Page 107 of Sins or Secrets
“What?”
“It’s perhaps best if I don’t say.It’s unprofessional.” He nods firmly and I bite back a smile.
“Oh my God. I swear to God there is no one like you.”
“No, ma’am I do not think there is.” He gives me a wicked laugh and I look away so I can continue to unpack the stuff.
He comes around and helps me and soon we’re sitting opposite each other on the blanket eating.
Logan made an assortment of food.There are cheese sandwiches, tuna bites southern fried chicken wraps, and some pastries I’d had in the kitchen from breakfast.I ate so much I might actually burst.
“I can’t believe you did all this in so little time,” I beam, munching on the wrap which tastes delicious.I started on those first because he cooked them.
The Logan I knew could not cook.
“It turns out I love cooking, and I love cooking those.They roughly take twenty-five minutes to make from start to finish.So while they were cooking, I did everything else.”
“I can’t multitask like that. I’ll get something wrong.”
“I’m sure you can. It’s just something I picked up in the marines.”
“Along with the cooking?” I have to know.Part of me wonders if he’d had some girlfriend who taught him to cook.
“Along with the cooking. There was a guy who taught me to cook.I taught him how to fish. He was a chef before he enlisted.His food was amazing. Wherever we went, he’d cook for us.So we were never starving.” He gives me a smile and continues.“I had no interest in learning to cook before I joined the marines, but his food was the kind that made you want to learn so you could do it for yourself.”
“That’s amazing. Do you still keep in touch?”
A sad look crosses over his face and I almost feel like I shouldn’t have asked the question.“No, he was one of the guys who died on that last mission of mine.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Logan. I’m so sorry.”
He nods. “Thanks. It’s the way.We accept it. I accepted it and I was just lucky.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” The words fall from my lips before I can even process what I’m saying.Of course, I wouldn’t have been here.I am still sorry though, and sorry I didn’t know.He could have died and I wouldn’t have known.
I always thought we were so close that I’d know or feel it in some way if anything did happen to him.Maybe, though, I was in such a dark place that the only pain I could feel was my own.
“It’s okay, Quinn. I think when I got shot your worries about me and my uncle’s death came straight to the front of my mind.It was a miracle I survived the shot to my back, even though what ended it all for me was the bullet to my leg.”
“What happened? I mean… how did it happen?” This is the first time it’s felt appropriate to ask.
“We were ambushed. There was no way out of it.We never saw the attack coming.One minute we were on patrol, the next we were under attack.It didn’t help that it was in the middle of the night.It was a group of militant rebels.I tried to get my men out, but we were outnumbered and outdone.It took me close to a year to get back on my feet after physio.”
“Almost a year? My God.” But what did I expect?He’s talking about being shot in the back and his leg.He must have been in agony.
“Yep. I was laid up for a year.I wanted to go back but it became clear after a month out that it wasn’t going to happen.Then I had the misery of that to deal with.”
“You always wanted to be a marine.”
“Only. But fortunately, Uncle Barry taught me to have a backup plan.Just in case my extra life didn’t lead me back on the battlefield.”
“And that’s why you became a P.I.”
He nods and smiles proudly. “It suited me, but I had to have my own company.I didn’t want to work for anybody else.I did my training and got my licenses, then I got set up and I’m doing good.”
“That’s great. I’m proud of you.”
“Yeah?”
