LOGAN
Iwasn’t surprised that Noah had slept the day away with Ariel curled up at his side. Between the stress of the injury and the resulting pain meds, the poor kid was upside down.
And it was better for me that night was falling and he was still in bed. I was dreading telling him Nina was gone. As far as I was concerned, the longer I could put it off, the better.
It didn’t feel real to me yet. Despite the drama of our final conversation, a part of me still expected to hear her laughter echoing down the hallway. She’d only been gone for a few hours, but I could already feel the void she’d left behind.
I peeked my head in Noah’s room to check on him one more time and noticed that he was finally blinking awake. He had to be starving by now. I’d soften the blow of Nina’s departure by giving him whatever he wanted for dinner. Nothing was off the table, even ice cream.
And now the only disapproving look I’d have to deal with would be Josie’s.
“Daddy,” he whimpered as he sat up and looked at his arm like it didn’t belong on his body. “Is it night?”
Ah yes, the pain meds were definitely wearing off.
“Almost. Are you hungry for dinner?” I could give him a pill to make him more comfortable, but the pain meds were supposed to be taken with food.
He nodded, seconds from tears.
Shit. The storm clouds were forming already.
Luckily, Ariel did a big stretch and hopped off the bed, drawing his attention.
“We should probably give Miss Ariel her dinner too. Why don’t we head down to the kitchen so we can all eat?” I suggested.
He nodded and slid off the bed gingerly.
“I was thinking we could have fun dinner tonight,” I said as we walked down the hallway behind the kitten. “Like…cupcakes!”
Noah looked up at me out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll get in trouble if I have cupcakes for dinner. Nina says I shouldn’t eat too many sweets.”
I swallowed hard. Was this the right moment to bring up our new reality?
“When we get to the kitchen, can you bring me one of my black pens?” Noah kept up his stream of sleepy chatter. “I want Nina to draw Ariel on my cast. And you can write your name on it since you’re not a good draw-er. Maybe Nina can teach you how to make something? I wasn’t good at drawing hands, and she showed me a trick.”
My heart sank; although, I shouldn’t have been surprised that he immediately thought of Nina. She’d woven herself into our lives so seamlessly that neither of us could envision life without her.
Not yet, anyway. But we’d learn.
We started down the stairs.
“WhereisNina?” Noah asked, glancing around.
“Let’s go down to the kitchen and talk,” I answered.
Josie was waiting for us when we walked in, and it was impossible to miss the glare she shot my way. She’d caught Nina packing, and the resulting whispers made it clear that I now had a very angry house manager to contend with.
“There he is! And look at your fancy new cast. I love the color,” Josie said, breaking into a smile that was only for my son. “You must be starving! What can I make for you, sweetheart?”
“That’s okay, I’m going to take care of our dinner tonight,” I said.
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow at me, obviously remembering that the last time I tried to fry an egg for myself, the resulting mess on the stove required industrial cleanser to remove.
“Daddy said cupcakes for dinner!” Noah cheered, his pending bad mood temporarily forgotten.
Josie’s disapproving glare was probably compounded by the fact that she no longer had Nina backing her up.
“We’re, uh, actually set for the night,” I explained. “You can take the rest of the evening off.”
