16. Logan
16
LOGAN
“Blargh.” The groan slips out when I open my email and see the number of unread messages I must deal with. I scroll to the bottom of my inbox and scroll up, marking the ones I can delete. After that first pass, I’m able to dump about two-thirds of the messages, so that’s a relief.
“Hmm…I wonder what Marisol wants?” I click on the message. I met Marisol in Madrid a few years ago, and we spent a few pleasant nights together when I was there on assignment, but we never hooked up. It didn’t feel right. My heart was with Daphne. She’s happily married now, with a little boy and a baby girl.
To: Logan Morris
From: Marisol Figueroa-Sebastien
Hola, Logan, I hope all is well. We are good. Henri is getting into trouble as only a little boy can. Pierre’s mother says he takes after his papa. My little man misses his Tio Logan, so you must come visit soon. You need to meet your honorary niece, Ariana! Any progress with the fair Daphne? I want the chance to spoil your children as much as you spoil mine. I have baby’s first castanets waiting for a recipient. ;-) Don’t be a stranger! Abrazos, Mari.
Baby’s first castanets? That’s cold. Henri would have discovered “Baby Shark” eventually, even without my help, and he can sing it in both Spanish and French. My little buddy is the smartest two-year-old ever. I’ve seen pictures of Ariana. She’s a beautiful baby, with Pierre’s blond hair and Mari’s nose. I will absolutely make time to see them while I’m in Spain.
I imagine what my kids will look like. I’d love to have a little girl with Daphne’s brown eyes and a smattering of freckles. I’ve seen pictures of her parents, and her mom had red hair. So does mine. Maybe we’ll end up with a redhead. My mom would love to spoil a little girl since she only had me and my younger brother. She had fun doing “girl stuff” with my cousin Kendall, and she has a secret stash of American Girl doll stuff she thinks we aren’t aware of just waiting for a little girl to have tea parties with. She’d have tea parties with little boys too, of course, but without a doubt, Mom and my aunt Faith are both hoping for little girls to spoil in the next generation.
Wow. Kids. Never thought of them before. I always assumed I’d be a father one day, but it was an abstract thought. I can see it with Daphne, though. She’d be a great mom. Does she want kids? She’s never talked about getting married or having a family. I assume she’ll want kids someday. Not too soon though. We have so many places to go, and it’s easier to do that without a kid. I want Daph all to myself. I’m in no rush to share her.
I shoot off a reply to Marisol.
To: Marisol Figueroa-Sebastien
From: Logan Morris
Hey Mari, I’m good. Baby’s first castanets? Really? Henri loving being a big brother? Pierre hinting for baby number three yet? I can’t wait to meet my beautiful niece, Ariana. She will love her Tio Logan. I’m more charming than either of your brothers. I’ll be in Spain for a few weeks in November, so count on me dropping by. As for Daphne…see attached. Hugs to you too. Logan.
I attach the picture of us kissing in front of the Cape May Lighthouse. I can’t believe that was less than twenty-four hours ago. It feels like a lifetime has passed since yesterday. I hear the dryer buzz and go to take care of the laundry before I leave for lunch with Daphne.
As I get in my Jeep to pick up lunch, I reflect on how fortunate we are that it’s a nice day for October—upper sixties, so not too hot but not cold enough that you don’t want to sit in the fresh air. It’s going to be a good day for lunch outside, and there’s a park with a pond and picnic tables close to Daphne’s office.
I pick up the food and arrive in the lobby of her office building five minutes early.
“Logan!”
I turn and see my uncle Will approaching from the elevator bank, his green gaze, so like mine, sparkling.
“Hey, Uncle Will, I was going to come visit you after lunch. Are you heading out or coming back?”
Holding out his hand for a shake, he says, “Heading out. Wish to join me?”
“Thanks, but I’m meeting Daphne, and we’re going to the park. Ah, here she comes.”
Daphne comes out the door to the right of the elevator bank. I guess her work area is on the ground floor. She sees me and walks toward us, smiling. I reach out my hand, and when she takes it, I pull her into a hug.
“Now I see why you turned me down, Logan. Hello, Daphne.” Uncle Will smiles at her. “How are things down here today?”
I’m impressed she keeps a straight face when she responds. “Hi, Will. They’re great. We’re living the dream!”
“You’re full of it, but I appreciate the attempt.” He laughs. “Have fun, you two. Logan, come on up when you get back. We’ll catch up. Keep holding down the fort, Daphne.”
We all smile and nod at each other, and Uncle Will heads out, holding the door for an attractive auburn-haired woman entering.
