Crazy for Her (3 page)

She glanced at the small bag he’d dropped on the bed. “You travel light.”

The T-shirt, socks, and underwear he’d worn last night were in his tote along with several knives, another gun, a cell phone charger, and his toiletries. “Can’t carry much on the V-Rod. I overnighted a trunk that should arrive any time.” Along with clothes, it contained more weapons and a few of his favorite high-tech toys. As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

She started to stand, and he held out a hand to stop her. “I’ll go to the door.”

After signing the delivery form, he scanned the road and area in front of the house before closing and locking the door. Logan hefted the trunk and carried it back to his room.

Dani eyed it with obvious interest. “What kind of goodies do you have in there?”

“What makes you think there’s more than just clothes?”

She snorted. “I was a SEAL’s wife, remember?”

“I remember.” As if he could forget. He set the case on the bed, wishing she would go away. He needed a few minutes alone to drill the reasons why she was off-limits back into his brain and lower regions.

Dani noted the change in his mood and wondered at it. She stood and walked past him, stopping at the door. “Why don’t you get settled in while I start dinner? You can show me your toys later.”

Evan had been a meat-and-potatoes man, but like Dani, Logan loved to experience all kinds of food. When the three of them had hung out together, she and Logan often teased Evan about his refusal to try a new dish. “I already know what I like, so why should I order something I’ll probably hate?” was his standard reply. It was rare that they could even tempt him to taste one of their meals.

Cooking was her hobby, something she did whenever she came up against a wall when she wrote. Puttering around in the kitchen helped her think. Usually, by the time dinner was ready, she’d solved whatever plot issues were bedeviling her and had twice benefited—a great meal and the next scene for her story bubbling in her head.

Long used to enjoying her creations alone, she was excited to have someone to share them with. Tonight, she’d decided on steak Diane, loaded twice-baked potatoes, and spinach salad. Not that she wanted to impress Logan—it was one of her favorite meals.

Right, Dani, you went to all this work just for yourself.

Okay, so she wanted to show off a little. All the prep work had been finished before Logan arrived, so all she had to do was flambé the steaks, microwave the potatoes, and heat the dressing for the salad.

The dining room seemed too formal, so she set the table in the kitchen and debated whether to light any candles. Afraid it would send the wrong signal, she instead slightly dimmed the lights. Surveying the effect, she gave a little nod of satisfaction. Perfect. Not too dim to make it seem romantic but enough to take the brightness away.

Hearing Logan’s approach, she poured a glass of wine and handed it to him when he entered the kitchen. “I think you’ll like this. It’s a Cabernet called Antler Hill from the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville.”

He swirled the wine, sniffed it, and then took a sip and deemed it excellent. Evan had once told her that as a child, Logan had grown up dirt poor and neglected. Surprised at how knowledgeable he was of wines and fine foods, she’d found herself observing him whenever he hung out with them.

Though he was a warrior through and through, there was also something of a Renaissance man in him. His contradictions had so fascinated her, she’d used him as the model for the hero in one of her books. Evan had been amused when she’d told him, but she would die if Logan ever learned of it.

Dani made herself a soda water with lime, her favorite nonalcoholic drink aside from her hot green teas. After turning on the gas burner, she leaned back against the counter to wait for the pan to get hot.

Logan stood in the middle of the room sipping his wine, his eyes focused on her. Until he walked in, the kitchen had seemed spacious to Dani. Now she wasn’t sure she had room to breathe.

When she’d first met the two SEALs, Logan had been the one to catch her interest, but he had faded into the background, allowing Evan to take center stage. And who wouldn’t adore Evan?

No other man had filled her life with laughter the way her husband had. She even missed his silly jokes. Missed the way his hands felt on her body, missed his scent. Her big bear of a loving husband had won her heart, and her initial interest in his friend vanished. Now Evan was gone, and the man who had intrigued her for so long stood in her kitchen.

Dani wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

She waved a hand toward a chair. “Have a seat and watch magic happen.”

