Chapter 12
Logan woke up the following morning with a sore head. But it wasn’t a sore head from drinking too much beer or staying out all night partying. No, this was the kind of sore head that came as a result of being up all night thinking.
Feeding Stella had been a brilliant experience. But that still hadn’t managed to keep thoughts of what had happened earlier at bay for long afterward.
As he tossed and turned in bed, a gently snoring Stella lying next to him, Logan had been unable to stop thinking about the sudden arrival of Cole Rodgers.
Cole Rodgers was an asshole.
Logan may have once considered him a friend, but Cole was only ever the kind of friend who it’s fun to party with. Logan had also always suspected that Cole wasn’t the kind of guy you could ever rely upon to help you out when you were down.
However what Logan had never really considered was that Cole was actually a sneaky, devious asshole who would seize upon anyone else’s misfortune if he felt like he could capitalize on it for personal gain.
Logan may have kept the truth from Stella, but Cole had been messaging him constantly.
Cole was asking to meet up and telling Logan that he knew who spiked his drink on the night of the car smash. More than this though, Cole also told Logan that he knew who was currently in possession of Logan’s car.
As far as Logan was concerned, all of this sounded like a hustle. He had witnessed Cole run scams and trick other people, so he figured that if Cole was willing to con other people, then he’d have no problem with doing it to him either.
Cole was trouble.
And not the charismatic, heart of gold kind of trouble either.
Cole was simply bad news.
As Logan sat up in bed, he nervously looked toward his phone. There were no new messages from Cole, which was a relief. Perhaps it was possible that after the scuffle the previous night that Cole would back off and leave Logan alone.
Logan ran his hand through his hair and looked over toward Stella, still happily snoozing.
Why did Cole mention your name, darling?
What’s he got planned?
I have to do something about this…
Logan knew that simply ignoring Cole and hoping that he would go away wasn’t going to cut it. Something had to be done. The only problem was that Logan didn’t know how to tackle the issue.
It was at times like this that Logan truly wished he still had his older brother Jackson around to support him and offer brotherly advice. Logan always idolized Jackson as a child, and Jackson truly had the kind of big brother energy that made Logan feel safe and secure.
When Jackson passed away in a road accident, Logan had sworn that he would live life to the max, never holding back and seeking fun anywhere and everywhere he could find it.
This had often led to Logan running away from problems or making a swift exit from any situation that looked like it might require more than casual and free-spirited enjoyment.
All that Logan knew was that in this particular case, the last thing he wanted to do was to run away. Logan felt determined to do what was right by Stella too.
Sure, Logan could avoid the whole potential drama with Cole by cutting town and starting fresh somewhere else.
Logan had done it plenty of times before and had all the right attributes to do it again.
Except the difference this time was that he didn’t want to leave Stella and put him through a whole heap of hurt.
Logan felt like if he left Stella, there would be no going back in the future. Stella had recently opened up more and more about her own life and her feelings for Logan and there was no way that Logan wanted to put this sensitive young woman through any more pain.
The way that Cole had mentioned Stella by her name too was worrying.
In fact, it was this that had plagued Logan’s thoughts the most during the night, and was still on his mind in the morning too…
Why did Cole do that?
Why did he make a point of calling Stella by her name?
It seemed… sinister. It felt… fucked up.
Logan frowned at the thought of Cole trying to implicate Stella into the situation. Something wasn’t right. In fact, Logan was beginning to feel like Cole might be involved in this situation a whole lot more than he was letting on.
With this in mind, Logan decided that what he needed was some thinking time. And the best way he knew of doing this would be by hitting the road for a good, old-fashioned jog in the Blue Rock hills.
Logan quietly slipped out of the bed and got into his torn running t-shirt and short black running shorts.
It was time to work up a sweat and see if he could come up with a solution to this problem – a solution that involved sticking around and making good his commitment to Stella.
Logan was a Daddy know. There was no way he was going to leave his girl hanging.
And if Logan could manage to get one or two of his friends involved too, then that was even better…
The Blue Rock hills, more specifically the Deep Dive canyon, was a popular running spot for the hardened, physically fit runners and athletes in the locality.
With its punishing terrain and swelteringly hot temperatures, it wasn’t the kind of place to come for a gentle warm up run. No, this was something else. To run in the hills, you needed grit, determination, and a whole heap of cardiovascular prowess.
Fortunately for Logan, he had all these things.
