Sawyer pulled himself off the other side of the bed. “We had no choice.”
“I know.” Logan was clear on that. But he didn’t have to like it.
“Laurie will handle it. She’s diplomatic.”
Logan smiled at Sawyer. “Right. She’s your sister. I guess you would know.”
“And you know better than me she’s intuitive. She has picked up nearly every sort of weird power the women in our family have since moving here. We have to trust her. She’ll handle it,” he repeated.
Logan figured Sawyer was speaking more for himself than for Logan’s peace of mind.
A cell phone rang. It wasn’t his.
Sawyer dragged it out of his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief, stuffing it back into his jeans before facing Logan.
“What? Everything okay?”
“Yeah. My mom. She can wait.” Sawyer chuckled. “Of course my mom wouldn’t be able to wait until full daylight to check on my mating.”
Logan smiled. “Yeah. Surprised mine hasn’t been duly notified and checked in too.” He paused. “Who else calls you at this hour?”
“Work.”
“Oh right.”
Sawyer sat back down on the edge of the bed and cleared his throat. “Look. Here’s the problem. It’s fire season. I’m on call twenty-four seven. If there’s a fire or even a threat of a fire, I will have to bolt. It won’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, I have to go.”
“Damn. That is a problem.”
“Uh-huh. And it gets worse. Depending on the situation, I could be gone for days, or weeks.”
Logan cringed. That was definitely a problem. What if Sawyer got called before they finished the mating? “Maybe there won’t be a fire this week,” he hedged.
“Yeah. Maybe. But conditions suck right now. It hasn’t rained in far too long. The trees are thirsty. The land is dry. One spark and the entire forest is going up in flames. That’s why this new crew of hotshots was formed in this area. And that’s also why I got a job and moved here in the first place.”
“Fate has a hand in this, Sawyer. We can’t doubt that. She brought you here, and She won’t leave our family unit hanging in limbo. We have to trust Her.”
“I hope so.” Sawyer heaved himself to standing again. “Let’s find something to eat. I’m starving and I need to do something to take my mind off my dick.”
Logan chuckled. “That’s for sure.” He led the way out of the room toward the scent of coffee. Bless Laurie or whoever made the early morning pot.
As they stepped into the kitchen area, they found Zach sitting at the table. He had Miriam in his arms, jiggling her up and down while she sipped a bottle and he stared at her cherub face. He lifted his gaze and grinned. “Morning. You sleep okay?”
“Not a wink, asshole,” Logan told his brother. “Did you get up just to harass me?”
Zach lifted the baby a few inches higher. “Hello. I have a newborn. Remember? And her mother just left the house for God knows how long to sooth the sensitivities of your mate.”
“Right. Thanks for that.” Sawyer said this while patting Logan on the back. “Coffee.” He trudged on by and grabbed a mug from the counter. “How do you take yours, Masters?”
Logan lifted his gaze from Miriam to Sawyer. “Black.”
“Good. I was hoping I didn’t have to fix you some pansy drink in the mornings.”
“You don’t have to fix me anything, smartass. I can get my own coffee.”
Zach chuckled. “Somebody needs to get laid.”
Logan swatted the top of Zach’s head, but he did this as he leaned down and kissed the baby on the forehead.
“What’s the plan?” Zach asked.
“We wait.” Logan grabbed the steaming mug Sawyer held out to him.
“Oh. Excellent. I love that plan. It’s so well thought out.” Zach stood and nodded at both men. “I’m going to go pass this sweet thing off to Corbin and get a shower. Help yourselves to whatever you want. Fridge is full. But only because Laurie’s mom stocked it.”
Sawyer smirked as Zach left the room. “Yep, that’s my mom for you. She’s good. Maybe we could get her to fix this problem too,” he joked.
Logan lowered himself into the seat Zach had vacated. “Wouldn’t rule it out. We might get desperate.”
Chapter Eleven
Amanda’s hands shook as she fiddled with her keys, trying to find the right one to open the door to the apartment.
Laurie stood beside her. She’d driven separately, which had given Amanda some space to grumble and cuss in private during the twenty-minute drive home. Laurie took the keys from Amanda without a word and easily opened the door.