by Linda Wisdom
“But…”
“But it wasn’t long before I became pregnant. It was a surprise. I thought it was wonderful even if unplanned. Ross told me it was a mistake.”
“Hadn’t you ever discussed having a family?” Logan asked.
Lucy nodded. “Except I heard his ‘let’s wait awhile’ for just that, while he really meant never. He didn’t want the baby. I did. He wasted no time in filing for divorce.”
Logan felt a burning sensation deep in his gut. “He ran out on you.”
“In a way, he did me a favor,” she corrected. “In his own way, Ross believed in doing the right thing. I moved back down to California where I had family. He made sure my medical expenses were covered and even paid the tuition for me to return to school after Nick was born. I had plenty of emotional support from Zach and our parents. Every month Ross arranges for money for Nick’s support to be deposited into my checking account. The amount has even been increased every year. Ross doesn’t send any cards or presents, nor has he ever asked to meet Nick or requested a school picture.” She looked off into space. “Ross is the one who lost out. Thanks to Zach, Nick has had a positive male role model in his life.”
“What about Ross’s parents? Didn’t they want to know their grandson?” Logan asked, thinking of the number of times his father mentioned the need for grandchildren in hopes he would have a Supreme Court justice in the family.
“His parents weren’t married and his mother gave him up at birth. He was one of the lucky ones and was adopted. I don’t think he ever bonded with his adoptive parents or even cared to.” She took a deep breath. “I thought Ross was quiet and reserved. I had no idea he was distant.”
Logan couldn’t imagine any man being standoffish with Lucy or walking away from her without a backward glance, content with giving her money every month instead of having contact with his son. His own dad was a cranky SOB at times, but he was always there for Logan.
His marriage to Shannon had been tumultuous but their time together was never bloodless the way Lucy’s had turned out.
“Hey.” Lucy touched his arm. “We turned out fine. Maybe even better. If you knew Ross you’d know Nick is much better off without him.”
“Did he ever remarry?”
“His fourth wife is a former model who’s pretty much a copy of wives number two and three. She prefers keeping her figure to having babies, which is just fine with him. I’ve now told mine, so you have to tell me yours.”
Logan took her coffee cup out of her hand, drank some then handed it back to her.
“I had recently purchased Dr. Mercer’s practice and felt pretty good about having my own clinic. Shannon came in with her mother’s sick cat. She asked me out and swept me off my feet,” he said wryly. “Before I knew it we were driving to Las Vegas to get married.”
“And…” She prompted him the way he had prompted her.
“And she didn’t like living in the house behind the clinic or even living out here which was definitely more rural back then. She had worked as a loan officer in Beverly Hills. She had this idea I could become a vet to the rich and famous.”
“Except that wasn’t what you wanted,” Lucy guessed, tucking her hand inside his.
“Definitely what I didn’t want. It wasn’t long before the fights started, and from there, things only got worse. Shannon left, but she wanted to draw blood. She felt she deserved something for giving up her career. She had a good attorney and almost wiped me out.”
“But she didn’t.”
“Only because I was determined not to let her win. I wasn’t going to let it ever happen again.”
Lucy was silent as she finished her coffee.
“It was for the best,” she said finally. “Besides, I don’t think Magnum would have accepted her.” She laid her head against his shoulder.
“True. I remember when I had to keep a sick iguana in the house overnight,” he said. “She stayed at a hotel.”
“Understandable, but as long as it was sick and not hungry, I wouldn’t go to a hotel.”
“You really do know how to look on the bright side.” He felt better than he had in a long time where his ex-wife was concerned.
“With Nick I have to look on the bright side. Otherwise, I would have sold him to the gypsies the day he used my makeup to draw a mural on the living room wall when I was having a party. To make it worse he used my hairspray as a sealant.”
Logan chuckled. “Did the threat of selling him to gypsies work?”
“Only until he was five, then he wised up. Next I tried threatening to send him off to a military boarding school, but he thought that would be cool. He thought it meant he would fly jets.”
“But you survived,” he reminded her.
“I survived. And I allowed Nick to live,” she said lightly. She picked up her glass of orange juice and held it high. “To Ross and Shannon. May they always get what they truly deserve,” she said with just the right touch of drama.
Her toast surprised Logan. “No wishing warts or worse on them?” He tapped his glass against hers.
“No way. That’s how karma gets back at you. If I wished that Shannon woke up with a hideous growth on her chin or that Ross’s latest wife got around the pre-nup I’m sure he had her sign, I could end up in much worse shape. No, I’ll just wish they get what they deserve.” She looked up at him under the cover of her lashes.
Logan had seen that expression before. His body tightened with anticipation.
“I like your style, but I’ll like you even better when you’re naked.”
She touched the button of the jacket. “Smart man.”
LUCY HADN’T BEEN this nervous since the day Nick went to court. She felt those same combat boot-wearing butterflies stomping through her stomach.
She had always been discreet with her love life.
Yet, she’d spent the night with a man and was bringing him with her while she picked up her son who was old enough to figure things out.
