Chapter Ten
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“I was able to obtain a copy of the police report. There’s not much there. From what you said there was an entire file.”
“At least an inch thick.” Logan had been surprised by the details she knew.
“Then it must be her own research because I’m telling you, the police has it listed as an open-and-shut case. The fire was deemed accidental due to negligence on the owner’s part.”
“That’s bullshit, Bennett. I’ve seen what she has. If I didn’t think she was right, I would’ve never brought it to Brice for his opinion.”
“Now that I believe. Can you ask her to scan what she has and I’ll look at it?”
He wasn’t going to waste his breath asking her. The answer was going to be no. This was years of her research, and it was hard enough to pry the photos away from her. “Are you saying you can’t figure this out yourself?” Logan knew Bennett prided himself on doing what no one else could. He was top in his field.
“Good try. I like the way you think. But right now I’m busy in Tabiq. You know damn well what my top priority is.”
Logan couldn’t believe he’d forgotten. What was this woman doing to him? Until he met her, his family was always the most important thing in his life. That hadn’t changed, but somehow Cori had entered into that small group of people. He should’ve realized that when he kissed her in front of Brice. He’d been making a statement, one he hadn’t even admitted to himself.
That explained his need to help her. It wasn’t about finding the answer to an old crime that happened thirty years ago. It was about Cori needing someone to believe her. To be there for her while she did this. Maybe having Bennett look into this isn’t the way to go. Maybe I’m supposed to do this. Be by her side.
“You’re right. I’ve got this. You just find what you need for Zoey.”
“And if I need you to come to Tabiq?”
He wasn’t turning his back on his family. “Then I’ll be there. Just try to do it without me. You know my stance.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
When the call ended, Logan reached out to check on Zoey. With everything he’d learned lately, it was time for him to step back into the big-brother role and keep an eye on her while Bennett was away.
“What a surprise, Logan. Is everything okay?” Zoey asked.
They had seen each other every month at Sunday brunch, but somehow that was about it since she’d married Bennett. He’d foolishly stepped aside so they could have their privacy, when in fact, all it did was keep him away because he didn’t want to hear anything more about their mothers or their father. He hoped if he met with her now, they might be able to stay off that topic. The odds of that happening were slim.
“Everything is fine. I was just checking to see if you and Pearl wanted to ride with me to brunch.”
Zoey paused longer than normal. She was the thinker of the group. That was probably what made her a good match with Bennett. They kept each other on their toes. Logan, on the other hand, had never thought that long and hard about what someone else was thinking.
“I would’ve thought you’d be traveling with your . . . new friend. What’s her name?” She waited only a second before continuing. “Cordelia, right? We’re all looking forward to meeting her. Well, maybe I should say the rest of us. It seems Morgan, Shaun, and Brice have already been introduced.”
He could bang his head on the desk right now. This was exactly what he didn’t want happening. Logan hadn’t officially asked Cori to go with him. Actually, he believed he’d made it clear she wasn’t welcome, and he wasn’t attending. If Zoey knew that Morgan had already met her, she’d have already made contact and pumped Morgan for information. Bennett was right. I’m fucking this up royally.
“It’s nothing serious, Zoey, so don’t go spreading rumors.” He knew the warning was falling on deaf ears. When all the ladies in the family were together, the guys simply rolled their eyes at all the whispering and giggling. It was scary as hell because when they were through, the guys knew they were in trouble. Logan never gave it a second thought because he was never the subject matter. Until now.
“Then I guess we shouldn’t have invited her out to lunch with us today.”
“You didn’t!”
Zoey laughed. “Oh dear. I guess Morgan is right. You do have it bad. How cute is this? Logan Henderson finally has met the one.”
He’d gotten his wish; they weren’t talking about parents, but this wasn’t where he wanted the conversation to go either. With gritted teeth, he asked, “You’re joking, right?”
“Logan, do I ever joke?”
