The Lord seemed to bring Logan back into her life at the right moment when it came to her children. He’d done so much for them and Erin truly was grateful for the way he continued to sacrifice for them. But not only for them, Logan had gone out of his way to help Erin time and time again. She was thankful, she really was, but Erin also couldn’t help but question what the Lord was doing. In so many ways, it felt like Erin was being set up for another crushing disappointment. If the Lord loved her, He wouldn’t do that to her, would He?
Erin dwelling on these thoughts when she heard the heavy thud of Logan’s footsteps on the stairs. He hesitated in the doorway, illuminated by the light in the hallway.
Erin stood. She wiped her hands on the front of her robe.
“Mr. West.” Parker’s eyes cracked open.
“I’m here,” Logan said, moving toward the bed. He crouched down beside it so that his face was even with the young boy’s. “What do you need?”
Erin stood completely still, not even breathing, as she waited for Parker to answer.
“Will you read me a story?” Parker asked, looking at Logan with wide eyes.
Erin’s breath came out in a whoosh. She wrapped her arms across her chest. She could have read him astory and avoided waking Logan up. She started to move toward them, to apologize for waking him, but Logan spoke before she’d made it more than a step in their direction.
“Sure, buddy. What story would you like me to read?”
“Will you readLove You Forever?”
Erin’s hand went to her mouth to stop the sob that threatened to come from her chest. Jake used to read that book to the children after his diagnosis. It was his way of telling them that he’d always love them, even after he was gone. The idea of Logan reading that story to Parker was unsettling, to say the least.
Of course, Logan had no idea the significance of the story to their family—to her. He stood up and looked at Erin. “Do you have that book?”
Unable to speak, Erin pointed to the bookshelf on the far wall of her bedroom. Logan walked over and ran his fingers over the spines until he spotted the hardback with the blue cover. He pulled it from the shelf.
He grabbed a chair that faced Erin’s window and dragged it next to the bed. There was a small lamp on her nightstand, and Logan turned it on. Once he settled back at Parker’s side, he began to read.
Erin relaxed as she stood by and watched the scene unfolding in front of her. Parker listened to Logan’s deep, soothing voice as he read from the book—taking care to stop and show Parker the pictures each timebefore he turned the page. As Logan neared the end of the story, Parker’s eyes drifted closed again, and he didn’t look at the last few pictures.
As for Erin, she couldn’t see them either, but for a very different reason. The tears that formed in her eyes made everything blurry. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her robe as Logan finished the last page.
He closed the book and set it on the nightstand beside Erin’s bed.
The room was silent apart from the steady breaths that came from Parker. He’d fallen asleep to the story and his face looked peaceful as he lay in Erin’s bed.
As difficult as this situation was, there was also a peace that filled Erin as she realized that Logan had taken charge of the situation, just like Erin had needed. It just didn’t look like she expected.
Logan’s gaze stayed trained on Parker for some time before he turned toward Erin. By then, she’d been able to stop the tears that had been streaming down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if her eyes were red, but she hoped that the dimness of the room would make it difficult to see.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. “Should I ... stay? Do you want me to leave?”
Erin wasn’t sure how to answer that. Now that Parker was asleep, he wouldn’t know if Logan was here. If he woke up in the night, as children often did when they were sick, and found that Logan was gone, he might be upset. “I don’t know.”
All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and fall asleep, something she obviously couldn’t do if Logan stayed.
He stood and walked toward her. “You look exhausted.”
Her shoulders sagged. She was so tired. It felt like she was sleeping on her feet.
“Do you want to go lie down in his bed in their room? I can stay with Parker.”
Erin shook her head quickly. “No, I couldn’t possibly?—”
His hand reached out and touched her shoulder. “Just for a bit. An hour or two. I’ll stay right here and make sure he’s okay.”
Erin looked at Logan, then the chair next to the bed, and finally, to the door that led to the hallway. Would an hour really be so bad? Even though he’d been gone for all those years, Erin knew Logan. The more time they’d spent together, the more she could see her best friend. She trusted him to stay here and protect Parker. She was just so tired.
“Just an hour.” She yawned loudly.
