The van was packed with Logan siblings, parents and cousins. They’d rented three at the airport, enough to fit them all. He didn’t really care about any of them, though, except Jillian, in the seat beside him.
Beside him. Gil squeezed her hand. Half of him was incredulous with joy. Even the three-hour flight hadn’t given him time to get used to it. He couldn’t quite believe that everything was suddenly so right. He was afraid that he would blink and she would change her mind.
So much depended on Robbie, though, he thought, feeling the tension gather in his shoulders. If things didn’t work with Robbie, would she still feel the same or would she come to blame him when her brother was in jail?
And would her family?
Terrence Logan hadn’t looked all that thrilled when he’d realized that Gil and his daughter were together. He’d warmed over the course of the flight enough to at least stop frowning at Gil. It would get easier over time. If Gil had anything to say about it, Terrence would have plenty of time to get used to it.
If only they could bring Robbie home.
“This is him,” Scott said suddenly, as a faded green pickup that had clearly seen better days made a left turn into the parking lot of the motel and disappeared into the back. “Okay. We’ll let him go in and then in about fifteen minutes go up.”
It was more like thirty by the time they got grouped together beside the hotel.
Scott nodded to Jillian. “You’re the shrink. What do we do?” he asked softly.
Jillian turned to Nancy. “You and I should go up to the door, first. Then we play it by ear. Dad, maybe you and Mom could step in. The idea is to make it clear that we need him home, that we love him.”
In twos and threes, they walked down to Robbie’s unit and gathered out in the parking lot before the door. Jillian nodded to Nancy. Swallowing, Nancy stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Yeah?” a voice called.
“Robbie?” She licked her lips. “Are you in there?”
She waited but there was no response. “Robbie?” she said again.
“Nancy?” With a rattle of the chain, the door whipped open and he stood there. “What are you doing here?”
Jillian bit back a gasp at his appearance. Never stocky, he’d lost so much weight in the time he’d been gone she hardly recognized him. Scott had been right about the construction work—he was so tan he looked almost swarthy. His arms were ropy with muscle.
He stared at Nancy. “Why are you here?”
“Because I miss you,” she said softly.
“You shouldn’t have come,” he said.
“I couldn’t stay away. You’re my husband, Robbie.” Her eyes were pleading. “I love you.”
“We’re all here because we love you,” Jillian said, stepping forward. “And we want to bring you home.”
He looked beyond, then, seeing the cluster of them move into view. A glint of panic flickered in his eyes. “It’s no good,” he said.
“Let us in, Robbie,” Jillian said gently.
He turned his back on them, stepping into the room. “Portland’s not my home anymore.”
“And this is?” Jillian looked around the room where he had lived for almost two months and shook her head. Unidentifiable stains marked the muddy beige carpet. The walls were a dispirited tan. A synthetic coverlet in avocado-green and orange covered the bed. The plastic of the television casing was cracked.
“Would you really rather stay here than go home?” Nancy asked.
“Nobody wants me in Portland.”
Terrence stepped into the room after them. “You’re on probation, son. You’ve got to go back.”
“Dawn doesn’t even know I’m gone,” he said with a hint of bravado.
“She knows,” Nancy said. “If you’re in her office tomorrow, everything will be okay. If not, they’ll put a warrant out for your arrest.” Her eyes were full of misery. “They’ll put you in jail, Robbie.”
“So what.” An edge entered his voice. “Do you think it’s any worse than all the stories and the sneers? Walking into a store and hearing people saying things behind my back? Everyone hates me.”
“They don’t.” Gil walked into the room with his bag. He didn’t say anything more, just emptied it out on the bed until the pile of envelopes threatened to spill off the edge.
“What are those?” Robbie asked, staring.
“Letters to the editor of the Portland Gazette,” Gil said. He picked one up and yanked out the letter inside. “‘I want to say I think Robbie Logan’s gotten a raw deal from the Gazette. He’s a good man who deserves better.’ Phil Burns, Lake Oswego.” He tossed it down.
“‘It’s not what people did in the past, it’s who they are now,’” Jillian read from another. “‘People can grow and change. That’s what redemption is all about. Bring Robbie Logan home.’ Tanya Simms, Tigard.”
“‘Bravo on your editorial on redemption,’” Nancy read with a shaking voice. “‘Don’t we have better things to do than hound Robbie Logan? Let the man go on with his life.’ Tom Mahoney, Portland.”
Robbie snatched up one of the envelopes and pulled out the letter inside. Silently, he read it and his hands began to shake.
“Read it,” Jillian said.
“‘It’s about time we called the dogs off. Robbie Logan did the right thing and now we need to do the right thing. Come home, Robbie.’” His voice was barely audible. “‘We’re sorry.’ Ron Hitchens, Oregon City.”
“They really want me back?” he asked in wonder.
