Logan's Leap (13 page)

Chapter 10

A
bad feeling came over Logan as he decided what to get for Jayna. Was she a con artist?
That was the only way he could fathom that she had gotten his name on the birth
certificate. Wyoming had rules and he didn’t meet any of the criteria.

He
paid the clerk in cash and went back to the pediatric ward. When he walked into
the room, Jayna was curled up in the chair asleep. She was using her arm as a
pillow. “Jayna, wake up,” he said, shaking her shoulder.

“What?
Oh hi Logan.” She straightened in the chair and took the food and drink he held
out to her. “Thank you.”

“We
need to talk,” he said, walking around to the other side of CJ to the vacant
chair. “Wyoming has specific rules and protocol, how did you manage to pull it
off?” His eyes were serious and bored into her.

“The
hospital had all of your information,” she said quietly. “Between the financial
responsibility paper you filled out and the paperwork for paying my bill.”

“Yeah,
but how did
you
get the information?” he asked.

Jayna
turned away from him. “I got lucky I guess. The admissions clerk wasn’t there
that day, and when the nurse came in, she handed me all of the paperwork
instead of sorting it out. Then she got called away on an emergency.”

“So
you figured you would stick me with responsibility for your child?”

“No
Logan! No! I wanted him to be safe and when I was looking through the
paperwork, the idea hit me. You should know by now that I would do anything for
CJ. I saw the opportunity and I took it. I’ll have your name taken off as soon
as possible.”

Logan
sat staring at the floor. A million thoughts ran through his mind. He should be
angry at her. He should send her back to Alaska or to Jackson and Deb. He
should, but he couldn’t. He probably would have done the same thing in an
effort to save someone he cared about. It didn’t matter that there were very
few people he actually did care about. Finally, his traitor of a brain reminded
him that he’d thought about offering her the use of his name for CJ but had set
it aside when he found out that Reggie was back in Alaska. “Leave it on until
he’s safe.”

“Are
you sure?” she asked looking from her son to him.

“Yeah,
he said. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him or you.”

Jayna
nodded and started eating again. “Thank you.”

Logan
didn’t know quite what to say now. He wasn’t ready to let her know that he was
quickly forgiving her for everything and that when her six week post-partum
period was over, he wanted to make…have sex with her for a week straight to get
his fill.

He
thought her admission would change everything but it hadn’t. All it had done
was technically make him CJ’s father. For some unknown reason he loved that
idea. “Hey Jayna, I’m going to go upstairs and visit Dylan. Will you be okay
here?”

She
didn’t look away from her son. “We’ll be fine.” How long would it take him to
forgive her? Would he ever forgive her?

**********

Logan
knocked quietly on his brother’s hospital room door.

“Come
in,” came a faint reply.

Logan
quickly stepped into his brother’s room, taking a deep breath to steady
himself, just in case…no, he wouldn’t think that way. Looking over, he met his
younger brother’s gaze. “How are you doing?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh,
I’m doing just fantastic, you know. I’m getting waited on hand and foot, and
beautiful women even bathe me,” he replied, muting the cartoon he’d been
watching.

“Cut
the crap Dylan, you would only like the second half of that statement and you
know it.” Logan laughed as he sat in a vacant chair near the bed. “Plus, are
all
of your nurses beautiful?”

“All
women are beautiful, my dear brother. If you would ever figure that out you
could get laid more often.”

“Damn
Dylan, there is more to life than getting fucked,” Logan replied with a shake
of his head. “When will
you
learn
that
?”

Dylan
burst out laughing. “Oh geez Logan. I learned that years ago. Not a lot of
pussy when you're spending all of your time with a Marine Rifle Platoon.”

“So
you say,” Logan returned. “Do you remember anything about what happened the
other night?”

“Bits
and pieces. It’s still kind of foggy, but the doctor thinks I’ll remember more
as time goes on.”

Logan
breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked me why I’m here.”

“I
figured you wanted to look at the good looking Harper boy,” Dylan replied with
a grin. “Because if I had to look in the mirror at you all the time…”

“Fuck
you, Dylan. You’re such an ass.”

“Well,
you do have pretty eyes but I’ll pass on the offer,” Dylan deadpanned, his
expression remaining neutral. “Why are you here anyway? I didn’t think you
would ever willingly leave your precious store.”

Logan
gritted his teeth to keep from giving his brother a piece of his mind, loudly,
right then and there in the hospital. “I’m here with a friend and her sick
child.”

“Bullshit!
Mom sent you didn’t she?"

“No,
she didn’t,” Logan answered harshly. “I came with a friend whose newborn son is
sick.”

“How
sick is the baby?” Dylan’s tone softened with the question. “It can’t be good
if they had to fly them up here.”

“Actually,”
Logan said. “We were already in town when he got sick.”

“Wait,
let me get this straight. My brother – Mister no family of my own – was in Billings with a ‘friend’ who has a newborn?” Confusion colored the young man’s face. “Did
you knock some girl up?”

“No,
you shit. I’ve never done anything with her,” Logan protested. “Well, nothing
like that.”

“Oh? 
Do tell,” Dylan encouraged, his eyebrows raised in question. “So you haven’t
fucked her, then what exactly did you do with her?"

“It
isn’t any of your business. Except that it happened in your precious hunting
cabin.”

Dylan
was visibly shocked. “You haven’t been there since old Benny blew his brains
out, so you did something with this girl when you were twelve?” Dylan growled.
“Jesus, I thought I was bad.”

“We
were there just a couple of days ago,” Logan snapped back. “We were there for
over a week.”

“What?”
Dylan asked. Surprise was clearly etched on his face. “You went to the cabin?”

