Page 5 of Embattled Return

The waitress returned with their drinks and Shannon asked Logan if he wanted food. He said no, but when the waitress returned with the loaded potato skins and the tray of artichoke dip and pita chips she had ordered, he did help himself to a few things.

“So, have you seen your stalker in the past half hour?” he asked, voice gruff.

Shannon, grinning, wiped her mouth with her napkin. She appreciated that he was playing along. “Nope. I think he’s gone. Thank you very much for being my chivalrous escort.”

At her words, humor lightened Logan’s world-weary gaze. “No problem, ma’am. I’m here to serve.”

They walked to the gate together when it was time for their flight and even though he got some stares, he took advantage of the veteran priority loading. He jerked his head at her to follow along with him since she had his bag and no one said a word. They found his seat and he settled in. Shannon took his crutches and handed them off to one of the flight attendants, who put them into a long, vertical closet just for those types of things. Her seat was in ‘first class’, though with these little commuter flights there was no seat difference. Once the seats were filled and the plane was in the air, she moved back to sit across the aisle from him.

“So, how long are you going to be in Colorado?”

Logan shrugged, gazing out the window. “As long as I need to be. I also have to look up a friend’s family. After that I’ll be done.”

Shannon frowned, again not liking the wording, or the implication. John needed to meet this guy. He would know what to do.

* * *

Logan didn’t knowwhat to think about the woman sitting across from him. The stalker thing had been a ruse, obviously, but for some reason he didn’t mind. Actually, he appreciated the companionship, though he wouldn’t tell her that.

The woman had to be in her thirties, with thick, wavy dark hair and pretty hazel eyes. Maybe it was because she kind of reminded him of Jana, short and curvy and with a pretty smile.

His breath caught as he thought about his sister, and he forced the pain into a corner of his mind. Now wasn’t the time.

Shannon said she was married with kids, so he didn’t get the vibe that she was hitting on the poor, wounded soldier, like all the other women on the flight into O’Hare. God, what a mess that had been.

Why was this woman helping him out, though? What was in it for her? Did she just want the companionship? He couldn’t help but feel a little appreciative for her tagging along.

Hopefully, they’d get to Denver and go their separate ways. Then, after he found Miller’s family, he would be free to do what he wanted with his life.

3

John glanced at Chad, sitting beside him in the truck. “Thanks for going with me, buddy.”

Grinning, Chad gave him a nod, his blue eyes bright in the Denver morning. “No problem! I love going to the doctor,” he said, rolling his eyes and grinning at the boys in the back seat. They giggled, Wyatt smacking his hands on the car seat. “I’ve had to take Mercy before. It may not be fun. Especially if they have to get a S-H-O-T.”

John nodded, appreciating that his buddy hadn’t actually said the word. He’d made that mistake earlier when he’d called Chad to see if he was available and the kids had both started crying. At their age he didn’t think it was possible to correlate the word with pain, but that’s exactly what they seemed to do.

Chad had been free. Kind of. Duncan wanted everyone at the Columbus branch meeting, so he’d reschedule the meeting for later in the afternoon. Once John got the kids taken care of and he dropped them off, it was only an hour before Shannon’s flight got in, then the meeting an hour later.

It was one of those days that just needed to work correctly in order to get everything done.

“It’s usually Shannon that does this and I’m not going to lie, I’m worried about it,” he said, glancing at his friend. “I don’t want to see my kids hurt.”

Chad nodded. “I can imagine.”

John glanced at him thoughtfully. “When are you guys going to settle down long enough to have your own kids? I know Mercy is a phenomenal kid, but weren’t you planning on expanding the Lowell empire?”

Chad grimaced, his head shaking back and forth, the off-white cowboy hat brushing the ceiling. “Oh, if you had any idea how much my mom and dad have been nagging us, you wouldn’t even joke about it. That’s all we hear. Every single call. And I know it’s just how they are, but Lora is stressing about it. We both are.” He gave John a long look. “We’ve actually been trying, a lot, and nothing is happening.”

“No sex or no pregnancy?”

Chad snorted, rubbing a hand over his bristled chin. “We’ve finally got the sex part down, thank you very much. Pregnancy isn’t happening.”

“Have you been to see the doc?”

“No,” Chad admitted. “Lora thinks it has to be stress, but I think it’s more than that. And I think it might be me that’s faulty.”

John frowned at him. “Why do you think that?”