Logan patted the spot in front of him, wiggling his brows at me. With a soft giggle, I sat between his legs and grabbed the rope.
I leaned back and whispered, “Clever. Was this why you suggested sledding—another ploy to get me between your legs?”
“It’s
your
legs I enjoy spending time between, but not while sledding.” His low, hushed voice rumbled through me and wrapped me in adoration, warming me. “Unless you’d like to come back for a midnight ride.”
Tempting.
“Ready!” Oliver shouted, holding the handles on each side of his sled and beaming.
“Three, two, ONE!” I bellowed, and Logan released his hold on Oliver’s sled, giving him a head start before sending us shooting down.
Logan’s lips were on my neck, his hands on my thighs as his thumbs traced lines back and forth over my jeans. Mixed with the adrenaline of the lightning speed, his touch had me bustling with life.
“This is perfect,” he said, kissing up my ear when I leaned into him.
I caught sight of Oliver sliding off to the side, hearing his animated laughter upon beating us to the bottom.
“I won! I won!” he cheered, bouncing up and down just as we came to a stop a few feet away.
“Congratulations, baby.”
My stomach dropped at the sound of her voice, my body going painfully rigid. I wanted the day to include just me and my boys—she was the last person I wanted on our date. Still, I shook it off.
“Mommy!” Oliver ran past us as Logan stood, brushing the snow from his jeans.
I couldn’t look up at him or even blink; my entire body screamed at me not to turn around. My movements to stand were deliberately slow as Logan held out his hand to me.
Why is she here? Will she tell Oliver what happened?
It was obvious Logan could see it written all over my face.
Taking my time, I wiped the snow from my legs, coat, and gloves—anything to stall the moment.
“
That’s
what you call a sled?”
My head shot back at the sound of Caleb’s voice. So it wasn’t only Natasha high-jacking my date—she was with Caleb and Hilary.
My day was crashing fast. There was far too much drama wrapped in that group for me to have a fun sledding day.
Caleb bent down and was laughing with Oliver. Hilary stared at the hill, pretending to watch the other sledders.
Logan stepped into me when I finally stood, ran his hands up and down my arms to warm me, then leaned into my ear.
“I invited Caleb last night, since it’s obvious you and Hilary have something to work out. But I swear I have no idea why Natasha is here.”
My gaze met his, and I knew instantly that he spoke the truth.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll tell her to leave.”
Yes, please!
my internal bitch screamed. However, as I watched Natasha climb the hill hand in hand with Oliver—with an awkward gait, no doubt from the accident, slowing her steps—my shoulders deflated with a sigh.
“It’s all right.” I pulled on a wide, albeit thin smile. “Oliver’s happy, and that’s what matters.”
I began to walk away, ready to climb the hill with heavy legs and a troubled conscience. I wanted Oliver to have his mother, but it still stung—though I’d never admit it aloud.
Logan slipped his hand in mine and brought it to his lips, kissing the pads of my fingers one at a time.
“Thank you.” His voice was so sincere, yet filled with nerves. “Now, do you plan on saying hello to Hilary or continuing to ignore her? It’s quite uncomfortable.”
“Sure is!” Caleb said, standing closer now to eavesdrop.
Glancing his way, I noticed Hilary was halfway across the field, heading to the restroom.
“We’re fine, just—”
“Just not speaking?” Caleb finished.
What could I say? I stood there with two gorgeous yet irritated men in front of me, looking for answers.
“Look, whatever you two are fighting about, go make up. My girl has been crying every night and she won’t say why, but I know it has to be about you. Hell, standing in that damn foyer to pick Oliver up last night made that clear.”
“We just had a disagreement; it’s nothing serious. We’re fine, really.”
“Bullshit!” Caleb took a step toward me, but Logan’s hand shot out to make sure he kept his distance. Caleb ignored it, his eyes hard on mine. “She’s hurting, Cassie, so whatever is going on, fix it!”
Without another word or allowing me to speak, he turned on his heel and headed up the mountain. I hadn’t seen Caleb’s temper since I was younger, and even then it was only on display when he fought with bullies at school.
