Page 51 of The Unbound Bookshop
Tears blurred the final sendoff, but Logan didn’t care.
He didn’t bother hiding them or wiping them away.
He let them fall, both for the pain from the past and the pain yet to come.
The pain in which he would now play a part.
When he gave Abby the letter to read for herself.
Chapter 29
ABBY
Abby’s knees buckled.She sank onto the sofa, the letter shaking in her hands. A tear slid down her cheek, dampening the page. The long-dried ink bled, muddling the wordsI’m sorryinto an indiscernible mess.
Just as well. How could she forgive Donnie for what he’d done?
From the moment Piper first arrived, she’d wrestled with the possibility of her worst fears becoming reality. She’d grieved a hundred times over already, combatting every doubt until she felt nothing but empty exhaustion.
And yet, the tangible proof—hearing the crushing confession in Donnie’s own voice as if he stood in the room with her—filled her body with a white-hot heat of anguish that penetrated all the way to her bones.
This time, she couldn’t soothe her wounds with the fragile safety of uncertainty. Her only choice was to face the truth, and somehow find a path forward. A path that completely eluded her.
The sofa cushion shifted as Logan sat beside her. “I’m so sorry, Abs.” His raspy voice strained with shared sadness. He reached for her hand, but he didn’t press her to talk about her feelings or insist that everything would be okay. He merely sat with her, filling the space with his strong, steady presence, absorbing some of her sorrow.
At least Donnie had done one thing right. She couldn’t imagine going through this without Logan. Could Donnie have guessed how close they’d become?
The sound of luggage wheels rolling across the hardwood floor snapped Abby from her thoughts.
Piper stood in the doorway, assessing Abby’s tears with wide, worry-filled eyes. “What happened?”
Abby flinched. The sight of Piper—the woman who’d spent a night with the man she’d loved and trusted with her whole heart—felt like a stinging slap.
Logan’s grip tightened. “We know.” His tone rumbled across the room like a low growl.
“How?” Piper breathed, as if she knew exactly what he meant.
“Donnie confessed in a letter he wrote shortly after your affair. His lawyer was supposed to deliver it after Donnie died and just now discovered his mistake,” Logan explained, mercifully speaking so she didn’t have to. “But I still don’t get it, Piper. Why come forward now? After all these years. And then why lie about the paternity test results? They would’ve proven your story. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
A long, agonizing silence followed Logan’s question. Abby focused on a spot on the floor, her hands trembling as she fought an overwhelming urge to flee to somewhere she could pretend like none of this had ever happened.
“Can I speak to Abby?” Piper asked softly. “Alone?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Logan sat rooted to the sofa, steadfast and immovable. Her rock. Somehow, even in the midst of devastation, her heart had room to mourn one love while bursting with immeasurable affection and appreciation for another.
“It’s okay.” Spurred by his unfailing support, she found the strength to squeeze his hand. “I think I need to hear what she has to say.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think so.”
“Want me to stay? I can stay.”
“I’ll be okay.” She couldn’t be certain of that fact, but she had a feeling Piper would hold back with Logan in the room. And she needed to hear everything the woman had to say, no matter how painful.
“Okay. If you’re sure. But I’ll be two feet away in the kitchen when you need me.”
When you need me.
