11. Kaylee
Eleven
Kaylee
I sit on Logan’s bed and look out the windows at the trees. I can hear their muffled voices from downstairs, Hailey’s much louder than Logan’s. I wince when I hear the words “gold digger” come out of Hailey’s mouth.
Ouch.
That was not how we wanted Hailey to find out. We thought we had a lot more time before she came home, and would find a way to break the news to her gently, to warm her up to the idea. Instead, she walked in on us devouring each other in the kitchen. Of course she was shocked.
What if she refuses to accept our relationship? What if I cause a rift between Logan and his daughter?
What if she makes him choose and he chooses her?
What ifs swirl around my head as the voices continue downstairs, and I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold it together. I don’t think I could bear to lose Logan after only just finding him. I feel like I’ve finally found my home with him. Where I’m meant to be. If he walks away, I won’t be okay.
But I can’t ask him to walk away from his own daughter, either. I would never do that.
My stomach churns sickly, and I take several slow breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth.
“Knock knock,” says Hailey from the open doorway. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I say softly, patting the bed beside me. Hailey crosses the room and sits down, and I’m struck by how much she looks like Logan. She has his same thick, brown hair and same deep brown eyes. Her mouth and nose are different, but there’s something in the shape of her face that’s reminiscent of him. For one crazy moment, it makes me wonder what our babies would look like. She’s quiet for a minute, her eyes scanning the room.
“So,” she begins, looking over at me. “You and my dad, huh?”
I nod, my fingers twisting together in my lap. “Yeah. Me and your dad.”
Hailey is silent for a moment, studying me. “You know, Dad never really dated much after he and Mom split up. Sometimes I wondered if he was still hung up on her, but maybe it was more that he was waiting for the right person to come along. He sure seems to think that right person is you.” She shrugs slowly. “And he’s not usually wrong about stuff.” She flashes me a small smile.
Relief washes over me, and I feel my shoulders relax. “I’m sorry for the way you found out about our relationship. Obviously not ideal.”
“Um, no. Obviously not,” she agrees with a little laugh. “But you don’t have anything to be sorry for. Like Dad said, you’re both adults.”
“Thank you. For understanding.”
She nods, and silence falls between us again. We’re not friends, not yet, but my hope is that maybe someday we can be. That this is a place to grow from.
“I get it, you know.”
I turn my head to look at her. “Get what?”
“The whole older man thing.”
“I’m not a gold digger,” I say softly, and she winces.
“You heard that?”
“You were pretty loud.” I shrug.
She sighs. “I was shocked and what I said was ugly and rude. I’m sorry. I actually don’t think you’re after Dad’s money.” She pauses, curling her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “Anyway, I mean I get the whole older man thing because there’s this guy I have a crush on…” She trails off.
“At school?”
“Ha, no. He’s…totally out of reach, but I still get it. If I had the chance to…” She glances at me, her cheeks a little pink. “I’m rambling. I do that when I’m nervous.”
I laugh. “Me too! My mouth takes on a life of its own.”
Hailey grins. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how awkward was it when I walked in on you two?”
I laugh again. “Um, like a fifteen.”
Hailey laughs, too. “Well, at least you had clothes on. Now I don’t have to bleach my eyeballs.”
Warmth fills my chest, and I decide to follow the feeling. “How long are you in town for?”
“Just a couple of days. I have to go back on Sunday.”
“I’d really love to hang out before you leave. Maybe we can have lunch tomorrow?”
She hesitates briefly, but then smiles. “Okay. Sure.”
Just then, Logan appears in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “All good in here?”
Hailey nods and then stands. “All good. She and I are going to have lunch tomorrow.”
Logan smiles, lines fanning out around his eyes. “That’s great.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” she says, and Logan steps aside to let her pass.
“There’s leftover Chinese on the kitchen island, help yourself,” he calls as she heads down the stairs. He crosses the room, his eyes locked on me, then sits beside me on the bed and cups my cheek. “You okay?”
I nod, leaning into his touch. “Yeah. We had a good talk. She’s shocked, but I think she’s trying. I’m trying, too.”
His thumb brushes gently across my cheekbone. “Good. She’s important to me. And so are you, Kaylee.”
My heart is like a hummingbird in my chest as I voice the question I need to ask. “Logan…are you sure about this? About us? I don’t want to cause problems between you and Hailey.”
He turns to face me fully, his other hand coming up to frame my face. “I’m sure, Kaylee. I love you. I want you. I want us. Hailey will be okay. I promise.”
I smile, my eyes stinging and my chest expanding with the size of my heart. “I want us, too,” I whisper. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything, I want us.”
Logan’s eyes are soft and warm, and he leans in, pressing his forehead to mine. “Then you have your answer.” Then he leans in, brushing a soft, gentle kiss across my lips. “I mean every single word I’ve said to you, Kaylee. Every. Single. Word. And I’m not a man who runs at the first sign of a storm. Whatever happens, we’ll weather it together.” He kisses me again, and it feels like a promise.
When he pulls back, he leaves his hands on my face, this thumbs tracing my cheeks. “I love you, Kaylee Murphy. You’re the prettiest girl, the sweetest lover, and without a doubt the funniest, cutest, most endearing kidnapper I’ve ever met.”
My heart swells to the point where I’m amazed I can breathe. “I love you, too, Logan. My sexy protector, my loving caretaker, my Daddy. My perfect, amazing hostage.”
He laughs and kisses me. “I have to say, I love the sight of you on my bed.”
A little thrill courses through me. I’m on Logan’s bed. I suddenly want to smell his pillow.
“Tonight, I’m going to have you naked in this bed, Kaylee. Naked and moaning my name as I make you come over and over again.” He kisses me, and I wish we were alone right now so I could maul him. “Fuck, baby. I want inside you again so bad.” We start kissing again, and heat pools between my thighs.
“Are you coming to eat? The food’s going to get cold if you don’t stop making out!” calls Hailey up the stairs and we break apart, laughing.
“Welcome to the family,” he whispers, then kisses my forehead and helps me up off the bed.
And for the first time in my life, that’s what I feel like I’ve found with Logan. Not just love, but a place to belong. A place to call home.
A family.