At least she wouldn’t show up wearing what she’d worn the night before. Logan had surprised her with shorts and a shirt from the hotel clothing boutique. He did the same for himself. As they sped down the road, she kept glancing down at her feet. A delicate gold chain circled one ankle with breaching dolphin as part of the chain.
“A reminder of the ocean,” he’d told her when he’d handed her a gift box.
The hours spent with Logan were magical. She had memories she knew she would always treasure. She wanted herself to never expect more. Logan had no desire to remarry and it wasn’t on her list of priorities either. Maybe last night was more their need for a physical closeness.
Just say it, Lucy!
Okay, for sex. Just sex. Nothing emotional involved.
She didn’t want to be hurt again and she feared she was already heading down that road. She twisted her hands nervously in her lap.
Logan slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.
“Would you rather I take you home and you pick Nick up on your own?” he asked her.
“Only if it would bother you to go over there. Nick’s old enough to figure things out,” she said.
“I’d rather go with you.” He pulled back onto the road.
Ten minutes later, Logan parked the car in front of the Walker house. With the convertible top down, they could hear children’s screaming coming from the back of the house. Lucy was aware of Logan standing close behind her as she rang the doorbell. A moment later, Cathy opened the door.
“Look at you two!’ She hugged Lucy. “Come in, we’re all out back.”
“No problems?” Lucy asked, following her through the house.
“Of course not. Nick and Lou stayed up half the night watching Freddy Krueger movies.” The older woman shuddered. “Abby, Jeff and the kids are here.”
Lucy and Logan exchanged glances.
“Abby said while it was nice to see people at the reunion, it got a little boring.” Cathy’s smile was guileless as she pushed
open the patio door.
Sounds of two little girls’ screams assaulted their ears as they stepped outside. The cause of their screams was a water fight with Nick who was willing to let the girls jump on him. Their arms, supported with inflatable water wings, flapped around him when he popped up for air.
“Hey, Mom! Hey, Logan!” He waved at them.
“I guess you didn’t miss me,” Lucy teased, walking over to the side of the pool. She bent down to pick up Domino who’d run over to greet her with high-pitched yips.
“Cute outfit, Lucy,” Abby called out from the other side of the pool where she sat in a chair.
“Thanks.”
Abby’s eyes dropped down to the glint of gold on Lucy’s ankle then moved up to flash a quick glance at Logan before returning to Lucy.
“New?” she asked.
“Yes.” Lucy knew nothing would irritate Abby more than not offering a bit of information. Abby could be as suspicious as she’d like, but that didn’t mean Lucy would volunteer any information.
“Did you kids have lunch?” Cathy asked. “You have time to stay, don’t you?”
Lucy looked at Logan who nodded.
“We’d love to.”
“Do you think they suspect anything?” Logan whispered as he led her to a chair.
Lucy thought of the looks exchanged by all the adults that spoke loud and clear what they were thinking.
She had a smile which she knew would confirm their suspicions. Still, not even their wildest imaginations could conjure up anything close to what had happened last night and this morning—and what would have happened in the car on the way here if that friendly sheriff’s deputy hadn’t stopped to ask if they were having car trouble.
Then again, she thought, a smile would have them going a little crazy while they tried to figure out the details…
Lucy released a dazzling smile at Logan that had Abby looking as if she’d been hit by a two-by-four.
“They don’t have a clue.”
Chapter Twelve
This was new to him. Logan normally didn’t date women with children. He considered it to have complications he didn’t want to worry about.
Now he knew why he’d always stuck to that self-imposed rule.
The afternoon spent at the Walker house wasn’t all that bad. He told himself if he felt uncomfortable it was because he made himself that way. Over lunch, they talked about the reunion in general terms. He wasn’t sure what was worse: Abby looking at him in that dissecting way she had or Jeff acting like Lucy’s big brother.
Obviously picking up on vibrations emanating between the adults, Nick looked from one to the other. Logan didn’t even want to think what was going through that kid’s mind.
By the time the day was over, he experienced pure relief as he drove Lucy and Nick home. He was ready to get back to the safety of his little house. Where he could think clearly. He rapidly learned that Lucy’s perfume did strange things to his thought processes. Jeremy greeted him with the news that all was fine. Magnum shot Logan a look that said “I know what you did” and went off to do whatever he did when he preferred to be alone.
Logan was more than ready for the weekend to be over. He had too much time on his hands and a mind that wandered in Lucy’s direction every time he made a conscious effort not to think about her.
He thought about her wearing his suit coat and nothing else. Then he thought about her wearing nothing at all. He recalled the look of delight that appeared on her face when she had opened the box holding the ankle bracelet. He relived the memory of her wearing that ankle bracelet and nothing else.
Over the weekend Lucy had displayed a new side that intrigued him. Aggressive without overpowering. Seductive with a wealth of femininity.
They’d made love, laughed and talked about everything and anything.
They’d managed to make time stand still when they were at the hotel.
Then she went toe to toe with Abby and for the first time to anyone’s knowledge, the mighty Ab backed down.
Damn, Lucy Donner was a loaded weapon.
