Page 157 of The Lost and the Found

Epilogue

Hayden

I moved through the crowd,basking in the beautiful June weather. Summer in Chicago was usually humid and hot, but today had been perfect.

Everything was perfect, and I didn’t want this day to end.

I saw Daniel across the huge auditorium, his auburn hair covered by the graduation cap he was wearing. He smiled brightly at me, his kind, gray eyes dancing with happiness.

We hadn’t really talked again since that day, but he did sit next to me for the rest of the semester, his sturdy presence a comfort to me somehow.

I smiled back, and though it felt less unpracticed now, my muscles still weren’t used to doing it so much. My jaw and cheeks were starting to ache.

But it was the end of my graduation ceremony.

It was official.

I was a college graduate, and in a few short weeks, I would have the diploma to prove it.

I graduated with honors, and yes, I was damn proud of myself.

I had worked so hard for it, and it wasn’t just during the three long years I had been here, but the time before that, when I started at the local community college to get my GED, and everything since then.

I had put in my two weeks’ notice at Off The Grid, and my last night working as a bartender would be next Thursday.

It was bittersweet.

Dave and I weren’t really on speaking terms. Not really.

I didn’t think he would ever get over it, even if I knew he would get over me. I got the feeling he felt betrayed that I had agreed to be with Logan after only weeks of knowing him, but I couldn’t give him a chance after two years.

And I didn’t know how to fix it, nor did I think I should.

I knew I didn’t owe him anything, but it still hurt that he could throw away our friendship so easily, as if it was superficial to begin with.

But it was time to close that chapter of my life and begin my new one. I was appreciative of the bar, and of Dave, and how our friendship ended didn’t change that.

It was because of that bar that I had been able to put myself through school, to have a place to sleep at night and put food on the table.

But I wanted so much more in life than to be a bartender, and I had finally gotten the chance. I had three interviews on Wednesday for corporate accounting jobs.

Logan had suggested I work for him, Mason, and Gage at their law firm, but I wanted to do this on my own. I didn’t want to have to depend on Logan for everything.

I wanted to stand on my own.

And I would. With Logan by my side.

As if I conjured him by just thinking about him, Logan appeared. I was startled a little, but once I caught my bearings, I couldn’t stop myself when I let out a little cheer and jumped up into his waiting arms.

He laughed and picked me up so my feet hung off the ground, twirling me around in the middle of the auditorium.

“Congratulation, Hayden. I am so fucking proud of you,” he said quietly in my ear.

I buried my face in his neck to hide my stinging eyes from all of the people here. I didn’t want anyone to see how emotional I was getting from just a few simple words from Logan, even if they were all strangers to me.

“Thank you,” I said, tightening my arms around him. If he wanted me to let go, he would have to pry my death grip from him with force. But I knew he would never do it.

He would let me hold onto him for as long as I needed, and I needed to hold onto him…

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