As did Leo and Eddie too…
‘Fuck! That was intense!’ Logan said, just about reaching the top of the canyon ahead of Eddie and Leo. ‘I think this means that the juices are on you…’
‘Damn it, man,’ Leo said, arriving seconds later, his breathing heavy. ‘You’re getting faster with age.’
‘That was brutality defined,’ Eddie said, making a final effort to sprint to the finish. ‘But I think we all did a good job.’
The three Daddies high-fived and took a moment to take in the surrounding from the top of the canyon.
Beneath them in the distance was Blue Rock, its coastline full of cafés and boutique shops looking as pretty as ever.
Behind them was the lush forest and lake-filled expanse of territory that stretched out for miles, further than the eye could see.
‘We need to arrange a camping trip,’ Logan said. ‘The sooner the better.’
Logan imagined how much fun it would be to take a camping trip with Eddie and Leo. They hadn’t done anything like that together for a long time. But a few beers around the campfire seemed like a perfect way to escape the Cole situation…
‘Guys, I need to talk about something,’ Logan said, realizing that he needed to open up to his friends. ‘I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but…’
‘No, speak, we’re here for you bro,’ Leo said, lifting his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, his six-pack glistening in the morning sun.
‘Yeah, whatever it is we’ve got your back,’ Eddie added, squatting down onto his haunches and then powering back up into an upright position. ‘Damn, I came up too fast! Maybe we are getting too old for this.’
The men laughed.
The levity of the moment put Logan at ease.
‘Okay, so here’s the situation…’ Logan said, beginning to explain exactly what had happened on the night of the crash, how he couldn’t remember anything after blacking out, and then of course Cole’s increasingly menacing presence in his, and now Stella’s, life.
When he was through explaining the situation, Logan took a deep breath. It actually felt like a huge relief to get it off his chest. And luckily for Logan, he had two of the best friends a man could ask for…
‘You need to do what is right for you and Stella,’ Leo said. ‘If that means facing Cole, then that’s what you need to do. Whatever it takes, man.’
‘Yeah, and we’ll be here to back you up if you need it,’ Eddie added. ‘I do not like the sound of Cole at all. I’ve known people like him. If a dude acts like a snake, that usually means he is one. I think this is one problem you need to tackle sooner rather than later by the sounds of things.’
It was comforting to listen as Eddie and Leo continued to spitball some suggestions for how Cole could be dealt with.
Logan always thought of himself as someone with good problem solving skills, but listening to Leo and Eddie it was clear that in fact Logan really could benefit from sharing his problems more rather than trying to be macho by covering them up.
‘One thing though,’ Leo said. ‘I think you need to explain all of this to Stella. You can’t keep her in the dark. She’s not some naive kid. Stella’s smart. And she might even be able to help.’
‘That’s true,’ Eddie added. ‘I’ve heard actually that over at EcoPlay, Stella is in with a real shot of becoming VP.
That’s not nothing. This isn’t the same Stella who you knew at college.
She’s building a big reputation for herself.
And with that in mind, you need to make sure that any danger from this Cole asshole is squashed ASAP. ’
The three guys looked at one another.
Eddie was making a good point, and Logan resolved that he would heed both Eddie and Leo’s advice. Once he was home, Logan would tell Stella everything a spare not a single detail.
We’ll solve this problem together.
I’m not running away this time.
This is a new me. This is a new Logan.
Logan smiled and the three friends happily made their descent back down the canyon.
There was time for a quick juice and refuel, but after that Logan’s plan was to head home and begin solving this problem with his favorite kinky, sexy, hardworking babygirl in the whole world.
‘Hey? Anyone in?’ Logan said as he entered the apartment. ‘Yo! I’m here looking for one special girl who loves her milk and spankings too?’
Logan walked into the kitchen and expected to see Stella playing a game on her iPad or listening to one of the toys and games podcasts she was so fond of.
However, there was no sign of Stella at all.
‘Huh,’ Logan said, walking over toward the water filter. ‘I guess you went out.’
Logan decided that wherever she was, Stella would no doubt be back soon. With this in mind, Logan downed his cold, perfectly filtered water and began stripping off.
It was time to hit the shower and cool off.
With Stella’s arrival back home to look forward to, Logan decided that he would simply relax around the apartment and get himself nice and loose and limber for the likely fun and frolics that the pair of them would be getting up to together later that evening.
But as he turned the shower on, a little part of Logan wondered whether something just felt a little bit… off.