Chapter 4
4
L ogan woke up to the familiar pounding of Aunt Betty at his door. It was becoming a regular occurrence, and it usually meant that she wanted him to do something. He didn’t mind her demands, for the most part. Running to the store for a few groceries, dropping something off to someone from church, her errands were a small price for staying in her guesthouse, even if he was trying to work on it in the meantime.
The only difficult request, rather demand, had been the requirement to eat dinner with the family every night. Though after a week of nightly meals, he’d found that everyone had fallen into a comfortable routine. Erin cooked, Logan said the blessing, and the children talked about their days. When everyone had eaten their fill, Logan cleaned the kitchen while Erin tucked her children in for the night .
The pounding at the door continued, more urgent. “Logan Christopher West, are you in there?”
“Coming!” He pulled a shirt over his head. Aunt Betty never used his whole name. Whatever she needed this morning was serious. Heart racing, he raced to the door and whipped it open. “What’s going on?”
Logan did a quick assessment of the woman standing on the other side. She was wearing a hot pink dress and she looked okay. Better than okay, she looked nice.
His brows lowered. “Aunt Betty?”
“I’d like you to drive me to church this morning.”
“Church?” Logan took a deep breath and tried to slow his heartbeat. He’d thought something was wrong, but Aunt Betty wanted him to drive her to church.
She reached out and touched his arm. “I’m so sorry. It looks like I scared you. I just wanted to make sure I gave you enough time to get ready.”
Fresh from waking up in a panic, his brain struggled to make sense of what was happening. “Why can’t you drive yourself?”
“Oh, I can.” She smiled. “But I don’t want to.”
“What about Erin? Can she drive you?” He wasn’t sure if she and the children actually went to church, since he hadn’t stepped foot inside the building since being back in Frostford. But if they were all going, it would make sense for them to ride together .
Aunt Betty waved her hand in front of her face. “I don’t want her to worry about dragging me to church. Besides, I want you to take me. I want you to sit in the service.”
Logan’s heart picked up speed again. The last time he’d been in church was for Jake’s funeral, and he hadn’t been able to sit through the whole service, feeling too exposed, too raw. He’d left before anyone could see him. “I don’t think so.”
“I’d like to think you were smart enough to realize by now that I’m not really asking.”
He sighed. “I guess I’d better go get dressed.”
Aunt Betty reached out and pinched his cheek. “Sounds like a great idea.”
There was just enough time for Logan to get dressed, eat breakfast, and run a comb through his hair before Aunt Betty was ready to go.
After a short drive, they pulled into the church parking lot. He tugged at his cuffs as he got out and walked around the vehicle to open the door for Aunt Betty. She gave him a look he couldn’t quite decipher as she took his arm and lifted herself out of the car.
“Why don’t you give me the keys?” She held out her hand.
“Don’t trust me not to steal your precious baby?” he asked playfully.
“I don’t trust you not to take off in the middle of the service.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Logan’s smile lingered on his lips, but Aunt Betty wasn’t far off. He didn’t think she’d seen him when he bolted the last time, but the woman knew him well. Sometimes he wondered if she knew him better than he knew himself.
He put his arm out for Aunt Betty to grab as they walked up to the church. The small, white building was surrounded by big trees, and the steeple stuck out through the green leaves like a beacon leading all of those in Frostford to its welcoming doors. Logan and Aunt Betty walked through those front doors and were instantly welcomed by the folks that lingered in the foyer. It was a blur of commotion, and Logan barely registered seeing Ellis’s familiar face.
Aunt Betty’s friends welcomed him, as well as people he knew in his youth, though, just like Ellis, they all had grown in the time Logan was away. He wondered what he must look like through their eyes as he shook their hands and found himself in awkward embraces.
“All right, that’s enough of that,” Aunt Betty eventually said, pulling Logan from the throngs of eager greeters. “It looks like church is about to start. We will not be getting to our seats late just because everyone is excited to see you.”
Aunt Betty led Logan down the center aisle toward the front of the church. His steps stopped when he saw Erin’s blond curls and her two children sitting next to her .
Aunt Betty stopped and looked at him. “What’s the matter?”
He wiped his sweaty palms on the thighs of his pants. “I’m not going to leave—you can even quiz me on the sermon after if you want—but I can’t sit up there with Erin and the kids.”
Aunt Betty looked back and forth between the both of them. “Why not?”