“Yeah.
It’s a long story and I’ll tell you some other time,” Logan replied in a much
calmer tone. “I’m a little upset and confused right now.”

“Must
have been one hell of a blow job,” Dylan said with a leer. “If you don’t want
her…”

“Don’t
make me kick your ass, Dylan. Because I will…”

“Try
it, and get the shit knocked out of you,” Dylan growled. “Maybe it’s time for
you to leave before this gets ugly. I can read between the lines.”

Standing
up, Logan headed toward the door. Stopping, he turned to face his little
brother. “What lines can you read between?”

“Get
out!” Dylan snarled with a shooing motion.

As
Logan stepped out of the room and the door slowly closed behind him, he heard
his brother murmur… “You’re in love.” He left Dylan, walking quickly, and
headed back to Jayna and CJ. When he walked into the room, she was curled up on
the folded out chair-bed that they had supplied for her. She was covered by a
hospital-issued blanket. He walked over to check on CJ and his heart stuttered
seeing how pale his little man looked. The machines beeped and the tubes
continued to provide him with everything he needed to recover. “Your mama loves
you, baby boy. Hell, so do I. You need to get better. I think she’s been
through enough, don’t you?”

“Logan?” Jayna said sleepily from the chair.

“I’m
just talking to my little buddy,” he said, smiling. “Scoot up and I’ll rest
with you.”

Jayna
moved up and Logan climbed in behind her then she laid back against his chest.
“I really am sorry, Logan.”

“Shh.
I know that. Just go back to sleep. You need to rest to be strong for CJ.”

They
both fell asleep only to wake up two hours later to the sound of alarms going
off. Logan levered Jayna out of the chair and followed her over to CJ. They
once again saw him turn blue only to have a team of doctors and nurses rush
back in and help him turn pink again. A decision was made on the spot to move
him to the pediatric intensive care unit. His little lungs were having a hard
time working properly.

All
animosity between Logan and Jayna was forgotten while CJ was rushed into
intensive care. Once he was settled in, they were allowed to see him.

“My
God, you can barely see the baby though the wires and tubes,” Logan said
softly.

“If
he dies, I’ll never forgive myself,” Jayna murmured. “This is all my fault.
Instead of running with him I should have given him up. He’s too young to be
living like this.”

Logan
abruptly turned her to face him. “Damn it Sleeping Beauty, this is not your
fault. He is safe with us whether we are in Harper’s Rock or on the run across
the country. It’s a damn virus, Jayna. That’s all."

Tears
were falling down her face and Logan wrapped her in his arms. “Please stop
blaming yourself,” he whispered. “Let’s concentrate on getting him better.”

**********

Over
the next five days, they settled into a worry-filled routine. For the first
three days, while CJ was in the PICU, they took turns staying with him. When
they weren’t at the hospital they were at the hotel sleeping in shifts. They
had a couple more close calls, but he finally started to improve and he was
moved back into a regular room. Most of the tubes and wires were removed and
Jayna was allowed to breast feed again. The pump and feeding tubes were
history.

The
doctor walked into the room with a smile on his face. “If things keep going
well overnight, I will release Charles in the morning.”

“Really?”
Jayna squealed, looking over at Logan.

“Yes
ma’am,” the doctor said. “He’s healthy again and you will be able to go about
your normal lives for the most part. I would just keep him away from smoke and
other environmental pollutants for a while."

“Oh,
thank you doctor,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

Logan
wrapped his arms around her and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you. We’ll
never be able to thank you enough for what you did to help our son.” It didn’t
even sound weird calling him his son. According to the hospital that is exactly
what CJ was to him. It would be strange going back to the real world where he
would just be honorary Uncle Logan.

Six
days after they arrived at the hospital, with a very sick baby, CJ was
released. They headed back to the hotel with a weeks’ worth of medication and a
happy, cooing baby.

“Thank
you for helping us through this, Logan,” Jayna said as they settled back into
their gaudy honeymoon suite. “You could have taken off anytime."

“No
I couldn’t,” he said, matter-of-factly as he laid down on the bed and turned
the television on.

Jayna
waited for further explanation but after a few minutes, she gave up. She should
know by now that Logan didn’t need reasons. He tried not to get involved with
people but if he did, it was to help them unselfishly.

At
that next commercial, he turned the volume down and looked over at Jayna who
was now sitting next to him on the bed. “We need to talk.”

“Okay,”
she agreed quietly. “Let me put CJ in the crib.”

Logan
nodded and pulled out his phone while he waited.

“Are
we talking about the birth certificate,” she asked.

“What?
Oh, no.” He motioned for her to sit down next to him. “I didn’t bring it up
while CJ was sick, but… the goons are still calling about every other day.”

“Oh
God,” she sighed. “What are they saying now?”

“The
usual,” he muttered. “Threats to you and the baby, claiming they are getting
closer.”

Jayna
got up and paced. “While CJ was safe in the hospital, I should have gone to the
cops. That’s the only way this will end.”

“That
may get him out of your hair for a while, but I have a feeling he’ll just keep
coming back. We need to come up with a more permanent solution.”

“Other
than me changing my identity, there isn’t one,” she said softly as tears welled
in her eyes. “If charges in Nevada can stick long enough for me to get far away
and start a new identity, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Logan
felt like his chest was being ripped out. Jayna and CJ gone, never to be seen
again? It seemed like the only choice though. He didn’t have to like it, but
there was nothing he could do about it. “I think I’m going to take a shower,”
he said, getting up and grabbing a pair of sweats. He went into the bathroom
and shut the door, leaning back against it. This crushing pain in his chest was
different than anything he’d ever felt and he didn’t know how to stop it. At
first he’d thought it was dread but soon he realized it was something
different, something much worse.