Page 55 of Paging Dr. Summers

“My apologies,” Logan laughed. “Should I continue?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sophie said, the way only a preteen girl can. She was obviously curious and enjoying it.

“As I was saying,” Logan continued. “These pineapples were special because anyone who found them would find endless happiness and laughter.”

“Sounds like my kind of fruit,” I said more to myself.

Logan kissed my head. “But if you found one, you couldn’t eat it yourself. You had to share it.”

Ahh. Clearly, their dad had made up this story because he wanted them to learn something. I liked it. It was no wonder that Logan was so good at answering all my silly questions. His dad had obviously fueled his imagination when he was younger. I wished I could have met him.

“And they were hard to find because the tricky squirrels liked to hide them and—”

“I hate squirrels.” Eden shuddered.

Logan barked out a laugh. “The image of the squirrel jumping on your backpack. I’ll never forget it.”

“When did that happen?” I asked.

“I was twelve, and we were going on a family hike, and the stupid thing just jumped on me. It was awful.” Eden still sounded traumatized by it.

I didn’t blame her. That would have scarred me too.

“She swore she got rabies from it even though it didn’t bite her, so we had to take her to the ER to get checked out,” Logan barely managed to say through his laughter.

“You can’t be too careful.” She playfully swatted at Logan’s arm.

I loved their dynamic. I’d always wished I had a brother or sister growing up. Especially now, as an adult, I felt like I was missing out on something. To share that kind of history with someone. I would give almost anything now to have another human who’d grown up with me and my mom. But I alone would have to carry on Mom’s stories and her advice.

“So how do people find these pineapples?” Sophie cut in, not appreciating the trip down memory lane.

“You have to listen to the wise owls, of course, and the trees,” Logan said mysteriously. “Can you hear them now?”

We all stilled around the campfire to listen. All I could hear was the crackling of the fire, the gentle rustling of the leaves, and the lake lapping against the shore. Nature’s band was beautiful.

“What are they saying?” Sophie whispered.

Logan leaned in closer, his voice barely audible. “They’re saying that the true magic of the pineapples lies not in finding them but in the people you go on the journey with. And ... don’t ever listen to the fox or the squirrels.” He grinned.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “That’s just silly.”

“It is,” Logan agreed. “Your grandpa was a silly guy.”

“The best guy.” Eden hugged Sophie tight.

I snuggled in closer to Logan. “I’m sorry he didn’t get to see the good man he raised.”

“Thank you, Brooke. You always know the right things to say.”

I wasn’t sure about that.

“Now we have to teach Sophie some camp songs,” Eden chirped.

“Do we really?” Logan groaned.

I turned in Logan’s arms to face him, ecstatic about this turn of events. And about the fact that I got to look at his handsome face in the firelight. Seriously, it was like he painted on the scruff. It was that good.

“This is a must. I knew I was going to get you to sing for me.”

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