He skimmed through the pages filled with her neat handwriting. But still he hadn’t discovered what it was used for. He flipped back to the front page, hoping to find an answer as he read the first page.
The bell ringing startled Logan. Closing her notebook, he stood fumbling with his books when Matt’s voice reached his ear. “What’re you doing with a purple notebook, man? Or is it a shade of blue I’ve never seen?”
“It isn’t mine. I picked it up by accident.”
Matt snatched it from his grasp. He scanned the cover. “Addison?”
Logan grabbed it, cramming it between his books.
“Who’s Addison? Is it her?”
Logan tried to come up with an excuse. A lie. But none came. “Yes, it’s hers. She dropped it.”
“You mean you saw her again? Her name is Addison?”
It would be so easy to say no, but his voice didn’t cooperate. “Yes. Her name is Addison. She dropped it on the way to the library.”
Matt’s grin stretched from cheek to cheek. “The library? She spends a lot of time there. Good job, buddy, finally getting her name.”
“Don’t get any bright ideas.” Logan took off in a sprint. “I’ve got to go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Sure, you do …” Matt called after him, but Logan missed the last part. It was for the best. He had a hard-enough time coming to terms with his feeling for Addison without Matt’s help. Right now, he had something more important to do—to see if her car was still parked beside his.
Something about Matt’s reaction wormed into the marrow of his bones as he sprinted to the parking lot.
Logan was asking for trouble.
He turned the corner, a touch of dread replacing his skepticism. The space next to his stood empty. Addison had already left. Before he realized what he was doing, he whipped out his phone and searched his contacts for Ami—his direct line to Addison.
Ask Addison to come over.
Ami’s reply was fast and just as expected. Why?
Don’t worry about that. Just make sure she comes.
It was too late. He was already in trouble.
8
As soon as she returned the books, Addison hurried across campus to her car. And inspected Logan’s truck so she’d recognize it the next time.
Blood still trickled down her leg and onto her ankle. The saturated napkin was no longer working.
A large bandage would fix her leg, but what was she supposed to do about Logan Tant? One minute he was arrogant, seething in her presence, accusing her of something he had no one else to blame. The next he was charming, looking at her in a way that made her feel cherished, beautiful, a way no one had ever looked at her.
Apparently, the way she’d looked at him had been obvious. The minute Logan Tant was out of hearing, Philip accused her of embarrassing him. He then called Logan arrogant. A drunk sleaze who had a different girl every week.
Arrogant, maybe. Drinking, she couldn’t picture. She’d been around alcohol her whole life. Something she could identify immediately. Something she’d never choose for her remaining years.
Different girls? She’d seen no evidence, but they’d had only a couple of encounters. So, it was possible. But something deep down rejected that fragment of information.
As the distance between her car and the school grew, that annoying tug nudged her again. Maybe she needed to tell someone about last night. How Philip had reacted to her before and after Logan appeared. How a prickle of unease squirmed through her middle until Taylor showed up to drive her home. How even today, in their brief encounter, he held her arm with more force than necessary. Even after she’d made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with him.
Philip only revealed his anger when drinking, but she wasn’t going to put up with it. Not ever again.
Reflecting on her newfound freedom, she lowered the volume of the car stereo. Things were going to be so different now that she no longer had a boyfriend. Going straight home to take a short nap before her shift tonight was just what she needed. It would be nice to have a few hours to herself.
That all changed when Ami called begging her to take her to the mall.
Ami’s bubbly voice always brightened Addison’s mood. Instead of taking a left that would take her home, she took a right and drove straight to Ami’s.
The thudding of Addison’s pulse gave her hesitance. She was doing this for the right reasons. Guilt demanded she comply with Ami’s every wish. Still, she enjoyed Ami’s company. Had come to think of her as a close friend, that the accident had been a blessing. One that had brought them together. One that had given her a peek inside the kind of family she’d always longed for. A family who seemed to truly care for each other. For her.
Then she thought of Logan. She couldn’t deny her hope that she’d see him again. Her thoughts fluttered to their chance meetings and she flushed from the memories. He’d been so kind. Had even smiled. His irresistible lips curled into a pleasant semicircle still lingered in the tender places of her memory.
She arrived at the Tants’ and walked toward the front door. Addison pressed the now-familiar doorbell, inspecting the white wicker furniture adorning the covered entrance. The blue green cushions beckoned her to sit and relax. Did the Tants ever sit out here?
“Hello, beautiful.”
Butterflies invaded her stomach at the deep sound of Ami’s brother’s voice. Turning quickly, she found Nathan standing in the doorway, staring at her. She allowed the breath she’d held to escape. He and Logan sounded just alike.
“Hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I’m heading back tonight.” Nathan slipped his arm through Addison’s. “We’ve been waiting for you to get here.”
Ami stuck her head around the corner. “Do you care if he goes to the mall with us?”
“I’m craving one of those pretzels,” Nathan said. “Well, two pretzels. One with salt and one with cinnamon and sugar. They’re better together.” Nathan’s smile was so infectious, it was impossible not to join in. “I’ll share.”
