by Poppy Flynn
"Danny, are you in some kind of trouble?" Logan demanded in alarm.
"No!" the boy exclaimed. "No, I'm not in any trouble. Well, not like trouble, trouble," he clarified in typical teenage fashion. "It's just that I got this letter from my dad, and I don't know what to do about it."
Logan met up with Danny at football practice that same day and had a quiet word with the coach about how the letter had been delivered. Nothing sinister there, it had been addressed to Danny via the team, and they had regarded it as fan mail, which wasn't common but wasn't unheard of, either.
Logan read through the contents carefully, trying to work out the angle. He knew more about the circumstance of James Fulford's rejection of his child than Danny did, and the words made him angry and indignant. He was glad Danny had chosen not to take this to Luanna. He needed to make his own investigations and work out what approach to take, before they panicked her with this.
And he was baffled. Danny would turn sixteen, in a matter of months. He wasn't far off from being an adult. Well, of an age where he could make his own decisions regarding any access arrangements. Way past all those milestones a parent might want to record for posterity—first tooth, first steps, first day at school, school plays, ball games. He might make graduation—just!
His other kids weren't of a similar age. The oldest was nine, the youngest almost six. He and his wife, Kimberly Scott, childhood sweetheart—just not the one he knocked up—had procreated like clockwork just shy of every two years. Three kids, all girls. Was that the angle? Man wants a son and heir? It was antiquated thinking, but a lot of families, especially the wealthier ones, wanted to retain their business and their bloodline through their sons with the family name. Except Danny didn't have the Fulford name, because they had never acknowledged him, so that made no sense, either.
Or maybe it was just as straightforward as it seemed on the surface. Young, immature teenager runs away from his responsibilities then realises he's made a mistake, a few years down the line, when he finally has other kids to make him realise and remind him of what he threw away? That there was another child, a sibling to the ones he cared for at home, and a son, something he and Kimberly didn't have. For Logan, logic kept circling back to that.
If James Fulford suffered any guilt or misgivings for the child he'd denied, then it would have been soon after the birth of his oldest daughter. Instead, a decade had passed since that occurrence, and more than five years since the last. Three kids in four years. Probability determined that he wasn't going to father any more at this stage. Had they kept trying for a boy and decided to get off the roulette wheel after three girls because they didn't want to keep playing the odds, perhaps? He'd dig there a bit, see what he could find out. Because neither the timing nor the rest of it made any kind of sense.
He hung around in the bleachers for the duration of Danny's session and ran what information he could find on his laptop. He checked financials, business information and productivity. He even called in a couple of favours from associates whom he realised probably knew the Fulfords and hit pay dirt with a gregarious woman he'd met through the Blackwood merger with Universal Holdings, whom he realised lived close to the village where James and Luanna had gone to school.
"Hey, Marlena, I'm after a little bit of local knowledge," he hedged, aiming to keep his enquiry pointed at the business. Marlena knew Blackwood's brokered other companies; she would draw her own conclusions without any confirmation from Logan. As soon as he mentioned the Fulford name, he knew he'd struck gold.
"Urgh!" Marlena expressed her disgust. "You don't live in this area without knowing of the Fulfords. Bunch of snobs who think they're next to God! Fulford senior is a tyrant, treats his staff like shit, acts as if he owns them. Junior's got no backbone at all. He's your typical 'yes man'. Daddy says jump, he's the type who asks how high."
Logan filed away that little piece of information and kept his questions on the workplace. "Is the company stable, thriving?"
"It would thrive a whole lot better if they treated people a darn sight fairer," Marlena criticised. "High staff turnover. Apathy with those who have no choice but to stay employed. This is a small, rural area. There aren't that many opportunities around here, unless you want to move away, so Fulfords think they can get away with pretty much anything. Is Blackwood looking at a takeover?"
Logan mulled over the question. He had hoped she wouldn't ask outright.
