Free Blame it on Texas by Tori Scott

kitchen. When she'd shaved his face and combed his hair, she helped him into a clean shirt. Then she went to find Logan.
    She knocked on the office door and pushed it open. Logan stood at the window, looking out at the rain. She stepped inside and walked across the room.
    "Is it time for the party already?" He glanced at his watch.
    "Almost. Your father wants to join us in the living room. Could you come help him into a pair of slacks, then carry him to his recliner?"
    A frown crossed Logan's face. "Are you sure he's up to it?"
    "Of course. Being part of the activity will be good for him. If he gets too tired, you can take him back to his room." Megan reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "If you don't give him something to look forward to, Logan, he'll lay in that bed and wither away. We need to start bringing him out every evening."
    "Okay. Tell Dad I'll be right there." He turned back to the window, seemingly lost in thought.
    Megan wondered what was on his mind that seemed to weigh on him so heavily. His shoulders drooped with weariness. His eyes looked so tired she wondered if he ever slept at night. She knew he was in his office until the wee hours of the morning, because she'd made more than one middle of the night trip to the kitchen when she couldn't sleep and had seen the light spilling out from under the door.
    She was worried about him, but she knew he wouldn't tell her what was on his mind. He kept his troubles to himself, insisting on taking care of everyone else.
    She wondered who took care of him.
    ***
    Charlie held center stage among the group of Logan and Carol's old school friends.  The women fussed over him and the men sat and talked to him about breeding methods, cattle prices, and the weather. Charlie responded with grunts and nods, but the men didn't seem to mind.
    Logan watched his father from the kitchen doorway. Charlie nodded in agreement to something Jake Reilly said.
    Megan sat next to Jake, interpreting for Charlie when he tried to speak. Occasionally she'd laugh at something Jake said, and she'd reach over and touch his arm, just like she did to him several times a day.
    Jealousy, as irrational as it was powerful, ripped through him. He'd thought those sweet smiles and tender touches had been special, something she reserved for him alone. Evidently not. Like Sue Ann, Megan turned on the charm for the nearest attentive male.
    Disgusted with himself and his thoughts, Logan returned to the kitchen for another beer.
    He'd drained half the bottle when Megan walked into the kitchen. She smiled as she passed him, then opened the refrigerator and took out two wine coolers. When she closed the door, she leaned back against the refrigerator and opened one bottle. "What's wrong, Logan? You looked upset a few minutes ago."
    He watched as she leaned her head back and took a drink. The long column of her throat beckoned him. He wanted to place his lips at the base, run his tongue up her neck and over her chin. Then he'd take her lips captive, remind her she was his.
    He shook his head to dislodge that thought. She wasn't his. Not now, not ever.
    "I was wondering what Jake Reilly was doing here."
    "Carol invited him. She'd intended to ask him to bring his wife, until she found out he'd never married. I get the impression they used to be close."
    "Yeah, a little too close. What were he and Dad talking about so intently?"
    Megan's eyes narrowed briefly at the change of subject, then she seemed to make an effort to act as though it didn't bother her. "Jake offered to help out if you needed him. Charlie wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but Jake managed to persuade him that he knows what he's doing."
    Logan wondered if his Dad knew Jake and Carol had planned to have sex the night of the Senior Prom. He might not be so impressed with Jake if he did. Then again, that was years ago. Maybe Jake had grown up. "So, what kind of help was Reilly offering?"
    Megan took another sip, choked on her wine cooler, and