Page 84 of Keepsake

OnWednesday,sheaskedme to pick up Vienna and Dash because Dr. Maya rescheduled the session with Lachlan and she was going to be late.

Vienna bawled the entire way back. Dash snapped at her. And while I wanted him to be nice to his sister, I understood his frustration.

She was crying and neither of us knew what to do.

“Can’t wait for you to have this problem on your own,” I told him over the wailing.

He was in the passenger seat, his eyes on the window, but he spun my way. “You know about that?”

“That you’re a dumbass?” I chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

“She’s not like that all the time.”

“No,” I agreed. “Sometimes is enough, though.” With a sigh, I looked in the rearview mirror. “Vienna, can you tell us what’s wrong?”

She shook her head and looked away and cried the rest of the way home.

Her cry became a sniffle as we rode the elevator up, but Dash and I were too skeptical to trust it was the end. When we arrived, Logan was playing with Lachlan on the floor.

He was laughing.

“Hello, there,” I announced my arrival.

She looked up from the game with the biggest smile and fuck if she wasn’t beautiful.

I didn’t know what to do with Logan anymore. I couldn’t keep going down this road. I was damaged goods. I couldn’t give her the life she wanted with the happily ever after and the picket fence.

It was getting harder to resist, though.

Before I replied, Vienna ran to Logan for a hug.

“Are you crying?” she asked and turned her attention to us. “Why is she crying?”

“That’s a great question. We forgot to ask.” Dash rolled his eyes.

“You’re rudeanddumb?” I eyed my nephew. “You have to pick one, man.” By his narrowing eyes, he didn’t like it so much when someone else was being a smartass.

Logan ignored us both, concentrating on Vienna. “What’s happening?”

“Lilah told me I can’t sit with them anymore.”

“Why?”

She shrugged and cried again. I pinched the back of my neck. That was the reason we were tortured the last half an hour? Some snotty little b-witch called Lilah didn’t want to sit with my niece, and now I had to deal with it after a full day of work? Again, I turned, smiling to Dash. “Good luck. Why don’t you take this one?”

“Shut up,” he mumbled.

“Hey,” Logan called out. “What’s up with you two? Why is everyone in a bad mood?”

“Because Vienna cried our ears off.” Dash shook his head.

Logan took Vienna’s face in her palms. “You don’t need lots of friends. You just need a good one, remember? If Lilah doesn’t want to sit with you, that’s her loss, got it?”

Vienna nodded.

Logan looked around at everyone’s face. “I was waiting for you all to get here to see if you wanted to go out. I want to celebrate.”

We all groaned.

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