Chapter 18 Logan
LOGAN
“What in the…” Nina muttered to herself as we came to a stop in front of my family home.
She turned to me. “You’re joking, right? This is basically an Ashford resort.”
I chuckled. “Which is exactly why he’s selling it. It’s just too much house for one old man rattling around by himself.”
Saying the words out loud still felt like a gut punch. Yes, selling the property made sense in every possible way, but I couldn’t get past the feeling that we were walking away from our family legacy.
And the memories of our mother.
“I want to swim,” Noah piped up from the back seat.
I smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “You’ll have to talk to your grandfather about that. You know you’ll need to have someone watching you, and Nina and I are going to busy packing up our old stuff.”
I bit my tongue, not wanting him to remember the remote control car tantrum from the cruise.
“Your uncles and aunts are going to be here too. If Papa doesn’t want to swim, maybe one of them will?”
“Auntie Emilia likes to swim!” Noah cheered.
“Well, there you go.”
We got out of the car and headed into the house with Noah in the lead and Nina trailing behind. I paused to wait for her to catch up and studied her tight expression.
“You okay?” I bumped against her shoulder gently.
She took a slow breath, then shook her head.
“No, I’m not. I’m freaking out, because even under the circumstances, it’s still a big deal, meeting your family.
I mean, even though they know we’re not really together, we still need to keep this fake marriage thing up for a while—and if they hate me, it’s going to be that much harder.
I don’t even know if I’m dressed right. It’s not like I could dress up considering we’re going to be packing stuff.
And you claim that your sisters-in-law are nice, but what if they think I’m weird? ”
Her little crash out was understandable and also sort of adorable. She slowed down on the way to the front door, like the more she gave voice to her fears, the more she convinced herself that they were facts.
“Let me address your concerns in order,” I began. I took her hand in mine. “First, they’re not going to hate you. Second, you look absolutely stunning, as always.”
She bit back a grin.
“And third, you are weird, and that’s one of the things I like about you.”
“Who’s weird?” Noah piped up.
“Me! I am!” I answered, then contorted my body, made my hands into claws and started dragging my foot behind me, like I was a monster coming after him. Both he and Nina cracked up.
The front door swung open.
“What in the world is going on out here?”
“Papa!” Noah cheered as he ran up to him, then wrapped his arms around Dad’s waist.
“Sounds like you’re all having too much fun,” he laughed as he leaned down to hug his grandson. When they finally untangled, Noah took off, likely to put on his bathing suit to sell his demands. “I’m glad you could make it.”
He strode toward us, his eyes glued to Nina.
“Hello there, you.” He beamed at her as he took her hands in his. “I hear you two got up to some trouble out on the high seas. I’m Oliver; it’s so wonderful to meet you.”
Nina’s cheeks colored as she shook his hand. “We sure did, but we’re making it work.” She glanced at me. “At least I think so.”
I couldn’t tell her that I didn’t fully agree, because in my book, “making it work” would definitely include more naked time.
“Happy to hear it,” my father replied, then finally focused on me. “Your brothers will be here shortly, ready to work.”
He wrapped me in a hug as I sputtered out a laugh. “Please. I bet they’re going to wind up having lightsaber fights in the basement.”
“Well, no worries if you boys need to pause every now and then for fun,” he said with his arm still wrapped around my shoulders. “We have time.”
I was about to ask him exactly how much time when a figure appeared behind him.
“Hello there,” Candace said warmly.
It was still difficult for me to square that this woman wasn’t attempting to become my mom’s replacement.
It was a childish reflex, thinking that she was a fairy-tale-style evil stepmother, because she and my father weren’t married, and she was anything but evil.
Even so, seeing them together was still an adjustment for me.
I noticed that she hung back behind my father, like he was her shield. It made me feel bad about the way my brothers and I had initially reacted to her. We hadn’t exactly been generous with the woman who was helping our father navigate his next chapter, and it was past time to make it right.
“Hi, Candace, good to see you,” I said as I stepped forward to pull her into a brief hug. I caught the flash of surprise on her face, then felt her relax as we embraced. When I let go, I turned to Nina. “Candace, this is my, uh, temporary wife, Nina Reyes-Ashford.”
They laughed softly as they hugged.
“Lovely to meet you, and thanks for being here. We need all of the help we can get,” Candace said.
“I’m a hard worker; just point me in the right direction,” Nina curled her arm to flex a tiny bicep.
