Indestructible (16 page)

“Stew,” Oliver told her, his spoon in his mouth. “I made it!”

I smiled over at him.

“Is that so?” she asked, strolling over and leaning down to kiss the top of his head. “Did anyone help you?”

“Daddy did, but he said
I
made it. Right, Daddy?” Oliver looked to Logan.

“You did most of the work,” Logan assured him, eyes full of pride. “I simply cut a few vegetables.”

“See? Told ya.” Oliver lifted his glass of juice and took a sip.

Julia sat at the end of the table, across from Logan. “Smells great, and looks just like Grandma makes it.” She peered up at me while spooning some stew into her bowl. “How are you feeling, Cassandra?”

“I’m good. How’s school going?” I went to grab a roll at the same time as Miss Redhead. I withdrew my hand, allowing her to take the last one.

Logan let out an irritated sigh. It wasn’t a big deal—the girl could have it—all that mattered was that my man was on edge.

One way to fix that.

I placed my hand under the table and settled it on his thigh, drawing his focus off the girl and over to me, where his irritation melted away.

“School’s school. It keeps me busy, but it’s impossible to get much studying done at the dorm.” She swallowed a spoonful, then turned to Oliver. “Perfect, buddy!”

Oliver raised his shoulders proudly as he continued his meal.

“There’s a library for that, you know,” Jax said.

“What do you know about libraries?” Julia cracked.

“Plenty.” The wicked grin he boasted said enough.

“Gross.” Julia puffed out her cheeks and let out a mock gagging sound.

“You okay?” Oliver asked, looking unsure if he should laugh at her expression or be concerned.

“That’s enough! She’s fine. Aren’t you, Julia?” Logan said, the mature voice in the room.

Julia only nodded with a grin, wriggling her nose at Oliver. He laughed, happy in his own little world. Lucky kid.

“And I’m sure you can find plenty of places to study,” Logan continued. “There’s more than enough room here anytime you need.” He threw a quick glance at me out of the corner of his eye, but I still caught it before he looked back at her, his expression as serious as before.

“During the day, anyway,” he said.

I slid my spoon back into my mouth, fighting the blush stinging my cheeks.

“Thanks, but I’m still holding out hope that my dear, sweet,
generous
brother will look into getting me my own apartment for next semester.” She was all innocence and puppy-dog eyes when she finally lifted her head from her food and gazed at Logan.

That’s
where Oliver gets it from!

“We’ll see,” was Logan’s only response, and it had me wondering how far into the furnishing he was at the house he was going to surprise her with over spring break. I hadn’t asked, as I’d honestly forgotten about it over the past week. I made a mental note to ask about it the next time we were alone.

Julia appeared placated by his reply. I watched her subtly, my hand tensing on Logan’s leg as she took another bite of stew before slowly training her sight on Jax’s date. I wasn’t sure ‘date’ was the correct term to use, but anything else seemed too crude even in my own head.

“So, I’m guessing you’re a
friend
of Jax’s?” Julia asked, disdain heavy in her words.

The girl nodded, nibbling on the bread.

“Do you have a name?” Julia prompted.

“Leave her alone,” Jax chimed in.

I hid my smile, relieved to see him defending the girl but just as surprised as Julia appeared. Her jaw actually dropped.

“Courtney,” the girl answered after a pause. She turned her head, looking back at Julia.

“Lovely name.” Julia took a drink, then lowered her glass. “So, how long have you and Jax been…” She glanced warily at Oliver, who was happily in his own world, humming to himself. “…seeing each other?”

Oh, here we go
. That question could lead nowhere good.

I fidgeted in my seat, uncomfortable with the tension building around the table. I lifted my glass and chugged a mouthful of water to settle my flittering nerves, painfully aware that Courtney was sitting on the wrong side of the table at this family dinner.

“We’re just friends, nothing more,” Courtney explained, and the liquid in my mouth caught in my throat, causing me to choke.

Just friends?
My hands flew to my mouth as I attempted to swallow, my lips closed tightly to keep from spitting water all over the table. All eyes were on me, which didn’t help.

“You ’kay?” Oliver asked, sitting up taller.

