A Real Cowboy Always Protects by Stephanie Rowe

Chapter Ten

"Hey, little brother,"Chase said as he strode up to Logan and Skylar.

Relief rushed through Logan as he watched his oldest brother approach. The Stockton brothers were no longer kids, but they still had the same connection that had always bound them. The one that tightened whenever there was danger, or a threat to any of them. The moment he saw Chase's fierce expression, he knew he'd done the right thing bringing Skylar to Rogue Valley. "Hey, Chase. Surprise."

"Indeed." Chase's gaze flicked to Skylar as he held out his arms for his son. "Come on, J.J. Mommy needs you. I want to talk to Uncle Logan outside for a minute. Grownup talk."

Logan's nephew gripped his neck more tightly. "No. I want to see Uncle Logan. He's never here!"

Logan smiled at the feel of the little arms wrapped so tightly around him. He still remembered when Mira was pregnant, daring to come into their lives. He'd resisted, but now he loved his nephew and Mira more than he could ever have imagined. Which was why he'd made the choices he'd made. "I'll see you soon, J.J. I'm staying around for a while this time."

"Really?" J.J. screeched with delight, but Logan watched Chase's face. Hope flared in his blue eyes, a hope that made regret clamp around Logan's gut. He didn't want to hurt Chase by letting him get his hopes up.

"Yep, but not forever," he clarified. "Just a few weeks, then I have to go."

"You always have to go!" J.J. pouted. "When are you going to move back? Everyone else has moved back!"

Not everyone. There were still three of them left.

Chase's mouth tightened, and he gently extricated his son from Logan's neck. "Come on, hot shot. Go see Mama and Alexander." He set his son down as Mira leaned out the front door and called him.

"Hey, Mira." Logan waved at his sister-in-law, and she grinned at him before taking J.J. back into the house.

The moment the door closed, Chase turned to look at them. "What's going on?"

Logan took a breath, then held out his hand to Skylar. She hesitated for a split second, then she slipped her hand into his. The moment Logan felt her fingers wrap around his, rightness settled deep inside him. Her hand fit perfectly in his. Perfectly.

He squeezed gently as he tugged her close to him. "Chase, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Skylar Jones." He expected to feel regret at telling his brother a lie, but to his surprise, the words didn't feel like a lie. They felt good. Right.

Shit. He was in trouble.

Chase's brows shot up, and he glanced down at the ring on Skylar's hand. He looked at Logan's face, then Skylar's, then shook his head. "Bullshit. What's really going on?"

Logan couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Hell, man. You never change, do you?"

"I'm the one who knew when Dad broke your arm, and you were afraid to tell anyone. I know you, and I know when you're in trouble." Chase shrugged. "You never could lie to me. None of you could."

Skylar wiggled her hand in his as if to get free, but Logan tightened his grip, not ready to let her go. "Mira and the boys will be watching us," he said to her. "We need to keep it up."

Skylar rolled her eyes at Chase. "Logan said that if I told everyone how irritating he was that people would believe we were engaged. I can see that's not going to be difficult."

Chase grinned, his gaze settling on Skylar. "Irritating as hell," he agreed. "Why don't you two tell me what's up, and we can figure out how to fix it."

Logan knew then that he was home. It was how they were. It was how they'd always been. Especially Chase, the big brother who had put himself in the line of fire hundreds of times to protect his little brothers. "I can't give you details, but—"

"Bullshit," Chase said. "This is the one place where you can talk about anything." He met Logan's gaze, those blue, unyielding eyes that had seen so much in their lifetimes. "Talk to me, little brother. Right now." He paused suddenly, looking at Skylar, then back at Logan, then at Skylar again. "Someone's after you," he said to her, understanding dawning. "Logan's trying to protect you."

Skylar glanced at Logan, the vulnerability on her face giving truth to Chase's conjecture.

Chase slapped his thigh. "Son of a bitch. You're doing the same thing I did with Mira." He met Logan's gaze. "We got your back, Logan." He shifted his gaze to Skylar. "Since you're with Logan, you've got all of us on your side, too."

"Thank you." Her voice was emotional, and her fingers tightened in Logan's hand as she spoke.

Logan looked over to see her eyes glistening with unshed tears again. His chest tightened, and he released her hand to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her against him. He kissed the top of her head. Did he admit the truth to Chase? The whole truth? Tell Chase about the life he'd lived for the last decade, that he'd never revealed?

He hadn't planned on it, but the longer he stood there, the more he was realizing that it might be the path to take. He needed to tell Chase the truth. More than that, he wanted to.

Chase's expression softened. "Logan, my wife would be dead right now if I'd tried to protect her by myself. Instead of being our sister-in-law, Hannah would be in a coffin if Maddox had tried to defend her alone. But they both lived because we worked together. As brothers. That's what we do, Logan. Always. Forever. Don't take that chance with Skylar. She might not be your fiancée, but I know you care about her."

Logan looked over at Skylar. Her eyes were wide as she listened, her face stark with alarm. "Dead?" she whispered. "What happened?"

"Their past came after them," Chase said gently. "We were ready." He looked at Logan. "What's coming after Skylar?"

Skylar slid her arm around Logan's waist, tucking herself against him, waiting for him to decide how much to tell. He looked down at her, at her beautiful face, at her unruly hair, at the woman he'd held at a distance for two years to keep her safe.

It hadn't worked, and now she was in real danger. Would he break the rules to keep her safe?

She looked up at him, and smiled.

Yeah, he would.

Logan looked at his brother, who he'd worked so hard to keep at a distance since he'd left town. Suddenly, Logan saw him as he had when he was a kid again. His protector. The only one he could count on. The one who put every Stockton brother first, no matter what.

He could trust Chase. He could trust him with all of it.

Chase folded his arms over his chest. "I'll stand out here all day if that's what it takes, little brother. No secrets between us."

Logan let out his breath and nodded. "All right. Just you. Not the others." As he said it, the words felt good. It was right to let Chase in. Ten years was a long time to hide the truth from his own brother.

Chase nodded. "Inside? Want some coffee?"

"I don't want Mira or J.J. to overhear." He looked around at the ranch. The vast expanse of lands extended in all directions, as it had when he'd been growing up. But now there was a beautiful barn that Chase had built, an equine surgery facility they'd built for Steen's wife, Erin, the retreat for inner city kids that Zane and Taylor had opened, and other buildings, that each of the brothers had brought into the mix. "How soon until people get here for brunch?"

"Two hours officially, but it could be any time. I'll have Mira take the boys to the barn to see the foal." Chase started walking back toward the house, but his shoulders were tense and his gaze sharp as he, too, scanned his ranch for anything out of place.

Appreciation settled deep in Logan's gut as he and Skylar followed Chase. "Boys? You have another one?"

"Yeah. We're fostering a boy named Alexander. He's quiet. Try not to scare him."

"I never scare kids. They love me." Fostering a kid? It sounded right to him, offering a sanctuary to a kid who needed it.

Hell knew they all could have used it when they were kids.

Like he and Skylar needed one now.

He took Skylar's hand as they followed his brother up the front steps. At the top of the steps, he paused to survey the ranch once again for anything that didn't belong. He looked for the dust cloud that would indicate a vehicle approaching. He listened for the restlessness of nature that would indicate someone on foot.

Everything was normal. As it should be.

Then he looked over at Skylar, at her big, blue eyes as she watched him, and realized he was wrong.

Nothing was normal. Nothing at all.