Chapter 17

Delaney

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We aren’t having any luck leaving to head back to the hotel. The place is packed, and everyone is leaving at the same time. The furthest we get is the ground floor.

“Excuse me!” I shout, trying to get people to move. No one hears me, and if they do, they don’t listen.

“Shit,” Elijah mutters. “We can’t try to push our way through, Benny might get hurt.”

“No, I don’t want that to happen.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “We can just wait it out, I guess.”

“I’ll text Logan and let him know. He should be heading back to the locker room right about now. He might not see it for a bit, but it’s not like we’re going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Is it like this every game?” I ask him as we take a seat on a bench next to the elevators.

“Pretty much.” He laughs. “Although, this is Benny’s first game.”

“Really?” I ask, sounding surprised.

He nods. “Benny was born just towards the end of last season. Logan didn’t start getting his time with Benny until he was around two months old.”

“Wow.” I think about Logan with a teeny tiny Benny in his arms and smile. “How was that? Having a newborn in the house.”

Elijah chuckles. “Ever see three men and a baby?”

“Yes.” I grin harder.

“Pretty much like that. We had no idea what to do, but we’re all very determined to do our best. We read books, watched videos, and learned everything we needed to care for a baby.”

“I love how you say we .” My smile turns soft.

He shrugs. “Might be Logan’s son, but he’s our family. The Cross family takes that very seriously.”

“I’ve seen that.” I look away, watching the crowd. “Your dad, he’s a good person. Everything a father should be.” I look back at him. “Everything I wanted in a dad.”

It hurts because James is everything I dreamed about having as a little girl. My mom was more than enough. But sometimes, I couldn’t help but want a dad. Seeing other kids with theirs, it just felt like something was missing.

I haven’t spent much time alone with James, but I’d like to. I’d like to get to know him better.

But how can I want to have this father-daughter relationship with him when I want to be anything but siblings with his sons?

Would he hate me if he knew what happened? Would he look at me like I was a gold digger, thinking the worst of me?

I don’t even want to think about that possibility.

“We’re the lucky ones, for sure. Our lives could have been so different because of where he comes from and the money he makes. But he made it his mission to keep us out of that lifestyle as much as he could. It has made us better people for it.” Elijah gets a notification on his phone, pulling his attention away. “Logan is just finishing up. He said to meet him outside the locker room. Good thing is, it’s in the opposite direction of the exit.” He chuckles.

I follow behind him, pushing Benny in the stroller as he leads us over to the locker room.

There are other people waiting. Mostly women. Thankfully, not Stacy. Benny fusses, so I take him out of the stroller just in time for Logan to emerge from the locker room. My belly fills with butterflies. He smiles when he sees us, jogging over to scoop Benny up into his arms.

“Did you see that, buddy?” Logan laughs. “We won!”

“Congratulations, bro,” Eli says. “Thought you were a goner when you crashed to the ground like that.”

Don’t remind me.

During the second quarter, Logan got hit hard. I felt like my heart dropped out of my ass. Thankfully, he got up and shook it off. But still, the fear I felt... I’ve never felt anything like that before.

“Nah, going to take a lot more than that to keep me down.” He kisses Benny’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, baby boy?”

“You were awesome,” I tell him. Logan looks over at me, and fucking hell, my breath gets caught in my throat.

He looks so good right now, hair wet from a shower. He’s in his football jacket, black tee, and jeans. He looked just as yummy out on the field. My eyes were glued to him when he was at the bench. The way he poured water over his face from his water bottle, I felt like I was watching some kind of erotic video.

Also, who knew sweat could be so hot?

“Thanks.” He licks his lips, eyes boring into mine.

“Benny was so good. He’s always a good baby.” I smile, running my hand over his curly black locks, needing to break the eye contact with Logan before I turn to mush.

“Logan!” Stacy’s voice cuts through the air, and our faces fall.

“Not fucking now,” Logan growls through gritted teeth. “I am so fucking sorry.” He looks at me with panicked eyes.

“It’s okay.” I try to give him a reassuring smile. “I don’t run off that easily.”

“Maybe you should,” he mutters before Stacy reaches us.

“What the fuck is this?” she squawks.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.” Logan turns to look at her.

“What is he doing here?” Stacy points to Benny. “With this bitch.” Her eyes flick over to me.

“You don’t even know me. Why do you hate me so much?” I ask, crossing my arms. “I’ve done nothing to you.”

“I told you to stop trying to play house with my fucking kid and my man,” Stacy snarls.