The playfulness she detected in his voice was comforting. It was like she belonged here. Like she always had.
Logan pulled his truck in front of his mother’s house two hours later, searching for Addison’s car. It was parked beside Nathan’s truck.
He still had Addison’s notebook and it wasn’t likely he’d run into her again on campus. He had looked for her constantly, after bumping into her at the library, but never saw her … until today.
The scene last night between her and Philip had replayed hundreds of times through his mind today. He hated himself for not taking up for her. But it wasn’t his place. Addison was dating Philip.
He wanted to see her brought to justice, but there was also something about her that fascinated him. And he wanted to know more. Some of that information he held in his fingertips. In her purple notebook.
It wasn’t used for a subject. It was her journal. He couldn’t justify reading anymore. It was wrong. Logan had learned more about Addison in those first few pages than seemed possible.
The sun setting just beyond the tall pines shaded the front yard early. The wind had blown over a vase that now leaned against one of the patio chairs, and he reached to position it back on its base.
Soft notes from the piano played through the bay window. Ami. She’d taken lessons and could play anything. He thought he’d heard all Ami’s songs, but this one didn’t sound familiar. Still, it was beautiful. Walking through the front door, he headed straight to the piano.
Nathan stood by the baby grand, blocking his view. “What’re you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question.”
The music stopped abruptly. And then he saw her. Addison faced the piano, her fingers resting on the keys.
“Logan,” Ami said in a sing song voice. “Addison’s playing for us. He loves the piano. Don’t you, Logan?”
“I do. Please don’t stop on my account.” H
e turned, heading toward the kitchen, needing a moment to gather his thoughts. How would he get an opportunity to talk to Addison if Nathan lingered the entire time?
The sound of soft music played again, but this time it was Ami. She was playing her favorite song.
Nathan followed him into the kitchen and the moment was interrupted. “Please tell me you’re not still …”
Logan cut him off. “What’re you doing here?”
“I took the day off. I’m heading back tonight.” Nathan said, yanking Logan into a hug.
Logan adjusted his ball cap and caught sight of Nathan’s neck outstretched toward the living room—toward Addison. “We went to the mall earlier.”
“Who?”
“Me, Addison, and Ami.”
Unwelcomed envy slithered into his thoughts. “Why would you go with them?”
“Nothing wrong with spending time with my little sister. I’m the lucky one that Addison didn’t mind me tagging along.”
Nathan was moving in on Addison? No! He couldn’t be.
“We’re planning to go to the beach this weekend. The temperature’s supposed to be in the mid-seventies. You should come.”
He had to be mistaken. But Nathan didn’t have a girlfriend. “Yeah, sure. What time?”
“Early afternoon, around one. You could cook some cheeseburgers afterward. Unless you already have plans?” Nathan cast a crooked smile in his direction. “Addison’s coming.”
Why does he insist on torturing me? Logan thought about telling him he wasn’t free, but that would be lying. He had to work a twelve-hour shift Friday night from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., but he wouldn’t miss their beach trip. “I’m free.”
The same notes from earlier hummed through the house, yet softer. He peeked around the corner. Addison sat motionless on the bench, her back facing him. He imagined the deep creases in her forehead as she concentrated on each note. Ami sat by her side, swaying to the melody.
A grin split Nathan’s face before he moved back into the living room and stood next to Addison, almost hovering over her. What were Nathan’s intentions?
What were his?
Deep down, he wanted to be the one standing next to Addison—to slide into the space next to her. Close enough to inhale her sweet, clean fragrance that had dissipated hours ago. Not standing here, watching from a distance, like an outsider.
Nathan stayed on one side of Addison, Ami on the other. Nathan looped his arm so that his was touching Addison’s and a deeper bout of jealousy flared through Logan. It drove him crazy watching Nathan flirt with Addison. But what bothered him most was observing how uncomfortable Addison seemed. He could blame no one but himself.
Because of her unease, Nathan tried harder.
The purple notebook in his truck would give him the perfect excuse to speak to her—to direct her attention away from Nathan. There was no reason to hold onto it.
Except he just wasn’t ready to let it go.
9
Friday night, Logan parked at the local coffee shop on his lunch break as subtle calls from his radio faded in and out. He reached for the purple notebook from his backpack. Allowing his finger to run down the spiral wire that held the pages intact, he couldn’t help but wonder what other information he would find hidden within.
It was wrong. He should’ve given it back already.
But holding it, though he’d promised himself not to read another word, felt like he held a piece of Addison … a reason to talk to her again.
This is crazy.
He opened it anyway and hovered his flashlight over the now-familiar handwriting of her name, reminding himself that he’d already read the first page. It couldn’t hurt to read it again. Before he could talk himself out of it, he opened the purple cover and explored the beginning as if it was his first time reading and then devoured three more pages before he stopped.
Reading the words in class had the same effect they were having now, including a new disturbing reaction.
Shock.
