Feeding the Fire (19 page)

“I need you to sit down and have a chat with me.” His father pointed to another seat nearby.

Logan sat down. “What’s the matter, Dad? You seem awfully irritated with Mama tonight.”

Vince shrugged. “I’m not irritated with her. Your mama is the same as she ever has been, especially where the topic of the Chamberlains are concerned. I’ve just got a lot on my mind tonight and I need to get a few things off my chest.”

“To me?”

Vince nodded. “I’ve never had a problem with the Chamberlains. Personally, I never had a lot of interaction with them. I put gas in their cars, changed their oil, and rotated their tires. Most of them tip well. We don’t exactly hang out in the same social circles, as you know. But your mother . . . she’s always had problems with them, or at least, with Norman. She let her prejudice spread to the whole family unfairly, I think. I’ve sat back and let her go on about it. I let her teach you and your sister to dislike their family. It didn’t seem to really impact your lives in one way or another. But that’s changed, and I’ve finally got to say something about it.”

In Logan’s mind, he’d somehow assumed that the family hatred of the Chamberlains was universal. But as he sat there thinking back over the years, he realized he’d never heard his father say a bad thing about them. Vince Anthony was a man of few words. When he had something important to say, he would speak his mind, but otherwise, he was happy to sit quietly and let Kate prattle on.

Vince leaned his elbows onto his knees, hunching over to press his fingertips together thoughtfully. “Your sister seems to really like Grant, but she’s conflicted about it. She’s resisting the idea of being happy with him because you and your mama are giving her a hard time. You’re competing with Norman at your practice and I’m sure things will heat up between you, but this dislike of the Chamberlain family as a whole has gone too far. So I want to end it. Right now.”

Logan frowned. How did he intend to end something he had no real control over? It wasn’t like his father could suddenly make Norman less of a prick. “What do you mean, Dad?”

“I mean, no more secrets. You were right, they slowly undermine a family and erode the trust that should be the bedrock of every good relationship. All of this was my idea, so I guess all of this is my fault. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I didn’t figure the truth would ever be relevant to anyone but your mother and me. But I was wrong, it matters. You’re a grown man now and you need to know the truth.”

Logan swallowed hard and looked into his father’s green-gold eyes. As a little boy, he’d always wanted green eyes, like his daddy, just the way Pepper had dark brown eyes like their mom. He hated that he had blue eyes. In that moment, with his father’s words hanging in the air, that difference seemed more significant somehow.

“I am not your biological father, Logan.”

The words were like a wrecking ball, swinging in and striking him in the center of his chest. For a moment, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. He just sat there wheezing like an asthmatic as the panic swept over him. Vince wasn’t his father. How could they lie to him like that? Who the hell was his father, if it wasn’t Vincent Anthony?

His father . . . or whoever he was . . . reached out for Logan’s knee. The concern lining his face made the answer to that question painfully clear. Vince had just said that his mother had issues with Norman Chamberlain. The blue eyes. Did that mean . . . ?

“You can’t hate all the Chamberlains, because you are one. You’re Norman’s son, Logan.”

He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t think of the words to express how he felt in that moment. All he could do was listen as the words rushed at him.

“I have been by your mother’s side since she was three months pregnant with you. When Norman . . . stepped back from the situation,” Vince said as delicately as he could, “your mother came to me, so distraught. I had been in love with her for years, but for many reasons, it was never the right time for us. I decided this was our chance and I took it.

“I took care of your mother. We got married the next day at the courthouse and when we told people she was pregnant, everyone assumed the baby was mine. I never gave anyone a reason to think otherwise. I held her hand while she gave birth to you. I held you in my arms and gave you my name. I raised you as my son, because you are my son in every way that’s important to me. But you needed to know the truth and to know why your mother wanted to poison you against that family. I’m sorry that I’ve lied to you. We should’ve told you sooner, but your mother was afraid that you’d hate me and that the town would start gossiping about our marriage. She was trying to protect me
and you
, just as I protected her all those years ago.”

Protect him? They’d lied about something so fundamental in an attempt to protect him?

“Don’t hate the Chamberlains, Logan. Norman is a flawed man, but he is your father. And as for the rest of the family, none of them know the truth. They’ve never done anything to deserve the ire from our household. When you’re ready, I hope that you’ll embrace the Chamberlains as an extension of your family. And I hope that one day, you’ll have it in your heart not to hate me for lying to you, although you have every right to.”

