She was doing it. Samantha was keeping herself upright all by herself and riding down the street without help. His heart swelled as she continued to pedal down the street, and Logan stayed behind her the entire time.
Logan wasn’t prepared for the pride of seeing Samantha succeed. To know that he helped her get to that point was a surprising bonus. He didn’t want thisfeeling to end and didn’t think it would until Samantha wanted to stop.
She turned her head slightly, just like she had every other time they got to the end of the street. Only, this time he wasn’t holding on and she wobbled. Overcompensating, Samantha leaned too far in one direction and the bike tipped.
Logan watched in horror as Samantha fell to the ground, the bike going with her. When everything stopped, she was splayed on the payment, the bike resting on top of her.
Logan couldn’t breathe. He desperately gasped for air as he crouched down on the road next to Samantha. Her face was scrunched up in pain. Her eyes closed tightly, tears streaking down from the corners. Her lips were in a tight line.
“Sam.” Logan managed to get the word out as he still tried to catch his breath. His body racked with guilt for allowing Samantha to get injured under his care. He hadn’t asked Erin if it was okay, and now her daughter was hurt. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Samantha said through gritted teeth. “I’m okay.”
Logan flung the bike off her and started assessing for injuries. Her face looked fine, her arms had a little loose gravel from the road, but looked otherwise uninjured. But her leg had a giant gash on it.
“You’re bleeding,” he said.
Samantha gritted her teeth as she looked down at her leg.
While it wasn’t the worst cut Logan had ever seen, and he didn’t think it would need stitches, he wasn’t sure he could dismiss it as not that bad. Erin might think it was, in fact, bad.
Logan pulled a napkin from his pocket, something he shoved there earlier when he was eating. Thankful it was unused, he pressed it to her leg to wipe some of the blood from her injury. Once it was slightly cleaner, Samantha pushed herself up off the ground and stood.
Logan shot up beside her. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Does it hurt? Can you put weight on it?”
Samantha looked down at her leg and back up at Logan. “Yeah.”
He stepped back. “Yeah, it hurts? Or, yeah, you can put weight on it?”
Samantha shrugged. “Both. It hurts, but I can stand on it.”
“Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“Good, then let’s get you to your mom.”
Logan pushed the bike down the street as the two of them made their way back to Aunt Betty’s house. The pit in his stomach grew heavier as they got closer. He’d made some terrible choices in the past that hurt Erin, but being an accomplice to her daughter’s accident felt like a new low.
When he looked at Samantha to apologize, her smile surprised him. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Her smile grew. Logan didn’t understand until she said, “I rode the bike all by myself.”
Logan couldn’t stop the laugh that came from him. Adrenaline was still rushing through him—he was struggling with guilt, but the little girl walking beside him wasn’t concerned at all, just excited about riding a bike for the first time. He chose to be happy with her instead of wallowing in guilt. “You sure did. I’m proud of you.”
“I’m proud of me too,” she said, standing tall, even on her injured leg. “I did something wild.”
He laughed again. “Very true. Maybe too wild.”
“Will you give me another lesson?”
Logan’s foot stumbled. “Another one? Even though you got hurt?”
Samantha looked up at Logan. “Well, I only know how to ride. I don’t know how to stop. I think you need to teach me that next time.”
They slowed as they approached the familiar Victorian. Logan stopped in the driveway. “That’s up to your mama. We’ll have to see what she says after she sees your knee.”
He had a feeling he knew what the answer would be before Samantha had the chance to ask. Samantha pointed to the front door, where Erin stood, her hands crossed over her chest.