“I ... ” It didn’t feel right sitting next to Erin and the kids in front of everyone, in front of God, like they were some picture-perfect family. Everyone in the church would know he didn’t belong sitting next to her.
Aunt Betty’s expression softened. “Okay, sweetie. Sit where you’re comfortable, and I’ll meet you at the car after the service.”
Logan released a long breath. “Thanks,” he said, and he walked toward the entrance and found a seat by himself in the very back.
Having grown up in this church, sitting right next to Aunt Betty most Sundays, Logan knew what to expect when the service started. He knew when to stand, when to sing, and when to close his eyes to pray. He tried to focus on the sermon as the preacher talked about forgiveness, but couldn’t stop his eyes from going to Erin and the children.
She sat with her back straight and her head turned toward the pulpit, with the rare exceptions of when she had to lean over and talk to Parker for bouncing around in his seat or ask Samantha to sit up. Each time, he noticed, she did it with a patient look on her face.
He’d been so enthralled with watching them interact, he’d barely noticed when the service was over. People started standing up all around him, and he was once more met with hellos and more questions about where he’d been all this time. Logan tried to answer them all politely, but when he found a small break, he exited the building as quickly as possible.
He was leaning against Aunt Betty’s car, since she’d commandeered the keys, waiting for her to come out, when Ellis spotted him across the parking lot.
“I thought I saw you in there,” Ellis called out and started walking over. A petite, redheaded woman and three little girls with the same bright hair trailed behind him.
“Hey.” Logan forced a friendly grin.
“Glad you made it to church today.” Ellis stuck his hand out for a handshake. “I’m guessing everyone wanted to know where you’ve been.”
Logan chuckled. “Yeah, it’s funny what a sabbatical from Frostford will do.”
“I guess I’m guilty of that too.” Ellis grimaced. “But I wanted to get a chance for you to meet my wife and daughters.” Ellis introduced Anne Marie and his three girls, all named after plants. Rose, Holly, and Fern.
Logan greeted them all in turn. A handshake for Anne Marie, and awkward waves at each of the girls, who giggled as they were introduced .
“I’m actually glad I caught you, since I didn’t get your number the other day at the store,” Ellis said. “Anne Marie and I’d love to have you over for dinner next week. How about Wednesday?”
“Um ... ” Wednesday was no different from any other day. He didn’t have plans other than to work on the house and eat dinner with the family. “Let me double check. I’m sure Aunt Betty has your number?”
“I’m sure she does.” He wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “If we don’t hear from you, we’ll plan on you coming by. We eat at six.”
“Wednesday at six. Got it.”
The family had just walked off when Aunt Betty finally walked out. “Sorry it took me so long. You’d think you were some kind of celebrity the way people kept pestering me about you. They all wanted to know when you got into town, how long you’d been here, and Janice had the nerve to give me her niece’s number like I was some kind of matchmaker.”
Logan’s eyes went wide. He did not want to go on any blind dates while he was in town.
“Don’t worry, I’m not setting you up with anyone’s niece or granddaughter or anything like that.”
“Whew.” Logan put his hand to his chest.
“Do you really have so little faith in me, Logan?” She handed him the keys.
No, he didn’t. Aunt Betty knew better than to try to set him up. He unlocked the door to let her in the passenger side, and was closing the door when he spotted Erin and the children walking out the front doors of the church.
Like a magnet, his eyes followed her as she guided Samantha and Parker to her car. As if she knew she was being watched, she looked up. Her eyes found Logan’s. They stared at each other across the parking lot. Logan wasn’t sure for how long, only that the spell was broken by Parker pulling on Erin’s arm. She said something to her son, and they started walking again.
Yeah, there was no way he’d be ready to be set up with someone’s niece anytime soon.
Erin had been looking forward to a quiet Sunday afternoon, but the bathroom floor was wet, and it took everything in her not to cry.
It had been weeks since she had a day all to herself. There was no baking, no home improvement projects, and she’d just dropped Samantha and Parker off at Anne Marie’s to play with the girls. Aunt Betty was off playing bingo with some of her friends, and Logan rarely came inside the main house.
The only thing on Erin’s agenda for the afternoon was a nice, long bubble bath. Now, it looked like she’d be handling another emergency instead of enjoying a restful Sabbath.
She sighed as she tip-toed across the bathroom tiles toward the toilet. The water was clear, thank goodness, but it was gently flowing over the rim of the toilet bowl. A quiet sound came from the tank that let Erin know that the water was still running.
