Chapter 91 Logan and the kids
Logan found Olivia and Oliver in the backyard. They were pretending to be wolves again, howling at the sky and running around on all fours. He smiled, choosing to watch them for a moment rather than joining them. It didn’t take long for them to notice him, though. “Uncle Logan!” Olivia called. Logan winced involuntarily. He was their father, and they should know that! Sighing, Logan pushed the gate open and went inside. “I told you I’d come back to play,” he said. Olivia jumped at him and grabbed onto his arm, clinging to him. Logan laughed. Oliver ran over and grabbed onto his leg, sitting on his foot. “Oh no!” Logan cried. “You got me!” He made a groaned sound and dropped down on his knees, rolling over and writhing on the ground. The kids jumped back, laughing. Logan groaned again and then closed his eyes. He held his breath and stopped moving. “Logan?” Oliver asked, nudging him with his foot. Logan didn’t move. “Logan, you’re okay, right?” Olivia asked. She knelt down and pushed at him. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Oliver asked, dropping down on the ground on his other side. Opening his eyes, Logan growled loudly and sat up quickly. The kids screamed and ran off as he tried to grab them. Olivia was quick, and she escaped his grasp. Oliver wasn’t as fast, and Logan’ caught him, pulling him into his lap and tickling him. Oliver squealed, wiggling around and laughing uncontrollably. Olivia ran up behind Logan and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Don’t hurt him,” she wailed. Logan laughed, releasing Oliver. The kids ran away from him, laughing and beckoning him to follow them. Logan ran after them, chasing them through the yard until he felt too tired to keep running after them.
He slumped down on the grass, leaning back against one of the trees. Olivia and Oliver flopped down on their backs on the ground beside him, panting to catch their breath.
Logan looked at them, really looked at them and studied them. He’d never let himself see how much they did resemble him as a kid. Oliver was a dead ringer, and Olivia wasn’t too far off, despite being a girl. He didn’t review his own childhood photos that often, but now that he knew what to
look for, it was hard to miss! “Are you sad, Uncle Logan?” Olivia asked, sitting up. Logan shook his head. “I’m not sad,” he said. “I just wanted to know what you two think of me.” Olivia giggled and rolled around in the grass. “You’re so goofy!” she said. “Yea, and fun to play with,” Oliver said. “You make us laugh,” Olivia added. “And you like our drawings,” Oliver said. Logan’s heart swelled in his chest. He liked hearing what they thought of him. It made him sad and happy all at the same time. Sad that he couldn’t claim them as his kids! At least, not yet. “We love you very much,” Olivia said. “Yea, even when you are being goofy;” Oliver said. Logan smiled, unprepared for how the tears that welled in his eyes. Sniffling, he tried to wipe the tears away before the twins saw them. “Did we hurt your feelings?” Olivia asked, throwing herself across Logan’s chest and hugging him. “No, not at all,” he said. “You said some really nice things.” He held his arm out and Oliver hugged him too. “We didn’t want you to cry,” Oliver said. Logan side, kissing the top of both the twins’ heads. “They aren’t sad tears,” he assured. “They are happy tears.” “Crying can be happy?” Olivia asked, looking up at him. Logan smiled and nodded. “It can,” he said. “Sometimes happiness and sadness can mix together. It can make you cry while you still feel happy.” It was the first moment Logan experienced where he felt like he had something to offer his children, a real teaching moment. And they were his children! Nothing would ever really change that. Even if he never got to claim them as his kids. If Serena met someone else and gave them another father figure, Logan would always be their father and they would always be his kids. “I love you guys too,” he added, kissing them both again. The energy in the twins bubbled over again and the two of them got up and started playing again. Logan watched them for a while, happy to see them play, argue, make up, and then play again. They really were great kids! He couldn’t take any credit for that. He understood that who they were was entirely based on Serena being their mother. He wished he could
take credit for it. He wanted to be an influence in their lives. He wanted to give them some of his wisdom and show them his world as an Alpha.
Eventually, Logan got up and started playing with the kids again. They wanted to play tag and Logan was ‘it’ first. He ran after them, and they scattered quickly. He danced around them, jumping at them and pretending to catch up to them, but never actually tagging them. Logan allowed them to evade him every time. The giggles and laughs filled the yard and Logan felt his own spirits lift. He was going to enjoy these moments with them, even if he didn’t have them often.
When he felt like he was being watched, Logan looked up and sat Serena standing at the kitchen window, watching. He gave her a quick smile and she nodded. “Come on, Logan come on,” Olivia said grabbing his hand and dragging him with her. Olivia and Oliver brought him down to the dock. “Wait, you two need lifejackets on if we are going onto the dock;” Logan said. Olivia pouted at him. “Do we have to?” she asked. Logan raised an eyebrow at them. He wanted to indulge them, but he also had to take on the role of father now. Serena was trusting him to when she wasn’t around.
“Yes, you do have to,” Logan said grabbing tow children-sized lifejackets. He helped them each put the safety vests on. “They are so uncomfortable,” Olivia complained. “I know,” Logan said. “But they will save your life in the water.” “Okay,” the twins grumbled. Logan went out onto the dock with them. The sun was starting to set and the water on the lake was still.
“Sometimes when the sun is going down we can see fish swimming,” Olivia said, pointing down into the water. Logan held both their hands, standing between them. He looked down and saw straight through to the sandy bottom. There were some small fish swimming around, only visible because of the glassy surface and the low lighting. There was no glare on the water. “Very cool” Logan said. “Will you go fishing with us?” Oliver asked. “We can do that, sometime,” Logan said. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to commit to them, because he knew when they returned to Night Sky, things would be different.
“Mommy says we are going home soon, will you go with us?” Olivia asked. Logan nodded.
He sat down on the end of the dock, letting his feet dip into the water. Olivia and Oliver took their shoes off and sat beside him. Their feet didn’t touch the water
though. Logan grabbed Olivia under the arms and dipped her down off the end or ine dock until her feet touched the water. She kicked out, laughing and wiggling. “Me next!” Oliver said standing up. Logan chuckled. He set Olivia down and repeated the action with Oliver. He laughed and splashed in the water until Logan sat him down again on the dock. “That’s so cold!” Olivia whined. The twins leaned against him, one on each arm. Olivia started humming to herself. Oliver was pointing to the clouds in the sky as they changed shape. It seemed like the perfect ending to a not so perfect day. Logan was sitting with his kids on a dock on a peaceful lakeside with the sun setting. He wanted so badly to tell them he was their father, but he couldn’t! He wouldn’t betray Serena again, and he understood it could do more damage.
It felt like his bond with Olivia and Oliver was so strong, he didn’t know if he had room in his heart for another child. Holly’s child would always be in competition with the twins. They were his first kids, and that was something he’d never overlook. “I think it is time to go find your mom,” Logan said with a sigh. He walked the kids back to the grass, taking their lifejackets off. He hoped Serena had had enough time to talk to her parents and come to terms with everything. It was getting dark and cold. The twins would need to go inside. He knocked on the living room door from the deck. Santino opened it up and the kids ran in. “Can we talk?” Santino asked. Logan nodded and Serena’s brother joined him outside.