Page 77 of Sin Bin

Davion hesitated, eyeing him carefully. “What happened to your mom?”

The question hit Logan like a gut punch. Without lifting his eyes from his cards, he said curtly, “She left.”

“Why?”

It was a long time before Logan could answer. “She didn’t want me anymore.”

Davion gave him a sympathetic look that scraped his nerves raw.

“Your mother hasn’t left you,” he said gruffly. “Always remember that and be thankful.”

Davion nodded slowly. “I will.”

“Good.” Logan gave him a crooked half smile. “When you get out of here, I’ll teach you how to play pool.”

The boy’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Promise?”

Logan’s smile softened. “Te lo prometo. I promise.”

As soon as he got back to his truck, he called his Realtor at Sotheby’s and instructed her to find him a spacious four-bedroom house with a big backyard and pool.

“It needs to be in a family-friendly neighborhood with top-rated schools, low crime and lots of outdoor activity options for kids,” he rattled off his requirements. “And I want the house fully furnished.”

“Got it. I’ll contact Imogene,” his Realtor said, referring to the interior designer she outsourced to her wealthy clients. There was a teasing grin in her voice as she added, “You finally giving up the downtown bachelor digs like Hunter and Reid did years ago?”

“Nah, not yet,” Logan murmured. “This is for someone else.”

“I see.” Her voice grew warm. “You’re a good man, Logan Brassard. I don’t care what Islanders fans are saying today.”

The remark made him chuckle. “The boys are fourteen, ten and seven. Their rooms should be decorated accordingly.” He smiled. “And I want a pool table in the game room.”

“Gotcha. I’ll get right on it and send you some listings to look over. Then we can talk logistics.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Kaye.” Logan hung up and sat staring out the window at the juvenile detention facility. He’d have to figure out a way to convince Davion’s mother to accept a new home for her and her boys. He knew she was going to give him a hell of a hard time.

But as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t doing anything he wouldn’t have done for his own mother had she stuck around.

Chapter Thirteen

MEADOW

Meadow spent all thursday running errands and getting her car tuned up before the long road trip. When she finally got around to checking her missed calls that evening, she was pleasantly surprised to find a message from Agatha at the adoption center. Her pleasure turned to chagrin as she listened to the voicemail.

“Everyone’s talking about Logan Brassard saying hello to you after the game last night. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Diego’s caseworker did some digging around and found out that you and Logan were at the same group home years ago! I can’t believe you never told us!”

“Young lady, you got some ’splaining to do!” Tavvi could be heard in the background.

Meadow groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead, silently cursing Logan’s big mouth—even though her stomach got all fluttery every time she thought about what he’d done. She just hoped it wouldn’t draw the wrong attention.

She saved Agatha’s message so she would remember to call her back at some point. Then she headed outside to her car, where her father was double-checking the pressure in her tires. She didn’t have as much stuff as she’d expected, so she was able to rent a small U-Haul cargo trailer that hitched up to her car.

When it was time for her to leave, she exchanged tearful goodbyes with her father, who made her promise to text him every hour on the hour until she arrived safely at her aunt’s house. She endured an overly exuberant hug from Wendi, who’d been treating her like a Powerball lottery winner since learning that she and Logan were old friends. She’d looked up his net worth—which was substantial—and was now encouraging her daughter to keep her options open to professional athletes, even suggesting that Meadow could introduce her to some of Logan’s teammates. Meadow didn’t know whether to be amused or disgusted by the woman’s shameless opportunism.

It was just after eleven when she finally hit the road. Within minutes of her leaving home, Logan called as if he’d placed a GPS tracking device on her car. She smiled from ear to ear as she put him on speaker.

“Hey, beautiful.” His voice was low and massively sexy. Just the sound of it spiked her blood. “You on the road?”

“Yup. I’m on my way.” She pictured him lying in bed with one arm tucked behind his head, bare chest packed with muscle, hooded lids lowered in that lazy, sexy way of his. She wanted to be there with him, nestled against his side, wearing one of his big T-shirts with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, holding her close.

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