Free Her Dakota Man (Book 1 - Dakota Hearts) by Lisa Mondello

same courtesy by allowing him time to feel whatever he was going to feel when he learned the truth.
    * * *
    Logan waited until he’d heard Poppy’s bedroom door close. And then he waited a little longer, just to make sure she was asleep. He’d stayed on the cold porch, letting the South Dakota winds bite into his skin just so he could feel something other than Poppy’s body pressed against his.
    What the hell was he doing? Poppy was right about one thing. Kissing her hadn’t proved he’d moved on from the feelings he used to have. It only showed him how much of an effect she still had on him, even after all these years.
    As he walked up the stairs, he paid special attention to the creaky step, avoiding it so as not to make a sound. With each step, his legs and arms felt heavy, much like they had the day Kelly died.
    Poppy wanted to talk about truths. But those were hard for all of them. Logan knew all too well the course of their lives would have been so different had Kelly not gotten pregnant that first time. It was only right that he marry her. It had gutted her to lose the baby so soon after the wedding and Logan had fought the guilt he’d felt about wishing they’d waited. If only… Their new marriage had taken the strain of Kelly wanting so badly to get pregnant again.
    Logan stopped at Keith’s bedroom door and listened. His little boy was asleep and probably would be until morning. It had taken Kelly four years to get pregnant with Keith. After that, Logan vowed to leave all the what-ifs that played in his mind in the past and devote everything to his family. Despite not wanting to be surrounded by memories, he’d even agreed to buy this house after Kelly got pregnant, for fear she’d lose another baby.
    Logan turned to go down the hall toward his room when the hatbox on the floor outside of Poppy’s room caught his eye and caused him to stop. On top of the hatbox was a stack of letters tied with a red ribbon. He moved closer, picking the stack up in his hand and pushing the satin bow aside to see the writing. His stomach fell. The envelopes were in Kelly’s handwriting. The top letter was postmarked just a few weeks before she died.
    He dropped the stack on top of the hatbox and shut himself inside his bedroom for the night, knowing that sleep was the last thing he’d be getting.
    * * *
    “Hawk called while you were still asleep. He said Skylar was hoping to take Keith for an overnight to help keep Alex company while she helps your mother.”
    Logan nodded without looking at Poppy. He couldn’t. Not because he was angry with her for anything that happened last night. He’d turned his anger on himself. He’d spent the better part of the night trying to figure out how he’d managed to be married to one woman for eight years and still feel the way he did about Poppy after all these years. And he did. That was the conclusion he’d come to as the dark sky had turned his room light in the early hours. Only then had he been able to finally fall asleep.
    “He hasn’t had his breakfast yet,” she said quietly as she filled the coffee filter with coffee grounds. “But he’s all dressed. He’s just playing with his trucks in the—”
    “He can have breakfast at the diner. I’ll drive him,” Logan said. “Could you feed the horses while I’m gone? That would be helpful.”
    He finally looked at her then. She was searching for answers. He gave her none.
    “Sure,” she said with a weak smile.
    Fifteen minutes later he was pulling into a full parking lot at his mom’s restaurant. It didn’t matter if there were no seats left in the diner. There was a family table out back in the kitchen where he and Keith had taken a meal on plenty of mornings. He parked the truck in the back next to Hawk’s Jeep.
    After giving his mother a quick kiss on the cheek he sat in his favorite chair by the window. Hawk was just finishing up his breakfast. Keith wasted no time climbing into the seat next to his favorite