Won't Go Home Without You

by Cheris Hodges

  She faced him and grinned. “It is.”

  “Name the time and the place and it’s on.”

  Robin opened the door and smiled. “We can go to the MUSC Wellness Center after breakfast.”

  “So, that means you need to get a good night’s sleep to be ready, huh?”

  “Yeah, so keep your hands to yourself!”

  They headed for the kitchen and made hot chocolate while munching on cookies. Robin found a bottle of red wine and poured some in the hot chocolate.

  “Really?” Logan asked.

  “I saw this on the Internet and I’ve been dying to try it,” she said as she stirred the liquid. Then she poured the spiked cocoa into their mugs. She watched as Logan took a sip.

  “This is good,” he said.

  “I know, right?” she said as she took a huge sip of her own. “Maybe I should give Alex and Yolanda a big cup of this.”

  “Later. You need to go to sleep and get ready for your beatdown tomorrow.”

  Robin took his chocolate chip cookie from his hand. “Keep talking.”

  “Want to make a wager?”

  “What are you willing to lose?” she quipped.

  “Hmm,” he said as he broke the cookie in half. Before he could answer, Logan’s cell phone rang. He had to give up his half of the cookie and answer. When he saw it was Liam, Logan felt a wave of dread sink in his stomach.

  “What’s wrong?” Robin asked when he answered.

  Logan held up his finger and turned his attention to the phone call.

  “Liam, say that again,” Logan said, his voice taking a deep timbre.

  “Dr. Carter was arrested. Seems as if there was more than one investigation going on at the hospital about those dangerous drugs,” he said. “Have you seen the news?”

  “I’m actually in Charleston with Robin.”

  “Well, if you two are ringing in the New Year down there, you’re going to have a lot to celebrate. One of the patients who died after being treated with the Cooper Drug cocktail was the niece of Senator Dale McKinnon.”

  Logan gasped. “That was my patient. She had a kidney transplant.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I found out during my investigation that the McKinnon family was thinking about adding you to their lawsuit. So, I let them know about the allegations about Dr. Carter and his partnership with Cooper Drugs. Once the government got involved, the arrest happened.”

  “Great, but how do I prove that I wasn’t involved with this?”

  Liam laughed. “Easy. I’ve given a lot of my investigation reports to the McKinnon family, and you’re in the clear so far.”

  Logan released a sigh of relief. “Now if everything else can be this easy.”

  Robin stared at her husband, wanting to know all of the details of what was going on.

  “At least you’re going to have a better New Year than Christmas. Tell Robin I said hello.”

  Logan ended the call with his friend, then pulled Robin into his arms and spun her around.

  “What is going on?” she asked.

  “Dr. Carter is in jail and the Cooper Drugs conspiracy is coming to light.”

  She smiled and stroked his cheek. “That’s what you wanted, right? How did all of this happen?”

  “The wrong patient died,” he said bitterly. “Thank God Liam was around to provide the right information or I would’ve been in the middle of a malpractice lawsuit.”

  “And you still want to go back to that hospital?”

  Logan shook his head. “I don’t know what I want anymore. Well, that’s not true. Right now, I want to take our lukewarm chocolate into the room and go to sleep with you in my arms.”

  “That sounds like a great plan,” she said as she reached for her mug. “And guess what?”

  “What?”

  “It’s still hot.”

  Chapter 26

  The next morning, Robin and Logan woke up feeling lighter than they had in months. Though she would’ve been content lounging in bed all day, Robin knew they had to have breakfast with her father. And then there was the basketball challenge.

  She was not planning to lose. As she attempted to rise from the bed, Logan wrapped his arm around her waist. “It’s too early for all this movement,” he said, his voice thick with sleep.

  “I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work.” She moved his hand and smiled. “Still going to kick your butt on the court.”

  “If we were talking about the court of law, I’d be afraid. But the basketball court? You really don’t stand a chance.” Logan turned over on his side and watched Robin’s fluid movements as she rose from the bed and grabbed her robe. “What happens if I let you win?”

