Her sweet mouth twisted with indecision—and then she gave up. “Well, um, okay. Thank you.”
He walked her out to her white CR-V and waited while she strapped the baby’s carrier in the back seat, handing her the giant bag and backpack when she was ready for them. She set them on the floor, shut the door and went around to the driver’s door. Admiring the view, Logan followed after her.
“Well,” she said with an overly bright smile as he held open the door for her. “Good luck, then—with the ranch and all.”
“’Preciate that,” he replied. She jumped in behind the wheel, her denim skirt riding up a little, giving him a perfect glimpse of one smooth, shapely thigh. “Drive safe,” he said and shut the door.
She waved as she pulled out. He stood in the warm June sunlight, watching her drive away, thinking that he would be good for her, that she needed to get out and have some fun.
Sarah Turner deserved a little romance in her life and Logan Crawford was just the man to give her what she deserved.
“Logan, it’s a bad idea,” his father said. “You need to forget about Sarah Turner.”
It was past six that evening. Logan, his dad and Xander were out on the porch of the ranch house at the Ambling A enjoying a beer after spending a few hours plowing through the stacks of boxes that weren’t going to unpack themselves. At some point, one of them needed to go inside and hustle up a meal. But for now, it was nice out and the beer was ice-cold and refreshing.
Logan stared off toward the snow-tipped mountains. The sky was cloudless, perfectly blue. “I like her, Dad. And it’s not your call.” He didn’t point out that he was a grown-ass man and would do what he damn well wanted to do. Max ought to know that by now. “I’m curious, though. She’s single, smart and pretty. She works for a living. She’s got it all going on as far as I can see. What have you got against her?”
“Nothing,” Max answered gruffly. “You’re right. She seems like a fine person.”
Xander rocked back in his chair and hoisted his boots up onto the porch rail. “So what’s the problem then, Dad? I was standing right there when you struck that crazy deal with the wedding planners to find us all brides for a cool million bucks. To me, that means you want us all to get married. Whether that’s ever gonna happen is another question entirely. But the way I see it, if Logan’s found a girl already, you should count your blessings.”
A million dollars to marry them off? Logan hadn’t heard that part. Sometimes his dad came up with the wildest ideas. Logan had no plans to marry anybody. But that wasn’t the point. He followed Xander’s lead. “Yeah, Dad. You were eager enough to hook Sarah and me up until the baby started crying.”
Max sipped his beer. “I do want you boys married. It’s about damn time. But when kids are involved, well, things get too complicated.” He pointed his longneck at Logan. “Take my word for it, son. You don’t need that kind of trouble. Viv will find you someone perfect—someone sweet and pretty without a baby hanging off her hip.”
“I’ll say it again, Dad. I like Sarah and I’m going to move on that.”
“I don’t want you—”
“Stop. Listen. There is no problem here. You don’t want me marrying Sarah Turner? Great. I’m not going to marry her—or anyone. The last thing I want right now is a wife, with or without a baby in the bargain, so you can save that million bucks. When my time comes to tie the knot—if it ever does—I’ll find my own bride. I don’t need anyone setting me up.”
Xander recrossed his boots on the railing. “That’s too bad. Because Dad’s got that wedding planner setting us all up.”
Logan leveled a warning look on his dad. “Are you listening? Because you ought to know your own sons better than that. I think I can speak for all six of us when I say that we’re not letting anyone choose brides for us—not you, Dad, and not those two wedding planners back at the train depot.”
“Nobody’s choosing for you,” Max insisted. “Viv and Caroline are just going to be introducing you to some lovely young single ladies. You should thank me for making it so easy for you to develop social connections in our new hometown.”
Xander grunted. “Social connections? You’re kind of scaring me now, Dad.”
“I just don’t get it,” Logan said to Max. “For years, you’ve been going on about how marriage is a trap—and now suddenly you’re shelling out a million bucks to make sure we’ve each got a wife?”
“Yeah.” Xander scowled. “Seriously, Dad. You need to cut that crap out.”
“Don’t get on me, boys.” Max assumed a wounded expression, but he didn’t say he would give up his matchmaking scheme.
Not that Logan really expected him to. Unfortunately, once Maximilian Crawford got an idea in his head, telling him to cut it out wouldn’t stop him.
They would have to warn their brothers that Max had brokered a marriage deal for all of them and they shouldn’t be surprised to find a lot of “lovely single ladies” popping up every time they turned around.
Just then, a quad cab rolled into the yard. A tall, solidly built cowboy got out.
Max stood from his chair. “Nate Crawford. Thanks for coming.”
The guy did have that Crawford look about him—strong and square-jawed. He joined them on the porch. Max offered him a beer. They made small talk for a few minutes.
Nate, Logan learned, was a mover and shaker in Rust Creek Falls. He owned controlling interest in the upscale hotel just south of town called Maverick Manor. Logan thought Nate seemed a little reserved. He couldn’t tell for sure whether that was because Nate was just one of those self-contained types—or because Max’s reputation had preceded him.
Logan loved his dad, but Max was no white knight. The man was a world-class manipulator and more than a bit of a scamp. Yeah, he’d made himself a fortune over the years—but there was no doubt he’d done more than one shady deal.
Yet people were drawn to him. Take Logan and his brothers. They were always complaining about Max’s crazy schemes. Yet somehow Max had convinced each one of them to make this move to Montana.
For Logan, it was partly a matter of timing. He’d been between projects in Seattle and ready for a change. When Max had offered a stake in a Montana cattle ranch, Logan had packed his bags and headed for Big Sky Country.
If nothing else, he’d thought it would be good for him to get some time with his brothers. And yeah, he couldn’t help wondering what wild scheme his dad might be cooking up now.
Never in a thousand years would Logan have guessed that Max had decided to marry them all off.
Max clapped Nate on the shoulder. “I really do appreciate your dropping by. Wanted to touch base, you know? Family does matter, after all. And now that me and the boys are settling in the area, we’d like to get to know you and everyone else in the family here.”
