Chapter 197

“I’ll go with you,” I said at once.

“No,” Logan said, almost as quickly.

“Why not?”

“Tina doesn’t play fair. I want you as far out of this as possible.”

“But Logan, this is my fight too.”

Logan placed his hands on my shoulders. “Let me get there first and pave the way, alright? I’m not asking you to wait forever, just for now.”

“You shouldn’t have to face this on your own,” I said. “We are a couple. We should stand together.”

“If we were just standing against Tina, I would agree. But if my grandfather becomes involved, which seems likely, I will do everything in my power to shield you from him.”

“I’m not afraid,” I said.

Logan pulled me against him into a tight hug. His lips pressed against my temple.

“Stay here, Hazel. For now. For me.”

The next morning, we went to the Christopher’s in separate cars. Logan already had his things packed and loaded into his car. He was going to leave straight from his foster parents’ house.

They were waiting outside of us as we arrived. Their dog, Candy, bouncing around at their feet.

After parking side by side in their driveway, Logan and I exited our cars and walked to them. Immediately, Tammy opened her arms, accepting a hug first from Logan and then from me. Frank gave Logan a stern handshake and a pat on the shoulder.

“This visit was too short,” Tammy said.

“It won’t be the last,” Logan assured them. Glancing at me, he asked Tammy, “If you could continue to be there for Hazel…”

I could take care of myself well enough, but I didn’t mind having an extra set of parents around to care about me. The company and the homemade cooking was exceptional with this group.

“You don’t even have to ask,” Tammy said, smiling at me.

“Be careful,” Frank said to Logan. “We don’t know what you’re planning but I suspect it’s something. Your grandfather isn’t going to let you go easily. He doesn’t know how to lose. He might burn it all down before he accepts failure.”

Logan’s face tightened. A muscle near his jaw ticked. “I know. I’ll be careful.”

Frank nodded.

Logan turned to me. We’d already said goodbye last night and then again this morning. I hadn’t slept a wink, dreading this very moment, right here, when I would be separated from him again.

I rushed to him and he held me.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he whispered, but I knew that was a lie.

Unwilling to let him go, I clung to him for a full minute before he finally eased me away from him.

He didn’t try lying to me again. He just gave me a sad looking smile and said, “I’ll call you later.” Looking at his parents, he promised, “I’ll keep in touch.”

I moved to stand beside Tammy, who immediately wrapped her arm around me.

Logan walked back to his car and entered the driver’s side. Frank followed him there, asking him if he’d checked his tire pressure and how he was doing on gas.

“Watching him leave never gets any easier,” Tammy said.

Logan correctly answered all of Frank’s questions, so Frank slowly backed away, returning to Tammy and me.

Closing the car door, Logan started his car. He gave us one last goodbye – a wave through the windshield – before he put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway. With a shift into drive, he started forward and was quickly out of sight.

The three of us stood outside the house for a while longer, just in case he forgot something, maybe. Or to see if he was really gone.

Frank was the first to move. Sighing, he called for Candy and then brought her into the house through the front door. The dog had been sniffing in the flowerbeds.

Tammy and I stayed out there for longer, until some of the morning cold began to seep into our bones.

“Come inside for some coffee,” Tammy said. It wasn’t a question, but I would have said yes anyway.

Nodding, I followed her into the house.

In the kitchen, Frank was already at the coffee maker. Tammy and I took seats at the table.

“Going to be cold today,” Frank said. “Might rain later.”

“Did you bring an umbrella?” Tammy asked me.

I hadn’t.

“We’ll fix you up, if it rains,” Frank said. “Can’t trust the weatherman. Never knows what he’s talking about.”

It was pointless small talk, but in Logan’s absence, knowing he was about to go take on Tina and possibly his grandfather, it was all that we had. If we sat in silence, we’d probably go wild with worry.

I stayed for a while, sharing breakfast and lunch. When I left midday, there weren’t any stormy clouds in the sky, but Frank insisted I take his umbrella anyway.

“I have extras,” he said. “It wouldn’t hurt to keep one in your car.”

It was something so simple and yet so thoughtful. Something a father would say.

If only my own father had been like Frank, maybe I would have had a happier childhood. I’m grateful that Logan did, even if he had been taken from them too soon.

After giving them hugs, I got into my car and drove in silence back to my apartment. I didn’t want to listen to the radio. I didn’t want to hear music, or even the sounds of people talking.

My heart felt heavy and I kind of wanted to just sit with it.

Logan drove straight to Dylan’s office. Dylan was with another client when he arrived, so Logan sat in the waiting room, his leg jumping in anxiety.

Ten minutes later, Dylan escorted his other client out. After, spotting Logan, he waved him into his office.

Logan entered but was too anxious to sit. Instead he paced the room. Dylan closed the door, then leaned on the back on one of the chairs, watching Logan.

“Something’s changed with you,” Dylan said.

That was an understatement. Reuniting with his foster parents made things click into place inside of him that he hadn’t realized were askew.

“Hazel moved to my old hometown.”

“I knew that,” Dylan said.

“By chance, she met with my foster parents.”

“The Christopher’s?”

Of course Dylan would know. He’d been the one sending the checks on Logan’s behalf.

Logan nodded. “We… reconnected the past few days.”

“That’s good… right?” Dylan asked, studying Logan.

“It’s great,” Logan said. He hadn’t felt this happy and complete in a long time. He had Hazel’s affections and his parents’ unwavering support. What he had to do know was fight to protect those things. “But it made me realize how much my grandfather has been manipulating me.”

Dylan nodded. It was a blessing he didn’t say ‘I told you so,’ but it was still understood between the two of them. Dylan had been trying to tell Logan that for years.

“So what’s the plan?” Dylan asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Logan said. “But I’m working on it.”

“We’ll have to start with placating Tina somehow,” Dylan said. “That girl is pissed as hell and ready to tear your life apart.”

Logan stopped pacing. Maybe…

Dylan lifted a brow. “We do want to stop Tina, don’t we?”

Logan looked at Dylan. “What if we didn’t…”