Her smile deepened as she stared out the window at the gathering darkness. “Leaving Las Vegas,” she mused half to herself. “That’s the name of an old Sheryl Crow song.”
“Is it?” She could hear the answering smile in Logan’s voice. “It’s also the name of an old movie.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that. With Nicholas Cage, right? That creepy guy?”
Logan snickered. “He’s washed up now, but Santino says he used to be a good actor.”
“I’ve heard that.” Meadow put the phone on speaker so she could talk hands free. Then she turned on her signal and carefully pulled back onto the road. “By the way, nice goal last night.”
“You saw the game?”
“Yeah. I had it on while I was packing.” She smiled. “You’re really good.”
Logan chuckled. “Why do you sound surprised?”
“I’m not. I knew you were good. I mean, you were the number one draft pick, and I remember what an amazing skater you were when Mr. Tavárez took us ice skating that time.” She smiled at the memory. “Where’d you learn to skate so well?”
Logan was quiet for a long moment. “My mom taught me when I started walking. She used to take me ice skating around the holidays. She was really good. I remember her joking that she must have been an Olympic figure skater in a past life. She probably was.”
Meadow could hear the sadness in his voice. It made her want to hug him.
Before she could say anything, he changed the subject. “So you’re coming back on Friday, right?”
“Right.” She felt again that instinct to reassure him. “I’m leaving around midnight and driving through the night. It’s an eleven-hour trip, so I should get to Denver by noon or so.”
Logan grunted. “I don’t like you being on the road by yourself at night. Why don’t you leave on Thursday morning instead?”
“Because I want to avoid most of the daytime traffic. And my dad will be disappointed if I leave a day earlier than planned. He’s already been grumbling about me going back to Denver a whole week before my new job starts.”
“You need that week to unpack and get settled,” Logan pointed out.
“That’s what I told him.” She sighed. “I think he understands. It’s just hard for him to let me go. It was different when I went off to college because he knew I was coming back. But now I’m leaving, probably for good.” Another wistful sigh escaped. “So many changes…”
“Change can be good,” Logan reminded her.
“I know. But I still feel a little guilty for leaving.” She slowed for a red light. “At least he won’t be alone. He has his girlfriend—”
“Girlfriend? What happened to your adoptive mother?”
“She died of brain cancer.”
“Damn,” Logan said quietly. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
Her throat tightened. “It was devastating, but losing her brought us even closer together. Aunt Rosalie was there for us, too. We couldn’t have gotten through that time without her.” Meadow drove through the intersection. “Have you ever requested your records, Logan?”
“My records?” There was an edge to his voice.
“From the time you spent in foster care.”
“Santino received them when he adopted me. Since he worked for DFS, he was able to get my complete records. He said he would show them to me whenever I’m ready.”
“Oh.” Meadow hesitated. “When do you think you’ll be ready?”
He took a few moments to answer. “I don’t know.”
She nodded understandingly.
“What about you? Did you request your records?”