Page 209 of Sin Bin

He finished heaving and flopped back against the glass wall with a groan.

She flushed the toilet and knelt in front of him, searching his eyes for answers he seemed unwilling to give.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sorry you had to see me like that.”

“Just now? Or when you were passed out drunk on the floor?” Her tone was wry. “Not one of your finest moments, I agree.”

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He smelled like booze, vomit and misery.

With a sigh, she got up and made her way to the soaking tub. It was huge and framed by windows you could see out but not in. She turned on the faucet and filled the tub with steaming hot water, adding some of her scented bubble bath.

When the tub was full, she shut off the water and turned to smile gently at Logan. “Let me give you a nice warm bath.”

“I don’t need one,” he grumbled.

“I beg to differ.” She went over and helped him to his feet, grunting as she struggled to support his weight. As he sagged back against the wall, she stripped him naked while he stared down at her with bleak, unfocused eyes.

After removing her own clothes, she helped him slowly to the tub. He stepped over the rim and lowered himself into the fragrant heated water. She climbed in behind him and squeezed some bubble bath onto a clean washcloth, then gently began washing his back.

He sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, muscled arms wrapped around his legs while she bathed him as tenderly as a newborn.

He was silent, not saying a word. She didn’t push him for answers. She knew he would talk when he was ready.

And she was right.

“My mother’s dead.”

Meadow froze, staring at the back of his head in shock. “What?”

“She’s dead.”

“How do you know?” Meadow whispered.

“My father came to see me.”

“Your father?”

He nodded.

No wonder he’d gone off the deep end and trashed his living room.

She gently stroked his hair. “How did your mother die?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t bring myself to ask.” There was such raw pain in his voice. “That day I saw her outside the diner…maybe that was her ghost appearing to me. To tell me goodbye.”

His words twisted around Meadow’s heart. She leaned down and kissed his shoulder, then reached around him and began washing his chest with gentle, soothing strokes. “Why did your father show up here? What did he want?”

“More than I was willing to give.” In a low voice, Logan recounted the details of his father’s visit. By the time he finished, Meadow’s throat was aching, clogged with tears of sympathy and sadness.

“I’m so sorry, Logan. He shouldn’t have come here. He had no right to do that to you after all these years.”

“He thought I deserved some answers. And he’s right. I do. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my mother and wonder what became of her. And now I know.” Logan’s voice was thick with grief. “I’ve always hated her for leaving me. But there was a part of me that always…”

When he trailed off, Meadow finished for him: “Hoped you would see her again.”

He swallowed hard and nodded, turning to stare out the windows. His eyes were filled with a lifetime of shadows, of sorrow and anger and regret.

Meadow’s heart broke as she gazed at his profile. “What happened that day? The day she left you at the casino. You’ve never shared any details.”

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