The phone rang and she froze, her heart beating a wild tattoo in her chest. Logan set his wine on the table, came to her, and took the glass out of her hand. Pushing a button on the phone, he handed it to her.

She took a deep breath. “Hello.”

“Danielle?”

Logan had put him on the speaker. Holding the phone away from her ear, she pushed the words past her lips. “This is Dani.”

“Tell him to leave, Danielle.”

“Who?” A dial tone was the only response. “He hung up.”

She put the phone back in the holder. It was just so very wrong to hear her dead husband’s voice. Unable to help it, she started shaking. Logan pulled her against his chest and wrapped muscled arms around her.

“Did you hear? He sounds so much like Evan.”

“I heard,” he said. “The voice is similar, but it isn’t Evan.”

“I know.” She burrowed into his warmth. “But who is he? Who would sound like Evan?” Her eyes closed when his lips pressed down on her head.

“I don’t know, but I won’t let him hurt you. You believe me, don’t you?”

Dani nodded against his chest. “I believe you.” His hold on her was strong and soothing, and he smelled so damn good. A stirring of something she hadn’t felt since the last time Evan had held her took her by surprise, and she pushed away. “I-I need to start dinner.” It was only a natural response to the feel of a man’s body after two years of being alone, she told herself. It didn’t mean anything. He’d only meant to comfort her after the disturbing phone call.

She put the steaks in the cast-iron skillet, popped the potatoes into the microwave, and refused to wonder who the hell the man claiming to be her husband was. He would not ruin her night—she wouldn’t allow it. Lighting the cognac on fire, Dani glanced at Logan to see if he was properly impressed. His eyes appreciatively followed her actions.

Evan would have preferred hamburgers, but Logan appeared to savor every mouthful of her meal. Seeming to sense her need to forget about her stalker for a while, he listened as she talked about living in Asheville.

“I haven’t eaten this good since the last time you cooked for me.” He pushed his plate away. “When was that?”

“The night before you and Evan left for your last mission.” His eyes shuttered, and she regretted her words. She jumped up and grabbed their plates, putting them in the sink. “Do you want dessert now or later?”

He rubbed his hand over his stomach. “Later, if at all.”

“Hazelnut coffee, homemade chocolate Amaretto brownies, and vanilla-bean ice cream.”

“A week here with you and I’ll be waddling like an overfed duck.”

Dani leaned back against the sink and tried to imagine him fat and waddling. The picture refused to form. He stared back at her, their gazes held in some strange spell. Time seemed to stop. She recognized the heat in a man’s eyes and again felt herself responding. Then the fire in them faded. For the second time she thought she saw regret and wondered at it. What did he regret?

He stood. “I think I’ll take a look around outside.”

Nodding, she listened to the sound of his footsteps fading, the back door opening and then closing. After drying her hands, she walked into the dining room, peered out the French doors, and watched him walk down to the creek. He knelt and splashed cold spring water onto his face.

She’d truly loved only one man in her life, but as much as she wished otherwise, Evan was gone forever. And here was Logan looking at her with heat in his eyes.

“He wants me, Evan. How do you feel about that?”

How do I feel about it?

CHAPTER FOUR

L
ogan stilled, the sense of being watched finally penetrating his lust-filled brain. He scanned the woods, his eyes drawn to the massive oak tree. Nothing moved, but someone was out there. He palmed a knife from his boot and stood, the cold creek water dripping down his face onto his shirt. With his other hand, he pulled his gun from his waistband and held it down at his side.

At the edge of the woods, he stopped next to a tall pine tree, listened, and heard not a thing. Not good. At the very least, birds should be chirping, but it was eerily silent. Alert, watching for any unusual movement, he made his way to the oak tree. Circling it, he studied the ground.

At the base where a small patch of dirt wasn’t covered by leaves, he found a partial print of the heel of a combat boot—the real thing or someone playing at soldiering? Logan knelt and studied it, regretting it wasn’t a full print so he could estimate the size of the man. A fresh scrape on the bark indicated someone had recently climbed the tree, but whoever had been up there was gone now. Returning the gun to his waistband, he clamped down on the knife with his teeth and began to climb.

