Long, Lonely Nights (8 page)

“Tina, you go with him and take the beans out of the oven. I bet they are ready by now.” Jenna grinned at her.

Tina wasn’t sure what her friend was up to, but she was definitely up to something. She narrowed her eyes at her. Jenna widened her eyes and smiled as if she didn’t understand what Tina was trying to tell her. She drew in a deep breath and turned to follow Logan into the house. She would strangle Jenna first chance she got.

“Kitchen is this way.” Logan led her into a spacious kitchen done in bright yellows and warm earth tones. Granite lined the counter, and oak cabinets complimented the stone floor. She liked it.

Tina went straight for the oven and her only reason for being inside with Logan. She took the potholders off the counter next to the stove and started to open the stove. Logan got there before she did.

“I’ll get it. You might burn yourself. The platter is in that cabinet over there.” He pointed at one across the kitchen.

“Fine. I’ll get the platter.” Tina rolled her eyes and crossed the kitchen.

She opened the door expecting to find a mess. Instead, the cabinet was neat. It surprised her. Most men were slobs when it came to housework. Maybe men who’d been in the army were different. They had to be so neat when they were in that it might bleed over into their home life. It was a pleasant surprise.
Why do I care anyway? It’s not like I’m marrying the guy.

“What about dishes?” she asked.

He set the chicken on the stove and pulled out plates, stacking them on her platter. Then he opened a drawer and extracted silverware and steak knives. He added them to her stack.

“Be careful of the knives. Don’t cut yourself,” he said.

“You know, I’m not a child. I can carry this without dropping it or cutting myself.” She huffed out a breath and left him standing in the kitchen.

When she walked outside, she caught Jenna and Riley with their heads close together discussing something of intense interest evidently. They broke apart when she walked outside, and Jenna had a guilty look on her face. What had been going on? She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it whatever it was.

Riley hurried over and took the plates off her hands. Jenna took the silverware off the top of the plates. They set the table while she waited on Logan to take the food off the grill. He had put the baked beans on the table. She held the platter for him to put the steaks and chicken on.

“Get us some beers, Riley. Food is on.”

“Got’em.” Riley held them up for Logan to see. “You girls want beer or what you brought?”

Logan took the platter from Tina’s hands so she walked over to the cooler and pulled out a wine cooler. She held hers up.

“Jenna? Need another one?”

“Nope. I’m fine for now,” she said.

“Let’s eat everyone.” Riley put a hand on the small of Jenna’s back and guided her over to the table.

“Tina, you ready?” Logan asked her.

She nodded and after Jenna and Riley chose seats next to each other, she realized she would be left sharing one side of the table with Logan. Resigned, she took her seat and opened her wine cooler. Logan sat next to her. There was barely enough room for the two of them. She wasn’t small, but Riley and Logan were both big men. She and Jenna were hard pressed to stay on the seats. Jenna grinned at her as if she knew what Tina was thinking.

“Here you go.” Logan passed the platter with the meat so they could take their chicken off the top.

“Pass the beans, Riley,” Logan said.

They each filled their plates and started eating. Once they were finished, Tina and Jenna both got up to clear the dishes. Riley reacted first and grabbed the dishes from Jenna’s hands, growling at her. She cringed and ducked her head while throwing her arms over it. Tina immediately tried to cover for her friend.

“No food fights, guys.”

Riley set the plates on the table with an angry look on his face. He started to say something, but Tina pleaded with her eyes that he not say anything. His jaw worked as if he fought not to say whatever was in his head. Jenna dropped her hands and began gathering the plates as if nothing was wrong. Her hands shook, though, and Tina knew her friend was embarrassed.

“I’ve got the platter and utensils, Jenna, if you can get the plates.” Tina picked up the platter and hurried after Jenna into the house.

“You okay?” she asked her friend.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I just reacted. I can’t help it.” There were tears in Jenna’s eyes.

“Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s all right. I doubt anyone thought anything of it. Let’s get these washed up and go.”

They washed dishes together with Jenna drying and Tina directing her where she had seen Logan get the plates and silverware from. They had it all cleaned up in less than twenty minutes. The sliding glass door opened and then closed. Riley and Logan walked in. One had the baked bean dish and the other the potato salad bowl.

Logan indicated the food left in them. “You want to save any of this or throw it away?”

Tina held her hands out for the baked beans. “I’ll trash it. There really isn’t enough for a meal.

“I got it,” Riley said, and walked over to the trash can. Logan followed with the potato salad bowl.

“You can wash them here and have clean ones to put up when you get home.” Logan handed her the empty bowl.

Riley placed his dish in the sink after rinsing it out. He made it a point to step out of Jenna’s way when she walked over to the sink. If she noticed, she didn’t indicate it. Tina hoped she hadn’t noticed it. Jenna took the bowl over to the sink and set it on the counter next to Tina. She would dry for Tina this time.

