“Coffee?” he asked.
“Thank you,” I nodded. Mr. Prewitt stood up and grabbed a mug from the cabinet above the stove. He filled it to the brim and set it down in front of me.
“Black, right?” he asked.
“Always,” I said. I tried to smile, but it was a weak attempt. I knew he had something to say and I knew I wouldn’t like it.
“What are you doing here, Logan?” he asked simply. His question was an obvious one, but I still didn’t have an answer for him.
“Piper and I fell asleep last night,” I said. “I’m sorry, sir. We didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Which part?” he asked. “Falling asleep or being in the bedroom to begin with?”
“Falling asleep,” I answered honestly.
“That’s great,” he said with a small chuckle. “She’s not even back a week and you already have your hooks in her.”
“That’s not…” I began.
“Listen,” he interrupted. He leaned forward and fixed his angry eyes on my face. “You don’t know what you did to her when you left. You have no idea how badly
she was hurt. It’s not right for you to just swoop back in and…”
“I know about Lili,” I said suddenly. Mr. Prewitt’s expression changed from anger to surprise then back to anger again.
“She told you?” he asked.
“She did,” I nodded. “I met Lili yesterday. At Audra’s. Then we came back here to put her bed and talk about things.”
“I see,” Mr. Prewitt sat back in his chair and took a long sip of coffee. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. I knew she would tell you eventually.”
“I’m glad she did,” I said quickly.
“What do you plan to do about it?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. The truth was, I didn’t know exactly what to do. All I knew was that I loved Piper and Lilliana.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “We haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Mr. Prewitt nodded and stood up from the table. We took my untouched cup of coffee and dumped it out in the sink. With a meaningful look, he jerked his head toward the back door.
“Well,” he said. “That’s something you should probably go figure out.”
Without a word, I stood up and crossed the kitchen slowly. When I glanced back at him he was busy washing his own mug. I slipped through the back door and out into the early morning, my head spinning.
Twenty- Nine
Logan
As I walked around the back of the house that afternoon, Mr. Prewitt’s words were still echoing in my ears. I could still see the look on his face as he scrutinized me in the dim kitchen light. He didn’t trust me. That much was obvious. But, what was worse, was the fact that he was right. It was ridiculous that I hadn’t figured out some sort of plan for being in my daughter’s life. How could I have let the night pass without discussing the logistics with Piper? When were they leaving for New York? How often would they come back to Bradberry? How many times would Piper allow me to visit them in the city?
These questions and more whirled a destructive path through my brain as I stepped into the backyard. I glanced around until I saw Lilliana running toward me. She threw her arms around my waist and grabbed my hand.
“Come on,” she said. “There’s food.”
“Sounds great, kiddo,” I told her. “But I need to find your mom first. Do you know where she is?”
“She’s talking to her cousin or something,” Lilliana said. She pointed toward the back fence. I followed her finger and saw Piper standing in front of a young woman. They were talking animatedly.