“Thanks, Will!” she says with a smile.
“Mallory!” Daphne waves the woman over. “Mallory, this is my boyfriend, Logan. Logan, this is Mallory, my cellmate. She keeps me sane. Sane-ish.”
The smile on Mallory’s face gets even bigger. “Logan! You are one of my most favorite people for putting that smile on Daphne’s face! Nice to meet you.”
I hold my hand out to shake. Her hand is small but strong. You can tell a lot about a person from their handshake, and I like her immediately.
“Great to meet you too, Mallory,” I say. “Thanks for keeping my girl’s sanity intact.”
Laughing, we part ways with Mallory and head out to the parking lot. I open the passenger door to my Jeep so Daphne can get in. We drive to the park and sit on a bench near the gazebo with a view of the pond. Canada geese and mallards swim along, and a gentle breeze ruffles the multicolored leaves in the trees.
She opens the potato chips—red bag Herr’s, per her request—and sets the bag on the bench between us.
I hold out both bottles to her. “Water or Diet Pepsi?”
She decides on water then pulls our sandwiches from the bag. “Tastyklairs! You got dessert? No wonder I let you be my boyfriend.”
I gladly accept the kiss she offers and show restraint in keeping it light. She’ll have to return to the office, and there are other folks around who don’t need a peep show.
Pulling back, I unwrap my hoagie and take a bite. “Oh, how I have missed you.”
“You’re talking to your hoagie, aren’t you?”
I groan at the flavors hitting my tongue. I’ve been all around the world and had many delicious meals, but the perfect bread of a South Jersey sub is a thing of wonder. They say it’s the water, and maybe so, but whatever it is, it’s magical.
Daphne laughs at me. “Are you sure you came home for me? I’m pretty sure it was an excuse to get a sub.”
“No, it was all you, sweetheart,” I assure her. “But I won’t pass up the opportunity to have the good stuff!” I consider what I just said. “Yeah, good stuff, but you’re the best stuff.” Winking, I reach in the bag for a chip. This feels right. We’ve always teased each other, and we’re still doing that, but now we can be free with our affection too. Why did we wait so long to do this?
Daphne’s eyes keep darting to me, looking over my body. She’s chewing her bottom lip. She does that when she’s nervous. I hope she doesn’t hurt it. Those lips are for kissing me.
“Um…yesterday was the first time I saw you in eagle form, and I didn’t know it was you.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did! It was a wonderful surprise. The best.” Now she’s started twisting her fingers. What is she so worried about? Doesn’t she know I’ll do anything in my power to make her happy?
She takes a deep breath. “Would you shift for me again sometime? I hope that’s not a tacky thing to ask for.”
That’s what she was so nervous about?
“Sure! I can shift now.” The park isn’t that busy. If we go on a trail in the woods, I can shift in privacy.
“You can? How? Don’t you have to take off your clothes so they don’t rip?”
My chuckle tickles as it travels up my throat. “Daph, I’m a shifter, not the Incredible Hulk. Our clothes shift with us. It’s some kind of magic. I just need to empty my pockets. I’m smaller shifted than I am as a man, so I’d be a bird wearing a shirt too big for me, looking ridiculous. It’s the wolf and bear shifters that would do the dramatic busting out of clothes thing if our clothes didn’t shift.”
We finish our sandwiches, throw out the trash, and Daphne carries the bag with our pies, leftover chips, and drinks as we take a trail into the woods. We enter a clearing and, after looking around to make sure we have privacy, I take off my sneakers and socks and drop my phone, wallet, and keys on them. Stepping back, I take a deep breath and shift. I’m lucky my shifts aren’t that dramatic. I’m able to do it smoothly without lots of cracking and contorting. When Mom or Andy shift, they go from being a biped to being on four legs, and their focus is closer to the ground. I’m still upright, and I have the advantage of having a wider field of vision.
“Wow,” Daphne says reverently. “You’re gorgeous.” She looks at me in awe.
In the past twenty-four hours, I’ve thought more about how I look in my eagle form than I ever have since I’ve started shifting as a kid. I’ve never shifted in front of someone I’m dating before. It’s a personal thing and not a party trick. The few shifter girls I’ve been with understand, and the human girls—the very few that even knew I was a shifter—didn’t care. Our dealings weren’t that personal. They were hookups. I preen a bit, extending my wings and flying to perch on a nearby fencepost so we’re closer to eye to eye.
Daphne has made me watch enough America’s Next Top Model that I know my angles and how to find my light, so I make sure the fall sun glints off my feathers, and I look like the regal eagle I am and not like an obese chicken.
