Rush (Roam Series, Book Four) (16 page)

“God, these are fantastic,” I mouthed, holding my hand beneath my chin to catch the crumbs. “How did you do this?”

“My mom made me bake with her. A lot. I’m pretty sure she wanted a girl,” he added, diving for my lips before I could swallow. I laughed, the muffins and chocolate mingling with the taste of his kiss.

“Vi?” Eva batted her lashes at Logan shyly, slipping behind me.
Her red curls needed combed, which would surely be a fight later. “Logan had a sleepover?”

I nodded. He squatted to her level, offering a muffin. “I heard you like chocolate chips.”

“Only in
cookies
.” She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her nightgown with a huff.

Oh,
he gets Moody Eva.
The most challenging Eva of all.
I crossed my arms over my own chest, looking down at her.

“You should say thank-you.”

“But I don’t want it.”

“Be polite.”

“Go away. I want Daddy.”

“More for me,” Logan shrugged, carrying a
glass of milk, plate, and a muffin to the table. I watched in surprise as he completely ignored her. “Vi, could you hand me the chocolate chips? I like to sprinkle them in my milk.”

I kept an eye on Eva. She was definitely intrigued.

“Sure, Logan. Sounds delicious. You want the whole bag?”

“Yep. Unless you want some.”

“No, thanks, go ahead.” I handed him the bag of mini chocolate chips, waiting. He tilted the bag, letting the chips drop into his milk slowly.

“Wait!”

We both turned to Eva, watching her bite her stubborn lip. Finally, she took a bossy step toward Logan. “Need something, Red?” He plunked a straw into his glass.

The nickname, on a normal day, would have ruffled her feathers. Instead, she moved to his side.

“Don’t the chocolate chips get stuck in the straw?” She demanded, haughty.

He raised one eyebrow. “Easy fix.”

“How?”

He moved his mouth to the straw and blew through tube, sending bubbles into the milk that made the chocolate chips swirl.

She giggled, reaching for the bag. “I want some!”

“What do you say?” I urged.

“Please, Logan?”

“Sure.” He winked at me, moving back to the counter. “So, tell me about yourself, Eva.”

She popped a chocolate chip into her mouth, ignoring me completely. “I’m a princess and a dancer. And a veterinarian. And an artist. And im-mor-tal.”

At her last admission, he lifted his eyes to mine in surprise.
“Sounds like you have a… busy schedule.” He returned to the table with a plastic cup of milk and a muffin. “You’re a dancer?”

“Uh-huh. Like Violet. She teaches me ballet.”

“I’ll bet she’s a good teacher,” he said softly, and I grinned, moving behind his chair and wrapping my arms around him.

“Daddy’s
a better teacher,” she defended. “When is he coming back? With my mommy?”

“Tomorrow,” I promised, even though
neither of us knew if they’d ever return from this fountain.
Or that Troy wouldn’t try to come here.
“We’ll call them on FaceTime.”

“
I like you, Logan,” she admitted thoughtfully, taking a small bite of her muffin. “You make Vi smile really big.”

He covered my hands with his, over his heart. “That’s all I’ll ever want,” he said quietly, tilting his head back to greet my upside-down kiss.

Eva took another, larger bite, swinging her legs in her chair and grinning our way.

June 15, 2015

“What is that singing?”

“It’s morning prayer time
here, in Afghanistan.”

“Daddy said you’re in Ka-bul.”

“That is a city.”

“
But it’s
dinner
time here,” Eva argued, her dark eyebrows knitting together as she sorted through his information.

“I’m eleven and a half hours ahead of you, Red.”

“So… you’re in the future?”

I grinned, hugging Eva closer. “Kind of.”
Logan smiled at me, brushing his hand over the back of his neck. The Skype connection was choppy, and his responses delayed, but seeing his face was all that mattered.

“When are you
gonna come home and
play
with me?”

He grinned. “You’re my calendar girl, remember?”

I loved that Logan had dubbed Neil Sedaka’s song as theirs; Eva’s current obsession with the oldies had her relating everything to lyrics from the fifties and sixties. She giggled, breaking into song. “You
love
your calendar girl!”

“You know I do. What month am I coming?”

“July!”

“You’re my firecracker, don’t forget it.”

“When is this dumb war gonna be
over
?” She demanded, dropping to her feet to scurry across the living room.

I sighed, turning back to the screen. “
She misses you. I miss you.”

He touched his fingers to his lips, and then to the screen. “
I miss you, Vi.”

Looking down at the keyboard, I scratched at the
Windows
sticker near the touch pad. Sighing, I pulled one of the elegant invitations into my fingers.

Violet Rose Perry

And

Logan Robert Rush

Cordially invite you

To the beginning of their story…

“The RSVPs are all in. We’re at about seventy-five.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be there to help with everything,” he said softly. “I love you.”

“
Love you,
” I mouthed, clearing my throat and sitting up as Roam carried Christopher down from the upstairs.

“Oh, is that Logan?” She hurried to the computer, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Logan, are you okay?”

“Hey Cam. I’m fine. Your arm okay?”

“It’s fine. You know it doesn’t last.” She glanced at the coordinates absently. The four-month-old in her arms cooed, and she tilted him into the webcam. “Look at him! He’s
seventeen pounds, and he’s finally sleeping through the night-…,”

“He’s gorgeous,” Logan smiled, waving, and the screen froze and skipped. Finally, the connection returned to normal. “How’s West?”

