doorstep." Finally, he smiled. "I probably aged ten years the first six months they lived with me, but they're the greatest gift anyone's ever given me. A couple of years later, my wife and then my son got added into the chaos, and now ... apparently ... we keep adding their men too."
He sounded so disgruntled about it that I found myself smiling despite the terrible story that had led to their family.
"Lia was ... ten, yeah?"
Logan nodded. "Tough time to have your mom bail. Any age is, I guess. I always wondered if they heard her that day she left."
When he fell quiet, I glanced over at him.
"Brooke always wanted the fun, the excitement, the adventure. But we'd always known that about her. It wasn't anything new. But leaving them ... I never saw that coming. Right before she left, I asked her why she was doing this." He shifted in his seat. "She looked back at me and shrugged, then she said, 'I have one life, Logan, and it's already been hard enough. Why would I spend the rest of it being miserable?'"
"Fuck me," I murmured. Even if Lia hadn't heard her mum, everything made so much sense, looking at her through that lens. "Thank you for telling me."
"It's something you have to understand. Anyone who's going to love one of those girls needs to. You don't experience someone leaving you like that without scars. And Lia might hide those scars well, but they're there. She'd never let anyone make her child feel the way Brooke made them feel."
I mulled that over, each thing he told me only serving to make me love her even more.
"She'll be an excellent mum, won't she?"
"I have no doubt about it," Logan said.
I stared out at the mountain peaks, still capped in white despite the warm May air. I thought of what Lia had said driving through the English countryside, about paying attention to your surroundings when they were unfamiliar, and I smiled. Each mile closer, it wasn't even so much the scenery that had me overwhelmed, but the idea that I was so near to her after so many months.
"And you're sure you're ready for all this change?" Logan asked. He flipped his indicator on to take the next exit, and my heart raced in anticipation. We were close.
"I am."
He nodded but didn't say another word as he wove through a few streets, taking us farther from the noise and busyness of the highway. At a small curve in the road, I saw a beautiful building set back in a clearing. Long balconies stretched in front of a dozen sliding glass doors on each of the three stories with parking underneath the building. The landscaping was lush and green against the white stucco.
"2B," he said quietly. "She thinks I'm picking her up for the shower in a little bit. I told her I'd hit the buzzer three times so she knew it was me."
Logan parked his truck and held out his hand.
I took it for what it was—an olive branch and a blessing. I wasn't entirely sure I deserved it yet, but I'd bloody well try.
"Thank you," I told him again. "For everything."
He clapped me on the back. "You fuck it up, and I'll rip your balls off, Brit."
"Fair enough," I answered dryly.
I pulled my suitcase out of the truck and gave him a small smile before I walked to the main entrance. The building had a small entryway behind glass doors, and I was happy to see security cameras affixed all around. Quickly finding 2B on the panel, I gave the button three quick bursts and held my breath.
Lia
I eyed the clock on the wall above the couch, pressing the button to let Logan up. "Come on up. I'm almost ready."
From my living room window, I'd seen the back of his truck parked in front of the building, so I knew it wasn't a serial killer or anything.
A stack of boxes sat next to the door, and I moved the top one over so he wouldn't knock into it when he came in. The apartment was sparsely furnished and only half unpacked, but it already felt like home. The May sunshine streamed in through the sliders that led to my balcony, and I hummed along with the music playing in my bedroom.
My hand reached down, but I couldn't reach the buckle on my ankle. "Shit," I whispered. Mildly awkward to ask your big brother to do it, but hey, pregnant