Hard Knox - Riley Hart Page 0,27
be hectic for a while, and maybe getting a dog so soon hadn’t been the best idea, but Logan’s happiness made it worth whatever sacrifices I had to make.
“Logan?” I called out, stepping into the house.
“Up here, Dad!”
I went upstairs to see him sitting on the floor with the puppy, who immediately came running over to attack my feet.
“Hey, silly girl.” I bent and petted her. “Did you take her out?”
“Yep. I took her out and cleaned her kennel. She had one accident on the floor, and I cleaned that up too.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.” This definitely wasn’t typical behavior. Like most kids, chores usually took some prodding.
“I wanna make sure I prove to you that I can handle a puppy.”
“Good man.” I pushed to my feet. “Homework?”
“A little bit.”
“You should maybe start it now. Callum will be here in about an hour, and that way you won’t have to do it while he’s here.”
“Awesome! I’m glad he’s coming over.”
Logan and Frankie Blue followed me downstairs, the latter stumbling over her feet slightly. Logan grabbed his backpack from the hook by the door, then went to the table and got started on his homework.
“How’s your hand?”
Logan rolled his eyes. “It’s fine, Dad.”
I already had boneless, skinless chicken breasts marinating in the fridge, so I plucked out the vegetables I’d gotten at the store on one of my trips home today, washed my hands, and started cutting.
Logan frowned. “What are you making?”
“Um…salad? I know you’ve had one before.”
“Yes, but you don’t usually make them.”
“Yes I do.” I threw a chunk of cucumber at him before remembering we had a puppy now. Luckily Frankie Blue didn’t notice, and Logan threw it back.
“When you do, you get the bagged stuff, but you have like, real lettuce and all sorts of options. I don’t remember you ever putting bell peppers in a salad before.”
Leave it to kids to unknowingly call you on your shit. Not that it was really shit, but yeah, I was trying to make a pretty fucking special salad. “First, the bagged stuff is real lettuce. Second, maybe I just think we need to start eating more balanced meals.”
His frown deepened. “O-kay.”
“Do your homework, twerp.”
He nodded and did as told. I finished up with my salad, covered the bowl, and put it in the fridge.
“How’s school going?” I’d spoken to them about watching out for anyone teasing Logan, and they readily agreed.
“I thought you wanted me to do my homework?” Logan countered.
“I do, but I also want to check in with you. Is that okay?”
He sighed. I sat across from him at the table, and he said, “It’s fine, Dad. No one has been mean to me or anything. They don’t really know me well enough to think I’m a dork.”
“Hey, you’re not a dork.”
“You have to think that.”
This was so foreign to me. While I hadn’t been the popular kid everyone wanted to be friends with, I always had my group of peers. I always fit in, and if I didn’t, I didn’t give a shit. I didn’t know what it felt like to be littler than everyone else or picked on. The thought of Logan dealing with it made my chest ache and anger rage.
“No, I don’t have to think that, but even if I did, other people who aren’t your parents don’t think you’re a dork. Callum likes you. You guys have a badass-cool-kids club I’m not even allowed to be a member of.”
He gave a small grin. “I know, and I’m fine. I just don’t like to talk about it. I feel like even more of a loser when we do. But no one has been mean to me. No one has picked on me. No one has said much of anything to me unless they have to.”
It wasn’t hard to read between the lines. Maybe he hadn’t been picked on, but he hadn’t met any friends yet either. Fuck, I hated this. I wanted to go down to that school and force the other kids to see how great Logan was. How kind and funny and smart.
“Want to work on our model airplane tonight?” It wasn’t the same as kids at school, but I wanted him to know I enjoyed spending time with him.
Logan didn’t reply right away, and then there was a knock at the door and he shoved out of the chair. “I’ll get it!”
“Hey,” I said. He stopped and looked at me. “I love you, buddy.”
“I know.” And then he was gone. I heard