Chapter 27
Logan held both Bree and Maddy as they cried into his chest. It has been another day of torment, with Brice and Harry destroying the store. This time, Harry had cut through numerous shirts and jeans, costing them more money in inventory, and having to close down the store for the daily accosting led to lost sales again and causing more hurt.
“I can’t keep working here. I have to move out of town and finish up my parole somewhere else,” Logan said.
Maddy let go of him, her face streaked with tears. “No, I won’t let that happen. He is not going to destroy us,” she said, her voice shaky.
Bree nodded in agreement. “You can’t Logan. Then he will win.”
Logan looked around the store, a shake to his head. “They already have.” The destruction every day was hurting them all, but it was the hurt of seeing the two girls cry, the torment being brought on them, that that made things even worse.
“I'll leave until my parole is over. Then I’ll figure out what to do after that.”
Bree shook her head, her arms crossed over her stomach. “When will you leave?”
“Sunday. I’ll put in a transfer to a halfway house in Byers. It’s OK, we’re going to come out on top eventually.” Logan tried to sound confident, though he didn't believe it. Truth was he knew that it was time for him to leave Broken Hollow for good. Maddy had a life to live, and he was only going to hold it up.
“I'm so sorry, Logan,” Maddy said, her hand wiping at her face.
“I am too. Come on, let’s clean up, and what do you two say we head into the city? Let’s go celebrate with a nice dinner.”
Bree shook her head. “Celebrate what?”
“Something they can’t take away from us. Family.”
***
Logan smiled at Maddy who sat across from him. The food had just been served, and watching her try to take a bite out of the burger made him laugh.
“Almost got it,” he said.
She gave him the finger, causing them all to laugh as he took a bite out of his as well. His eyes went over to Bree, who was smiling at Maddy. For a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw something there that was more than friendship between the two women. Then he shook the thought from his head. Bree had hit on him for years. There was no way she was interested in Maddy like that.
“Damn, this is good food,” Logan said, taking another bite, a dollop of ketchup falling out and landing on his pant leg.
“Nice job,” Bree teased, then took a bite of her own.
“I’ll show you nice job,” Logan said, raising his fist and giving her a wink. He wiped away the mess, and then took a drink from his Coke, his eyes looking over the crowd. The restaurant was a typical American diner with booths on each side of the walls, and tables down the middle. The place was pretty busy, and as he scanned the crowd, his eyes came back to both girls who sat there smiling.
“What?” he asked, and they both laughed.
“See anyone you like?” Maddy said.
Logan shook his head. “No. And I'm not going to be looking for someone for a long time. I have you two brats to look after.”
“Oh, please,” Maddy said, a shake to her head. “We cook for you, do your laundry. Bree, what else?”
“Let’s see. Grocery shopping and helping you pick out clothes when you buy them. I swear, Logan, you’re probably the only gay man in the world with no fashion sense.”
Logan laughed so hard he almost choked on his food. Holding his hand up, he took another drink from his Coke. Confident he could breathe again, he spoke up. “My fashion isn't that bad. As a matter of fact, it’s quite good.”
Maddie snorted. “Right, jeans and t-shirts. What a statement,” she said rolling her eyes.
As the two women laid into him, Logan smiled. This was what life was about, laughing and loving. Looking over, he saw a young man around Brice's age who looked similar in appearance, and for a moment his heart went to Brice wherever he was. Yes, he was angry with him, but the feelings that had developed had not gone away, at least not completely. Even though each thrust of the knife that went through the merchandise also went through his heart, he could not help but still care for the man.
That made it all even worse. They had shared so much, grown so close, and even had a brief official relationship. A true heart-to-heart one. And then, not only did it end, but it became nasty, Brice's dealings with him cold and calculated.
Maybe one day he would open up and let Logan know why he was acting out in such a way. And maybe at some point Logan would forgive him. But as his eyes went back to Maddy and Bree, he pushed that thought out of his mind. Not only had Brice promised not to hurt Logan, he swore the girls would never come under Harry's arm of the law. And that was another promise that Brice had broken. An important one. Not to mess with family. And for that act alone, Logan realized he could never forgive Brice, despite how Logan felt about him.
