"Man talk. Excuse us. " And he closed the door in her face.
Figuring it would be easier on them both if they were more eye-to-eye, Logan sat on the edge of the tub. He wasn't sure, but he had to figure the boy was about as nervous as he was himself.
"Did me kissing your mama bother you?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I saw this other guy kiss her once, when I was little. She went out to dinner with him or something, and we had a babysitter, and I woke up and saw him do it. But I didn't like him so much because he smiled all the time. " He demonstrated, spreading his lips and showing his teeth.
"I don't like him either. "
"Do you kiss all the girls because they're pretty?" Gavin blurted out.
"Well, now, I've kissed my share of girls. But your mama's special. "
"How come?"
The boy wanted straight answers, Logan decided. So he'd do his best to give them. "Because she makes my heart feel funny, in a good kind of way, I guess. Girls make us feel funny in lots of ways, but when they make your heart feel funny, they're special. "
Gavin looked toward the closed door and back again. "My dad kissed her. I remember. "
"It's good you do. " He had an urge, one that surprised him, to stroke a hand over Gavin's hair. But he didn't think it was the right time, for either of them.
There was more than one ghost in this house, he knew.
"I expect he loved her a lot, and she loved him. She told me how she did. "
"He can't come back. I thought maybe he would, even though she said he couldn't. I thought when the lady started coming, he could come, too. But he hasn't. "
Could there be anything harder for a child to face, he wondered, than losing a parent? Here he was, a grown man, and he couldn't imagine the grief of losing one of his.
"Doesn't mean he isn't watching over you. I believe stuff like that. When people who love us have to go away, they still look out for us. Your dad's always going to look out for you. "
"Then he'd see you kiss Mom, because he'd watch over her, too. "
"I expect so. " Logan nodded. "I like to think he doesn't mind, because he'd know I want her to be happy. Maybe when we get to know each other some better, you won't mind too much either. "
"Do you make Mom's heart feel funny?"
"I sure hope so, because I'd hate to feel like this all by myself. I don't know if I'm saying this right. I never had to say it before, or think about it. But if we decide to be happy together, all of us, your dad's still your dad, Gavin. Always. I want you to understand I know that, and respect that. Man-to-man. "
"Okay. " He smiled slowly when Logan offered a hand. When he shook it, the smile became a grin. "Anyway, I like you better than the other guy. "
"Good to know. "
Luke was tucked in and sleeping when they came back in. Logan merely lifted his eyebrows at Stella's questioning look, then stepped back as she readied Gavin for bed.
Deliberately he took her hand as they stepped into the hall. "Ask him if you want to know," he said before she could speak. "It's his business. "
"I just don't want him upset"
"He seem upset to you when you tucked him in?"
"No. " She sighed. "No. "
At the top of the stairs, the cold blew through them. Protectively, Logan's arm came around her waist, pulling her firmly to his side. It passed by, with a little lash, like a flicked whip.
Seconds later, they heard the soft singing.
&nbs