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Around 4 a.m. Billie slid under the covers beside me and snuggled into my side. When my hand slid into her hair and immediately massaged her scalp, she let out a long sigh. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“No problem,” I remarked, because it wasn’t her fault our weekend had been ruined. “Did you call Poppy?” I asked, wondering if she’d been informed.
“Logan did from my cell and left the hospital number on her voicemail.” I nodded. “Why were they in the hotel in the first place?”
“According to Logan they came to town to see the sights, but Colby said they checked into the hotel and never made it outside again.”
“What the fuck’s going on in his head?” I muttered.
“Do you think it could be because I told him about us.” I shifted my position, feeling annoyed to think it was.
“I fucking hope not. If he’s made our engagement about him and upset Colby, I’ll be having words.”
Billie didn’t respond, letting out another exaggerated sigh. “Why is life so hard sometimes?”
“That’s easy. It’s so you recognize the awesome moments when they come along. Like the first time we met,” I said, with a little chuckle to lighten her mood.
“I love how upbeat and calm you always are,” she said, as she wrapped her legs and arms around me, snuggling closer to my body like she wanted to climb inside. “Thank you for today. I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t been there for us.”
I took a deep breath and blew it out. “You know Logan isn’t in a good place. At first, I thought he was quiet when he picked Colby up because he had nothing left to say. It feels as if he took that target off your chest when you agreed to marry me.”
“What do you mean?” she stiffened as she leaned back to look up at me in the dark. I could barely make out her face but I knew by the tension in her voice and her body language my comment had alarmed her.
“I think there’s more to this than we know. I see the signs he’s hit a low. Let’s face it, did you expect him not to explode when you told him about us?”
“Not at all. I thought he’d belittle me as usual and at the very least, make some jibe about you living with Colby.”
“Exactly.”
Billie thought for a few moments, heaved and sighed heavily this time. “Will you take care of Colby tomorrow morning? I want to go back and see him on my own.”
“Not if it’s going to upset you,” I warned.
“I’m going to be more upset if I can’t get to the bottom of why this happened. I can’t believe he’d be that irresponsible with Colby. He said he took him there to prevent him being subjected to arguments like I asked him. I can’t fault him if that is the truth of the matter, I mean, after all, I did threaten to stop Colby’s visits.”
“Then how do you explain him going to all that trouble, only to get drunk off of his ass when he’s the only adult in charge of him?” She shrugged.
“Will you look after Colby?” she asked again.
“You still feel it necessary to ask? Of course, but then I’ll bring him to see his dad and afterward we’re all going home. I want him to see Logan awake and coherent to ease his worries.”
Brushing my hair back from my forehead, Billie pulled my head toward her and kissed it. “I have no idea what you find so attractive about me. Are you sure you want to do this? Haven’t you seen enough to make you run away yet?”
“I definitely want to do this. I love you, Billie. What’s going on is just another bump in the road, and it’ll work out okay in the end.”
“Ever the optimist,” she goaded.
“Ah, but I’m your optimist,” I said, snuggling down until we were face-to-face. “Now shut up and give me a kiss before I throw your ass out of this bed and make you head back to Colby.”