Erin wasn’t a plumber by any stretch of the imagination, but she knew enough to turn off the water at the wall. Once the water stopped, she grabbed a bunch of towels to dry the floors. She hoped that the water might return to normal levels while she threw the towels into the wash, but when she returned to the bathroom, the bowl was still filled to the rim.
What am I supposed to do?
Erin pulled up some videos online, and tried using the plunger on the toilet, but it was no use. There was something else wrong with the toilet, and she wasn’t able to fix this alone. She could hire a plumber, but the guy in town charged a fortune. That would mean saying goodbye to a good chunk of her savings—something she wasn’t willing to do. It wasn’t much, but she’d earned every penny, and it was her ticket to eventually getting a place she and the kids could call their own.
She leaned up against the wall of the bathroom, taking in the mess in front of her. There was another option, though Erin didn’t want to admit it. Logan.
There were plenty of reasons not to ask for his help. She didn’t want to talk to him, didn’t want to be in his debt. Of course, there were just as many reasons for her to ask for his help.
Dreading having to talk to him, she walked out to the guesthouse and knocked on Logan’s door—simultaneously hoping he was there and hoping he wasn’t. She held her breath as she waited to see if he would answer. Footsteps came from the other side of the door, and soon Logan appeared.
He looked down at her through lowered brows. “Is everything okay?”
No, everything was not okay. She’d planned for a day of self-care and was now left asking the one person she didn’t want to ask for help. Tears started to fill her eyes and she shook her head.
“Erin.” Logan’s voice came out alarmed. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders. He leaned down so that their faces were level. “Is it Samantha or Parker? Aunt Betty?”
Erin took a step back, releasing from his grip. She felt a single tear fall. “It’s the toilet.”
Logan straightened to his full height. “The toilet?”
Her voice was shaky as she spoke. “It’s overflowing. I’ve tried turning the water off and using the plunger, but I can’t get it to drain or flush properly.”
Logan ran a hand through his hair. “You scared me. I thought something was wrong.”
“Something is wrong,” she said. “I can’t fix it and I can’t hire a plumber.” She closed her eyes and forced the words out. “I was hoping you might be able to help me.”
He opened his mouth and closed it.
“Please.” She hated asking, hated begging, but she needed help. If this could get fixed before Aunt Betty returned, or she had to get the kids, maybe she could relax.
“Sure,” Logan said. “I’ll come look at it.”
Logan spent time looking at the toilet and trying different things. When he was done, he turned to Erin and dropped his hands at his sides. “I think we’re going to need a snake.”
“A snake?”
Like the animal? Erin couldn’t imagine how that would help with their current problem. The confusion must have been clear on her face.
“It’s a tool that you can buy at the hardware store,” Logan said. “If they’re open today.”
Well, that made a lot more sense. She nodded, remembering that the local shop closed early on Sundays. “Okay, but you’ll need to leave now.”
Logan hesitated. “I don’t have a car here. You’d have to give me a ride.”
Oh.
After trying to avoid one another, they’d have to be inside the car, just the two of them, for the fifteen-minute drive there and back. It wasn’t impossible, but Erin’s heart sank at the idea. What would they even talk about? Or would they sit in tense silence?
A few minutes later, as they drove down Main, she found out that the silence was harder than she thought. It was driving her crazy. “What do you think it is?” she asked, when she couldn’t take it anymore.
“My guess is somebody flushed something that wasn’t meant to be flushed.” He paused as she turned onto Oak. “I’m guessing Samantha is too old to flush anything down the toilet, but has Parker ever done something like this before?”
Erin tapped her finger against the steering wheel. “Not that I can think of, though I guess it’s possible that he’s done it with smaller items.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
We’ll figure it out.
Erin hated the comfort those words gave her. Logan wasn’t offering anything more than help with a toilet that wouldn’t flush, but to have someone tell her they were in it together, that he was going to help her, gave her hope—even if it was only for one afternoon.
Erin pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. They’d made it the entire way to the hardware store without fighting. They’d even managed to have a cordial conversation. She was thankful for small mercies.
Logan opened the car door and started to step out. With one leg out, he paused and looked at her. “I’ll grab the snake. I’ll be right back.”
Erin nodded. “Sounds good.”
Logan going into the store alone would give her a chance to sit alone. It wasn’t a bubble bath, but at least she had a few minutes to herself without anything else to do.
