Page 48 of The Uncomplicated Café
Max cocked his head, his expression quizzical. “Why do you look so sad? I’ll be back soon. Right after our trip. Right, Dad?”
Max glanced at his dad, who waited by the car.
Sam stared at the ground, his sunken cheeks flushed with guilt.You’ve got to be kidding. Logan’s fists instinctively coiled. All this time, he’d kept Max in the dark?
Sam must have felt his glare boring into him, because he slowly lifted his gaze. The glint of contrition in his eyes confirmed his suspicion.
“You didn’t tell him?” Logan growled.
“Tell me what?” Max asked, all innocence.
Logan fixed Sam with a look that said,Either you tell him or I will,despite a nagging feeling he’d be crossing a line. Even if Max deserved to know the truth before they took off, perhaps for the last time, it wasn’t his place to interfere.
Wasn’t his place…
No matter how hard he tried, Logan couldn’t wrap his head around the new chain of command. His whole world had shifted around Max—around having a son. He’d finally settled into the role of fatherhood—relished it, even—only to have it snatched away in an instant. Only to be told to step aside, that he was no longer needed. Although Sam deserved to take his rightfulposition as Max’s father, Logan couldn’t suppress the internal war raging inside his heart.
“Max.” Sam’s voice shook. He cleared his throat. “Can you come here for a sec?”
Max shot a puzzled glance at Abby before shuffling over to the car. He stared up at his father with such open, unbridled trust, Logan found himself praying Sam had the right words to smooth all this over. The last thing he wanted was to see Max hurt.
“Max,” Sam repeated, stealing more time to compose himself. “I don’t know when—orif—we’ll be back.”
“What do you mean? We live here.”
The confusion on Max’s face clawed at Logan’s heart. He wanted to step in, to intervene in some way, but knew he’d only make things worse.
A similar instinct must have gripped Abby because she slipped her hand into his and squeezed hard.
“I live in Redton now,” Sam reminded him. “I have a job, a life there. I need some time to sort a few things out, then we’ll start over somewhere new. Together.”
“But—but I like it here,” Max said in a soft, small voice.
“I know. And I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’ve been happy here. But—” Sam hesitated, as if searching for words that eluded him. He gathered a breath, and his shoulders sagged with the weight of his exhale. “It’s complicated, Max. I wish I could explain it all in a way that made sense to you. For now, I’m just asking you to trust me. As long as we’re together, it’ll all work out. Okay?”
The five-second pause that followed felt like forever. Abby’s nails dug into the back of his hand, but Logan didn’t flinch, too anxious to register the sensation.Sam’s a good dad.He loves Max. It’ll be fine.Although Logan knew the words to be true on a mental level, they did little to dull the ache in his rib cage.
Finally, Max nodded slowly.
“Great.” Sam flashed a smile that didn’t mask the uncertainty in his eyes. He opened the passenger door. “Ready to start our adventure?”
Max glanced over his shoulder to where they stood.
Logan clasped Abby’s hand tighter, hoping to steady her trembling fingers. The vibration of her heartbreak traveled up his arm with the sharpness of a knife’s edge.
“Come on, bud.” Sam took the teddy bear from Max’s hand and tossed it on the passenger seat, gesturing for Max to follow. The grooves on Sam’s forehead deepened, as if he struggled against his own internal angst. Did he have doubts about his decision? Did he realize the damage he may inflict on his son if he went through with his half-cocked plan?
Logan’s chest compressed as if he were back in the cockpit of an F-16, the pressure building rapidly with a sudden altitude change.Take it easy, man. You’re out of line. Max isn’t your kid.The mental reminder stung like a fresh wound. True or not, the facts didn’t dampen the visceral reaction clawing at his stomach—the gut-level knowledge that Max claimed a permanent place in his heart, and he’d do anything to protect him.
Logan fought the urge to cry out, to say something to stop the wheels in motion. Nothing about the situation felt right. But what could he do? What recourse did he have?
Looking back one last time, Max hesitated. A flicker of indecision flashed in his eyes, then a spark of resolve. With all the speed his scrawny legs could manage, he sprinted back across the lawn, launching himself into Abby’s arms.
He didn’t speak or whimper or shed a tear; he simply clung to her with all his strength. The way Max’s small fist fiercely gripped the back of Abby’s shirt broke Logan in a way he didn’t think could ever be fixed.
“Max,” Sam said gently, tapping his son on the shoulder. “Time to go.”
Max slowly slid his arms from around Abby’s neck. His gaze darted from Abby to Logan, then back to his dad, as if he didn’t know what to do.
