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“Me, too,” Pepper replied and looked back down at her massive check. “But I’ll live. I’m going to go deposit this bad boy before someone changes their mind about it and then I’ll keep myself busy working on the house. Do you want me to take the deposit?”
“Sure.” Sarah handed over the pouch. “Are you really okay?”
Pepper shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
Her boss didn’t press any further and for that, she was thankful. They locked up the salon and Pepper started around the square to the bank. She needed to get there before they closed. That massive check was burning a hole in her pocket. From there, she headed up Main Street to pick up a bottle of wine and a few other things at the grocery store. She put Miss Adelia’s tip to good use, splurging on a good bottle of white zinfandel and a carton of Twinkies.
Pat Kincaid smiled at her as she left the store, an expression of sympathy on his face. She imagined that over the last few days, copious amounts of wine and desserts might’ve been consumed at his house, too.
She was on her way back to her SUV when she heard someone call her name. Turning, she saw Logan jogging down the sidewalk after her. She hadn’t seen him since their blowup outside Ellen’s. She’d given up her relationship with Grant to protect her brother’s secret, but that didn’t mean she liked it, or wanted to look at Logan and listen to his tirades about the evil Chamberlains. Still, there was no avoiding him.
“Let me help you,” he said, taking the sack of groceries from her hands.
Without acknowledging him, she turned and they walked down the street together to her car. They cut across the expansive lawn that connected the Rosewood Library with the courthouse in the center square of town. Every minute Pepper could shave off this potentially uncomfortable conversation, the better.
“I heard about you and Grant,” he said as they neared her SUV.
Hitting the button, she popped her hatch and lifted it. “Is that why I’m fit to speak to now? Because I’m no longer tainted by the touch of the Chamberlains?”
Logan sighed and put her wine in the trunk. “Of course not. Listen, I’m sorry I said that. I haven’t been handling all of this well and I took it out on you. You didn’t break up with Grant for me, did you?”
She turned to look at her brother. “No. I wouldn’t have done that. The drama ended the relationship all on its own.”
“Pepper, you know this isn’t your problem, right?”
That stopped her short. “What do you mean?”
“Me, Dad, the secret. Now that I know the truth, it’s my issue to deal with, not yours. You don’t need to carry this cross on your shoulder anymore. Frankly, it really isn’t even your business.”
“Not my business?” If it wasn’t her business, why had it managed to ruin everything she’d built over the last few weeks? It sure as hell felt like her business.
“Yes. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but whatever happens from here on out has nothing to do with you. So do me a favor and just stay out of it.”
Pepper had expected an apology for Logan’s rude behavior the other morning, but this was anything but. She didn’t even know what to say. “You don’t have to be so mean-spirited about it, Logan.”
“I’m not trying to be mean-spirited. I’m trying to get these mental obstacles out of your way so you can admit that you’re in love.”
She gasped, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I certainly do. You love Grant. There’s no accounting for taste, but you do. I’m not going to let you co-opt my issue and turn it into a reason not to be with him. I’ll deal with Norman my way. In the meantime, you need to talk to Grant and tell him the truth.”
“The truth about you?”
He shook his head. “The truth about you. I don’t think he’ll give a hoot about my secret once you tell him yours.”
“I don’t think I can do that.” Pepper crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “He wants honesty, Logan, and I can’t be honest about everything with him. You’re his half-brother. It isn’t inconsequential to him.”
“Then tell him.”
“What?” Had everyone gone mad? “No. You just said it wasn’t my business.”
Logan gripped Pepper’s shoulders in his hands. “I want you to be happy. If you have to tell him, tell him. I’m okay with that.”
Pepper had thrown herself on her sword to protect this secret, and now it seemed like it was for nothing. “Are you kidding me?”
Logan leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. Pepper gave into the embrace, the emotions and the confusion starting to undermine her resolve. “Just think about it,” he whispered into her ear before pulling away. “I don’t want it on a billboard or anything, but I don’t want to be the roadblock to your relationship, either.”
Pepper nodded, not quite sure what she was going to do with this. She was hopeful she’d find the answer in the bottom of the wine bottle. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
