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“Please, Logan is fine. Besides, we’ll see each other in town at some point.”
“Oh, it’ll be sooner than that,” Kelsey said drily. “I’m bringing my cat for her annual checkup on Monday.”
Logan recalled the practice schedule he’d glanced at that morning. “Let me guess, the Siamese?”
Kelsey’s mouth fell open. “How did you know?!”
“Her fur’s on your jacket,” Logan drawled.
Kelsey’s head jerked to the coat rack in her office. “Oh.”
Logan chuckled at her expression. “Sorry to shatter your illusion. I’m definitely not a mind reader.”
Kelsey flushed. She rose to accompany him to the door.
“How are things coming along at the practice?”
Logan could see her interest from the way she stole a glance at him from under her lashes.
“As I expected, to be honest,” he replied, keeping his tone mild. “My uncle’s been running the place for close to forty years. It’ll be a while before people get used to the fact that I’m their new vet.”
Curiosity sparked in Kelsey’s eyes as they exited the building. “Was it always your intention to move to Twilight Falls when he retired?”
Logan hesitated. He surprised himself a little when he ended up giving her a candid answer.
“Not really.” He looked out over the busy Main Street and the enchanting valley rising around the town. Even though it was winter and a light storm was sweeping across the mountains, Twilight Falls looked breathtaking. “But I’m glad I did.”
Logan bade the realtor goodbye and jogged across the street to where he’d parked his pickup. His Basset Hound, Pepper, woofed quietly in the front passenger seat when he got in.
Logan closed the door and scratched her under her chin. “Did you miss me, girl?”
She woofed again, her eyes shrinking to blissful slits.
“Wanna grab breakfast at your favorite diner before we go to work?”
Pepper panted and grinned, her tail beating enthusiastically. She plopped down on her belly and rested her head on his thigh as he switched on the ignition and pulled away from the curb.
Logan’s gaze swept the colorful forests blanketing the mountains as he drove up Main Street, the wipers swinging steadily across the windshield. The trees were dressed in vivid greens and reds that made the valley live up to its reputation as one of the prettiest places in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Twilight Falls had first seen life as a mining settlement, during the American Gold Rush. It could have ended up like so many other small towns up and down the country, practically deserted but for their historic buildings and with an aging population that would soon die out as the younger people moved to the cities for a better life, leaving behind a lost legacy.
From what his uncle had told him, Twilight Falls had been popular even before he’d first moved there. Successive mayors and a zealous local council had worked hard over the years to make it an attractive place for investors and small businesses, as well as young working couples. The town had only grown from strength to strength since and was now a favorite holiday destination for many of the state’s winter sports thrill seekers and those seeking a slower pace of life.
Logan soon pulled up outside a pretty, red brick building with an art deco frontage, a couple of miles from the center of Twilight Falls.
His uncle had recommended the diner when he’d first moved there. A family run affair that was popular with locals and tourists, it served the best breakfast this side of the San Bernardino Mountains and offered stunning views over the river cutting through the valley. It was also dog friendly in more ways than one.
Logan found an empty spot near a window and ordered a fried breakfast for himself and a doggy breakfast for Pepper. Though the place was busy, their waitress gave the hound an extra egg and topped up Logan’s coffee more than once. From the way she stole glances at him when she thought he wasn’t looking, Logan guessed she was as curious about him as Kelsey had been.
Logan’s eyes glanced off the faint, pale mark on his left ring finger as he took a sip of his coffee. It was the only sign that he’d once been married.
Contrary to most divorces, he and his wife Amanda had parted amicably two years ago. They’d been separated for a year before that.
They’d met when he was at the end of his veterinary residency and had wed after a whirlwind romance. Though Amanda claimed they had never been right for one another from the get-go, Logan blamed himself for their marriage failing.
It wasn’t just because his job in Sacramento had been hectic and he’d barely had time for his wife.
Logan had slowly been coming to terms with the fact that he was interested in men.
