Page 17 of Unmistakably Us

Jumping in the shower to cleanse off the remnants of last night offered him the opportunity to think.

Would it really be so bad if they made a semi-regular thing of this, still casual, but kind of exclusive?

Yes, you asshole, it would. When has anyone you ever counted on to be there, stayed? When has anyone ever wanted to?

But maybe it could be different this time. Maybe, he could get to know his brother and the Reids, and just stick around for a bit.

Yeah, and somebody might actually want you. Keep dreaming, sucker.

Talking to yourself is one thing, but arguing is quite another.

“Thanks a lot for the fucked-up DNA, you dick. Apparently, it comes with a side of crazy, too. Just add that to list of things you saddled me with.”

Logan often cursed his father aloud. It was probably the one thing that kept him semi-sane all these years. It felt good to just put it out there in the universe. He never got a chance to tell his father what he thought, nor did he have a death wish.

The sun was just rising when he arrived at the hangar. He was early, for once in his life. He keyed in the code and started cleaning up around the area; he’d noticed it was getting a little out of hand.

Then he cleaned the Cessna inside and out and had it shining. After he cleaned everything he could inside, he walked the fence-line looking for FOD.

Familiar voices drifted from the hangar as he approached. His chest swelled a bit hearing the praise Michael was heaping on him in his absence. Logan felt a little slimy listening, but he had never had anyone talk about him doing a good job or saying they thought he was good person. John even chimed in about offering him a full-time position with them.

Logan wondered if the reason it mattered now was because of January or was it that his brother thought of him in a positive light.

A dark cloud dampened his just boosted mood. He won’t when he finds out you’ve been hiding it.

Logan was not happy with this side of himself. He survived his life by not giving a shit. How does a pussy make a man change overnight? It doesn’t, damn it. It’s temporary insanity brought on by lack of sleep and being sucked dry.

Reentering himself, Logan strode into the hangar with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of fuck-it-all. He would enjoy what he could, while he could, but his bag was always packed. When it was time to move on, he’d do the same thing he always did—leave. With no regrets, head held high, one finger in the air and two words that saved his heart every time.

“There he is, the man of the hour. You must have been here all night.” John clapped him on the back with a semi-hug, which threw Logan for a loop, but not nearly as much as Michael.

“I knew you had it in you, brother. I was—”

“Excuse me?” How the hell did he know? More importantly, why does he seem happy about it. While terror and shock shook Logan to his foundation, for a split-second, he wanted to cry like a pussy and hug his baby brother. The truth that grounded him was found by looking into Michael’s eyes.

The brother reference that he throws around for Walker, Dax, and John was all he meant by it. It was just Logan’s guilty conscience that took it different this time. Logan recovered, shoving his disappointment deep down to join the shit-ton that was already there and played it off.

“You were what, brother?” If Michael heard the inflection he put on the word, he didn’t react. “Afraid I was a loser? If I’d have known a little Pine Sol and elbow grease would get me into your little club, I would have led with that and saved myself learning all the mechanic shit.”

Logan was a bit too bitter in his delivery, so he followed it up with a shoulder nudge and a well-timed smile. “I’m just messing with you. Thanks for the opportunity.”

“Anytime, and for the record, I—we—were worried about you. Not in a loser way, but there was an immediate kinship and you seemed lost. Even Francis gave us orders to not give up on you no matter what, and what she says goes.”

He had spent all of fifteen minutes actually engaged in conversation with the woman total, so he didn’t understand her stake with him. He refused to hope that meant someone cared. Too much fucking disappointment when I go there. “So, you two grown-ass men pretty much do whatever some little old lady tells you to?”

“Hell yes,” they answered in unison, their voices laced with humor.

“FYI, don’t ever let her hear you call her old. She will show you old when she kicks your ass from here to Alabama. But for the record, we had no intention of letting you go, anyway. Her threat was just added motivation.” With that, Michael turned and headed for the plane, and John hit the head.

It took Logan a minute to catch up. “Wait, she didn’t tell you, she threatened you?” Michael nodded. Logan made it to the plane where Michael stood with his check list. Logan clapped him on the back, but this time, it was different. It wasn’t faked or laced with desire for it to be more. “Hah, looks like Dax better watch his back. Seems like there is a new favorite son in town.”

The words burst with flavor on his tongue. Being a favorite or even someone’s son was almost overwhelming. Before he confessed all while riding this high, he grounded himself by thinking of January. She revved his blood but something about her serene face also grounded him.

“Yeah, big guy, I’ll let you tell him that.” A sharp laugh was all the transition he got before Michael went serious and John rejoined them. “John and I were wondering if you wanted to go to lunch at Peg Leg Pete’s in Pensacola?”

“And lunch requires this serious of a tone? Color me confused.”

Michael was the first to respond. “Have you had the key lime pie at Pete’s? Yes, it’s that fucking serious.” Michael’s face slid into a huge grin, so like the one he would see in the mirror…if he ever grinned.

John broke into the merriment. “While I agree, Pete’s is serious business, we were thinking a little more aviation-related. Thought you might like to go up and see if maybe flying interests you. If it does, we can make the time and help you get your license. Fair warning, though, once you decide you want to fly, you’ll hemorrhage money indulging in it. Not to mention, your ladies will complain that you love planes more than them.”

“All this because I scrubbed shit around here?” Logan was sure this wasn’t the case, but he craved hearing it.

“Nope, because you’re our brother, like it or not. Besides, we don’t want any trouble from the southern mob boss in a pantsuit. You ever have a designer purse swung at your head? Not something I want to repeat.”

Logan’s mind raced while they moved the plane outside and John walked him through the pre-flight. John’s movements mesmerized him as they taxied and got in the air. He had to stop himself from turning around to catch glimpses of Michael. It was like he was the little brother and was looking to Michael for approval.

Admitting to himself that what Michael thought mattered was hard to choke down. Caring equaled pain, but once he accepted the truth, he decided this momentary happiness could carry him through the inevitable pain.

As much as flying interested him, and it did, he was a mechanic at heart. He loved working on things, all things. Cars, motorcycles, planes. It didn’t matter. The smell of grease and dirty nails suited him just fine. He would take them up on their offer, mostly because he thought it would make him a better mechanic in the end. Plus, the thought of taking January up into the clouds and fucking their way into Heaven had him adjusting his cock.

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