The Posse (21 page)

Jude was very still. Her
eyes were fastened on the center of the bed, and Logan couldn’t
read her reaction at all.

“But see, here’s what they
didn’t know. I already knew I was in love with you. I didn’t tell
them, because...hell, because we’d just really said goodbye to
Daniel. I know it had been a year, but that day was final. I guess
part of me felt like what the guys were suggesting gave me
permission to act on what I felt. Do you understand what I
mean?”

For a full moment, Jude
didn’t move at all. When her eyes finally met his, Logan saw
humor.  Relief flooded his body.

“So that’s why Matt took me
out to dinner and tried to wine and dine me? And why Cooper kissed
me and tried to flirt?” She shook her head, eyes rolling. “Logan,
what would you have done if I’d given either of them any
encouragement? What if one of them felt something more than
obligation and friendship?”

He reached toward her, just
touching her fingertips where they lay on the bed. “I guess I would
have fought them for you. I kind of almost did, a few weeks
ago.”

Jude cocked her head.
“Explanation, please?”

“Cooper told us he’d kissed
you. I kind of lost it. I thought I’d moved too slow, missed my
chance.”

Heaving a sigh, Jude flopped
onto her side, cradling her head in the crook of her elbow.
“Dangerous little game you were playing there, dude!”

He leaned over her, his
breath tickling her cheek. “You were worth it. And it doesn’t
matter, does it? Because I won.” He lowered his lips to hollow in
her neck, to the dip that intrigued him.

Jude smiled. “You’re awfully
sure of yourself.”

“Shouldn’t I be?” His
answering grin was cocky. He leaned back just enough to give Jude
the window of opportunity she needed.

Pushing up on her hand, she
shoved Logan onto his back and sat over him, one hand lightly in
the center of his chest to hold him still.

His mouth curved into a
wolfish smile. “Finally got me where you want me, huh?”

She threw her leg over him,
straddling his body with both hands now resting on his chest.
“Maybe I do.”

Jude bent over and feathered
kisses on his cheeks, down his neck and onto his chest. She ran her
lips around his defined pectoral muscles and circled her tongue
around the flat nipples. Logan pulled in a hissing breath.

“You’re killing me.”

“Am I?” She spoke against
the center of his chest and then wriggled lower, licking along his
abs. “Driving you crazy?”

“Hell, yes.” Logan threw
back his head as Jude moved ever lower. She kissed along the top of
his boxers, shifted so that she rode his thigh and pulled off the
boxers. Dropping them to the side of the bed, she turned back to
grasp him with both hands, smiling at the rumble of pleasure in
Logan’s chest.

Jude lay over him, stroking
him and writhing against his leg.

“Want to be crazier?” she
murmured, and without waiting for an answer, took him in her
mouth.

Logan groaned. Encouraged,
Jude circled with her tongue, laved and suckled.

“Jude.” His hands were in
her hair. “I want--”

She released him and crawled
back up his body, raining kisses along the way. She found his ear,
nibbled the lobe for a minute before whispering again.

“You want?”

She rose up, centered her
body on his and sank onto him, arching at the feel of him deep
within her. Logan grasped her waist as he moved her up and down.
Jude rode him, increasing in speed until he shouted her name, his
body a quivering mass of muscle. His surge triggered her own
release, and she fell on top of his chest, breathless.

“Jude?” Logan lifted his
head just enough kiss her forehead. “Have I mentioned that I’m
madly in love with you?”

She nodded against his
chest. “You might have said something about it.” She turned her
head so that her chin rested on Logan’s sternum. “Is there anything
else you need to tell me about the posse and pacts? Better tell me
now while I’m feeling...” She quirked an eyebrow. “Generous.”

“Nope. When I almost hit
Cooper, I sort of confessed that I was in love with you. So they
all backed off. That’s why the guys weren’t that surprised
today.”

“I noticed that.” Jude
snuggled back down, laying her ear so that she heard the steady
beat of his heart. “I’ve known the posse for a long time, Logan. I
love them like my brothers. But I’m only
in
love with one of
them. I won’t ever ask you to betray secrets about the guys or not
hang out with them. Just remember, though, that I need to come
first.”

Logan lifted her so that her
eyes were level with his. He kissed her on the mouth and leaned her
forehead against his.

“First, last and everything
in between. Always.”

***

Early fall was Jude’s favorite time in
the Cove. The beaches were less crowded during the week, and she
felt she had a moment to breathe between breakfast rush and the
lunch crowd. And it was a good thing, because it turned out that
her newly complicated life was taking up a lot of time.

Her days began to fall into
a rhythm. Logan drove her to the Tide each morning, had his coffee
as she prepared for opening before he headed to his office. He
usually checked in with her by telephone at noon, and then returned
at five to pick her up. He made sure that they spent some nights at
her house, and slowly some of his clothes moved over to her house,
just as her makeup and books found spots at his home.

Joseph called his mother on
the Wednesday morning after they’d come out to the posse, a week
after he’d driven to Clearwater.

“Mom? How would you like to
meet your grandson?”

Jude was flipping a burger,
and she nearly dropped it. “Of course! When? Are you coming
home?”

“I thought Lindsay, DJ and I
would drive up there tomorrow, if that’s okay. Can we stay with you
for the weekend? I talked to Meggie, and she’s going to drive down
on Friday.”

“Absolutely.” Jude began
making plans. “Does Lindsay have a travel crib, or do you want me
to get one? What else do you need?”

Joseph laughed. “Lindsay
says not to worry. She has everything under control. Wait, hold
on.” Jude heard a muffled conversation on the other side of the
phone.

“She says if you have a
crib, that would be great. Otherwise we can work out everything
else.”