Addison was the same girl he’d been praying for every day for two years. He’d heard at the station about a local girl losing her life to an accident involving alcohol, leaving behind her older sister, a student on campus. Not knowing the sister’s identity hadn’t mattered. He felt an urging immediately to pray for the girl. And he had. Every day.
He had seen more than enough drug overdoses and the grave effects of alcohol in the two short years he had patrolled the streets of Wilmington.
Flipping through the notebook, he found the pages nearly full, but he closed it. The pain that ripped through him reading her handwritten words again gave him a strange desire to comfort the girl.
But he had at his fingertips evidence of the night of Ami’s accident. He could lay to rest forever his suspicions. He could read for himself if she’d written anything about it. About him. How serious she and Philip were. He had no doubt it would all be there. He could tell by her first entries. The details she revealed. Addison wrote from somewhere deep within. Her feelings bled onto each page.
But his guilt escalated, and he closed the cover.
He slid it back inside his backpack, then searched the area surrounding him. A couple walked by his cruiser, glancing inside briefly as they passed. He nodded with a smile. They disappeared inside the Waffle House and he relaxed against the head rest.
Addison’s chin quivering when he ran into her today stirred in his memory as did the gentle curve of her neck. He’d been careless with her feelings, but rightfully so. His empathy now wrestled with his attempt to see her punished. Better to commit to active prayer for your enemies than to accommodate bitterness.
Attaching her name, her face, to his daily prayer for her, he lifted his heart to God in the last few minutes before his lunch break ended. It was impossible to hoard anger for a person while praying for them.
The loving way she spoke of her kindergarten children, the sincere display of friendship she offered his sister, and the genuine warmth that almost seeped from her, pervaded his thoughts as he pulled out of the parking lot.
After his shift, he took a three-hour nap before showering and driving to his parents’ house. He glanced at the notebook lying in the passenger seat before getting out. Playing scenarios over and over in his mind regarding how to handle it, he opted for the easy route.
A tiny white lie.
How else could he explain keeping it so long? Mending all the wrongs he’d added together since they’d met already seemed impossible.
He didn’t want to add to her list of good reasons to avoid him.
Exhaling a deep breath, he left the notebook in his truck and walked around back. Chattering voices filled the yard. Addison was standing by the fence, laughing at something with Nathan. A person would think the sight of her allowing Nathan to flirt—the way she looked at Nathan with admiration—would cause him to look away. But even with the ominous thoughts latching on like a leech, it wasn’t enough to thwart his gaze.
When he watched for several more seconds, the truth materialized before his eyes. Addison wasn’t flirting with Nathan. People naturally flocked to her.
“Logan, you’re here,” Ami screamed from across the yard causing all heads to turn. “We can go to the beach now.”
He glanced in Addison’s direction. She looked up and fastened her gaze on him.
He had to find a few moments alone with her today. A few hours. He’d thought of nothing else since yesterday. But with Nathan’s presence, Logan would be lucky if he found any chance to speak to her alone.
It would be a waste of time to expect anything more anyway. She had a boyfriend.
It didn’t matter that the guy didn’t deserve her.
Nathan walked toward him and opened the gate. Addison followed Ami to Nathan’s truck.
The ten-minute drive to the ocean gave him plenty of time to think. Why did he keep doing this to himself? Hadn’t he learned anything? Beautiful women were nothing but complicated distractions that would do more
harm than good. One minute they would give a man security in their affection, and the next seek the attention of someone else.
Leaving the parking lot, Nathan and Ami walked ahead with Addison, leaving him behind. Despite his efforts, fumes of envy stirred within him. Slipping his slides off, Logan allowed the texture of the warm sand to penetrate his toes, hoping to distract his unwarranted thoughts. He wanted to be the one walking next to Addison, making her feel comfortable. Not his brother.
Addison glanced back and caught him staring. Her dimple deepened with her slight smile, and she slowed, allowing him to catch up to her.
“Hi.” She continued, giving him no chance to reply. “I’m so glad for the break this week.”
“Yeah, me too.” He had been waiting for this moment. “This year has flown by.”
“It has. Ami told me you are working for the police department. Will you continue working there after graduation?”
His strength quivered beneath a steady torrent of pleasure. “Yes, but hoping to get off the streets. I’ve applied for a detective position. What about you? Will you continue teaching at Middleton Elementary?”
“I would love to stay there, but all their permanent positions for this fall are taken.”
“Do you want to keep teaching kindergarten?” He knew so little of her but stored what little he’d learned in his memory. He wanted to know everything about her. Not quickly, but slowly. Very slowly, memorizing every detail, one by one, intimately. He mentally slapped his luring thoughts back into submission.
“Yes, I absolutely love that age. They’re eager to learn and they’re so precious.” The deep smile that covered every inch of her face said more than any words ever could.
“Sounds to me like you’re going to make a great teacher.”
“I don’t know about that, but I sure would love the chance.”
“Are you applying to other elementary schools here in Wilmington?”
“Several of them. And a few out of town.” When her gaze returned to his, his heart gave in another notch. “But hopefully I’ll be able stay in Wilmington.”
Shattered Treasure Page 7