AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Logan smiled. “Thanks. Smells amazing.”
She gave the old man a sweet smile. “Thanks.”
He clamped a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You come on back anytime.”
Logan watched as the man whistled his way around the counter and turned back to her. “I want that future, Iz. All of it.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “You overwhelm me.”
“Good.” He picked up his slice and folded it like the New Yorker he’d become.
She lifted her beer for a long swig then dug in. By the time they finished their first slice, she was back to her animated self. She chattered about the festival and he told her about Zeke’s schoolteacher girlfriend that had tagged along for the last three weeks of the tour. She was currently finding her inner groupie soul.
Zeke was exhausted.
After the last slice and a second beer, they decided to walk down to the park to feed the ducks their leftover crust. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been able to go out for more than an hour without being recognized.
As he watched her crouch in front of the pond and laugh over the overzealous ducks, he knew things had to change. It was tempting to stretch the day out and find somewhere to stay overnight. The anonymity was seductive, but he wanted his house and to have Izzy wrapped around him in his bed that night.
“Ready to go home?”
She smiled over her shoulder then brushed the crumbs off her dress and stood. “Definitely.”
He held his hand out to her. Home meant Winchester Falls and Izzy. And it meant moving forward. They couldn’t live their life afraid of shadows any longer.
Twenty-Two
Logan pulled his phone out and sent a quick text to Nic to make sure Izzy was still detained as the helicopter landed.
Yes. Sharon has been keeping her busy. Genius call there, buddy. I can probably hold her for another hour, tops.
He wouldn’t need that long. He shot back an all good, but before he could tuck his phone back in his pocket, it chirped.
I’m so sorry. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Soooo sorry. Did I mention sorry?
He hated to make Izzy feel guilty, but there was no way he could have snuck away unless there’d been a pseudo-emergency. Nic and Adam were far too self-reliant at the store so he’d had to manufacture a festival emergency.
When Logan had explained his plan to their fair mayor, Sharon had been more than willing to be part of it. Now, he just had to put the last finishing touches on the surprise.
Our bed is lonely. Delegate faster, woman.
Logan grinned. She was probably going to beat the crap out of his arm for this one. The woman had one helluva punch. He gave a thumbs up to the pilot and hopped down onto the grass. His helipad had gotten more use in the last five months than it had in five years.
He rushed into the kitchen, pulled out a bottle of red wine from his stash, and found some fruit and cheese in the fridge thanks to his housekeeper. An impromptu picnic lunch would give them a chance to talk alone. He snagged the pair of ugly plastic goblets they’d gotten at a flea market the month before. Izzy liked to troll them for books.
Watching her pick through piles with her long, elegant fingers and efficient grid-pattern style was truly an education. She didn’t meander. In fact, she was finished browsing before he could get through one of the music memorabilia tents.
They’d come home with another bin of records for him as well as a vintage Elvis Presley lunch box that he added to his collection down in the studio. They’d amassed a lot of amazing memories within the last five months. It almost negated the five and a half months of misery.
He hoped this afternoon would dust the rest. He brought the basket out to his truck, tucking it between the two huge quilts he’d stashed there earlier. On impulse, he ran back inside and grabbed four huge pillows to add to the truck bed. A hard rain had come in the night before and where he was taking her would still be damp beneath the canopy of trees.
The day was sunny and warm and he was tired of the stale air. He rolled his windows down and made his way down the access road into town.
Main Street was alive with the afternoon shoppers milling around. Camp buses were dropping off kids in front of the park, leaving a lot more foot traffic than usual. Logan pulled up across the street from Between the Lines and parked in front of the pharmacy.
He leaned against the back quarter panel of the truck, put his sunglasses on, and dug out his phone.
Hungry?
