The third change was our parents announcing that they were having a baby just after the trial had ended. Sasha and I now had a little brother called Jack, and while it was kinda weird that we were in a romantic relationship and yet both related to our baby sibling, we’d become accustomed to it. I loved babysitting Jack, and doing so made me realize how much I loved kids. I’d never thought about it all that much in the past, but now I couldn’t wait to have kids—with Sasha, of course. We still weren’t in the right place in life to think about doing that anytime soon, but we’d get there.
All in good time.
Martha was over the moon about the baby Jack situation, too. She’d moved into our parents’ place permanently to help out with him, and she’d always make jokes about me having been replaced by Jack as her favorite boy. It was all in good fun, and I’d tease her right back. She was well and truly part of the family, and she always would be. It just showed that sometimes, the best families weren’t the one who were all biologically related. Sometimes, the best families were made up of people that chose to be together as a family.
That was exactly what we’d all done.
During all of these changes, Sasha and I had started to become publicly known as a couple. We did this slowly, trying to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. Despite our best efforts, our parents had still been forced to fend off a lot of awkward questions, but they’d done a brilliant job of supporting us wholeheartedly and making our transition into the public eye as smooth as possible. Because of them, we were increasingly becoming accepted by everyone else.
Sasha and I had also eventually decided to get a place of our own, because the more we grew as a couple, the more we wanted our own space, despite how close we were to our family. The apartment we were renting now was pretty small and old, but it was cozy and homely, just like I’d always wanted. I didn’t care if I never got to live in a huge mansion again—I just wanted a comfortable home with my girl. She’d changed me and made me grow in ways that I’d never expected, and I was ready to take the next step towards moving on with my life.
I wanted her to know that…and pretty soon, she would.
Strolling through the apartment, I found her curled up on our cream-colored sofa with her head buried in a book. I couldn’t help but smile at how content she looked.
“Babe?” I said quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she was really lost in the book’s plot.
She looked up and smiled. “Yeah?”
“Do you have a few minutes? I have something I want to show you.” There was a nervous edge to my voice, and I was sure she could hear it.
“Of course,” she replied. Whatever I needed, she was willing to give me, every single time.
She really was my perfect match.
She followed me downstairs and outside to my car, and we drove in silence until we reached the cemetery closest to the house I’d grown up in; the one that had burned down all those years ago.
Sasha squeezed my hand as we headed through the main gate, but I couldn’t make eye contact with her. It was taking all that I had just to stay strong. She would understand once we got there. I knew she would.
We wandered along, still holding on to one another until we finally came across a marble headstone, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Marie Ryder. Your mother,” Sasha murmured, peering at the engravings on the headstone.
“Yeah,” I said, sitting down in front of it. Sasha followed suit. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted you here with me today. Today would have been her fiftieth birthday.”
“Of course I don’t mind,” she replied quietly. “I’m glad you brought me here.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts until I felt ready to talk again.
“The more stuff Dad shows me, the more I remember about her and all the things we did when I was a kid.”
“That’s great. What was she like?” Sasha asked.
“She was kind, generous, fun… she always had time to play with me. She was just the best. Losing her was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“I know,” she said, squeezing my hand again. “I’m sorry.”
“The more photos I see, the more I can understand why Dad found it difficult to look at me. She really did look so similar to me. It’s getting better now, though. Yesterday I looked at a picture of her, and instead of guilt and sadness, all I felt was happiness, because all I could see when I looked at it was the happy memory of a trip we took to Disneyland when I was really young. That’s when I knew I was finally ready to come and see her here. I haven’t been here since I was a child.”
She gently rubbed my arm. “And how is it? Are you okay being here?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’ve helped me get here, you know. You’ve helped me piece myself back together.”
“You’ve helped me too,” she said.
“I have?”
“Logan, you literally saved me from a burning building two years ago.”
I grinned. “Well, aside from that.”
She matched my smile, but it faded only seconds later. “I just meant…when our parents got married, I was kinda screwed up. I was so used to it just being me and my Mom, and deep down, I felt like my Dad was being betrayed by her marrying someone else, even though he died more than fifteen years ago. But you—and your Dad, too—made me realize that I could have a big family again, even though we’re a pretty weird family,” she said. “I know I don’t talk about my father much, but he was great. He was just like you say your mother was; gentle, kind, and loving. But I’ve accepted that he’s gone, and I know Mom and I are allowed to move on and be happy without feeling guilty anymore. I just needed that push, and I got it when I had to move in with you and your father. Believe it or not, all those dumb pranks you used to play on me made me feel at home; like we were just old friends acting like idiots.”
“I guess I’ll have to start planning some more practical jokes, then,” I said, my eyes twinkling.
