Won't Go Home Without You

by Cheris Hodges

  Heading for the kitchen, Logan sighed. But took a vow to fight loudly to clear his name.

  * * *

  Kamrie hated playing this game with her little boy’s well-being, but she had to do something to get Logan’s attention. Nothing was working and it was time to kick things up a few thousand notches. The doctor in Logan was going to ignore a sick child for only so long. Maybe if she told him Jean had heart issues he’d rush to her side. Glancing at her watch, she wondered how long it would be before a doctor discharged the little boy from the children’s hospital. Jean was fine. A slight fever from a common cold, but she’d made a big deal about it to get Logan’s attention.

  And. It. Didn’t. Work!

  I know his wife wasn’t stupid enough to come back. Where is her pride? Kamrie stalked the waiting area in the emergency room. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned spending Christmas. It should’ve been her, Jean, and Logan enjoying a holiday meal and opening presents. Why was he avoiding the inevitable? Kamrie knew he’d avoid a public case; she knew he wanted to keep things quiet at the hospital and she held the reins on blowing everything up in his face. He just kept pushing her and she was going to have to play her ace.

  The difference between Logan and Thomas Lacy, the Atlanta doctor who forced her out of her hometown, was that Logan had a stellar reputation that he’d been intent on keeping. Lacy just did what his highfalutin wife told him to do.

  Including breaking up with Kamrie and getting her fired from Emory University Hospital. Her family had money and pull with the board, so Lacy had carte blanche to do what he wanted, except when it came to his dick.

  Kamrie knew she couldn’t fight Dr. Lacy and his wife, but she also knew she wasn’t going to walk away empty-handed. She’d gotten a glowing recommendation from her former lover and a job in Richmond.

  At first, the plan was to work hard and mind her business. But Logan Baptiste made that so hard. Why did he have to be so nice? So handsome? And so married?

  He was a skilled surgeon and working with him on several surgeries had given her so much insight on the type of man he was. The type of man she deserved in her life. He didn’t use people, he saved people. Maybe he was the lifeline God had tossed her way after what happened in Atlanta. Didn’t she deserve to be happy?

  “Kamrie,” the charge nurse said as she crossed over to her. “Great news, we don’t have to admit little Jean.”

  Kamrie clasped her hands together and pretended to be happy. “That’s great to know.”

  The nurse raised her right eyebrow at her. “I’m surprised you even brought him in for such a low-grade temperature.”

  “Better to be safe than sorry, right?” She folded her arms across her chest. “I know some people wait until there is a crisis before they get a child to the doctor and disasters happen.”

  The nurse smiled. “First child?”

  “Yes, and he was a preemie. So, I’m a little extra careful when it comes to his health.”

  “Now it makes sense. But he seems really big for a preemie. And in great health. Someone is doing a great job.”

  “Jean means everything to me.”

  “Well, come on back with me so you can take your baby home and salvage what’s left of Christmas.”

  She was going to have to figure out what it was going to take to make Logan accept her and his son. She didn’t want to have to worry about money ever again. Logan could make that happen for her, and he was going to do it one way or another.

  * * *

  Robin woke up to the smell of cinnamon. It took her a minute to realize where she was. She was at home. With Logan. Glancing over at the digital clock on the nightstand, she saw it was nearly one in the afternoon. When was the last time she’d slept this long or this good?

  Over six months ago. Robin sat up in the bed and decided today she was going to do the work she needed to start to get her marriage back on track. Today would be a “no question” day. They were going to just be. Be together, be Robin and Logan like back in the day.

  She pulled herself out of bed and grabbed one of his T-shirts and pulled it on. Then she headed down to the kitchen. “Something smells great,” she said when she spotted him at the stove.

  “Figured we needed to brunch, because it’s too late to call it breakfast.” He nodded toward the French toast and grits on the counter. “There’s no butter in those grits, but plenty of cheese.”

  “Oh, you are winning this afternoon, Logan.” Robin grabbed a spoon and dipped into the bowl of grits. They were delicious. “So good!”

  “Wait until you taste that toast. Do you want syrup or powdered sugar?”

  Robin raised her eyebrow and shot him a cool smirk. “You know I want both.”

  “Just checking.” He opened the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of maple syrup. He poured the sticky sweetness in a pot to warm it up just the way she liked it. Robin grabbed two plates and loaded them with grits and French toast.

  “I’m having bacon, too,” Logan said. “Because it just seems right.”

  “I understand. The vegetarian food is for me. You don’t have to partake.” She winked at him, then reached for the warm syrup.

  “Hold on,” he said as he blocked her reach. “It’s not warm enough and I haven’t put the powdered sugar on yet.”

  “But I’m hungry now,” she said with a pout of her full lips. Logan dipped his finger in the syrup and brushed it against her mouth. Robin licked the sweet stickiness from her bottom lip and rolled her eyes at him. “That’s not enough.”

  “You know what they say, good things come to those who wait,” he said as he reached for the powdered sugar and sprinkled the toast.