"Just checking out the lay of the land, a little 'off the record' feasibility scan, so to speak, so keep it to yourself, eh? May not come to anything. It's one of a few under consideration, but if we do move on it, we wouldn't want to tip them off."
"My lips are sealed," Marlena promised. "As far as I'm concerned, a takeover couldn't happen to a more deserving company."
"So, tell me what you know," Logan asked smoothly. He might just put Fulford's up for consideration at the next board meeting, after all.
"Well, there's trouble in paradise, as far as the gossip goes. Don't know how much fact there is in any of it, but where there's smoke, there's usually fire and all that, and I'm inclined to believe there's some truth in it. It's the kind of stunt that Senior would pull," she muttered derisively.
"What have you heard?" Logan asked, trying to contain the buzz of personal excitement behind a professional exterior.
"Word is that Fulford Senior is less than impressed that James Junior has failed to provide a male heir. He's been pressing on the family to have another kid to continue the bloodline, to keep trying until he gets what he wants. Junior's enough of a sap to go along with it, too, but the wife has put the kibosh on that one, refused to be turned into a baby factory, so the rumour goes, but more than that. She had a tough time with the third child, nearly lost it and was told it was dangerous for her to have any more." Marlena took a breath then carried on. "But she still bowed to the pressure, got pregnant again a couple of years ago, three maybe, and this time, she did lose the baby—another girl—so word was that Senior wasn't too cut up about the demise. It seems, however, that all that was the last straw for Mrs. F. The loss, the upset, the lack of support from hubby, the constant pressure and, finally, the heartless attitude of pop-in-law." Marlena's voice reflected a certain sympathy for the woman. "Anyway, grapevine has it that Mrs. F threatened to overturn the boat. Threatened to up sticks and leave and take the girls with her." There was a pause. "Probably wouldn't have been too much skin off the old man's nose. My take is he'd be just as happy to draft in a new model and start the reproductive chain off again with fresh breeding stock," she snorted. "Not that simple, though, since the Missus' family are heavily invested in the company, so it could have shaken things up a tad too badly."
"If this all went down three years ago, it sounds like things are back on an even keel," Logan prompted.
"You'd think, wouldn't you, but then comes the real bombshell. Suddenly, there's talk that James Junior got a little bit carried away, sowing his wild oats in his teenage years. Apparently, dear old Dad tidied up the mess for him. The girl's father was an employee, so the family was 'relocated' to spare young James any embarrassment. Thing is the child of this union is rumoured to be a boy. Not only that, but the lad's got to be an adult by now. No dirty butts to change and snotty noses to wipe. Fully grown, college age, ready to be moulded into his grandfather's image, so the heat is on to track him down."
And bingo! Logan's glee was tempered with disgust, but knowledge was power, and with this knowledge, he could mount a powerful defensive. The only thing he didn't know was how much to tell Danny. But what he did know was that it was time to bring in Luanna.
"How's your mother?" Logan asked the boy as he drove him back home after practice had finished. He tried to make the question light and conversational, but Danny was no fool. Logan was surprised the lad didn't have attitude with him, the way he'd left without so much as a goodbye and not bothered to keep in touch. Whatever Luanna had told him, the kid must have wondered.
"She's okay,"
Danny said pensively, as if he, too, was measuring his words with care. He sighed, and Logan got the feeling Danny had made some kind of decision. "She's sad," he finally said, bluntly. "More than anything, she's just sad. She tries to make out that there's nothing wrong and that you've just had to head back to your home on the south coast, because that's where you're based and all that, but really, it's like some light has gone out inside her."
