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Logan glanced around the room.It wasn’t like he hadn’t been in her apartment before, but now he had time to study it.A good-sized TV on a stand across the room, a small DVD player, DVDs, and two bookcases full of books.
He grinned.Ellie like to read, and from what he could see from the sofa, romance and fantasy.He looked carefully at the romance books and saw some titles that were carried in Damon’s store.Interesting choices.He turned his head as she walked back in with his beer in a mug.
“Here you go.”She handed him the mug then took a seat in the overstuffed chair.Ellie tangled her fingers together.
Was she nervous?Upset?He didn’t think so, but there was something on her mind.Was it what happened today?He sipped his beer, then set it on the coaster on the side table.
“You’re looking nervous; what is it?”
“I do?”Her hand fluttered to her lips, then dropped.“I guess I am.”
“I can leave if that would help.”
“No.”Ellie shifted in her seat.
“Is it about what happened today?”While she seemed to handle everything at the time, sometimes, once the event was over, reality set in.
“Partially.”
“I can tell you the ex was booked.His arraignment won’t be until Monday, so he’ll spend the weekend in jail.”
Ellie nodded.“Odds are the judge will let him go.”
Logan stiffened.She was right.He hated it, but the guy’s release was likely.“I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”
“Not your fault.Unfortunately, the laws we have don’t treat restraining order violations or domestic violence the way they should.”
“I agree.But this time, he threatened another person, not just his ex.The judge will take that into consideration.”
She nodded, but he saw something flash in her eyes.Her ex had hurt her, but how much?His muscles tightened.Logan knew he would defend Ellie from any danger.Always.“How can I help you?”he asked softly.
She looked at her hands in her lap.“There really isn’t much you can do.”
Damn.Today must have brought up memories she couldn’t control.Did that mean she was going to tell him she couldn’t finish out her mentorship with him?His chest hurt.How would this affect them at the club?He needed to get her talking.Maybe taking a different tack would help.“We haven’t talked too much about triggers.”
“Triggers?”Her voice was soft.
“Yes.Something I might do in play that will bring back a bad memory or cause you to panic.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.I don’t know if I have any.”
“Please come sit with me.”He patted the cushion next to him.
Ellie stood as the oven timer went off.“Dinner,” she said.
“Can you put it on warm, I’d really rather talk this out before dinner.”He kept his voice soft to avoid making her feel like he was ordering her to do anything and dinner talk could be more relaxed.
“All right.”She walked slowly into the kitchen, and it took her a few minutes to return.This time, she sat on the sofa and curled her legs under her so she faced him.
“You told me you were eighteen when you married and twenty-one when you got a divorce.”
“That’s right.”
“How did your parents take it?”He was curious because she’d mentioned her parents’ lifestyle choices.
“They just smiled and said these things happened.By the time my divorce went through, Mom was on her fourth marriage and Dad on his fifth.”
Logan whistled.If he’d known her then, she wouldn’t have had to worry about marrying the ass who hurt her.He would’ve made sure she was taken care of and safe.“That must have been rough.”He had lost his father, but he was always sure of his parents’ love and devotion to each other and to their children.