A little over halfway up he found a branch that joined with another near the trunk, forming the perfect place to sit. A broken limb confirmed Logan’s fear that someone had been spying on Dani. He settled his back against the tree and turned his gaze to the cabin. A perfect view of her at the sink washing their dinner dishes greeted him.

“Shit,” he hissed.

How long had the creep been watching her? The asshole probably had binoculars and had been observing her. Logan examined the back of the house to see into what other windows the man might have been looking. The French doors to the dining room were next, but he didn’t give them much attention. The next set of windows would be Regan’s nursery, and then Dani’s room.

Had the man watched her sit in the rocking chair while she nursed Regan? Logan slammed his knife into the branch, burying it halfway up the blade. The motherfucker was a dead man. He pulled his knife out of the wood and carved a small hole in the branch above his head. Later, he would return and put a thumb-sized camera there. Quickly sliding down the tree, he headed back to the house, his long strides eating up the ground before him.

Storming through the kitchen, he passed Dani, ignoring her startled look, and marched to the door of Regan’s room. Belatedly realizing the pounding of his boots on the wood floor might wake the baby, he stopped and took a calming breath, reminding himself the Iceman didn’t lose his cool.

His gaze fell on the rocking chair in front of the window where Dani liked to sit. How many times had the pervert watched her?

“Logan?”

Not hiding his fury, he turned.

She took two steps back. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

He welcomed the fear in her voice. She needed to be afraid. “Close the curtains in her room and yours. He’s been watching you.”

Her face paled and she put her hand against the wall. “How do you know?”

“I found his little nest. Close the damn curtains.” He walked away before he could do something stupid like scoop her up in his arms and carry her far, far away to someplace safe.

The next morning, Dani sat in front of windows covered by yellow-polka-dot Dr. Seuss curtains and nursed Regan. She loved her home, but it was starting to feel like a prison.

Since she couldn’t enjoy watching the horses race around in the pasture, she tried to remember if she had come into contact with any odd characters lately. No one she’d talked to stood out as suspicious. How long had he been watching her? She shuddered. Being spied upon by a faceless man was just damned creepy.

Regan finished nursing and gave a toothy little grin. Dani sat her daughter on her knee and burped her, then stood her up. “Mama’s little girl.”

Regan bounced up and down. “Mama!” she yelled, and bounced some more.

“She called you Mama.”

Regan looked past Dani and grinned. “Mama!”

Dani glanced over her shoulder to see Logan leaning against the door. “She’s been saying Mama for a while now.”

He came and knelt next to the rocking chair, tapping Regan on the nose. “Hey, little girl.”

Regan giggled and said, “Eairh.”

Surprising Dani, Regan tried to go to him. She was normally shy around strangers, but she seemed to like Logan. He stood and Dani laughed at his panicked expression when Regan lifted her arms in a clear signal she wanted him to pick her up.

“You’re such a sissy.” He glared at her and Dani rolled her eyes. “Uncle Logan’s a sissy,” she sang.

“Issie,” Regan said.

“See, she thinks you’re a sissy, too.”

Lightning fast, he snatched Regan out of her arms. Dani swallowed a laugh. Apparently men didn’t like to be called sissies. Regan stared at him and grinned like a besotted fool. Dani understood Regan’s fascination. Even dressed in a loose navy T-shirt and sweatpants he was hot.

Dani went to the curtains and parted them enough to peer out. “Do you think he’s out there now?”

“No, I did a thorough search this morning and didn’t see any sign of him.”

She raised a brow. “And here I thought you just got up. I suppose you ran ten miles while you were at it?”

“No, only three.”

“Jeez, Logan, you’re getting lazy in your old age.”

“More like I didn’t want to leave you alone for too long.”

“Oh.” She peeked out the window again.

Having him here made her feel safe, but she resented it. He awakened needs she hadn’t felt since Evan died. But Logan wasn’t there for her; it was more like some kind of obligation he thought he owed Evan. How much had she disrupted his life by asking him to come?