“Wonderful. What time do you
think you’ll be here?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll text you
along the way. Traveling with the baby takes a lot longer, you
know. We have to pull off for Lindsay to nurse him, and he needs to
be changed, like, every hour, sometimes.”  Jude smiled at the
new tone of parental confidence in her son’s voice, after only a
week of fatherhood.

“I’ll wait to hear from you,
then. If you get in earlier, I can have Sadie and Mack cover the
Tide for me.”

“Cool.” He paused for a
moment before adding, “Mom, I can’t wait for you to meet Lindsay
and DJ. I know you’re going to love them both.”

Jude spent Wednesday night
cleaning her house, paying special attention to Joseph’s room.

“Do you think he and Lindsay
will sleep in the same room?” She and Logan sat on the floor,
putting together the travel crib she’d bought that afternoon.

“I don’t know.” Logan
shrugged. “I mean, asking them not to is kind of like barring the
barn door after the horse got out, right?”

“Maybe. I was thinking that
it would hypocritical for me to enforce that rule, given that my
bed isn’t exactly lonely these days.”

Logan laughed. “Guess you’ve
got a point. But you know, I’m willing to be very discreet while
your kids are at home. And I’ll give you all the space you
need.”

She reached across to
squeeze his hand. “I really don’t want any space. I want you to be
with me when I tell them about us. It’s not like I’m bringing some
stranger into their lives. Meggie and Joseph already know you, and
they love you, too.”

“Still, it’s one thing to
love me as Uncle Logan, and another to accept me in their mother’s
life.”

That conversation stayed in
the forefront of Jude’s mind the next day. She jumped every time
her phone buzzed, though she knew the kids had gotten a late start
from Clearwater. She figured she would have time to close up and
head home before they arrived.

Only one customer sat at the
bar when the door opened just before four. Jude and Sadie were
working in the kitchen, wiping down counters and putting away food
in preparation for closing. Hearing the tinkling bell, Jude
frowned. She’d hoped this person eating at the bar would be the
final customer for the day.

“I just hope this one
doesn’t want a burger. I just scraped the grill,” she muttered to
Sadie, drying her hands on her shorts as she stood. Sadie didn’t
answer, because she was standing still in the middle of the
kitchen.

Jude followed her gaze and
saw Joseph standing in the middle of the restaurant, holding his
son.

She flew around the bar to
grab them both into a hug. “Is this anyway to sneak up on a
grandmother? You said you’d text!”

Joseph laughed. “DJ slept
the last part, and we made better time than I thought we would. I
knew you’d be here, so we just decided to surprise you.” He laid
the blinking baby in her arms. “Mom, this is Daniel Joseph.”

“Ohh...” Jude choked back
tears as she gazed down at the wide blue eyes. “He’s so beautiful.”
She touched his dark hair, his plump baby cheeks and the tip of his
perfect nose. She was so completely absorbed that it took a moment
to notice the girl standing next to Joseph, biting her lip and
looking supremely uncomfortable.

“You must be Lindsay.” Jude
turned to her with a smile and opened her free arm to offer a hug.
“Welcome to Crystal Cove. I’m so happy to see you again.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Hawthorne.”
Lindsay returned the hug.

“Please, call me Jude.” She
cuddled the baby and then glanced up his mother. “He’s just
perfect, Lindsay. Thank you for bringing him here, so I could meet
him.”

“Hey, I did the driving!”
Joseph shook his head in mock affront, but he put his arm around
Lindsay, squeezing her shoulders.

Sadie approached them. “Boy,
what’s the matter with you, coming in here and not introducing your
young lady to Mack and me?” She swatted the back of his head in her
familiar affectionate way.

Joseph grabbed the older
woman into a bear hug and spun her around. “Sadie, this is Lindsay.
Linds, this gorgeous woman is my first love. She used to sneak me
sweets when I was little and Mom was working.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sadie
nodded, but her eyes were glued on the baby. “Jude, stop being such
a hog and give me that little one.”

They passed the baby around,
with even Mack coming out to take a turn and admire him.

Finally, Jude shooed Joseph
and Lindsay to the door. “You must be exhausted. Joseph, take them
home. Everything is set up in your room for the baby, and you know
to help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll be home in about twenty
minutes.”

“Nonsense!” Sadie shook her
head. “Mack and I can handle closing. You ride home with the
kids.”

“Yeah, Mom, where’s your
car?” Curiosity tinged Joseph’s voice. “I almost thought you
weren’t here when we pulled in and I didn’t see it.”

“Ah, Uncle Logan drove me in
this morning.” She avoided meeting her son’s eyes and turned to
Sadie. “Are you sure you’re okay here?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Get
going.” Sadie shooed them out.

Jude climbed into the
backseat next to the baby’s car seat. As Joseph and Lindsay buckled
him in, she pulled out her phone and texted Logan the update in
plans.

As soon as they arrived
home, Lindsay ducked into Joseph’s bedroom to nurse the baby. Jude
changed and headed for the kitchen to start dinner.

Joseph sat at the table,
staring at the glass of water in front of him. He smiled at his
mother as she came in.

“I was just sitting here
thinking how much I miss Dad.” His voice was thick, and Jude laid a
hand on his shoulder.

“I know. I miss him, too.
Every day.” She pulled out the chair across from her son.

“Mom.” Something in his
voice made Jude wary. “I know you miss Dad. But is something going
on with you and Uncle Logan?”

Jude leaned back in her
chair and heaved a breath. “Why do you ask?”

“Since when does anyone
drive you to the Tide for opening? And when I went to put some of
the baby’s clothes into the washer, I found a load still in there.
With a man’s boxer shorts.”

She nodded. “Yes. I was
going to tell you, but we were going to wait for dinner, tell you
together. I’m sorry.”

Joseph stared at her.
“Mom...are you sure? And is this serious, or are you just messing
around?”