He wished she did. “I really wish you hadn’t done that.”
“Why not? It’s easier if we meet her before Sunday. Trust me, the ladies all agree. When they first came to brunch and had to meet all you guys, it was . . . scary. You guys can be gruff at times, and when you don’t know people, it can be . . . a bit too much. So we decided to meet her beforehand and introduce ourselves. This way she won’t feel outnumbered.”
Zoey and the others plotting like this didn’t surprise him. What did it mean; was Cori agreeing to it and not informing him? They should’ve discussed this, talked it out. Made a plan regarding what story they were going to tell and stick to it. Guess she’s going to wing it, and I’ll be the last to know.
He couldn’t be angry with her. After all, he was the one who’d started it. It seemed such a simple impulse at the time. Just a light kiss and look at him now. His sisters-in-law were ganging up on him, and if he weren’t careful, they’d be planning a wedding too. Since it was early, he had time to call Cori and set things straight first. She had no idea what she was about to walk into. There was no such thing as an innocent little lunch. Cori might be the reporter, but these ladies had interrogation down to a knack. Cori won’t know what hit her.
Cori felt guilty for doing this without talking to Logan first, but it wasn’t as though she’d reached out to them. They’d contacted her and asked her to lunch. Saying no would’ve been rude.
That didn’t explain why she’d ignored Logan’s call and text. She knew exactly what he wanted. He was going to ask her to back out of lunch with his family. That might work for him, but not for her. She wanted to go. He was letting her in, but only so far. He hardly spoke about himself, and this was going to give her insight to a side she didn’t yet know. Like how many women have you brought home before me?
That was a stupid thing to even care about. They weren’t really a couple. He’d only kissed her in front of Brice to go along with the story he’d made up regarding some dumb game. She gave him credit because it worked, but there had to have been another avenue he could’ve taken instead of making it look like she was his girlfriend.
Since he was the one who opened this door, he should’ve realized there was no way she’d sit back and miss an opportunity like this one. Although Zoey was the only Henderson by blood, she knew they were all very loving and supportive of each other. These ladies were the shining lights of the Henderson family.
Cori would have to be very careful not to let them know the real reason she was meeting with them. As far as she knew, no one except Logan knew she was a reporter. Normally the people she was interviewing understood that, but not this time. It was going to require a different skill set. One she believed she possessed but was only going to know for sure after their lunch.
It was like any other interview. She needed to know her boundaries. Normally this would take place over the phone and with one person at a time. Face to face with all five Henderson ladies might be more than she could handle. However, she’d been able to keep her composure in front of Brice. He’d been even more intimidating than she’d expected. If she could fool him, what was she worried about? All she needed to do was make sure she didn’t ask too many questions. This lunch would need to seem like a normal everyday conversation. She felt confident they’d talk, but she knew it would need to be a two-way conversation. For all the questions she had, she knew they had their own agenda. If she didn’t open up, they’d never believe she and Logan were a couple.
Even thinking about play-acting such a roll made her chuckle. She’d pictured herself going undercover to get a story many times before. She’d somehow thought she’d be a tough badass woman who infiltrated a gang or mob or some high-profile organization, not the sweet girlfriend or wife of a Henderson. Wife? Slow down there, Cori.
It’d have been easier if he’d played it off that she was his housekeeper or something. At least they’d know what she did for a living. Now she scrambled to come up with a great backstory. She had none. How am I going to pull this off?
It was too late. She was already seated, and the five ladies were approaching her. Cori was going to let her words flow and hope she didn’t trip herself up. If she did, it wasn’t only her they’d be upset with, but Logan as well. Causing a family riff wasn’t appealing.
Morgan was the first to greet her. “Cori, I’m so glad you could join us. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Lena, who is married to Brice. And Tessa is married to Dean. Ziva recently married Alex and last, but not least, Zoey. Poor Zoey, the only girl in the family with all those hardheaded men. But don’t feel too bad. She married one that fits right in with them.” Morgan laughed. “Actually, Bennett might be the only man who could hold his own with them.”
