Page 39 of Seven of Hearts

Bile coated my tongue. I didn’t want to say it. I wanted to spare Logan of her reaction, even if he wasn’t here to witness it. But I couldn’t show her any weakness.

“Logan Solomon.”

Her shock was palpable. “Kylie’s brother?”

I nodded.

“That—that Boyd kid?”

“He changed his last name when he turned eighteen. Same as Kylie did,” I said in their defense.

“Leah, how could you?” she hissed. “You know your father and I have never approved of that family, certainly not Logan. That delinquent, trouble-making child is the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree.”

“He’s a good man,” I said, raising my voice. “Logan was never a troublemaker, even back then. His parents were put in prison. I can’t even imagine going through that. And yet he still grew up to be?—”

“It doesn’t matter who he grew up to be or what he changed his name to. It will never change the fact that he has their blood and had their influence for the most formative years of his life.”

“You never had a problem with me being friends with Kylie. You just wouldn’t let me stay at their house after they moved,” I shot back.

“You were friends. You were a good influence on her. You were never dating Kylie. There’s a difference.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I reached into my purse and pulled out the bracelet I had made with the word “grandma” hammered and stamped into a thin gold plate. I had made a matching tie clip that read “grandpa” for my dad.

“Here. I thought you’d want to know that you’re going to be grandparents. I hoped you would be excited,” I said as I left the gifts on the kitchen island and grabbed my keys. “I should have known better.”

12

LOGAN

The doorframe bit into my back as I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. I was going to be waiting for a while, even if Leah came straight home.

Truthfully, I didn’t know why I had decided to sit outside her apartment like a stalker while she was at dinner with her parents. But something inside me said that I needed to be here when she got back.

I had spent the majority of my Saturday sleeping off the all-nighter I had pulled to make it from Illinois to North Carolina without any forethought. When I finally pulled my ass out of the bed that was piled high with pillows and blankets and moseyed downstairs, Kristin was waiting for me.

It’s like she knew.

I would have assumed that Will told her about my situation with Leah, but I knew he wouldn’t spill until I was ready.

Still, Kristin was like a dog with a bone, interrogating me about why I had actually come back to Beaufort. She didn’t believe the line about me wanting to spend time with my siblings. She knew me better than that.

She also knew I wouldn’t tell her a damn thing if I didn’t want to, which was why she didn’t argue when I declined their invitation to go out to dinner. I slipped out when Kristin, Will, and Zoey left, ran through a drive-thru for a bite, then parked my ass on the floor outside of Leah’s door.

My phone rang, startling me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the screen and sighed. I’d already dodged three of her calls lately. I felt like shit about it, but I had a lot going on as it was. Still, the guilt ate at me.

I accepted the call and pressed the phone to my ear. The robot voice I hated hearing was predictable, but still grating.

“You are about to receive a collect call fromCheryl Boyd, an inmate housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, calling forLogan Boyd. Before accepting this collect telephone call, please be advised that accepting a collect call will cost you more than it would if you prepaid for this collect call. If you want to accept this collect call, please press three. To prevent future calls from this facility, please press seven.”

The mix of the automated voice with my mom’s rapidly aging tone as she stated her name and mine was never less startling.

I had changed my last name to Will’s so that it didn’t match hers. It didn’t matter. As soon as I heard it, I was back to that scared kid who’d had his house raided at night and watched his parents get arrested.

I always wanted to press seven. My finger lingered over the button. One press, and she would have no contact with me.

I tapped three and waited for the robot to come back.

“This call is subject to monitoring and recording. Please hold while the call is connected.”

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