A Promise to Protect (Logan Point Book #2): A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

hard she rubbed. Leigh jabbed the needle back in the pincushion. How was she ever going to explain to TJ what happened tonight when she couldn’t understand it herself?
    “Good job,” Ben said.
    Leigh jerked her head up. She hadn’t heard him come into the kitchen. She pointed to the stuffed animal’s eyes that didn’t match. “Not the first time I’ve operated on Bear. Would you and your men like a fresh cup of coffee?”
    “Sure.”
    She put the toy aside and poured his coffee, trying to ignore the way his presence filled the room. Apologize . She pressed her lips together, chewing on the inside corner of her mouth. “Uh, thanks for . . .” Her voice broke.
    Ben took the coffee from her shaking hand. “It’s going to get better.”
    Such simple words to bring a fresh round of tears. Leigh fanned her face as she stared at the ceiling and blinked wetness away. “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s normal to cry in times like this.”
    “No, I mean, I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted. I appreciate all you’ve done tonight.”
    “Oh.” He stood straighter. “Just doin’ my job, ma’am.”
    His mischievous smile clamped a band around her heart. How many times had she seen that same smile on TJ’s face? She forced herself to breathe. “The house—are your men finished?”
    “Almost.” He picked up the coffee and took a sip. “Have you thought about where you’ll go?”
    “Go? I have nowhere to go. This is my home. Has been since Daddy died.”
    He held out his hand. “You could stay with my folks. They’ve always opened their house to those who need a place to stay, even since my dad’s stroke.”
    The Logans? That was the last place she wanted to stay. “I don’t want to intrude. I’ll change the locks, get a security system. Besides, your dad doesn’t even like me.”
    “New locks take time. And where did you get the idea my dad doesn’t like you?”
    Tom Logan’s words from ten years ago burned in her memory. “Break up with my son, and I’ll drop the marijuana charge against Tony. If you care anything at all about Ben, you’ll stay away from him. You’ll only drag him down.” But it hadn’t been all Tom. If Ben had really loved her, he would not have given up so easily, and he would not have gotten engaged to someone else three months later.
    Leigh lifted her chin. She would rather face whoever broke into the house than depend on the Logan family. “I’m staying here. No one is running me out of my home.”
    “Leigh, that ‘no one’ killed your brother tonight. Whoever it was came here looking for a flash drive that Tony had.”
    “And it wasn’t here. This is probably the safest place I can be.”
    “What if we interrupted him? What if he comes back?”
    She rubbed her brow. This was not happening. “There has to be another place I can go.”
    “Leigh, I don’t have time to find a safe house tonight.”
    “Well, how safe would I be at your dad’s? You said it yourself—he’s had a stroke.”
    “My house is in their yard. Don’t be so—”
    From the doorway, Wade cleared his throat.
    They turned in unison to stare at the deputy.
    Wade looked around, then down at his Hawaiian shirt. “What? This shirt ain’t that bad.”
    Tension dissipated from Leigh’s body. She gave him a tired smile. “I don’t know about that. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
    The deputy hitched his khaki shorts and eased his bulky frame into the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am.”
    She poured dark brew into a cup and handed it to him. It was hard not to compare the tense and brooding sheriff to his easygoing chief deputy. Ben was by far the more handsome, his body lean and fit, his dark hair in need of a trim, and a five o’clock shadow that’d grown into a day-old beard. Wade, on the other hand, projected a good-ole-boy image, one Leigh suspected he worked on. He carried an extra fifty pounds well on his tall frame. He was yin to Ben’s yang.
    Wade set a folder and notepad on the counter.