I glanced back at the restroom Hilary was now entering. Her crying every night wasn’t about me, but it
was
time for us to talk.
“I’ll be back,” I said to Logan, my nerves frayed.
His lip curled up and I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“Take your time, sweetheart.”
Chapter Sixteen
Downhill
If I knew one thing about Hilary, it was that she didn’t do well with confrontation. She’d always been one to jump into defensive mode before hearing someone out. But as many times as I’d witnessed it, I somehow forgot that little fact when I creaked opened the door to the small brick building. An unpleasant stench of sewage assaulted my senses as I entered.
It was dark and dreary, and likely housed a few critters from the looks of it. My steps were cautious as I surveyed the small sink and three stalls. All the doors were open except one.
“Hilary?” I moved toward the back stall quickly.
“G-go away.” Her stutter broke into unmistakable grunts of vomiting.
I waited for her to finish. “Hilary, are you—”
The retching started again almost the same second it’d ceased, cutting off my words. A few seconds later, a loud, disgusted gasp of breath filtered through the door.
I stood on the other side, uneasy at the fact that there was little I could do for her.
“You want me to see if I can find you a bottle of water? There was a vendor—”
The stall door flew open and I leapt back, nearly catching it in the face. Hilary ambled out, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“No, I’ll be okay.”
“You sure?” I asked, unconvinced. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat glistened above her brow.
“Positive. There isn’t anything left in me, so unless the dry heaves hit I should be good to go for a few more hours.” She stood at the sink, splashing water on her face.
“Morning sickness?” My lips twisted up in a sympathetic smile.
The faucet handle squeaked as she turned it off. She peered up at me, glaring. “Wow, you must be a genius considering its 9 a.m. and I’m knocked up!”
A scowl scrunched my face. This was my date time with Logan, and there was no way I was going to sit there and take her attitude—especially when I had Natasha waiting on that hill.
“You know what? I came in here to check on my best friend, not a mean bitch! So now you’re either gonna hear me out,” I stepped into her, “or I’ll march back outside and up that damn hill to let Caleb know
exactly
why you’ve been crying every night!”
“You wouldn’t!” she sneered.
“I would.” Those two simple words rolled out with an unyielding strength. I was done trying to be nice to everyone. Regardless of whether she wanted to hear it, I wasn’t holding back this time. “Now let me ask you: Do you
really
think he’ll never find out—that you can disappear for a few months and come back like everything is fine, knowing that you
stole
his child?”
“It’s
my
choice!”
“Really? All yours, huh?” I shook my head, dropping my gaze. “He’ll never forgive you.”
“He’s never gonna find out!” Despite the hardness in her voice, it still cracked with rattled nerves.
I looked at her, demanding her full attention. “Listen to me: You
will
regret this. Caleb wants kids someday; he told me himself. He also adores you, Hilary.”
Her features began to soften as I continued with a gentler voice.
“And maybe he
will
break your heart and leave you a single mother. But if that happens, you won’t ever have to raise this child alone. You know that. And at the end of the day, you’ll have a clear conscience. Please, just tell him the truth. Give him a chance.”
The bathroom door swung open abruptly. Both our heads whipped in its direction as a woman sauntered in, typing away on her phone. When she looked up, her body jerked back, startled.
“Oh, Miss Clarke! Hi, how have you been? We heard you’re coming back on Monday.”
Her name failed me, but I recognized her as one of my students’ mothers.
“Yeah, I am, and I can’t wait,” I replied.
“Excuse me,” Hilary muttered, slipping out the door with her head down.
I gave a look of apology to the woman. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you in a couple days. Take care!” I threw out hastily as I rushed out.
“Hilary, stop!”
She turned back quickly. “Cassandra, I love you—I do, and I know why you’re pushing me. Honestly, I’d be trying to convince you to do the same thing, but please…I can’t be a mother.”
She started walking away again.
“But you’ll steal away Caleb’s chance at being a father?” I said, not bothering to whisper.
She spun back and stormed at me. “Stop! Come on—please. Don’t do this to me.”
I stood my ground, despite her shaking hands and trembling lip. When she saw I wasn’t going to back down, her shoulders slumped on the rush of her drained exhale. Tears welled in her eyes.
