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Placing my hand on his, I squeeze gently before bumping my knee into his. I’m here, no matter how little or how much he needs me. I’m here.
As soon as Jenny joins us, he launches into it, his grip tightening on my leg. “I need you to tell me everything. Start at the beginning or the end, I don’t care. But no more secrets.”
Jenny visibly swallows but nods before taking a deep breath. “First, I’m so sorry, Logan. I—”
“Please…I just need answers,” he says, cutting her off. “Because this reallyfuckinghurts.”
She nods again and clears her throat before folding her hands in her lap. She’s so obviously nervous, and I want to sympathize with her, but as I feel Logan’s pain from beside me, it’s difficult to even comprehend.
It’s a second of torture before she finally speaks, and when she does, she hits us with the first truth. “Despite what we may have let you believe, Logan, your dad didn’t know about Liam untilafterhis mom…after Elizabeth had died.”
My eyes widen and I feel Logan stiffen beside me, but neither of us speak, waiting for her to keep going.
“Elizabeth worked for your dad here in San Francisco as part of the in-house training program they were trailing. The one that didn’t require a degree. So, she was younger than most of his employees. Yet, your dad was so impressed with her work, he offered her an ongoing position at the San Diego office, if she wanted to move, and she jumped at the chance. Long story short, apart from the maternity leave she took, they worked together for four years and he raved about her. He was like a father figure to her. I’d even met her a few times. And from my point of view, everything seemed aboveboard.”
While it’s nice to hear a bit about my sister, it doesn’t really answer anything for Logan, and I can tell from his silence that he’s thinking the same thing.
“When Elizabeth died,” Jenny continues, “we discovered she’d named your father as Liam’s dad, without ever mentioning it. It obviously came as a complete shock to both of us, and it broke my heart. Considering how close she and Ray were, it wasn’t hard to believe he could have cheated on me. Even though he swore up and down that he hadn’t.But why else would he have been named?I was hurting, Logan. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and the second I met Liam, I knew I’d love him and wanted it to all go away. I told Ray I’d forgive him as long as he never mentioned it again. And he didn’t. Even to you.”
“But he searched for Liam’s real dad behind the scenes, right?” Logan says and my eyes shoot to his. “I’d bet that’s how he found you, Dani. He was looking for Liam’s dad.”
My chest tightens as I think back to that day. The day I received a call out of nowhere, telling me I had a nephew and that my sister had died. An emotional day all around. I thought things were messed up back then, but it’s nothing compared to now.
“That’s right,” Jenny says, with a nod. “He searched right up until it became obvious that he and Liam were related. Then he gave up. You just have to look at their eyes—eyes that you share—to know it. While Liam’s were always blue, it was more of a blue gray, the color most children are born with, but as he got older, they changed to the same bright blue he has now, and his hair got the same light brown flecks that yours has, when he’d previously been so blond it was almost white. There was no doubt in my mind that Ray was Liam’s dad. The evidence was clear. But he continued to fight it, and as you know, he even had a paternity test to prove otherwise. He just wasn’t expecting to get those results. Or maybe he was? I don’t think I would have believed him if he’d just told me he suspected you were the father.”
Logan runs a hand down his face and sighs. “This is so fucked-up.”Not wrong there.
Jenny opens her mouth, and I can tell she desperately wants to scold him for swearing but she doesn’t. Instead she nods and waits for him to say more.
“That explains why I never knew anything before, but why the hell didn’t you tell me once you’d figured it out?”
Jenny’s face pales and tears prick her eyes. “That was my fault. I was so scared, Logan. You’re so young, and still in college and your heart… I didn’t want to add more to your plate. But I would have told you. I never planned to keep it a secret forever.”
My jaw drops becauseholy shit.There’s no excuse for what they did.None.
“I’m guessing Dad wanted to tell me. Because toward the end, he was trying, wasn’t he?” Logan asks, and his tone holds an edge that makes my chest ache. If Jenny says yes, the guilt is going to kill him.
Her face falls; she definitely sees it too. But instead of more lies, she’s finally honest. “He was thinking about it, yes.”
“Fuuck!” Logan springs from the chair and starts pacing the room. “I…we…fuck.”
Jumping up, I stop him in his tracks and grab his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. Whether he was going to tell you or not, he didn’t. And there’s nothing you can do to change it now.”
“I never let him. I never listened. I pushed him away.”
“He could have told you he hadn’t cheated years ago. He could have tried to clear the air back then. Please don’t do this. Let’s focus on Liam. He’s the most important person right now.”
That seems to snap him out of it because his eyes flash to mine, and he subtly nods before moving back to the table.
He’s about to sit back down when Jenny’s alarm goes off on her phone and she sighs. “I have to get Liam. But will you stay?”
Logan visibly stiffens, so I offer to help. He needs to get this all sorted. And he needs to do it now.
“Why don’t I get Liam?” I say, ignoring Logan’s reaction beside me. “That way you can both continue to talk. Work things out. For Liam’s sake.”
Jenny nods and says, “Thank you,” while Logan reaches for my hand, silently pleading with me not to go.
“I won’t be long. I promise.” I hold my breath, waiting to see if he agrees, and when he nods, I release it and squeeze his hand before walking away.
