Page 36 of Unmistakably Us

“Logan, what Dax said is true, we don’t focus on the past. Hell, son, if we did that, none of us would be here. The past has too much power over the future if you try to hold on to it. You said yourself you didn’t have a clear agenda when you came here.” Logan tried to protest, and Frank stalled him with a hand gesture and an admonishing look.

“And, I don’t know if you noticed it or not, but you spoke about your hard feelings toward him in the past tense. I believe you even used the phrase ‘wrongly blamed him.’ I’d say you have already changed some things about how you feel, whether you realize it or not.”

Logan rocked back on his heels and stared at the old man as if he’d grown a dick out of his shoulder. That was something he hadn’t really noticed himself. He’d been too busy needing punishment to even see the progress he had made.

In that moment, he didn’t feel like the perpetual loser, the idiot who deserved nothing more than what he got, which was shit. He felt ever so slightly…normal. Not the outlet for someone’s abuse. Not the son of a rapist. Not the unwanted step-child of Lucinda. Just Logan. He was just a guy who could fit in a family like this or a relationship with a girl like January.

This is what love feels like. He barely remembered the sensation. Not just coming from others, but maybe a little bit from myself, too.

Logan was so stunned by what was going on in his own head, he couldn’t have spoken if his life depended on it. The mute affliction didn’t seem to affect the others. The garage exploded in a cacophony of sounds and voices.

“Ah-ha, you’re starting to get it. Good for you. I have to say, we’ve been worried about you, you know? From the day my lady-love went to meet you at the hangar, she has been praying you would finally see what she sees, what we all see. Just a man with a past like the rest of us who deserves everything he can wring out of this life.”

Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to feel a little worthy of a good life.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” Logan spoke more to himself than anyone else. Which is ridiculous because I damn sure don’t have any answers.

Walker’s response proved he had spoken more of that aloud than he had intended. “No worries, you don’t need to know anything. You have family, and Lord fucking knows, the Reids seem to know everything.” His borderline disrespectful tone earned him a disapproving look from Frank and a playful smack to the back of his head from Dax.

Rubbing his wound, he feigned anger. “What? It’s the truth. Shit. Between Mom and this big galoot over here, you never have to think for yourself. Both are all too happy to advise you.” His anger ruse failed and amusement shined through.

Before Logan had a chance to react, the occupants of the garage were laughing and agreeing. Logan knew they didn’t mean it in an overbearing or mean way, but any observer would’ve thought so. Hell, I would’ve thought so just five minutes ago.

That was a testament to how much had changed since he picked up that socket wrench.

Frank was the first to recover. “But as family, there needs to be trust and honesty.” Frank turned a fatherly gaze his way. “You have to tell him. You know that, right?”

Logan nodded. He certainly did know it, and he truly wanted to tell him. The difference was, this time, the stakes were higher because his expectations were too. He wanted his brother to actually be his brother.

When Frank spontaneously embraced him, some truths seemed so obvious. Frank’s relief was palpable. He had meant what he said about the garage being Vegas, but the weight of not telling Michael would have poisoned the old man…and that’s what I put on January.

The questions burning through him were instant and nagging. He felt the flames from each one. When? Where? How? Who do I tell first? Do I do it public?

Frank had long since let him go and went for a beer. Dax drew his attention when he noticed the big mother staring at him with his tree trunk arms crossed. He seemed to be studying him, turning his head to the side and them back again.

“Anyone ever tell you, you look like a dog when you do that?”

A chuckle preceded his response. “No. I don’t know that many people who are that stupid.” Uncrossing his arms, he started stroking his beard. He may not resemble a curious dog anymore, but something about that action was just as disturbing. “A little advice, if you don’t mind?”

It was phrased as a question. Logan knew it wasn’t, but he appreciated the illusion of it. So he motioned for Dax to continue.

“Everything in life seems easier when you have someone by your side who has your back, no matter what. If I were you, I’d make that girl yours before you decided to talk to Michael and Tori. Not only can she give you an extra shot of steel in your spine, she will help your cause with your brother.”

Logan was tracking a little, because he agreed that he would be braver with January by his side. The rest puzzled him a bit. He didn’t need to ask as Dax wasn’t finished.

“If you’re committed to her, it speaks to your ability and desire to stick around. That’s up to you if you’d rather do it solo, stupid, but your choice all the same. But leaving Tori out isn’t an option. She is a part of him and him her, if you fail to acknowledge that, it will hurt your chances at a relationship with Michael. Trust me, even I’m going to be taking a hit for being privy to your little secret and not sharing.” Dax looked around. “We all are.”

Guilt assaulted Logan. “I didn’t mean to cause—”

“Nonsense.” Walker cut him off. “That’s what family’s for. But Dax is right, include my sister or you’ll be sorry, and having your own lady beside you is never a bad thing. People always go on about men giving strength to their women and women giving their men softness. Well, I call bullshit. Not in this family. Sure, they soften our edges, but the Reid women, by birth or choice, are strong as fuck. Most of us wouldn’t be who we are today without them, but I swear to God, if you tell anyone I said it, I will castrate you while you sleep.”

Everyone but Walker grabbed his family jewels in a protective manner while Walker just flashed a megawatt grin.

“And January is no different. She’s a Reid through-and-through. Give her a chance to be your strength, your anchor during the storms, and then, telling Michael won’t be so hard,” Frank added.

Damn, this male bonding thing is like therapy.That thought gave way to Devil Kip. “You sure took to this family thing like a duck to water; I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Logan waited, because if Devil Kip was in a talkative mood, that meant…

“I did, he just needed the right motivation, and have you seen that Domino dance? Um um um, that’s what I call motivation.”

Logan cleared his throat before he told the voices in his head, aloud, to fuck off and not talk about his woman like that, because yeah, that would be totally normal behavior.

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