I nodded and offered a tight smile, unable to seize control over my awkward cough. I took one glance at Logan, and the concern in his eyes erased my embarrassment instantly.

Logan spoke up for me, explaining away my reaction. “Jax rarely has
friends
for dinner.”

“He never has anyone for dinner,” Julia muttered.

“What? Logan can have friends over…” Jax looked to me. “…but I can’t?”

Julia’s face contorted into an
Uh oh
expression that I knew reflected what she was seeing from Logan’s. I chose to focus my narrow eyes on Jax. Obviously, his flippant statement wouldn’t sit well with Logan.

With my nerves on fire, I’d fixed my attention down on my food when I heard a low growl in the back of Logan’s throat, followed by him barking, “Cassandra is
much
more than a friend, and this is
my
house. Watch it!”

An uncomfortable silence hung over us for several minutes. It wasn’t until the tickling vibration from my phone in my pocket that I was reminded life outside the cloud over us still existed.

I pulled it out discreetly, hiding it under the table, and saw a text from Hilary.

I’m sorry about how I left. I’m just confused & scared. I’ll call u soon.

“Everything all right?” Logan asked, staring down at my phone.

I tucked it back in my pocket, nodding. My heart clenched. I needed to talk to her. With what she was going through, I knew she needed me.

Julia’s scornful voice shattered my worry with her next snide remark to Jax.

“What happened to the twins?”

I rolled my eyes. Was every meal they shared like this, or was today special because of Courtney?

“I have twins in my class,” Oliver boasted, always the ray of light in the room. The tightening of Logan’s grip on his glass, however, caught the corner of my eye. A natural need to protect Oliver from Jax’s scandalous reputation consumed me.

“So you and Caleb play a lot of poker, huh?” I blurted out. “He says you’re ruthless.”

“At one time, perhaps,” Logan replied dryly.

I chuckled. In fact, it was less a chuckle and more a cackling of air forced from my lungs. Still, I expected to see an appreciative smile for the subject change growing on Logan’s perfect lips instead of the deep frown that had materialized there.

“I’m sure you have at least
one
fun story to share?” I prompted, desperate to shift the conversation from his siblings. It wasn’t a stretch for me to imagine him controlling a game.

“Logan, Caleb, and poker? You kidding? He has
plenty
of
fun stories to share,” Jax said with a snicker.

Logan shot him a sidelong glare while I sat nervously, unaware of what Jax was implying. Did I
want
to know? Probably not.

“Is that a game?” Oliver asked, curious.

“Yes, one with cards,” Logan told him. “I’ll teach you when you get a little older.”

“I remember the one game you had where you came in late carrying an entire bag of clothes.” Jax chuckled, looking from Logan to me. “He’d literally taken them off the guy’s back! Ruthless, and I’m sure Caleb was no better.”

“You ever play with them?” I asked Jax.

Logan sighed quietly, and I became overly aware of his stiff shoulders and locked jaw. He definitely didn’t want to talk about it.

What was there? Whatever story he had, he wasn’t ready to share. Or maybe it wasn’t me he was worried about hearing, but his son.

“Nah, Logan wouldn’t allow it. Said I was too young.” He made a face. “I think he just didn’t want me to see how he lived it up—the cash he and Caleb made, and all the girls.”

I placed my hand over Logan’s in an attempt to soothe his unease. “Understandable. Caleb seems pretty happy now, between Hilary and Haven keeping him occupied,” I said, trying subtly to steer the conversation from poker.

It seemed to work. Logan’s expression softened, and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah, Caleb’s happy…for now. He sure has a thing for your friend. I hope she doesn’t screw with him. Poor guy never even talked about settling down before her, huh Logan?”

Logan looked to me with a secret smile. “The right woman can change a man.”

Jax snorted. “Or ruin him. Caleb’s a tricky guy to pin down, but I do remember him once saying he wanted a little boy like Oliver here. Hope he gets that someday.”

My entire body stiffened.
Where’s he going with this?

“Caleb’s nice,” Oliver threw out before shoving a giant piece of bread into his mouth. My giggle couldn’t be contained, but the anxiety from how far Jax would go still had me on edge.

