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“Axel and Felix hadn’t had lunch yet when I picked them up,” Logan started. “So, I took them to McDonald’s. I didn’t think shit of it because I’m always eating that shit.” I nodded. I didn’t agree with Logan’s food choices but sometimes, he got so busy at work, all he could manage was a quick double cheeseburger and fries.
“And you know those kids love hearing the car rev and they like feeling it shift, so I went over the speed limit. Ten over, but at the time, it didn’t feel like a big deal to me.”
My gut tightened. I was sure I was seeing how this was going. A glance at Ezra told me he did, too.
“When Preston came to get the boys, Axel told him I got them McDonald’s and we raced. I swear to fuck, I didn’t think much of my decisions. I’m just the cool uncle.” He gritted his teeth, and the sound of them grinding together was audible in the otherwise quiet night air. “Preston wasn’t happy. And when he explained it all, I realized how goddamn stupid I was. And I just… maybe it’s proof I’m not all that different from my own piece of shit mother.”
“Stop,” I snapped, my voice a little harsher than I’d meant it to be. Logan snapped his head around to look at me, surprised by the vehemence in my voice. I swallowed thickly and leaned forward, cupping his beautiful face in my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I just… I can’t fucking stand it when you compare yourself to her, Logan.”
He closed his eyes, but he didn’t do it fast enough. I saw the pain there. The lingering self-hatred he couldn’t seem to completely shed.
It fucking tore me to pieces.
“You are not her,” I rasped. “You are a good man. An amazing uncle. Those kids adore you.”
“They’re going to have stomach aches because I fed them absolute fucking garbage. I don’t ever want to hurt a kid, Spence, and I did.”
“You fed them a greasy burger and fries, baby,” Ezra said gently. He reached out and grabbed Logan’s hips, and Logan grunted when Ezra dragged him forward so he was on Ezra’s lap, straddling his hips. “That’s not intentionally hurting them. Plenty of kids eat McDonald’s, and none of us knew greasy food caused gastrointestinal issues for the boys. You can’t fault yourself when you didn’t know.”
Logan sagged, tucking his face into the crook of Ezra’s neck. “I feel like shit.”
I stood and rubbed his back. “I know. But you’re not a terrible person. You aren’t a child abuser. And I bet if you call Preston right now, he’ll be just fine and chipper, and he’ll thank you again for taking care of the kids.”
“You think X hasn’t done dumb shit with those boys?” Ezra asked. Logan lifted his head, frowning in confusion. Ezra chuckled. “Don’t forget Preston having a near coronary when X took them swimming with no sunscreen. Remember how burned those boys got? Does that make X a child abuser?”
Logan sighed. “No. Just a dumbass.”
I laughed softly. “Exactly. Are Preston and Shane keeping X from the boys? No. Preston scolded him, bitched about it in the group chat, and then moved on from it. But guess what, babe? Preston has only said the boys had an amazing time today, that they won’t shut up about Uncle Logan, and thanked you again.”
Logan frowned, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “He did?” he rasped.
God, my heart.
How could he not see how much this family fucking loved him?
“Yeah, baby.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened up the group chat. Scrolling past Zeppelin and X bickering back and forth, I found Preston’s message and showed him. Below that was also Jaxon’s message.
Preston
The kids won’t shut up about how cool Uncle Logan is. They had a great time. Thank you again, Logan, for coming through, even though it was out of your comfort zone.
Jaxon
He adores your kids, Preston.
Preston
I know. He just doesn’t usually take them by himself.
Jaxon
He has his reasons. But never doubt he loves Axel and Felix, and he’d put his life on the line for them.
There would never be a day in this lifetime that my dad would never sing Logan’s praises. He sung all of our praises, but Logan… Logan had gone through hell and back, and sometimes, he needed this entire big ass family to love him extra on his rough days.
Somehow, Dad had known he would be struggling. And he’d written those messages in the hopes that Logan would see them and know that Dad would always advocate for him, would always stand ten toes down for him.
“There Jaxon goes, aiming for the Dad of the Year award,” Logan snarked.