  “Let me win?” She laughed and dug in her bag for a pair of black leggings and socks. “You should consider what happens if I let you win. Have you seen my perimeter shot?”

  “Really, Stephen Curry?” Logan laughed.

  “He asks me for tips,” Robin quipped. “Let’s get this breakfast in and then you can take your loss like a grown man.”

  Logan stood up and crossed over to his wife. Drawing her into his arms, he brushed his lips across her neck. “If you want to forfeit, I won’t hold it against you.”

  She giggled and tweaked his nipple. “You wish.”

  “I’m not going to take it easy on you. Just remember you started it.” Logan winked at her before dropping his arms from around her. After they got dressed, the couple headed to the dining room, where Sheldon was sipping coffee and reading the local paper. Robin smiled because her dad was probably one of the last people in the world who still read the physical newspaper.

  “Morning, Daddy,” Robin said as she crossed over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Good morning,” he said, then glanced at Logan. “I’m glad to see you both.”

  Logan nodded at his father-in-law, happy to see that he wasn’t in danger of being tossed out of the bed-and-breakfast this time. Robin and Logan sat down with Sheldon, who folded his paper and turned his attention to the couple.

  “Now, you know I have questions,” he began. “Because y’all weren’t a happy couple the last time I saw you together.”

  Robin nodded. “I took your advice, Daddy. I actually listened to my husband.”

  Sheldon looked at Logan. “So, all of this was bullshit?”

  “Yes, sir,” Logan replied. “Pops, you know how much I love Rob and I would never betray her so viciously.”

  Sheldon smiled broadly. “That was my sincere hope. And I’m glad I was right. What’s next for you two? I’m guessing that the woman spreading those lies isn’t going to just back off because you and Robin are back together.”

  “We’re going to court to prove Logan isn’t her child’s father. Remember Liam Jones, who went to Xavier with us, right?”

  Sheldon nodded. “Big Willie.” He was the only person Liam allowed to call him William or any variation of the name he hated.

  Logan couldn’t help but laugh and make a note to tell his friend that Sheldon still called him by that name.

  “Well,” Robin continued, “he found out some real information on Kamrie and who the legitimate father of her child is. We’re going to take his findings to court and get her off our backs.”

  “Some people aren’t going to believe the truth,” Sheldon said. “How are you two going to deal with that?”

  Robin and Logan exchanged looks before shrugging. Robin knew what she wanted to do but Logan still had concerns about patients at the hospital. She hoped that Dr. Carter’s arrest would spur him to think about private practice.

  “We’re still trying to figure that out, Pops.”

  “Why are y’all dressed like you’re about to go running?”

  Robin laughed. And Logan cleared his throat before saying, “Your daughter thinks she can take me on the basketball court.”

  “Oh my goodness, both of you realize that you aren’t as young as you thought you were. You ought to consider
golf.”

  “Golf?” Robin questioned. “I’ve never known you to take an overnight golf trip in Charleston.”

  Sheldon downed his coffee, then rose to his feet. “Stay out of grown folks’ business. I’m going to the office.”

  Once Sheldon was out of earshot, Logan broke out into laughter. “I told you Pops had a girlfriend.”

  “Shut up, Logan,” Robin said as she reached for the coffeepot. A few moments later, Alex walked into the dining area.

  “Morning,” she said through a yawn.

  “You okay?” Robin asked.

  Alex fanned her hand. “Stayed up too late working on some proposals.”

  Robin raised her right eyebrow and leaned in to her sister. “Does Daddy have a girlfriend?”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “Please, all he does is golf and worry about his younger children.”

  Logan laughed. “Golf is what they’re calling women these days?”

  Alex glared at him. “You really think you’re in a position to be making jokes?”

  Robin shook her head. “Don’t do that.”

  “I think if Daddy was seeing somebody, I would know.”

  “Okay,” Robin said as Roberta walked into the dining area with a platter of eggs, grits, fresh fruit, and raisin toast.