“What have we been telling you?” Jillian asked.
Nancy walked up to him and he put his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. “We love you, Robbie, all of us. Not just me but your family, the people at the clinic, all the people whose lives you’ve touched. Can’t you understand that?”
“Sometimes it’s hard to believe,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to really trust.”
Jillian’s gaze flicked to Gil’s.
“Maybe you’ll trust that you’re going to be the best father in the world,” Nancy told him, putting Robbie’s hand on her stomach.
He stiffened and stared at her. “The best father?”
“The best father,” she said lightly, but she watched him closely and her voice was filled with strain.
An incredulous grin spread across his face. “I’m going to be a dad?”
“In about seven months.”
He wrapped his arms around her and raised her off her feet.
And then it was bedlam, with everyone crowding around, hugging him and shaking his hand. Finally, Robbie held Nancy’s hands in his and smiled down at her. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I need to get back to Portland. If I’m going to be a dad, I’ve got to get my life in gear.”
And smiling through her tears, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Let’s get you out of here, son,” said Terrence. “It’s time to go home.”
Gil and Jillian stepped outside and into the heat of the Las Vegas afternoon. Back in the room, the rest of the family was helping Robbie pack up what few belongings he had.
“You did it,” Gil said.
She squeezed his hand. “You did it. All the talk in the world would never have been enough. It was the letters that convinced him. We owe you.”
“You owe me?” he repeated. “Then I guess I’d better collect on that.” He ran his fingertips down her bare arm, and she shivered.
“I don’t know, what do you want?”
He swung her around to face him. “Oh, to get you naked and have my way with you for about two weeks straight.”
Her eyes darkened. “I’m sure that could be arranged.”
“Or to hear you say ‘I love you’ to me every day for the next couple of dozen years.”
“I can definitely do that.”
Laughing, Gil swung her around. And suddenly he saw it, the white stucco building with the murals, where they’d parked. Murals of brides and grooms
, walking among trees. A Vegas wedding chapel, he realized.
A Vegas wedding chapel.
And that quickly, he knew what he really wanted.
“What I really want is to marry you,” he said.
Her eyes flew open. “What?”
He pressed his lips to hers. “Marry me, Jillian. You’re all that I’ve ever wanted.” He looked down at her.
Her mouth moved but no words escaped.
Behind them, the Logan clan filtered out of the motel parking lot.
“What’s going on here?” David asked.
“Do you mind giving us some privacy?” Gil said without looking away. “I’m proposing.”
“I don’t know, dude, she doesn’t seem to be answering,” Scott said as he came up behind David. “Maybe you should ask her again. Maybe she didn’t hear.”
“Maybe she’s playing hard to get,” LJ suggested. “They do that, sometimes,” he said, glancing at Eden, who wore his ring on her finger.
“Yes,” Jillian burst out, throwing her arms around Gil. “Oh, yes, yes, yes. And I hate you all,” she added, glowering at Eric and David and LJ.
“What did we do?” Eric protested. “We were just being supportive.”
“You turned my proposal into a stand-up comedy routine.”
“Turned what into a stand-up comedy routine?” Leslie said, coming up behind them. “What have you boys done now?”
“Oh, hell,” David said, “now we’re in trouble.”
“Watch your mouth, young man.”
“We’re never going to hear the end of this,” Eric said.
“I’m guessing you’re right,” LJ confirmed, watching his father approach uneasily.
“I’ll do it again if I can get a little bit of quiet,” Gil said, and took Jillian’s hands. This time, he went down on one knee before her. “Jillian Logan, I know few things for certain but one of them is that I absolutely, totally and completely love you. You’re all I want and all I need. I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you marry me?”
She took his face in her hands and kissed him. “I will.”
White satin. Ribbons and lace. The chapel echoed with the liquid tones of water falling into the stone fountain at the end. Ivy trailed around the white pillars at the altar. Jasmine from the bouquets scented the air. And everywhere faces glowed with that luminous joy unique to weddings.
Jillian waited at the back of the aisle, where she’d stood so many times before. Family filled the white wrought iron chairs. And at the front, bouncing lightly in anticipation, stood the bridegroom.
Gil.
She started down the aisle, a clutch of jasmine in her hands, her fingertips on the arm of her father. For once, she wasn’t a bridesmaid; this time, she was the bride.
When they reached the front and Terrence kissed her cheek, she felt the tears threaten. Then he placed her hands in Gil’s and she thought her heart was just going to explode with joy.
Love. Honor. Till death do us part. The same words, said so many times, were new as she spoke them. She felt Gil slide the ring onto her finger.
And as she looked at him she saw her future in his eyes.
“I love you,” she said.
And when they kissed, she knew it was forever.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0210-2
ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID
Copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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Always A Bridesmaid (Logan's Legacy Revisited) Page 20
