Shattered Treasure

by Cindy Patterson

  “I’ll see you later?” he asked, hoping, begging for some sign that he would be welcomed if he showed up again.

  “Okay.” Her soft whisper resonated through the deepest corners of his mind.

  Addison wanted to run after Logan’s retreating form but stopped herself. He reached the double doors at the end of the hall and turned with a final wave. Her skin still tingled from where he had touched her. Lifting trembling fingers to her parted lips, she slowly entered her classroom, inhaling the scent of the perfect white daisies staring up at her.

  After setting the vase on her desk, she wiped at her fresh tears and surveyed her makeup before walking back to the auditorium.

  He came. The reality of his presence brought on such an exhilarating rush of emotions, she walked down the hall as if gliding on a cloud.

  Several of the other teachers stopped her when she entered the room. “Who was that?”

  A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “A friend of mine.”

  “A very nice-looking friend.” Miss Davis, her assistant, said, pinching her cheeks. She winked at Addison. “Valentine’s Day makes me crazy.”

  Mrs. Baker smirked. “Don’t let her fool you. Everything makes her crazy, especially a good-looking man.”

  “Thank you for covering for me.”

  Addison laughed, unable to contain the joy filling her as she glanced at McKenzie Richards. He stood across the room with both of their classes, his lips tightly pressed together. She walked toward the children gathered at one of the games.

  “Could he be the reason you’re bursting with joy?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “He’s a lucky guy.” The friendliness in his voice didn’t match his eyes. They were darker, sunken. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m sorry.” His voice was softer, yet his disappointment remained.

  Her emotions were raw due to seeing Logan after all these months, having him show up here, on Valentine’s Day. “No, it’s okay. Excuse me.”

  Addison breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the day when she had a moment alone in her classroom. She held her hand against her pounding chest.

  As she grabbed her belongings, a note card fell to the table. She pulled it free, eager to see the note Logan had written her, hating herself she hadn’t noticed it earlier. The small card was covered with tiny writing, leaving no space empty.

  We came to know each other by accident, but now that I know you, I can’t bear to lose you. My family loves you, and Ami adores you. Please don’t let my mistakes keep you from being a part of our lives. We’re having a cookout this weekend and we’re grilling cheeseburgers. Please come and spend the day with us. The fun will start at three. It won’t be the same without you. Yours always, Logan

  44

  Logan paced back and forth, willing the time to move faster. Two-thirty. This Saturday had been the longest day of his life. Would she come? What if she didn’t? How would he survive the rest of the day if she didn’t? Was he crazy for inviting her?

  “Logan, can you grab the other tablecloth from the coat closet?”

  He walked mechanically, each step light yet nervous. It was a mistake to ask her to come. He needed to explain to Mom.

  The familiar chime rumbled above him and his blood quickened through his veins.

  Standing only inches from the front door, he opened it slowly to find Addison standing on the other side, facing in the opposite direction.

  She turned her cautious eyes to meet his. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” A cool breeze blew in from outside and he moved to the side so she could enter. “I’m so glad you came.” She stepped past him and he inhaled the familiar scent of her. “Addison, I haven’t—”

  Mom met them in the foyer and pulled Addison into an embrace. “It’s so good to see you. We’ve missed you so much.” Mom pulled back and regarded her just as she’d done him and his siblings so many times. “Logan, don’t forget the tablecloth.”

  Mom reacted to Addison as if she’d known about the pregnancy all along. Had she? Had Nathan told her? Then he caught the brief shock in Ami’s expression as she joined them.

  Over the next hour, Logan watched from a distance as his sister and Mom claimed all of Addison’s attention.

  “Why don’t you sneak off with her?” Nathan said, breaking his trance.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Take her somewhere. You don’t have to stay here. You’ll never get her alone with them hogging her.”

  Logan shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be alone with me.”

  “You won’t know unless you ask.” Nathan walked away, leaving him standing by the fence. His gaze moved back to the porch toward Addison. She was no longer talking but still standing by his mom and sister.

  Then, as if reading his thoughts, Mom and Ami walked inside.

  He climbed the porch steps and moved into the space next to her. “It’s chilly out here.” Her lips curved into a slight smile, giving him the courage to continue. “How’s teaching going?”

  “Good.”

  “Will you ride with me?”

  She glanced at him, her eyes full of questions. “What?”

  “Can we go somewhere? Just you and me?”

  “Now? But what about—”

  Without thinking, Logan took her hand, opened the back door, and told his family, “We’ll be back.”

  Logan led her around the house, and he didn’t stop until they reached his truck.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I wanted to show you something.”

  Addison tilted her head. For a moment, he worried he was moving too fast. It was crazy to be here with her. He had been crazy for inviting her, her for accepting. His heart pulsated to a faltering beat.

  “Logan?”

  As he looked into her eyes, he relished the wonder of standing here with her after all these months.

  “Before we leave, can I say something?”