Now that they were all there, she felt a bit overwhelmed. Also, on display. Cori smiled, and greeted them warmly, “Nice meeting you all. Thank you for the invite.”
“We thought it’d be easier to get to know you now instead of at brunch. Sometimes the guys are talking so loud we can barely hear ourselves think,” Lena said. “You might think I’m joking, but you’ll see for yourself. They’re just big kids sometimes.”
Cori couldn’t picture that. Not with all the research she’d done. They were all such tough businessmen and had such serious looks about them. Was that just a façade? She would see that for herself. “I have a hard time picturing Logan joking around.”
Zoey nodded. “Oh he can, he just doesn’t do it often. Strange, but he’s the most reclusive of us all. We know he’s not going to do any talking, so we figured we’d ask you. How did you two meet?”
Oh, I was lying and pretended to be a patient. That wasn’t the answer to give, although it was the truth. “I was doing research, and he was kind enough to help me.”
“Are you in the medical field?” Tessa inquired.
Not in the least. “No. I—”
“A student?” Ziva asked.
Cori shook her head. “No, I do . . . do a little writing and had some questions on a subject.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. Then she reached out and grabbed Cori’s hand. “Oh my God. C. Sparks. You write those articles about—”
“Yes.”
“Writes what?” Lena asked.
Cori rolled her eyes. Please don’t say it. But she knew Morgan was going to. The excitement on her face was too much. There was no way she was going to contain it.
“Have you ever read the entertainment section of the paper?” They nodded. “She is C. Sparks.”
Zoey’s eyes lit up. “Oh, goodness. Please don’t tell me my brother is your source for any of those. I don’t think I’d ever be able to look at him the same again.”
Cori burst out laughing. “Well . . . I hate to break it to you, but he was interested in the images he saw of the women who were part of the obese fetish . . .” Their stunned silence made it far too difficult to keep a straight face. “I’m joking. He was just assisting on the medical—I mean neurological—questions I had regarding a piece.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, because my brothers would never let him live it down if he’d been the subject.”
“I don’t know, some of them sounded kind of fun. I have Dean reading them now,” Tessa said, giving Cori a wink.
Oh, this is going downhill fast. She needed to change the subject quickly. Now that they knew, they were probably going to tell their husbands, and Sunday brunch was going to be something she wanted to pass on.
“Morgan, it was so nice of your parents to include me in their celebration. I had a lovely time.”
“They’ve been asking about you. Why don’t you stop in? They’d love seeing you again. Take Logan too.”
Right now that would be a more relaxed environment than Lena and Brice’s. At least Loras and Elizabeth were clueless about who she was. For now.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve asked. How are you feeling by the way?” Morgan asked.
“I’m fine. No lingering effects.”
Lena chimed in, “What happened?”
Morgan filled everyone in on the minor accident she’d had. Cori blushed as they all started talking to her like she was fragile and needed caring for. It was cute that they all rallied around her. Like it had at Loras and Elizabeth’s party, seeing these women, related only by marriage, being so warm and unified brought a pang of sadness as well. How she wished she had that sort of loving relationship with Sarah. When did things go downhill for them? If Cori didn’t make an effort for them to talk, they’d probably never speak again.
“I’m so glad you have Logan to take care of you,” Zoey stated. “But if he gives you any trouble at all, you just call one of us. We’ll straighten him right out for you.”
Cori knew Zoey wasn’t joking. That explained how they all functioned. As a family, they took care of each other. She was just an outsider, not even a girlfriend, yet they were already including her in their group. She didn’t mean for the question to be voiced, but it was too late once it was.
“Why are you all so nice to me?”
It was Zoey who answered. “My family hasn’t always been . . . close. There are things in our past that we can’t run from. The only thing that has held us together is love. So for Logan to introduce you to us says a lot about how he feels. Because he’s important to us, so are you.”
