Page 72 of The Lost and the Found

I followed Logan out to a chilly Chicago winter afternoon, happy it wasn’t a windy day, with the sun slowly peeking out from the gathering clouds. It was an exceptionally beautiful day, despite the cold. Logan couldn’t have picked a better one to teach me how to drive. Even for this time of year.

I shoved my hands into the pocket of my coat as we treaded along the parking garage. Logan peeked over at me every so often, making me feel self-conscious.

I was heading toward Logan’s car when he pulled my hand back, halting my movement. “What?”

“We’re not driving that car.”

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “We’re not?”

He shook his head. “It’s a stick shift. I think we need to start with an automatic.”

“And you just happen to have that kind of car lying around?”

With a playful grin, he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and pressed the unlock button. Another car honked from behind him, not too far from where we stood, and I moved my eyes over to it. This car was bigger than Logan’s Mercedes, but it seemed new to me. By that I meant it was modern and looked like a lot of the cars I saw on the street these days, so I knew it couldn’t be more than a few years old.

It was a nice, deep, dark blue and, as I moved closer to it, I realized it was a Honda SUV. Nothing fancy, but still nice. I might even like this car better than the Mercedes.

“Rich people,” I said in exasperation. Logan chuckled behind me, having heard.

I went around to the passenger’s seat and Logan to the driver’s side, starting the car. “How long have you had this car?” I asked, running my hand over the smooth black leather of the seat.

It still smelled new.

Weird.

“Not long,” he answered vaguely.

“So.” I clasped my hands together. “What’s the plan?”

One side of his lips lifted into a small smile. “I get us there, then we switch seats and you drive.”

I frowned. “That’s it?”

It didn’t sound like much of anything. Shouldn’t he have some elaborate plan figured out by now?

He laughed. “Yes, that’s it. This is pretty simple, sweetheart. Don’t overthink it.”

I put on my seatbelt. “Whatever.”

He laughed again, and I felt a small smile tugging at my lips. It was hard to hear Logan laugh and not be affected.

We drove the short ride mostly in silence while I fiddled with the radio. At one point, Logan pushed my hand away from the buttons and connected the phone to his car via Bluetooth, putting on a soothing song.

I settled back into my seat and paid closer attention to the lyrics.

I was never one to get into music. I didn’t have the ear for it. But that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy listening to a Top 40s hit every now and then. I may have even sung to myself in the shower once or twice.But this song was nice. It wasn’t the kind of music I usually listened to because I mostly only listened to music on the radio, on my iPod, and at the bar. This was something else entirely, and something familiar.

“I’ve heard of this before,” I said. I didn’t know the lyrics, and I couldn’t tell him who sang it, but I knew I heard this song many times before, when I was little. “My mom… used to play this song all the time.”

Logan hummed, but said nothing. I turned up the volume and he let me.

My eyes burned and I didn’t know why. Maybe because I didn’t think I should have forgotten. This was her favorite song in the entire world. And I had forgotten about it until now.

“Love is our cross to bear,” I sang the last verse quietly.

Logan stopped at a stoplight and turned to me. I quickly wiped my tears away. He didn’t say anything and drove off when the light turned green. As soon as the song ended, Logan set it on replay.

I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t even want to get out when we reached our destination and Logan put the car in park.

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