I sort of could, but I wasn't stupid enough to say so. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah." She hiccoughed like a person does after a long crying binge, but her voice was hard. "He'll pay."
"Give it some time," I said. "Let your head clear." I got up and got her a bottle of water from the mini fridge and an acetaminophen from the ancient medicine cabinet above the sink. She was still burrowed when I stood over her bed to give them to her. "Take these and get some rest. I'll be back later."
This day, which had started so well, was lapsing into one joy after another. I cleaned up the rest of the perfume damage, changed, grabbed an energy drink from the fridge, and headed out to tell Jason about Mom coming to campus and left Bre to wallow in her sorrow. Sometimes, wallowing was the best thing. She'd put up with plenty of mine. She'd earned some understanding from me now. I'd probably even have to forgive her the perfume incident.
I found Jason alone in his office and knocked on his door. "Got a minute?"
He looked up and grinned. "For my oldest daughter? Always. What's up?"
I came in, dropped my backpack on the floor, and plunked into the chair across the desk from him. "Thank you for being cool with stuff and giving Logan his job back." I got emotional all of the sudden and my eyes teared up. "That was nice of you."
"Hey, it was purely self-serving. Logan is a tremendous asset to the office. He does the work of two or three techs. We need him here. We've missed him."
It was like Jason to downplay things. I nodded. "Well, if that's the only reason…" I laughed. "I'm still glad you did. He'll need your support now more than ever."
Jason knew how guilty I'd felt about coming between him and Logan. We didn't need to say more about it. He nodded. "That goes without saying. So you just came by to thank me?"
"Mostly." I was still hedging.
Jason cocked one eyebrow. "Mostly?"
"Before we get to the rest, I have more profuse thanks to offer."
"More?" He laughed. "What kind of a daughter did I raise? Wait, I didn't raise you. Someone else has instilled this extreme politeness in you."
I laughed back. "Hardly. I was raised by a she-wolf. This inconvenient polite streak has more to do with genetics, I fear. Since I have only one polite parent, you're to blame."
He grinned.
I didn't wait for him to say anything, just tumbled headlong with the news that made my heart sing. "Logan is going to schedule his graduate school admission interview today. Thanks to you."
Jason's grin froze on his face as he studied me in that intense, fatherly way. "Good. He should keep his options open." He hesitated. "Just don't get your hopes up that he's going to stay, Ellie. The trial is going to take its toll. It won't be easy on him."
"But I thought you wanted him to stay. Are you unhappy that we're back together?"
Jason took a deep breath, looking like he was trying to temper his words. "I want him to consider all of his options. I want you to be happy. But realistic. I still have my doubts. Logan is about to be tested in a trial by fire, the powerful fire of words and public opinion. After it's over, it may be best for him to escape this place and start fresh somewhere else. Away from all these memories.
"Only Logan can decide that. Don't pressure him to make a decision that's not in his best interests. It will burn you both in the end."
"Since when did you become the issuer of dire warnings?" I couldn't hold back my snark.
"Since I became the parent of a college student. I think it's part of the contract." Jason paused. "Ellie, you know I'm on your side?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I know." Then my guilt got the better of me. He was being so reasonable. He deserved my honesty. I bit my lip and just blurted my secret out. "I have something to confess—Mom has invited herself to Mom's Weekend. Blackmailed me into it, really. I wanted to tell you in private. Logan insisted I tell you today. He doesn't want anything to come between you and me."
I gave Logan all the credit, hoping to ease some of Jason's concerns. Logan wasn't going to go crazy again. He was tougher than that. I believed it, even if no one else, including Logan, believed it.
At the mention of Mom, Jason paled and somehow managed to look hopeful at the same time, an odd, extremely acrobatic emotional combo. They should probably teach it in acting school. If an actor could do a convincing "pale hopeful," they could win an Oscar.
Jason cleared his throat. "That's great, Ellie."
