8. Logan
8
LOGAN
L ogan watched Serena kneel beside her leather potions kit, her nimble fingers sorting through various vials and herbs. A strand of hair escaped her messy bun, and his fingers itched to tuck it back.
"So," Serena said, clearing her throat. "When do I start?"
Logan crossed his arms, his muscles flexing beneath his worn henley. "How about right now?"
They began walking the perimeter of the sanctuary and Serena scribbled notes in a small notebook. The fence posts showed deep claw marks - Silas's calling card.
"A fear-based deterrent would work best," Serena said, adjusting her glasses. "Anyone approaching with harmful intentions would feel an overwhelming urge to leave."
Logan shook his head. "That's too passive. Silas needs something stronger - something that'll make him think twice about coming back."
"What did you have in mind? Thorns sprouting from the ground? Lightning strikes?" Serena's eyes narrowed. "Because I'm not doing anything that could seriously harm someone, even Silas."
"Come on, Serena. You know he won't stop unless we make him."
"And you know I won't cross that line." She jabbed a finger at his chest. "My magic isn't a weapon."
The familiar spark in her gray eyes stirred something in him. She'd always been like this - passionate, principled, infuriating. It was what drew him to her years ago.
"Fine," Logan growled. "What about something that stings? Like getting shocked by a cattle fence, but magical?"
Serena tapped her pen against her notebook. "I could work with that. But nothing stronger."
"You're still the most stubborn woman I've ever met."
"Pot, meet kettle." A hint of a smile played at her lips. "You're just mad because you know I'm right."
Logan fought back a grin. "Maybe. But don't let it go to your head."
The way she rolled her eyes at him, the slight upturn of her mouth - it was so familiar it ached. Working with her might be more dangerous than anything Silas could throw at him.
Logan soon led Serena to his workshop, a converted barn with weathered wood siding and wide windows that let in streams of afternoon light. The space smelled of sawdust and was filled with his tools and half-finished fence repairs.
"Not exactly a proper potions lab," he said, clearing off a workbench.
"I've worked with worse." Serena set down her leather bag, unpacking bottles and herbs. "Remember when we caught that summer cold, and I had to brew Pepper-Up potion in your mom's kitchen?"
"How could I forget? The steam set off all the smoke alarms."
Her quiet laugh sent warmth through his chest. Logan watched her work, her movements precise and practiced as she measured ingredients. The familiar scent of crushed herbs and magical catalysts filled the air.
"So, city life treated you well?" he asked, leaning against the wall.
"It was... different." Serena stirred the bubbling mixture. "Lots of pampered pets with neurotic owners. Though I did get to work with some exotic animals."
"Let me guess - you organized their medical records alphabetically?"
"By species, actually." She shot him a mock glare. "Some of us like having a system."
"Some of us like keeping things simple." He grabbed the bucket she'd filled with completed potion. "Ready to fortify some fences?"
They worked their way around the sanctuary's perimeter. Serena carefully applied the potion while Logan kept watch. The late afternoon sun warmed his shoulders as they talked about nothing and everything - her adventures in the city, his sanctuary's growth, mutual friends from town.
"Your turn to test it," Serena said, stepping back from the fence.
Logan reached out and touched the metal. A sharp tingle zapped through his arm, followed by a wave of confusion that had him blinking hard.
"Damn," he muttered, shaking his head clear. "That packs a punch."
"Good. Maybe it'll keep certain bears where they belong." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Logan's fingers twitched with the urge to do it himself.
"Speaking of bears, remember that time we found those cubs in the state park?"
"And their mama chased us up a tree?" Serena grinned. "You kept insisting you could reason with her, bear to bear."
"Hey, it worked eventually."
"After three hours!"
Their laughter echoed across the sanctuary grounds, as natural as breathing. For a moment, it felt just like old times - before everything had fallen apart.
Logan soon helped Serena pack her supplies into her leather bag. He watched her methodical movements as she wrapped each glass vial in protective cloth. The workshop's dim lighting caught the light blue flecks in her gray eyes, reminding him of summer storms. His bear stirred and wanted to reach out and touch her.
"Thanks for helping today," he said, handing her a mortar and pestle. "You've always been good at fixing things. Well… except for running off to vet school and never saying another word to me."