  “Better not let that syrup burn,” she said as they locked eyes.

  “Right.” Logan turned back to the stove and turned the heat down on the pot. Then he drizzled the heated syrup over the French toast. “Now you can eat.”

  She smiled and took her plate to the breakfast nook. “I’ll wait for you.”

  “Great,” he said as he reached into the oven and pulled out a pan of bacon strips. “Looks like it’s time to eat.”

  “I know it’s midday, but where is the coffee?”

  Logan snapped his fingers. “I have iced coffee with almond milk and monk fruit sweetener.”

  “So, I did switch you to almond milk?”

  “Kind of. The health benefits got me more than your lectures,” he said with a grin.

  Robin stood up and headed for the fridge. “Whatever, man.”

  Logan wasn’t sure what had changed overnight, but he liked this vibe between him and Robin. Maybe she was making the effort to work on their marriage. And damn, she looked good in that T-shirt. She returned to the table with two mugs of coffee. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” He brushed his fingertips against her hand. “This feels good.”

  She blushed as she took her seat across from him. “Let’s make today about us and this amazing food. And I’m not going to stop you if you want to make jambalaya.”

  Logan laughed. “I’m going to have to hit the grocery store if we’re going to do that.”

  “Since it’s the day after Christmas, I don’t think I’m going to put you through that hell. But we can’t live on French toast and grits for the rest of the day.”

  He snapped his fingers. “I have shrimp and tomatoes.”

  Robin smiled. “Sounds like we’re having a great dinner with shrimp and grits.”

  “And roasted tomatoes with mozzarella.”

  “Any wine?” she asked.

  “Then I guess I’m going to the store after all,” he said.

  “Maybe we can go together, but first we’re eating this amazing brunch.”

  Logan wanted to kiss his wife, wanted to ask her what had changed. But he didn’t want to kill the vibe. Didn’t want to start another argument that he couldn’t win or hear her spit out questions he couldn’t answer.

  They ate in a comfortable silence and Robin even shared her grits with
Logan after he’d eaten all of his. Grits weren’t normally something she shared. Logan almost thought something was wrong with them until she started eating off his plate.

  “So, do we be mature and wash dishes or get dressed and go get wine?” Robin asked as she scraped their dishes and set them in the sink.

  Logan wrapped his arms around Robin’s waist. “Why don’t we just take a break and relax. We’ve got a DVR full of DIY shows to watch.”

  Robin nodded. “Logan,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “And I missed this. Missed us.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “So, I want today to be . . . I want us to . . . I want my marriage back.”

  “So do I. But . . .”

  She brought her finger to his lips. “What we need to do today is look at us. Maybe you were right when you asked me when I stopped believing in you and we should talk about it.”

  He looked around the kitchen. “You want to do this now?”

  She shook her head. “Not right now. But we’re going to have to look into it.”

  “I agree.”

  “But right now, let’s watch these shows.”

  “Before we do that, I just want one thing,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I want to kiss my wife so badly.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Then I don’t know what’s stopping you.”

  Logan leaned in and captured her lips in a sweet and tender kiss. He savored her taste and the softness of her lips. Pulling back from her, he smiled. “Why don’t I wash the dishes and you warm up the TV. Did I tell you how amazing you look in my shirt?”

  Robin smiled. “Nope, but I already knew. You couldn’t keep your eyes on your plate while we ate.”

  He almost told her that he wanted to put her on his plate, but he wasn’t trying to press his luck. One step at a time, he admonished himself.

  As Robin sauntered out of the kitchen, Logan told himself that he was going to do what it took to make this feeling last. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and sent Liam a text.

  Please tell me you’re making some headway on your investigation.

  He put his phone away and cleaned up the kitchen. “Logan, I’m going to get my phone,” Robin called out.

  “Okay. Want some more coffee when you come back?”

  “Sure.”

  As he heard the front door close, Logan grabbed the coffee and a couple of mugs, then headed for the living room. Setting the coffee on the table next to the sofa, he was ready to relax and watch six months’ worth of home improvement shows. Looking at the door, he wondered what was taking Robin so long to get her phone from the car.

  * * *

  Robin wanted to scream when she saw that bitch walking toward her. Why was she at her house?

  “Robin? Robin, are you there?” the voice from the other end of the phone called out. Robin was so damned pissed that she’d forgotten which one of her sisters she’d been talking to.

  “I’m going to call you back, sis,” she said, then ended the call. Crossing over to the end of the driveway, Robin cocked her head to the side. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  “Hey, Robin. I guess you’re the reason why I haven’t been able to get in touch with my child’s father,” Kamrie said. “Is Logan inside?”

  “This is what you do now? You just come to my house and pretend it’s yours?”

  Kamrie sucked her teeth and flung her hair to the side. “Didn’t you file for divorce? Why does it even matter what Logan and I do concerning our son? I get that you may have been feeling some kind of way and . . .”

  Robin couldn’t control her feelings or listen to another word coming out of Kamrie’s mouth. She hauled off and slapped her with six months of fury bubbling over. “Get off my property!”