“I was thinking we should do a quick house tour first, so we can see what needs to be done,” I said.
“I haven’t touched your old room,” my dad replied. “Maybe start there?”
“Deal,” I said with a nod. “Noah was hoping to go swimming…”
“Oh, I’ll go with him. I used to be a summer lifeguard a million years ago,” Candace said. “You folks worry about packing.”
I waited until she met my eyes. “Thank you, Candace. I appreciate it.”
We shared a brief moment of connection that seemed to signify a shift between us. Teammates, not adversaries.
I walked a stunned-silent Nina through the house until we got to my old room. I leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.
“Prepare to enter another dimension,” I joked.
“Lots of sexy lady posters hanging everywhere?”
I laughed at her. “You think I put tape on the walls? Heavens no, my mom would never allow that sort of thing. But my room is definitely a time capsule.”
I pushed open the door and let the nostalgia wash over me.
“Wow,” Nina breathed as she walked in. “It’s huge. And bold!”
The thick horizontal stripes of navy and white screamed “preppy,” which was very much my vibe when I was young. I’d never met a popped collar I didn’t like until surf culture took hold of me. But at that point, my room was such a comfortable oasis for me that I didn’t want to change a thing.
Nina took her time exploring the space, looking closer at the trophies and knickknacks lining my bookshelves.
“I guess you are a surfer,” she said as she pointed to a collection of mini boards handcrafted in wood that my father had brought back from a trip to New Zealand.
“These days it’s more past tense, but yeah. Me and my brothers did plenty of time on the water.”
I glanced around the room and felt the familiar tug of melancholy I had anytime I thought about selling the house. I was standing in my past, and the passage of time had polished away the ups and downs of youth so that I only remembered the good stuff.
It made the thought of saying goodbye that much more painful.
“Hey, are you okay?” Nina asked. She moved closer to me, her brow furrowed.
“Yeah,” I answered quickly. “Memories, you know?”
“I guess,” she said. “I wasn’t lucky enough to live in one spot for long enough to get attached. But I can imagine how tough this is. Sorting through your childhood and all.”
I opted to change the subject.
“Yeah, like this priceless memory.” I pulled a Hamburglar figurine from the top shelf.
Nina laughed. “Looks like that was in a place of honor. What’s the story there?”
“Brotherly warfare. Our mom didn’t allow us to eat junk food, so to us, going to McDonald’s was about the best thing in the world. One time we were running errands with Dad, and he let us get Happy Meals, and I swear to you, the three of us thought we were in heaven.”
She snorted. “I can imagine that.”
I held up the figurine. “I can’t remember which one of us got this guy in their box, but for some reason we all wanted him.
So for years, we’d sneak into each other’s rooms to steal it.
The challenge was keeping it in a spot where it was hidden enough that the other two couldn’t find it, but obvious enough that the thief could enjoy it.
Sort of like a lower-stakes Thomas Crown Affair, with that priceless painting hidden in plain sight in his kitchen. ”
Her mouth twisted into a smile. “And you were the final boss, since he’s on your shelf.”
“I guess so,” I laughed. “I actually forgot about it.”
“I like picturing you in here. It’s definitely not your current aesthetic, but I get it.” She walked over to the window seat. “This is where you’d stare outside and daydream about your crushes.”
“Uh, that’s where I’d smoke the cigarettes I bummed from delivery guys.”
Nina ignored me and walked over the long, built-in desk with a tilted top my mom had commissioned when I’d mentioned a possible future in architecture. She’d always supported me, no matter the dream, and no matter if she knew in her heart that I’d end up in the family business.
“And here’s where you did your homework.”
“Wrong again. It’s where I put my feet up and read comic books.”
She shook her head at me then walked over to the bed. “And this is where you’d dream about all the pretty girls in your class.” She sat down on it and patted the space beside her. “Tell me about your first kiss.”
I walked over and lowered myself onto the bed.
“Unremarkable, and it was all my fault,” I answered. “Gina McAllister. Sloppy. I used way too much tongue, and it ended when she pushed me away.”
“Aww,” she pouted. “Poor thing! I guess the good news is your technique has improved.”
She realized what she was admitting too late. But it gave me an opening, so I decided to go for it.
“Oh? You think so?”
“I mean, I think…I’m not sure I really remember,” she said in a coquettish voice. “The one at the press conference was super-fast.”