When Logan looked up, there were tears in his father’s eyes. He realized then that his father was telling the truth. He was trying to protect and care for his family, Logan included. And despite everything Vince was saying to him, he still thought of him as his father. And he always would. He did what a father was supposed to do, even going above and beyond for a child that wasn’t even his. No matter how he felt about the news and how long he’d been kept in the dark about it, he wouldn’t allow his dad to torture himself about it a moment longer.

“I don’t blame you, Dad. Not at all. And I could never hate you.” He very specifically chose to call Vince by the name he’d always called him so he would know that biology be damned, Vince Anthony was his father. Norman Chamberlain was just a genetic contributor and a lazy one at that. “You stepped up and did what a lesser man wouldn’t do. I love you for that. I always will.”

Logan stood up and embraced his father. He could feel the weight on the smaller man’s shoulders virtually melt away until he seemed almost an inch or two taller. “I couldn’t have asked for a better man to raise me.”

“Thank you,” his father said as they pulled away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the embroidered handkerchiefs he always had with him. He rubbed at his red, moist eyes and shoved it back into his pants. “Well, do you feel like you can go back inside and eat some fried chicken?”

Logan shook his head. “No, Dad. I think I need to go home and process all of this before I talk to Mama or anyone else. Tell them I’m sorry, but I’m going to head on home.”

Vince nodded and patted his shoulder. “Slip out the garage door. I’ll shut it behind you.”

Logan hugged his dad again and waited as the old, rickety track lifted the garage door. He waved as he walked out, heading for his car. He hated to leave like this, especially on a night he was supposed to be celebrating with his family. He didn’t blame his dad, or even his mother, but in this raw state, he might say something that sounded like he did. He could feel the heat of anger start to boil in his veins, and he didn’t want them to see that. His father had been trying to put an end to the animosity by telling the truth, but it hadn’t worked. Knowing the facts had just lit the fire of rage in Logan. He couldn’t anticipate a time when he could embrace
those people
as part of his extended family.

No, he didn’t blame his parents. He blamed Norman Chamberlain.

Chapter Eighteen

“Pepper, can you take a walk-in before we close up?” Sarah asked.

She looked up from the client she was currently finishing and saw Grant standing at the counter with a sheepish grin. He was looking a million times better than he had the last time she saw him. He’d spent Sunday afternoon with his family at his mother’s insistence. Monday night, she’d gotten wrapped up in the Kincaid drama and later, in her own family’s revelations. This was the first she’d seen him since Sunday morning. It was also the first she’d seen him since the truth came out about her brother’s paternity.

Even though Logan knew the truth now, and everything was out in the open as far as her nuclear family was concerned, it was still very much a secret. She felt better knowing she wasn’t lying to Logan anymore, but looking at Grant and seeing those same blue eyes just reminded her that she was keeping secrets from him. She hated that.

She forced a smile onto her face and answered her boss. It wouldn’t take long to trim Grant’s hair. “Sure. I’m almost done here.”

Miss Phyllis was just in for her biweekly curl set. The style had gone out of fashion with a lot of older ladies, but Miss Phyllis was hard-core on tradition. Every two weeks she came in for a shampoo, and then Pepper rolled her head in curlers and put her under the dryer. When it was done, she would look like a perfectly coiffed cotton ball.

She took her round brush and finished shaping up Miss Phyllis’s hair. That was her last appointment of the day but she was happy to stay a few minutes longer to check in with her patient. Pepper had been worried about him being alone during the day while everyone worked.

She saw Miss Phyllis out and escorted Grant back to the chair. “You didn’t ride your motorcycle over here, did you?”

“No,” Grant chuckled. “Blake took me to Doc Owens to get my bandages changed after he finished at school. I asked him to drop me here when we got done. I’m overdue for a haircut anyway. I’m starting to feel like a guy in a boy band. It was also the perfect excuse to come see you.”

“I’m glad you did.” And she was. Her nerves at seeing him had faded and a sense of peace had replaced it. She liked being with Grant, even though it was complicated.

When Pepper looked up, she noticed Sarah was counting up the drawer and getting ready to leave for the evening. “I’ll lock up, Sarah. You go on ahead.”

Her boss nodded, happy to duck out a little early. By the time Pepper had finished trimming Grant’s thick, dark brown hair, her boss was long gone.

“What did Doc Owens say about your arm?” she asked as she dusted off the trimmings from the back of his neck.