“A family would do him good—settle him down in one place, finally,” Logan said.

One place.
“You don’t think Caleb will stay in Harmony?” I asked casually, relieved I sounded unaffected by his statement since I was anything but. He couldn’t leave—ever.

Logan shrugged as he took a drink. “Hard to say, but I doubt it. He always gets bored eventually. Haven’s been good to him, though, so we’ll see.”

“Hilary’s worth sticking around for,” I reasoned. “He knows that.”

“Is she?” Jax prompted.

I lifted my chin slowly and held his amused gaze. He was toying with me.

“Absolutely,” I defended.

“She looked a little green around the gills when she was over this morning. And a little…what is it you girls call it…bloated?”

Game on!

“She looked beautiful, as always. The girl you had up in your room today, however…she looked—”

“You’re right, she looked beautiful!” Jax blew out, waving a figurative white flag.

A triumphant grin curled my lips as I raised my brows at him.
Just try me
, they said clearly.

“You had a girl over today?” Courtney asked, her voice low and hard.

My smile fell away. I felt bad for her, but it was for the best that she knew exactly what she was getting with Jax. I honestly thought she’d already known until I heard the abrupt screech of her chair as she jerked up and marched out. It was clear she wouldn’t be back.

“See ya later!” Julia called after her, her voice riddled with amusement.

“Don’t be a cow. You’re just jealous you got dumped,” Jax spat at his sister.

Dumped? Mark left her? No way!

She was the next one to fly up. “Screw you!” With a quick kiss to Oliver’s cheek, she grabbed her stack of books and headed out of the room.

I rested my elbow on the table, two fingers rubbing slow circles into my temples. I’d never again dream of what having siblings was like.

“Aunt Julia’s mad,” Oliver pointed out.

Logan explained to Oliver that she was fine. Their conversation bled into the background as my thoughts ran wild. Why would Mark dump her? He was lucky to land a girl like Julia to begin with. I'd figured she'd caught him cheating, but apparently I was wrong.

I leaned over to Logan. “Mark left
her
?” I asked softly.

Jax chuckled, eavesdropping. “I take it Logan didn’t fill you in on that, huh?”

“On what?” I asked, eyeing Logan for an explanation. He gave nothing away.

“Mark made his choice,” Logan said smoothly. “Julia will get over it.”

Get over what? Did Logan do something?

Before I could ask what that meant, an impish spark appeared in Jax’s eye. “Ah, yes, just like Hilary’s going to make a choi—”

“Drop it!” I snapped, slamming my palm down on the table.

I reared back, stunned at my own actions. A gasp from Oliver seized my attention, and when I looked to him, I winced at his wide doe eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said breathlessly, ashamed. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Oliver nodded, but looked to his father for reassurance. I shrank further into my seat. Where the hell had that come from? I never yelled like that.

“Dinner was delicious, little man. Thanks,” Jax said to Oliver as he stood, rueful eyes on me, before strolling out.

He was smart to duck for cover. I’d be having a very long, very loud conversation with him shortly.

Logan said nothing, the silence unbearable until his chair scooted away from the table. I couldn’t even look at him; all I felt was shame. Was he angry?

“Are you finished?”

I peered hesitantly up at cool eyes shielding profound emotions behind them. Did he mean with my dinner, or my out-of-line outburst?

“Yeah,” I mumbled, lifting my bowl. He stacked it on top of his own before standing and disappearing from the room with Oliver.

I sat sulking in my chair, my head in my hands. Logan didn’t return, and finally I realized I couldn’t sit there all night, as much as I felt rooted in place.

With a heavy head and slow strides, I passed through the foyer just as Julia was heading upstairs with her books. “Is Logan up there?” I asked.

She gave me a sympathetic smile and nodded. “Yeah, he’s giving Oliver a bath and getting him ready for bed.”

“Okay.” My head dropped again. He was mad, Oliver was scared, and I was ashamed—perfect ending to my first real West family meal.
Did I just put the kibosh on the honeymoon phase of our relationship?

I slumped down in the armchair in his living room, refusing to leave before I’d apologized properly.