"Don't get your hopes up," I said, mimicking his earlier crap about Logan. "I haven't forgiven her. I'm only telling you so I can ask you to stay out of sight during the weekend."
"Ellie—"
"No, listen to me, please." I had spent some time working on how to approach Jason about this. "This is going to be a really tough weekend for me. There's so much between Mom and me already. So much to heal and work through. I'd kind of like to keep you a secret for a while longer. At least until we see how the weekend goes.
"She never told me about you for a reason. Whatever that reason is, it's important to her. Maybe she's horribly jealous of you and insecure she'll lose me to you. This could make things worse. I mean, I do prefer you to her." I gave him a lopsided smile as I watched his inner struggle play out on his face.
"What about your vow not to keep secrets?" How could he sound so reasonable and be so unreasonable at the same time?
"It's not forever. Just for now. Until I can figure things out with Mom. I know it's a lot to ask."
He looked resigned. "You make some really good points. But at some point, she needs to know you've found me and we need to work things out so she knows she doesn't have to be jealous of me."
She'd always have to be jealous of him. I loved him more and always would. "I know. But is now the time? This is the first time I'll have spent any time with her since…you know." I looked Jason straight in the eye. "Promise me you'll stay out of the way. I have enough to deal with already—she wants to see Logan and meet his family."
"See Logan?" Jason looked puzzled.
I nodded. "I told you she blackmailed me. You have no idea how conniving she is—she found out about him and ambushed him behind my back. I don't know what she said to him, but he's sympathetic to her. She's up to something."
Jason's expression was unreadable, but I sensed he was upset. "You may be right. The timing is off. But we need to tell Melissa you've found me. Soon. She'll be upset we haven't told her already."
I shrugged. "I don't care what she thinks. I really don't."
Chapter Seven
Logan
Logan scheduled an interview for graduate school. But he felt like crap doing it. He had no intention of hanging around the university for a minute longer than he had to after graduation. It was a small mercy that his testimony was scheduled so close to the end of the year. He had to get through a few things before he was free of the trauma of the last few years. Mom's Weekend. The trial. The fruition of his joint business venture with Amber. The job offers he was expecting. Dead week. Finals. Graduation.
El was the problem—how could he live without her? She was his main addiction now. But would she want him when everything was over? Would she hang with him long distance?
She hadn't seen the personal attacks he received. Nasty anonymous notes saying he deserved what he got.
If Her lawyers were any good, they'd drag up his past. All the girls he'd slept with. They'd claim She was another conquest. They would attack his character and go into detail about what he'd done after his injury.
Logan had told El everything, just not in minute detail. He'd given it more of a glossy finish. His testimony was a week and a half away and he was already having nightmares.
In his fantasies, he got through the trial unscathed. His business venture paid off as he hoped—wildly. He got offers from at least five of the companies he'd interviewed with. Why five? He had no idea. It just sounded like a good number. All that and he was set. He could turn them all down and tell his dad to go to hell.
If he lost
the money from his grandpa that he'd invested with Amber, he was sunk until he turned twenty-five and got control of his trust fund. He'd have to go to Caleb for a loan. His baby brother. Shit. The thought left him cold.
Logan's cell phone buzzed. He picked up the call. "Amber. Give me some good news."
"Logan, you crack me up." Her voice slid through the phone with a sexual overtone. "Everything's on schedule for the IPO on the Tuesday, April eighth, just like we've been talking about all along."
Logan swallowed hard. "The eighth?"
"Yes. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He hesitated. "I've been called to testify that day."
"Logan, I'm sorry. Are you sure you want to testify? There has to be a way to get out of it."
"I'm going to do it."
"I'm sure you'll be fabulous. You're wonderful at everything you do." Her tone held just a hint of innuendo.
Logan ignored it. "Yeah."
"Harlan will be right there with you, I assume? Doing damage control."
"Yeah again. Don't give me any bad news that day, Amber. I won't be able to keep it from him."