She grinned and shook her head, and I leaned over and kissed her. I would never, ever get tired of kissing this woman. She tasted so sweet and her lips were so soft; the most perfect thing I’d ever had in my life. I could feel a weight lifting from my shoulders as we embraced, as if every problem I’d ever had was evaporating into thin air. Coming here today had been a good choice, and I knew wherever my Mom was now, she was looking down at us, happy to see where we were at with our lives.
“We need to go,” I finally said, rising to my feet. “We’ve got that lunch thing with our parents. Can I have a second alone, though?”
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll wait in the car.”
I waited for her to start walking away, and then I turned and knelt at my mother’s grave once more. “That was Sasha,” I said. “I wish you could meet her in person. You’d love her. I do, more than anything. Oh, and by the way…Dad gave me your old ring. I’m waiting until a few things are done, and then I’m giving it to her. I hope that’s okay with you. I’ve got this whole plan set up, and she’s going to be so surprised.”
I stared at the headstone for another moment, and the sun chose that moment to come out from behind a cloud above me. I widened my eyes with surprise as I looked up at the sky. I wasn’t usually a big believer in signs or anything of the sort, but in this particular moment, I knew it was a sign. My mother approved of what I was planning to do when the time was right, and I’d made a good choice.
I guess that wasn’t really a surprise at all.
Sasha would always be the right choice for me.
Chapter 21
Sasha
Six months later
The way Logan doted on Jack was amazing. He was just over a year old now, and he already had the most devoted older brother that any kid could want. Whenever we went to visit our parents, Logan seemed determined to shower Jack with all the love he possibly could, and it made me see what a good father he would be when we eventually had children ourselve
s—not that we were anywhere near ready for that yet. We still had so much to do before we could even think about starting our own family. Logan had recently finished his pre-law undergraduate degree, and he’d started law school. He’d also found a part-time job to help support us about a year and a half ago, and even though law school was hectic for him, he somehow managed to balance it all.
As for myself, I’d finished my psychology degree, and I was working as a social worker and counselor for kids who’d lost one or both of their parents. The money wasn’t exactly amazing, but I loved what I did, and it had initially clicked for me because it was something I had experience in. Logan did too, so he was very proud of the career choice I’d made.
Right now, I was at our parents’ house, sitting in the kitchen and talking to Mom and George as we sipped on coffee. I could hear Logan and Martha playing peek-a-boo with Jack in the lounge room.
“They’ve been doing that for ages,” I said, nodding towards the other room.
“I know. You two and Martha are a godsend, taking care of Jack so often. Gives me some time to relax occasionally,” Mom replied with a smile as she stretched her arms.
She was sleep-deprived and exhausted from late-night feedings, but I knew she was absolutely loving being a mother all over again. Since she’d married George and finally become used to being the wife of a famous politician, she’d really changed for the better. She’d finally settled down for the first time since my father died, and George was the right man for her to do that with. Like Logan had once observed, they didn’t seem to have much in common on the surface, but they loved each other and did everything they could to support each other, and that made them a perfect couple.
George was really enjoying his second round of fatherhood, too. I could see that he was determined to do a better job this time around, and at the same time, he was making a great effort to include Logan as much as possible to make up for all the years they’d spent acting like distant strangers. They were like brand new people with the past finally behind them, and it was like a miracle to see how much their relationship had changed.
“Anyway, you should probably head off,” George said, glancing at his watch. “Don’t you and Logan have plans this afternoon?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing planned. I assumed we’d stay here for lunch like we did last Saturday.”
George gave me a puzzled look, and I saw Mom elbow him under the table. He coughed and cleared his throat. “Oh, yes, I’m thinking of someone else who said they had plans this afternoon. Never mind,” he said, but I wasn’t convinced. Something was going on, but I had no idea what it could possibly be.
Logan appeared at the entrance to the kitchen a moment later. “We should get going,” he said, gently handing Jack over to Mom.
“Don’t you want to eat?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nah, not hungry. I can pick something up for you on our way home, though, if you’re hungry.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. There had to be something going on. Logan ate like a horse, and the chances of him passing up a free lunch at our parents’ house were very slim. I glanced around to everyone in turn, but no one would make eye contact with me—even Martha, who’d just walked in as well. Mom’s lips were twitching, like she was trying her hardest to stop herself from smiling or laughing, and I arched an eyebrow.
“What’s going on? Did Logan stick a sign on my back saying ‘kick me’?” I asked.
“How immature do you think I am?” Logan replied, feigning a hurt expression. “Do I look like the type of guy to play silly pranks like that?”
“Careful, or you might find another snake in the shower,” I said with a teasing smile as I playfully elbowed him. “Seriously though, what’s going on? You’re all being so weird.”
“Nothing’s going on,” Logan replied. “I just really need to get home to work on an assignment for my comparative law class.”
My shoulders slumped, and I nodded. I must’ve just been imagining everyone acting suspiciously.