“Do either of you want a beer or another wine cooler?” Riley asked as he opened the fridge.

“No thanks.” Jenna didn’t look at him when she answered.

“None for me either. I’ve had three today. That’s my limit.” Tina realized she was babbling. They needed to leave.

As soon as she had the dishes dried and stacked, she handed the bowl to Jenna and picked up the two dishes herself.

“We should be going. We enjoyed the meal though. Thanks for asking us. Jenna, you want to grab the cooler?”

Riley rushed to open the sliding glass doors for them. “I’ll bring the cooler over for you.”

“Thanks, but we can get it,” Tina said.

Logan followed them outside. Tina could feel him staring at her. This had been a complete disaster. She felt for Jenna. Her friend needed a nice stable man to love and cherish her. Somehow, Tina needed to figure out how to help her find one, so she didn’t keep ending up with lowlifes like Todd.

The men followed them over to her driveway and waited until the women unlocked the door and stepped inside. Jenna set her load on the kitchen counter, then dropped into a chair and burst out crying.

“Oh, honey. It’s all right.” Tina wrapped her arms around Jenna and rocked her. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”

“I know,” Tina said.

“Why am I crying when you are the one who is being stalked? I feel like a terrible friend,” Jenna said.

Tina grabbed some tissue and handed it to Jenna. After she blew her nose, she stood up.

“I better go. I need to finish the laundry and get some rest. My parents will be here tomorrow for the day.”

“You don’t have to rush off. You know that. I hate to see you leave this way, Jenna.” Tina squeezed her hand.

“I’m fine. Really, I’m more embarrassed then anything. I’ll call you later, okay?” she asked.

“Okay. You better call me, or I will call you, and if you’re in bed, it will wake you up.”

Jenna smiled a watery smile. “I promise.”

Tina watched Jenna back out of the driveway, then drive off. She sighed. The two of them were one screwed up pair of women. She glanced over at Logan’s house and noticed the motorcycle was still there. They were good guys no matter what they looked like. She wished Logan liked her. It would make being neighbors so much easier. Yeah, he was attracted to her, but she didn’t need a man in her life. She needed a friend she could count on if she got scared. She wasn’t sure she could count on Logan

Chapter Five

“Someone has beaten her before. Did you see how she cringed when I pulled my hand back?” Riley was furious, pacing back and forth in the living room. “Who would hit someone like her?”

“You know as well as I do that domestic violence is just as prevalent in the rich as in the poor. You just don’t hear about it as much,” Logan said.

“It had to have been her ex-husband. She told me she was divorced.”

“You two got kind of chummy for only a few hours of knowing each other.” Logan relaxed on the couch, propping is feet on the coffee table.

“Well, she’s easy to talk to.” Riley huffed out a breath. “You know, if I was going to stick around, and she wasn’t who she is and all, I could think about getting serious with someone like her.”

“Yeah, well. Like I told you before. She’s off limits. Just like Tina. They don’t deserve someone like us.”

“It fucking sucks though,” Riley said. Riley ran a hand over his bald head. His body posture remained stiff, but he turned his attention to Logan.

Logan could tell the big man had something on his mind other than Jenna. He crossed the room and dropped into a club chair.

“She told me something that you’re not going to like about Tina.”

“What?” He had his attention now.

“Seems that about a year ago, someone broke into her house and tried to rape her. He cut her on the neck and her abdomen. I don’t know how bad. She managed to scream before he gagged her, and someone called the police. They got there in time.”

“Well, fuck. No wonder she’s so security conscious. I thought it was a little weird to see all her locks and that state of the art security system she has, but now it makes sense.” Logan dropped his feet to the floor and leaned his elbows on his knees.

“Jenna said she hasn’t gone out or done anything other than go to work and eat out with her occasionally. She used to go clubbing with their friends. Now she stays at home.” Riley folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair.

“And now someone is stalking her.” Logan rubbed his face.

“Thing is, whoever it was got away,” Riley said. “They figured he watched her for awhile before he attacked her.

“It could be the same guy then,” Logan said

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. If it is, he isn’t going to give up until he gets what he wants.” Riley crossed his arms over his chest.

“Or he’s stopped for good.”

“There is that,” Riley said.

“I gave her my phone numbers to call if she hears anything.” Logan waited for Riley to say something, but he just nodded his head.

“Someone used a ladder and climbed up on her balcony the other night. He must have been watching her then. She has sheers over her French doors so he could have seen inside.”

“You need help watching her, you let me know,” Riley said.

“I will. Right now, I’m not sure what to do. She doesn’t need to stay there alone, but she isn’t going to stay with anyone. She would have to come back sometime. If this is the same guy, he has enough patience to wait her out.”

“You care about her a little more than you let on. This isn’t just being neighborly.” Riley stood up.