Dropping the curtain, she spun. “I have to get out of this house.”

He stopped making faces at Regan and focused on her. “Sure. Give me twenty minutes to shower and change, and I’ll take you out to lunch. You can show me around a little if you want.”

She wanted. “Make it thirty minutes. It’ll take me that long to get ready.”

Dani walked next to Logan as they strolled past a sidewalk café in downtown Asheville. The city, considered one of the most diverse in the country, had something for everyone. With open arms, the town welcomed artists, musicians, and anyone wanting to make a movie.
Cold Mountain
and
The Hunger Games
,
both filmed around Asheville, were in her DVD collection, and she wondered if Logan would enjoy watching them with her. They passed a small group of men and women in flowing robes dancing around a large tree.

“What’s that all about?” Logan asked.

“They’re Wiccans. The tree is like three hundred years old, but it’s dying. They’re convinced they can heal it.”

He snorted, causing her to laugh. She loved it in Asheville, witches and all. Her annual pass to the Biltmore Estate allowed her to visit any time she wanted. Often, she would take Regan and rent one of their bicycles with a baby seat and they’d spend several hours riding the winding paths, stopping at the pond to feed the ducks. The only other place she might like living as much as she did the mountains was the beach.

Two women dressed in business suits walked past, both eyeing Logan in open appreciation even though he cradled a baby in a carrier on his chest. Dani smiled in amusement. It didn’t seem to matter to them that the woman walking with him could be his wife. He’d insisted on carrying Regan, and she had willingly let him. Just this morning, the man had been terrified of holding her daughter, and now he looked as if he’d been doing it for years.

A display of old, recovered windows caught Dani’s attention, and she pointed to one. “Oh, I love it,” she said of the one with a distressed frame and stained-glass panes. It would be beautiful hanging in front of her bedroom window. She could wake up every morning to see the sun shining through it, all the colors dancing over her walls and ceiling.

“It would be perfect in your bedroom,” Logan said.

She glanced at him and grinned, pleased he saw it the way she did.

He pointed to a mirror. “That one there, you could use it in one of your Regency stories. Picture your hero visiting his mistress with that in her room.”

The mirror was awful, and she loved it. Red velvet covered the frame, and the silhouette of a woman’s nude body was painted in black along one edge. She visualized the scene he’d just described. In the movie running through her mind, the heroine barged into the room catching her betrothed in the act of making love to his mistress in front of the mirror. He would realize what he’d lost when the heroine called off the wedding and he’d have to—

“Dani!”

Jerked back to the present by the urgency in Logan’s voice, she turned toward him. He pulled off the carrier, handing her Regan.

“Don’t move from this spot,” he said, and turned to leave. Stopping, he turned back and wrapped his hand around her upper arm. “Better yet, go inside the store and wait for me there.”

He left her then, jogging away and disappearing around a corner. Where was he going? She started to follow, but glanced at Regan and stopped. Never would she do anything to put her daughter in danger, and she had promised to obey if he ever gave her instructions.

Turning, she entered the store. While anxiously awaiting Logan’s return, she purchased the stained-glass window and—on a whim—bought the mirror. After arranging for the delivery, she browsed around—twice telling the overbearing clerk she didn’t have any questions. Well, she did, but the salesman couldn’t tell her where Logan had rushed off to.

Fists clenched at his sides and chest heaving, Logan stood at the end of an alley as the black Ford F-250 with dark tinted windows sped away. Damn it to hell. If he’d been just a few seconds faster, he would’ve had the license plate number.

The man standing across the street and watching them had caught his attention. For an instant, he thought he was seeing Evan. But the man was bulkier, and Evan would have never shaved his head. Unfortunately, the man had been too far away to see his features clearly. It wasn’t Evan—it couldn’t be. He had held Evan in his arms as he lay dying.

Angry strides took Logan back to the store where he’d left Dani and Regan. Who the hell was he? None of this made sense. A stalker who left teddy bears and resembled Evan—one who seemed to want to step into Evan’s life, claiming his wife and daughter. It was bizarre and unsettling.