***
Brice sat alone in his apartment above the garage. He was never a big drinker, but tonight he felt especially sad and the wine was helping. On his phone he read through some of the texts Logan had sent a few weeks ago, though the messages had now stopped. Coming to one, he grabbed his glass of wine and took a drink before reading it out loud.
“I don't know what went wrong. You seemed happy agreeing it should be over, but then to just ignore me is killing me. I care for you, and I think you care for me. If you’re hurt, let’s talk about it. Anger gets you nowhere, trust me, I know.”
Brice wiped at his eye, going to another message, one of the last.
“We made a promise never to hurt each other. Not only are you doing it, but you’re breaking my sister’s heart. She did nothing wrong. If you want to get your revenge on me, then by all means take it out on me. But don't hurt her!”
Brice set the phone down, then taking another drink of the wine, leaned back in his couch, the soft cushions enveloping him. He closed his eyes wishing it was Logan's arms holding him, his strong hands rubbing his back, letting him know he was safe.
He would tell Logan the problems going on, and why he had to do what he was doing. It was to protect Logan and his sister, and of course Carol. Anger rose in him and he opened his eyes. For the last few weeks he had tried to come up with an idea on how to nail Harry. He had brought up a few times about meeting with the women that owed Harry favors, but each time Harry shut him down. He knew that if he pushed too hard, Harry would become suspicious.
Grabbing his phone again, he pulled up Logan's name and typed out a text.
“Logan, not only do I care for you, but I fell in love with you. If you could read this, you would know I’m trying to protect you. And even if the hate I see in your eyes for me continues, I'll continue protecting you.”
With sigh, he put the phone down, knowing he could never send it. His hand shook, the wine glass almost falling as a knock came to the door. He was not expecting company. But this late at night, whoever was at the door had him worried. He peeked out the window and then quickly opened the door.
Carol stood there, and without waiting for an invitation, quickly stepped in.
“Carol, how are you?” Brice asked, wondering why she was there.
“Oh, never better. Here, take my coat,” she said, taking it off and handing it to him. She was never this blunt or forward, and taking her coat, he hung it up.
“Oh wine. Get me a glass, would you?” she purred.
Brice went to say something, but her eyebrows rose and her eyes brokered no argument. It made him more confused, but he went ahead and grabbed the bottle and a glass and filled it up before taking it to her. She was wearing a red sweater and a pair of black slacks, the blue flower again pinned on her outfit.
“So, how is your night going?” Brice asked, not sure how to make small talk when she was acting as she was. But they couldn’t just sit there staring at each other. He reached down and grabbed his glass. Maybe she had been drinking. That would explain her odd behavior.
“Just great. I went out with Harry earlier to dinner. Such a nice man, a real gentleman.”
Brice shook his head. “Harry?”
She nodded, a smile on her face.
“I love working for that man, and going to dinner with him has been the best thing I have ever done.”
“I see,” Brice said, then took a drink of his wine. Setting the glass back down, his mind raced, wondering what she was doing here, and why she was happy around Harry all of a sudden.
“That night we kissed, Brice, I still think about it. As a matter of fact, it’s the reason I came over,” Carol said, stepping up to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.
He stood up in shock. “Carol, I…” he said, but she cut him off.
This time she spoke up a bit louder. “I booked a real nice hotel room with a bottle of Champagne on ice waiting for us. Romance,” Carol said, “some drinking,” her hand went to his face, her eyes looking into his “and plenty of love.”
A million thoughts went through his mind, betrayal being one of them. She knew he was gay, and he wondered if her friendship had all been part of an act. Was she just trying to woo him?
Brice went to talk, but Carol put her finger out over his lips, her eyes glaring at him, a slight shake to her head. Something was not right, and before he could react, Carol leaned in and began to whisper quickly in his ear.