Page 43 of A Summer Mismatch
“And after that?”
She bit her lip and finally looked into his eyes. His heated gaze swept over her face, warming everything it touched. “I don’t know.”
Logan pulled her close and kissed the side of her head so gently, she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it or not. His low voice sang along quietly with the band, and she closed her eyes and nestled into his neck.
There had to be a way to figure this out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Logan
Loganwasjuststeppingout of the shower after an extra-long, grueling day at work when his cell phone rang. He saw that he’d missed several phone calls from Willow during his long shower, trying to clean away the dust and grime and other, less pleasant, remnants of sick animals.
Raza’s limp was pretty much gone. Kai claimed it was his singing that had done it, since Raza had improved since his lullaby. But Adia had taken a turn for the worse, and Lulu and June seemed to sense it. They were missing their daughter and sister, and had lost a lot of the verve for life they’d always shown.
Thoughts of Julia made the days more tolerable, but also somehow longer than ever. Holding her in his arms, dancing with her, had been the best kind of torture.
He’d missed the call again, so he called her back while he threw on some clothes as quickly as he could. Willow wouldn’t call him like this—especially on a Thursday night—unless it was an emergency.
When she answered the phone, she was crying so hard, he couldn’t understand her.
”Is it Leo? Amelia?” His heart raced and he searched everywhere for his truck keys. Where had he put them? He’d been so tired when he got home, but now adrenaline rushed through him, making it impossible to think straight.
“No, they’re fine.”
He went into the bathroom and rifled through his dirty pants until he found the keys still in his pocket.
“Are you hurt? Did you get in an accident?” Memories flashed of his dad calling him to say their mom had been in an accident, that she wasn’t okay, and asking him to call his grandparents and his sister.
Those were the worst phone calls he’d ever had to make.
“No, it’s Jordan.”
He paused. “Jordan’s hurt.”
“No one’s hurt,” she finally said, her voice shuddering. She must have realized what he was remembering, because she managed to calm down enough to reassure him. “Everyone’s okay, Logan. No one’s hurt. No one’s had an accident.”
He slumped down onto his bed in relief. “Then what’s going on?”
“It’s Jordan. He’s left.”
“Left?”
“Packed his bags and left.” Willow’s voice broke on the last word. “I need help.”
Anger sliced through Logan, swift and hard. “I’m heading your way right now.”
He put his shoes on in record time and headed for his truck before realizing he was in over his head. They needed their mom.
Logan called his dad, but there was no answer, which wasn’t a surprise. Dad would probably call him back in the next day or two, and though he’d be sympathetic, Logan couldn’t imagine him having any sort of meaningful advice.
Logan scrolled to Nonna’s number, hoping it wasn’t too late in the evening to call her.
She answered after the first ring. “Logan! This is a pleasant surprise.”
“Nonna.” His voice cracked.
“What’s wrong?” she said, sounding panicked, and he realized she was probably cycling through the same emotions he’d just gone through.