  “You bitch. I should call the police.”

  “You’re trespassing, so please call the police.”

  Kamrie pulled out her phone and held it up. “Sure, this is what you want? Police show up and they’re going to want to know what happened, then there’s going to be questions about what started the fight and everyone will know that the great Dr. Baptiste is a deadbeat. And then what? But it’s your choice. After all, you’re the one outside in a T-shirt. Looking like last night’s trash.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Asking my son’s father to be a part of his life?” Kamrie shrugged. “What mother wouldn’t want this for her child? I guess you’ll never know since you can’t have a child of your own. But I guess you’re still making your broken body useful.”

  Everything inside Robin seemed to freeze. How did she know? Logan had to have told her. Blinking, she refused to let this sorry excuse of a woman see a tear drop from her eyes. Maybe coming back home had been a nostalgic mistake.

  “You should fucking leave!” Logan boomed from behind Robin.

  “No,” Robin said, turning around and spearing him with a cold look. “You two should talk. Seems like you do a lot of that with her.” Logan reached for Robin, but she sidestepped him and he was confused as to what had happened out there.

  He glared at Kamrie as she walked up the driveway. “Jean is sick and that woman hit me.”

  “Kamrie, you’re going too far with this bullshit right now.”

  She took a step closer to him. “This can be really easy or really nasty. It’s up to you, Logan.”

  “You’re fucking insane, Kamrie. Nothing ever happened between us, and when I find out who put you up to this, all of you are going to pay.”

  “If anyone is going to pay, it’s going to be you. Your wife can’t give you . . .”

  “Leave. Now!”

  “This is going to come out, sooner or later. You can paint a pretty picture or you can watch everything that you worked so hard for go up in flames because you’re a deadbeat father.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m nobody’s father, and it doesn’t matter how many times you say it or wish it to be true, that is not my little boy.”

  She raised her eyebrow and shook her head. “I guess you’ve made your choice.”

  Kamrie turned around and headed to her car. When he saw her drive away, Logan rushed inside to find Robin.

  As soon as he opened the door and walked in, he was met with a smack to the face. “You son of a bitch!” Robin exclaimed. “How could you do this to me?”

  Logan rubbed his cheek. “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing happened between you and Kamrie, but you decided to tell her about . . . everything?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She taunted me about not being able to give you a child. How would she know that if you didn’t tell her? Was I the topic of your pillow talk?”

  He reached out for her, but Robin jerked away so fast he almost fell to the floor. “Robin, please . . .”

  “No!” She pushed against his chest. “This was a mistake. I don’t know why I . . .” Robin’s shoulders shook as she began to sob. “How could you share intimate details of our lives with your whore?”

  “I didn’t. Robin. I would never do anything like that to you or to us—especially since Kamrie and I didn’t talk about you in or out of bed.”

  “I’m going back to my town house. I can’t deal with you. Sign the divorce papers and let’s stop playing this bullshit ass game.” She rushed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door behind her.

  Moments later, Robin, who was now dressed in the outfit she’d worn the night before, stormed out of the house, got into her car, and sped away.

  Chapter 11

  Robin was about ten miles from her town house when the tears stopped. In another five miles, she stopped calling herself an idiot. By the time she pulled into the parking lot of the complex, she decided that she wasn’t the one who should be crying; she should’ve pounded Logan until he cried.

  All he’d done was lie. How could she fight for their marriage when he’d violated her like h
er issues had been for the world to know. Not the world, but Kamrie. Of course, that woman would relish having something to hang over Robin’s head. First her husband, then this child, and now her medical history.

  Logan had to be the most inconsiderate asshole in the world to share that with her or anyone else who wasn’t on Robin’s medical team. If she didn’t tell her family, why did he feel like he could tell his fucking mistress?

  She took a deep breath, then opened her car door. She probably should’ve called her sister back, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. Robin wanted to smash something. Since Logan’s head wasn’t an option, she’d have to take everything out on her punching bag in the den.

  Right after she unlocked the door, her phone began ringing. Knowing that it was either Logan or one of her sisters, Robin chose to ignore it. She reached for her pink boxing gloves and put them on. Then she attacked the bag, unleashing all of her anger, hurt, and disappointment. Her sweat replaced her tears and Robin punched until her arms felt like wet noodles.

  She dropped down to the floor and released a howl. How was she supposed to move forward from this?

  * * *

  Logan crossed his fingers as he rummaged through his files, looking for the divorce papers. Robin’s address had to be on them. Bingo! That last set of papers that he’d been sent had her Petersburg address right there. After typing it into his phone, Logan grabbed his shoes and headed for his car. He was willing to risk all the speeding tickets in the world to get to his wife and explain that he hadn’t told Kamrie anything about their issues. He’d wondered how Kamrie had gotten hold of Robin’s medical records, because that wasn’t the first time she had thrown out that she knew Robin couldn’t have children. That always gave him pause. Someone had given her too much information about his wife’s life.