  “Robin, give me a hug. You left so soon after Nina’s wedding, I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye.”

  Robin hugged the family’s longtime cook. “I’m sorry that I missed you. There was a lot going on at that time.”

  Roberta turned to Logan and smiled. “How are you, doctor?”

  Logan returned her sweet smile as he gave her a hug.

  “Glad to see you two together.”

  Robin beamed. She was even happier to be with her husband. But he was going to lose this basketball game.

  “Miss Alex, how are you this morning?” Roberta asked.

  “I’m looking forward to this evening so I can go to sleep. But thank you for this spread.”

  “Any time. Thanks for letting me know our vegetarian would be joining us this morning,” Roberta said. “But I do have bacon and sausage.”

  “Aww, Roberta,” Alex said. “You are a godsend and I hope you didn’t go to extra trouble.”

  She waved her meaty hand. “Got to feed the guests, too, since you and Clinton have this place packed for the New Year.”

  Alex laughed. “Yes, we do. But I don’t want to see you here New Year’s Day. We have someone else to feed the guests. I know you have that major church service and dinner.”

  “One year you’re going to come so I can introduce you to some nice, God-fearing men.”

  Robin coughed to cover her laughter and Logan stuffed a piece of pineapple in his mouth. Alex didn’t respond and Robin knew it was out of respect for Roberta. Anyone else would’ve gotten cursed out until New Year’s Eve for making such a statement.

  Roberta patted Alex’s shoulder and then headed for the kitchen to bring out the meat. Alex looked over at Logan and Robin and shook her head. “Glad you two got a good laugh in,” she quipped. “Are y’all going for a run or something?”

  “I’m about to show your brother-in-law that I’ve got skills on all courts,” Robin replied.

  Alex sipped her coffee and shook her head. “Glad he’s a doctor, so he can patch your clumsy butt up.”

  “Funny. I’ve been a lot more active these days. Is Yolanda still here?”

  Alex shrugged. “I’m not extending any more energy into the woes of Yolanda Richardson.” She reached across the table and filled her plate with eggs and toast. As if she felt that she was the topic of conversation, Yolanda strolled into the dining area, dressed in a purple jumpsuit and a pair of matching sneakers.

  “Good morning, family,” she said with gaiety in her voice. “Did I miss Daddy?”

  Robin nodded. “He’s in his office.”

  Alex picked up the newspaper that Sheldon had left on the table and proceeded to ignore her sister. Yolanda didn’t seem to care about Alex’s little show. Before Robin could ask where Charles was, he appeared in the dining room like a ghost. How a man that big moved in silence, Robin would never know.

  Charles nodded to the table before taking a seat beside Yolanda. Robin was surprised to see her sister fix him a plate of food, but she kept her mouth shut. Patting Logan on his knee, she smiled and asked, “You ready for this beatdown?”

  “I’m going to get some bacon and then I’ll try to take it somewhat easy on you,” Logan quipped.

  “What are y’all talking about?” Yolanda asked.

  “Your sister wants to play ball this morning,” Logan said with a smirk.

  “I almost want to see that,” Yolanda replied with a laugh. “Where is this epic battle taking place?”

  “MUSC Wellness Center,” Robin said. “And we’re not accepting guests. Logan doesn’t want there to be any video of him getting beat by his wife.”

  Alex laughed and set her coffee cup next to her empty plate. “Even I know you have no chance.”

  Yolanda rolled her eyes. “I have faith in you, sis. After all, it’s not like Logan is still in college basketball shape, and you look like you’re trying to audition for a Marvel movie. If I were a betting woman, I’d totally put my money on you.”

  “Thank you for having faith in me,” Robin said, then stuck her tongue out at her husband.

  “This is cute,” Logan said. “We’ll see how she feels when she takes this L.”

  Roberta returned to the dining room with the breakfast meats and a big hug for Yolanda.

