
think we only build houses for the rich.”

I want to laugh, but I can’t afford to
miss a beat in my proposition. “I want five acres of that land adjacent to the
highway.”

“For what?” he asks, even though I know
he knows.

“For a rescue kennel. I want it built by
JLS Heartland Foundation, a donation to our community. Something big enough for
not just dogs, but cats, birds, the whole gamut. The acreage next to the
highway isn’t best suited for homes anyway. It’s too noisy. You stick a bunch
of middle class homes there and you’ll look like a tyrant—saving the good
land—the quiet land—for the rich. But a bunch of animals aren’t
going to care about the noise, and the extra traffic will only help get them
homes faster. You use that land to build a rescue organization, you’ll look
like a fucking hero.”

“Five acres? Allie’s plot that we bought
in between the farms was only two.”

“Five,” I say adamantly. “Enough so that
there’s a noise buffer between her and the development.”

“You drive a hard bargain. And I suppose
you’ll be negotiating your salary next?”

I smile, knowing he’s going for it. “I
promise I’ll be gentle.”

He laughs. “But enough to care for a wife
and a few kids down the road, if things work out the way you’ve planned, I’m
betting.”

“Maybe so,” I answer.

If I’m lucky.

~ ALLIE ~

With my windows open, I hear the familiar
crunching of gravel that greets me as I turn onto Logan’s driveway. His truck
and convertible are parked in front, along with two vans, one marked with the
name of a plumbing company, and the other belonging to the painters.

It’s hard work as usual here, I think
with a sigh, and I can imagine Logan in there with them, finishing up #5 so
that he can get these lovely homes on the market and move on.

He’s been busy, I’m sure. Too busy to
email or call or even manage a quick text. I know I said I needed time. But I
didn’t really mean I needed dead silence from him either.

I feel a little more like my old self
after the week at my mom’s, even though my sleep isn’t quite up to speed. But
the late nights I spent sitting on her back porch listening to the quiet of
suburban Cleveland gave me time to re-envision my dreams without the foreclosure.
There are still dogs I want to save.

My stepdad spent some time on that porch
with me, too, telling me about some funding options I should consider that
might put me within spitting distance of building a new kennel sometime in the
future. He’s not my dad, but I’ve discovered he’s a really great guy and I can
learn a lot from him.

I pull my luggage out of the back of my SUV
and walk up to my door, knowing it won’t be
my
door much longer. A
vacancy came up in Cass’s apartment building, and I’m planning on signing a
lease tomorrow. I can’t take on as many dogs while I live there, but it’s the
best I can do right now.

Swinging open the door, I see things the
way I left them and I head to the kitchen to get a drink. The summer heat has
me parched and I’m planning on spending the rest of the day catching my breath,
sitting down by the water. It soothes me, the same way it does Logan, I guess. I
just don’t require as much of it.

Something catches my eye on the kitchen
counter—a large sheet of paper rolled up and fastened with a red bow. Something
for me? I glance over my shoulder hesitantly.

I just stare at it, confused, till I hear
the door open behind me and a familiar voice over my shoulder.

“Open it,” Logan says.

I turn and fill my eyes with the sight of
him. He looks as tired as I feel, but there’s something different about him. I
can’t quite put my finger on it.

“Logan,” I say softly, hoping for some kind
of affirmation from him so that I can run into his arms. His presence floods my
senses, and I ache to be held by him—the feeling eclipsing any ache I felt
when I lost the kennel.

My eyes search his, and I hold my breath,
hoping he’ll open his arms or even step toward me. But he just stands in the
doorway and repeats, “Open it, Allie.”

It’s only then that I remember the roll
of paper in front of me. I look at it again curiously as I pull the bow.

It resembles a blueprint, but it’s on a
large sheet of thick white paper. An artist’s rendering shows a building on the
left side of the poster-sized sheet and an aerial view of the same building
alongside a highway on the right.

I glance at him, bewildered. “What is
this?”

“It’s a rescue kennel alongside
Rockbridge Highway.”

I shake my head. “There’s no kennel along
Rockbridge Highway.”

“There will be in about a year. JLS just
settled on that land and we’re deeding five acres of it to your organization.
There will be a development adjacent to it, hopefully filled with people who
want to adopt dogs.”

The air rushes from my lungs and I raise
my hand to my forehead. This isn’t what I wanted him to do, I remind myself. It’s
everything that I want, yet I don’t want it this way.

“No, Logan. I’m so grateful—really
I am, but this isn’t right. You can’t make your brother do this.”

“I’m not making him do this. I’m doing it
myself. I’ve agreed to start working at JLS.”

My jaw drops an inch. “Oh, Logan. Your
family must be so happy.”

He smiles. “My dad is over the moon about
it. And my brother is… well, relieved to have some help. Hannah’s moving in
with him next week. Maybe if I can learn what I need to quickly enough, they
can squeeze a good vacation in before the school year starts.”

