“It’s just a lot harder seeing him than I realized.” Erin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Doesn’t he know how badly he hurt us? Or does he just not care?”
“He should have been here. I know that better than anyone else. But holding onto that anger isn’t going to do you any good. The Lord doesn’t want us holding grudges.”
Aunt Betty was right. Erin’s grudge against Logan weighed her down, but she wasn’t able to let it go. He didn’t show a hint of remorse and hadn’t offered an explanation for why he’d done what he’d done, even though she’d asked him twice. Erin pressed her lips together, afraid that those thoughts would come tumbling out if she so much as opened her mouth. As angry as she was at Logan, she didn’t want to hurt Aunt Betty with unkind words about the boy who was like a son to her.
“Logan may not make the wisest choices all the time, but in his heart, he’s not a terrible guy.” Aunt Betty reached out and touched Erin’s arm. “You, of all people, know that. You and Jake were the only people who saw through his tough-guy act and down to his heart.”
Erin shook her head. “We were teenagers. It’sexpected for you to make mistakes at that age. Logan is a grown man now, but he pretends like his actions don’t have consequences.”
“Has he said that much to you?” Aunt Betty lifted her brows.
Erin closed her eyes. Of course, he hadn’t said that in words. It was the fact that he was here, working on the house, avoiding Erin like the plague, and hadn’t even once mentioned Jake that gave her that impression.
“I have an idea that I hope will help everyone with this unexpected turn of events,” Aunt Betty said, “but you’re not going to like it.”
Erin held her breath as she looked up at Aunt Betty. The woman had a heart of gold, but wasn’t known for her conventional lifestyle. The clothing, the car, the way she took in Logan when no one else would—and the way she raised him. Whenever Aunt Betty had an idea, there was no telling what it would be. It could be something completely harmless, or something completely unimaginable.
She clasped her hands in front of her. “We’re going to start having family dinners.”
Erin’s brows knit together. They already had family dinners. Erin tried to make a home-cooked meal every night, with a rare pizza night thrown in here and there. That wasn’t so bad.
“You, me, the kids ... and Logan.”
Erin’s heart sank. Dinner around the table withAunt Betty had become one of her favorite parts of the day. After spending the entire day cooking, baking, or working on the house, it was the one time of day Erin had come to count on for catching up with Parker and Samantha. While some days were hard as they all shared memories of Jake, most nights were filled with laughter. It was in these moments that Erin had hope for her children’s future, even without their father.
Bringing Logan into the mix felt like an intrusion. She didn’t want him there. “I don’t think?—”
Aunt Betty put her hand up. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist.” Her smile was kind, but it was clear that she wasn’t asking.
The gentle approach didn’t make the news any easier to bear. Erin’s heart sank. It wouldn’t be that much more work to cook for an extra person, and Aunt Betty and she already split the grocery bill. But sitting across the small dining room table from Logan? She wasn’t sure she could do it.
Turns out, she could do it. Or, rather, she really didn’t have a choice.
She’d just pulled the lasagna out of the oven when she heard the heavy thud of footsteps behind her—too heavy to be either of her children or Aunt Betty. Erin took a deep breath, set the oven mitts on the counter, and turned toward Logan.
He stood just a few feet in front of her. His hands were in his pockets and his gaze trained on the floor between them. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, her voice flat.
“Is there ... ” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I help with anything?”
“I’ve already done everything,” she said. Aunt Betty might be forcing them to eat dinner together, but that didn’t mean Erin needed to pretend she was happy about it.
He didn’t leave. “Are you sure there isn’t something I can do?”
Erin rubbed her temples and sighed, really wanting to get this night over with. It was too hard to see his face, too hard to hear his voice. Hadn’t she dealt with enough hard things to not have to spend time with the friend who had abandoned her?
She waved her hand at the cabinets. “You could set the table if you really want to help.”
Logan nodded, and wordlessly started grabbing plates down from the cabinets, his movements stilted. He was as uncomfortable as she was having dinner together. The idea of this being hard for both of them made her feel a bit better about the whole thing. If she had to suffer through it, she was glad to know she wasn’t alone.
Logan made quick work of the dining room, and soon he was standing in the kitchen again, awaiting orders like a soldier from his superior. Erin looked up at the clock on the wall. There were still a few minutes before dinnertime, but since the food was ready, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to call the children in to getcleaned up. The sooner they started, the sooner they could be done.
“If you want to get your drink, I’ll go get the kids.”
Logan nodded, and she felt his eyes on her as she walked out of the kitchen. She found Samantha and Parker sitting in the backyard, kicking a soccer ball back and forth. “Dinner’s ready,” she called.
They both came running, always hungry after playing outside all day. She caught them just before they went inside. “Before you go in, I wanted to let you know that Mr. West will be eating with us tonight.”