Daphne approaches me cautiously. She reaches out a hand and then stops, looking me in my eyes. “Can I touch you?”
If I could speak, I’d tell her she can always touch me. I can’t, so I incline my head and extend my wing.
She runs a finger along it gently. “So silky. So many beautiful colors.”
I’d love nothing more than to spend the afternoon here with my girl showing off this side of me, but she has to go back to the office.
She must realize the same thing because she checks her phone and twists her lips in a funny face. “Time for you to take me back to the office, dude.”
I fly back to my shoes and socks and shift back to my man form, grab my phone, keys, and wallet, put them back in my pockets, and put on my shoes and socks.
“I’d much rather be taking you home, sunshine,” I murmur, standing and nuzzling her neck.
She pulls away with a giggle. “Nice try.”
We walk out of the woods to the parking area.
As she gets in my Jeep, Daphne asks, “Are we having the leftover pizza and salad for dinner?”
“That’s what I was figuring, unless you want something else?”
“Nope, that sounds good. I don’t feel like cooking or going anywhere.”
I can’t believe we’ve been a couple less than twenty-four hours. It feels so natural. We kiss each other goodbye in the car and walk into the building together. I give her hand a squeeze when we part at the elevators.
Daphne points to a door at the end of a short hallway to the right of the elevators. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d never notice it. “My area is over here. I’m sure you know this already, but the reception desk is right when you get off the elevator. Betty will direct you to Will’s office.”
After one last too-brief kiss, I enter the waiting elevator car to go up to Uncle Will’s office while Daphne scans her badge to get into her work area.
I approach Betty, Morgan Development’s long-time receptionist, with a smile. “Hi, Betty. Looking lovely, as always. I hope your husband appreciates how lucky he is.”
She grins cheekily at me. “Hush, you! You’ve always been such a flirt, but you won’t turn my head. Are you here to see your uncle?”
“Ah, Betty, you missed your chance. I’m taken,” I say with a wink. “I believe Uncle Will is expecting me.”
She calls and confirms he’s free and tells me to head on back. I walk along the hallway to his office where his assistant tells me to make my way on in.
“Uncle Will?” No one is behind the desk. I peer around to see if he’s on the couch in his sitting area, but he’s not.
“Got us coffee,” my uncle says from behind me. He hands me a cup. “Sit down and tell me what’s up. You know your aunt is going to want all the details. Your mom has already told her you came home to woo Daphne . They’ve been reading a lot of those historical romances for their book club, so it’s wooing this and courting that.”
I take a chair in front of his desk, and he takes his place behind the desk. We both know Aunt Faith chose the hunter-green couch and black watch plaid chairs in the sitting area more for their style than for their comfort.
“Yeah, I came home to woo Daphne.” I flex my fingers, putting air quotes around the word woo . “I decided it was time to tell her how I feel and see where we stand. Luckily, she feels the same way, so we’re dating. I guess that’s what you call it. We haven’t formally defined it, but I know she’s the one for me.”
“Like, forever?”
“Yeah, she’s my mate.”
“She’s human, right?”
“She is,” I affirm, wondering what he’s getting at.
“Usually, we only ever marry other shifters.”
“You didn’t. Aunt Faith is human.”
“Right. That’s why I’m bringing this up.”
Confusion turns to anger. “What are you suggesting, Uncle Will?”
He shrugs. “Marriage is hard, but when it’s a mixed marriage, that adds a level of difficulty.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Um… Intimacy is different with a human.” He blushes and looks down at his coffee.
“I’ve slept with non-shifter women. It’s no different.”
“I mean no offense, Logan. I’m trying to give you the benefit of my experience. It’s not just the bedroom. What about kids? A human female carrying a shifter’s baby isn’t always easy, and they aren’t always successful. You open yourself up to a lot of heartache. Faith and I lost twins between Liam and Kendall. It broke our hearts and put a strain on our marriage.” He clears his throat and looks away, blinking quickly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” My heart hurts for them. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt Daphne or our child.
“Yeah, well, you were a baby, and we don’t really talk about it. If you’re successful, what happens if your child is a shifter? Suddenly you and the child have something she doesn’t—a way to communicate, to be, on a level she can’t understand. She may feel like an outsider in her own family. That’s hard. That’s why most of us marry other shifters.” Will fidgets in his chair. “With Liam and Kennie both being cougar shifters too, Faith was left behind sometimes. It was hard. She felt left out.”
“I appreciate your advice, Uncle Will, but you don’t know us.”
