Insider (Exodus End #1)(110)
Author: Olivia Cunning

Birdie nodded. “I proud of her, but I miss her so much.” She dropped her head forward and plucked at the petals on one of her roses.

“And I’d miss her if she went home with you,” Logan said.

Birdie lifted her head, her eyes alight with the excitement of discovering a perfect solution to everyone’s problems. “Then you come home with her!”

Logan laughed. “Maybe I’ll visit someday.”

Was he serious? Toni couldn’t imagine him trapped in their quiet house in the wilderness. The man needed people and excitement. Neither was in abundance on a farm situated miles outside of the small town of Enumclaw, Washington.

“He has to perform in his concerts,” Toni said.

“You’ll come when you’re finished?” Birdie asked, giving her unscented rose another sniff. The blossom was already starting to droop.

“Yeah,” Logan said.

“And that’s when Toni will come home too?”

“Actually, I’ll be home months before then. Logan’s traveling to far-away countries this summer. Without me.”

Logan squeezed her shoulder. Maybe the idea unsettled him as much as it did her.

“But aren’t you getting married?” Birdie asked.

Logan laughed. “Uh, no.”

“Why not?”

The man was already jittery about commitment; Toni didn’t want uncomfortable questions to send him running into the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, never to be seen or heard from again.

“We just met, Birdie,” Toni said. “Marriage isn’t something two people should take lightly.”

“Or even consider,” Logan said under his breath.

“If you kiss her, you have to marry her,” Birdie said.

Logan laughed again and rubbed at one eye with his fingertips. “I must have a lot of wives I don’t know about.”

Birdie looked utterly bewildered. Toni supposed it was time to have the talk with her. Or maybe Mom would do the honors, because Toni wasn’t exactly an expert on romantic relationships. Not yet.

As for marriage, Toni wasn’t ready for that level of commitment either, but someday . . . Did Logan mean he’d never consider marriage? She apparently needed to have an awkward talk with him too.

The limo drew to a halt and they stepped out into a cloud of dust. The hum of the dirt bikes on the track sounded like a horde of gigantic angry bees. Logan directed Toni and Birdie to a small set of stands where they could watch the action.

“I guess I should ask if you want to ride or just watch,” Logan said.

“Just watch,” Toni said.

She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but now that she could see the track, she saw riders zooming up and down dirt hills, skidding around sharp turns, and launching themselves high into the air before landing with solid thuds.

“How ’bout you just watch too?” she said to Logan. She cringed when she saw a rider wipe out and skid sideways through the dirt. As soon as he came to a stop, he jumped to his feet, picked up his bike, and kick-started the engine before zooming off again, dirt spraying out behind his spinning back tire.

“You’re kidding, right?” Logan asked.

She wasn’t, but she nodded and grabbed the front of his jacket to pull him close for a kiss, clinging to his lips as if it was the last time she’d see him alive. He patted her butt when they drew away.

“I’ll wave to you,” he said and with a quick wink, he walked away, leaving Toni to clutch her sweatshirt with apprehension.

Birdie stood at the fence that separated spectators from the track. She had her hands over her ears, but was watching the dirt bikes zoom past in wide-eyed, slack-jawed wonder.

“Come up top so you can see both sides of the track,” Toni called, slipping the sweatshirt over her head and her arms into the sleeves. Now that Logan had gone, she was chilly. Birdie paid her no mind. Likely she hadn’t heard Toni over the squalls of the engines when she had her ears covered.

Toni touched Birdie’s back, and Birdie looked up, eyes wide. “They’re fast!”

“Are you cold? I brought you a sweatshirt.”

Birdie uncovered her ears long enough to put on the sweatshirt, but she covered them again as they climbed the metal stairs of the bleachers. About halfway up, Toni barked her shin on the edge of a bench, which sent her hobbling in pain. She should probably wrap herself in bubble wrap before she ventured out in public.

“Special treat today, folks,” an announcer said over the speakers. “Logan Schmidt is on the track.”

There was a smattering of enthusiastic applause and cheers from the small crowd that had congregated in the stands.

Toni spun around so quickly, she almost tumbled down the steps. Birdie grabbed her and pulled her down on the nearest bench. Yeah, they were probably high enough. The higher she climbed, the more likely she was to die from a fall.

Birdie clapped excitedly and pointed as Logan, dressed in red from boots to helmet, sped onto the track. He zipped past other riders as if they were standing still.

“He’s going too fast,” Toni said, her heart thudding in the vicinity of her throat.

When he reached the top of the first hill, his bike leaped so high into the air, she thought for sure he was going to sail right over the fence. But he landed on the top of the next hill as though his wheels had never left the ground. Toni’s stomach plummeted when on his next jump he released one handlebar to offer her the wave he promised. Birdie waved back excitedly, but Toni couldn’t pry her fingers from the metal seat she was clinging to with all her strength.

Logan sped around the track faster—how was that possible?—and this time when he hit the highest hill, he did a back flip in midair. The crowd went wild. Birdie jumped to her feet. Toni’s vision tunneled and her head swam. When he landed safely on his back tire and gunned the engine to ride out the rotation in a wheelie Toni sagged in relief only to tense again when he popped over the next hill and flew sideways, his bike parallel to the ground.

“He’s good!” Birdie clapped excitedly on Logan’s next jump.

He was good—no, better than good. He was amazing. But dear God, he was going to kill himself! Or kill her from heart failure.

By the time he’d skidded, jumped, flipped, and sped around the track half a dozen times, Toni began to relax and then got caught up in the excitement of watching him control the bike as though it were an extension of his body. The strength and athleticism he displayed was truly inspiring, but it was his daring that had her switching from terror to arousal. The man was risking his life for a thrill, and Toni suddenly wanted to tackle him off that noisy motorcycle and ride him for hours.