“He said it was healing well. He doesn’t think I’ll need any skin grafting, but he told me I should see a burn specialist in Birmingham after a few weeks just to be certain. Mack put the fire out pretty quickly, so I think he saved me from the worst of it.”

Pepper removed the plastic cape and hung it on the hook beside her station. Normally she would sweep up, but she decided she would just come in a little early and deal with all that in the morning. “I’m glad. What about your head?”

“Well, I’ll never score perfect on my SATs,” he said. “But I couldn’t do that before, so no great loss.”

Pepper swatted him playfully on the shoulder and helped him out of the chair. “Quit it.”

“He said it’s fine. When I fell and hit my head, I got a mild concussion and a knot on the back of my skull. The cut from the explosion didn’t cause any real brain trauma. I’ll get the stitches taken out of my forehead next week. I’m hoping I’ll be back at work soon after that.”

Pepper doubted it. “You’d better manage your expectations. I think you’ve got at least two weeks of rest ahead of you, whether you like it or not.”

“Probably.” He shrugged with a grin. He was pretty chipper about the whole scenario, all things considered.

She gathered her things and they locked up the shop. They both climbed into her SUV. “Where are we off to?” she asked. “Your place or mine?”

“Why don’t we pick up where we left off Friday before I set myself on fire? I was going to bring takeout and a movie to your place, so let’s do that. I’m getting tired of staring at my own boring walls.”

“Perfect.” They called in an order to Ellen’s and ran by the movie kiosk outside the Piggly Wiggly while they waited for their order. When it was ready, they returned to her place and settled in for a long, lazy evening together.

The food was good and the movie was funny. They curled up together on the couch to watch it. It was such a simple thing for them to do—the kind of thing a normal couple would do on a night in without giving it any real thought. And yet, for Pepper, it felt like more. It felt like Grant was supposed to be in her house all the time. It was as though he had been installed as a permanent fixture in her house during the renovations.

And she liked it that way.

The house was nice, but it seemed a little cold and solitary without him there. For a long time, her life had been compressed into such a tiny space that she didn’t notice how lonely she really was. Now that she had use of every square foot of her home, it was easier to see the empty places that Grant helped to fill. It was a scary thought, one that bothered her more and more as they spent time together. It shouldn’t be a problem. She should be happy that she was falling for a great guy, but there was a gorilla in the room that only she could see. She just knew that at some point, that big hairy ape of a secret would crash in and ruin everything.

That left her a choice: keep her distance and protect herself, or go with it and enjoy every moment she could to the fullest. She couldn’t stop this thing they’d started. Their relationship was picking up momentum, rolling downhill and taking her along for the ride. She didn’t want to get off of it, either. Pepper wanted Grant. She wanted to be able to throw all caution to the wind and give herself to him. The more time they spent together, the more she saw through his bad-boy façade. She pushed him to be himself. It seemed like letting some of that go made him happier.

She supposed the decision was already made. The battle was lost, future heartache be damned.

Snuggling against Grant’s chest, Pepper sat up and leaned in to gently kiss him. He was healing well, but she was still careful about what parts of him she touched.

“How are you . . . feeling?” she asked with a seductive curl of her lips as they parted from his.

Grant’s gaze met her own, a heat lighting the blue depths of his eyes. “Better every second. Unless you want to dress up in a sexy nurse costume, then I’m feeling poorly.”

Pepper laughed and placed her palm softly against his cheek. “Sorry, no nurse costumes.” Her fingers sought out the top button of his shirt and worked down until his hard chest was exposed. “But I can give you a very thorough sponge bath.”

Grant groaned at the thought, his eyes closing for just a moment as her fingertips strayed across his chest. “There’s only one problem with that,” he said. “I’d have to let go of you and there’s no way in hell I’m doing that. Not tonight, not ever.” Lifting his head, he pressed his mouth to hers and punctuated his bold words with an equally bold kiss.

Pepper leaned into him, sensing a difference in his touch. There was a demand in his kiss, a claiming of her. He’d just said he wasn’t letting her go and she could feel that in the way his fingertips pressed into her flesh and his tongue thrust into her mouth. She was his.

They shed their clothes as best they could without separating or brushing against his bad arm. Despite his injuries and the tension of the last week, there was a drive in them to come together. After potentially losing him in that accident, she wanted to touch him, feel him inside her again. When he pressed into her welcoming body, Pepper felt them slowly merge into one. She clung to him, their bodies perched precariously on the length of the living room sofa, as they rocked together.

