Page 71 of Real Good Love
I pour everything I have into our kiss, and only when Banner is writhing against me do I push inside her.
She’s right. We both need this. I lift her up and press her against the wall, fucking into her over and over while I whisper her name like a prayer.
I drop my head against the wall of the shower as we come together.
She’s my everything. I will not lose her.
Chapter 36
Banner
The next day, we’re two hours late leaving Gold Haven with Boone Thrasher’s car in a trailer towed behind Logan’s truck. By some miracle, Logan’s truck didn’t even have a bubble on the paint, even though it was only twenty feet away from the blaze. Something about wind direction and hand-of-God type stuff.
Logan dealt with insurance people all morning before he could finally get away and load up the car with Jock and Rick’s help. Both of them swore on the graves of their respective ancestors that neither was making meth in the bathroom, and Logan believes them.
They’ve both been questioned by Cody Reeves too, so now all that’s left is to figure out who would set up Logan like this.
He isn’t the kind of guy who goes around racking up enemies. He’s a good guy. The kind who doesn’t hesitate to help his neighbors or do a favor for a friend.
I saw Julianne this morning, standing out in front of her salon and directing the glass people as they measured for a new window. Her expression was hard.
“This shit is personal now. I’m gonna figure it out if the cops and that reporter can’t.”
From the determination in her tone, I believe she will. I just hope someone does before there are any more “accidents.”
The entire town seems to be walking on eggshells, and it makes me wonder what Gold Haven was like before all of its residents looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes.
I ask Logan the question, and he spends an hour telling me stories about different people in town and how it used to be.
“Do you think things will ever go back to normal?” I ask.
In the driver’s seat, his posture stiffens. “I sure as fuck hope so. But now I’ve got decisions to make.”
“What do you mean?”
“The insurance money will let me rebuild somewhere else if I want. It won’t be as much as if I rebuild the structure that was lost, but now’s my chance to leave Gold Haven, if that’s what I wanted to do.”
“You want to leave Gold Haven?”
He glances over at me. “The town hasn’t been all that welcoming to you, and that alone makes me think about it.”
I’m touched that he’s even considering it, but I hate the idea of being the reason he leaves his home.
“But it’s your town. Where else would you go?”
Logan shrugs. “I could start over. Maybe Nashville. I hear some people really like it there. You’d have an actual city. Starbucks and all that shit you’re missing.”
I raise a hand. “Whoa. Just hold on. If I wanted a Starbucks on every corner, I could go back to New York to get my fix.”
Logan’s expression blanks. “You want to go back to New York?”
“I want to be where you are, Logan. But I don’t want you deciding to move your entire life because you think it’s something I want. Sure, some of the women in Gold Haven could win awards for epic bitches of the century, but I’ve handled most of them. I mean, I’m going to have the whole retiree contingent wanting to be my best friend because I’ve got the good dick.” I wink at him. “Besides, I’m not going to let the Tricias or Emmys of this town run me out. I’ve got pride too, you know.”
“So, what are you saying? You’d be happy to stay there? Run your business there?”
“Not for every day of the year. I know with your business there it would be our home base, but I’d like to spend a little time in New York, maybe travel some too. But ultimately, I’ve gotten used to the idea of living there. I like your house. I like going to Pints and Pins, although I might need to take some street-fighter lessons before we go back again. Unless you really want to leave, I say we stay.”
Logan is quiet for a few miles before he finally answers. “Then we stay. I’ll rebuild. You need an office that’s not a kitchen counter, so that means we add on to the house, or you can rent space somewhere else if you don’t want to work at home.”