Erin watched as Logan disappeared inside the store. Being alone in the car would also give her the opportunity to sort through her feelings about Logan. As hard as it was to admit, she was really glad he was here and willing to help. She didn’t want to do this alone, and it was hard to be angry with him since he’d agreed to help her without any hesitation.
Her feelings were difficult to sort through. But she wasn’t given much time to ponder it because Logan reappeared within minutes with a box tucked under his arm. He opened one of the back doors of the station wagon and put it on the back seat.
“Thank you,” she said as he sat in the passenger seat.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he answered with a chuckle. “I haven’t fixed it yet.”
“Still.” She turned the car back on. “I don’t know what to do with a snake.” There were so many things she didn’t know about home improvements. It hadn’t been a problem when Jake was alive. Now, she was playing catch up on things like basic plumbing.
“You think I do?” Logan asked.
“Y-you don’t?” She’d just assumed with the confidence he’d spoken. She was relieved that she wasn’t as clueless as she’d originally thought.
“I’ve only used one once.” He paused. “When I was living with Aunt Betty, back in high school.”
“Really?”
Logan hesitated. “Someone gave me a pack of cigarettes.”
She gasped. “ Logan . ”
“I didn’t smoke them,” he said quickly. “After I’d already snuck them in the house, I realized that I didn’t actually want to do it. I just didn’t want anyone to think I was chicken.”
She pulled out of the parking lot. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Because you’ve seen me do worse.”
Wasn’t that the truth. She couldn’t count the number of times she had to bail him out of a tricky situation because he hadn’t thought before he acted. She snuck a glance in his direction. “So what does this have to do with a snake?”
“Right. So, I was too scared to throw them away. Aunt Betty would find them in the trash, so I flushed them.” He ducked his head. “Or, at least, I tried to.”
She put a hand to her mouth. “The toilet backed up.”
“I didn’t dare ask Aunt Betty to help me, and I didn’t ask to borrow her car. I rode my bike to the store and had to ask the old guy behind the counter what to do. I was so embarrassed.”
Erin stopped at a red light and turned to face Logan. She thought she knew about all of his high school hijinks. This story was completely new to her, and she hated to admit how interested she was in it. This all felt too friendly for her liking, but she had to know what happened. “Did it work?”
“Yeah. I used the snake, cleared the clog, and buried the cigarettes in the backyard. ”
“Did Aunt Betty ever find out?”
Logan leaned back in his seat. “What do you think?”
This time, Erin laughed. Somehow, Aunt Betty always knew everything that happened in Frostford. Even now, in her seventies, the woman had the uncanny ability to find anything out. “What did she do?”
He shrugged. “Surprisingly, nothing. I think she figured I learned my lesson after going through all that.”
Erin lifted her brows. “Did you?”
“I never started smoking, you know that.” He paused. “And I learned never to hide things from Aunt Betty.”
Erin imagined young Logan and all the trouble he put Aunt Betty through. He’d caused trouble for half the population of Frostford with his antics, never apologizing to the people he left hurting. There was a time when Erin didn’t mind. She’d found his rebellion as a puzzle she wanted to solve, and rejoiced when he seemed to make big strides in becoming more considerate of people.
Then he left, leaving her in his wake, and she knew what it was like to be destroyed by Logan West and his carelessness. She was thankful that he was willing to help her with the toilet. That would mean one less thing for Aunt Betty to have to deal with, but it would be foolish for Erin to let any of this cause her to forget how much he’d hurt her.
When Logan left, he’d left a void that never was filled. He wasn’t standing next to Jake on their wedding day—there was no best man toast. He wasn’t there to celebrate the birth of their children—no Uncle Logan. He wasn’t there when Jake’s health had deteriorated.
But it wasn’t just the fact that he was gone for these big events. It was that he was just another person she loved who left. First, her parents when she’d graduated because they wanted to travel the world now that they weren’t “burdened” with raising a child. And then, Logan when she was taking the next giant step of her life. His sudden absence had ripped open wounds that she thought had healed. His return poured salt into them.
This was what she reminded herself of as she watched Logan on his knees in front of the toilet, fighting with the snake he’d just bought to unclog the toilet for her. Something she reminded herself of when he looked back at her with a smile when it actually worked, and the toilet wasn’t overflowing anymore. And something she reminded herself of when he left the house.