  For a heartbeat he panicked, afraid she had changed her mind. “Of course.”

  “I’m sorry. For everything. You have been—” Emotion cracked her voice.

  He reached for her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers.

  “I don’t deserve your kindness.”

  He opened and closed his mouth before forming his words. “I want to be your friend.” As her striking eyes met his, he knew his heart could never adjust to being just friends.

  “After everything that’s happened. I just don’t know how—”

  He took a step closer. “It’s easy. You came today.”

  “It wasn’t easy coming here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Look at me,” she said with lower volume. “Your family—”

  “My family adores you.” Carefully, Logan pulled her against him, and he savored the comfort of her wrapped inside his arms. The roundness of her stomach, the baby growing inside of her, had created a barrier between them. And if he wasn’t careful, it could separate them forever. It was written all over her hesitation of joining him. “I’ve been wanting to show you something.”

  Her eyes softened, relaxed. “Okay.”

  They drove in silence, the faint sound of the radio playing in the small space between them. If he brought up the subject of her baby, he’d no doubt make her uncomfortable but didn’t want her to think he didn’t care. Especially under the circumstances that caused her pregnancy. “How are you feeling?”

  She smiled and he remembered the first days of their relationship, when they were only beginning to get to know each other.

  “Pretty good.”

  He switched the stereo to media and played one of the songs that they had danced to from his playlist.

  “I like this song,” she told him.

  The simple action had the desired effect. Logan parked his truck in a space by the water. He shut off his engine, and they listened to the song while watching the ducks play on the water’s edge. “Maybe we could dance to it again sometime.”

  Logan ignored the twing
e of hurt when Addison didn’t reply immediately.

  Neither spoke for a long time, then Logan twisted in his seat.

  Addison watched him. Her blue-violet eyes sparkled in the sunlight reflecting off the water. “Philip was at Ami’s débuette dance.”

  “I know.”

  Delicate lines formed between her eyebrows. “You saw him?”

  “When you were dancing with Nathan.”

  She held his gaze for another moment before her focus drifted to the water stretched out before them. “He stopped me when I was coming from the bathroom. I should’ve told you. I should’ve been honest with you about the way he treated me.”

  The truth punched him hard in the gut. He knew how Philip treated her. And he did nothing to prevent it. Just stood by and watched Philip use her, hurt her.

  “Philip was waiting for me the night you picked me up from the restaurant. The same night we went to Mr. Baker’s.” Tears spilled freely onto her cheeks. “He was already so jealous of you. Had warned me not to see you anymore. When you drove away, he grabbed me and he”—she glanced down as she ran a hand over her belly— “he forced himself on me.”

  Nathan had told him the basics. And for days outrage had flared through Logan’s veins. He had wanted to track down Philip—make him pay for his cruel, brutal act against Addison. How could anyone hurt her?

  But seeing the pain in her eyes, feeling the devastation that moment had caused her as she relived that night stole his ability to speak or even move.

  “I wasn’t honest with you or Philip. If only I’d told the truth, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” His anger crumbled into affection as she seemed to consider his words. Surely, she didn’t believe she was at fault.

  He leaned closer and lifted her chin. Opening her eyes, she met his gaze. “Addison, there are things I should’ve done differently too, but none of this is your fault.”

  She nibbled her lip and resumed her gaze across the water. Logan sensed her grief and paused for a few moments not wanting to push her too fast. “When you pressed charges—?”

  Her shoulders stiffened. “I didn’t. And I can’t. Philip can’t see me like this.” Her chin dipped. “He can never know about the baby.”

  Logan’s anger escalated. Philip didn’t know about the baby? The only thing keeping him from arguing was the sadness, the evident battle in her eyes.

  Before he could say anything more, Addison broke the silence with a deep inhale. “That’s the reason I left, Logan. I knew you wouldn’t understand that or me choosing to carry the baby.”

  The realization of her admission pierced him straight through the heart. Their last conversation came rushing back, stealing his breath. The one thing Carrie knew I couldn’t live with ... her having another man’s baby.

  He needed to clarify but she needed his support more than simple words of promise.

  He leaned forward and took her pinky in his need to touch her, to be closer, to somehow comfort her in this moment.

  She had been hurt enough.

  Remaining unaffected by Logan Tant was going to be more of a challenge than Addison had thought. The subtle change in the atmosphere between them made her stomach flutter.

  “Can I ask you something?” The shift in his voice was unmistakable. “Can I see you again? Not because you’re my sister’s friend, but because you want to see me—because you want to be with me?”

  His question inflated her admiration of him. Conflicting thoughts danced through her mind, each one desperate for control. “I would really like that?”

  He gently brought her fingers to his lips. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

  What was she doing here? But as her pulse thumped through her veins, the explanation came to her. He’d come to see her. On Valentine’s Day. It was incredibly romantic—bringing her flowers, inviting her here today. The one thing she would’ve never anticipated, much less believed. Heaven knew how much she wanted this, wanted him.