“Not your man, Stacy. Never was,” Logan grinds out through a clenched jaw.

I grimace because that's not really what he should be saying right now. Poking the bear is only going to get our heads ripped off.

“I’m not playing anything. I’m their stepsister. Their dad married my mom. That’s it.” I try to help.

“Please,” she scoffs. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to sleep with one of them. Maybe all of them.” Does she know? How could she? I’m not bringing it up, that’s for sure.

“I’m not. Really, I’m not. I see them as my brothers, that’s it.” Lie, lie, lie. They both look at me as if asking if that’s true. God, men are so stupid sometimes.

Stacy sees it and laughs. “Sure, and I’m a fucking Kardashian.” She swings her glare over to Logan. “Why is he here?” she asks again. “This isn’t a place for babies.”

Logan frowned. “I saw a good amount of kids in the crowd, Stacy. And he’s here because I didn’t have anyone to watch him. My dad and stepmom are gone on their honeymoon. Owen has his own stuff. Laney was nice enough to come with us so that I could spend time with Benny when I’m off the field while also having someone to watch him while I’m on the field.

”You couldn’t get him?” She points to Elijah. “He’s here and could have looked after him.”

“Stacy, I don’t know why you're making such a big deal out of this. He wasn’t even supposed to be with me this week. I switched—because, of course, I want my son whenever I can— but do you know how much this flip-flopping around with his schedule fucks with mine? Having to make plans and changes last-minute isn’t easy when I have school and ball.”

“Maybe you should get your priorities straight then,” she huffs, crossing her arms.

Anger boils in me. Is this chick for real right now?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Logan snarls. “He is and will forever be my number one priority. At least, I, for one, can say that.”

Oh, god. Logan, no. Don’t antagonize the crazy. Fucking hell.

Her face becomes masked in fury. “Oh, you wanna play that game?” She gives him an evil smile that sends a cold shiver down my spine. His face falls, and he knows he fucked up. “This is technically my week. Therefore, he’s coming home with me tonight.”

“No.” Logan shakes his head. “We switched weeks. You can get him tomorrow night.”

“No. I’m taking him home tonight. And as a matter of fact, I’m going to take him all of next week too. Oh, and the week after that until our schedule evens out again. You don’t think I spend enough time with my kid? Well, now I’m about to have a whole month straight with him.”

She looks at him like she’s won. Logan’s face shifts with his panic.

“You can’t do that,” he protests.

“I can, and I am. What are you going to do about it?” she laughs. “I can have a new court date by the end of the week and have our parenting agreement changed so you can’t get him ever again. Wanna do that?”

I feel like I’m going to be sick. Fear races through my veins.

“Try it, and I’ll go broke, making sure it’s the other way around. I have money, Stacy, don’t fucking try me,” he snarls, getting in her face.

“And I have Daddy.” That evil smile grows. “Sometimes, fear is much more powerful than money.”

“Logan,” Elijah says weary. “Pick your battles.”

“Yeah, Logan, pick your battles,” she taunts, reaching for Benny. Logan pulls him back, but Stacy has her hands on him. Benny starts to cry as the two of them fight over the baby. “Give me my son,” she demands.

“No!” Pure fear flashes in Logan’s eyes.

“Logan.” I keep my voice as calm as I can. His eyes flick to mine. “Let her take him.”

“Laney.” I’ve never heard my name sound so broken. Tears sting the back of my eyes, and I feel like I’m going to puke. But Stacy doesn’t care about Benny; she only cares about hurting Logan. And I don’t want her to harm Benny to make that happen.

“She’s not going to hurt him. You have to let him go.”

“Of course, I’m not going to fucking hurt him. He’s my son.” She looks at me with a disgusted look.

“You don’t even have a car to bring him home. You took the bus with the cheer team,” Logan says through gritted teeth.

“I’ll find a way,” she replies. “Now, hand him over.”

“I’ll bring them home,” Elijah offers.

“What?” Logan snaps his eyes over to his brother. “No, you won’t.”

“You want Benny to get home safe, right? Well, this is the best way. Give him to Stacy, and we can go back to the hotel and get Benny’s stuff, okay.”

Logan looks around like he’s looking for a way out. If he fights this, it’s only going to make things worse for him. My heart is shattering for him.

“Come here, sweet boy.” I take Benny from Logan’s arms, and he lets him go willingly, most likely because he’s in shock. “You be a good boy for your mama, okay?” I kiss his little cheek, breaking inside as I hand him over to Stacy.

Logan looks gutted, like I just betrayed him, and God, I feel like I want to die right now.

