Page 34 of Bittersweet

He remembered the conversation with Harper about where they were living and felt a twinge of guilt. He wanted so much to protect his baby girl and keep her away from her mother’s criminal family, but he’d gone and moved her into an unsafe neighborhood, close to the same bad elements, the same kind of crimes. Besides the shooting that had freaked Kayla out the other night, there’d been more than one drive-by in the area in recent months. He’d also personally witnessed several drug deals going down in their neighborhood and had kept his head down, pretending he’d seen nothing. Best to keep a low profile.

This was not the life he wanted for his daughter. The thought of something bad happening to Kayla kept him up at night. Coming from where he had, he knew any number of things could happen in areas like that.

He hadn’t meant to get so defensive with Harper, but she had put him on the spot, and honestly, he knew she was right. He wanted to find a new place. Kayla needed to feel safe in her home. He wished he’d looked at the list of apartments Harper said she’d put together for him. It was only a matter of time before his food truck started making a good profit. Business was steadily improving, and he was holding out hope he’d have enough for them to move within a couple months.

Some days, it felt irresponsible, going after his food truck dream like he had. Working for Gary’s construction company for the first few years of Kayla’s life had drained him, and when he stopped having to take her to visit Naya, hope had sprung anew. He hadn’t felt like he needed to stay close to the prison anymore, and he knew Grand Rapids was where he wanted to be. So they’d moved in with Gary and Marsha for six months while he saved up some money, then he’d packed up their things and moved them across the state. He thought their cheap apartment would only be temporary, until he found a steady job and could get them something nicer in a better part of town. Then, he’d found the truck.

He hadn’t planned to start the food truck business right away. It was a goal for the future. But when he saw it, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It had cost him all of his savings to purchase the truck, and get it up and running. In the process, it had put them in a situation where they couldn’t afford to move. Starting a business wasn’t an easy thing, and the truck wasn’t making much money yet.

“Everything okay, boss?” Wendy interrupted his thoughts. She stood just inside the door, holding a folder and other papers in her arms.

He took a deep breath and gave her his full attention. “What’s up?”

“Just need to go over some paperwork with you—permits, orders, budget stuff.”

“This day keeps getting better and better.”

“Well, it is a Monday.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, there’s that.”

“Maybe the delicious smelling delivery waiting outside will cheer you up.”

Logan’s pulse sped up, hoping it was Harper. Maybe his day was getting better.

He stepped past Wendy and out the door to find Savannah with an armful of boxes.

“Good morning,” Savannah greeted him.

“Morning. Come on in.”

Wendy moved aside, and Savannah entered the truck with the day’s delivery in hand.

“Where should I put these?” she asked.

Logan took the boxes from her hands and stacked them on the counter.

“I’ve got a few more.” She motioned over her shoulder. “They’re in the car.”

Logan followed her outside and carried in the rest of the order. He couldn’t help his disappointment that it wasn’t Harper. Being in her presence for those brief minutes last week at their shop was enough to make all the other worries of his life fade away. But admitting how much he hoped for more time with her probably wasn’t a good idea. She had a boyfriend, after all. A nice guy, it seemed. She deserved to be happy, and he needed to let her. He certainly hadn’t succeeded at that. Maybe this Brett guy was the one who could.

“How’s Harper?” he asked.

Savannah’s right eyebrow lifted. “She’s … conflicted.”

This grabbed his attention.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” she admitted.

“Conflicted about working with me? Or about the reason I left?”

“Both.”

Logan’s lips scrunched to one side. “I wish I knew what she was thinking.”

“I mean, if it were me and you showed up four years after breaking my heart and suddenly you have a daughter I never knew about … well, it would take a while to get over the shock of that.”

“I know.” He shook his head and exhaled. “I screwed up. Big time.”

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