Page 48 of Break the Barrier

Juniper turns to me, a frown on her face. “You have? When?”

“For the festival.” I cover quickly before Logan can blow that I was there recently. “Remember? Funnel cake and beer?”

Her eyebrows knit together, and I understand her confusion. Because we’ve never gone to the festival.

It throws her off long enough, and I turn back to Logan. “So, yeah, sorry. But I really do need to get back to the bar.” His eyes glance to my sisters and back to me, his lips still curved and his hands on his hips. “Gotta make that bacon. Pay the piper. And…” I lick my lips, my mind blanking. “I got nothing.”

“Well, you also don’t have a ride back to the bar, so…” He lifts his brows behind me, and I spin around to see Annmarie and Juniper gone.

“What!”

Logan chuckles. “Guess you’re coming home with me.”

I glare at him. “You don’t have to sound so thrilled about it.”

“Oh, but I am.”

Three Rivers is a gorgeous ranch. The last time I came here, I didn’t really take a good look at it because my nerves had been so all over the place that I wasn’t paying attention.

But now, looking at it, I could see why the Trevors had held on to it for so long.

It was brilliant.

The barn was huge and white with green trim. It had space above the main doorway where they could put a sign, but it currently didn’t have anything on it. There were horses out to pasture on one side of the driveway, and I smiled at the sight.

I was in the front seat of Logan’s truck—again—with Lue in the back, pointing out all the things the ranch had to offer.

The house itself is something you would see in a children’s storybook. It is two levels, with a large wrap-around porch. It looked part ranch style, part cabin in the woods, and even from just seeing the outside of it, I was blown away.

“Wow, what a gorgeous house.”

“Wait until you see the inside,” Logan says, patting my hand and hopping out of the truck. I glance back at Lue, who definitely saw the hand pat and is smiling at me.

Logan opens my door, and Lue scoffs at him. “You never open my door!”

He laughs and helps me down. “That’s because when you were eight, you told me that you no longer needed my help with anything, so I’ve let you be independent, my strong-willeddaughter.”

“Well.” She sniffs and raises her chin dramatically. I cover part of my mouth with my fingers, trying not to laugh. “I changed my mind.”

“Oh, did you? I’m so sorry, Your Highness. Let me get right on that,” he replies, and like a good father, he opens her door and even bows just for good measure.

She exists with the drama of a theater geek and nods at him. “That’s more like it.”

Then she runs ahead of us and catches up to Quinn’s daughter, who is just arriving.

Logan and I walk side by side, me holding a laugh at bay and him shaking his head in exasperation.

Though I can tell that secretly thrilled him.

“She’s something else.”

He laughs. “She certainly is.” He watches her for a minute and then stops. I slow down with him and wait. “I’m glad, though, it means she won’t settle for anything less than she deserves. I want her to be humble, but I don’t want her to think she needs to stoop to anyone else’s level to be happy.”

“That’s really sweet, Logan.” I wish I had had that kind of knowledge growing up. This next generation was going to have everything they needed as far as affirmation of who they are, while I was taught that you had to change yourself to fit into a society, that you had to be what others wanted you to be. “You’re a really good dad.”

Logan’s cheeks redden, and I smile. It’s nice to not be the one blushing for once.

We head inside, Logan’s hand on my lower back, and he introduces me to everyone again.