Stacy fusses over Benny, acting like a caring mom. “We will meet you back here,” Elijah says, grabbing Logan’s arm.

He has to forcefully pull him away as Logan looks like he wants to resist him, leaving me here with Stacy.

I don’t go with them, mostly because I don’t want her alone with Benny right now. At least in the car, she will be with Elijah, and he can make sure Benny is safe until they’re back in their hometown.

“You're going to make his life hell because of me, aren't you?” I ask her.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” She shrugs. “Wouldn’t be an issue if you just stayed away from my son.”

I look down at Benny. He’s looking at me like he wants to be in my arms. I want to take him so bad, to snuggle him to my chest. He's my little man, someone who’s taken up a place in my heart.

There's no reasoning with this girl. No matter how much I tell her that I’m just the aunt, she’s not going to care. She doesn’t want to care.

“Don’t do this to Logan, please,” I beg her. “That little boy is his whole life. He would be destroyed if you kept Benny from him for almost a month.”

“He should have thought of that before he was an asshole to me,” she scoffs.

“I’ll make you a deal. If you don’t keep Logan from Benny, I’ll stay away.”

She looks at me, her brow raised. “How so?”

“I’ll move out of the house and into student housing. I’ll stop babysitting Benny. And I won’t go near him anymore.”

It’s taking everything in me to keep it together because I feel like I’m ripping my own heart out. The idea of never seeing this sweet boy fills me with a pain I’ve never felt.

“I’ll do my best to stay away from Logan, but we are family now. So, I’ll have to see him for things like holidays and some sports events as I am in the photography club.”

She narrows her eyes. “And I want you to stay away from the other guys.”

“What?” My brows jump. “Why?”

“Because if you're around them, you're around Logan.” I don’t even know how that makes sense.

“Fine,” I grit out.

“And I want you to get a boyfriend.” She lifts her chin. “If he sees you with someone else, he will get over his fucked up little crush on you.”

My lips part. She can’t be for real.

“I know you fucked him. I know you fucked all of them at your new stepdaddy’s resort over the summer.”

My stomach sinks as panic floods through my vines. “How?” I whisper.

“I know everything I need to know about Logan. He’s the father of my son. I need to make sure he’s fit to be alone with my son. Why do you think he left without so much as a goodbye?” She laughs, and god, is it ever filled with malice.

She called Logan home early because she knew what we did? This woman is a lot more unstable than I thought. She’s obsessed with Logan. Does she stalk him? Have someone do it for her?

The fear of what she might do when forced has me agreeing. “Fine. To all of it. Just don’t take Benny from Logan.”

“Deal,” she smirks, like the cat that got the cream.

I feel like I just sold my soul to the devil.

***

We watch Elijah drive off with Stacy, Logan vibrating with anger beside me.

As soon as they are out of sight, he lets out this anguished sound as he spins around, smashing his fist into the brick wall.

“Logan!” I gasp, hands flying to my mouth.

“Fuck!” he roars, shaking out his hand.

“Are you okay?” I ask, trying to grab his hand to look at the damage.

He looks at me with wide eyes filled with dismay. “Okay?” his voice cracks. “No, Laney, I’m not okay. She took my son. My heart and soul. And I’m not going to see him for weeks. What if I never see him again, Laney.” He’s crying now, and so am I. Everything shattered around us. “I can’t live without him. I can’t. I can’t.”

“Hey.” I step up to him, hands shaking as I take his face into my grasp. “Look at me.”

His chest is heaving, tears spilling down his cheeks as his nostrils flare. I’ve never seen someone look so scared. Like a lost little boy. All I want to do is make everything better for him.

“What do I do, Laney?” He croaks out. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Everything will be okay.” I place my forehead against his. “I promise. She won’t take him from you. We won’t let her. He’s going to be okay. He will be back with you next week.”

“You don’t know that,” he sobs out. “You don’t know that.”

“Shhhh,” I soothe him, peppering kisses all over his face. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

I can’t tell him about the deal I made with Stacy. He would never let me go through with it. But maybe this is what I needed, the way to get over these three and move on with my life.

Even if it means breaking my own heart in the process.

Logan pulls me into his arms, tucking his face into the crook of my neck. We stand like that for a little while. Both of us holding each other as he cries, him clinging to me like I’m like his lifeline.

Little does he know, after this weekend, I can’t be his anything.

I meant it when I said I’d always be on Logan’s side.

Because Benny will always come first in my life too. Even if he’s not in mine. Even if we no longer have a connection tying us together anymore.