“I tried. I almost told him last night. Seeing him with Oliver broke my heart because he’s so good with him. So…natural. Like, it just came so easy to him. But after we dropped Oliver off and got back in the car, Caleb was kissing me and said he was glad it was just us…that as much as he loved Oliver, he couldn’t imagine doing that every night.”
“Hilary, he was probably just tired. Logan said Caleb rarely babysits. Don’t do something so extreme based off one stupid statement he made. Tell him what’s going on, and let
him
decide how he feels about it.”
Slowly, she sank down onto the snow, looking defeated, cradling her knees to her chest. I sat beside her, staring ahead at Logan and Oliver squaring off against Caleb in a snowball fight. Natasha stood to the side, watching them. Not wanting to think about her, I shook my head and turned my focus back to Hilary, but she’d seen the same picture as me.
“Sorry about Natasha,” Hilary said with a frown. “Caleb’s fault.”
“What? Why?” Did Caleb and Natasha even know each other? She was long gone from Logan’s life before he met Caleb.
Not the time.
“You know what? Doesn’t matter. I’m not letting you change the subject. You always do that.”
She smiled and lay back with a thud, slipping her hands under her head. “We ran into her and Jax at Haven when we stopped in for a drink last night.”
Subject change, it was…for now. I lay back beside her.
“They overheard Caleb telling me we were going to meet you guys here in the morning. Jax insisted Caleb invite her, going on and on with some sob story about her always wanting to take Oliver sledding. I tried to talk him out of it.”
“I don’t get Jax,” I confessed, squinting my eyes in the morning sunlight.
“What’s to get? He’s a perv! Every time I run into him, he’s checking out my tits.” Her head fell my way, and she revealed a secret smile. “But he’s hot, so it’s not the
worst
thing.”
I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Caleb doesn’t strike me as one to share.”
She blew out a laugh. “You kidding? He almost knocked the shit out of him for just staring at me!”
We both laughed, relaxing into the earth as we lay there. The distant chuckles from the sledders mixed blissfully with the chirps from the birds overhead. It was surprisingly peaceful.
“He loves you,” I said after a few moments.
“I know.” She rubbed her stomach.
We lay there a while longer until the sight of Logan and Caleb heading our way caught my eye. Time was up.
“You can do this, Hilary. You’re one of the strongest people I know. ” I wrapped my hand around hers and held it there in the snow.
“It’s so unfair.”
I sat up and turned to her, holding her hand more tightly. “I know, but give him a chance. He deserves that—and so does the baby.”
“Hey, you beauties looking for company?” Caleb asked as they drew closer.
Hilary sat up and drew me in for a hug. “I’ll tell him. First thing tomorrow, I’ll tell him everything,” she whispered, then pulled back and held up her hand for Caleb. “I’m looking for a gentleman to help me up.”
Caleb pulled her to her feet. “Since when do you prefer a gentleman?” He snickered, nipping her neck. She giggled, falling against him so naturally I couldn’t imagine her with anyone else.
“A hand, sweetheart?”
I looked up at Logan and smiled. “I’m sure you have more than just that to offer.”
Before I could reach out, he leaned down and scooped me up, shifting me around to straddle him as he straightened. “Oh, I’ve plenty to offer you.” The thickness in his voice seeped through my skin, planting seeds of sensual promises.
There was no denying my need for him when he cupped my ass, pressing my center along the ridges of his abs. My fingers threaded together behind his neck, my needy eyes on his. I trailed my tongue over my suddenly dry lips, preparing to show him what
I
had to offer.
“Hey, now, this is a PG park!” Caleb teased.
Logan set me back down, but not before capturing my lips for a quick but memorable moment. Damn…he always tasted so perfect.
We made our way back to Oliver and Natasha, who were now at the top of the hill.
“Mommy, race me!” Oliver called out, plopping down on his sled.
With a hesitant smile, Natasha glanced my way, then back at her son. “Sorry, baby, I can’t. My back’s a little sore.”
The guilt that crept through me at the somber drop of his cheerful expression bit me.