Page 36 of Logan

“Dad, what am I supposed to do now?”

With a heavy sigh, Logan kicked off his boots and snuggled under the quilt that was draped over the back of the sofa. Exhausted from allhis emotions and the past few days, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

****

Dixie pulled her SUV up beside Logan’s vehicle and noticed smoke billowing out of the chimney of the cabin. She got out of her vehicle with a bag of food in hand and made her way toward the porch.

She knocked lightly on the door but received no response. Quietly turning the knob, she entered and found Logan asleep on the sofa. Setting the bag of food on the kitchen counter, she added some logs to the dwindling fire and took off her hat and coat before hanging them up by the door.

She gazed at his sleeping form, her heart aching with a mix of longing and sorrow. She knew that he would never be a part of her life again, and it pained her deeply. She couldn’t imagine ever loving another man as much as she loved Logan.

With a heavy sigh, she made her way to the kitchen and unpacked the bag of food she had brought. There was meat for sandwiches, loaves of bread, potato and macaroni salad, fruit, and sweets from the bakery. Dixie carefully placed everything in the fridge before returning to the couch.

As she looked down at him, a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He appeared so peaceful in his slumber, but she knew that he must be exhausted. It was unlikely that he had gotten much sleep lately.

Taking a deep breath, Dixie gently lifted his head and sat down on the couch, cradling his head in her lap. He didn’t even stir. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she brushed his hair back from his forehead, wondering if she would ever stop loving him. Finally, she kicked her shoes off, leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes, succumbing to exhaustion herself.

Sometime later, she woke up to a chill in the air. Opening her eyes, she saw that Logan was still sleeping soundly. Carefully, she lifted his head and got to her feet, slowly lowering his head onto the sofa before heading over to add more logs to the stove.

“You have to put more than two or three in there,” Logan’s voice startled Dixie as he spoke from the sofa.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I fell asleep too and the chill woke me.”

Logan got up and joined her by the stove, squatting down to add more logs himself.

“That’s the only way it will keep burning for the night,” he explained.

Dixie looked at him, tears once again welling up in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking at her.

“I brought you some food from the memorial. There was so much, a lot of people took home what they brought. I told them you wouldn’t want all of it.”

“No, I don’t even need what you brought,” Logan replied.

“How do you know if you don’t know what Ibrought?” Dixie countered.

“I have enough food, Dixie. How long have you been here?”

She checked her watch. “A few hours.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know you wanted to be alone, but I don’t think you should be,” she said quietly.

“I’m not going to do anything,” Logan assured her.

“I know that, but being alone just lets you think too much.”

“You can leave now,” Logan stated firmly.

“Okay.” Dixie walked over to where her hat and coat hung and put them on. She turned to look at him one last time. “If you need anything, please let me know.”

Logan nodded before returning to sit on the couch, as she walked toward the door. Dixie flipped on the porch light, sighed, opened the door, gasped, and looked back at him.

“I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” she whispered.

Logan strode toward the door and looked out in disbelief. “It looks like you’re stuck here now,” he muttered. “You can have the cot. I’ll take the sofa.”

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