Because I was done stalling.
I was done waiting for perfect clarity or some impossible guarantee. My heart was already telling me where to go.
I climbed into my truck, dirt still caked on my boots, hands trembling as I gripped the steering wheel. I put the truck in gear and took off down the road, gravel spitting beneath the tires.
For once, I didn’t let thewhat ifsstop me.
34
LOGAN
Drying my hands on a dish towel, I tossed it onto the counter with a tired sigh. My back ached—tight, sore muscles from a long day’s work—but that was nothing new. Part of the routine, part of the life. I stretched, rocking side to side to loosen up.
The house was finally quiet. Dishes done. Bags fully unpacked. Laundry humming its final cycle. It had been a few days since we got back, and while things looked normal again, I couldn’t say Ifeltsettled.
Physically, maybe. Mentally? Not even close.
The time I spent with Ellie had lit something in me. A brighter spark I couldn’t put out, even if I tried. Something had shifted during our trip, something deeper and I didn’t want to go back to the way things were. Waiting. Wondering. Holding back.
I was done sitting on the sidelines. I was all in now.
Faircloud changed things.Shechanged things. And I planned to show her every single day just how serious I was. There would never be a perfect time, and I wasn’t about to let hesitation steal another chance. If I kept waiting, I might lose her completely.
Since we’d gotten back, life had pulled us in separate directions. Work, obligations, routines. I hadn’t seen much of her, and that was okay for now. We both needed time to adjust. But I wasn’t planning on waiting much longer.
A knock sounded—frantic, hard, and impatient.
I crossed the kitchen and opened the door, blinking in surprise when I saw her standing there.
Ellie.
For a split second, I was thrown back to the last time she’d stood on this porch. The tears in her eyes. The bruises that spoke louder than words. The anger that had surged inside me back then stirred again, protective and fierce, but it faded just as fast when I looked at her now.
I smiled.
She didn’t say a word. Just barreled inside like a woman with a purpose.
I closed the door behind her and turned, crossing my arms and planting my feet shoulder-width apart. I waited, giving her space to gather whatever storm she had swirling inside her.
She started pacing, quick steps across the floor. Her eyes stayed locked on the ground, teeth worrying her bottom lip. She was unraveling in front of me, and I let her, knowing she’d speak when she was ready.
Finally, she stopped. Faced me.
“Do you really like me?” she asked, her voice flat and uncertain. No smile. No warmth. Just a question tossed into the air like a lifeline.
“Of course I like you,” I said, though it came out more like a question. My brow furrowed.
“No, I mean… do youlike likeme?”
“Ace…” I took a step forward. “What are you trying to get at?”
She groaned and dragged a hand down her face, frustration radiating from every pore.
“Am I misreading this? Whatever this is between us… did I imagine it?”
I stared at her, stunned.Misreading it?
I kissed her—twice. I dropped everything to take her on that trip. I set up a damn picnic at sunset like we were the only two people on earth. I’ve always been there for her, always will be.
