Chapter 61 A visit from the twin
Finishing his beer, Logan headed to the kitchen to grab another when he heard a knock on his door.
It was a soft, gentle knock, like the person on the other side was hesitating. Logan, for a split second, wondered if it was Serena coming to make amends. A part of him wanted that, but he wasn‘t sure he was prepared to accept any kind of amends, or make it hims elf.
Hesitating, he went to the door when there was another knock. He pulled the door open to find Olivia and Oliver standing there with sheets of paper in their hands. “Uncle Logan!” Olivia said, rushing past him and into the house. Logan‘s heart tugged when she called him ‘uncle.‘ “We brought pictures,” Oliver sai d. The twins ran into the living room and began spreading the pages out on the floor. Logan looked outside but he didn‘t see Serena with them. The kids had come to see him on their own! A part of him was flattered, but his mood was still volatile enough that he couldn‘t enjoy it as much as he would have “Come look at the pictures we drew,” Olivia said, running out to him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the living room. Oliver was very meticulous in his arranging of the pictures. “Is your mom here?” Logan asked, to confirm. “No, she‘s at home,” Olivia said. “I painted you a wolf,” Oliver said, holding up one of his paintings. Logan took the paper, looking at the painting. It was really good for someone Oliv er‘s age. “You two came here on your own?” he asked, sitting on the couch while Olivia brought him one of her pictures. “This one is a garden,” she said, pointing out the flowers. Olivia was a talented painter too, but Oliver definitely had the artistic talent. “We wanted to see you,” Oliver said.
“Yea, you promised we could!” Olivia reminded him. Logan cleared his throat.
“I‘m sorry,” he said. “I‘ve been busy.”
“Yea, so we thought we‘d come to you and show you what we‘ve been doing,” Olivia said, putting another painting in his lap. Logan looked at all the pictures. He li ked seeing what the twins were up to, but he didn‘t want to cause more of a rift between Serena and hi mself. “Does your mom know you‘re here?” Logan asked. Olivia and Oliver looked at each other, Olivia getting quiet.
“No,” Oliver muttered. “That‘s not very nice,” Logan said. “She wouldn‘t let us come over,” Olivia argued . Logan sighed, standing up and handing the paintings back to Olivia. “Come on,” he said. “Get your paintings. I‘m taking you home.” “But… you promised to play with us…” Olivia told him, pouting. Oliver looked at him with wide, sad eyes. It alm ost broke his heart to see how much they wanted to spend time with hin!
“I know,” he said. “I will play with you soon, but I‘m really busy right now. Sometimes, adults have to do things they don‘t want t o do.” “What don‘t you want to do?” Olivia asked, helping Oliver separate their paintings and stack the m up. Logan smiled at Olivia. She was quick! “It takes a lot of work to be pack Alpha,” Logan said. “Sometimes I wish I had more time to play.” “Yea, me too,” Olivia said, looking dow n at her feet. Logan sighed. “Did you get them all?” he asked. “You keep this one,” Oliver said, handing Logan the wolf. He smiled and nodded. “Alright,” he said. “I‘ll take it to work and put it on my desk so I c an think about playing when I‘m at work.” “Okay,” Oliver said smiling. “Let‘s get the two of you home,” L ogan said heading to the front door. The kids followed him obediently, holding onto their stacks of pictur
es. “We went birdwatching,” Olivia told Logan. She walked right next to him and kept looking up at him with starry eyes. She was so adorable! Logan wished he could spend time with them, but he knew if Se rena didn‘t know where they were, she would be angered if he was with them rather than being an adult and retuning them to her. She‘d also be worried if she didn‘t know where they were. He didn‘t wan t that. “That sounds like fun,” Logan offered. Olivia made a face and Oliver shook his head.
“It was boring,” Olivia said. “Mommy‘s friend Carson isn‘t very fun.” “Carson isn‘t fun?” Logan asked. He was a little happy to hear that the twi ns preferred spending time with him, but he knew Carson could be really fun when he wanted to
be.
“No, he doesn‘t play with us like you,” Oliver said. Logan gave a soft chuckle. “He‘s really fun when you get to know him,” Logan said. Now that he wasn‘t so angry, he could advocate for his friend. He was s aying it more for the kids‘ benefit, though. He didn‘t want them to think that Carson was boring, becaus e he was a good guy!
“We‘d rather play with you” Olivia said firmliv
“Well, maybe we can make a regular play date, then, ne salu. “Yea, I want that,” Oliver said. “When?” “I don‘t know yet,” Logan said. “I‘ll have to t alk to your mom and figure something out.” Olivia rolled her eyes, causing Logan to laugh again. “Mom my is mad at you,” she said. Logan snorted. “Why?” he asked. Olivia and Oliver shrugged. “She didn‘t t hink we noticed,” Olivia said. “But we always know.” Logan nodded. So, Serena hadn‘t said anything bad about him to the kids. It was nice to be around them. They were so innocent, honest, and free. He felt that he could safely be around them without his tempter exploding again. They were gentle, and friendl y, and they saw the good in him, something he desperately wanted Serena to see. It had been a long time since he had lost his temper so complete
ly like that. All his accusations had come from a place of anger, a place of insecurity. He didn‘t truly think that Serena would jeopardize her career or be unprofessional. The truth was, he had always thought she had great integrity. Now he had said those things, there was no way to take them back. He didn‘t want her to see him as a monster, and he didn‘t want her to think he would behave that way
around her kids. “Thank you for showing me your paintings,” Logan said, trying to be a little softer. “We‘ve been working on them for you since we moved home,” Olivia told him. “Really?” he
“Why?” Oliver asked. Logan smiled at him. “Because your mother loves you and takes care of you,” he said. He realized how ill– equipped he was to explain to two young kids why they had to listen to their mother.
They saw him as a friend, an adult friend who could make his own decisions. He‘d have to be sure not to didn‘t want to do it again!
“Don‘t you love us?” Olivia asked. Logan gave a chuckle. “I love playing with you and reading to you,” he things to kids! It frustrated.
Throwing him, further song the fact that he was in no way ready to be a father. He gritted his teeth against the iting frustration, alt is different because all kids need to listen to one that is there to chase the monsters away at night.” “Could you be there at night loo?” Olivia maked, smile on her face, and it instantly faded. Logan‘s mood dropped with the hardened look in her eyes.