“Look, I like Daphne,” he assures me, “and I’m happy for you. I’m just warning you. When she’s disappointed…”
I try to hold back my huff of annoyance. “It’s going to be fine. I have a plan.”
“You and your plans.” He chuckles.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Seriously, why is everyone getting on my case about having plans like it’s a bad thing? How are you supposed to get anything done if you don’t have a plan?
“Nothing. So, what’s your plan? You know there’s always a position here for you at Morgan Development. Your photography skills would be useful in marketing. You have a business degree, and law school is always an option,” he says around a chuckle.
“No law school. I’ll leave next week for assignments in Spain and Portugal. Then I’ll be covering the Christmas markets in Germany and Switzerland.”
Uncle Will leans forward and rests his forearms on his desk. “You’re leaving again? Is Daphne going with you?”
“We’re figuring out what we’re doing. I don’t think she’s coming with me, at least not right away.” I sigh. “I don’t get it. Daphne has always wanted to travel, and I’m giving her the opportunity to travel and share my adventures.” I grimace. “She hates her job.” I feel the flush rising in my cheeks when I remember who I’m talking to. “Crap. Forget I said that.” I take a sip of my coffee, trying to disguise my gaffe. “This brew is excellent. Where do you get your beans?”
“Ask Betty when you leave. She knows all the info.”
Maybe he didn’t catch it. “Did you know Daphne’s grandmother died before her senior year of college and left her a house? She was expecting Daph to sell it and fund her travels. Instead, Daphne is acting like the house is an anchor. She acts like it’s imperative she keeps it and stays in it. Forever.”
“I’m sorry she hates her job. She’s excellent at it.”
I guess he caught it.
“I won’t fire her just to make your life easier.”
I feel guilty even thinking that. “I know. Daphne needs to decide things for herself.” I shift in my chair and rest my ankle on my knee. “She’s made the choices she did in reaction to loss and feeling adrift. She wants security. Losing her job would cause her so much stress. She needs to decide to make a change, not be forced into it.” I shrug. “Of course we can’t mess with her career because I want to be with my girlfriend. Being a mature adult sucks sometimes.”
“That it does, Logan. If you ask your grandmother, I’m still resisting it.”
I blow out a breath to clear out the thoughts I’ve been worrying about. “I can’t help but hope she decides she wants to come with me.”
“What if she never wants to go with you? Being a nomad doesn’t suit everyone. Can you put down roots for her? Have you discussed it?”
Trust my uncle to get to the heart of the matter. “We’ve been a couple less than twenty-four hours. Let us enjoy ourselves, huh?”
He leans back in his chair and sips his coffee. “By all means, enjoy yourselves. But you know these are things you’ll have to discuss and work out if you’re going to have the long-term relationship I assume you’re hoping for.” He places his cup on his desk. Aunt Faith insisted he have a coaster. I’ll have to tell her he uses it. “I’ve seen the two of you together over the years. Even if the romantic aspect of your relationship is new, it’s obviously not casual. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”
I hate it when he’s right. “I know. Let’s change the subject. Daphne said Liam was doing maintenance here. What’s up with that?”
“We’re considering a large local project, so he was checking into some preliminary matters. Can’t say anything yet, but if it happens, it will be cool.” He kicks his feet up on this desk. Aunt Faith wouldn’t like that, but I won’t tell. “He took care of replacing some lightbulbs and incidental things like that. He’ll head out of town in a couple of weeks to visit our southern division properties. He spends a fair amount of time on the road. Not as much as you though.”
Chuckling, I stand and hold out my hand for a shake. “I need to call him and see about hanging out while we’re both in town. I guess I should let you get back to work. I need to go home and do a bit of editing.”
Rising from his desk chair, Uncle Will comes around his desk, takes my hand, and pulls me in for a hug and a slap on the back. “It was so good seeing you, Logan. You’re staying at Daphne’s, right? The two of you need to come over for dinner before you go. We can invite your parents, Kendall, and Liam, too. It’s a shame Andy is away at school or else we’d have the whole family.”
“Text me what you have in mind, and I’ll run it past Daphne. Even if we don’t do dinner, I’ll swing by to see Aunt Faith before I go, so she doesn’t disown me.”
“Sounds good, buddy.” He gazes at me steadily. “I’m happy for you. Don’t screw it up.” With that, Uncle Will retreats behind his desk, and I take my leave.
I wish my conversation with Uncle Will left me feeling better than I do. But I’m walking too fast and clenching my fists. He’s wrong . Everything will be perfect with Daphne. As long as I can convince her to step out of her old life and into a new one with me.