Page 53 of Logan

But I didn’t, and I wasn’t even surprised with myself.

“I can fly them to Maryland.”

“Huh?” Mason looked at me with a confused expression.

“I can fly them to Maryland. The kids and the caseworker. I’m still licensed to fly since I served in the Air Force. Plus, I’ve gotsome old buddies from my time serving that still owe me a favor. I can probably convince them to lend me the use of a plane.” I approached the desk with my hands held out in a beseeching gesture, practically begging Mason to agree with me.

“It’ll be easier for everyone this way. The caseworker won’t be overwhelmed taking care of two kids alone, and the kids already know me since I was the one who rescued them. We can have them relocated in just a couple of hours.”

Mason ran his hands through his hair again. If he kept it up, he was going to go bald as well as gray.

“This is more than I should be asking of you, but I also can’t afford to turn you down. All right. I’ll redirect any new cases to give you some time free and see if I can scrape any funds together, so you don’t have to pay for everything out of pocket.”

It took another hour to plan out all the details, and when I left Mason’s office, I was scheduled to get on a plane the very next day.

By then, more people had arrived at the office. I turned and headed straight for the door that led to the building’s rooftop staircase. Along the way I nodded to people, and exchanged friendly greetings, but if asked later, I couldn’t have said who I encountered. My body was on autopilot, and my brain was a dizzying whirlwind of thoughts that kept flying around but refused to land long enough for me to focus on them.

On the roof, a strong wind whipped at my hair and made my eyes water as I looked out over the city. In the distance, I could just see the Mississippi River and the twin peaks of the Horace Wilkinson Bridge that stretched across it. The bridge was usuallya dull iron gray, but in the morning sunlight it seemed to glow as if made from pure copper.

My phone sat cold and lifeless in my hand. At first, I’d thought to call Clay and tell him I was going to be making a trip to Maryland, but I changed my mind before hitting a single button.

Mason was fooled, and so was everyone else, but I couldn’t fool myself. Volunteering to make the trip to Maryland wasn’t a selfless act for the sake of helping victims. I’d barely even thought about those kids when I made the suggestion.

No.

Only one thought had been in my mind.

If I went to Maryland, there was a chance I might see Clay again.

It was selfish. He was building a life of his own. He didn’t need me to show up out of the blue. Especially after the dreams I’d been having about him. Even if I kept the nature of my dreams a secret and never told a soul, they would still be in the back of my mind when I saw him again.

Would I be able to keep my cool and pretend like nothing had changed?

That I wasn’t constantly thinking about him in ways that he hadn’t consented to?

Maybe.

If I was any sort of decent person I would go back into Mason’s office and offer to find someone else to make the flight to Maryland. I would keep myself far away from Clay and only talk to him through the safety of a video call and many miles between us.

But I wouldn’t. At this point, I couldn’t. The idea of going to Maryland was like a siren’s call, luring me from the safety of my home and tow myself upon the dangerous rocks of a distant shore.

I wouldn’t make any plans, or even tell Clay I was coming, but somehow, I knew I’d end up meeting him anyway. That was how fate always worked, placing you in the path of the one thing you should stay away from.

I should be disgusted with myself, but all I felt was excited at the prospect of finally laying my eyes on him again.

CHAPTER 22

Clay

Dominic’s placewas getting new guests. This wasn’t strange, people were always coming and going from the halfway house, but the new arrivals were apparently younger than usual. Dominic was one of the few halfway houses that employed full-time staff as well as volunteers, and he even had a few employees that were specially trained to care for young kids. This was exactly why he was expanding his facility into an apartment complex as well, so he could better separate the younger kids from the older adults, and so everyone could get more specialized care, but until the expansion was complete, he needed all the help he could get.

The actual staff were busy getting ready for the new arrivals and planning how to care for them, so I’d volunteered to get the room ready.

It wasn’t much. The room already had a bunkbed, a double closet, and a pair of matching desks. I just needed to check everything to make sure it was clean and dust free, and make upthe beds with sheets and pillows so they were ready for use. The process only took me about an hour.

Just as I was fluffing the last pillow into place, Leslie poked her head through the doorway.

“The new arrivals are here. They’re downstairs talking to Dominic now.”

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