“But are
you
happy?” I never
pictured Logan as being content behind a desk. Not to mention living with some
semblance of permanence here in Newton’s Creek.

“Not yet,” he says, stepping toward me. His
hand touches my waist and the other reaches to the side of my face. He traces
the line of my cheekbone to my ear and tucks a lock of hair away as he pulls my
face closer to his. My heart melts and my knees buckle as he supports me with
his arm at the small of my back. Tears fill my eyes and I watch him through the
haze of their moisture.

“Now I am,” he says, lowering his mouth
to mine and letting his soft lips touch me.

My soul fills to overflowing as I taste
him, the kiss soft and sweet till I feel him part my lips with his tongue. I
angle my head, letting more of his skin touch me, and feeling myself come alive
again.

I feel the tears in my eyes threaten to
fall, and he moves his lips from my mouth, lightly kissing my eyelids as I shut
them.

“I’ve missed you in more ways than I
thought possible,” he tells me, edging out the insecurities that still lurked
in my heart. “I’ve wanted to call you every minute of the day, but I knew you
needed time. Besides,” he smiles, “I’ve been busy while you’ve been away.”

His gaze falls to the rendering stretched
out on the counter, and mine follows.

“Logan, I can’t accept this from you. I
need to build my own dreams. I can’t rely on you to do it for me.”

“Why not, when you’ve built my dreams for
me?”

My brow creases as I look at him.

“Allie, before I met you, I was a man
without a mission. I was just living day to day. For some guys, that would be
fine. But for me, it was suffocating. I’ve never lacked direction in my life,
and since joining the SEALs I’ve never lived without meaning. But you showed me
that risking my life as a SEAL isn’t the only way I can make a mark on this
world. I see what you’ve accomplished and I want that for myself.”

I shake my head. “But this is my dream. Not
yours.”

“I know. And it’s only a small piece of
what I have planned at JLS Heartland. We’re huge, Allie. Hell, even
I
didn’t know how big we were till Ryan ran some numbers with me this week. We’re
solid enough that it’s time for us to do more than just build homes. We’ve
started a foundation.”

“A foundation?”

“Yes, and this is one of our first
donations to the towns where we build. The first of many, and I can’t wait to
tell you all my plans.”

His eyes are filled with an excitement
I’ve never seen in him. It’s almost childlike, and it warms my heart.

“It’s already a done deal, Allie. Nothing
you can say will stop it, so I’m placing a huge gamble on the hope that you’ll
help us make this real.” He taps on the paper. “And make it
right
.”

I stare at the rendering. It’s a bigger
kennel than the bankrupt one I had tried to buy. It’s fresh and new and
everything I could have possibly hoped for.

He strokes my cheek. “Will you make this
place a reality with us?”

Tears stream down my cheeks and my lips
quiver. A part of me—call it pride or stubbornness—tells me I
should resist. But I remember what my mother told me about letting others share
my dreams, to respect that they can feel the same passion I do, and to learn to
share my load along with my joys.

Besides, when someone hands you your
dream, you’d be a fool to not grab it.

So I grab.

“Yes, Logan. Yes, I will.”

His smile is bright, framed in his kissable
lips. He cocks his head. “You promise?”

He needs me to promise? Seriously? “I
promise.”

Relief settles into his shoulders as he
takes both my hands. “Good, because there’s something else I need to say, and I
don’t want it to influence you one way or the other.”

I feel my stomach tighten up at the sudden
nervousness I see etched around his eyes.

“I love you, Allie. I am completely, 100%
in love with you. And I know this might be a little too soon for you to hear
this—”

My breath catches.
No, not too soon at
all
.

“—but I can’t imagine my life
without you. I have plans at JLS, but I have plans right here with you, too. I
love you, Alexandra. You are my most important mission now. Building a future
with you. Spending the next few months convincing you that I’m not the jaded
former SEAL I once was. Making you see how perfectly we fit so that I can drop
on my knee in front of you one day and beg you to be mine forever.”

My body presses against him and I cradle
his face in my hands. I can barely recognize the pure joy in his eyes as he
speaks, and every piece of me wants to get to know this man—just as he is
today, looking ahead to the future.

I lean in to kiss him, but he pulls away
slightly, pressing his finger to my lips. “I know now that there are things I
need to do in this world, but all I keep thinking is how much better it would
be if I can do it all with you. Will you stick with me, Allie?” He taps the sheet
of paper on the counter alongside of us. “Will you let this be the first of
many great things we build together?”

“Yes,” I cry through my tears, savoring
the warmth I feel pressed against his body. “Because I love you too, Logan. I
love you, too.”

He lifts me into his arms, swinging me in
a half circle, and carries me out of the kitchen.

I hope I know where we’re headed
, I think as my smile presses against his
soft lips and my body aches to feel him against me, with nothing between us.

No
, I correct myself. I
know
where we’re headed. And I
couldn’t be happier.