Melanie exchanged a glance with Logan. It seemed that Tilly was ready to let her secret out if she was talking this openly in front of Logan.
“How did he take it?” Melanie asked.
Tilly shrugged, but tears welled in her eyes. “He’s disappointed.”
Melanie reached out and put a hand over Tilly’s. “He’s just surprised. He’s going to be fine.”
“He’s furious at Simon,” Tilly said.
“Oh, sweetie, we all are,” Melanie said, and Tilly laughed through her tears.
“I guess so,” Tilly said.
“It’s going to be fine, okay?” Melanie assured her. “This baby is good news, Tilly. Every baby is good news. I promise you that. This baby is going to be loved.”
Tilly nodded, and just then, the waiter came up with the platter carrying their meals. If she and Adam had managed to stay together, this would have been their family situation to deal with as a unit.
But it wasn’t. Adam would come pick up his daughter, and he’d finally take over. Melanie looked up and saw Logan’s eyes on her. He looked sad, too. Nothing was uncomplicated. Twenty-three years had passed, and everyone’s hearts had been entangled with other lives, other loves and the children that had made them families.
CHAPTER TEN
THE REST OF lunch was taken up with Tilly’s plans for having her baby. She needed to talk, it seemed, and if she was opening up, Logan didn’t want to get in the way. He’d quietly listened as Tilly talked about her worries that Simon wouldn’t care about the baby, that she’d be teased in school when her classmates found out about her pregnancy, and how she worried that even her siblings would see her differently now.
And he listened while Melanie calmly and quietly helped put all those fears to rest. She told Tilly that she couldn’t control Simon and her true friends would be supportive. Becoming a mother wasn’t something to be ashamed of. It was a beautiful rite of passage that not everyone got to experience. Melanie made this massive upheaval in a teenager’s life seem downright manageable.
Maybe it was that Melanie knew Tilly so well, or just that Mel was good on this level—compassionate, a deep thinker. Tilly had definitely come to the right doorstep, he realized. And so had he.
What was it about Melanie that drew him in like this? She had enough problems of her own, and he wanted to help her shoulder a few of those, if she’d let him. But he doubted she would. She was trying to start over, and if he knew her at all, she’d do that on her own two feet.
When the meal was over and Logan had paid, they all stood up to leave. Tilly headed toward the door, leaving them alone for a couple of minutes.
“Thank you,” Melanie said quietly. “I’m sorry we took over like that—”
“Don’t be,” he countered. “This is life, isn’t it? Maybe we can talk tomorrow.”
“For sure. You said you’d call, right?”
“I did say that.” It sounded like she wanted him to.
“See you.” She met his gaze briefly, then she followed Tilly toward the door.
He watched as Melanie and Tilly headed out of the dining room, and he sucked in a deep breath. His time here was short, and he needed to at least try to connect with his father again. Maybe he was a bit like his father, but here was where he was determined to differ—he was going to sit down and have another talk with his dad, and this time he wasn’t going to let the man push his buttons. He’d try to get to know Harry a little. He’d only regret it if he didn’t try. And he still thought it was a good idea to include his brother in this. They were a family, after all—even if an unwilling one.
Logan headed up to his room, found the business card his brother had given him, and dialed the cell-phone number scratched on the back. His suite was neat and tidy after the maid had visited. There was a chocolate on his pillow, and Logan ambled over and unwrapped it as the phone rang in his ear. Logan popped the chocolate in his mouth as Junior picked up.
“Hello?” He sounded wooden, empty. Something was wrong.
“Hi. It’s Logan. Is this Junior?” He chewed and swallowed. It was a mint chocolate—a high quality one. “Sorry... Eugene.”
“Yeah...” There was a sigh. “I was going to call you, and then realized I didn’t have your number.”
“Oh.” That surprised him. “You got my message, then? I was hoping we could go visit Dad together. It might make you feel better to keep an eye on things.”
“Yeah, I don’t think we can do that,” his brother replied, his voice low. “My dad—” Junior swallowed audibly. “He, um, had another stroke this morning. It was a really big one. They took him to emergency by ambulance, but he didn’t make it.”
Logan rolled the chocolate foil between his fingers, his pulse hammering in his head. His brother’s choice of words hadn’t escaped him, even in the shock of the moment. My dad.
“Wait...he’s dead?” he demanded.
“Yeah. He passed away. I was going to get in touch, but—”
“Right.” Logan didn’t have the energy or the presence of mind to even bother with how hard his brother had tried...or not. “Just like that?”
“He’d had a few smaller strokes before,” Junior reminded him, clearing his throat. Logan thought he could hear some sniffling in the background. “So I guess this was always a possibility, but it’s a pretty big shock around here.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet...” A shock for them. What about him?
“I went to see him the other day,” Logan said. “He talked about you a lot, actually.”
“Yeah?” Junior’s voice sounded choked.
“He was really proud of you,” Logan said. “You, your family, your success—”
“Did you upset him?” Junior asked.
“What?” Logan shook his head. “Are you asking if I’m to blame for his stroke?”
“No, I’m—” Junior cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I’m obviously really upset and I’m not thinking straight.