Logan felt his heart stutter. The brief, rare periods he saw her at the office when he was in town, she was formal and aloof—all business. Hearing the truth of how she was in private, from a kid, no less, somehow made it all the worse. She was so stiff and proper in her dealings with him at work that it was hard to imagine she was the same woman who had writhed and screamed beneath him. He'd actually started to believe that she had simply swept him out of her life and moved on and that very thought had flayed his soul until it was raw. He'd been at a complete loss as to how to fix things between them, and the more time that passed, the more impossible it had seemed, and it was killing him. He hadn't even been to the club—either of them—since they'd split. He just couldn't bring himself to try tying his knots around any other woman, never mind anything more intimate. Luanna was it for him. If he didn't get her back, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Danny was quiet now, but he watched Logan as he drove, with intense, speculative eyes that made Logan shift in his seat in discomfort.
"I love your mother," he said finally, honestly, and realised that he wanted to tell the boy the truth. "Logistically, things are a problem. There's no opening at the south coast office for your mum to move into. I could take her there, anyway, move both of you in with me. She wouldn't need to work; I have more than enough money for that not to be an issue." Logan blew out a breath. "Truth is I've never given her that option, because I think she'd be insulted by it. She'd not the type to be happy as a 'kept woman'."
Danny laughed, and Logan relaxed slightly. "You're right there. She'd probably rip your head off if you suggested it, but…" he trailed off.
"It's not just that," Logan continued. "There's your schooling. I know she won't disrupt that, and then there's the matter of moving you both away from your grandparents. They've played a huge part in both of your lives, above and beyond the usual. I don't think she'd want to be so far away from them."
"No," Danny agreed thoughtfully, and Logan could all but hear the lad's brain ticking over. "Why can't you just move here?"
"It's not that simple, Danny. Most of my work is on the south coast. It's where I need to be based."
There was quiet for a few blocks, just the sound of tyres eating up the tarmac and the subdued babble and whine of people and traffic outside the closed windows.
"Can't you just find another job? One closer to here?" The question dropped into the silence like a bomb, and then Danny followed it up with a grenade. "Heck, you just told me you're loaded; why do you even need to work at all? If she means as much as you say, seems like it wouldn't be that hard, in your position, to find a way 'round it."
Logan was reeling. Give up his job; find another? Just the idea fried his brain, but it was the core of truth in Danny's words that really startled him. He didn't need to work for a living; he was a millionaire in his own right and had been since he'd graduated university and his trust fund had matured. And if he wanted to work, well, hell, he could find another job. It hadn't ever occurred to him. Blackwood was his whole life, not just the company but the people, the family.
They pulled up on the street outside Luanna's tired apartment block. Danny, it seemed, had one more offensive up his sleeve. He fingered his pocket. Logan had noticed the gesture a few times during the trip. He had taken it for nerves at the situation he found himself in, but finally, the kid pulled a small box out of his pocket.
"I found this," he faltered. "I probably shouldn't have brought it with me, when I came to meet you, but it seemed right at the time." He stared down at the box, contemplating, and Logan knew he was battling with himself, deciding whether to continue or just slip it back in his pocket again. "She usually wears it, herself," he revealed finally. "But she stopped a few days ago and put it back in the drawer."
A few days ago? That was when Logan had come back to the east coast. Was there a link?
"It's not hers, though," Danny disclosed, "Well, it is, but she really bought it for you. Cost her a bundle, too, money she couldn't afford, out of the savings."
Logan felt a vice squeeze around his chest and was overwhelmed by the desire to snatch the box out of Danny's hand and see what Luanna had dipped into her son's prized college fund to get him.
"She thinks I don't know. Adults always think that about kids. They think they're so careful and secretive, but we always know—like the club and the ropes and the photos."
Logan choked on the breath that he sucked violently in and thanked God he was parked. Danny ignored his reaction and, instead, took the lid off the box and drew out the amber lion pendant, dangling it in front of Logan's face.
Danny's shocking words were dashed from his mind. It was unquestionably a man's necklace. The sight of it brought back a memory of sweet words whispered in a haze of emotional indulgence and sexual gratification as she'd traced the curves of his tattoo and run her fingers through his hair.
'You remind me of a lion with your amber eyes and that mane of hair and all those sleek muscles.'
