Chapter Five
Logan
“To fresh meat!”
The clink of bottles echoed around the nearly empty Tink’s Tavern I was sitting at with my two friends, and Tink behind the bar.
“She’s not meat,” I grumbled, but the smile had not left my face since Mia and I shook hands and signed electronic documents, sealing her as my client for the next six weeks.
I was beyond excited—not only because she was the highest client on the food chain I’d ever had the pleasure of working with, but also because she was going to be fun to crack. There was so much more to Mia that she didn’t even know about herself, and I was going to enjoy bringing her out of her old, muddy shell.
There were going to be hard times, but she was capable. She would see everything and come out the other side even stronger.
Callum, one of my coworkers and best friend, smacked me on the shoulder in congratulations for gaining the new client. Of course, I didn’t tell them her name, but they knew it was a high-profile case.
He looked much like me. In fact, most of the time, people thought we were brothers. He was my brother in all the ways that truly counted, blood be damned. But where I was now the carefree one, Callum was the type who could help everyone else but himself on the inside. There were deep sorrows he couldn’t forgive even though he knew how.
Tate, on my other side, was guzzling his brown bottle down like it was the air he breathed. He was the opposite of Callum and me. He was tall, built like tight end football player, and had black hair with green eyes. Biggest goofball you’d ever meet. All six feet, and two hundred pounds of him.
He was a sports announcer, which came with the perks of free tickets to sporting events for his best friends.
“So, what’s on the agenda first, Logan? The normal mirror trick? Um, let me guess. You’re gonna start with the forgiveness letters and burn them.” Tate laughed, trying to guess my plan for Mia.
He liked to pick on my profession, but when he needed advice, I was the first person he came to. Humor was his go-to for everything, and it worked for him as far as an outlet.
“Not sure yet. I’m gonna pop over tonight to check out her house before she has a chance to clean or prepare for me. She’s a tight ball of madness, and there’s a struggle to let go and let me in. Gonna have to peel back one layer at a time.”
I was grinning from ear to ear, thinking about all the ways I could help Mia. There was no waiting on my agenda. I would be seeing her tonight. There were a few things I’d noticed about her words that spoke so much more than what she actually said. Her tone, her eyes falling flat, the bob of her throat when she talked about her job. Tears had wanted to cascade down her tan cheeks. She’d held them back though.
She had so many emotions inside her, and I doubted she let them out, even in tiny doses.
Crying, anger, doubt, and even sadness were not bad emotions. Only when they took control of someone was there a negative. She just needed to let some steam out of the pot for starters. To get angry. To cry. To feel something and let it out.
“Proud of you, kid.” Tink, my sort-of adopted mom, set a plate of delicious nachos with cheese, sour cream, and bacon in front of me.
“Thanks, Tink.” I looked into the blue eyes of my short, blonde-haired, old gal.
Her husband, who had passed away about six years ago, had always called her Tink since her personality was a bit like the little fairy herself. She had bite and a bark, if needed, but she was also the perfect listener and truly enjoyed running her little bar by the beach.
I’d been in here a lot after Katherine and I split. Trying to drink myself dead every night. Tink had stepped in and saved my life. After that, she’d continued to be there for me more than my actual mom was ever there for me.
Mom and Dad were living happily in Utah. They never called, and they never checked in on me. I honestly felt it was in my best interest to let them go. They were a toxic duo anyway.
Tink and these two tools were all the family I needed.
Of course, being family meant they felt okay to dig into my celebratory nachos without asking, which was not cool in this case.
“Nope. My nachos. Order your own.” I elbowed them back to their stools and hoarded the precious chips and cheese.
“Not very nice for a life coach. Don’t know how you do it.” Tate’s frown was all for show, but he turned to Tink to order his own plate when she showed up with one for him and Callum.
Bless that woman.
“You are a fairy goddess, Tink.” Tate moaned while rubbing his hands back and forth in anticipation.
Callum was drooling along with him, eyes devouring the food before his mouth ever touched it. Tink walked away, mumbling about ridiculous boys, but she loved us just as much as we loved her.
When the plates were licked clean and our bellies were full, I thought about a game plan for meeting with Mia again.