Those last words completely slipped out unbidden. The temperature in the workshop seemed to drop ten degrees. Serena's hands froze mid-motion, her fingers tightening around a bottle of crushed herbs until her knuckles went white.
Logan's bear instincts screamed at him to backtrack, but his human pride dug in its heels. He crossed his arms and leaned against the workbench, the wood creaking under his weight. The silence stretched between them like a rubber band about to snap.
The scent of her anger hit him - sharp and spicy, mixed with something deeper that might have been hurt. Her jaw clenched, a muscle ticking beneath her skin.
Shit. He'd really stepped in it this time. But damn it, wasn't there some truth to what he'd said? She had simply left, choosing her career over their relationship. The bear in him growled still nursing that old wound.
Serena's movements became precise, almost mechanical, as she continued packing. The gentle clink of glass bottles filled the charged silence. Logan watched her, torn between apologizing and defending himself. The workshop suddenly felt too small, too intimate, with her scent mixing with the sawdust and herbs.
His bear wanted to pull her close, to nuzzle that spot behind her ear that used to make her laugh. His human side wanted to argue his point. Both impulses warred inside him as he waited for her response.
Serena suddenly whirled around, her eyes flashing. "You want to talk about my running off? How about we discuss your complete inability to support my dreams?"
Logan's bear bristled at her tone. "Support? You dropped a bomb about moving across the country with zero warning."
"Zero warning? I talked about vet school since we were teenagers!" She slammed a bottle down on the workbench. "But you were too busy planning our perfect little life here to listen to me."
"Our life here was good." Logan's hands clenched at his sides. The scent of her anger mixed with herbs made his head spin.
"Good wasn't enough for me. I wanted something more." Serena jabbed at his chest.
"Yeah, and you made it very clear that 'something more' didn't include me when you left and never came back." The words tasted bitter on his tongue.
The color drained from Serena's face. Her lips trembled, and Logan's bear whined at the hurt in her eyes. Before he could say anything, she snatched up her leather bag and stormed out of the workshop.
"Serena, wait-" Logan followed her, his longer strides eating up the distance between them. The scent of her tears hit him like a punch to the gut.
She yanked open her car door. "I think we're done here."
"Come on, that's not-"
The door slammed. Her engine roared to life, and gravel sprayed as she peeled out of the sanctuary's parking area.
"Damn it." Logan pulled at his hair and paced the empty lot.
He'd gone too far. Way too far. Her divorce was still fresh for her, and here he was picking at old wounds like an idiot. Some protector he was turning out to be.
Logan kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the parking lot. The late afternoon sun beat down on his shoulders as he stood there, torn between chasing after her and giving her space.
"Smooth, Steele," he muttered to himself. "Real smooth."
His bear rumbled in agreement. They'd both wanted to hurt her like she'd hurt them - and succeeded spectacularly.
Logan trudged along the sanctuary's fence line as the setting sun painted long shadows across the grounds. The lingering scent of Serena's potions mixed with her anger still hung in the air.
He paused at the eastern corner where they'd worked together earlier and touched the fence. The magical tingle reminded him of her careful work and precise movements. Everything she did was measured, planned - except leaving him. That had been impulsive, desperate.
And entirely his fault.
"I was scared," he admitted to the empty sanctuary. His bear huffed in acknowledgment. "Scared she'd realize she was too good for this place. For me."
A fox poked its head out of its den, giving him an unimpressed look.
"I know. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that." Logan crouched down to check the fox's water bowl. "Instead of supporting her dreams, I tried to clip her wings. Real alpha male move there, huh?"
The fox yipped.
"Exactly. And now she's back, and I'm still acting like a territorial jackass." He straightened up and dusted off his jeans. "She wanted to be more than just Logan Steele's wife in a small town. Can't blame her for that."
His bear bellowed in agreement. They'd both known, even back then, that Serena was meant for bigger things. He'd just been too selfish to admit it.
The worst part? She'd come back anyway, life having dealt her its own hard knocks, and here he was, rubbing salt in her wounds instead of being the man he should've been ten years ago.
He'd have to fix this. Somehow. If only to keep her help with protecting the sanctuary. That's what he told himself, anyway, ignoring how his bear whined at the thought of never seeing her again.