Page 58 of Bittersweet

“Well, if you stayed with us, you’d be welcome to have her come to the house to visit Kayla. And we’ll be here to support you through that. It might be an awkward transition. For all of you.”

“I’ve thought of that.”

“Selfishly, we would love to have you two back so we can spend more time with our sweet Kay. We miss her.”

“I know. She misses you too. We both do.”

“Then it’s settled.”

He could hear the joy in Marsha’s voice and picture her smiling, but then Gary spoke up.

“As much as we would love to have you, this is a decision you need to make, Logan. We can’t make it for you. It’s something that requires serious thought and prayer. And we will support you, whatever you decide. Right, Marsh?”

Marsha groaned. “Yes, dear. We want what’s best for you, Logan. Even if you stay in Grand Rapids.”

“I’ll let you know. Soon.”

Once they hung up, he felt some better for having people to talk to. He’d already been leaning toward moving back to Detroit, and this tipped the scales further in that direction. It seemed like the best decision in his current circumstance.

But he didn’t want to leave Harper. He’d just got her back. How would he tell her he had to go again? She would know the reason he was leaving this time, but how would she take it?

The only thing that would make this situation better would be if she were to move with him. He wondered if she would consider it. Would she leave behind what she’d established to be with him and Kayla? He feared the answer to that question.

He’d wait to tell her. Until he had a plan.

23

The anticipation was killing her. All morning long, she’d been trying to focus on cookie orders, but her mind would not stop trying to figure out where Logan could possibly be taking her that night. Their first real date since getting back together. He’d been busy for the past few days, talking to the insurance company, figuring out what to do about the truck, spending some time with Kayla.

When they’d talked on the phone on Wednesday, she could hear the stress in his voice, and he’d quickly switched to the topic of his plan for them for Friday night. All he would tell her was to dress comfortably and bring a jacket. This work day could not end fast enough for her.

In the middle of the afternoon, a tall blonde woman came through the door. She glanced over the counter and smiled when she spotted Savannah.

“Hey, Wendy,” Savannah greeted her. “How are you?”

Wendy? This must be the woman who works for Logan.

“I’m well. And you?”

“All right. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I wanted to bring the money we owe you from the food truck festival.” Wendy handed an envelope to Savannah. “It looks like we won’t be working together anymore.”

“Oh, really? How long will the truck be out for repairs?”

“It’s pretty much a total loss because of the fire.”

Harper couldn’t help but overhear. “Fire?” she interjected.

Wendy nodded. “Yeah, apparently busting it up wasn’t enough. They had to torch the thing too.”

Savannah gasped. “Are you serious? That’s terrible.”

Harper didn’t know what to say. She was frozen in place. Why hadn’t Logan told her the extent of the damages?

“Yeah, he can’t afford to get it fixed. It’s such a shame. People were loving it, and all your baked goods. We were really on a roll.”

Wendy and Savannah chatted for a little while, but Harper didn’t pay attention to what they were saying. She couldn’t believe Logan hadn’t told her this. What reason could he possibly have to keep it from her? Maybe he wanted to shield her from the evil of the world. Or maybe … maybe his casual mentions of Detroit hadn’t been so casual. Was he serious about going back there? Maybe he thought Kayla needed to be closer to her mom.

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