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

plied her with questions that she had no answers to. Finally she held up her hand. “Stop. I’m done. I can’t do this tonight.”
    Before he could answer, Wade stuck his head in the doorway again. “We’re finished here, and I’m going home to bed. Told Andre you might want him to stay.”
    Two other deputies came into the kitchen with him, and while she didn’t recognize the one that Ben introduced as Randy Jenkins, she did recognize the other one. Andre Stone had brought his little brother to the ER last week with a gash on his arm that had taken six stitches. She held up the nearly empty pot. “Either of you want this last cup?”
    “I’ve had my quota for the night,” Jenkins said.
    “I can sure use a cup, Doc.” Andre removed his navy ball cap and ran his hand over his closely cropped hair. “Black, please.”
    She poured the coffee into a mug and handed it to Andre. “How’s your brother?”
    The deputy’s dark face broke into a grin. “He’s good. Says hewants to be a doctor like you. Thanks for asking.” Andre sipped the coffee. “His pediatrician okayed him to play ball this weekend. You coming to the game, Ben?”
    Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “No, I have other plans.”
    Andre shot Ben a puzzled glance. “Most of the boys in your Sunday school class are playing. In fact, I was hoping you’d help coach while your brother-in-law is out of town.”
    “It’s Emily’s class. I’m only there because Jeremy is in Afghanistan for three months.”
    Emily ran the Helping Hands clinic, and Leigh hadn’t known her husband was in Afghanistan. But then, other than yesterday afternoon, she’d only worked at the clinic one Saturday, and Ben’s sister hadn’t been there.
    “Ben, you were a great ballplayer,” Wade spoke up. “You ought to help them out.”
    “Don’t you start.” Ben glowered at his chief deputy. “I’m not coaching. Now, can we get back to the problem at hand?”
    “There is no problem,” Leigh said. “I’m not leaving my home, and you don’t have the resources to put a deputy here.”
    “Andre could drive by here every hour,” Wade said.
    “There’s no need for that. I’m staying until morning.” Ben ran his hand through his unruly hair. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
    “No.” Leigh scrubbed a spot on the red countertop. Ben Logan was not sleeping on her sofa. “I’m good with the patrol.”
    “Well, I’m not.”
    “What will my neighbors think if they see your truck parked in my drive at five-thirty in the morning?”
    “That’s another reason for me to stay what’s left of the night—your nearest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away. We’ll talk about the patrols after you get the locks changed and a security system.”
    “Look, Ben, I don’t think whoever did this will be back.”
    “Either I sleep on the couch or in my truck. Your call. And I will be taking you to pick up your son in the morning.”
    Now she knew where TJ got his stubborn streak. Coming home to Logan Point had been such a mistake, but she couldn’t unscramble eggs. She’d just have to find a way to keep Ben from discovering he was TJ’s father.

    For a minute Ben thought she was going to make him sleep in the driveway, which he would if he had to. He’d promised Tony that he would keep Leigh safe, and it was a promise he aimed to keep. “The couch would be better—that way if the intruders came back, I’d know it immediately.”
    A look he couldn’t identify crossed her face, and then she waved her hand. “Whatever. See your men out. I’m going to bed.”
    Suited him fine. He walked with his men to their patrol cars, and after working out a plan for drive-by checks, he sent them on their way. When he returned to the living room, Leigh had put bedding on the couch. Quiet settled in the house as Ben tried to get comfortable. He couldn’t believe Tony had slept on this couch for a month.
    Ben stared at the ceiling, making plans for the morning. He’d go with