Page 29 of Alone With You
The moment he turned into the kitchen, he saw John’s rangy body sprawled on one of the kitchen chairs, with a grin the size of Montana splitting his face.
John kicked the chair up on its back legs, stretching his knobby knees. “Here I am thinking, poor old Logan, stuck up in that godforsaken country cabin with that workaholic colleague of mine, probably ranting and raving over the loss of his privacy—”
“What the hell are you doing here, Springfield?” There’d be no hiding the truth, but his hand itched to wipe that grin off John’s face.
“I was having convulsions of guilt, Logan, over putting you two in this situation. Been thinking about my screw-up for days. So I decided to take a ride up to see how you’re doing—“
“Don’t you have a wife and newborn?”
“—only to find the bed unmade and a pair of ladies’ floral underwear spinning from the ceiling fan”
“Enough.”
John stopped talking mid-breath. He let the chair fall back to its four legs as his brows disappeared under the mop of his blond hair “I didn’t think I couldbemore surprised but, geez, look at your face.”
Logan turned away from John’s perusal and made a beeline to the coffeemaker. He hit the power button, pleased to see the indicator lights go on.
Logan said, “The electricity went out last night. Looks like it’s back.”
“It certainly is.”
Logan frowned at the innuendo as he grabbed a can of coffee grounds. “You should have called before coming.”
“You should have checked your phone. But oh,” John said, gesturing to the counter with the row of spent candles, “there it is, abandoned on the kitchen counter with the romantic remnants of what clearly was an amazing night.”
“You should have calledyesterday.”
“I’ve got a house full of women, Logan. My mother, my wife’s mother, my wife’s sister, a German baby nurse who trained in boot camp, and all of them telling me what to do—“
“Why aren’t you there, directing troops?”
“Because when I got a text from the utility company that the electricity had gone out here in the cabin, I seized the opportunity to swing by and see what was going on.” John tapped his fingers on the surface of the table. “Coming to see you and Dr. Vance was as good an excuse as any to take a break from the madness.”
“It’s an hour drive.”
“That’s an hour when I don’t have to look at my lovely wife suckling our newborn child, knowing I’ve got to wait weeks and weeks before I get send her underwear spinning on the ceiling fan.”
Logan’s pulse leapt as he dug the measuring cup into the fragrant grounds, scooping measure after measure into the filter. John’s words rang true: Logan had known Jenny for six days and yet he struggled to wait six moreminutesbefore having her again. Hell, he didn’t even know what to call this thing between them. It sure as hell wasn’t a one-night thing. Because if John wasn’t taking up space in this kitchen, Logan would still be in bed, tangling up those sheets.
Logan slammed the filter of the coffee pot closed and then yanked open the faucet to fill the pot. He’d be damned, but he suddenly he understood why John had arrived so suddenly. Logan knew how difficult a new arrival to the family could be, straining relationships. His friend had bolted here, sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, looking for counsel.
“It’s never easy,” Logan said, forcing his voice neutral. “The first few weeks taking care of a newborn, if you’ve never done it before.”
John sputtered, “I hardly have time to think.”
“Everything will all fall into place,” he said. “It’ll take time, patience, and a new routine. You’ll both be more confident and more connected once you find a new rhythm to the family.”
John bobbed his head, still tracing patterns on the table. “So,” he said, in a more sober voice. “It’s pretty obvious that you and the professor worked things out.”
“Yeah, we did.” Logan clicked the coffeemaker on and leaned a hip against the counter. “Very recently.”
“Ah.”
“It hasn’t been easy, either.”
“Oh?” John cleared his throat. “So things are unsettled here, too?”
“Very.”