  After Logan ate his fill of sausage patties, bacon, and eggs, he and Robin were ready to play. They took the quick drive to the Wellness Center. Once they arrived, Robin started stretching to warm up. Logan couldn’t take his eyes off her body as she did a few dozen squats. The moment she started doing lunges, he wanted to call the game off and head to the sauna and get naked with her.

  “What are you looking at, Baptiste?” she said, breaking into his lustful thoughts.

  “Thinking about how I’m going to post you up. What are we playing to?”

  “Ten.”

  Logan laughed. “Ten it is.” He grabbed a ball from the rack near the door. He dribbled the ball, remembering how he used to warm up in college. Robin crossed over to him and smiled.

  “I brought you here for more than one reason,” she said as she shifted her weight from left to right.

  “Really?” He tossed the ball in the air and caught it.

  “You could work here. MUSC has a great reputation with transplants and . . .”

  Logan bounced the ball against the wall, caught it and gave his wife a sideways glance. “I think I’m done with hospitals. When we get back to Richmond and see the fallout from Carter’s arrest, I’m going to look into my own practice. Then I can make the best decisions for my patients without wondering who’s getting a payoff to pump them full of drugs that don’t work.”

  Robin punched the ball from his hand and dribbled down the court. She moved so fast that Logan was slow to respond. When she threw up the shot and made it, Robin did a shoulder shimmy. “Two nothing,” she said. “You’d better get on your game, Baptiste.”

  “You know you’re cheating, right?”

  She tossed the ball to him. “I call it outplaying you.”

  Logan palmed the ball and held it up as Robin attempted to jump and knock it loose. But he had height on her. He took a shot from beyond the three-point line. “Three-two,” he said with a wink.

  Robin took the pass from Logan and dribbled around him. He knew he should’ve been playing defense, but he couldn’t get past the way her ass bounced as she ran and shot the ball.

  “Five-three,” she said when her shot went through the net. “Where’s the defense, baby?” Robin tossed the ball back to him. Logan threw it over his shoulder and scooped his wife up in his arms.

  “You win,” he said. “Now, let’s get out of here.” He captured her mouth in a steamy kiss and Robin moan
ed in delight. When he broke the kiss, she nodded.

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  Chapter 27

  Robin and Logan had a quiet New Year’s celebration with the Richardsons in Charleston. Yolanda and Alex mended their fences before midnight and they all had a peaceful toast with some of the guests and their father. But as the clock hit 12:01 a.m., Robin couldn’t help but think about the reality that was waiting for them in Richmond. The court case, the fallout from the scandal at the hospital. Part of her wished that she could just bottle this feeling and pull it out when they needed peace again.

  When they got back to Richmond, Robin could’ve sworn that time sped up. The days before the paternity case were blurs. Even though she worked on other cases, all she could think about was clearing Logan’s name. The months of pain and hell that Kamrie had put them through with her lies.

  Luckily, with the arrest of Dr. Carter, the story about sexual harassment at the hospital disappeared from the headlines. Robin was glad because she was going to sue anyone who said Logan Baptiste’s name in conjunction with that lie. One gossip blog tried to tie the paternity case and the hospital’s issues together, but it didn’t gain traction. Robin also sent the owner of the sleazy website a cease and desist letter that must have scared him because the piece disappeared.

  Today, though, nothing was going to disappear. She and Logan were going to have to face this woman in court. She walked over to the coffeemaker in her office and fixed herself another cup. Logan was on his way to the office so they could go to court together. She couldn’t help but think about how his meeting went with the hospital administration. Would they try to talk him into staying or accept his resignation because of the hell they put him through? She drummed her fingers on the side of the mug and tried to imagine a future where she and Logan could get back to their peace.

  “Boo,” Logan said when he walked in the office. The sound of his voice startled her and Robin nearly dropped her coffee. “I think you might need to switch to decaf.”

  “Don’t even joke like that. I was just thinking about all of this shit and how it’d better come to an end today.”

  Logan crossed over to his wife and took her coffee mug from her hand. “Well, I no longer work for Richmond Medical. So, that came to an end today.”