"Logan, Logan, Logan, you worry too much. By the time you got off the stand, you'll have all of your original investment back and a handsome profit. Enough to last until you come into your trust fund. Enough to tell Harlan where to go."
"I hope so. I bet all my savings on this, Amber. It was reckless."
"No, it was passionate. Don't get cold feet on me now! You took an acceptable, calculated risk. That's all. If you want to play in the business world, you have to swim with the sharks."
Logan was lost in thought. Tuesday, April eighth was looking like his day of reckoning.
"Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"After this is over, we'll celebrate together. I mean really celebrate."
He should have told Amber he was back with El. But he didn't. He didn't need any more complications. He knew Amber was expecting more out of him. He wasn't vain, but it was blatantly obvious what kind of celebrating she was talking about. She wanted to rekindle what they'd had. He couldn't tell her she'd been just one of many he'd slept with to forget. And now he wanted to forget her.
It was better to wait until the deal was done and he had his money back. He would have worried he was stringing her along, but Amber could watch out for herself.
Ellie
That evening when I got back to the dorm, Bre was still playing hermit and hating the world in my room. The atmosphere was definitely not conducive to studying, so I left her there alone in her misery and went in search of Nic and Tay. We joined up in the dining hall to study.
"I'm in deep trouble," I said as we sat down at a booth with our energy drinks and fries. "I can't live in my room with Bre, the hater of light."
"She hasn't come out all day?" Tay shook her head, like What can you do with a broken heart?
"Nope. Not that I could tell. If she did, she shouldn't have. Not in that condition. Unless she was thinking of playing zombies. With those red eyes and bed-head hair, she looks the part."
Nic made a face. "Cut her some slack. I remember someone else who refused to go to class after a bad breakup. That girl had someone click her in so her grade didn't get dinged." She gave me a pointed look.
"Guilty as charged. I didn't mean to imply I'm not sympathetic. Dan is a douchebag and has been since the beginning. If you repeat this I'll deny it, but I've felt all along he was only with Bre until he could shag someone better. His thoughts, not mine.
"She's better off without him. But will she recognize that before she spirals too deeply into self-destruct mode? I'd be willing to give her all the time in the world to pull her act together, but I'm on a deadline. She has to snap out of it before Mom's Weekend. I've been afraid to bring the subject up with Bre. I don't even know if her mom is coming. Where is my mom going to stay?"
"If she has her way? At a frat." Nic laughed.
"Shut up!" I paused. "Okay, that's actually a pretty genius idea." I was only teasing. But it would solve a lot of problems.
"Here's an idea," Tay said. "She stays in your bed and you stay in Logan's. Mom has someplace to stay and you know exactly where Logan is. Win-win."
"Wow!" I winked at her. "I hang with a couple of smart chicks."
"I know," Tay said. "We're diabolical, too."
"And excellent event planners." Nic opened her laptop. "I say we bag Econ and whatever you two are studying and schedule a little Mom's Weekend fun. I've already scoped out the Friday night frat parties. If your mom is really the cougar you say she is, there are a couple that look promising. One of the houses in particular has a reputation for trying to pick up moms."
"Eww!" Tay and I said in unison.
"Really?" I frowned. "Is that a hazing ritual or what?"
Nic laughed. "Maybe. Who knows? They throw a good party and the moms like it. That's all we care about."
I pursed my lips, thinking. "Mom likes jocks."
"Don't we all?" Nic winked. "No problem. I'm sure we can find someone. In that frat, jocks like moms."
Tay rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad we have an inside source in the Greek system to give us all the crap on the frats."
Nic laughed like she wasn't at all insulted. "I figure we take her there. Introduce her around. And problem solved, at least for Friday night."
"You're really counting on my mom's skankiness," I said.
"Hey, I'm only going on what you told me. You said your mom wants the college experience. What's more collegiate than being hit on by a bunch of drunk frat guys? It's like a rite of passage, right?"
