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“I thought he had to serve a year?”
“That was the judge’s ruling, but he may appeal, and it looks like he’s going that route.”
“What would that mean for Rainey?”
“Calm down,” he urges, as my breathing and speech quicken. “It wouldn’t mean any immediate change to your guardianship. When your brother’s released—whenever that is—he’ll have to complete state-mandated requirements before any change can be made to Rainey’s guardianship.”
“Thank God.” A deep breath. “Chase, thank you for all of your help navigating this. It’s so confusing.”
“That’s what I am here for,” he reminds me. “I appreciate you calling sooner this time.”
After several hectic back-to-back weeks at the office, I set my work bag on the kitchen counter, thrilled for the weekend ahead. I start to track down Rainey to see how her day was at school, but I’m sidetracked by an envelope laying on the counter. Sounds of Logan and the girls playing above me flutter down the stairs. This is the first time I’ve seen my name written in Logan’s sprawling handwriting. My anticipation grows as I rip the envelope open, eager to read the love letter inside. Instead, there’s a check made out to me with the word ‘rent’ in the memo line. What the hell?
“Hey Logan, can you come down here?” I yell up the stairs and hope he can hear me over what sounds like a lot of fun.
My nerves wad into a ball in the pit of my stomach as he descends the stairs, planting a kiss on my mouth when he meets me at the bottom.
“How was work?” He asks and grins.
“What’s this?” I hold the check up.
“Rent.” He shrugs and tilts his head.
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? I received my first paycheck today. I’m paying you rent now that I can afford to.”
“I don’twantyou to pay me rent.”
“Noah, I’m not seeing the problem here. My daughter and I live in your home and use your resources. You’ve floated me the last two months, and I can pay my part now.”
We’re standing at the bottom of the stairs when I hear four feet stampeding toward us. I look up. Rainey and Maggie stand on the top step gawking at us.
“What are you doing?” Rainey asks, ever curious.
“We’re talking. Can you and Maggie go back to your rooms to play?” They disappear before I can second guess if I was too sharp.
“I don’t have a mortgage, I paid that off last year. You’ve been buying food with money from your side gig. And you’ve been taking care of my niece.” I exaggerate the last point. “You don’t owe me anything. I don’t want your money.” We’re at a standstill, but my feelings remain unchanged.
“Why is this upsetting you?” He pulls me in and holds me against his chest. “Take a deep breath for me.” The breath slows my heart rate enough that I accept I need to hear all of Logan’s reasoning. My worst fears remain on hyper drive, zooming through my head so fast I can’t keep up. He’s been more than a roommate for me most of his time living here. I thought it was mutual.
“What does this mean?” I pull away and hold the check back up.
“It means ‘Here’s some money to cover mine and Maggie’s part in the utility bills and other household expenses.’ What else would it mean?” The blank look on his face makes me feel dumb. I don’t want to explain to him I thought it meant he wanted to move back to being only roommates, and I feared I may have misinterpreted all the physical things we’ve shared.
“Uh, don’t worry about it.”
“No. We don’t shut down and leave things hanging between us.”
He’s right, and I hate it. Logan once told me my frankness was one of his favorite qualities about me, up there alongside my ass and my eyes. “I’m scared.” My lower lip trembles. “The last month has been better than anything I ever expected between us. I thought your check meant you wanted to go back to being friends—roommates. Becauseroommatespay each other rent, not people doing this,” I gesture between us.
“This?” He grins. “I don’t want to change anything between us, Noah. I just want to pay my part. Trust me—you’re overthinking and assigning meaning where there is none.”
I nod. I understand his reasoning, but I don’t like it.
A slight tension worms between us for the rest of the weekend, ruining the good mood I came home with on Friday. I spend individual time with Rainey, just us girls, even bundling up for a walk when Alexandria receives unexpected snow flurries. Logan seemed lost in thought after our rent conversation, but I don’t know how to ask him if something is bothering him without appearing nosy, or even worse, suffocating.
Sunday afternoon, Izabeth walks in my front door, surprising the hell out of me. Logan and the girls are upstairs playing nail salon, and I’m about a minute away from falling asleep on the couch.