He recognised the symbolism of the silver Celtic setting and how it reflected his ink. Logan lifted a hand, hesitating to touch it. It was stunning. She'd bought this for him. She'd spent her hard-earned salary, which she so carefully misered away for Danny's future. She refused to spend on herself beyond the necessities, refused to upgrade to a better apartment, even though she could afford it, now that she worked for Blackwood's, because every spare penny was put away for her son, but she had bought him this. And that told Logan everything he needed to know.
He wasn't supposed to contact her or speak to her. HR directives forbade it. He wondered if Luanna knew that.
Well, it couldn't be helped anymore. Danny had come to him for help, and what the hell, he could get another job if he needed to, because, by God, she was worth it. And when he saw her, in a few short minutes, talking was not something he wanted to bother with at first.
Luanna was surprised to see Logan's car pull up outside her apartment block. She was even more surprised to see Danny step out of the vehicle and Logan following her son up the walkway to the front door.
The sight of him had her knees going weak and her heart rate thundering, just like always. Damn it, she loved that man. There was no getting away from it. As much as she tried to persuade herself otherwise, that everything they'd shared had been built on a foundation of sand that was never going to hold, she couldn't help the sheer yearning she felt or the way her mouth went dry as she watched that lithe, limber stride and the way the sun picked out the highlights in his long, caramel hair.
He was still wearing a suit, and he looked completely edible. The sight of the man in a suit just did something for her. It was almost embarrassing. He'd clearly come directly from the office, which didn't explain why he had Danny in tow.
She looked down at herself and was besieged by a sharp need to run and change out of the thin leggings and ancient, oversized sweatshirt that she wore for comfort. She held her ground deliberately. This is who she was, and she refused to mould herself into anything different. Especially not for a man who'd walked away without a backward glance and dragged her tattered heart through the mud behind him without a second thought.
She faltered, wondering what to do with herself when Danny let him in the house. Danny had a key, so he wasn't going to knock, and he'd invite Logan in because she'd brought him up to mind his manners. She turned toward the bedroom and thought about hiding, diving in the shower maybe, so she didn't have to see him. Maybe if she wasn't around, he'd get the hint and leave.
She took it a step further and considered jumping out of the emergency
exit window in her bedroom as if she'd never been here at all.
The growl that rumbled in her throat was audible. She was no coward! Instead, Luanna stalked into the kitchen and started pulling out the makings for dinner. Clattering pots and pans, she pretended she didn't notice when Logan stepped into the open plan living space behind Danny.
Danny mumbled a cheerful, noncommittal greeting and made a beeline for his bedroom, saying he needed to shower. She cursed him silently up and down but still refused to look at Logan as she tore open a package of minced beef and dumped it in a pan, her movements jerky with an edge of quiet violence to them.
"Luanna." He said it softly, but it still made her jump. He was standing just a few feet away, and for a long moment, they both just stared at each other.
Then it was as if something tangible snapped. She didn't know if she'd moved or if he had, but a second later, they were in each other's arms and his lips were on hers, soft and full and beautifully desperate, and they ravaged each other and fumbled and groped and caressed in a scramble of hands and gasps and satisfied, heartfelt sighs.
Devouring each other with a blinding passion and hunger which didn't recede until Danny stood looking at them, hands on his hips, fresh from the shower and exclaimed, "Jeez, have you two not got all that out of the way still?"
Chapter 15
It said something that she didn't immediately jump away, as if she'd been singed, at her son's intervention. Instead, Luanna chuckled tearfully with a hiccupping hitch in her breath and lay her head on Logan's shoulder, closing her eyes and doing her best to regulate her breathing and her heart rate while still revelling in the glorious sensation of having his arms closed tightly around her.
She felt safe and secure for the first time in months, instead of battling with the constant sensation of being set adrift. She didn't care what had gone before. All the trials and tribulations were nothing compared to the emptiness of not having him close.