children—she’d wanted to break the news to them in her own time. But he’d ignored her request and had brought along one of the woman’s sons that afternoon, which had opened the door to a million questions about why Dad was living with another little boy and not them. Pete promised the twins they could visit him at Thanksgiving, but when Sadie had asked if he planned to pay for the plane tickets, he’d balked and amended his promise to hopefully seeing the boys during the holidays.
“We’ll find lots of things to do to in Stampede to keep busy,” she said. But not too busy. Sadie was looking forward to sitting still, sipping her aunt’s lemonade and catching up with her cousin Lydia, who was expecting her first child next spring.
When the exit for Stampede came up, Sadie lifted her foot from the gas and veered off the highway and onto a frontage road that led to the Moonlight Motel. She drove another three miles before a blue neon moon came into view in the distance. “Vacancy” flashed in the middle of the sign and she breathed a sigh of relief.
If she hadn’t gotten lost, run into bad weather and had to make an emergency stop along the highway so Tommy could pee, they’d have arrived before dark. But because Tommy hadn’t pulled his pants down far enough he’d soaked his jeans and by the time she’d located a clean pair of pants in their luggage and gotten back on the road, they’d lost an hour of daylight.
She stopped in front of the motel office and shifted the van into Park, then turned off the engine. Four vehicles sat in front of the six rooms. Hopefully that meant two rooms were still available.
“Are we here?” Tyler asked.
“Yep. This is the motel that Aunt Lydia just renovated.” She unsnapped her seat belt. “We’re sleeping here tonight, because both of your aunts are already in bed and I don’t want to wake them.” She opened her door. “Stay in the car with your brother while I see if they have a room for us.”
Sadie made sure she locked the van, then entered the office. When she stepped inside, the handle slipped from her grasp and the door banged closed. The sound woke the dark-haired man who’d been asleep in a rocking chair. He bolted upright, brown eyes blinking.
Lydia had texted photos of her and Gunner after they’d gotten married in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, and this man wasn’t him although he looked around her age. “I’m sorry I startled you.” She flashed an apologetic smile.
He rubbed a hand over his chiseled face, wiping his sleepy expression away. Then he stared at his sock feet for a moment before sitting back down in the rocker again and shoving his feet into a pair of worn cowboy boots.
“Apologies for falling asleep on the job.” He unfolded his frame and stood. He was tall, a little over six feet, and the breadth of his shoulders suggested that monitoring a motel wasn’t his true occupation. His long strides ate up the distance between the rocker and the check-in desk. Her gaze latched on to the shirttail sticking out of the waistband of his Wranglers, which fit him very nicely.
“The sign said vacancy, so I’m hoping you have a room available with two double beds.”
“All the rooms have double beds.” He rubbed the five-o’clock shadow covering his cheeks. “I’m filling in for my brother tonight, but I’m sure I can figure out how to register you.”
“You don’t look anything like Gunner.”
His head jerked up. “You know my brother?”
“We haven’t officially met, but he’s married to my cousin. You must be either Logan or Reid.”
“Logan.”
“Sadie McHenry.” She stepped up to the desk and offered her hand. “I think the last time I saw you and your brothers was at my great-uncle’s funeral years ago.”
“That seems about right.” He kept hold of her hand while his warm gaze traveled over her.
“I visited my aunt two years ago, but we didn’t run into each other that time.” When she wiggled her fingers, his grip tightened, and the warm friction from the calluses on his palm sent a flutter up her arm. She swallowed a wistful sigh when the tingles fanned through her chest. Embarrassed by her reaction, she tugged her hand free and pressed her fingers against her thigh.
“Is Lydia expecting you tonight?” Logan bent down and searched for something beneath the counter.
“No. I told her and Aunt Amelia not to expect us until tomorrow, but I decided to drive straight through.”
Logan set a notepad with the motel logo on it next to the keyboard and then picked up a pen. He must have changed his mind about whatever he’d intended to write down because he put the pen back into a drawer and moved the notepad to the other side of the desk.
“Lydia did a great job fixing up the place.” Sadie looked around the office.
“She impressed my grandfather, which isn’t easy to do.” Logan took the pen out of the drawer again and set it on the counter. “Don’t listen to Gunner when he tells you that he did most of the work. Lydia hired a professional to do the heavy lifting. My brother just got in the way.”
“I heard my cousin and Gunner are splitting their time between the motel and the downtown apartment they’re renovating.”
Logan nodded. “They’re here tonight. I can wake them up if you—”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll see them in the morning.”
Logan came out from behind the desk and walked across the room. “Lydia found these old post office boxes at a flea market and had Gunner spray-paint them.” He opened one. “They’re using them to store tourist brochures.” He gathered a handful of pamphlets and passed them to Sadie. “In case you get bored while you’re in town.” He smiled, offering Sadie a glimpse of straight white teeth.
“Thanks.” She glanced outside at the van. “About getting a room for the night...”
“Sorry.” Logan returned to the counter and pecked at the keyboard. “Stupid computer.”
“I parked close to room 1 if that’s available.”
“Room 1 is Lydia and Gunner’s personal room.” Maybe it was the soft glow of the pendant light hanging over the desk, but Sadie swore a red tinge spread across Logan’s cheeks. “Gunner made the room into a combination office-nursery as a surprise for Lydia. He intends to take the baby to work with him when Lydia has appointments with her design clients.”
Gunner plans on helping out with the baby? Sadie could count on one hand the number of times Pete had fed, changed, bathed or burped the twins. She hadn’t minded caring for two babies while on maternity leave, but a little help from the father after returning to her day job would have been appreciated.
Logan punched several numbers into a device before swiping a key card and then handing it to her. “You’re in room 6.”
She put the card into the back pocket of her jeans. “How much for one night?”
“A hundred and ten, but family stays for free.” Logan winked and Sadie started.
“Umm...” She couldn’t remember the last time a man had winked at her. What did that even mean these days?
“I’ll help you with your luggage.” He walked over to the door.
Sadie was used to doing all the heavy lifting since her divorce, but tonight she was tired enough to accept a helping hand. “Thank you.”
He followed her to the van and as soon as the door slid open, Tommy pushed Tyler aside and jumped to the ground. Lucky her, the boys had learned how to get out of their booster seats a year ago. “Who are you?” Tommy asked.
“This is your cousin, but you can call him Uncle Logan.” She helped Tyler to the ground. “My sons, Tommy—” she pointed to the steel trash container by the office door that Tommy was attempting to climb “—and Tyler.” He stood by her, his hand clutching