Page 47 of Shattered
Firm fingers gripped my chin and angled my face for what he was about to do next. Before I could blink, Logan's mouth was on mine. Not only claiming it but delivering a promise too. A vow that my soul needed to hear. I should've been fighting him, but I could no longer deny the fact that my heart and body already knew he washome.So, right there in the clinic's waiting room, in front of almost half the town, I surrendered.
I wanted to protest when Logan broke our kiss, but then I remembered where we were. For someone who wasn't prone to blushing, I sure was doing a lot of it lately.
"Harper," Logan brushed a thumb over my cheek. "I've quit so many things in my life, but I'm not quitting you. The very essence of you is burned into my soul."
Maybe it was due to the fact that he'd just kissed me stupid, but it took a moment for his words toreallysink in. Dropping my forehead to his chest, I inhaled deeply and immediately knew what I had to do. It was the craziest thing, but I wasn't even afraid to do it.
Pulling back, I looked up into those whiskey-eyes that owned me so thoroughly. "No more running," I promised. "But there are things you need to know."
Just to remind us where we were, a cat screeched while a few dogs barked excitedly. All of that was drowned out by the sound of Logan's deep chuckle. He bent down and dropped a kiss to my head. "I'll come over tonight and we'll talk?"
I loved the fact that instead of assuming he still asked. I beamed at him and said, "Bring pizza."
The corners of his mouth lifted into a full-on smile. "You got it, Sugar." With that, he started moving backward until he had no other choice than to turn around and push out of the door. My eyes never left him.
"Is it too early to say:welcome to the family?" Startled, I jerked my head to the side to find Chase grinning at me like an idiot.
I shook my head but couldn't shake the smile off my face. "Don't you have patients waiting?"
When he grabbed one of the files in the waiting-pile and called the next patient, I couldn't help the excited tingle that ran down my spine at his words.
Logan did bring pizza as well as some nuggets for Flynn. There wasn't much time after dinner to have the conversation we needed to have because my little boy had managed to twist Logan's arm into watching a movie before bed.
I didn't pay much attention to what was going on on the TV; my focus was on the two men huddled together to my right. With his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting against Logan's chest, Flynn snuggled up to the big man who in return had his arm wrapped tightly around my son's body.
At that very moment in time, we seemed so domestic. Even Dozer was snoring away in the corner of the living room. A few days ago this image and feeling would have scared the living daylights out of me, but for some inexplicable reason, it just felt right. Which was strange because just this morning I was ready to pack up and run again.
As I let the blissful feeling of finally being home take over, I settled back in my seat and enjoyed the rest of the movie with the two men who meant the most to me.
"It's getting late, should I go?" Logan had just tucked Flynn in; he didn't see me watch them, but I saw him press his lips to my boy's forehead and look at him with the kind of fatherly-love I'd always wanted for my son. And now he was looking at me with a mixture of tenderness and something I wasn't quite ready to acknowledge.
"You don't have to go just yet." Suddenly a little nervous I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Why don't I make some coffee and we'll talk."
With a quick nod of his head, Logan agreed and silently trailed behind me as I made my way to the kitchen. Once our drinks were made, we decided to have them on the porch. Tucked in together on the loveseat, we sat in silence for the longest time while I debated how to start my story.
"My name isn't Harper Evans," Next to me Logan choked out a small cough but said nothing else. "I mean, itismy name now, but I wasn't always Harper. I used to be Sarah Mercer and I might still be married too."
The cough was a lot louder this time and even though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel his eyes burn a hole into the side of my head. But I had to brave on, "I met Drew when I had no one in this world. I was digging through restaurant trash for my next meal when one of the owners called the cops and had me arrested for trespassing. I was barely seventeen."
Discarding his coffee, Logan moved to the edge of the seat and rested his forearms on his legs. "Drew was the cop that arrested me, but instead of taking me to jail, he took me to a shelter. A year later we got married. He was everything I thought I wanted until he wasn't."
I was brave enough to let my gaze drift to the man beside me. I didn't know what I thought I'd find in his eyes but it definitely wasn't the comprehension I saw burning in them. With one look he'd given me the courage to go on with my sordid tale.
"At first, the beatings were months apart, gradually it became more frequent and more violent. I had nothing and nowhere to go, so I thought that was how my life was going to be until I found out I was pregnant. I knew if I managed to carry a baby to full term that little life would be Drew's next target.
"I drugged him and ran until my feet couldn't carry me any further and then I ran some more. I never stayed in one place for too long before I moved on to the next shelter. A couple of years ago, at one of these shelters, I met a wonderful lady who assists women like me and she helped me get a new identity."
Fidgeting with my hands in my lap, I stared out into the distance. "Running is the only thing I know how to do, I'm too scared of Drew to fight him and I'm beyond terrified of what he'll do if he ever found out about Flynn."
There it was, my truth laid bare at Logan's feet. I thought I'd feel shame, but all I felt was relief. I'd never told a soul all the details I'd just divulged and I couldn't find it in me to regret doing it.
Logan was quiet for the longest time before he turned to me and asked, "This is what you and Eli were arguing about last night?"
I lifted my shoulders in a shrug, "Honestly, I don't know what your brother knows. As far as I can gather he only has knowledge about the name change."
"And you pushed me away because-"
"I was afraid," I scooted to the edge of my seat and placed my hand on his leg. "I was scared of Eli telling you I was a bad person. Scared of you finding out just how cowardly I am but mostly I was afraid that if I told you the whole truth, you'd still ask me to stay, and I'd be unable to say no."
