Page 20 of Twisted Fate

“She told you to stop working, didn’t she?” Logan asked with his own lifted eyebrow as he put the juice in front of her.

It was something he’d tried to talk her into since that day at the courthouse. She didn’t want to stop working, though. Well, she did, she really did, but he’d also wanted her to move in with him until after the babies came, and that wouldn’t work at all. She’d crawl into bed with him, despite how much she felt like a whale, and try to do things she shouldn’t. It was hard to control herself when she was at home alone, if she was with him it would be impossible.

“Well.” She hedged again, not willing to meet his eyes.

“She did! Keily, you have to stop being so stubborn. Fine, you don’t want to live in the apartment, and you don’t want to move in with me, but at least stop working.”

“I can’t have you paying my bills, Logan. I can’t.” She pouted and glared at him.

She couldn’t help it, that was how she felt, like she was being bullied by her doctor and him into quitting work. So, what if her feet, legs, and back would adore it if she didn’t go into the diner ever again, but that meant dipping into her savings or taking money from him. Neither of those options were good ones as far as she was concerned.

“Please? It would be the best Christmas present you could give me.” He pleaded; his brown eyes full of sadness.

“I’ll think about it.” She paused to move, two of the babies had decided to kick her, even though she was comfortable for once. That didn’t happen often lately.

“Okay. What else is new?”

Keily smiled and told him about Violet’s new boyfriend, Alice’s new goldfish that her mommy’s new boyfriend got for her, and how Rosa was off with her couple. It wasn’t something that Rosa was trying to hide, and she’d talked about both in front of Logan a few times he’d been around her with Keily since he came back.

“I’m glad she’s happy, Rosa. Well, your sister too, but I’ve not met her yet so I can’t really be glad for her.” Logan stirred potatoes on the stove, his back to her.

“Rosa has the best of both worlds, I guess,” Keily said absently, remembering their adventures on that island again, that place he’d taken her to. Would she have time for such adventures after the babies came? she wondered. All the mommy groups online went on and on about what hell motherhood was and how you’d never have privacy again but talked about the joys of motherhood at the same time.

Those groups confused and scared Keily, so she’d not been back to any of them for a while now. She knew motherhood wasn’t going to be easy, but she couldn’t decide if most of those women were silently screaming for help or if they were reveling in each other’s misery. It didn’t seem healthy, the way they judged each other and the way they talked about their lives, so she’d just started to avoid them.

“It’s almost ready, I hope you’re hungry, today?” Logan asked and Keily looked up at him with a smile.

“Starving, as usual.” She answered and moved again, the pain a throb in her back now. “But I might need a different chair.”

“We’ll eat in the living room if you want.” He said quickly, ready to help her move if she needed it.

“That sounds good. I’m sorry, it’s just that my back is hurting.”

“Not a problem, let me help you up.”

It would be like this, she thought as he helped her up, one hand wrapped around hers, the other out to catch her if she started to fall.

He was always so willing, so ready to help her out and be there for her. She let herself lean into him once she was up and for a moment their eyes met. The gold flecks in his eyes were apparent in the sunlight streaming in through the windows and they fascinated her. They always had.

His eyes fell to her lips and hers went to his. Time stopped and she forgot to breathe. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel him against her, wanted her memories and dreams to be real for once. She leaned into him and almost groaned when her belly got in the way. It was a reminder that she had too much to lose by trusting him to keep her heart in one piece, and that brought her up, away from him.

“Thanks.” She mumbled and turned to walk into the living room.

This was a mistake, but she’d known it would be. Between her body wanting to jump his bones and her heart wanting to wallow in his gaze, she was headed for a mistake she couldn’t walk away from easily.

“This is why you need to stop working, Keily.” Logan sighed as he came in with a plate full of food a little while later. He set up a table for her to eat from and put a glass of juice and her plate on it, along with her fork and knife. “You’re in so much pain, and you don’t have to be.”

She looked at the mound of food on her plate and her stomach growled. Mistake or not, she was starving, and she couldn’t turn down what smelled like very good food. Instead of answering him, she took a bite of mashed potatoes and moaned in delight.

What he’d said was true, she was in a lot of pain, so maybe she would give the job up, for now. She hated her boss but liked her coworkers. She’d hate not working with them, but her boss was becoming more than she could deal with. He kept making comments about how big she was, complained that it put her customers off, even though her pregnancy didn’t put anyone off at all.

It seemed to make people eager to touch her and talk to her, if anything. They all wanted to feel the baby kick, which she didn’t mind, but sometimes it did annoy her, especially when it was a man. Kids and old ladies she didn’t mind, grown men she shied away from if they asked. Staying home, putting her feet up, and relaxing for the next three months would be…heaven.

Logan came in and put on A Christmas Story to watch as they ate. Ralphie was flopping down the stairs in his pink Easter bunny outfit when the television came on and Keily laughed. It was tradition to watch the film, ever since she was a kid, and she laughed every year, even though she knew what was going to happen.

“I can’t wait for our kids to be old enough to watch these old favorites with us.” She said after her last bite of food. She wiped her mouth and sat back against the couch. “That was delicious.”

“Thank you and yeah, I’m looking forward to watching the kids grow up. It wasn’t something I’d really considered, I didn’t plan on having a family but, and I know this is hard to believe, I’m really looking forward to having children.” He sat back, done with his own plate now.