“He’s so happy.
We’re
happy,” she corrected, smiling at me before shifting Christopher in her arms. “I’ll leave you two alone. Bye. Love you!” She waved the baby’s hand at the screen, and Logan waved again.

I gathered my hair, taking a steadying breath. “You’re really okay? You’re not taking any chances?”

“I’m okay,” he promised, his dark eyes shining. “I love you, and I’ll be home in two weeks to put that ring on your finger. That is, if you haven’t decided that eternity is too long to spend with my stupid jokes.”

“
Hurry,” I blinked at inevitable tears, swallowing hard and chasing them away with all of my will.

We said our good-byes, and I closed the laptop screen.

I had decided to stay with my dad and Roam, helping out with Eva and Christopher while Roam studied and took virtual classes. My mother and Michael were planning on starting a family, so I wanted to give them as much privacy as possible.

That, and
I couldn’t stand to be away from Roam’s coordinates for longer than a day. I wished to God they were mine.

My
wedding was planned for Saturday, July fourth, in Emerald Isle. I was counting the moments until I could watch Logan get off the bus at Camp Lejuene.

Corporal Rush.
I moved to the kitchen to work on dinner, smiling wistfully at the diamond engagement ring on my finger.

Eva marched into the kitchen and, with an animated groan, pulled her apron from its hook by the basement door.
Her red curls clashed adorably with the hot-pink material as she dragged her stepstool to the counter. “We’re
always
in this kitchen. I wish we had servants.”

I choked back a laugh, staring at my
five-year-old sister. “Servants?”

“
When I grow up, I’m having
fifty
servants. To brush my hair, to walk Thomas Jefferson, and to clean my room.”

At the mention of his name, the beagle puppy came run
ning into the kitchen to beg. “Go lay down, Thomas!” The dog whined, turning dejectedly toward the living room. “You’ll only need two to walk that dog and clean your room, but you’ll need the other forty-
eight
to brush all this hair,” I teased, tugging at a curl.

“
It’s a lot of work to be this beautiful,” she admitted, her lisp slipping through her missing front tooth. “
You
wouldn’t understand.”

“You little brat!” I tried to tickle her, but the honking horn in the driveway worked like a magnet to her
small legs. She shrieked and ran for the front door, and I watched through the window as West met her at the front door.

“Daddy!”

“Eva!” he threw her over his shoulder and marched to the backyard, and I knew he was dangling her over the pool by her giggling screams.

The family they had become made me long for Logan even more. I waited for the pot of water to boil on the stove, remembering our last conversation during his leave over Christmas
as we watched Eva tear into her presents. West had recorded every moment of her excitement.

“
Let’s have a baby tomorrow,” Logan teased, cuddling next to me on the couch as Eva opened the ballet dancer music box he’d picked out for her.

I smiled up at him, so happy to be in his arms.
“Maybe,” I promised.

He brought the subject up again while we were choosing centerpieces for the tables at the reception.

“I want to have children, Violet. I’m getting the feeling that you don’t.”

“They’ll live forever. I can’t make that choice for someone, Logan, and neither can you.”

The conversation turned into the first full-blown argument we’d ever had. He started making sarcastic jibes, but for every cutting comment he had, I went ahead and hit below the belt (as I usually did) and soon we were in a shouting match. Eva had interrupted us, and Logan stalked away, leaving the fight unfinished.

That night, we had the best make-up sex ever, but neither one of us brought the subject up again.

When his leave was over, I began thinking about my body and what it was capable of doing. Every injury healed within minutes, and sex with Logan was still painful- every time.
Am I healing- there?
Freaking out, I called a doctor that West promised would not ask any questions, and scheduled an appointment right after Christmas.

She confirmed what I still couldn’t bring myself to tell Logan.

I healed every time we made love… and my immortal body could never carry children. 

“But… Roam was immortal in the beginning of her pregnancy with Christopher… she…,”
I had protested, staring helplessly at the doctor.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Rush.”

I had spent the day teetering between relief and grief, sharing the information only with my mom. She held me as I cried, assuring me that I was right. Was it fair to bring an immortal child into a mortal world?
Probably not.

And then there was my sister.

Someday, Eva would realize that her parents and her brother would all grow older and die- without her.

And she is like me- she can never have children.

West burst through the back door, setting Eva to her feet and letting her take off for the stairs. Thomas Jefferson followed her, his signature bark-howl resounding through the house. “Hey, Vi. Smells good.”

“Oh yeah? This boiling pot of water smells good?” I rolled my eyes, and he grinned.

“
Anything
smells better than the bag of diapers roasting on the back porch.”

“Oh! Shit,” I moved toward the door, but he caught me, laughing.

“Stop- I took it to the dumpster, it’s fine. I was
joking
. That’s
my
job, not yours.”

“I put it
in the back so Thomas Jefferson would stay out of it, and then Logan Skyped in, and…,”

“
How is he?” West asked, tugging at his tie. He was teaching a few summer history courses at the local community college, and was gone for most of the day every Monday and Wednesday. I tried not to eavesdrop or ask about their personal lives, but wondered why he was even teaching if he had a stash of money that seemed in never ending supply. My question was answered one evening when Roam asked about his class, and he lit up, explaining what subject he was on and the assignments he was giving.