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“Logan —”
“I can’t take care of a teenager.”
“Logan —”
“No, Grace, you don’t understand.” He swallowed hard, and I found myself struck dumb by the fear in him. All this time I thought Logan MacLeod feared nothing, was intimidated by no one, was somehow untouchable. It was u
That’s when I think I understood.
Logan MacLeod had been in prison. So who was he before that? And how much had it really changed him?
“It must have been difficult,” I said. “Being punished, treated like a criminal for merely protecting your family.”
His eyes hardened. “Don’t. Don’t you do that. Don’t you do what she’s doing.” He pointed to the wall that adjoined my flat. “Don’t glorify the situation.”
He wanted my bad opinion? Well, that didn’t make sense. I remembered how he jumped down my throat when we first met, and I knew now that he thought I was aware of his time in prison. Back then he misunderstood and he was pissed off at me for judging him and thinking badly of him. Now he wanted me to think badly of him?
Confused, I shrugged. “I guess I really don’t know what the situation was. But I do know what Maia’s situation is, and I’m fairly certain she’s your daughter, Logan. She deserves better than what she’s got. Right now better is you.”
He squeezed his eyes closed and kind of collapsed on his armchair. After taking a minute, he looked up at me. “I could call my parents and ask them to take her in.”
“No, you bloody will not!”
I jumped, startled as Sha
“Sha
“If you didn’t want me here, you shouldn’t have called me to tell me about your long-lost daughter.”
I shot Logan a questioning look.
He sighed. “When I stopped for petrol, I phoned her.”
Sha
“Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand and I noted the leather bracelets and aviator watch he was wearing, along with the chunky silver ring on his middle finger. He was that guy. Cool, tattooed, can-pull-off-man-jewelry guy. I tried not to blush and failed as I shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you too.” I smiled shyly and turned quickly back to Logan.
His eyes were narrowed on me.
“Back to what you just said,” Sha
Logan got to his feet. “Since when are you anti-parents again? First you ask me to walk you down the aisle; now you think I’m better parenting material than them? I thought we were over this.”
“Over this?” Sha
Suddenly I found myself finding kinship with another MacLeod girl in less than twenty-four hours. I didn’t know the details, but I was smart. I could put it together. It sounded like their parents blamed her for her own assault, for whatever asinine reason. But I’d been there. I got it.
I wanted to reach out a hand and tell her so.
Luckily for Sha
“I’m not saying they’re perfect,” Logan said, appeasement in his tone. “But they did raise us. I’m not ready for this, sweetheart. I’m just trying to get my life back together. I’m not set up to be a dad to a teenage girl.”
“Then you need to get ready,” Sha
Logan scowled. “That’s easy for you to fucking say.”
“Hey.” Cole’s voice held warning, as did his eyes.
Logan wasn’t fazed. “Don’t ‘hey’ me. You both waltz in here and it’s obvious you’ve got grand plans for me as a dad, but I’m trying to tell you I can’t do it.”
“Who are you?” Sha
“Don’t come into my house and start,” Logan warned softly. “You’ve known about this five seconds and you’ve clearly not given it proper thought.”
Sha
“She deserves a chance. You both do. And we deserve a chance to have a say in where she stays. She’s my family too.”
Logan jerked away. “You’re not even listening to me.”
“Logan —”
Before I could stop myself, I stepped in, cutting her off. “There’s a greater issue here.”
All three of them stared at me as if I had all the answers. I tried not to turn red with embarrassment under such expectation. “The greater issue for Maia is being with her father.” I locked eyes with a resistant Logan. “Maia chose you, Logan. If you abandon her when she needs you… Believe me” – I blinked back tears, remembering my own abandonment – “she’ll never get over the rejection.”
The room was still as my words sank in, and while I was unsure of Sha
He was wondering if I’d been abandoned.
And it was almost like he cared.
I was confused by the overwhelming sense of co
Sha
She nodded at him. Logan glanced over at Cole. He nodded too. “You know she’s right.”
Logan took a deep breath. “Right. Well, looks like a lifestyle change is in order.” He looked around his sitting room. “I’ll need to do something with this place, turn the second room into an actual bedroom. And fuck… I’ll need to talk to Braden. I can’t work those hours anymore.”
“You know he’ll do anything he can to help you out,” Cole assured him.
“I know.” Logan looked at me. “I also know you offered to let Maia stay with you until I have the paternity and the legal stuff sorted out, but you don’t have to do that. I get that we were all caught up in the moment, but it’s too much to ask.”