“YOU DID IT, didn’t you?”
Logan took a deep breath and turned around. “Good morning, Gwen. Did you have a good weekend?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, Logan, no BS, okay? You and Lucy had sex. Why did you screw things up? She keeps all the appointments in order, the records can be found without any effort and we never run low on supplies. If you ruined this set-up by letting that—” her eyes wandered downward then back up so her heated gaze could smack him between the eyes “—do your thinking for you, so help me, I will make you sorry you were born.”
“No wonder you can’t keep a boyfriend,” he muttered, walking away quickly before something worse happened to him.
“Trust me, I keep him very happy.”
Desiring more amiable company, Logan headed for the front of the clinic but walked into chaos instead.
The tension-filled atmosphere hit him the minute he stepped out there.
A frantic-looking Lucy was holding on to Domino with a death grip while throwing mental flaming daggers at a teenage boy who looked as if the wild-eyed woman would scale the front counter and throttle him.
Logan sighed. Chad Whitman could only mean one thing. Henry.
“But he’s harmless! I swear he is!” Chad told Lucy.
“I don’t care if he’s made of rubber, find him now,” a tight-lipped Lucy ordered.
Chad caught sight of Logan. He looked relieved to see someone who wasn’t prepared to kill him.
“Hi, Dr. Kincaid.”
“Henry?” Logan asked.
He nodded, looking miserable. “I had the carrier secured. I swear I did. But you know how he is.”
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said wearily. “Where were you sitting?”
The boy pointed over his shoulder. “She’s really ticked off,” he whispered. “I think she’s afraid of Henry.”
“I can hear you!” Lucy snapped.
“Why don’t you go on back and have Gwen come out here to help us look,” Logan suggested to Lucy.
“There is no way I’m moving from here.” She held Domino so tightly the puppy squeaked. She immediately loosened her hold and cooed assurances to the small dog.
“My mom’s that way, too,” Chad said, loping off to the side of the room Logan directed him to.
“How difficult can it be to find one snake?” Lucy asked.
“Henry’s more like an escape artist who likes his freedom. He’s also pretty fast,” Logan explained. “Gwen! Henry’s loose!”
“What is it with that guy? All right, I’ll look back here,” she called out. “And if I find him he’s going to end up as a nice pair of boots!”
“It’s not his fault!” Chad argued.
“She’s kidding, Chad,” Logan assured him. “I think.”
“There he is.” Chad dropped to the floor and lay prone with his hands extended under Beau’s cage. The macaw flapped his wings and screamed his displeasure. The boy sat up with the python wrapped around his arm. “He was looking for a dark place for a nap,” he explained.
“Go on back to room three, Chad,” Logan instructed.
The boy paused at the counter. “I’m sorry if Henry scared you,” he said to Lucy. “He only gets this way when he’s looking for a place to sleep or he’s hungry.”
“Go,” she said between bloodless lips.
“Henry is harmless,” Logan assured her.
“Harmless? I’ve watched Animal Planet. He could eat Domino as a snack. For all I know he could eat Nick!”
“Henry’s only six feet long.”
“And Nick isn’t!” She glared at him.
Logan leaned over the counter. “I would have protected you,” he whispered against her lips.
“I told you I wouldn’t touch those things.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
“Just make sure that thing doesn’t get loose again.” Lucy refused to release Domino
until Chad and Henry, now securely ensconced in his carrier, were gone.
“Henry’s pretty mellow,” Logan told Lucy. “It’s just that he enjoys his freedom and takes advantage every chance he gets. Chad’s had him for about six years.”
“And to think his mother still lets him sleep in the house. Or does she?”
“She does, but she insists Chad keep his bedroom door closed when he’s not home, so Henry can’t wander.”
“Turtles are okay, but snakes…” She shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“Mom, did you see that python? Isn’t he cool? Can I have one?” Nick skidded to a stop in front of his mother. He took one look at her set expression and moved back a step. “I guess not. Um, Logan, Kristi asked if you’d come back and check Lily’s ears. She’s scratching them a lot.”
“Okay, I’ll be back there.”
Nick looked at them. “Are you guys gonna date each other now?”
Lucy and Logan looked at each other.
“Are we?” Logan asked her. He recalled earlier that day seeing a glint of gold in the vicinity of her ankle when her jeans hem rode up a bit.
“Would it emotionally scar you if we did date?” Lucy asked her son, wincing as she looked at the muddy paw prints decorating the front of Nick’s T-shirt.
“Of course not, unless emotional scarring means I can have a python or maybe a dog of my own to make my life more fulfilling,” he said hopefully.
“No snake. No dog. You’ll just have to suffer. And yes, we’re dating.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Logan asked him.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Logan, Mom gave me ‘the talk’ a long time ago. But I’ll still work on getting a snake or dog.”
“Nick, go away,” Logan said amiably.
“Huh? Oh, okay.” With a cheeky grin, he loped off.
“When he starts dating, you’re going to embarrass the hell out of him, aren’t you?” Logan asked.
Lucy adopted her most motherly expression. “That’s what mothers are for.”