She was torn between feeling honored and feeling like a piece of crap. They were warm and welcoming now, but what about once they found out it wasn’t true? They’d never trust her. Actually, they’d hate her. It hurt knowing that day would come and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. The sad part was, she didn’t want it to end. She wasn’t without family, but for the most part, she felt as though she had been.
“We’re . . . just starting. Nothing serious.”
Morgan shook her head. “I saw how he watched you at my parents’ party. He never took his eyes off you. You might not want to admit it’s anything more than dating, but I’m telling you, I’ve never seen him like that.” She turned to the others. “You’ll see for yourselves on Sunday.”
“Logan told Brice he couldn’t make it.”
“Oh, he’ll be there. Trust me,” Zoey said firmly.
“And so will you, Cori. He’s just worried we’ll scare you off. But we haven’t, have we?” Tessa asked.
She was petrified. It wasn’t about a story at the moment. This was a real family who loved each other, and if she was right, she had information that was going to break their hearts. How could she tell them their father murdered her grandpa? It would be a wedge between them that would never leave. And she would have been the one who put it there. The worst part was Logan was the one helping her, and he had no clue what he was doing either.
Cori forced a smile and said, “I would love to be there.”
That didn’t mean she would. There were too many things that stood between her and Logan. First of all was the truth. Second was the truth. And last, once again the truth. No matter how she cut it, she needed to find a way to be honest with him before Sunday. If he still wanted to take her, that would be an entirely different story. She couldn’t picture him doing so. And they wouldn’t be quite so welcoming either.
“Good. I hope Shaun is back from Tabiq by then,” Morgan said.
Zoey shot her a look that spoke volumes. Morgan had slipped, and Cori didn’t miss it. She’d heard of that place. It was known for the mistreatment of women. Why would Shaun be there? Something wasn’t adding up. From what she knew, Shaun was a financial wizard. There wasn’t anything in Tabiq that should appeal to a Henderson. Whatever it was, it was something they didn’t want getting out. That was her specialty. Now all she needed to do was figure out what was so important over there that they all knew about and yet wanted hushed.
Cori played it off nicely by saying, “It’d be nice to see him again too.”
Since she hadn’t reacted to the mention of Tabiq, the ladies seemed to relax again. The rest of the lunch was spent talking about things that were light and fun. The conversation turned to what she assumed they always spoke about, their children. Although Cori didn’t have any, she’d done her share of babysitting when she was young. She’d always thought she’d have a houseful by now. Since she wasn’t actually dating, it felt safe to assume she wasn’t any closer to achieving that goal than any of her others.
At least I’ll have accomplished one. I’ll have the truth about Grandpa.
She knew exactly what she was going to do with the rest of her day. Cori needed to find the connection between Tabiq and Shaun. It was sad because whatever it was, wasn’t good. Honest businessmen didn’t want anything to do with that place.
She no longer felt bad about her quest. Knowing that the family had probably lied to her all along, she was back to thinking they were most likely just like James. The only thing different is they were much better at covering it up. She needed to remind herself of what a vile man James was. If they were as bad, if not worse, she’d need to be extremely careful, or that could be her fate as well.
Although she texted back and forth with Logan that night, she chose to stay at home alone. She had a lot of thinking to do. There was the story of a lifetime out there, and she knew it. But something was holding her back. Nothing had ever prevented her from digging for the answers. It’s all she ever wanted. Why was she hesitating? Was it the truth that scared her or was it the repercussions of the truth that troubled her? Either way, the ball was already rolling. Logan had told her he was looking into the fire. Brice confirmed it wasn’t accidental.
While they dug into her past, she was digging into theirs. They had no clue. It really was a win, win for her. Except for one major piece: Logan. Somehow through all this, she’d really come to care about him. That hadn’t been part of her plan. But no matter how she calculated it, the answer was the same. It can’t ever be.