Hard Knox - Riley Hart Page 0,89

sorts of horror stories played in my head.

“I’ll talk to you about it in a minute,” I told Logan. “You guys can go. Thanks for coming.” I was trying not to sound upset, even though I was broken. I wanted to be strong for Logan, so he’d feel like everything was okay, but the rest of them, they knew.

“You’re doing a good job, man. It’ll work out,” Law said.

“We’ll check on you in the morning and run over and take care of Frankie Blue again,” Remy added.

I nodded at them both, hugged Mom, and then we were on our way up to Logan’s room. I couldn’t stop thinking of the tears in Charlie’s eyes, hearing her say she hated me. My chest ached, and I reached over to hold the railing on Logan’s bed to feel closer to him.

“I hate you!”

I squeezed tighter as we kept walking.

Logan’s room was on the second floor. The tech took us in, locked the bed in place, and said the nurse would be in soon.

The second he left, Logan asked, “What was wrong with Charlie? And why did Dad say you’re his partner?”

I adjusted his nasal cannula. “Your dad will talk to you soon.” I was pretty sure he already knew. I’d considered that at the park, and he’d seemed okay with it, I thought, so he still would be, right?

“You and Dad are together, aren’t you? You’re like, boyfriends or whatever?”

“Logan…”

“Oh my God! You are! Are you going to move in with us? I hope you move in with us. I thought maybe you guys were, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up and…” He tried to suck in a breath. He was speaking too fast.

There was a part of me that relaxed at what he said, that was even a little giddy that he was so happy. But then I thought about Charlie. I wanted her to like me. I wanted her to be happy too. “You need to calm down, kiddo. You’re getting yourself worked up.”

“Then tell me, please.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No.”

I sighed. “Your dad and I are together, yes, but it’s complicated. You and Charlie have to come first, always. We have to think about what’s best for you and—”

“This is best for me! For us. And Dad too. I’ve never seen him so happy.”

I brushed his dark hair back from his forehead. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me. And I love you very much. You’re so special to me, and no matter what happens with me and your dad, I will always be a part of your life, okay? But there’s a lot to consider. It won’t always be easy, even if it is at home. Kids at school might—”

“I don’t care about kids at school. I already told Dale I hope you moved in with us and married Dad. He said you’re cool. Who cares about everyone else?”

My heart thumped excitedly against my chest. “Well, I am pretty cool.”

“You’re the best.” Logan nodded.

“You need to get some rest. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

“Okay.” Logan yawned again. “I love you, Callum.”

“I love you too, kiddo.”

As I looked at him, I knew right then and there that I would fight for them, for my family.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Knox

I sat with Charlie at a picnic table outside the ER, in a seating area with lights around it that kept the whole place illuminated.

“I love you. So, so, so much. I will always love you. I’ll never start a new family and leave you or your brother behind.” I made sure that was the first thing I said to her. I didn’t ever want her to think that would change.

I waited a moment for her to reply, but she didn’t, wouldn’t even look at me.

“It’s okay to be surprised at what you saw,” I told her. “I understand if you’re upset or confused, Charlie-girl, but how you talked to Callum isn’t okay. He’s…he’s very important to me, and he’s going to be around from now on. But remember, how I feel about Callum doesn’t change how much I love you and your brother. I’ll always love you, and you’ll always be the most important people in my life.”

She kept her arms crossed and still said nothing.

“You’re stubborn like me. Your mom used to tell me that all the time when we were married, that I was stubborn. I’ve gotten better at it over the years, though.”

She still didn’t talk.

“You’re allowed to