Page 7

Chapter 5

Logan

“You got a minute, kid?”

I paused, my fingers tightening around the wrench I was holding. My gut tightened. It was an automatic response to someone—anyone, really—wanting to talk to me. My therapist said it was a trauma response and was probably something that would never stop happening to me. I thought the feeling was highly inconvenient because it gave me a feeling similar to an adrenaline rush.

Jaxon kicked my boot lightly, making me grunt in annoyance. “I know you hear me, Logan. Come on out from under the car.”

I made a tsking noise. “Unless you’ve got something to bribe me with, I’m not budging, old man. Do you know how long it took for this part to get—bruh.” I looked up at Jaxon, blinking against the sudden light. It was overcast, but compared to being beneath the car, where it was dark, the sun might as well have been shining. “Did you just drag me out by my fucking ankle?”

He dropped a small, white bag on my chest. “Donuts,” he said, then turned and headed for the porch, no doubt expecting me to follow.

I should’ve known some shit like this was going to happen. No doubt, Spencer had talked to Jaxon on his way to work and had explained what happened yesterday and why I hadn’t been present in the group chat when Preston had been thanking me. Fuck. Nothing slipped past that man.

Jaxon had seen me at my lowest—well, maybe not my lowest, like bottom of the barrel lowest because only Ezra had seen that—but he’d seen how bad shit could get for me, and he’d basically held my hand like the supportive fucking parent he was as I got back on my feet. Still, I hated being this old and still having times where I spiraled. Not only did it feel like I was letting down my husbands, but it felt like I was letting down Jaxon when it happened.

And fuck me, I hated letting Jaxon down. He was the only adult who had ever looked at me for me and didn’t try or even want to change me. I knew I got on his nerves, but he loved me despite my sometimes-shitty personality.

Because, according to him, that was what dads did.

Wasn’t like I’d ever fucking known. I’d never known my sperm donor. And I never cared to either. If he was dumb as fuck enough to knock my mom up, he wasn’t worth knowing.

Picking the bag up off my chest, I pushed myself off the ground and headed inside. Jaxon was pushing out the back door. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed an energy drink from the fridge, then followed him out.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I drawled as I dropped into a chair beside him and opened my donut bag.

Jaxon had gotten my favorite—plain ass glazed donuts. Goddamn him for always remembering the little shit. He definitely knew how to soften me up a little.

“You were quiet on the group chat last night,” he said, looking over at me. “And you ignored my texts when I asked you if you were okay.”

Oh, well, in all honesty, I’d forgotten he’d sent those after I found the package waiting on the porch a little while ago.

I bit into my donut. “Awe, worried about me, old man?” I asked around a mouthful of food just because I knew talking with my mouth full irritated him.

He shot me an unamused look. “Don’t do that, Logan. Talk to me. Spencer told me you had a rough night, but he refused to go into detail. He said he wouldn’t break your trust.” My heart squeezed. I knew Spencer vented to his dad a lot about shit me and Ezra were going through, but to know my husband had drawn the line at that… Fuck, I loved him so much.

“What happened?”

I groaned. “Can I eat the donuts before I lose my appetite?”

Jaxon nodded and slouched a little in the chair. He shut his eyes, and the sound of the world around us filled the silence. I continued eating my donuts while listening to the birds chirping. Far away, I could hear sirens—probably first responders heading to the scene of an accident. Accidents were a frequent thing in this city.

I wiped my hands on my cargo pants when I was done, and Jaxon just sighed, shaking his head the tiniest bit in disapproval. But eh. I was only working in these, and then, they’d go in the washer while I showered since they were already greasy and dirty from me working on my newest project car.

“It’s kind of stupid,” I warned him.

“Anything that makes you shut down like that is not stupid, Logan. Anything you feel is not stupid. Don’t say that again.”

“You’re doing that hot dad thing,” I teased. I never had and never would see Jaxon like that, but teasing him was fun. I couldn’t fucking help it. Too bad his husband, Zeppelin, wasn’t here. I loved teasing Jaxon while Zep was around. It always got me the arguments and the back-and-forth I was seeking.

Jaxon sighed heavily. “Stop evading my question, Logan.”

“Christ, you’re being a hard ass today,” I muttered, slouching in my chair and even pouting.

Jaxon just stayed silent, not taking the bait. His son was the same way sometimes. They knew when to give back what I handed out, but they also knew sometimes silence was the best response.

And I guessed today, Jaxon knew going back and forth with me wouldn’t get him the answers he was seeking.