Every thought, every worry seemed to fade away as Pepper lost herself in Grant. She rode the wave, reveling in his touch as every gasp of need was somehow amplified. When their climaxes hit, they hit together, holding tight to each other as the pleasure surged through them.

As the last of the energy drained from her body, she collapsed against Grant’s chest. Lying there with his heartbeat pounding in her ears, she realized they’d just made love. Not just sex. It was real, it was raw, and she could already feel it slipping through her fingers.

The bright beams of sunlight came through Pepper’s bedroom window and right across Grant’s eyes, pulling him out of a deep sleep. With a grumble, his eyes fluttered open and he looked around. Pepper was curled up beside him on her side. He stretched, rolled over to press himself against her back, and gently placed his bad arm over her waist. Leaning in, he nuzzled at her ear with his nose.

She made a soft sound of protest and wiggled against him as she reluctantly woke up. “Good morning,” Grant said with a voice rough from sleep.

“Good morning,” Pepper replied as she rolled onto her back to look at him. Her auburn hair was wild, a bright contrast to the pastel yellow pillowcase. Her eyes were squinting as she adjusted to the bright light and there were pink marks marring her pale face from smashing her cheek against the pillow.

She was a mess, and the sight of her made his chest tighten. Grant wanted to scoop her into his arms, hold her close and never let go. He’d meant what he said last night. He was amazed at just how quickly Pepper had gone from an object of desire he chased to someone he needed every day just as surely as he needed oxygen. When he got hurt, she was the only one he wanted by his side. And he wanted her there every day.

Maddie had been stunned by his confession the other day that Pepper might one day be a part of the family. In the moment, so was he. And yet the words had leapt from his mouth because it felt so right. The idea of him going back to prowling the bar for a lady to entertain him for the weekend was extremely unappealing. Pepper had ruined him for other women.

And yet, he was worried. Pepper, for all her smiles and kisses, didn’t seem to be as invested. He didn’t know what secret she was keeping, but he could tell it was eating at her. He could feel her hesitation in their interactions and he couldn’t help but think the two things were related. Things between them started changing after Valentine’s Day and her visit with her mother. He could tell she was still attracted to him, but that wasn’t enough. She was holding back, afraid to fully give in to their relationship and he was certain whatever she was hiding was the cause of it. Grant wasn’t sure how to be in a relationship that hovered in limbo while they both waited for the other shoe to drop. They needed to get past this if they were ever going to work out as a couple.

Pepper looked over at the clock by the bed stand and his gaze followed her. It was just before eight. “What time do you have to be at the salon?” he asked.

“A little before ten. That’s when my first client comes in and I need to clean up from last night’s late walk-in appointment.”

“Mmm . . .” he said thoughtfully, drawing his fingertip along her bare collarbone. “That’s very inconsiderate of him. Perhaps he can make it up to you by buying you breakfast.”

Pepper smiled. “I think that’s a good start.” She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. “I’m going to hop in the shower if you’d care to join me.”

Grant considered it but shook his head. As much as he liked that idea, he couldn’t get his arm wet and making love to her in the shower required a certain athleticism that he was lacking until he fully healed up. “You’ll be late for work,” he said. “And I’ve already promised you breakfast, so I’ll let you go it alone.”

With a smile, Pepper got up and went down the hall to the bathroom. Grant pulled his clothes together and waited for her in the living room. About a half hour later, they were both dressed and in Pepper’s car on their way to Ellen’s Diner.

They chose a booth, both of them savoring the diner’s strong black coffee while they waited for their omelets and pancakes. When their food came, Grant tried to focus on that instead of the wariness in Pepper’s eyes. She’d sat facing the door and kept watching out the front window for something or someone.

Was her family still giving her grief about dating him? He understood better why her mother was so concerned about the two of them, but he didn’t know how to prove to Miss Kate that he wasn’t his father. It seemed like Pepper was worried that she would run into one of them when she was with him. Before he could say anything, she would look at him and smile, all the worries fading away for a moment. He didn’t know what to think.

He let them finish eating before he worked up the nerve to ask her about it. He’d prefer to have this conversation over strong drinks instead of strong coffee, but he didn’t want to put this off any longer. “Are you okay?”

Pepper chewed her last bite and set down her fork on the mostly empty plate. “Of course I am.”

Grant’s brow drew together, his lips tightening. “There’s something wrong. You seem . . . tense. Wary. Tell me what’s going on. Please.”

“We’ve discussed this.” She glanced down at her phone.