Labour Day

The warm afternoon sun streamed through the window, catching the green glittery paint on Tucker's Hot Wheels Corvette as he placed it delicately on the low windowsill.

"Grampa got me this one." The four-year old boy explained to his dad. "I got a red one too. I got that from Mommy."

Logan nodded, smiling down at his son, sitting happily on his lap. He knew their fourth child relished these small times with him and Logan sat patiently while Tucker organized his car collection on the ledge of their front window.

"How many cars do you think you have now, buddy?" Logan asked, stroking Tucker's head of floppy blond hair.

Tucker's little brow furrowed, pausing a minute to think.

"One million – counting all the cars he inherited from Linc and Jack." Veronica interjected from her spot at the kitchen counter.

"I do? Awesome!" Tucker laughed, clapping his hands with glee.

Logan rolled his eyes and smiled. "Mom's kidding - but it does feel like that many when we're picking them up around the house."

Tucker turned his attention to the big bucket of cars beside them and fished out another one, placing it next to the Corvette. He paused for a second before squeal of happiness escaped.

"Ice cream!"

"What?" Logan frowned.

Tucker pointed out the window. "Ice cream!"

There on the sidewalk was a young man – Logan surmised he was about 13 or 14 years old – dressed in khaki shorts and a blue Polo shirt. His hair was a short dark brown and it was styled in a mass of scraggly spikes. In one hand, he held a towering soft-serve ice cream cone; in the other, he held his phone to his ear. The boy's eyes were looking up to their second floor, a large smile on his lips.

Quick footsteps echoed from upstairs and Logan turned to see his teenage daughter, Lexie, flying down the steps, her long blond hair trailing behind her. She paused for a second at the front door, completely unaware of her family's presence, to adjust her board shorts and tank top. She took a deep breath, flipping her hair over her shoulder and opened the door to step outside.

Logan was frozen to his spot, watching with horror as his daughter skipped down the front step towards the boy.

"Veronica?"

"Yes Logan." Veronica giggled.

"What's happening?"

Crossing the main floor, Veronica stood behind Logan. "Our daughter has her first gentleman caller. I think his name is Ben."

Logan's heart began to race. Boys. Teenage boys wanted to date his daughter. The image of tiny Alexis Lynn Mars - only minutes old, wrapped in a pink blanket, cradled in his arms - flashed through his brain.

"But she's too young to date." Logan frowned, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

Lexie took the ice cream cone from the boy and blushed, her eyes averting the boy's for a second, before flashing a dazzling smile in her beau's direction.

"She's 14 years old, Logan – old enough to go out for a few hours with someone she likes." Veronica began gently stroking Logan's hair.

Lexie took a long lick of the ice cream and Logan's gaze refocused on the boy; a wide grin spread from ear to ear as Ben watched Lexie consume his gift, his eyes staring intently at the cone she held in her hand.

For a split second, Logan was sure he saw stars as his blood pressure spiked.

"You need to put a stop to this," he stated through clenched teeth, but Veronica just laughed.

"To what? Lexie dating or her just growing up in general?"

Logan's jaw twitched and he averted his eyes from the scene. "Both."

"Hate to tell you this, but I can't, so you'll just have to learn to live with it, old man."

"I'm not old." Logan snarked. "I'm maturing."

Veronica gave a little snort, scoffing in response. "Oh yeah? Then what's all this white in your hair? Or are you trying the frosted tips look again?"

Logan opened his mouth for a rebuttal but instead was cut off by a small voice. "Did he bring ice cream for me?"

Veronica chuckled. "No Tuck, he didn't; but if you come with me, we can get some from the fridge."

Tucker jumped off Logan's lap and ran to Veronica, leaving his dad on the floor, alone.

Valentine's Day

Logan glanced up from his book and frowned. Veronica stood behind Lexie, fussing over the intricate braid she had created in their daughter's hair. Lexie looked in the hall mirror and adjusted her jean skirt, pulling it down a bit, but still nowhere close to her knees.

A few minutes prior, Logan had initiated an argument with his daughter about the length of her skirt, but Veronica stepped in and settled the scuffle quickly by insisting Lexie would be more comfortable with a pair of black tights underneath anyway. While Lexie was upstairs changing, Veronica proceeded to chew out Logan for his overprotective behaviour before relegating him to sit in his easy-chair and keep quiet.

A car door slammed and Logan glanced through the curtains. Ben sauntered up the walk, carrying a bouquet of store-bought flowers in plastic cellophane.

"He's here." Logan announced in a monotone.

Lexie shoed away Veronica, and she obliged, moving a little into the living room to get out of the way.

Ben had been coming around for months now, and each time he showed up, Logan was filled with dread. He knew what teenage boys were like, having been one once upon a time, and despite the fact that his daughter had a red belt in tae kwondo, he still worried about her being alone with a hormonal boy.

Lexie stepped out onto the porch to meet Ben and Logan watched as he handed her the flowers. She blushed, clutching the bouquet to her chest, before leaning over and kissing him gently on the cheek, close to his lips.

For a second, Logan flashed back to the innocent kiss Veronica placed on his cheek that fateful day on the balcony at the Camelot Hotel, and his chest tightened at the thought that Ben may take his daughter by the arm and kiss her on the lips, as he had done with Veronica all those years ago.

But instead, the boy blushed deeply, his eyes dropping to gaze at the ground before slowly, reaching out his hand to take Lexie's. A brilliant smile crossed Lexie's lips and together, they made their way to the car, to be chauffeured on their date to the movies by Ben's father.

Veronica eased herself down across Logan's lap, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. Logan swallowed the lump that had developed in his throat.

"She'll be okay," Veronica said, planting a soft kiss on Logan's cheek. "She's so much smarter than we were at that age."

Logan chuckled, his eyes fixing on Veronica's. "I hope so – because at her age I was rolling around with Lilly on a bed in the pool house after school."

"I vaguely remember stories of that -" Veronica tapped her temple with her finger. "But I'm sure we've surpassed Celeste in the parenting department. Her sex talk with Lilly amounted to 'if you get pregnant we're disowning you.'"

Logan wrapped his hands around Veronica's waist, bouncing her with his legs on his lap. "I actually think your dad had it right and getting a rifle with a spotting scope is the way to go."

"Maybe when she turns 17." Veronica planted another kiss on his cheek. "And starts dating a boy who lives on his own in a big, empty house, who drives a very, very roomy car -"

Logan groaned, learning his head against the back of the chair. "I'm starting to really empathize with your dad right now."

"Don't worry, old man –" Veronica rested her head on his shoulder, gently patting his chest. "We've got this. If we could survive our teenage years, we can survive Lexie's too."

He kissed the top of her head and sighed. An image of Veronica as a teen - in a pink cotton dress, sitting by the edge of the pool, laughing as he tickled her toes under the water – floated through his mind.

"Yeah," he said with a warm smile. "We've got this."