  Still, she had to use her brain when it came to her heart.

  Ten minutes later, he turned into a driveway and parked the truck. Confused, she studied the small house. Its black shutters complemented the gray siding. Why had he brought her here?

  Logan twisted in his seat, facing her. “I bought this house.”

  Addison leaned forward, getting a better look. “Really? You bought this?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I was throwing my money away on rent, and let’s just say it was time I moved out on my own.”

  “Wow, I’m so happy for you,” she told him, though it felt as if her world was crumbling all around her.

  He turned toward her. Leaving one hand on the steering wheel, he placed the other on her shoulder. “Do you want to go inside?”

  “Can we?”

  He climbed from the truck and walked around to help her down. He must have read her hesitation. “It’s mine,” he said with a laugh.

  He unlocked the front door and led her inside, the scent of fresh paint and new carpet tickling the back of her throat and she coughed.

  “Are the fumes too much for you?” he asked, glancing at the roundness of her belly before his gaze claimed hers.

  Her cheeks burned. “No, I love the smell of paint.”

  “Let’s open a window just in case.”

  She stared at the empty off-white walls, frustrated that she couldn’t fully enjoy this moment with him—not with her heart shouting the impossibility of it all.

  This was too much. The way he talked to her, the familiarity of his touch. As if no time had passed between them. It wasn’t real. Everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same.

  He didn’t seem to notice her unease and led her on a tour through the rest of the house.

  “When will you move in?”

  “I’m not sure, but I hope by the end of the month.”

  Regret filled her. Could-have-been thoughts spiraled through her mind with each step through the house, seeing the kitchen, his bedroom, the spare room for future children. Her heart broke a thousand times over.

  “You don’t like it?”

  Addison, consumed in her loss, was caught by surprise at his question. “It’s perfect.” Her throat thickened and she looked down at her hands. “You’ll be so happy here.”

  She smiled, fighting the tears burning the backs of her eyelids. Unable to speak, she walked toward the kitchen. Clearing her throat, she turned to find Logan leaning against the wall his gaze locked on her. “What?”

  “There’s one more thing I wanted to show you.”

  He led her through the back door, and cool, fresh air hit her in the face, slamming her thoughts back to reality.

  He took her hands into his and Matthew 6:27 came to her. Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? In that moment, Addison decided to quit choking out her precious time with Logan. Because a single hour may be all they have together.

  The patio had no furniture or flowers adorning it, but she could imagine all the colors bringing this area to life. She glanced down at the cobblestoned walkway leading to a storage building. “This is great, Logan. I’m really happy for you.”

  “Can I visit you in Jacksonville?”

  “What?”

  “I want to come see you.” He fell silent for a moment, his gaze never leaving hers. “Will it be all right to visit you?”

  Yes,” she replied without hesitation, though her hopeful expectations would most certainly get shattered.

  But she was even more certain, for now, she was willing to take the risk.

  45

  Addison stood at her desk the following Thursday afternoon studying the writing papers she intended to file for the parent-teacher conference at the end of the school year.

  McKenzie cleared his throat. “Hi, can I come in?”

  Addison glanced up at him briefly. “Of course.” She grabbed a paper she had set to the side. “Does this one belong
to you? I can’t make out this name.”

  Addison started to hand it to him, but McKenzie was closer than she’d thought, and she hit him in the face. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Did I hurt you?”

  He sat on the edge of her desk. “Only a little, but if you have dinner with me tonight, we’ll forget the whole thing.”

  Addison laughed, shaking her head. “Is everything a joke to you?”

  “Only if you want it to be.”

  Addison looked at him. “Did you need something?”

  McKenzie didn’t blink. “I wanted to tell you something, but I didn’t want you to take it the wrong way.”

  Her eyes crinkled. What could he have to say? Would it hurt her feelings? “Okay.”

  “Do you promise?”

  She laughed and leaned her thigh against the desk. McKenzie was never this serious. “I promise not to take whatever you tell me the wrong way.”

  He stepped closer. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on.”

  Addison scrunched her mouth. “Stop it.”

  She started to turn away, but he caught her arm and pulled her against him. Before she realized what was happening, he was kissing her. Stunned, she stumbled back.

  Regret filled his eyes. “Addison, you must know how I feel.”

  “I’m sorry if I gave you that idea, but I—”

  “You didn’t. But I needed you to know how I feel.” He glanced at her belly. “You need someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved—someone who will love your baby girl as their own.” A subtle accusation edged his tone.

  She stepped behind the desk, separating them. “My baby girl?”

  “I’ve heard you call the baby her several times. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s healthy though, right?”

  “McKenzie, you’re a wonderful guy and I like you a lot, but I can’t do this.”

  “It’s your friend that visited Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?”

  The mention of Logan caused her hands to tremble. She didn’t want him to see her weakness—