Live Without Regret (A Touch of Fate 3)

“Plus, what?”

“You’re my home. I don’t want to live where you aren’t, Connor.”

“Logan.” Sighing, I scoot next to her. She slips her tiny hand in mine and I squeeze it lightly. “It doesn’t matter how far away you live, you will always be a huge part of my life. I will always be here for you.”

“So if I beg you to come with me, would you consider it?” she asks without an ounce of humor.

“Wow.” Pulling my hand from hers, I run my fingers through my hair. “Logan.”

“Don’t.” Shaking her head, she pushes up from the couch. “I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“That’s not it,” I say, trying to figure out the best way to say this. “You know I would love to go with you. The thought of not seeing you and talking to you all the time terrifies me. But I’ve got InkSlingers now, and I’m not ready to leave that behind.”

She nods, swallowing hard. “And Brittany. I guess you have her now, too?”

“Please don’t. This has nothing to do with Brittany. Yes, I really like her. Yes, she’s everything I’ve been looking for in a woman. But we’ve only been seeing each other for a few days. I’m staying because this is my home, and I don’t want to leave. I want to keep building up the shop and see where it goes.” I blowing out a harsh breath. “And yes, I’m anxious to see where this thing with Brittany goes too, but I want to stay here because I’m finally happy. And you know I’ve worked really hard to find my happy.”

“Ugh,” she grunts, tossing her head back. “I know. I know you’re happy. But the selfish part of me wants you to be happy where I am.” She takes a deep breath. “Connor”—Logan looks up at me, a wave of uncertainty swirling through her eyes—“I’ve never been on my own. Not really. You’ve always been a hop, skip, and a jump away, ready and willing to pick up whatever mess I’ve made. What if I can’t do this on my own? What if I fail miserably?”

“Don’t—”

“And what if I lose you?” she asks, cutting me off. “What if you forget all about me? You’re the only family I have, and I don’t want to lose you.” Her voice cracks on the last word, slicing my heart in two.

“Stop it.” Hooking an arm around her neck, I hug her tight. “You are my family. Nothing is going to change that. I don’t care that we don’t share the same blood. You are my sister in every sense of the word. You’ve seen me through so much bullshit, and I could never forget that. I could never forget you.”

“I’m sorry.” She sniffs, swiping at her face when a tear runs down her cheek. “I know I’m being an emotional female about this. It’s all just happening so fast.”

“Is it?” I ask, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “You’ve been going to school, planning for this moment, and when you filled out the application, you knew it was in a different state.” Logan worked two jobs to put herself through nursing school. She knew immediately that she wanted to work in a trauma ICU. Apparently, it’s difficult to get that particular position right out of school. So when she found out about a hospital that was accepting applications for a one-year paid internship at their trauma ICU with the option to stay on full-time afterward, she jumped on it.

“I hate it when you’re right,” she mumbles, burying her face in my chest.

“You know,” I say, deciding now is not the time to gloat about always being right, “more than likely you’re going to get out there and make a whole new set of friends. Before I know it, you’ll be bringing home a boyfriend for me to meet. And I’m warning you now, as your brother and best friend, I will intimidate the hell outta him.”

Logan laughs, and it’s as though I can feel some of the weight being lifted from her shoulders. “You think?”

“I don’t think…I know. You’re intelligent, beautiful, and you have this incredible heart. Any man would be more than lucky to have you in his life. Myself included.”

Taking a deep breath, Logan blows it out slowly. “Okay, I’m going to do this. I’m moving to Tennessee.” Her smile grows. Pulling out of my arms, she rubs her hands together. “Holy crap. I’m moving to Tennessee. I’m going to be a full-time nurse.” Her eyes widen, almost comically, and I’m getting the feeling she’s moments away from either laughing hysterically or crying. At this point, it could go either way.

“I’m so proud of you, Lo.”

Her eyes glisten. “Thank you. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I guess we got lucky getting sent to that last foster home, huh?”

“Damn straight. If it wasn’t for that godforsaken place, I wouldn’t have you in my life.”

“And we wouldn’t have met Carter.” Logan looks down for a beat before glancing back up. “I miss him,” she whispers. “Do you think he’d be proud of me?”

“I miss him, too. And he’d be so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Logan wipes her hands over her face and straightens her shoulders as though she’s pulling herself together. “Speaking of Carter,” she says, “you probably have to be at work soon, don’t you? Hell, I have to be at work and here I am blubbering all over the place.”

“Actually,” I say, glancing at the clock on the wall, “I probably should finish getting ready so I can head in. I already took a shower, but I still need to trim my beard.”

“Oh!” Logan waves her hands in the air as though she just remembered something really important. “That’s why I was trying to call you. My water heater went out. Do you mind if I swing by tonight after work and get cleaned up?”