Chapter 13 #2
Josie is standing at the front of the courtroom, her gaze fixed on us through the movement and noise swirling around the room.
For a moment, everything else fades into the background.
The scrape of chairs, the murmur of conversations, and the shuffle of papers all seem distant compared to the sight of her.
A strange warmth spreads through my chest, stealing the breath from my lungs.
Relief, pride, and something deeper twist together inside me until I can hardly separate one feeling from the next.
She isn't doing anything extraordinary. She's simply standing there, looking at us.
Yet the sight of her rooted in place, no longer hiding or shrinking herself, stops me cold.
The woman who walked into the diner weeks ago had carried herself like she expected every conversation to become a fight she couldn't win. The woman standing in front of the judge now looks taller somehow.
Her shoulders settle back as if some invisible weight has finally slipped free.
Her chin lifts.
Richard stands only a few feet away, but she never glances in his direction. Not when his attorney speaks to him. Not when he pushes back his chair. Not even when he walks past.
Her attention stays fixed on us. A smile breaks free on her face, and years of sorrow and grief seem to slide from her shoulders.
I can't stop staring at her.
Weeks ago, she would have tracked his every movement, bracing for whatever came next. Now she stands in the center of the courtroom like he no longer gets to decide who she is.
My chest goes tight.
God, I love this woman.
Love the strength she's fought for. Love the courage it took to stand here today. Love the way she's finally holding herself the way I've always seen her.
Logan reaches her first.
His hands find her waist like they've belonged there all along. I step in beside them just as Josie turns toward us. Not to the attorney shaking hands with the clerk. Not the reporters gathering near the doors. Us.
The smile that breaks across her face hits harder than the judge's ruling. For one reckless second, I want to pull her into my arms and kiss her. Right here. In front of God, the judge, and everyone.
Instead, my fingers brush her shoulder. It's a simple touch but the spark shoots through me anyway. Josie's breath catches. So does mine.
Logan's thumb shifts against her side, and the look that flashes across his face tells me he's fighting the same battle.
Not here.
Not now.
Not until she tells us what she wants.
The thought lands like a weight in my chest.
Because if Josie looks at us and says she needs space, we'll give it to her. We'll smile. We'll tell her we understand. And it will hurt like hell.
But she came to us first.
The second it was over, she looked for us.
And now she's standing here smiling up at us like we're exactly where she wanted us to be.
My pulse pounds harder than it did while the judge was reading the decision. Hope is a dangerous thing. Especially when it's standing right in front of you.
Josie's eyes are bright, and her smile trembles. "Hi."
I lean down and press a kiss against her temple. The scent of her shampoo reaches me. Something floral and familiar. "Congratulations."
"You were incredible," Logan adds.
Color immediately floods her cheeks. The sight makes me grin even harder.
Jeremy appears beside us like he's been shot from a cannon. "The Brotherhood's already planning dinner."
Josie blinks. "What?"
"Celebration." Jeremy looks genuinely offended. "Josie, half those idiots have been waiting weeks for a reason to celebrate."
Logan snorts. "The other half just want food."
"That too."
Laughter ripples through the group. The tension that has been wrapped around all of us for weeks finally begins to loosen.
I slide an arm around Josie's waist. The simple act feels so natural it almost scares me. "Come on," I tell her. "Everybody's meeting at the Texas Roadhouse."
She opens her mouth. Stops.
Something shifts in her expression but the smile remains. She lets her gaze drop to the floor. And when she looks up again, the shine in her eyes has nothing to do with winning in court.
My stomach tightens.
Logan feels it too. I know because every bit of humor disappears from his face.
"Jo?"
The noise of the courtroom fades. People continue moving around us. Nobody in our little circle does.
"I'd like dinner with friends. But first..." She draws a breath and lets it out slowly. "I need to tell you something."
Jeremy immediately takes a step backward. Smart man. A second later he drifts even farther away, dragging Clara and Dylan with him.
Within moments we're standing alone. Or as alone as three people can be in the middle of a courthouse.
"I owe you both an apology."
Logan shakes his head immediately. "You don't owe us anything."
"Please."
The single word stops him. Josie's fingers twist together. I've seen her do that before. Usually when she's trying to say or do something that scares her.
"I need you to let me finish." The smile is gone now. The confidence she carried in front of the judge has disappeared.
"When Richard showed up at the diner..." Her voice softens. "I thought I was over all of it."
Around us, people continue filing out of the courtroom.
"The way he looked at me." She swallows. "The way he talked to me." A sad little laugh slips free. "I hated how quickly I became that woman again."
My chest tightens. Because I know exactly what woman she means. The one who apologizes before she speaks, who doubts herself, and who makes herself smaller so other people feel bigger.
Josie's gaze finds mine.
Then Logan's.
"I spent years believing him." The words come quietly. "I believed I wasn't smart enough. That I wasn't capable enough. That every good thing I accomplished happened because somebody else helped me."
Logan goes perfectly still beside me. I can practically feel the effort it takes him not to interrupt.
"I walked away because I was scared."
"Scared of Richard?"
Josie shakes her head. "No."
The answer catches both of us by surprise.
She lowers her eyes again. For a moment she studies her own hands. Then she whispers the truth. "I was scared you'd eventually see what he saw."
The words hit me like a punch. And suddenly everything makes sense.
The distance.
The silence.
The texts that stopped.
The way she'd pulled away every time we got too close.
She wasn't protecting herself from Richard.
She was protecting herself from losing us.
Or worse.
From letting us close enough to leave.
My heart cracks a little.
Because standing there in the middle of a courthouse, after everything she's accomplished, after everything she's overcome, she still has no idea what we see when we look at her.
Josie takes a shaky breath.
Then another.
When she speaks again, her voice is barely above a whisper.
"I love you."
Everything inside me stops.
Her eyes immediately fill with tears.
"I love both of you."
Logan's sharp inhale echoes my own.
Josie lets out a trembling laugh.
"There. I said it."
She swipes at her cheeks.
"I've been trying not to. Trying not to need you. Trying not to want this because I was terrified I'd ruin it."
"Josie—"
She shakes her head.
"Please. Let me finish."
The words come faster now, like she's afraid if she stops she'll never get them out.
"I love you, and I pushed you away anyway. I disappeared. I shut you out when you were trying to help me." Her voice breaks. "And I'm so sorry." A tear slips free. She doesn't wipe this one away. "I don't expect you to just forget that."
My chest aches. "Jo."
Her gaze shifts to mine. Then to Logan.
Vulnerable.
Hopeful.
Terrified.
"If you can forgive me," she whispers, "I'd like another chance."
For one long second, nobody moves.
Then Logan closes the distance between them. His hands cup her face. "Forgive you?" His voice is rough. "Baby, there was never anything to forgive."
A sob-laugh escapes her.
I step closer and brush her tears away with my thumbs. "You scared the hell out of us," I admit.
That earns another watery laugh. "But we never stopped loving you."
Fresh tears spill down her cheeks.
Logan presses his forehead to hers. "I love you too."
I smile and lean in close enough that she has to look at me. "And I love you."
The relief that floods her face is so profound it nearly brings me to my knees. For the first time since this whole mess started, she looks like she believes us. And that's better than any court victory could ever be.