Harper sagged, rubbing her temple. She looked utterly exhausted, he realized.
She’s really struggling.
He glanced at the work spread around him. It wouldn’t hurt to take a day or two off from the renovations. He’d lived in the house like it was for a year—what was another few days?
Logan flipped the switch on the wall socket and pulled off his protective gear.
Before he could tell Harper what he had decided, the shrill sound of the phone shattered the silence.
Pulling it from his back pocket, he saw his brother Rowan’s name on the screen. “Hey Ro.”
As he talked, he watched Harper move about the room, examining his work. He was only half paying attention to the call, until his brother asked if he needed anything after the storm.
“Actually, there is something you can do for me.”
ChapterEleven
Logan
When Rowan had rung asking if Logan needed anything, his first instinct was to say no. He was so used to helping out others that it was rare he needed anything for himself, which probably explained why the only person ringing to check on him was his twin.
Everyone else was just used to Logan getting on with things.
But he’d watched Harper standing with her hands massaging her head and had asked his brother for a favor.
The next day, he parked his truck on the side of the road where it had been flooded the day before. The last of the clouds had cleared and the ground was drying, but there was a mass of debris still blocking the road. Until it was cleared, Logan wouldn’t be able to drive into town, but he could get a lift.
He’d broken the news to Harper at breakfast and her squeal of delight had reassured him he’d done the right thing. Even if, afterwards, she’d second guessed herself constantly, she still got changed into another pair of those curve-hugging jeans for the trip.
His sister Cassie joked that Logan had a uniform. Jeans, boots, and a baseball cap no matter the weather. Only his shirts changed according to the temperature.
Logan just liked being practical. When he spent so much time on construction sites, jeans and his heavy work boots weren’t going to get destroyed.
But now that he was standing near to Harper he wondered if perhaps he should have listened to Cassie and got a few nicer clothes.
Who are you kidding? You’re a small town carpenter. If you started wearing fancy shit, you’d look ridiculous.
He snorted and rounded the hood of the truck, meeting Harper near the high tide mark where dirt and leaves had washed up on the road.
He glanced at her small, crushed car and shuddered. Just the thought of her in the little hatch when the tree came down was enough to turn his stomach.
Together they picked their way across what had become a creek bed, pausing at a large log that wobbled precariously as Harper tried to climb over it.
“Do you want a hand?” He gestured at the log.
She nodded and smiled her thanks. With Logan’s help, Harper climbed over the obstacle. Logan hopped down next to her just as Rowan pulled up in his battered old truck to pick them up. The back was filled with hunks of scrap metal tied down with rope.
“Harper, meet my brother, Rowan,” Logan said as he opened the door for her.
She shifted from foot to foot. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” She asked quietly.
Logan waited. They’d had this conversation twice already. He took the time to appreciate the way her blonde hair was stirred around her face by the gentle breeze. She was wearing a bronze-colored sweater; her eyes the same shade as the fabric. They were nice eyes, not quite brown but more amber colored and rimmed with black. Warm and kind eyes, but now worried.
“I can take you back to the house,” he said quietly, wanting to give her an easy out if she needed it.
She sighed. “No. You’re right. What’s the worst that can happen, right?” She gave Logan a shaky smile.
Rowan leaned forward to see out the door. “Harper is it?” He asked with a friendly smile. At least Logan hoped it was just a friendly smile.