Once we’d said our goodbyes and headed off in the car, I spoke up again, just in case. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on?”
Logan shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat. “Uh-huh. We’re just going home, that’s all.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing for sure that something was going on now. He never looked this nervous about anything. “Logan…” I said in a warning tone.
“I’m not lying,” he said. “We’re going home. Really.”
“But you missed the turnoff for our apartment,” I said, looking back and watching the sign disappear into the distance.
I saw a vague smile quirking up the corners of his lips, and I sat back and kept my mouth shut for the rest of the duration of our drive. He obviously had something planned, but he wasn’t going to tell me until he was ready.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside a beautiful two-story house on a large block of land. It was much bigger than our apartment, but nowhere as big as our parents’ place—a happy medium.
“What’s this?” I asked as Logan removed his seatbelt.
“I’ll tell you in a minute.”
He stepped out of the car, and I followed him, still confused.
Logan grabbed my hand as we stopped outside the house. “The block of land here is where my old family house was. Dad kept it after the house burned down. He couldn’t bear to sell it, so it’s just been sitting here.”
“I see.”
“But about eight months ago, he finally sold it.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. He sold it to me in return for me giving half of my trust fund back to him. He said he would’ve just given it to me, but that didn’t seem fair. He’s given me too many free rides in life, with all his money. So we came to that little arrangement instead.”
My mind was racing now, and my heart pounded as I stared up at him. What exactly was he saying?
“When I haven’t been busy with study and work, I’ve been organizing the rebuilding and renovation of the house. For us,” he continued. “That’s what I spent the other half of the trust fund on, and also some extra money from my job that I put aside.”
My hand flew to my mouth. “Really? For us?”
He nodded. “I know you might think it’s strange, seeing as this is the land where the fire that killed my Mom happened, but before that, all I had here were happy memories. It was a great piece of land to raise a child on. When she was still here, I remember Mom always saying that she wanted me to have this place when I grew up, for my own kids. There’s a little pond and river that run through the back, and there’s even this little grove of trees I used to play in. It’s perfect, really. So if you want it, this is ours. This can be our home. But I’ll understand if you’d rather live elsewhere.”
“No, I don’t want to live anywhere else,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “I love it. This is amazing, Logan. I think your Mom would be really happy that you rebuilt it like this. It’s so beautiful.”
His shoulders slumped with relief, and I turned back to look at the house again. Despite the tragedy of what happened here when Logan was six, I could easily envision the wonderful future we could have there. Living under this roof with all the love and laughter in the world was the absolute best way that Logan could pay respects to his mother’s memory, especially seeing as she had told him she wanted him to have this place when he grew up. From everything I’d heard of her, she’d been a wonderful woman, and she deserved to have her wishes honored.
“Can we go inside?” I asked.
“Sure.”
He grabbed hold of my hand and led me through the front door. Once we were inside, I raced from room to room like an excited child. There was still a lot of decorating that needed doing—that was a good thing, because I could help out and add my own special touches—but everything we could ever need was there.
There was a beautifully furnished living room, a fully-equipped kitchen, dining room, laun
dry room, two bathrooms, an office and three spacious bedrooms—including the master bedroom, which took up the entire top floor and had a cozy little home theater set up on one side. One of the walls in that room was almost entirely glass, meaning we had a fantastic view over the land, including the little river and patch of trees Logan had mentioned earlier. It was like being in our own little world.
“I love it so much,” I said as I stood there, mesmerized by the view. “I can’t believe you’ve been working on this for so long, and I had no idea.”
“I’m really glad you love it. I hated hiding something from you for so long, but I wanted to surprise you with it like this, when it was all built,” Logan replied, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. He kissed my neck and whispered in my ear. “By the way, that isn’t everything. I have another surprise for you too.”
Another surprise already?
“Ooh, are you getting a pool put in? That’d be cool,” I said, peering down at the spacious backyard.
“Not a pool, no. But we can discuss that another time,” he said, pulling away from me.
When he didn’t elaborate on what the other surprise was, I turned around to see him down on one knee, holding out a stunning diamond ring. It was classically cut and looked like a vintage setting, and without him saying a word, I knew it was one of his mother’s rings. My heart leapt, and my hand flew to my mouth in shock.
“Sasha,” he said. “From the very first moment I met you, you’ve changed my life. You’ve made me grow and become a real man, and when I look at you, I’m home. You’ve been with me through thick and thin, and I don’t know where I’d be without you. I never want to find out. I want to love you, to hold you, to give you everything you need for the rest of your life. I want to see your smiling face every day, and I want to do everything in my power to keep you happy forever.”
Tears of joy were flowing freely down my face now. Of all the things I might have suspected, this hadn’t been it at all. Logan had always been good at surprising me…and let me tell you, this was a far better surprise than a mouthful of bright red teeth.
Mask - A Stepbrother Romance Page 36