I laughed. Thought about it a minute and shrugged. "You're right. Mom asked for it. That takes care of Friday."
"Okay, what do we have for the rest of the weekend?" As Nic brought up the event webpage, Tay and I scooted next to her.
"Hmmmmm. The ag college is having a plant sale." Nic was so absorbed in studying the schedule that she was almost mumbling to herself.
I snorted. "Maybe for your mom. My mom would be bored to tears. The only green thumb she has is that kind that's good at picking out and picking up a rich husband. That's the only green that matters to her."
"You come from such good stock," Tay said.
Nic ignored us. "Yeah, lame. Though my mom might like it." She pointed to the screen. "What looks good?"
"Mom said she wants a mother/daughter mani and pedi." I scanned the list of events. "Great, one of the local nail salons is offering them at the SUB. Sign me up."
"The craft fair looks fun," Tay said.
"I agree. Add some shopping at the craft fair," I said.
"You're going to need to throw in an athletic event for the Walkers. I figure that's where you meet up with them. Baseball game or track meet?"
I winced. "Baseball? Might be a sore point, given his history and Caleb. I'll talk to Logan."
"Okay, we'll put TBD right here in this handy online schedule planner." Nic filled it in. "That's a pretty full day. Now you just need dinner reservations. The good places are already filling up. I could squeeze you two in on ours. We're going to the Mexican place downtown."
I nodded. "That would be great."
"After dinner, we take your mom barhopping. The next morning, we round her up from wherever we find her and pack her off for home. Weekend planned! Sound good?" Nic beamed at me.
"How are we going to go barhopping? We're underage."
"I have connections. I can scare you up a fake ID," Tay said. "You might have to dye your hair purple, though."
"No thanks."
"No problem," Nic said. "They're having a special Up All Night for the moms. Want to take her there? There will be dancing."
I hesitated.
"What's bothering you?"
"I hope Mom goes for it."
"Why wouldn't she? Up All Night is tradition. You can't go to college here without going to at least one. You're only other option is taking her to a movie or one of the plays or hang out in your dark room with
Bre. Or hang with Logan and his family."
I held my hands out, palms up, acting like I was weighing something in each one. "The lesser of two evils?"
Nic laughed. "See what I mean?"
"Email me the schedule. I'll need to send one to Jason so he knows where to stay away from."
"You got it."
My cell buzzed. "It's Dex." I grabbed it. "Hey."
"You have to help me." He sounded desperate. "Mom's called me three times already asking what we're doing for Mom's Weekend and telling me I'd better plan and sign up for things now before they're all booked up. She's already made plans to go to the plant sale."
I couldn't help myself. I laughed.
Tay frowned, curious, and mouthed, What's so funny?
I mouthed "plant sale" back to her and pointed to the phone.
"It's not funny," Dex said. "She'd going to drag me to the wooden boat competition at the college of engineering and the natural history exhibit."
"Your mom sounds like a real party animal," I teased.
"Shut up, Ellie. You owe me. After all that crap, she'll probably want to do something stupid and girlie like drag me through the craft fair while we're wearing our matchy-matchy sweatshirts."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Hang on," I told him. I turned to the girls. "Do you mind if Dex and his mom hang with us for a while on Mom's Weekend?"
Nic shrugged as if it didn't matter to her.
I spoke to Dex. "You can hang out with Nic and me and our moms at the craft fair."
"Thanks, Ellie! You won't regret it. I promise. I owe you one." Then he laughed evilly.
I recognized his prankster laugh. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing. Just a little surprise for Mom."
"Dex—"
"Don't worry. Mom can take care of herself."
I didn't like the sound of it.
Dex changed the subject. "Will Logan and his mom be joining us?"
"With any luck, no."
Dex laughed again. "That's too bad." He seemed lost in thought. "Are Nic and Tay there? Are any of you crafty?"
"We're plenty crafty."